Spatial Tools for Integrated and Inclusive Landscape Governance: Toward a New Research Agenda

Participatory spatial tools—community mapping, PGIS, and others—find increasing resonance among research and non-governmental organizations to make stakeholder claims and community perspectives explicit for more inclusive landscape governance. In this paper, we situate the use of participatory spatial tools in debates on integrated landscape approaches and inclusive development. We show that using such spatial tools is not new but argue that their application for inclusive landscape governance requires a new research agenda that focuses on expanding the scope of application of the tools, improving the inclusivity of the processes, and developing new technologies

Peer victimization in Dutch school classes of four- to five-year-olds: Contributing factors at the school level

This research was designed to examine how factors within young children's environment (e.g., school factors, neighborhood) contribute to explaining peer victimization. The sample comprised 2,003 children (between 4 and 5 years of age) from 98 classrooms in 23 elementary schools in the Netherlands. Teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire on exposure to victimization for each child. Multilevel analyses revealed that gender and social climate of the school were directly related to victimization. Furthermore, results indicated that peer victimization in boys was less prevalent when they attended smaller schools. In low-SES neighborhoods victimization scores were significantly lower when schools had implemented clear antibullying policies. Finally, variation among school classes appeared to be strongly associated with victimization, even more so than variation among schools. These findings support broadening the focus beyond the individual child at risk. © 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved

Encuesta sobre la conservación y el uso de los recursos genéticos forestales en América Latina

Con el fin de conocer el estado de conservación y uso de los recursos genéticos forestales en América Latina, se realizó en 2006 una encuesta en línea entre personas vinculadas a instituciones de sector forestal. La mayoría de los encuestados trabaja en forestería, agroforestería y capacitación de recurso humano, en instituciones nacionales, del estado y universidades. La investigación es local y se enfoca en el desarrollo de sistemas agroforestales, y ensayos de producción y propagación de especies. La falta de recursos financieros, la ausencia de políticas y el no reconocimiento de la importancia de los recursos genéticos forestales fueron los principales problemas identificados. Según los encuestados, es necesario priorizar áreas de trabajo y especies de interés común para los países, y trabajar colaborativamente para optimizar los esfuerzos. También hacen falta medios para obtener información y para comunicarse entre pares, por lo cual sugieren crear una red regional de especialistas

Effectiveness of two web-based cognitive bias modification interventions targeting approach and attentional bias in gambling problems:Study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Disordered gamblers have phenotypical and pathological similarities to those with substance use disorders (SUD), including exaggerated automatic cognitive processing of motivationally salient gambling cues in the environment (i.e., attentional and approach bias). Cognitive bias modification (CBM) is a family of computerised interventions that have proved effective in successfully re-training these automatic cognitive biases in SUD. CBM interventions can, in principle, be administered online, thus showing potential of being a low-cost, low-threshold addition to conventional treatments. This paper presents the design of a pilot randomised controlled trial exploring the effectiveness of two web-based CBM interventions targeting attentional and approach bias towards gambling cues in a sample of Dutch and Belgian problematic and pathological gamblers. METHODS/DESIGN: Participants (N = 182) are community-recruited adults experiencing gambling problems, who have gambled at least twice in the past 6 months and are motivated to change their gambling behaviour. After a baseline assessment session, participants are randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions (attentional or approach bias training, or the placebo version of the two trainings) and complete six sessions of training. At baseline and before each training session, participants receive automated personalised feedback on their gambling motives and reasons to quit or reduce gambling. The post-intervention, 1-month, and 3-month follow-up assessments will examine changes in gambling behaviour, with frequency and expenditure as primary outcomes, and depressive symptoms and gambling-related attentional and approach biases as secondary outcomes. Secondary analyses will explore possible moderators (interference control capacity and trait impulsivity) and mediators (change in cognitive bias) of training effects on the primary outcomes. DISCUSSION: This study is the first to explore the effectiveness of an online CBM intervention for gambling problems. The results of this study can be extremely valuable for developing e-health interventions for gambling problems and further understanding the role of motivational implicit cognitive processes underlying problematic gambling behaviour. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register, NTR5096 . Registered on 11 March 2015

Satisfying basic psychological needs among people with complex support needs:A self-determination theory-guided analysis of primary relatives' perspectives

Background: The fulfilment of basic psychological needs (BPNs) is seen as an integral part of human self-determination, subjective wellbeing, and overall quality of life. However, the meaning of these psychological constructs for individuals with the most extensive support needs remains elusive. Methods: Primary relatives of nine people diagnosed with severe or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities were interviewed about their perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness regarding their family member with complex care needs, and about the ways in which they tried to support their family member in fulfilling specific BPNs. The interview analysis followed a grounded theory with the sensitizing concepts approach. Results: The relatives assigned important meaning to the BPNs, providing insights into their subtle nature, their implicit drivers, and how they were experienced. The relatives also identified serious challenges in detecting, clarifying, and creating opportunities for BPNs. Conclusions: The themes in the relatives’ perspectives can be summarized into a conceptual framework that may contribute to better mutual understanding between people with complex care needs, their relatives, and healthcare providers

The tumor-associated antigen RHAMM (HMMR/CD168) is expressed by monocyte-derived dendritic cells and presented to T cells

We formerly demonstrated that vaccination with Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1)-loaded autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells (mo-DCs) can be a well-tolerated effective treatment in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Here, we investigated whether we could introduce the receptor for hyaluronic acid-mediated motility (RHAMM/HMMR/CD168), another clinically relevant tumor-associated antigen, into these mo-DCs through mRNA electroporation and elicit RHAMM-specific immune responses. While RHAMM mRNA electroporation significantly increased RHAMM protein expression by mo-DCs, our data indicate that classical mo-DCs already express and present RHAMM at sufficient levels to activate RHAMM-specific T cells, regardless of electroporation. Moreover, we found that RHAMM-specific T cells are present at vaccination sites in AML patients. Our findings implicate that we and others who are using classical mo-DCs for cancer immunotherapy are already vaccinating against RHAMM