Measuring the speed of the conscious components of recognition memory: Remembering is faster than knowing.

Three experiments investigated response times (RTs) for remember and know responses in recognition memory. RTs to remember responses were faster than RTs to know responses, regardless of whether the remember–know decision was preceded by an old/new decision (two-step procedure) or was made without a preceding old/new decision (one-step procedure). The finding of faster RTs for R responses was also found when remember–know decisions were made retrospectively. These findings are inconsistent with dual-process models of recognition memory, which predict that recollection is slower and more effortful than familiarity. Word frequency did not influence RTs, but remember responses were faster for words than for nonwords. We argue that the difference in RTs to remember and know responses reflects the time taken to make old/new decisions on the basis of the type of information activated at test

Transformation of Air Quality Monitor Data from the International Space Station into Toxicological Effect Groups

The primary reason for monitoring air quality aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is to determine whether air pollutants have collectively reached a concentration where the crew could experience adverse health effects. These effects could be near-real-time (e.g. headache, respiratory irritation) or occur late in the mission or even years later (e.g. cancer, liver toxicity). Secondary purposes for monitoring include discovery that a potentially harmful compound has leaked into the atmosphere or that air revitalization system performance has diminished. Typical ISS atmospheric trace pollutants consist of alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic compounds, halo-carbons, siloxanes, and silanols. Rarely, sulfur-containing compounds and alkanes are found at trace levels. Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs) have been set in cooperation with a subcommittee of the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology. For each compound and time of exposure, the limiting adverse effect(s) has been identified. By factoring the analytical data from the Air Quality Monitor (AQM), which is in use as a prototype instrument aboard the ISS, through the array of compounds and SMACs, the risk of 16 specific adverse effects can be estimated. Within each adverse-effect group, we have used an additive model proportioned to each applicable 180-day SMAC to estimate risk. In the recent past this conversion has been performed using archival data, which can be delayed for months after an air sample is taken because it must be returned to earth for analysis. But with the AQM gathering in situ data each week, NASA is in a position to follow toxic-effect groups and correlate these with any reported crew symptoms. The AQM data are supplemented with data from real-time CO2 instruments aboard the ISS and from archival measurements of formaldehyde, which the AQM cannot detect

Pharmacists' roles in assisted reproductive technology

Background: The global issue of infertility has prompted an increased reliance on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) for conception. In Australia, patients have previously accessed ART medications through specialist clinics, however recently due to modifications in ART medication subsidisation, community pharmacists now dispense and counsel patients on ART medications. Patients residing in rural and remote locations face challenges in accessing fertility clinics, which are primarily located in metropolitan and large regional cities. Objective: To investigate the perceived role, experience, confidence, and training requirements that pharmacists have in relation to providing ART medications and counselling to patients. Methods: Purposive sampling related to location of practice, pharmacist experience with ART and self-classification as an ART specialist was used to recruit 19 Australian pharmacists from rural, remote, large regional, and metropolitan areas, who participated in semi-structured interviews based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Interview transcriptions were transcribed, imported into NVivo, analysed using thematic analysis and mapped to CFIR domains and constructs. Results: Of the nineteen pharmacists interviewed, six were from rural and remote areas and thirteen were from metropolitan or large regional areas. Eight participants perceived themselves as specialist pharmacists in ART, all of which were in metropolitan or large regional locations. Three CFIR domains were identified as relevant for this study, which were further developed, with data mapped to eleven constructs under those domains. Emergent themes were identified that contributed to the pharmacist role including patient needs, external policies, fertility clinics, pharmacist experience and training, procuring ART, and the personal attributes of participants. Some constructs and themes differed between participants dependent on self-reported specialisation status and geographical location (e.g., self-efficacy), whereas others were consistent (e.g., knowledge and belief about the intervention). Pharmacists considered their role not to be limited to the supply and counselling of medication, but to also involve a support role for patients undergoing an emotionally difficult and sensitive journey, without guaranteed success. Conclusion: This study reveals the diverse role of Australian pharmacists in ART, influenced by location, experience, and confidence. Pharmacists have an important role to play in reducing barriers to ART access by offering fertility education, addressing concerns, providing medications and counselling, and monitoring patient well-being, improving outcomes for this cohort of patients particularly in rural and remote areas

A comparative analysis of the role of traditional and modern community-based organizations in promoting community development in Ogoniland, Nigeria

Given the failure of top-down initiatives to bring about community development (CD) in many developing countries, attention is switching to bottom-up approaches, one of which is to use community-based organizations (CBOs) as the conduit through which CD may be achieved. This paper compares the effectiveness of traditional CBOs and modern CBOs in fostering CD in eight communities in Ogoniland, Nigeria, where there is a long history of neglect and underdevelopment. The paper was based on extensive fieldwork carried out in eight Ogoni communities during 2013–2014, which involved 101 telephone interviews with residents, 67 face-to-face key informant interviews, 189 survey questionnaires, and 3 focus groups discussions. The two main conclusions reached by this paper are that despite some praise expressed by respondents for their CBOs, the fashionable belief that CBOs are strong agents of bottom-up CD is not borne out by this study; and there is little difference between respondents’ evaluations of the contributions to CD made by modern CBOs and the much vaunted traditional CBOs

Two concepts of community in the Niger Delta: Social sense of communality, and a geographical sense of place. Are they compatible?

Purpose This paper aims to understand what two apparently contrasting concepts of communality and place attachment say about the quality of community life in the Niger Delta. Design/methodology/approach The research for this paper relied on extensive qualitative and quantitative data: qualitative data were collected from five oil-rich and three oil-poor communities across Ogoniland, while quantitative data were collected from four of these communities. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data, while the quantitative data were analysed through Excel. Findings Most participants from both oil-rich and oil-poor communities strongly reject a social sense of communality and strongly endorse a geographical sense of place. Practical implications The wider implication of this finding is that proponents of community development (CD) have a choice between either the cynical option of noting that Ogoni’s strong sense of place means that they will tolerate limited CD, or the noble option of noting that Ogoni’s strong sense of place is a solid foundation on which to build sustainable CD by empowering citizens to create their own future. Originality/value The originality of this study is twofold. First, it shows the complexity of people’s sense of community encompassing widely different and possibly contradictory elements. Second, it reveals the strength and persistence of people’s attachment to place despite its physical shortcomings

Consumptive versus non-consumptive use of sea turtles? Stakeholder perceptions about sustainable use in three communities near Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica

The decline in populations of sea turtles has heightened controversy between two contrasting strategies for their sustainable management: consumptive use versus non-consumptive use. This study investigates perceptions held by individuals in three communities bordering a marine protected area in Costa Rica about consumptive and non-consumptive use of sea turtles on nesting beaches to determine how best to achieve sustainable management of the species. Face-to-face interviews (n=48 community members and n=8 key informants) were conducted in three communities (Cahuita Town, Hone Creek, and Playa Negra) during April and May 2009. The research found that in each community, residents' perceptions about consumptive and non-consumptive use were divided into four categories: norm-activated pro- and anti-environmentalism; and rationally self-interested pro- and anti-environmentalism. Given this perceptual diversity, it seems clear that no single management strategy would work successfully across all three communities, but that customised management measures were required to manage sea turtle populations in each area. The wider implication of this study is that there is no simple panacea for dealing with declining populations of sea turtles: each situation is sui generis, requiring measures tailored exclusively to its particular circumstances

Mapping inshore fisheries: comparing observed and perceived distributions of pot fishing activity in Northumberland

PublishedJournal ArticleMarine spatial planning (MSP) is increasingly promoted as part of an ecosystem-based approach to marine resource management. Impacts of MSP may be particularly great in inshore fisheries, yet despite their vulnerability, assessing potential impacts of spatial measures on inshore fisheries is limited by data scarcity, and the comparability of patterns of fishing activity produced by different data sources is poorly understood. This study contributes to the debate around information needs for MSP by describing the distribution of lobster potting activity at four ports in Northumberland, UK, using two sources of spatial data: observed fishing vessel sightings by patrol vessels and perceived fishing activity elicited through interviews with local fishers. The comparability of the distributions of potting activity mapped by the two datasets was explored using Mantel tests and overlap of fishing hotspots identified. Fishing activity at all ports tended towards an aggregated or patchy distribution, with hotspots located in inshore areas in close proximity to vessels[U+05F3] home ports. The two datasets were correlated at each port, though the strength of correlation varied among ports, being greater in ports with more highly aggregated fishing activity. Results suggest that vessel sightings are likely to better represent variable intensity of fishing activity, while interview data may more accurately capture the absolute extent of grounds important to fishers. This study highlights some of the merits and limitations of two available data sources currently used to inform fisheries management and marine conservation planning, and outlines an approach to assessing the consistency of datasets in describing the spatial distribution of activity. Given the limitations of individual datasets, we recommend triangulation of available data to inform MSP, alongside qualitative data on fishers' behaviour

Seychelles, a vulnerable or resilient sids? A local perspective

This article analyses perceptions of residents of the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean in relation to a long-running debate over small island developing states (SIDS) as to whether they are vulnerable or resilient. The results of data obtained from 25 key informant interviews and 70 household surveys conducted in 2013 showed that respondents perceived their country to be both vulnerable and resilient. Moreover, the data revealed that the relationship between vulnerability and resilience was complex, and that five interpretations of that relationship were evident: conflict, compromise, complementarity, symbiosis and transformation. Also, the conceptual distance between the two terms vulnerability and resilience was shown to be closer than may be commonly assumed. Finally, the paper questions whether the debate over vulnerability versus resilience is rightly confined to SIDS or could be equally applied to other states

Morphometric characters and condition factors of five freshwater fishes from Pagla river of Bangladesh

The research was aimed to carry out the length-length relationships, length-weight relationship and condition factor of five freshwater small indigenous fish species i.e. Amblypharyngodon mola, Puntius ticto, Cirrhinus reba, Chanda nama and Aspidoparia morar from the Pagla river Bangladesh. The relationships equations among different body length parameters of each species were found highly significant. The length-weight relationship equation were found as TW=0.0351 TL2.86 for A. mola, TW = 0.0104 TL3.10 for P. ticto, TW = 0.0261 TL2.96 for C. reba, TW = 0.0175 TL2.845 for C. nama TW= 0.0101 TL3.05 for A. morar. The "b" values ranged from 2.845-3.10 which remained on the expected range of optimum growth