19 research outputs found
True and intentionally fabricated memories
The aim of the experiment reported here was to investigate the processes underlying the construction of truthful and deliberately fabricated memories. Properties of memories created to be intentionally false - fabricated memories - were compared to properties of memories believed to be true - true memories. Participants recalled and then wrote or spoke true memories and fabricated memories of everyday events. It was found that true memories were reliably more vivid than fabricated memories and were nearly always recalled from a first person perspective. In contrast, fabricated differed from true memories in that they were judged to be reliably older, were more frequently recalled from a third person perspective, and linguistic analysis revealed that they required more cognitive effort to generate. No notable differences were found across modality of reporting. Finally, it was found that, intentionally fabricated memories were created by recalling and then âeditingâ true memories. Overall, these findings show that true and fabricated memories systematically differ, despite the fact that both are based on true memories
Size Doesn't Matter: Towards a More Inclusive Philosophy of Biology
notes: As the primary author, OâMalley drafted the paper, and gathered and analysed data (scientific papers and talks). Conceptual analysis was conducted by both authors.publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticlePhilosophers of biology, along with everyone else, generally perceive life to fall into two broad categories, the microbes and macrobes, and then pay most of their attention to the latter. âMacrobeâ is the word we propose for larger life forms, and we use it as part of an argument for microbial equality. We suggest that taking more notice of microbes â the dominant life form on the planet, both now and throughout evolutionary history â will transform some of the philosophy of biologyâs standard ideas on ontology, evolution, taxonomy and biodiversity. We set out a number of recent developments in microbiology â including biofilm formation, chemotaxis, quorum sensing and gene transfer â that highlight microbial capacities for cooperation and communication and break down conventional thinking that microbes are solely or primarily single-celled organisms. These insights also bring new perspectives to the levels of selection debate, as well as to discussions of the evolution and nature of multicellularity, and to neo-Darwinian understandings of evolutionary mechanisms. We show how these revisions lead to further complications for microbial classification and the philosophies of systematics and biodiversity. Incorporating microbial insights into the philosophy of biology will challenge many of its assumptions, but also give greater scope and depth to its investigations
Species richness â Energy relationships and dung beetle diversity across an aridity and trophic resource gradient
Understanding factors that drive species richness and turnover across ecological gradients is important
for insect conservation planning. To this end, we studied species richness e energy relationships and
regional versus local factors that influence dung beetle diversity in game reserves along an aridity and
trophic resource gradient in the Botswana Kalahari. Dung beetle species richness, alpha diversity, and
abundance declined with increasing aridity from northeast to southwest and differed significantly between
dung types (pig, elephant, cattle, sheep) and carrion (chicken livers). Patterns of between-study
area species richness on ruminant dung (cattle, sheep) differed to other bait types. Patterns of species
richness between bait types in two southwest study areas differed from those in four areas to the
northeast. Regional species turnover between study areas was higher than local turnover between bait
types. Patterns of southwest to northeast species loss showed greater consistency than northeast to
southwest losses from larger assemblages. Towards the southwest, similarity to northeast assemblages
declined steeply as beta diversity increased. High beta diversity and low similarity at gradsect extremes
resulted from two groups of species assemblages showing either northeast or southwest biogeographical
centres. The findings are consistent with the energy hypothesis that indicates insect species richness in
lower latitudes is indirectly limited by declining water variables, which drive reduced food resources
(lower energy availability) represented, here, by restriction of large mammals dropping large dung types
to the northeast and dominance of pellet dropping mammals in the arid southwest Kalahari. The influence
of theoretical causal mechanisms is discussed.The GEF-Small Grant Programme and the University of Pretoriahttp:// www.elsevier.com/locate/actoechb2013ab201