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Book review: Phil Rosenzweig, Reginald Rose and the Jourey of 12 Angry Men, 2021
Get PDF"12 Angry Men" proved a timeless story with international appeal because it speaks to a key interest of people to see justice done. Rosenzweig’s well-written book provides scholars and students alike with additional background to better assess Rose’s masterpiece and to understand its unique presence in popular culture
Inevitable results and political myths?:Ilford North’s 1978 by-election
Get PDFReductive and teleological ‘path to power’ myths continue to underpin explanations of Margaret Thatcher’s first general election success. The by-elections that eroded the Callaghan Government’s majority in the late 1970s, such as that at Ilford North in 1978, continue to be discussed as stepping-stones to an inevitable victory, rather than acknowledged as examples of the fraught and uncertain realities of electoral politics. This article argues they should be considered as part of a complicated historical process and reflected concurrent socio-economic, cultural, and political change. Such contests deserve to be understood on their own terms, with awareness of their unique peculiarities. In full media glare and an often carnival atmosphere, small, often ignored, constituencies momentarily captured the political zeitgeist and determined the national debate. Consequently, earlier interpretations of the contest that advocated the importance of media-induced concerns over immigration and the National Front have distracted from the effectiveness of Conservative strategy that delivered a successful homecoming, rather than an overwhelming shock victory. By moving beyond contemporary political myths, it reconsiders the strength of Britain’s political parties within a more historical context, which pointed to the depth of local Conservative support in Ilford North. Clear political strategy including well-articulated appeals to specific voter-groups and a well-managed media maelstrom, allowed Margaret Thatcher’s party to re-establish its support among Ilford North’s voters
Evaluation of the NHS General Dental Services Contract Reform Programme in Wales.:Interim Report - The views and experiences of patients
Get PDFThis document reports from interviews with NHS patients on some of the key principles and objectives of system reform in dental services. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone with 50 patients during August and September 2021. Participants were current NHS dental patients, stratified according to region and age. Interviews used vignettes that depicted different scenarios based on the principles underlying dental care reform. Patients value regular visits with the dentist. Regular visits are seen as part of a collaborative practice of oral health maintenance. There are concerns that disease could develop between visits if the recall interval is extended. Even where there is good oral health, patients feel that ‘18 months is a long time’ - circumstances and behaviour that influence oral health could change in this time. Some patients believe they will lose access to an NHS dentist if they do not attend every six months.Patients are more likely to accept a change to routine where there is a good relationship with the dentist.Patients value advice on maintaining good oral health.There is little knowledge of dental roles other than the dentist. Many patients are familiar with skill-mix from other services such as general practice. Patients believe it is important not to waste NHS resources but think that delaying treatment may lead to more costly interventions. Patients believe that there are things they can and should do to maintain their oral health. They also want NHS services to show understanding and support for individuals who face challenges looking after their health.<br/
Inconsistent language lateralisation - testing the dissociable language laterality hypothesis using behaviour and lateralised cerebral blood flow
Get PDFBackground: Most people have strong left-brain lateralisation for language, with a minority showing right- or bilateral language representation. On some receptive language tasks, however, lateralisation appears to be reduced or absent. This contrasting pattern raises the question of whether and how language laterality may fractionate within individuals. Building on our prior work, we postulated (a) that there can be dissociations in lateralisation of different components of language, and (b) these would be more common in left-handers. A subsidiary hypothesis was that laterality indices will cluster according to two underlying factors corresponding to whether they involve generation of words or sentences, vs. receptive language. Methods: We tested these predictions in two stages: At Step 1 an online laterality battery (Dichotic listening, Rhyme Decision and Word Comprehension) was given to 621 individuals (56% left-handers); At Step 2, functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) was used with 230 of these individuals (51% left-handers). 108 left-handers and 101 right-handers gave usable data on a battery of three language generation and three receptive language tasks. Results: Neither the online nor fTCD measures supported the notion of a single language laterality factor. In general, for both online and fTCD measures, tests of language generation were left-lateralised. In contrast, the receptive tasks were at best weakly left-lateralised or, in the case of Word Comprehension, slightly right-lateralised. The online measures were only weakly correlated, if at all, with fTCD measures. Most of the fTCD measures had split-half reliabilities of at least .7, and showed a distinctive pattern of intercorrelation, supporting a modified two-factor model in which Phonological Decision (generation) and Sentence Decision (reception) loaded on both factors. The same factor structure fitted data from left- and right-handers, but mean scores on the two factors were lower (less left-lateralised) in left-handers. Conclusions: There are at least two factors influencing language lateralization in individuals, but they do not correspond neatly to language generation and comprehension. Future fMRI studies could help clarify how far they reflect activity in specific brain regions
Determining the effects of anthropogenic drainage structures on inanga (Galaxias maculatus) in the lowland waterways of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.
Get PDFA mechanistic understanding of polyethylene biodegradation by the marine bacterium Alcanivorax
Get PDFPolyethylene (PE) is one of the most recalcitrant carbon-based synthetic materials produced and, currently, the most ubiquitous plastic pollutant found in nature. Over time, combined abiotic and biotic processes are thought to eventually breakdown PE. Despite limited evidence of biological PE degradation and speculation that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria found within the plastisphere is an indication of biodegradation, there is no clear mechanistic understanding of the process. Here, using high-throughput proteomics, we investigated the molecular processes that take place in the hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterium Alcanivorax sp. 24 when grown in the presence of low density PE (LDPE). As well as efficiently utilising and assimilating the leachate of weathered LDPE, the bacterium was able to reduce the molecular weight distribution (Mw from 122 to 83 kg/mol) and overall mass of pristine LDPE films (0.9 % after 34 days of incubation). Most interestingly, Alcanivorax acquired the isotopic signature of the pristine plastic and induced an extensive array of metabolic pathways for aliphatic compound degradation. Presumably, the primary biodegradation of LDPE by Alcanivorax sp. 24 is possible via the production of extracellular reactive oxygen species as observed both by the material’s surface oxidation and the measurement of superoxide in the culture with LDPE. Our findings confirm that hydrocarbon-biodegrading bacteria within the plastisphere may in fact have a role in degrading PE
Use of Native Animals by Local Communities in Madagascar
Get PDFMadagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, yet its wildlife is under immense threat from habitat loss and other anthropogenic pressures. To tackle this, Madagascar has implemented new environmental legislation, including rapid expansion of the protected area network. Many new protected areas permit sustainable extraction of natural resources by local communities, but little is known abouthow and why local people use biodiversity, particularly animal wildlife. We conducted a rapid appraisal of animal use by 236 households across Madagascar’s rural Moramanga district to explore which wild faunal species are used by local people and for what purpose. Our results document a wide range of uses attributed to familiar wildlife groups, including lemurs, tenrecs, birds, geckos, chameleons, frogs and invertebrates. Uses include food, trade, medicine, and pest control among others. We conclude that conservation decisions concerning sustainable use in relation to livelihoods require an understanding of both the diversity of species used and the diversity of usesof species by local communities
Behavioral and neural markers of serial order and timing in skilled motor sequences during planning
Get PDFSeasonal range fidelity of a megaherbivore in response to environmental change
Get PDFFor large herbivores living in highly dynamic environments, maintaining range fidelity has the potential to facilitate the exploitation of predictable resources while minimising energy expenditure. We evaluate this expectation by examining how the seasonal range fidelity of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa is affected by spatiotemporal variation in environmental conditions (vegetation quality, temperature, rainfall, and fire). Eight-years of GPS collar data were used to analyse the similarity in seasonal utilisation distributions for thirteen family groups. Elephants exhibited remarkable consistency in their seasonal range fidelity across the study with rainfall emerging as a key driver of space-use. Within years, high range fidelity from summer to autumn and from autumn to winter was driven by increased rainfall and the retention of high-quality vegetation. Across years, sequential autumn seasons demonstrated the lowest levels of range fidelity due to inter-annual variability in the wet to dry season transition, resulting in unpredictable resource availability. Understanding seasonal space use is important for determining the effects of future variability in environmental conditions on elephant populations, particularly when it comes to management interventions. Indeed, over the coming decades climate change is predicted to drive greater variability in rainfall and elevated temperatures in African savanna ecosystems. The impacts of climate change also present particular challenges for elephants living in fragmented or human-transformed habitats where the opportunity for seasonal range shifts are greatly constrained