Wildlife tourism, science and actor network theory

Wildlife tourism is an important component of tourism worldwide. However, for many species little is known about the possible impacts from tourist-wildlife interactions. Previous research has identified barriers to such science being undertaken but this science-wildlife tourism interface remains poorly understood. Actor-network theory, with its attention to the actors and relationships that make science possible, was used to describe and analyze the development and decline of scientific research into the effects of tourism on wildlife in the Antarctic region. This study concludes that actor-network theory provides a robust description of the complex role and positioning of science in wildlife tourism, while at the same time suggesting that further attention to actors' relative power and scientists' normative beliefs are essential elements of analysis

Making postgraduate students and supervisors aware of the role of emotions in the PhD process

Emotions are an integral part of the PhD process. A range of emotions are common and to be expected. How do emotions affect the PhD process for both postgraduate students and their supervisors? How can we make our emotions work positively for us in the PhD process? To explore answers to these questions, three lecturers currently supervising postgraduates and three postgraduates at various stages in their doctoral studies collectively pooled their experiences. We developed an interactive workshop that was recently conducted for postgraduate students at Murdoch University and at the Australian Association for Social Research annual conference 2002. This presentation will explore the role that emotions play in the PhD process and how supervisors and postgraduates alike can benefit from reflecting on this issue. A number of practical (and humorous) tips will be provided as well as examples from others' PhD experiences. The role of emotions at the beginning, middle and end of a PhD program will be explored. The data collection and analysis phases are a time when emotions may run riot. Trepidation is especially common when fieldwork or data collection is involved, as is anger when postgraduate's views about how the world works are challenged and then sadness (and relief!) when the data collection phase is finished. We will discuss how supervisors can assist their postgraduates to make these feelings work for them. The presentation will also explore the emotions that arise from the supervisor-postgraduate partnership

Geotourism destinations - visitor impacts and site management considerations

Geotourism is becoming a well established form of tourism based on the geological environment. It offers a new form of sustainable tourism which is more holistic than previous niche forms of tourism. However, with more people than ever visiting natural areas worldwide, the cumulative impacts of visitors on geological sites is increasing. This paper surveys visitor impacts and site management at geological sites which are geotourism destinations. We describe geotourism which is the engine driving the core activities of conservation, education and sustainable development in geoparks. We then outline some lessons learned from management in dealing with visitor impacts at a heavily visited geopark in Taiwan, a volcano in Indonesia and a coastal World Heritage site in England. The importance of education is emphasized for geo-climbing in Spain and all-terrain vehicles in Poland. A number of site management approaches are noted, including the importance of guiding as a management strategy as well as the value of a positive involvement by the local community. Finally, some examples are given of the risks associated with tourism activities in volcanic areas as well as related appropriate management activities

A model based on clinical parameters to identify myocardial late gadolinium enhancement by magnetic resonance in patients with aortic stenosis: An observational study

Objective With increasing age, the prevalence of aortic stenosis grows exponentially, increasing left heart pressures and potentially leading to myocardial hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and adverse outcomes. To identify patients who are at greatest risk, an outpatient model for risk stratification would be of value to better direct patient imaging, frequency of monitoring and expeditious management of aortic stenosis with possible earlier surgical intervention. In this study, a relatively simple model is proposed to identify myocardial fibrosis in patients with a diagnosis of moderate or severe aortic stenosis. Design Patients with moderate to severe aortic stenosis were enrolled into the study; patient characteristics, blood work, medications as well as transthoracic echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance were used to determine potential identifiers of myocardial fibrosis. Setting The Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK Participants One hundred and thirteen patients in derivation cohort and 26 patients in validation cohort. Main outcome measures Identification of myocardial fibrosis. Results Three blood biomarkers (serum platelets, serum urea, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) and left ventricular ejection fraction were shown to be capable of identifying myocardial fibrosis. The model was validated in a separate cohort of 26 patients. Conclusions Although further external validation of the model is necessary prior to its use in clinical practice, the proposed clinical model may direct patient care with respect to earlier magnetic resonance imagining, frequency of monitoring and may help in risk stratification for surgical intervention for myocardial fibrosis in patients with aortic stenosis

Application of Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Approach to Foster Students’ Understanding and Learning Performance

The current study endeavours to explore the application of the Vygotskian sociocultural approach to students’ cognitive development, particularly as related to the employment of experiential and peer learning, from both teacher and student perspectives. This is followed by a discussion of the inferences made in relation to the contributions of experiential and peer learning as salient educational delivery modes. As such, a presentation of teachers’ recounts about learning to teach, and students’ reflections on teaching to learn are provided. Finally, the current study concludes with: 1) Insightful erudition learning and teaching curves impacting students’ performance, retention and progression; and 2) Directions for future research in the area

Power spectrum analysis of bursting cells in area MT in the behaving monkey

It is widely held that visual cortical neurons encode information primarily in their mean firing rates. Some proposals, however, emphasize the information potentially available in the temporal structure of spike trains (Optican and Richmond, 1987; Bialek et al., 1991), in particular with respect to stimulus-related synchronized oscillations in the 30–70 Hz range (Eckhorn et al., 1988; Gray et al., 1989; Kreiter and Singer, 1992) as well as via bursting cells (Cattaneo et al., 1981a; Bonds, 1992). We investigate the temporal fine structure of spike trains recorded in extrastriate area MT of the trained macaque monkey, a region that plays a major role in processing motion information. The data were recorded while the monkey performed a near- threshold direction discrimination task so that both physiological and psychophysical data could be obtained on the same set of trials (Britten et al., 1992). We identify bursting cells and quantify their properties, in particular in relation to the behavior of the animal. We compute the power spectrum and the distribution of interspike intervals (ISIs) associated with individual spike trains from 212 cells, averaging these quantities across similar trials. (1) About 33% of the cells have a relatively flat power spectrum with a dip at low temporal frequencies. We analytically derive the power spectrum of a Poisson process with refractory period and show that it matches the observed spectrum of these cells. (2) About 62% of the cells have a peak in the 20–60 Hz frequency band. In about 10% of all cells, this peak is at least twice the height of its base. The presence of such a peak strongly correlates with a tendency of the cell to respond in bursts, that is, two to four spikes within 2–8 msec. For 93% of cells, the shape of the power spectrum did not change dramatically with stimulus conditions. (3) Both the ISI distribution and the power spectrum of the vast majority of bursting cells are compatible with the notion that these cells fire Poisson-distributed bursts, with a burst-related refractory period. Thus, for our stimulus conditions, no explicitly oscillating neuronal process is required to yield a peak in the power spectrum. (4) We found no statistically significant relationship between the peak in the power spectrum and psychophysical measures of the monkeys' performance on the direction discrimination task

The stability of microbially reduced U(IV); impact of residual electron donor and sediment ageing

AbstractThe stimulation of microbial U(VI) reduction to precipitate insoluble U(IV) has been proposed as a means of remediating mobile uranium groundwater contamination. Crucial to the success of such a remediation strategy is determining the longevity of U(IV) biominerals in the subsurface, particularly if the groundwater becomes oxidising. Here we describe experiments to assess the susceptibility of microbially-reduced U(IV) to oxidative remobilisation both via aeration and by the addition of nitrate at environmentally-relevant conditions. Additional factors examined include the possibility of biogenic U(IV) becoming more crystalline (and potentially more recalcitrant) during a period of ageing, and the role played by residual electron donor in controlling the long-term fate of the uranium. Biogenic U(IV) was precipitated as a non-crystalline U(IV) or “monomeric” phase, with a small but increasing contribution to the EXAFS spectra from nanocrystalline uraninite occurring during 15months of ageing. Despite this, no evidence was observed for an increase in recalcitrance to oxidative remobilisation. However, the presence of residual electron donor post-biostimulation was shown to exert a strong control on U(IV) reoxidation kinetics, highlighting the importance of maintaining the presence of electron donor in the subsurface, in order to protect biogenic U(IV) from oxidative remobilisation

Reflections of Mormonism : the history and development of LDS meetinghouse architecture

Perhaps more than any other building type, ecclesiastical buildings preserve a wealth of information about those who erected and used the structures. In terms of style, form, and function, religious architecture reflects a group's philosophies about the physical and metaphysical worlds, and the cultural traditions within their own community. This is particularly true of the religious architectural expressions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church). The purpose of this study was to examine the history and development of the most common ecclesiastical building produced by the LDS Church, the ward meetinghouse. Using a research perspective grounded in functionalism, the study explored the relationship between the institution of Mormonism and meetinghouse design, and analyzed how various changes experienced by the LDS Church over time influenced the development of their meetinghouse architecture. A representative sample of meetinghouses from each era in LDS Church the representative examples used in the study was obtained through literature review, archival research, and field research. Supplemental information regarding the philosophy and history of the LDS Church was obtained through available publications. In its more than 160 year history, the Mormon Church experienced a number of internal and external changes, many of which are reflected in the variety of meetinghouse designs that were produced. Yet, the data indicates that LDS meetinghouse architecture has come full circle. That is, many of the attitudes and ideas behind the Church's most recent meetinghouse designs are the same as those reflected in their earliest ecclesiastical buildings

International Students’ Cultural and Social Experiences in a British University: “Such a hard life [it] is here”

The authors in this qualitative study examined international students’ cultural and social experiences using data collected through case studies and semi-structured, in-depth, informant style interviews. Participants were all international students (n=18), mostly postgraduate from Asian and Far Eastern countries studying at a British higher education institution. The students’ personal journeys are traced through a three-stage process that moves from (1) high initial expectations, through (2) culture shock, to (3) various eventual patterns of accommodation. In addition to capturing the sometimes raw personal experiences of individuals, the study also delineates the ways in which geopolitical and social-emotional factors coalesce to shape students’ personal experience and self-concepts

(De) regulation of working time, employer capture, and ‘forced availability’: a comparison between the UK and Cyprus food retail sector

This article is concerned with exploring how working time is regulated and experienced in the international food retail sector in the UK and Cyprus. Following Martinez-Lucio and Mackenzie the article accepts that regulation in employment relations is a multifaceted phenomenon shared by a number of competing actors at different institutional levels. The paper highlights the limitations of working time regulation in the two countries and argues that employers are increasing their control over the timing and allocation of shifts and working time. The paper illustrates how employers ‘capture’ working time regulation by exercising their prerogative to more closely match working time with the exigencies of customer demand. In this environment, the paper reveals how employees are experiencing practices such as ‘forced availability’, coupled with pressure to extend working hours as well as facing increasing levels of unpredictability as to when they are required to attend work