The Influence of Task Characteristics on the Intermanual Asymmetry of Motor Overflow

The two studies reported here were designed to test the proposition that greater motor overflow occurs when movements are performed by the non-dominant hand. Unlike previous studies using normal adults, the task in these studies did not require force production. In the first study, a group of 19 right-handed participants performed unweighted finger lifting. That the frequency of motor overflow occurrence was the same regardless of which hand performed the task, did not support findings from other studies where tasks involving force production resulted in more overflow when performed by the non-dominant hand. To investigate further the influence of task characteristics on motor overflow occurrence, in the second study participants were required to remember and reproduce a prescribed sequence of four finger lifts. Left- and right-handed participants ( N =30) performed both single and sequenced finger lifting. The relative frequency of motor overflow (unintended lifts of fingers of the passive hand) was compared between hand preference groups, active hand and task type (single/sequenced). Contrary to the expectation that motor overflow would be greater for the sequenced finger lifting task, overflow was exhibited with a significantly greater frequency on single finger lifting. This finding indicates that task characteristics influence the pattern of overflow occurrence in normal adults. The task used in this study did not involve force production and did not result in an intermanual asymmetry of motor overflow. This contrasts with findings from other studies requiring adults to exert forces where greater overflow occurred when the non-dominant hand was active. However, this study confirms previous findings which show that left-handers produce greater overflow compared to right-handers regardless of the task being performed and the hand performing the task.

Ontogeny of movements and foraging ranges in the Australian sea lion

This study tracked the movements of Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) pups, juveniles, and adult females to identify home ranges and determine if young sea lions accompanied their mothers at sea. Satellite tags were deployed on nine 15- mo-old pups, nine 23-mo-old juveniles, and twenty-nine adult female Australian sea lions at Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Females did not travel with their offspring at sea, suggesting young Australian sea lions learn foraging behaviors independently. Although home ranges increased with age,  23-mo-old juveniles had not developed adult movement capacity and their range was only 40.6% of the adult range. Juveniles traveled shorter distances (34.8 ± 5.5 km) at slower speeds (2.0 ± 0.3 km/h) than adults (67.9 ± 3.5 km and 3.9 ± 0.3 km/h). Young sea lions also stayed in shallower waters; sea floor depths of mean locations were 48±7m for juveniles and 74±2m for females. Restricted to shallow coastal waters, pups and juveniles are more likely to be disproportionately impacted by human activities. With limited available foraging habitat, young Australian sea lions appear particularly vulnerable to environmental alterations resulting from fisheries or climate change.

Social inclusion, social movements, and the characteristics of late modernity

In discussing the ideology of social inclusion, this paper demonstrates that the composition of community groups in a period of late modernity is worthy of consideration. Although it would appear, on the surface at least, that previously stable community institutions, such as family, organised religion, trade unions, occupation and residential stability, and so on, are being challenged by a broad rejection of the once powerful tool of tradition, society's attachment to a belief in the symbolic value of community remains strong. In an environment however, in which the interaction and interdependence of human activity is subject to continual re-evaluation as the current processes of industrialisation and globalisation unfold, the template of what constitutes 'community' may need to be re-defined. It is to this end that the present paper is concerned, in that it seeks to identify new community formations. Of particular interest, is the rise and reach of modern day 'social movements', and why, when analysing the subject from a macro-sociological perspective, they have come to assume such a pivotal role in occupying community spaces left vacant by the demise of traditional social institutions. The paper is exploratory in its focus, using relevant literature to posit some broad theoretical themes, with the aim of presenting such themes to encourage a shift in community debates away from traditional concerns about 'who' and 'how many', towards questions of why new community forms are emerging.

Learning from history : social movements, arts and crafts and anti-consumption

Contemplating the lCAR Agenda, I wondered what value was to be found in history and is historical research an appropriate methodology for this contemporary discussion? I reviewed articles from social sciences and marketing literature that discuss history as a research methodology and present some of the criticisms and benefits. Social movements like the Arts and Crafts contain themes and agendas that resonate today, including protest and boycott, sustainable solutions, and technophobia that can be found in contemporary crafts movements like Stitch'nBitch. Researchers, heeding some cautions, can use history to build agendas that contribute directly to the study of anti consumption

What drives long-distance movements in the nomadic Grey Teal Anas gracilis in Australia?

In contrast to northern temperate environments, where day length and temperature changes are obvious proximate cues for movement to resource-rich breeding habitats, the cues for movement used by birds in an often resource-poor, stochastic environment are less obvious. We recorded long-distance movements of 23 Grey Teal Anas gracilis using satellite telemetry for up to 879 days and examined the relationship between those movements and environmental factors, such as heavy rainfall and flooding, at the destination site. We identified 32 long-distance [> 150 km) movements that met our criterion for minimally interrupted flight between origin and destination. Thirteen of these flights coincided with rainfall and/or flooding events up to 1050 km from the origin. However, some ducks moved without any clear beneficial conditions at the destination onto small wetlands in regions with little surface water. The data suggest that there are two types of long-distance movement - ranging and directed. These flights occurred over distances up to 1200 km across the arid inland. The rates and distances of movement suggest that long-distance movements of Grey Teal entail high energy costs as in waterfowl elsewhere. We conclude that the proximate controls of directIn contrast to northern temperate environments, where day length and temperature changes are obvious proximate cues for movement to resource-rich breeding habitats, the cues for movement used by birds in an often resource-poor, stochastic environment are less obvious. We recorded long-distance movements of 23 Grey Teal Anas gracilis using satellite telemetry for up to 879 days and examined the relationship between those movements and environmental factors, such as heavy rainfall and flooding, at the destination site. We identified 32 long-distance (> 150 km) movements that met our criterion for minimally interrupted flight between origin and destination. Thirteen of these flights coincided with rainfall and/or flooding events up to 1050 km from the origin. However, some ducks moved without any clear beneficial conditions at the destination onto small wetlands in regions with little surface water. The data suggest that there are two types of long-distance movement – ranging and directed. These flights occurred over distances up to 1200 km across the arid inland. The rates and distances of movement suggest that long-distance movements of Grey Teal entail high energy costs as in waterfowl elsewhere. We conclude that the proximate controls of directed movements need not be very different from those of their temperate counterparts.ed movements need not be very different from those of their temperate counterparts.

Movements of a nomadic waterfowl, Grey Teal Anas gracilis, across inland Australia – results from satellite telemetry spanning fifteen months

We used lightweight satellite transmitters to follow the movements of 17 Grey Teal Anas gracilis between September 2003 and November 2004 in two contrasting landscapes, the agricultural districts of southern Australia and the desert landscapes of the interior. Tagged birds moved large distances (up to 343 km) between occupied sites in a short period (hours), remained in the vicinity of those sites for extended periods (months), ventured up to 453 km from their point of release and travelled more than 2000 km in one year. We describe patterns of movement in a nomadic waterfowl for 15 months from September 2003, a period of severe drought. Based on the current analysis there appears to be no remarkable difference in the observed patterns of movement of those released in the agricultural landscapes and those released in the desert. As in waterfowl elsewhere, movements appear to occur in response to changes in local food abundance that threaten survival or the imperative to move in order to breed successfully. In Grey Teal, the proximate cues for movement transcend the local landscape and some birds are responding to temporary cues hundreds of kilometres distant. This is in contrast to the universal seasonal cues associated with migration systems elsewhere.

Manage one beach or two? Movements and space-use of the threatened hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in south-eastern Australia

An understanding of space use and dispersal of a wildlife species is essential for effective management. We examined the movements of a beach-dwelling, threatened population of hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in southern central Victoria, Australia, by analysing sightings of colour-banded birds (4897 sightings; 194 birds tracked for up to 9 years). Most movements were relatively short (5050 ± 305 m), with 61.4% <1 km and 95.3% <20 km; they lacked directional or sexual bias. The extent of coastline used by individual birds was 47.8 ± 58.0 km. Regional differences in average distances moved by adults were apparent. For adults, movement rates (mean distance per day) were higher during the non-breeding season than during the breeding season. Non-breeding adults generally remained close to their partners (non-breeding, 456.3 ± 163.9 m; breeding, 148.2 ± 45.3 m). Largest flock sizes were recorded during the non-breeding period, and flocking was not uniformly distributed along the coast but appeared to be concentrated in particular locations. The frequency of pair cohesion (i.e. when the distance between partners was zero on a given day) was similar during the breeding (69.6%) and non-breeding seasons (67.7%). Breeding territories (kernel analysis) were 36.7 ± 5.7 ha and overlapped from year to year in all cases (23 pairwise comparisons; 47.9 ± 7.1% overlap). The high fidelity and constancy of territories confirms they warrant ongoing management investment, although the species relies on a matrix of breeding and non-breeding sites. The latter appear to occur in specific parts of the coast and warrant enhanced protection and more research attention. Fragmentation of the breeding population might occur where habitat is rendered unsuitable for > ~50 km.