THE SOCIAL STRUCTURING OF POSTINDUSTRIAL CONFLICT: CITIZEN POSITIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS

The new social movements characteristic of postindustrial societies have raised a number ofnovel issues, in particular environmental ones. The positions which groups in these societies take on these issues, however, is far from clear. The paper examines three perspectives on the problem: traditional class, new middle class, and transitional disequilibrium. Data/rom a western New York community are used to examine citizen positioning on three eco-factors-environmental protectionism, deep ecology, and limits-to-technology. The two class perspectives perform poorly but the disequilibrium perspective proves useful. Cluster analysis yields a five-group indicator which is significantly related to all the environmental factors. Two associated property vectors, democratic-party affiliation and education, help accountfor intersectoral distances on the eco- factors. The implications for researchand practice are discusse

Metaphysical Tracking: The Oldest Ecopsychology

Ecopsychology—the use of nature for understanding and healing the soul—has become accepted as a legitimate tool by theorists and practitioners alike. Yet one important dimension of the field has been ignored: metaphysical tracking. This article brings to light a number of mystical phenomena that trackers, ancient and modern, have experienced, and suggests their common root in the so-called energy body. The implications for psychospiritual growth are then described. Finally, alternative explanations and new avenues for research are discussed

Everyday Lives of the Elderly: A Dimensional Analysis

Considerable dissension surrounds the number and composition of the domains comprising the daily lives of the elderly. The present study employs an array of biological, economic, political, social, and psychological data obtained from a house-to-house survey of elderly citizens to derive a mapping of dimensionality. Factor analysis of the data isolated eight domains: Poor Health, Disengagement, Self-Sufficiency, Female Aging, Meaningful Employment, Political Faith, Self-Starting, and Stoicism. External validation supported the factor solution and highlighted the impact of dietary and economic deficits on the problems of the aged

Sustainability and duration of early central places in prehispanic mesoamerica.

During the last millennium BCE, central places were founded across many regions of western (non-Maya) Mesoamerica. These early central places differed in environmental location, size, layout, and the nature of their public spaces and monumental architecture. We compare a subset of these regional centers and find marked differences in their sustainability--defined as the duration of time that they remained central places in their respective regions. Early infrastructural investments, high degrees of economic interdependence and collaboration between domestic units, and collective forms of governance are found to be key factors in such sustainability.BCS-1118434 - National Science FoundationPublished versio

safety and efficacy of miniaturized extracorporeal circulation when compared with off pump and conventional coronary artery bypass grafting evidence synthesis from a comprehensive bayesian framework network meta analysis of 134 randomized controlled trials involving 22 778 patients

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains the standard of care in patients with extensive coronary artery disease. Yet the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is believed to be a major determinant of perioperative morbidity. Novel techniques are sought to tackle the shortcomings of CPB, among them off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) and miniaturized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) systems have been extensively tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). To assess perioperative safety and efficacy of MECC and OPCAB when compared with conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC).Published literature and major congress proceedings were screened for RCTs evaluating the safety and efficacy of MECC, OPCAB and CECC. Selected end-points such as 30-day all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), cerebral stroke, postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) and renal dysfunction were assessed in a Bayesian-framework network meta-analysis.A total of 134 studies with 22 778 patients were included. When compared with CECC, both OPCAB and MECC significantly reduced 30-day all-cause mortality [odds ratios (95% credible intervals): 0.75 (0.51-0.99) and 0.46 (0.22-0.91)], respectively. No differences in respect to MI were demonstrated with either strategy. OPCAB, when compared with CECC, reduced the odds of cerebral stroke [0.57 (0.34-0.80)]; 60% reduction was observed with MECC when compared with CECC [0.40 (0.19-0.78)]. Both OPCAB and MECC reduced the odds of POAF [0.66 (0.48-0.90) and 0.62 (0.35-0.98), respectively] when compared with CECC. OPCAB conferred over 30% reduction of renal dysfunction when compared with CECC [0.69 (0.46-0.92)]. MECC reduced these odds by more than 50% [0.47 (0.24-0.89)]. Ranking of treatments emerging from the probability analysis (highest to lowest SUCRA values) was MECC followed by OPCAB and CECC.MECC and OPCAB both improve perioperative outcomes following coronary bypass surgery when compared with conventional CABG performed with extracorporeal circulation. MECC may represent an attractive compromise between OPCAB and CECC

Vaquita Face Extinction from Bycatch. Comment on Manjarrez-Bringas, N. et al., Lessons for Sustainable Development: Marine Mammal Conservation Policies and Its Social and Economic Effects.

We are among the scientists who have documented the environmental and ecological changes to the Upper Gulf of California following the reduction in the Colorado River’s flow. We object to any suggestion that our research supports Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusion that the decline in the Colorado River’s flow is the reason for the decline in the population of the endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusions are incongruent with their own data, their logic is untenable, their analyses fail to consider current illegal fishing practices, and their recommendations are unjustified and misdirected. Vaquita face extinction because of bycatch, not because of the lack of river flow

Comment on Rojas-Bracho and Colleagues (2019): Unsubstantiated Claims Can Lead to Tragic Conservation Outcomes

The vaquita’s decline is a tragic story indeed. However, the lack of action to prevent the extinction of this species is not due to unsubstantiated claims and scientific uncertainty