Interpersonal coupling in rowing : the mediating role of the environment

Evidence currently supports the view that intentional interpersonal coordination (IIC) is a self-organizing phenomenon facilitated by visual perception of co-actors in a coordinative coupling (Schmidt, Richardson, Arsenault, & Galantucci, 2007). The present study examines how apparent IIC is achieved in situations where visual information is limited for co-actors in a rowing boat. In paired rowing boats only one of the actors, [bow seat] gets to see the actions of the other [stroke seat]. Thus IIC appears to be facilitated despite the lack of important visual information for the control of the dyad. Adopting a mimetic approach to expert coordination, the present study qualitatively examined the experiences of expert performers (N=9) and coaches (N=4) with respect to how IIC was achieved in paired rowing boats. Themes were explored using inductive content analysis, which led to layered model of control. Rowers and coaches reported the use of multiple perceptual sources in order to achieve IIC. As expected(Kelso, 1995; Schmidt & O’Brien, 1997; Turvey, 1990), rowers in the bow of a pair boat make use of visual information provided by the partner in front of them [stroke]. However, this perceptual information is subordinate to perception Motor Learning and Control S111 of the relationship between the boat hull and water passing beside it. Stroke seat, in the absence of visual information about his/her partner, achieves coordination by picking up information about the lifting or looming of the boat’s stern along with water passage past the hull. In this case it appears that apparent or desired IIC is supported by the perception of extra-personal variables, in this case boat behavior; as this perceptual information source is used by both actors. To conclude, co-actors in two person rowing boats use multiple sources of perceptual information for apparent IIC that changes according to task constraints. Where visual information is restricted IIC is facilitated via extra-personal perceptual information and apparent IIC switches to intentional extra-personal coordination.

How the environment affects opportunity recognition by entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid

There is an army of bottom of the pyramid entrepreneurs (BOPE) who have the potential to transform developing economies, if they can identify and exploit business opportunities. BOPE could have unidentified resources that could lead to the recognition of radical new opportunities. This study paper asks how environmental factors and identification of resources affect Opportunity Recognition by BOP entrepreneurs in developing economies. To investigate this research question we conduct a literature review and plan semi-structured interviews of existing and nascent entrepreneurs in the largest and arguably the poorest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this paper we review the context of BOPE and describe the methodology we will use to gather and analyse data. Finally, we describe our access to suitable respondents for this study and how it will be conducted.

Property : a regulatory instrument for protecting private and public interests in the environment

Property in an elusive concept. In many respects it has been regarded as a source of authority to use, develop and make decisions about whatever is the subject matter of this right of ownership. This is true whether the holder of this right of ownership is a private entity or a public entity. Increasingly a right of ownership of this kind has been recognised not only as a source of authority but also as a mechanism for restricting or limiting and perhaps even prohibiting existing or proposed activities that impact upon the environment. It is increasingly therefore an instrument of regulation as much as an instrument of authorisation. The protection and conservation of the environment are ultimately a matter of the public interest. This is not to suggest that the individual holders of rights of ownership are not interested in protecting the environment. It is open to them to do so in the exercise of a right of ownership as a source of authorisation. However a right of ownership – whether private or public – has become increasingly the mechanism according to which the environment is protected and conserved through the use of rights of ownership as a means of regulation. This paper addressed these issues from a doctrinal as well as a practical perspective in how the environment is managed.

Noise removal from wave-forms and spectrograms derived from natural recordings of the environment

The work described in this technical report is part of an ongoing project to build practical tools for the manipulation, analysis and visualisation of recordings of the natural environment. This report describes the methods we use to remove background noise from spectrograms. It updates techniques previously described in Towsey and Planitz (2011), Technical report: acoustic analysis of the natural environment, downloadable from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/41131/. It also describes noise removal from wave-forms, a technique not described in the above 2011 technical report.

New labour and the environment : too little too late.

New Labour and the environment: too little too late – symbolic success but real failure Achievements: Introduction of the Climate Change Act 2008, Low Carbon Transition Plan, the creation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, establishment of several ‘green’ quangos and Green Investment Bank, Warm Front Scheme, international leadership on Kyoto and the European Directive for Landfill and Renewable Energy. Disappointments: Increased green house gas emissions that failto meet domestic UK targets, let alone Kyoto; significant increasesin energy and transport emissions; EU air pollution violations; failure to regulate the importation of illegally logged timber and wildlife; increase in chemical agriculture; unwillingness to tackle corporate environmental crime; road expansions and runway projects at the expense of low emission alternative public transport. Biggest broken promises: Global warming, low carbon transport; protection of biodiversity.

The use of acoustic indices to determine avian species richness in audio-recordings of the environment

Interpreting acoustic recordings of the natural environment is an increasingly important technique for ecologists wishing to monitor terrestrial ecosystems. Technological advances make it possible to accumulate many more recordings than can be listened to or interpreted, thereby necessitating automated assistance to identify elements in the soundscape. In this paper we examine the problem of estimating avian species richness by sampling from very long acoustic recordings. We work with data recorded under natural conditions and with all the attendant problems of undefined and unconstrained acoustic content (such as wind, rain, traffic, etc.) which can mask content of interest (in our case, bird calls). We describe 14 acoustic indices calculated at one minute resolution for the duration of a 24 hour recording. An acoustic index is a statistic that summarizes some aspect of the structure and distribution of acoustic energy and information in a recording. Some of the indices we calculate are standard (e.g. signal-to-noise ratio), some have been reported useful for the detection of bioacoustic activity (e.g. temporal and spectral entropies) and some are directed to avian sources (spectral persistence of whistles). We rank the one minute segments of a 24 hour recording in descending order according to an "acoustic richness" score which is derived from a single index or a weighted combination of two or more. We describe combinations of indices which lead to more efficient estimates of species richness than random sampling from the same recording, where efficiency is defined as total species identified for given listening effort. Using random sampling, we achieve a 53% increase in species recognized over traditional field surveys and an increase of 87% using combinations of indices to direct the sampling. We also demonstrate how combinations of the same indices can be used to detect long duration acoustic events (such as heavy rain and cicada chorus) and to construct long duration (24 h) spectrograms.

Organized crime and the environment

It has been recognized for some time that the liberalization of trade policies has had deleterious impacts on the world’s natural environment. The rapid expansion of globalized goods and services continues to create a human footprint with longlasting environmental consequences (White 2010). It is a footprint that represents rapid human activity and with it has come new commercial opportunities, not only for global businesses but also for organized criminal networks. Both the acceleration and by-products of global trade have created new markets as well as underground economies. As the opening quotation reveals, transnational environmental crime must become a policing priority as organized criminal...

Innate and adaptive immunity at mucosal surfaces of the female reproductive tract : stratification and integration of immune protection against the transmission of sexually transmitted infections

This review examines the multiple levels of pre-existing immunity in the upper and lower female reproductive tract. In addition, we highlight the need for further research of innate and adaptive immune protection of mucosal surfaces in the female reproductive tract. Innate mechanisms include the mucus lining, a tight epithelial barrier and the secretion of antimicrobial peptides and cytokines by epithelial and innate immune cells. Stimulation of the innate immune system also serves to bridge the adaptive arm resulting in the generation of pathogen-specific humoral and cell-mediated immunity. Less understood are the multiple components that act in a coordinated way to provide a network of ongoing protection. Innate and adaptive immunity in the human female reproductive tract are influenced by the stage of menstrual cycle and are directly regulated by the sex steroid hormones, progesterone and estradiol. Furthermore, the effect of hormones on immunity is mediated both directly on immune and epithelial cells and indirectly by stimulating growth factor secretion from stromal cells. The goal of this review is to focus on the diverse aspects of the innate and adaptive immune systems that contribute to a unique network of protection throughout the female reproductive tract.

Beef production and the environment : is it really 'hard to be green when you are in the red'?

The statement. 'it is hard to be green when you are in the red' is commonly used by primary producers to explain the necessity of placing a greater emphasis on financial survival rather than longer term environmental sustainability. The subject of environmental sustainability on pastoral properties was explored during face-to:face interviews with cattle grazers in the Fitzroy Basin area of Central Queensland. Findings from the study suggest that while economic factors are important, they are not the only determinant in whether a landholder priorities environmental sustainability, Rather. social factors such as knowledge claims. beliefs, attitudes. values, peer pressure and social sanctioning, constructed and enacted within the productivist paradigm of primary production. play a crucial role in how landholders manage their natural assets. This suggests that the edict that 'It is hard to be green when you are in the red' is inaccurate and does not explain why conservation-focused pastoral management is not yet occurring on a large scale.

Ecological design with respect to the environment of large-scale marina developments in Queensland

Ecological principles have been employed to assist in the sustainability of a suite of 'gateway' marinas currently being developed in Queensland. Tasks included (a) location and fostering of core remnant native vegetation areas, (b) understanding the dynamic patterns of region behaviour using the ecological strategies employed by key flora and fauna species, (c) promoting those native wildlife species best characterising the region, and (d) allocating management actions along elongated buffer zones to the catchment headwaters (rather than only peripheral to the property). The design of infrastructure and its relationship to sustainable landscape development is lacking such a response int eh planning and detailing of new marinas. This paper distinguishes between the practice of landscape ecology and the design of ecological landscapes, offering examples of the principles of the latter in support of the concept of ecological landscape practice.

An overview of the role of goethite surfaces in the environment

Goethite, one of the most thermodynamically stable iron oxides, has been extensively researched especially the structure (including surface structure), the adsorption capacity to anions, organic/organic acid (especially for the soil organic carbon) and cations in the natural environment and its potential application in environmental protection. For example, the adsorption of heavy metals by goethite can decrease the concentration of heavy metals in aqueous solution and immobilize; the adsorption to soil organic carbon can decrease the release of carbon and fix carbon. In this present overview, the possible physicochemical properties of the goethite surface contributing to the strong affinity of goethite to nutrients and contaminants in natural environment are reported. Moreover, these chemicals adsorbed by goethite were also summarized and the suggested adsorption mechanism for these adsorbates was elucidated, which will help us understand the role of goethite in natural environment and provide some information about goethite as an absorbent. In addition, the feasibility of goethite used as catalyst carrier and the precursor of NZVI was proposed for removal of environmental pollution.

Tactics of antifeminist backlash against the U. S. battered women's movement

Opposition to men’s violence against women who are their intimate partners has become politically popular in the United States. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has enjoyed broad-based support for over 15 years. VAWA has been refined and expanded with each reauthorization. Resistance to the battered women’s movement is often overlooked in this political context. However, woman abuse and state responses to it are mired in cultural tensions about crime, law, gender, economics, scholarship, and the family. Based on interviews with 35 advocates in the United States, this paper outlines key tactics of antifeminist backlash against the battered women’s movement.

Visualization of long-duration acoustic recordings of the environment

Acoustic recordings of the environment are an important aid to ecologists monitoring biodiversity and environmental health. However, rapid advances in recording technology, storage and computing make it possible to accumulate thousands of hours of recordings, of which, ecologists can only listen to a small fraction. The big-data challenge addressed in this paper is to visualize the content of long-duration audio recordings on multiple scales, from hours, days, months to years. The visualization should facilitate navigation and yield ecologically meaningful information. Our approach is to extract (at one minute resolution) acoustic indices which reflect content of ecological interest. An acoustic index is a statistic that summarizes some aspect of the distribution of acoustic energy in a recording. We combine indices to produce false-color images that reveal acoustic content and facilitate navigation through recordings that are months or even years in duration.

Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth: Improving the Environment for a Greener Future

Description Through a combination of global data analysis and focused country level analysis, this timely book provides answers to the most pertinent country and industry specific questions defining the current relationship between technology, natural resources and economic growth. Contents Contents: Preface Part I: Global Analysis 1. Economic Growth and the Environment 2. Energy Substitution and Carbon Dioxide Emissions 3. Pollution, Natural Resources, and Economic Growth 4. Trade Openness and Environmental Quality 5. Environmental Productivity 6. Energy Price-induced Technological Change 7. Trade-induced Technological Change 8. Regional Economic Integration Part II: Country-Level Analysis 9. Emissions Trading in the United States 10. Increasing Returns to Pollution Abatement in the United States 11. Policy-induced Competitiveness in the United States 12. Trade Liberalization, Technology, and the Environment 13. Policy Implementation and its Effectiveness in China 14. Clean Technological Inventions in Japan 15. Intervention of Economic Policy and its Nonlinear Effects in Japan 16. The Next Emerging Giants: India and Africa 17. Conclusion Index Further information Through a combination of global data analysis and focused country level analysis, this timely book provides answers to the most pertinent country and industry specific questions defining the current relationship between technology, natural resources and economic growth. Shunsuke Managi takes a distinctive approach by focusing on the design and implementation of environmental regulations that encourage technological progress and, in doing so, looks at ways to ensure productivity improvements in the face of increasingly stringent environmental regulations and natural resource depletion. The findings in this important book demonstrate how successful environmental policies can contribute to efficiency by encouraging, rather than inhibiting, technological innovation. Technology, Natural Resources and Economic Growth will provide a valuable resource for a wide readership including postgraduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers working in the fields of environmental and ecological economics.