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Expertise in action: insights from Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM)
Get PDFCognitive expertise has been examined by the Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) community over the past four decades. This group of international, applied psychologists and scholars provide alternative methodologies to access expert thinking in order to more effectively share and accelerate knowledge. The chapter examines the contributions of this community, providing pragmatic insights into how we can translate professional domain based expertise to other professionals and novices. We contend that capturing, eliciting and documenting expertise in action utilising these methods, warrants epistemic recognition
A critical appraisal of the sensitivity of detrital Zircon U–Pb provenance data to constrain drainage network evolution in Southeast Tibet
Get PDFProvenance tools, particularly detrital zircon U–Pb analysis, have been widely employed to test drainage network evolution in southeast Tibet and its linkage with the growth of the Tibetan Plateau. Numerous provenance studies have been conducted on the sediments in the paleo-Yangtze and paleo-Red River drainage basins. Nevertheless, it is still hotly debated as to whether a “Mississippi” (dendritic) pattern Greater paleo-Red River, originating from southeast Tibet and draining to the South China Sea, existed in the early Cenozoic, and was subsequently captured by the paleo-lower Yangtze due to uplift of southeastern Tibet. In this study, in addition to presenting new data from the Gonjo and Jianchuan basins along which the Greater paleo-Red River is proposed to have flowed, we compiled all the published detrital zircon U–Pb data from the paleo-upper Yangtze and paleo-Red River drainage basins from Triassic and younger rocks. Our large database of detrital zircon U–Pb analyses shows that the different terranes in the paleo-upper Yangtze and paleo-Red River drainage basins have similar zircon U–Pb signatures since the Late Triassic closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Therefore, most of the sediments in the Cenozoic sedimentary basins in southeast Tibet could have been either deposited by long-distance transport in large rivers from southeast Tibet or recycled from local bedrock. Given the potential importance of sedimentary recycling that we have demonstrated, this poses challenges to the use of detrital zircon U–Pb analyses to determine paleodrainage in this region. We therefore further explored the previously relatively limited use of Sr–Nd isotopes on mudstones and detrital mica 40Ar/39Ar ages, with new analyses from the Gonjo and Jianchuan Basins, to determine if these techniques were better suited to reconstruct paleodrainage evolution. Whilst these techniques do show some promise, more analyses and strategic sampling are required to obtain a full understanding of the extent of their potential utility. Overall, our integrated provenance study indicates that the available data are not sufficiently conclusive to support or refute the Greater paleo-Red River capture model
Biodiversity responses to Lateglacial climate change in the subdecadally-resolved record of Lake Hämelsee (Germany)
Get PDFAnthropogenically-driven climate warming and land use change are the main causes of an ongoing decrease in global biodiversity. It is unclear how ecosystems, particularly freshwater habitats, will respond to such continuous and potentially intensifying disruptions. Here we analyse how different components of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems responded to natural climate change during the Lateglacial. By applying a range of analytical techniques (sedimentology, palaeoecology, geochemistry) to the well-dated sediment archive from Lake Hämelsee (Germany), we show evidence for vegetation development, landscape dynamics and aquatic ecosystem change typical for northwest Europe during the Lateglacial. By particularly focussing on periods of abrupt climate change, we determine the timing and duration of changes in biodiversity in response to external forcing. We show that onsets of changes in biodiversity indicators (e.g. diatom composition, Pediastrum concentrations) lag changes in environmental records (e.g. loss-on-ignition) by a few decades, particularly at the Allerød/ Younger Dryas transition. Most biodiversity indicators showed transition times of 10–50 years, whereas environmental records typically showed a 50–100 year long transition. In some cases, transition times observed for the compositional turnover or productivity records were up to 185 years, which could have been the result of the combined effects of direct (e.g. climate) and indirect (e.g. lake stratification) drivers of ecosystem change. Our results show differences in timing and duration of biodiversity responses to external disturbances, suggesting that a multi-decadal view needs to be taken when designing effective conservation management of freshwater ecosystems under current global warming
White shark comparison reveals a slender body for the extinct megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae)
Get PDFThe extinct megatooth shark, †Otodus megalodon, which likely reached at least
15 m in total length, is an iconic extinct shark represented primarily by its gigantic teeth
in the Neogene fossil record. As one of the largest marine carnivores to ever exist,
understanding the biology, evolution, and extinction of †O. megalodon is important
because it had a significant impact on the ecology and evolution of marine ecosystems
that shaped the present-day oceans. Some attempts inferring the body form of †O.
megalodon have been carried out, but they are all speculative due to the lack of any
complete skeleton. Here we highlight the fact that the previous total body length estimated from vertebral diameters of the extant white shark for an †O. megalodon individual represented by an incomplete vertebral column is much shorter than the sum of
anteroposterior lengths of those fossil vertebrae. This factual evidence indicates that
†O. megalodon had an elongated body relative to the body of the modern white shark
(Carcharodon carcharias). Although its exact body form remains unknown, this proposition represents the most parsimonious empirical evidence, which is a significant step
towards deciphering the much-debated body form of †O. megalodon
The impact of recapitalisations and bank competition on Greek bank net interest margins
Get PDFThis study investigates the reasons behind the very high net interest margins in the Greek banking industry compared to the euro-area, focusing on the association between bank competition and recapitalisations. We conduct a dynamic panel analysis covering the period from the early 2000s to 2021, that controls for possible endogeneity and treats for heterogeneity. We also employ local projections impulse response functions that control for structural changes in Greek banking. We find that low bank competition has contributed to high net interest margins in Greece. Interestingly, the impact of recapitalisations conditional to low bank competition has had a significant further impact on increasing net interest margins, which is a noteworthy case due to several Greek bank recapitalisations in the last ten years. Our findings are supported by local projections impulse response functions. To mitigate distortions in bank competition, we argue to accelerate steps toward the direction of the banking union and a common bank regulation framework in the euro-area
On Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Things Most People Don't Know About It
No full textI have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for almost twenty years now, which is almost half my life. If I had known back at the start of my diagnosis what I know now, I do not know for sure that things would be very different, but there was a heck of a lot I did not know. How complex is this disease and the things it does
Aristotle on memory and emotions in human and non-human animals
Get PDFThe connections between memory and the emotions are typically assumed to be operative only in human beings, associated as they are with collective acts of memorial unavailable to beings without complex language. This paper challenges this assumption by concentrating on Aristotle’s account of memory and emotions in non-human animals in his metaphysics, psychology and zoology. Various non-human animals have emotional responses similar to human ones; this requires many intellectual capacities, including the ability to remember. The paper argues that the most cognitively sophisticated emotions in the animal work is love, philia, requires the capacity to remember loved ones. Concentrating on this feeling and the social structures it supports across the living nature world in Aristotle’s thought reveals both the complexity of animal thinking and the naturalness of the human community
The association of psychological capital and work outcomes among medical practitioners – a systematized review of the global literature
Get PDFBackground: The stressors experienced by medical professionals can impair work outcomes. Psychological capital (PsyCap) promotes favourable results and negatively predicts adverse events. The aim of this review was to investigate the association between PsyCap and work-related outcomes among doctors. Here, work outcomes were categorised as ‘inward-facing’ i.e., those affecting the doctor, including wellbeing and attitudes; and ‘outward-facing’ i.e., those affecting the patient, e.g., performance.
Methods: A Boolean search was performed in APA PsycArticles and Medline. All articles which assessed psychological capital and work outcomes in physicians were included. There was no restriction based on geography, study design or publication year. Articles were assessed in Rayyan and appraised using the JBI critical appraisal checklist. Data was extracted into an Excel spreadsheet. A narrative analysis was done.
Results: Out of the 125 records retrieved, 15 were included in this review. Thirteen studies were situated in China with no studies in the Western hemisphere. All were cross-sectional studies. All reported on the inward-facing work outcomes whereas only 2 reported on outward-facing outcomes. All studies reported that PsyCap was positively associated positive work outcomes, e.g., job satisfaction and performance; and negatively associated with negative work outcomes like depression.
Conclusion: This review corroborates other reports which show that PsyCap is positively associated with favourable outcomes and negatively associated with adverse outcomes. Clustering of the research in a restricted geographical location limits generalisability, as cultural nuances may apply. Research including performance measures as an outcome in this population is needed. Interventions to increase PsyCap are warranted
You and Your Baby (home, husband, and doctor): maternal responsibility in the British Medical Association booklet (1957--1987)
Get PDFYou and Your Baby was a pregnancy advice booklet, produced by the British Medical Association (BMA) from 1957-1987. This booklet was provided to expectant mothers in the UK, free of charge, and offered authoritative information on pregnancy, childbirth and caring for infants. Reprinted each year, You and Your Baby captured contemporary maternity policy and advice. But, in addition to the typical information that you might expect about mother and baby health, You and Your Baby advised readers on matters such as maintaining their appearance, marital relations, and domestic duties. In this way, it advocated a specific vision of motherhood, with responsibilities to the home and husband. Further to these duties, this article will focus on the balance of responsibilities between pregnant women and their doctors, and how attitudes to trust and authority developed over time. The BMA publication repeatedly warned readers against listening to “old wives’ tales”, instead emphasising the importance of accepting (and not questioning) professional medical guidance. Following the thalidomide scandal, however, women were made partially responsible for doctors' professional integrity; women were advised to avoid asking their doctors to prescribe medication that may later prove to be harmful, shifting the responsibility from the healthcare practitioner to the mother. This created an uncomfortable dissonance between the publication’s attempts to establish and reinforce medical authority, and yet shift professional responsibility. The booklet series, therefore, posed women as responsible for their doctors, as well as their babies. In summary, this article presents a case study of the You and Your Baby BMA booklet, examining developing healthcare messaging around maternal behaviour and responsibility. It draws attention to supposed responsibilities to the home, husband, and doctor and how those responsibilities changed over thirty years
Transient attention gates access consciousness: coupling N2pc and P3 latencies using Dynamic Time Warping
Get PDFThe N2pc & P3 Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), used to index selective attention and access to working memory and conscious awareness, respectively, have been important tools in cognitive sciences. Although it is likely that these two components and the underlying cognitive processes are temporally and functionally linked, such links have not yet been convincingly demonstrated. Adopting a novel methodological approach based on Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), we provide evidence that the N2pc and P3 ERP components are temporally linked. We analysed data from an experiment where 23 participants (16 women) monitored bilateral rapid serial streams of letters and digits in order to report a target digit indicated by a shape cue, separately for trials with correct responses and trials where a temporally proximal distractor was reported instead (distractor intrusion). DTW analyses revealed that N2pc and P3 latencies were correlated in time, both when the target or a distractor was reported. Notably, this link was weaker on distractor intrusion trials. This N2pc-P3 association is discussed with respect to the relationship between attention and access consciousness. Our results demonstrate that our novel method provides a valuable approach for assessing temporal links between two cognitive processes and their underlying modulating factors. This method allows to establish links and their modulator for any two time-series across all domains of the field (general-purpose MATLAB functions and a Python module are provided alongside this paper)
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