Constructing the identity of a nation : the tourist gaze at the Museum of Scotland

In an era of global instability and crises of national identity, the role of heritage tourism in creating images of national identity has become an important area for research. This article considers the role of heritage tourism in constructing national identity in the nation of Scotland through the lens of the Museum of Scotland. It describes the findings of qualitative research undertaken with potential and actual target consumers to the Museum of Scotland. Three research questions were addressed: Does the Museum of Scotland construct (1) a vision of a `new' Scotland? (2) a symbol of a `real' Scotland? (3) a collective identity of Scotland? The findings suggest that heritage visitors actively identify through their gaze, constructing multifarious meanings of national identity that are dynamic rather than static.

Accumulated oxygen deficit measurements during and after high-intensity exercise in trained male and female adolescents

The purpose of this study was to compare accumulated oxygen deficits and markers of anaerobic metabolism [plasma ammonia (NH3) and lactate (La⁻) concentrations] in anaerobically trained male [n = 8, age 14.8 (0.5) years; maximal oxygen consumption V˙O2 max 61.74 (2.23) ml ·  kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹] and female [n = 8, age 14.5 (0.2) years; V˙O2 max 49.62 (3.52) ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹] adolescents. The exercise protocol consisted of runs to exhaustion at speeds predicted to represent 120% and 130% of V˙O2 max. Arterialised blood samples were obtained from a pre-warmed hand via a catheter inserted into a forearm vein. Samples were taken at rest and after 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20 min of recovery. The high-intensity exercise resulted in mean accumulated oxygen deficits that were less (P < 0.05) in females (52.3 ml · kg⁻¹) than in males (68.6 ml · kg⁻¹). Lower (P < 0.05) plasma concentrations of NH3 and La⁻¹, and a higher pH were evident in females compared with males during various stages of the 20-min recovery period. The increase in anaerobic performance in the male adolescent athletes when compared with their female counterparts was associated with an increased plasma concentration of selected plasma and blood metabolites. The observed results may reflect well-established differences between the sexes in the morphology and metabolic power of muscle.

Applying the good lives model to male perpetrators of domestic violence

Domestic violence is a pervasive social problem that has devastating emotional, physical, psychological, and financial costs for individuals, families, and communities. Despite the widespread use of current intervention programmes, recent reviews have demonstrated that these have only a small impact on the reduction of recidivism. In this article, we briefly summarise the features identified in the literature that distinguish domestically violent men from those who do not engage in such behaviours. We then explore the most common interventions used to treat domestic violence offenders and discuss the limitations of these interventions, before outlining the assumptions of the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strengthbased approach to the treatment of offenders. We discuss the advantages of using the GLM compared to existing approaches and finally, we consider future directions for the use of the GLM in domestic violence interventions.

Do male guppies distinguish virgin females from recently mated ones?

In some mating systems males should benefit from mating with virgin females because of their higher reproductive value. We determined experimentally whether and how males distinguish between virgin and recently mated females in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, a promiscuous livebearer. In a free-swimming experiment, males showed flexible mating behaviour by adjusting their tactics according to the mating status of the female they encountered, virgin or mated. Males followed, nipped and copulated with virgins more than with mated females, but they performed more sneaky copulations with mated females, possibly because the latter were more reluctant to mate than virgin females. When, in another set of experiments, males received only the visual cues of both virgins and mated females they showed no preference for either, but when they were exposed only to the female olfactory cues, they associated considerably more with the smell of virgin females. These results suggest that male guppies assess female behavioural and olfactory cues to determine female virginity and then use different mating tactics depending on the female's status. It is possible that the changes in male mating behaviour increase male reproductive success.

Vocal mimicry in male bowerbirds : who learns from whom?

Vocal mimicry is one of the more striking aspects of avian vocalization and is widespread across songbirds. However, little is known about how mimics acquire heterospecific and environmental sounds. We investigated geographical and individual variation in the mimetic repertoires of males of a proficient mimic, the spotted bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus maculatus. Male bower owners shared more of their mimetic repertoires with neighbouring bower owners than with more distant males. However, interbower distance did not explain variation in the highly repeatable renditions given by bower owners of two commonly mimicked species. From the similarity between model and mimic vocalizations and the patterns of repertoire sharing among males, we suggest that the bowerbirds are learning their mimetic repertoire from heterospecifics and not from each other.

Mating effort and female receptivity : how do male guppies decide when to invest in sex?

Males vary in the degree to which they invest in mating. Several factors can explain this variation, including differences in males’ individual condition and the fact that males allocate their energy depending on the context they face in each mating attempt. Particularly, female quality affects male reproductive success. Here, we studied whether male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) strategically allocated more mating effort, in terms of mating behaviour and male–male competition, when they were matched with a receptive (R) female than a non-receptive one. In accordance with our prediction, we found that males increased their mating behaviour when they were with a receptive female. Even though male guppies can inseminate non-receptive females, we only found high levels of courtship between males that were with a receptive female rather than a non-receptive one. Although there was little affect of female receptivity on male–male competition, we found that males chased and interrupted courtships more with receptive females than with non-receptive females regardless of odour. Finally, we also studied whether the sexual pheromone produced by receptive female guppies is a cue that males use in order to increase their mating effort. We found that males were more attracted to a female when they perceived the sexual pheromone, but only increased their mating and aggressive behaviours when females showed receptive behaviour. This strategic increase in mating effort could result in higher male reproductive success because mating attempts towards receptive females are likely to be less costly and males could have a greater probability of fertilisation.

Male mate-searching strategies and female cues: how do male guppies find receptive females?

Locating potential mates is critical to mating. We studied males’ association with females and mate-searching patterns in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, a promiscuous live-bearer. In the field, we examined whether male guppies respond differently to a shoal of conspecific fish based on the members of the shoal. We found that more males were attracted to shoals that contained receptive females than to shoals of nonreceptive females or males. We also conducted laboratory experiments to investigate how males use olfactory cues of nonreceptive and receptive females to search for and associate with females. We gave males the option to associate with nonreceptive females when olfactory cues of receptive or nonreceptive females were present and absent, and when olfactory cues were presented alone. Males associated with females most strongly when both cues were presented simultaneously, but when cues were presented separately males’ association with females differed with respect to the olfactory cues that were added. Males associated with females equally with visual and olfactory cues presented separately when the odour cues were from receptive females. However, when the odour cues were from nonreceptive females, males associated with females less with olfactory than visual cues. Searching activity increased when males had access only to olfactory cues. Taken together these results suggest that olfactory cues influence males’ association with females and searching behaviour, and these changes in behaviour are likely to maximize a male’s opportunity to encounter receptive females.

Strategic male signalling effort in a desert-dwelling fish

Males often use elaborate courtship displays to attract females for mating. Much attention, in this regard, has been focused on trying to understand the causes and consequences of signal variation among males. Far less, by contrast, is known about within-individual variation in signal expression and, in particular, the extent to which males may be able to strategically adjust their signalling output to try to maximise their reproductive returns. Here, we experimentally investigated male courtship effort in a fish, the Australian desert goby, Chlamydogobius eremius. When offered a simultaneous choice between a large and a small female, male gobies spent significantly more time associating with, and courting, the former, probably because larger females are also more fecund. Male signalling patterns were also investigated under a sequential choice scenario, with females presented one at a time. When first offered a female, male courtship was not affected by female size. However, males adjusted their courtship effort towards a second female depending on the size of the female encountered previously. In particular, males that were first offered a large female significantly reduced their courtship effort when presented with a subsequent, smaller, female. Our findings suggest that males may be able to respond adaptively to differences in female quality, and strategically adjust their signalling effort accordingly.

The interval between sexual encounters affects male courtship tactics in a desert-dwelling fish

Courtship displays are often important in determining male mating success but can also be costly. Thus, instead of courting females indiscriminately, males might be expected to adjust their signalling effort strategically. Theory, however, predicts that such adjustments should depend on the rate with which males encounter females, a prediction that has been subject to very little empirical testing. Here, we investigate the effects of female encounter rate on male courtship intensity by manipulating the time interval between sequential presentations of large (high quality) and small (low quality) females in a fish, the Australian desert goby Chlamydogobius eremius. Males that were presented with a small female immediately after a large female reduced their courtship intensity significantly. However, males courted large and small females with equal intensity if the interval between the sequential presentations was longer. Our results suggest that mate encounter rate is an important factor shaping male reproductive decisions and, consequently, the evolutionary potential of sexual selection.