EVIDENCE OF COMMUNAL OVIPOSITION AND NEST ABANDONMENT IN THE NORTHERN TWO-LINED SALAMANDER (EURYCEA BISLINEATA, (GREEN, 1818)) IN NORTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT

Most plethodontid salamanders oviposit their eggs in an individual nest and attend the clutch until hatching. Here, we describe aspects of the reproduction of Eurycea bislineata (Northern Two-lined Salamander) from three field sites in northeastern Connecticut that contrast with the typical plethodontid reproductive behavior. Rocks used as oviposition sites contained up to 296 eggs, with an average of more than 100. These numbers exceed the maximum ovarian egg counts for this species, indicating that communal oviposition is common. The lack of correlation between rock size and number of eggs, as well as the lack of discrete clutches when eggs are laid in large clusters, suggests that communal oviposition may be caused by something other than nest site limitation. Additionally, the rate of maternal attendance at nests was low. Thus, communal oviposition with high rates of nest abandonment is the dominant reproductive strategy in E. bislineata at these sites

Facilitating professional engagement with planning research

The context for this project is the limited connectivity between applied planning research and professional planning practice. The planning profession, by its very nature, is continually developing plans, policies and strategies to guide place-based management and development. An assumption guiding the research is that sound evidence is useful if not essential to inform good planning practice. This assumption does not hold for all planning practice - statutory planning and other policy implementation activities are, for example, largely informed by existing policy frameworks. However, in most strategic planning or policy development contexts (including statutory reform), an argument for the relevance of an evidence base can be made. While not all research aims to directly inform practice – such as research of a conceptual or theoretical nature – there is a significant amount of applied urban research produced that has discernible implications for policy and practice. Unfortunately, much of the research base that could inform and improve professional planning practice is difficult to access. There are also other barriers to knowledge exchange, including limited professional engagement with research outputs; and limited or poorly tailored research outputs for a professional audience. This project aims to provide recommendations on how to better connect Australian urban planning practice to the evidence base within urban planning research outputs. To do so the project explores barriers to, and opportunities for, better connecting professional planning practice with applied planning research

A Naturalistic Study of Narrative: Exploring the Choice and Impact of Adversity Versus Other Narrative Topics

Objective: Many narrative interventions require participants to write about trauma and adverse experiences, but some research suggests that open-ended topic prompts can also be effective. In this study, we investigated the topics participants chose to write about in a values-narrative program that offered wide discretion in topic and theme, and explored how that was associated with perceptions of investment and impact. Method: Participants were 717 individuals (68% women) from the rural South, United States who had participated in a values-narrative program. Results: Almost half of the narratives (44%) focused on an adverse experience as part of the development of their personal values. Other personal stories were also common (37%), and only 19% wrote a narrative not connected to a personal life experience. Participants who had more exposure to family or peer victimization were more likely to write about adversity. Participants who wrote about adversity and shared their narratives with others reported more positive and fewer negative impacts. Encouragement and more time writing were also associated with better outcomes. Conclusion: When given the choice of essay topic, participants who chose to write about an adverse event were likely to have had a more meaningful writing experience. Values narratives offer a potentially important opportunity for incorporating narrative into primary prevention programs, because they can be used with groups that include individuals who have and have not experienced adversity. Narratives have been shown to be a powerful psychological intervention and expanding to primary prevention holds considerable promise. Further, they do not require prior disclosure of adversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Incivility in the Workplace: The Experiences of Female Sport Management Faculty in Higher Education

Access to higher education for women has dramatically increased in the United States during the past 50 years. Female college graduates have reversed the figures and gone from being outnumbered by their male counterparts 3 to 2 in the 1970s, to now outnumbering male college graduates 3 to 2. Women also graduate from masters and doctoral programs at a higher rate than men. However, increases in the number of women obtaining college and advanced degrees has not translated to comparable representation in faculty positions or leadership roles in higher education. This lack of women in leadership positions, as well as perceived discrimination against female faculty, may be even more of a concern in sport management programs. Sport is considered a male domain, and women are often seen as intruders in this realm. The purpose of this study was to examine the manifestation of incivility from colleagues and superiors experienced within a sample of female sport management faculty members utilizing social identity theory as a guiding framework. Incivility was conceptualized for the current study as deviant behavior that is not necessarily intended to physically harm the target (e.g., belittling others, showing disdain to someone while they are talking, engaging in outside tasks during meetings)

Understanding and controlling the ingress of driven rain through exposed, solid wall masonry structures

Long term performance of historic buildings can be affected by many environmental factors, some of which become more apparent as the competence of the fabric deteriorates. Many tall historic buildings suffer from water ingress when exposed to driving rain conditions, particularly church towers in the south west of England. It is important to recognise that leakage can occur not only through flaws in the roof of a building but also through significant thicknesses of solid masonry. Identification of the most appropriate intervention requires an understanding of the way in which water might enter the structure and the assessment of potential repair options. While the full work schedule used an integrated assessment involving laboratory, field and archival work to assess the repairs which might be undertaken on these solid wall structures, this paper focuses on the laboratory work done to inform the writing of a Technical Advice Note on the effects of wind driven rain and moisture movement in historic structures (English Heritage, 2012). The laboratory work showed that grouting and rendering was effective at reducing water penetration without retarding drying rates, but that use of internal plastering also had a very beneficial effect

Socioeconomic Factors and Illicit Drug Demand

How do we help to control the social dilemmas that are results of drug abuse? By investigating and better understanding the relationship between drug demand and socioeconomic status, much can be done to improve illicit drug control and regulation. This paper examines the relationship between socioeconomic status and demand for illicit drugs

Decrease in health-related quality of life associated with awareness of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in Scotland

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can significantly reduce health-related quality of life (QoL), but it is not clear if reduction is associated with the infection or with being aware of one's infection status. Understanding the impact of a HCV diagnosis on QoL is essential to inform decision-making regarding screening/testing and treatment. Using a cross-sectional design, we assessed QoL in 2898 people who inject drugs (PWID), surveyed in Scotland during 2010 using EQ-5D. Multifactorial regression compared self-reported QoL between PWID who were (i) chronically HCV-infected and aware of their infected status, (ii) chronically HCV-infected but unaware, and (iii) not chronically infected. Median time since onset of injecting was 10years; not chronically infected PWID were younger and had shorter injecting careers than chronically infected PWID. Median EQ-5D was highest for the not chronically infected and the chronic/unaware groups (0.73) compared with the chronic/aware group (0.66). After adjustment for demographic and behavioural co-factors, QoL was significantly reduced in chronic/aware compared with chronic/unaware PWID (adjusted B=-0.09, p=0.005); there was no evidence for a difference in QoL between not chronically infected and chronic/unaware PWID (adjusted B=-0.03, p=0.13). Awareness of one's chronic HCV status was associated with reduced health-related QoL, but there was no evidence for further reduction attributable to chronic infection itself after adjusting for important covariate differences