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Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities
Get PDFMadagascar’s unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the conservation status of Madagascar’s terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by presenting data and analyses on documented and predicted species-level conservation statuses, the most prevalent and relevant threats, ex situ collections and programs, and the coverage and comprehensiveness of protected areas. The existing terrestrial protected area network in Madagascar covers 10.4% of its land area and includes at least part of the range of the majority of described native species of vertebrates with known distributions (97.1% of freshwater fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals combined) and plants (67.7%). The overall figures are higher for threatened species (97.7% of threatened vertebrates and 79.6% of threatened plants occurring within at least one protected area). International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments and Bayesian neural network analyses for plants identify overexploitation of biological resources and unsustainable agriculture as the most prominent threats to biodiversity. We highlight five opportunities for action at multiple levels to ensure that conservation and ecological restoration objectives, programs, and activities take account of complex underlying and interacting factors and produce tangible benefits for the biodiversity and people of Madagascar
Effect of biological polymers on mobility and run-out distance of cohesive and non-cohesive sediment gravity flows
Get PDFLock-exchange experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of biologically cohesive extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the mobility of sediment gravity flows laden with physically cohesive clay, non-cohesive coarse silt and non-cohesive fine sand. The results reveal significant differences in the head velocity, run-out distance and deposit shape of these flows relatedto differences in physical cohesion, particle size, and EPS content. These differences are captured in a three-way coupling model of turbulent forces, cohesive forces, and particle settling velocity. In general, biological cohesion reduces flow mobility, demonstrated most clearly by a progressive decrease in the run-out distance of the silt and clay flows, as the EPS concentration is increased. This reduction in flow mobility is caused by the dominance of cohesive forces over turbulent forces, which comprise turbulence attenuation and the bulk settling of a biologically cohesive gel in which EPS form a pervasive network of bonds between the sediment particles. However, sand-laden gravity flows were found to behave in a markedly different way, in that the head velocity and run-out distance first increase and then decrease, as the EPS concentration is increased. The increase in sand flow mobility is inferred to be caused by a reduction in the settling velocity of the sand particles, as the EPS cause an increase in flow viscosity at EPS concentrations that are sufficiently low to maintain turbulent flow.Once the EPS concentration is high enough for turbulence attenuation, the sand flows start to agreewith the silt and clay flows in establishing a negative correlation between flow mobility and EPS concentration caused by gelling. The experimental data also uncovered that deposits formed by EPS rich, turbulence-attenuated flows are shorter and thicker and have more abrupt terminations than deposits formed by EPS-free or EPS-poor turbulent flows. The larger thickness of these deposits is partly caused by the ability of EPS to retain water and form matrix-supported textures. Earlier work has shown that EPS is common in many sedimentary environments, including those where sediment transport takes place regularly by particulate density currents. Combined with the increasing rate at which man-made structures, such as pylons and communication cables, appear in these environments, we argue that there is a need to incorporate the results of this study in applied models that aim to mitigate damage to such structures by sediment gravity flows
Like a rolling stone: Psychotherapy without (episodic) memory
Get PDFPeople with profound amnesia still retain the capacity to learn about the emotional value of experiences, which is crucial in developing and sustaining interpersonal relationships. In a 2017 paper, we demonstrated for the first time (with patient JL) that transferential feelings develop across the therapeutic process, despite profound episodic memory impairment after medial temporal lesions. This paper reports a second case (GA) of a profoundly amnesic patient in psychotherapy, this time after lesions to the anterior fornix. The work with GA opens issues such as the differences and similarities to the previous case, counter-transference phenomena, and the effects of hyperphagia. The findings make it clear that many phenomena are common to both GA and JL, such as forgetfulness, various types of repetition, the importance of the therapeutic alliance, and the ability to make therapeutic gain. However, there were differences between the cases, for example as regards confabulation, which may relate to either pre-morbid personality or lesion site. The paper also discusses the way in which patients of this type bear the very status of psychotherapeutic work with profoundly amnesic patients. Where others have seen barriers and in principle problems in working with such patients, we see many opportunities. </p
Book review "Jiří Přibáň, Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2020".
Get PDFReview of the Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law (2020) edited by Jiří Přibáň, commenting on the choice of topics, the representativeness of scholarship for an international readership and the content of articles. "The contributions to this handbook suggest that systems theory and here especially ideas connected to the names of Niklas Luhmann and Gunther Teubner have influenced parts of sociology of law in the United Kingdom. Eugen Ehrlich’s concepts are also frequently employed, as are Emile Durkheims, something that is probably representative for sociology of law wherever one looks. The same goes for Karl Marx. Of the English sociologists of law, Roger Cotterrell is referenced most often. The second volume, announced to be more international in scope, may identify a wider range of scholars and theoretical approaches of particular influence.There will hardly be a sociologist of law, whether from the British Isles or not, with a disciplinary background in law or in a social science, who will not gain insights from this Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law.
Defect Behaviour in the MoNbTaVW High Entropy Alloy (HEA)
Get PDFThe intrinsic defect formation in the MoNbTaVW HEA is investigated using atomic scale modelling, the goal being to assess its response to radiation damage in its possible use as plasma facing material for fusion reactors. When interstitial defects were modelled, a strong preference to form split interstitial defects containing vanadium was observed, even forming when other interstitial elements were initially placed into the structure. Vacancies and Frenkel pair formation are also modelled and discussed. The distinct behaviour of defects in this HEA has implications for this system as well as related HEAs and their use in nuclear components
eHealth and Web-Based Interventions for Informal Carers of People With Dementia in the Community: Umbrella Review
Get PDFBackground: The prevalence of dementia is increasing, and there are many associated problems that family members face asinformal carers, including emotional, physical, and financial difficulties. There are benefits for a person with dementia to live at home for as long as possible, and therefore, supporting their informal carers is crucial. The growing interest in supporting carers through internet-based interventions is evidenced by the volume of systematic reviews on this topic. It is now appropriate to systematically examine this body of work and provide an overview of the literature.Objective: This umbrella review aimed to identify the most effective internet-based intervention content and delivery method to support those caring for someone with dementia living in the community.Methods: PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and PubMed were searched for systematicreviews examining the effectiveness of web-based interventions for informal carers of people with dementia. A total of 3 reviewers extracted data and evaluated the quality of the papers. To ascertain the extent to which the systematic reviews reported on the same evidence, the proportion of overlap between their included studies was calculated. Qualitative research findings were extracted and reported.Results: A total of 21 papers were included in the study. The quality of the review papers was mainly rated as low to moderate, and 10% (2/21) of papers were of high quality. The findings suggest that multicomponent interventions were the most effective in supporting carers. These included combinations of cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation strategies, educational resources, and online support groups. Interventions that were delivered on the web but included sessions with a personal element, such as telephone contact, showed the best results. When comparing the studies reviewed in all the review papers, a moderate overlap was noted. However, when comparing individual reviews with each other, they showed a high overlap of the included studies.Conclusions: Mixed delivery methods and intervention content showed the most effective results in supporting those caringfor people with dementia. However, many papers do not separate the results for differing intervention contents or delivery; this needs to be considered when drawing conclusions. There was an overlap among the studies included in the reviews. This suggests a lack of current research on the effectiveness of web-based interventions for people caring for a person with dementia. There was also a lack of consistency in the outcome measures across all papers. Future studies can involve updating research on the effectiveness of these interventions while distinguishing between different intervention types, thus creating guidelines for the use of standardized measures to enable comparisons of intervention effects and improve the scientific quality of the overall research
Digital presence in service recovery: The interactive effect of customer salutations and employee photographs in email signatures
Get PDFService firms can manage failure apology emails depending on how much digital presence or lack thereof they wish to maintain toward aggrieved customers. While nascent research indicates positive effects of higher levels of digital presence, the efficacy of this strategy in service recovery settings remains unclear. Drawing on the concept of digital presence and the unified theory of social relations, the authors investigate the potential detrimental effects of combining certain salutation forms with digital presence in the form of employee photographs in these emails. The data were gathered using one survey among service employees (Prestudy, N=202), and two scenario-based experiments (Study 1, N=418; Study 2, N=449). Study 1 assesses customer reactions to different apology emails and shows that personalized salutations (i.e., addressing customers by first name) and digital presence in the form of employee photographs can negatively interact to affect recovery satisfaction and repatronage intentions, with customers’ perceived rapport mediating these relationships. Moreover, the results of a second experiment (Study 2) show that compensation after a service failure can mitigate the negative interactive effects. This research thus suggests using digital presence (in the form of employee photographs) in conversations with aggrieved customers only when customer salutation personalization is absent
Cross-sector sustainability benchmarking of major utilities in the United Kingdom
Get PDFBenchmarking can be a useful tool for utility companies to improve their efficiency, offering many potential positives such as assessing performance objectively, exposing areas where improvement is needed, and identifying best performing companies, ultimately illuminating possible strategies for poorer performers to implement. Despite these positives, the challenge remains of how to compare the performance of different organisations from different sectors. This research aimed to develop a methodology to effectively compare companies across sectors using UK utilities across the water and sewage, energy, and communications sectors as a case study. A methodology was constructed based on service, environmental, and financial metrics, and cross-sector benchmarking was undertaken, which generated performance scores based on company metrics relative to sector peers. This circumnavigated issues of indicators often being mismatched across sectors and the lack of relevance and context when sectors do use similar indicators. Results showed that the sample of 18 utilities had two distinct clusters, one of eight sector leaders and the other of ten lower performers. Sky had the highest overall score of 13.5 (maximum 15), suggesting it significantly outperformed the rest of the communications sector. Similarly, British Gas and SSE lead the energy sector, whilst Wessex, Severn Trent, and United Utilities lead the way for water and sewage companies. The two distinct groups of sector leaders and lower performers can be employed to identify other companies that may offer learning opportunities. Top performers can assess top performers in other sectors to identify how they might continue improving, rather than be potentially limited within their sectors. Conversely, lower-performing companies can look within and across sectors to identify best practices to improve their performance. The methodological development and UK utility sustainability results collectively provide novel insight into the water, energy, and communication sectors and contribute to the international academic literature on benchmarking by illustrating an alternative and unique solution to comparing diverse sectors in any region
Growth and retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet, 31 000 to 15 000 years ago: the BRITICE‐CHRONO reconstruction.
Get PDFThe BRITICE-CHRONO consortium of researchers undertook a dating programme to constrain the timing of advance, maximum extent and retreat of the British–Irish Ice Sheet between 31 000 and 15 000 years before present. The dating campaign across Ireland and Britain and their continental shelves, and across the North Sea included 1500 days of field investigation yielding 18 000 km of marine geophysical data, 377 cores of sea floor sediments, and geomorphological and stratigraphical information at 121 sites on land; generating 690 new geochronometric ages. These findings are reported in 28 publications including synthesis into eight transect reconstructions. Here we build ice sheet-wide reconstructions consistent with these findings and using retreat patterns and dates for the inter-transect areas. Two reconstructions are presented, a wholly empirical version and a version that combines modelling with the new empirical evidence. Palaeoglaciological maps of ice extent, thickness, velocity, and flow geometry at thousand-year timesteps are presented. The maximum ice volume of 1.8 m sea level equivalent occurred at 23 ka. A larger extent than previously defined is found and widespread advance of ice to the continental shelf break is confirmed during the last glacial. Asynchrony occurred in the timing of maximum extent and onset of retreat, ranging from 30 to 22 ka. The tipping point of deglaciation at 22 ka was triggered by ice stream retreat and saddle collapses. Analysis of retreat rates leads us to accept our hypothesis that the marine-influenced sectors collapsed rapidly. First order controls on ice-sheet demise were glacio-isostatic loading triggering retreat of marine sectors, aided by glaciological instabilities and then climate warming finished off the smaller, terrestrial ice sheet. Overprinted on this signal were second order controls arising from variations in trough topographies and with sector-scale ice geometric readjustments arising from dispositions in the geography of the landscape. These second order controls produced a stepped deglaciation. The retreat of the British–Irish Ice Sheet is now the world’s most well-constrained and a valuable data-rich environment for improving ice-sheet modelling