Rates of species introduction to a remote oceanic island

The introduction of species to areas beyond the limits of their natural distributions has a major homogenizing influence, making previously distinct biotas more similar. The scale of introductions has frequently been commented on, but their rate and spatial pervasiveness have been less well quantified. Here, we report the findings of a detailed study of pterygote insect introductions to Gough Island, one of the most remote and supposedly pristine temperate oceanic islands, and estimate the rate at which introduced species have successfully established. Out of 99 species recorded from Gough Island, 71 are established introductions, the highest proportion documented for any Southern Ocean island. Estimating a total of approximately 233 landings on Gough Island since first human landfall, this equates to one successful establishment for every three to four landings. Generalizations drawn from other areas suggest that this may be only one-tenth of the number of pterygote species that have arrived at the island, implying that most landings may lead to the arrival of at least one alien. These rates of introduction of new species are estimated to be two to three orders of magnitude greater than background levels for Gough Island, an increase comparable to that estimated for global species extinctions (many of which occur on islands) as a consequence of human activities

Barriers to healthcare and a ‘triple empathy problem’ may lead to adverse outcomes for autistic adults: A qualitative study

Autistic people experience more co-occurring health conditions and, on average, die younger than non-autistic people. Despite growing awareness of health inequities, autistic people still report barriers to accessing healthcare. We aimed to explore the experiences of autistic people accessing healthcare, shining a light on the complex interplay of relevant factors and to explain, at least in part, the possible reasons underling health disparities and adverse health outcomes. This is a qualitative study from an autistic research team. Data were collected from 1248 autistic adults as part of a large, mixed-methods, international survey exploring barriers to primary healthcare. This article reports the qualitative findings, following a thematic analysis. Using our exploratory findings, we then constructed a model to explain the reported experiences. Respondents reported a variety of barriers. Here, our article gives voice to their stories, in their own words. Themes included: early barriers; communication mismatch; doubt – in oneself and from doctors; helplessness and fear; and healthcare avoidance and serious adverse health outcomes. Our constructed model outlines a chronological journey through which healthcare access barriers may lead to adverse health outcomes. Our findings also build on the double empathy problem, situating this in a medical context, proposing a triple empathy problem

Photon rockets and gravitational radiation

The absence of gravitational radiation in Kinnersley's ``photon rocket'' solution of Einstein's equations is clarified by studying the mathematically well-defined problem of point-like photon rockets in Minkowski space (i.e. massive particles emitting null fluid anisotro\-pically and accelerating because of the recoil). We explicitly compute the (uniquely defined) {\it linearized} retarded gravitational waves emitted by such objects, which are the coherent superposition of the gravitational waves generated by the motion of the massive point-like rocket and of those generated by the energy-momentum distribution of the photon fluid. In the special case (corresponding to Kinnersley's solution) where the anisotropy of the photon emission is purely dipolar we find that the gravitational wave amplitude generated by the energy-momentum of the photons exactly cancels the usual $1/r$ gravitational wave amplitude generated by the accelerated motion of the rocket. More general photon anisotropies would, however, generate genuine gravitational radiation at infinity. Our explicit calculations show the compatibility between the non-radiative character of Kinnersley's solution and the currently used gravitational wave generation formalisms based on post-Minkowskian perturbation theory.Comment: 21 pages, LATEX, submitted to Class. Quant. Gra

What measurable zero point fluctuations can(not) tell us about dark energy

We show that laboratory experiments cannot measure the absolute value of dark energy. All known experiments rely on electromagnetic interactions. They are thus insensitive to particles and fields that interact only weakly with ordinary matter. In addition, Josephson junction experiments only measure differences in vacuum energy similar to Casimir force measurements. Gravity, however, couples to the absolute value. Finally we note that Casimir force measurements have tested zero point fluctuations up to energies of ~10 eV, well above the dark energy scale of ~0.01 eV. Hence, the proposed cut-off in the fluctuation spectrum is ruled out experimentally.Comment: 4 page

Afshar's Experiment does not show a Violation of Complementarity

A recent experiment performed by S. Afshar [first reported by M. Chown, New Scientist {\bf 183}, 30 (2004)] is analyzed. It was claimed that this experiment could be interpreted as a demonstration of a violation of the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics. Instead, it is shown here that it can be understood in terms of classical wave optics and the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics. Its performance is quantified and it is concluded that the experiment is suboptimal in the sense that it does not fully exhaust the limits imposed by quantum mechanics.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Negotiating the inhuman: Bakhtin, materiality and the instrumentalization of climate change

The article argues that the work of literary theorist Mikhail M. Bakhtin presents a starting point for thinking about the instrumentalization of climate change. Bakhtin’s conceptualization of human–world relationships, encapsulated in the concept of ‘cosmic terror’, places a strong focus on our perception of the ‘inhuman’. Suggesting a link between the perceived alienness and instability of the world and in the exploitation of the resulting fear of change by political and religious forces, Bakhtin asserts that the latter can only be resisted if our desire for a false stability in the world is overcome. The key to this overcoming of fear, for him, lies in recognizing and confronting the worldly relations of the human body. This consciousness represents the beginning of one’s ‘deautomatization’ from following established patterns of reactions to predicted or real changes. In the vein of several theorists and artists of his time who explored similar ‘deautomatization’ strategies – examples include Shklovsky’s ‘ostranenie’, Brecht’s ‘Verfremdung’, Artaud’s emotional ‘cruelty’ and Bataille’s ‘base materialism’ – Bakhtin proposes a more playful and widely accessible experimentation to deconstruct our ‘habitual picture of the world’. Experimentation is envisioned to take place across the material and the textual to increase possibilities for action. Through engaging with Bakhtin’s ideas, this article seeks to draw attention to relations between the imagination of the world and political agency, and the need to include these relations in our own experiments with creating climate change awareness

Impact of Scottish vocational qualifications on residential child care : have they fulfilled the promise?

This article will present findings from a doctoral study exploring the impact of 'SVQ Care: Promoting Independence (level III)' within children's homes. The study focuses on the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and their function within a 'learning society'. A total of 30 staff were selected from seven children's homes in two different local authority social work departments in Scotland. Each member of staff was interviewed on four separate occasions over a period of 9 months. Interviews were structured using a combination of repertory grids and questions. Particular focus was given to the assessment process, the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and the learning experiences of staff. The findings suggest that there are considerable deficiencies both in terms of the SVQ format and the way in which children's homes are structured for the assessment of competence. Rather than address the history of failure within residential care, it appears that SVQs have enabled the status quo to be maintained whilst creating an 'illusion' of change within a learning society

Biological survey of the Prince Edward Islands, December 2008

A biological survey of the Prince Edward Islands took place in December 2008. The survey repeated an earlier survey of the populations of surface-nesting seabirds on both islands and of fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.) and alien plants on Prince Edward Island in December 2001. Observations on burrowing seabirds, macro-invertebrates and plant communities on Prince Edward Island and an oceanographic survey of surrounding waters were also included. The survey confirmed many of the observations made on the earlier survey and permitted an assessment of trends in the abundance and distribution of biota since 2001