Key drivers of burnout across high-stress industries: an analysis of the startup sector in Germany

Burnout is a critical issue affecting individual well-being, organizational performance, and public health. This thesis aims to give an overview about the development of job-related burnout, the burnout key drivers and the current state in German startups. A quantitative study of 138 professionals (investment banking, consulting, and startups) using the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) is conducted to understand the burnout dynamics in these three industries. One finding is that there is no significant evidence that remote work shows a negative impact on burnout. Another one is that in German startups, burnout risk is influenced by high workload, stress frequency and conflicts between individual and organizational values, resulting from the often value-driven work environment. The findings emphasize the need for targeted investments and strategic initiatives based on data-driven tools to enhance employee well-being and develop effective burnout prevention systems in this high-stress industry

TURKISH STUDENTS' SPIRITUALITY TODAY

Spirituality is a universal phenomenon; however, its conceptualization can differ from one culture to another. The meaning of the concept has been changing since the last couple of decades. Even though it has been previously regarded as a religious concept in terms of institutional organized religion, its meaning has altered over time initially towards personal spirituality based on religion, and then, towards spirituality totally untethered from religion in which popular interest is growing. This shift in its meaning attracted the attention of researchers, and therefore, it has become a topic of concern in academia. Nevertheless, the majority of studies have mainly been conducted in western countries with largely Christian populations. On the other hand, the research in other parts of the world is relatively scarce. Turkey is a country that forms a bridge between the West and the East, and historically has a religious culture, with a Muslim majority population. It has begun embracing western values along with the process of secularisation since the beginning of the last century. This westernizing trend has become even more evident in the so-called global era. Therefore, the objective of this investigation is to explore the contemporary perceptions of spirituality in a Turkish context. Moreover, it aims to examine whether the popular perceptions of spirituality that emerged in the western world exist in Turkey. Accordingly, qualitative interviews have been conducted with undergraduate and postgraduate university students from the departments of Psychology and Theology in Turkey. Consequently, it is found that the understandings of the term among the participants are similar to contemporary definitions of spirituality in the West. Correspondingly, it is argued that the western European conceptualisations of the term might be applicable with some qualifications in the Turkish context since there is not a substantial difference between the perceptions of spirituality in the West and Turkey

Modeling macroalgal forest distribution at Mediterranean scale : present status, drivers of changes and insights for conservation and management

Macroalgal forests are one of the most productive and valuable marine ecosystems, but yet strongly exposed to fragmentation and loss. Detailed large-scale information on their distribution is largely lacking, hindering conservation initiatives. In this study, a systematic effort to combine spatial data on Cystoseira C. Agardh canopies (Fucales, Phaeophyta) was carried out to develop a Habitat Suitability Model (HSM) at Mediterranean scale, providing critical tools to improve site prioritization for their management, restoration and protection. A georeferenced database on the occurrence of 20 Cystoseira species was produced collecting all the available information from published and grey literature, web data portals and co-authors personal data. Data were associated to 55 predictor variable layers in the (ASCII) raster format and were used in order to develop the HSM by means of a Random Forest, a very effective Machine Learning technique. Knowledge about the distribution of Cystoseira canopies was available for about the 14% of the Mediterranean coastline. Absence data were available only for the 2% of the basin. Despite these gaps, our HSM showed high accuracy levels in reproducing Cystoseira distribution so that the first continuous maps of the habitat across the entire basin was produced. Misclassification errors mainly occurred in the eastern and southern part of the basin, where large gaps of knowledge emerged. The most relevant drivers were the geomorphological ones, followed by anthropogenic variables proxies of pollution and urbanization. Our model shows the importance of data sharing to combine a large number of spatial and environmental data, allowing to individuate areas with high probability of Cystoseira occurrence as suitable for its presence. This approach encourages the use of this modeling tool for the prediction of Cystoseira distribution and for supporting and planning conservation and management initiatives. The step forward is to refine the spatial information of presence-absence data about Cystoseira canopies and of environmental predictors in order to address species-specific assessments.peer-reviewe

Gizli Yara: Ahlaki Yaralanma

Ahlaki yaralanma (AY) belki insanlık tarihinin başlangıcından bu yana tecrübe edilen ancak bilimsel tarih bakımından çok yakın bir zamanda ortaya çıkan ve üzerinde yürütülen araştırmaların sayısının sınırlı olduğu ve ağırlıkla Batı kaynaklı çalışılan bir olgudur. Potansiyel ahlaki yaralayıcı olaylara, eylemlere ve tecrübelere (PAYO) maruz kalma sonucunda suçluluk, utanç, ihanet gibi semptomlarla ortaya çıkan davranışsal, duygusal, psikolojik, sosyal, ahlaki, varoluşsal, manevi ve dinî boyutları olan bir yapısı vardır. Travma sonrası stres bozukluğu (TSSB) ile ortak ve ayrıştıkları noktaları bulunmakla birlikte ondan farklı olan AY’nın henüz yerleşik bir tanısı yoktur. AY’nın yaygın olarak tecrübe edilebildiği alanlar ilk olarak tespit edildiği askerî kurumlardır. Askerî personelin yanı sıra doktorlar ve hemşireler gibi sağlık çalışanları, tıp öğrencileri, hâkimler, savcılar ve avukatlar gibi adli personel, itfaiye çalışanları gibi acil müdahale görevlileri, polisler, mülteciler, sığınmacılar, gazeteciler ve haberciler arasında da AY söz konusu olabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden literatür taraması ile AY olgusu hakkında derinlemesine bilgi verilmesi amaçlanmakta ve bundan sonra konu üzerine yürütülecek araştırmalar için birtakım önerilerde bulunulmaktadır

Improving knowledge of Funiculina quadrangularis and vulnerable marine ecosystems in the south Adriatic

The Adriatic Sea is one of the most exploited areas in the Mediterranean; however, a large part of the South Adriatic Sea remains largely unexplored. Unfortunately, direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts are increasing exponentially, causing a loss of flagship species and threatening ecosystem functioning. This has led to several international conventions demanding better protection and management of sensitive species and areas worldwide. Soft mud facies bearing the sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis are indicators of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). This study aimed a) to contribute to the knowledge on the distributions of F. quadrangularis and VMEs, and b) to assess the main threats, thus enabling better identification of areas that need protection and ecosystem base management. The results show that F. quadrangularis are distributed from 160 m to 400 m depth, with the highest population density of 0.83 colony/m(2) reported in the Adriatic Sea at a 162 m depth. However, using video ground truthing, we registered stresses on deep-sea habitats originating from fishery and marine litter. Further research is needed to ascertain other potentially vulnerable areas. Moreover, international discussion is needed to determine future steps for the protection and sustainable use of resources beyond national jurisdictions

Advancing marine conservation in European and contiguous seas with the MarCons Action

Cumulative human impacts have led to the degradation of marine ecosystems and the decline of biodiversity in the European and contiguous seas. Effective conservation measures are urgently needed to reverse these trends. Conservation must entail societal choices, underpinned by human values and worldviews that differ between the countries bordering these seas. Social, economic and political heterogeneity adds to the challenge of balancing conservation with sustainable use of the seas. Comprehensive macro-regional coordination is needed to ensure effective conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity of this region. Under the European Union Horizon 2020 framework programme, the MarCons COST action aims to promote collaborative research to support marine management, conservation planning and policy development. This will be achieved by developing novel methods and tools to close knowledge gaps and advance marine conservation science. This action will provide support for the development of macro-regional and national policies through six key actions: to develop tools to analyse cumulative human impacts; to identify critical scientific and technical gaps in conservation efforts; to improve the resilience of the marine environment to global change and biological invasions; to develop frameworks for integrated conservation planning across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments; to coordinate marine conservation policy across national boundaries; and to identify effective governance approaches for marine protected area management. Achieving the objectives of these actions will facilitate the integration of marine conservation policy into macro-regional maritime spatial planning agendas for the European and contiguous seas, thereby offsetting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in this region

New deep-water cnidarian sites in the southern Adriatic Sea

Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic Sea (Apulian and Montenegrin margins) resulted in the discovery of cnidarian-rich deep-sea habitats in the depth range of ca. 400-700 m. In particular, ROV inspection of Montenegrin canyons reveals the existence of megabenthic communities dominated by a variety of cnidarians, including scleractinians (Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Dendrophyllia cornigera),antipatharians (Leiopathes glaberrima) and gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata) as major habitat forming taxa, often in association with sponges and, subordinately, serpulids. All such cnidarians are new records for the south-eastern side of the Adriatic Sea. Our investigation indicates that an almost continuous belt of patchy cold water coral sites occurs along the entire south-western margin (Apulian),basically connecting the Adriatic populations with those inhabiting the Ionian margin (Santa Maria di Leuca coral province)

Management priorities for marine invasive species

Managing invasive alien species is particularly challenging in the ocean mainly because marine ecosystems are highly connected across broad spatial scales. Eradication of marine invasive species has only been achieved when species were detected early, and management responded rapidly. Generalized approaches, transferable across marine regions, for prioritizing actions to control invasive populations are currently lacking. Here, expert knowledge was elicited to prioritize 11 management actions for controlling 12 model species, distinguished by differences in dispersion capacity, distribution in the area to be managed, and taxonomic identity. Each action was assessed using five criteria (effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, impacts on native communities, and cost), which were combined in an ‘applicability’ metric. Raising public awareness and encouraging the commercial use of invasive species were highly prioritized, whereas biological control actions were considered the least applicable. Our findings can guide rapid decision-making on prioritizing management options for the control of invasive species especially at early stages of invasion, when reducing managers' response time is critical

Tracking a mass mortality outbreak of pen shell Pinna nobilis populations: A collaborative effort of scientists and citizens

A mass mortality event is devastating the populations of the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis in the Mediterranean Sea from early autumn 2016. A newly described Haplosporidian endoparasite (Haplosporidium pinnae) is the most probable cause of this ecological catastrophe placing one of the largest bivalves of the world on the brink of extinction. As a pivotal step towards Pinna nobilis conservation, this contribution combines scientists and citizens' data to address the fast- and vast-dispersion and prevalence outbreaks of the pathogen. Therefore, the potential role of currents on parasite expansion was addressed by means of drift simulations of virtual particles in a high-resolution regional currents model. A generalized additive model was implemented to test if environmental factors could modulate the infection of Pinna nobilis populations. The results strongly suggest that the parasite has probably dispersed regionally by surface currents, and that the disease expression seems to be closely related to temperatures above 13.5 degrees C and to a salinity range between 36.5-39.7 psu. The most likely spread of the disease along the Mediterranean basin associated with scattered survival spots and very few survivors (potentially resistant individuals), point to a challenging scenario for conservation of the emblematic Pinna nobilis, which will require fast and strategic management measures and should make use of the essential role citizen science projects can play

Photoacclimation strategies in northeastern Atlantic seagrasses: Integrating responses across plant organizational levels

Seagrasses live in highly variable light environments and adjust to these variations by expressing acclimatory responses at different plant organizational levels (meadow, shoot, leaf and chloroplast level). Yet, comparative studies, to identify species' strategies, and integration of the relative importance of photoacclimatory adjustments at different levels are still missing. The variation in photoacclimatory responses at the chloroplast and leaf level were studied along individual leaves of Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera marina and Z. noltei, including measurements of variable chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis, photoprotective capacities, non-photochemical quenching and D1-protein repair, and assessments of variation in leaf anatomy and chloroplast distribution. Our results show that the slower-growing C. nodosa expressed rather limited physiological and biochemical adjustments in response to light availability, while both species of faster-growing Zostera showed high variability along the leaves. In contrast, the inverse pattern was found for leaf anatomical adjustments in response to light availability, which were more pronounced in C. nodosa. This integrative plant organizational level approach shows that seagrasses differ in their photoacclimatory strategies and that these are linked to the species' life history strategies, information that will be critical for predicting the responses of seagrasses to disturbances and to accordingly develop adequate management strategies.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal [PTDC/MAR-EST/4257/2014