Evolution of social behaviour in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata: do we need to look beyond kin selection?

Ropalidia marginata is a primitively eusocial wasp widely distributed in peninsular India. Although solitary females found a small proportion of nests, the vast majority of new nests are founded by small groups of females. In suchmultiple foundress nests, a single dominant female functions as the queen and lays eggs, while the rest function as sterile workers and care for the queen's brood. Previous attempts to understand the evolution of social behaviour and altruism in this species have employed inclusive fitness theory (kin selection) as a guiding framework. Although inclusive fitness theory is quite successful in explaining the high propensity of the wasps to found nests in groups, several features of their social organization suggest that forces other than kin selection may also have played a significant role in the evolution of this species. These features include lowering of genetic relatedness owing to polyandry and serial polygyny, nest foundation by unrelated individuals, acceptance of young non-nest-mates, a combination of well-developed nest-mate recognition and lack of intra-colony kin recognition, a combination of meek and docile queens and a decentralized self-organized work force, long reproductive queues with cryptic heir designates and conflict-free queen succession, all resulting in extreme intra-colony cooperation and inter-colony conflict.

Organic reactions in supercritical fluids: Continuous, selective and green

Supercritical fluids (SCFs) offer a wide range of opportunities as media for chemical reactions and supercritical CO2, ScCO2, is becoming increasingly important as a benign replacement for more toxic solvents.1 High pressure reactions, however, are more capital intensive than conventional low pressure processes. Therefore, supercritical fluids will only gain widespread acceptance in those areas where the fluids give real chemical advantages as well as environmental benefits. This lecture gives a brief account of the use of flow reactors for continuous reactions in supercritical fluids, particularly those of interest for the manufacture of fine chemicals.

Percepci��n de las pr��cticas parentales y experiencia de emociones positivas en adolescentes

Resumen: Esta investigaci��n tuvo por objetivo conocer, mediante un dise��o ex post facto, c��mo influyen las pr��cticas parentales percibidas por el adolescente sobre su capacidad de experimentar emociones positivas. Participaron 210 adolescentes argentinos de ambos sexos, de entre 14 y 16 a��os. Para obtener los datos se utiliz�� el Cuestionario de Emociones Positivas (Schmidt, 2008), y la Versi��n Abreviada de una Adaptaci��n Argentina del Children���s Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (Richaud de Minzi, 2005). Los resultados revelaron que el control patol��gico y la autonom��a extrema materna obstaculizan la experiencia de ciertas emociones positivas en los hijos. Con relaci��n a las pr��cticas paternas, la combinaci��n del control patol��gico, la baja aceptaci��n y la autonom��a extrema otorgada dificulta la experiencia emocional de los hijos.

The art of human rights : enriching the life of the law school through drawings and other visual resource

In the life of the Law School, focus on the ���visual��� can operate at three different levels: learning, teaching, and examining (legal concepts). My main interest in this paper is to explore the latter level, ���examining���, broadly considered so as to encompass evaluation in general. Furthermore, that interest is pinned down here to the area of constitutional rights and human rights in general, even though the conclusions reached can (and should) likely be extrapolated to other areas of the law... In effect, the first logical step regarding the relevance of the visual approach has to do with using it yourself when you study ���assuming that you came to the conclusion that you are a ���visual learner���. As you know, VARK theorists propose a quadripartite classification of learners. The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are used for learning information. This model was designed in the late 80s by Neil Fleming and it has received some acceptance and a lot of attention...

Catholic social economy : past evolution and present challenges

Introducci��n: This article provides a historical interpretation of Catholic social economy (also called Social Catholicism) in an attempt to give a Christian form to capitalism. The aim of this writing is to reflect on the evolution of Catholic economic thought and to offer some foreseeable development in light of the experience that characterized the early stages of this movement. By Catholic social economy, the author does not mean the social doctrine of the church, but the whole set of scientific work of Catholic scholars, with their different orientations and acceptance by the official documents of the holy soil. Roman Catholicism is the only religion that has produced wide and continuous scientific research about political economy. This should not be considered an anomaly, because the positivistic attitude of modern economics tends to crowd out the classic unitary view of man and of a good life that characterizes Catholic anthropology. As a consequence, it can be considered an attempt to address scientific research in a way compatible to the Catholic view of the ���social nature of man���, and not an attempt to resist or to contrast the role of science. The fundamental concepts of this stream of research have been the idea of natural law intended as a moral order (vs. the equilibrium of conflicting strategies), the social nature of man (vs. individualism and individual autonomy) and the role that charity and justice assume for individual behaviour inspired by the common good (vs. freedom and laissez faire)...

El viaje omnipresente : su funcionalidad discursiva en los relatos culturales de la segunda modernidad

N��mero monogr��fico: El viaje y sus discursos

En biolog��a nada tiene sentido sino a la luz de la evoluci��n��� : incorporaci��n teol��gica de este principio biol��gico

Resumen: El art��culo pretende indagar sobre algunos puntos de confluencia entre la teolog��a escolar y la evoluci��n biol��gica. Presuponiendo tanto la ausencia de una conflictividad de base, as�� como la posibilidad no s��lo de di��logo sino incluso de una integraci��n de las tem��ticas evolutivas dentro de la teolog��a escolar, se pretender�� individualizar algunas tareas internas a las disciplinas teol��gicas en la b��squeda de una asimilaci��n cr��tica de la evoluci��n. Si la reflexi��n teol��gica es una intelecci��n de la fe mediante los recursos racionales disponibles, habr�� de pensar la vida como creatura en el paradigma vigente para comprenderla racionalmente. En la actualidad, ��ste paradigma es el de la evoluci��n. Ahora bien, la invitaci��n a un ejercicio activo de asimilaci��n dentro del intellectus fidei no parece haber hallado, hasta el momento, una recepci��n teol��gica consistente al interior de las diversas disciplinas teol��gicas El estado de aparente paz y de admisi��n del n��cleo evolutivo por parte de la ense��anza oficial posibilita una tarea que emerge como compleja y desafiante: la de incorporar la panor��mica evolutiva al interno de la reflexi��n teol��gica.

An��lise do recurso contra o poder conclusivo das comiss��es

Estudo dos recursos ao poder conclusivo das comiss��es da C��mara dos Deputados. Faz uma an��lise de dados do seu cabimento, de suas raz��es, sua ocorr��ncia e a influ��ncia do Executivo. Para tanto, sistematiza as informa����es atrav��s da identifica����o e estudo dos dados que abrangem a 52�� Legislatura. Aborda os mecanismos regimentais pertinentes, al��m dos outros fatores intervenientes.

Recurso contra o poder conclusivo das comiss��es : uma an��lise

Estudo dos recursos ao poder conclusivo das comiss��es da C��mara dos Deputados, analisando dados do seu cabimento, de suas raz��es, sua ocorr��ncia e a influ��ncia do Executivo. Para tanto, sistematiza as informa����es atrav��s da identifica����o e estudo dos dados que abrangem a 52�� Legislatura. Aborda os mecanismos regimentais pertinentes, al��m dos outros fatores intervenientes.

Los dominios social y personal del autoconcepto

[Es] El estudio del autoconcepto contin��a siendo uno de los grandes retos de la investigaci��n psicol��gica. Se trata de un campo de investigaci��n muy amplio en el que tanto la dimensi��n f��sica como la acad��mica han sido objeto de numerosas investigaciones; por el contrario son pocas las investigaciones llevadas a cabo tanto sobre el autoconcepto social como sobre el autoconcepto personal. En este trabajo se informa de dos estudios llevados a cabo con el fin de verificar si los an��lisis factoriales confirman una estructura multidimensional de tres componentes en el caso del social (la responsabilidad social, la aceptaci��n social y la competencia social) y de cuatro componentes en la del personal: la autorrealizaci��n, la honradez, la autonom��a, y el ajuste emocional. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de la aplicaci��n de dos cuestionarios elaborados espec��ficamente para medir ambos dominios (APE y AUSO) confirman en buena medida esta estructura; los factores identificados explican un 52,56% y un 41,43%, respectivamente, de la varianza. Por otro lado, los ��ndices de consistencia interna son aceptables en ambos casos: alpha 0.85 en el APE y alpha 0.76 en el AUSO. Se proponen algunos cambios a incorporar en la versi��n definitiva de ambos cuestionarios.

La elecci��n de la marca del distribuidor en productos duraderos: factores de influencia

[ES] La apuesta de la distribuci��n por la extensi��n de su marca a las categor��as de productos duraderos, como electrodom��sticos y productos electr��nicos para el hogar, ha demostrado ser acertada, a pesar de las cr��ticas en contra de esta estrategia. Posiblemente, la mayor familiaridad del consumidor con las marcas del distribuidor, el cambio de actitud favorable hacia ��stas, la disponibilidad de la tecnolog��a, y por qu�� no, la crisis econ��mica internacional que afecta a las econom��as dom��sticas, pueden ser factores explicativos de este ��xito.

Alliance Learning: Revolutionising the way they work with an online learner management system

Since May 2012 Paul Cocker, Operation Executive and the Senior Management Team of Alliance Learning have introduced an online learner management system for every learner, requiring significant investment in systems, hardware, acceptance by staff and above all, time and commitment from the management team. This organisation has taken the radical step to overcome one of the major barriers to achieve its goal by dedicating three periods of two weeks where the business has closed for staff CPD training. A total of 500 man hours were invested to implement the online system. This is an excellent model of how to make these major changes effective in the shortest time.

Limited access alternatives for the Pacific groundfish fishery

Despite its wide acceptance in other fisheries, limited access remains a controversial topic among Pacific coast groundfish fishermen and fishery managers. It is controversial because it immediately opens a wide array of public policy issues. How should the public conserve fish stocks, and who should benefit from harvesting those fish? What are the costs and benefits to the public, the taxpayer, the fishing industry, and the coastal communities supporting the groundfish industry? Should the government push the industry to be economically efficient in harvesting; or should it discourage technical efficiency to conserve fish stocks? Should management preserve the economic status quo by protecting existing harvest shares? These are the broad issues occupying the discussions of policy makers and academic writers concerned with resource management. The goal of this introductory section is to define limited access, to dispel some basic misunderstandings about limited access, to clarify the optional forms oflimited access, and to review the various resource management objectives addressed. This should set the stage for the following more lengthy discussions. By reducing the scope of needless misunderstandings, it should also help to make future discussions of limited access more productive. (PDF file contains 52 pages.)

Preferences, actions and voting rules

In this paper we address several issues related to collective dichotomous decision-making by means of quaternary voting rules, i.e., when voters may choose between four actions: voting yes, voting no, abstaining and not turning up-which are aggregated by a voting rule into a dichotomous decision: acceptance or rejection of a proposal. In particular we study the links between the actions and preferences of the actors. We show that quaternary rules (unlike binary rules, where only two actions -yes or no- are possible) leave room for "manipulability" (i.e., strategic behaviour). Thus a preference profile does not in general determine an action profile. We also deal with the notions of success and decisiveness and their ex ante assessment for quaternary voting rules, and discuss the role of information and coordination in this context.

Drying of fish--factors to consider

Although one of the best possibilities for raising the animal protein of the diets of Nigerian is to increase the consumption of fish; particularly through the use of several methods of long term preservation techniques, such as drying, no radical approach has yet emerged. Although, a great deal of the artisanal fish catch is dried for the huge consumer and distant markets, the traditional methods of fish preservation need improvements to cope with demand for increased quantity, shelf-stable, and improved quality of fish products. The paper discusses drying requirements, heat and mass transfer, consumer acceptance, fuel sources, storage and marketing of dried fish products; and suggest ways and means of structurally transforming the artisanal technology of fish drying