Unpacking Pandora’s Box Shackleton, C. M.; Ruwanza, S.; Sanni, G. K. Sinasson ...
Ecosystems (New York),
06/2016, Volume:
19, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Research into the benefits that ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing has multiplied over the last few years following from the seminal contributions of the international Millennium Ecosystem ...Assessment. In comparison, the fact that some ecosystem goods and services undermine or harm human wellbeing has been seriously overlooked. These negative impacts have become known as ecosystem disservices. The neglect of ecosystem disservices is problematic because investments into the management or reduction of ecosystem disservices may yield better outcomes for human wellbeing, or at a lower investment, than management of ecosystem services. Additionally, management to optimise specific ecosystem services may simultaneously exacerbate associated disservices. We posit that one reason for the neglect of ecosystem disservices from the discourse and policy debates around ecosystems and human wellbeing is because there is no widely accepted definition or typology of ecosystem disservices. Here, we briefly examine current understandings of the term ecosystem disservices and offer a definition and a working typology to help generate debate, policy and management options around ecosystem disservices. We differentiate ecosystem disservices from natural hazards and social hazards, consider some of their inherent properties and then classify them into six categories. A variety of examples are used to illustrate the different types of, and management strategies to, ecosystem disservices.
The concept of a mathematical definition causes severe difficulties among students during problem solving and proving activities. Students’ difficulties with the use of mathematical definitions often ...arise from the fact that students are often given those definitions instead of constructing them. With the aim of developing an understanding of the kinds of student teachers evoked concept images of the notion of angle of contiguity, a qualitative case study was conducted at one state university in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was used to select 28 mathematics undergraduate student teachers who responded to a test item. Qualitative data analysis was guided by ideas drawn from the theoretical framework of Abstraction in Context and idea of imperative features of a mathematical definition. Student teachers written responses revealed that student teachers personal concept definitions consisted of ambiguous and irrelevant formulations that did not capture the essence of the idea of the angle of contiguity. In some cases their responses were not consistent with the definition of the angle of contiguity. Although there were a few instances of adequate descriptions of the concept, (8 out of 32) these and the inadequate descriptors elicited can contribute significantly towards efforts intended to improve mathematics instruction. Improved mathematics instruction will lead to enhanced conceptualizations of mathematics concepts.
The dramatic increase in social media use has challenged traditional social structures and shifted a great deal of interpersonal communication from the physical world to cyberspace. Much of this ...social media communication has been positive: Anyone around the world who has access to the Internet has the potential to communicate with and attract a massive global audience. Unfortunately, such ubiquitous communication can be also used for negative purposes such as cyberbullying, which is the focus of this paper. Previous research on cyberbullying, consisting of 135 articles, has improved the understanding of why individuals—mostly adolescents—engage in cyberbullying. However, our study addresses two key gaps in this literature: (1) how the information technology (IT) artifact fosters/inhibits cyberbullying and (2) why people are socialized to engage in cyberbullying. To address these gaps, we propose the social media cyberbullying model (SMCBM), which modifies Akers’ Akers RL (2011)
Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance
, 2nd ed. (Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ) social structure and social learning model. Because Akers developed his model for crimes in the physical world, we add a rich conceptualization of anonymity composed of five subconstructs as a key social media structural variable in the SMCBM to account for the IT artifact. We tested the SMCBM with 1,003 adults who have engaged in cyberbullying. The empirical findings support the SMCBM. Heavy social media use combined with anonymity facilitates the social learning process of cyberbullying in social media in a way that fosters cyberbullying. Our results indicate new directions for cyberbullying research and implications for anticyberbullying practices.
Species is the basic unit of biological diversity. However, among the different microbiological disciplines there is an important degree of disagreement as to what this unit may be. In this ...minireview, we argue that the main point of disagreement is the definition (i.e. the way species are circumscribed by means of observable characters) rather than the concept (i.e. the idea of what a species may be as a unit of biodiversity, the meaning of the patterns of recurrence observed in nature, and the why of their existence). Taxonomists have defined species by means of genetic and expressed characters that ensure the members of the unit are monophyletic, and exhibit a large degree of genomic and phenotypic coherence. The new technologies allowing high-throughput data acquisition are expected to improve future classifications significantly and will lead to database-based taxonomy centered on portable and interactive data. Future species descriptions of Bacteria and Archaea should include a high quality genome sequence of at least the type strain as an obligatory requirement, just as today an almost full-length 16S rRNA gene sequence must be provided. Serious efforts are needed in order to re-evaluate the major guidelines for standard descriptions.
•A good surveillance definition is necessary to assess quality improvement initiatives.•Outcome data could be affected by changes in surveillance definitions.•The Link Nurse Program is effective in ...preventing hospital-onset infections.
In January 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Health Safety Network (NHSN) changed the definition of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). We evaluated the outcomes of a robust CAUTI prevention program when we performed surveillance using the old definition (before 2015) versus the new definition (after 2015). This is the first study to evaluate how the change in CDC/NHSN definitions affected the outcomes of a CAUTI reduction program.
Baseline was from January 2012 to September 2014; the intervention period was from October 2014 to February 2016. Staff nurses were trained to be liaisons of infection prevention (Link Nurses) with clearly defined CAUTI prevention goals and with ongoing monthly activities. CAUTI incidence per 1000 catheter days was compared between the baseline and intervention periods, using the 2 definitions.
With the new definition, CAUTIs decreased by 33%, from 2.69 to 1.81 cases per 1000 catheter days (incidence rate ratio IRR = 0.67; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.48-0.93; P < .016). With the old definition, CAUTIs increased by 12%, from 3.38 to 3.80 cases per 1000 catheter days (IRR = 1.12; 95% CI: 0.88-1.43; P = .348).
We aggressively targeted CAUTI prevention, but a reduction was observed only with the new definition. Our findings stress the importance of having a reasonably accurate surveillance definition to monitor infection prevention initiatives.
Abstract We critically review the existing literature about the epidemiology (i.e., diagnosis, occurrence, age, gender, comorbidity with epilepsy, associated factors, prognosis, mortality, and cost) ...of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and provide suggestions for future research. Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures are commonly diagnosed at epilepsy centers. The diagnosis of PNES relies on a multidisciplinary evaluation and is usually based on different combinations of data. Recording a seizure, while under video-EEG monitoring, is the most reliable diagnostic test. However, not all patients present with seizures while under video-EEG monitoring. Furthermore, not all epileptic seizures produce visible changes in the scalp EEG. The incidence of PNES was estimated to be 1.4–4.9/100,000/year in three previous studies, and the prevalence was calculated to be between 2 to 33 per 100,000 in one study, making it a significant neuropsychiatric condition. However, there remains a scarcity of data about the epidemiology of PNES, and extant studies that assessed the epidemiological characteristics of PNES have significant limitations. For example, inconsistencies with regard to the age of patients studied and lack of standardization of the diagnostic criteria are some of the significant limitations among studies. In conclusion, PNES merit further epidemiological and pathophysiological investigation. A more precise definition and clear guidance on standards for the diagnosis might influence the direction of future research. Well-designed prospective population-based studies to clarify the epidemiology of PNES in various parts of the world, including an evaluation of the predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors in cross-cultural comparisons is required.
PurposeThe paper introduces a new conceptualisation of entrepreneurship that promotes a broader perspective of the phenomenon. The purpose of the paper is to re-conceptualise the act of ...entrepreneurship so as to reduce it to the fundamental behaviours and processes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper sets out the motivations for and challenges in establishing a broader definition of entrepreneurship. Following this, current approaches to defining entrepreneurship are reviewed. In light of these, a definition of entrepreneurship is offered that captures a new perspective in understanding entrepreneurship. A critique of the offered definition is offered with regards to promoting theory development, empirical research, quality predictions and a distinctive research domain.FindingsThe authors argue that a definition of entrepreneurship that is focussed on the development and validation of ideas provides a thought-provoking re-conceptualisation of entrepreneurship. Extant perspectives on entrepreneurship as business/organisation creation, uncertainty, innovation, value creation and opportunity recognition/creation are drawn on to demonstrate the applicability of the definition.Originality/valueThe pursuit for an encompassing definition of entrepreneurship has been both extensive and earnest, which has inadvertently resulted in a sizable pool of definitions. The authors offer a re-conceptualisation of entrepreneurship with the intent to provide a broad yet coherent definition that encompasses all acts of entrepreneurship. A benefit of this conceptualisation is the establishment of the endpoint of the entrepreneurship process that delineates it from the domain of management.
•This article defines food literacy.•Eleven components of food literacy have been identified.•Components fall into the domains of: planning and management; selection; preparation; and eating.•The ...exact nature of each component is contextually driven which will impact on its measurement.
Food literacy has emerged as a term to describe the everyday practicalities associated with healthy eating. The term is increasingly used in policy, practice, research and by the public; however, there is no shared understanding of its meaning. The purpose of this research was to develop a definition of food literacy which was informed by the identification of its components. This was considered from two perspectives: that of food experts which aimed to reflect the intention of existing policy and investment, and that of individuals, who could be considered experts in the everyday practicalities of food provisioning and consumption. Given that food literacy is likely to be highly contextual, this second study focused on disadvantaged young people living in an urban area who were responsible for feeding themselves. The Expert Study used a Delphi methodology (round one n=43). The Young People’s Study used semi-structured, life-course interviews (n=37). Constructivist Grounded Theory was used to analyse results. This included constant comparison of data within and between studies. From this, eleven components of food literacy were identified which fell into the domains of: planning and management; selection; preparation; and eating. These were used to develop a definition for the term “food literacy”.
Let k be a field with algebraic closure k¯ and D⊂Pk¯1 a reduced, effective divisor of degree n≥3, write kD for the field of moduli of D. A. Marinatto proved that when n is odd, or n=4, D descends to ...a divisor on PkD1.
We analyze completely the problem of when D descends to a divisor on a smooth, projective curve of genus 0 on kD, possibly with no rational points. In particular, we study the remaining cases n≥6 even, and we obtain conceptual proofs of Marinatto's results and of a theorem by B. Huggins about the field of moduli of hyperelliptic curves.
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