Barn som vokser opp i dag lever sine barndommer i en digitalisert, institusjonalisert og pedagogisert hverdagslivskultur. På bakgrunn av dette har flere advart mot at tyngre læringsdiskurser og ...nyliberalistisk tenkning presser mot barns frie lek som har vært en kjerneverdi i nordiske barnehagen. Denne forståelsen av lek vektlegger dens iboende verdi, uavhengig av andre forhold. Hensikten med denne empirinære artikkelen er å utforske hvilke forestillinger om lek som kommer til uttrykk når barnehagelærere forteller om barnehagens digitale praksiser. Studien baserer seg på en narrativ analyse av 21 intervjuer og nærlesning av den norske rammeplanen. Analysen er innrammet av tverrfaglig barneforskning og gjør nytte av Webers begrepspar når den i diskusjonen viser at verdirasjonelt perspektiv på lek taper terreng til fordel for et formålsrasjonelt perspektiv. Artikkelen er et aktuelt empirisk bidrag som viser barnehagelæreres perspektiver i en polarisert og verdiladet debatt om barns liv og muligheter i den postmoderne barnehagen.
The aim of this study is to identify the psycho-social determinants of truck overloading from a behavioral perspective. Although there has been sizable efforts to investigate overloading from ...different perspectives, factors influencing truck drivers' decisions to overload have not been revealed. In this study, sampling 552 truck drivers, we used the theory of planned behavior (TPB), extended with risk perception (RP), facilitating circumstance (FC) and law enforcement knowledge (LEK), as a lens to examine overloading. A survey questionnaire was designed to collect data, including information regarding drivers' demographics and TPB variables. The results showed strong support for the application of the TPB in explaining overloading behavior. Specifically, behavioral intentions (BI) had the greatest direct positive effect on overloading behavior, followed by LEK, while perceived behavioral control had no direct positive effect. Interestingly, subjective norms had a significant positive effect on BI, while attitudes had a positive indirect effect, indicating that drivers' negative attitudes toward overloading could not alone reduce this risky violation. Furthermore, all extended TPB variables were significantly and positively associated with overloading intentions, with FC having the largest positive effect. Finally, these findings were discussed in view of determining how to make truck drivers less inclined to overload.
Abstract
Synchronized male courtship signals are puzzling because males generally compete with each other for females. Male Austruca mjoebergi fiddler crabs wave in synchrony to attract females, but, ...all else being equal, females have a strong preference for “leader” males that can produce waves before other males (“followers”). So why do followers participate in synchrony? Here, we experimentally investigate three explanations for why followers might wave in synchrony: 1) followers obtain a small proportion of matings, 2) followers are more likely than a leader to attract females if they are positioned closer to her than is the leader, and 3) synchrony functions as a long-distance visual signal that attracts females so there is a net benefit to synchrony for all males. Using robotic male crabs, we found that females show a strong preference for leading males, but followers obtain a “better-than-nothing” proportion of mates. We also showed that closer proximity of a follower to the female did not affect her preference for leaders, although being a leader increased a male’s success when he was further from the female than were rival males. Finally, females were more likely to approach a distant group if there was a leader present, suggesting that followers do benefit from participating in synchrony.
Males that stand out from the crowd attract female attention. Yet male fiddler crabs display in synchrony, even though females prefer “leader” males that wave slightly before the others (followers). So why wave when you are not a leader? Using robotic male crabs, we found that females do prefer leaders over followers, but groups with leaders attract more females from a distance than groups without one. Synchrony can therefore benefit all males within the group.
Sexual selection is an intense evolutionary force, which operates through competition for the access to breeding resources. There are many cases where male copulatory success is highly asymmetric, ...and few males are able to sire most females. Two main hypotheses were proposed to explain this asymmetry: "female choice" and "male dominance". The literature reports contrasting results. This variability may reflect actual differences among studied populations, but it may also be generated by methodological differences and statistical shortcomings in data analysis. A review of the statistical methods used so far in lek studies, shows a prevalence of Linear Models (LM) and Generalized Linear Models (GLM) which may be affected by problems in inferring cause-effect relationships; multi-collinearity among explanatory variables and erroneous handling of non-normal and non-continuous distributions of the response variable. In lek breeding, selective pressure is maximal, because large numbers of males and females congregate in small arenas. We used a dataset on lekking fallow deer (Dama dama), to contrast the methods and procedures employed so far, and we propose a novel approach based on Generalized Structural Equations Models (GSEMs). GSEMs combine the power and flexibility of both SEM and GLM in a unified modeling framework. We showed that LMs fail to identify several important predictors of male copulatory success and yields very imprecise parameter estimates. Minor variations in data transformation yield wide changes in results and the method appears unreliable. GLMs improved the analysis, but GSEMs provided better results, because the use of latent variables decreases the impact of measurement errors. Using GSEMs, we were able to test contrasting hypotheses and calculate both direct and indirect effects, and we reached a high precision of the estimates, which implies a high predictive ability. In synthesis, we recommend the use of GSEMs in studies on lekking behaviour, and we provide guidelines to implement these models.
The population size of capercaille Tetrao urogallus in Scotland was estimated from annual counts of males at 151 known spring lek sites and 45 counts of males, females and their broods in August ...during the period 2010–2020, combined with published survival estimates. Population size declined from an estimated 580 birds (95% CL: 462–698) in 2011 to 304 (239–369) in 2020 and the extinction probability was 23% after 25 years, 95% after 50 years and 100% after 100 years. Removing mortality associated with collisions against fences lowered extinction probabilities to 0, 3 and 40% respectively, emphasizing fence removal as a management priority. Greatest declines occurred in Deeside and Donside, Morayshire and Ross‐shire and Perthshire and Trossachs. In the Badenoch and Strathspey stronghold, where an estimated 83% of males remain, numbers of occupied leks and lekking males have decreased in the last five years and are associated with reduced breeding success over the last 10 years. Our estimates of population size are only half that derived from the last official national survey in winter 2015/2016. We discuss possible reasons for this difference including underestimates from lek‐based surveys linked to male detection probabilities. Finally, we recommend improvements to the current annual monitoring scheme, including repeat counts at leks and use of novel remote acoustic devices and restoration of annual brood counts in remaining key forests.
Color‐based visual signals are important aspects of communication throughout the animal kingdom. Individuals evaluate color to obtain information about age and condition and to behave accordingly. ...Birds display a variety of striking, conspicuous colors and make ideal subjects for the study of color signaling. While most studies of avian color focus on plumage, bare unfeathered body parts also display a wide range of color signals. Mate choice and intrasexual competitive interactions are easily observed in lekking grouse, which also signal with prominent unfeathered color patches. Most male grouse have one pair of colorful bare part ornaments (combs), and males of several species also have inflatable air sacs in their throat. Previous studies have mostly focused on comb color and size, but little is known about the signaling role of air sac color. We measured comb size and the color properties of combs and air sacs in the Lesser and Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and T. cupido, respectively), and investigated whether these properties varied with age and mass. We found that mass predicted color properties of air sacs and that age predicted comb size in the Greater Prairie‐Chicken, suggesting that these ornaments indicate condition dependence. No conclusive relationships between color and age or size were detected in the Lesser Prairie‐Chicken. Color properties of both ornaments differed between the two species. Further research is needed to determine mechanisms that link condition to color and whether the information advertised by color signals from these ornaments is intended for males, females, or both.
We measured comb size and the color properties of combs and air sacs in wild caught Lesser and Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and T. cupido, respectively), and investigated whether these properties varied with age and mass. We found that mass predicted color properties of air sacs and that age predicted comb size in the Greater Prairie‐Chicken, but no conclusive relationships between ornament color and age or size were detected in the Lesser Prairie‐Chicken. Our findings suggest the occurrence of a past episode of character displacement, possibly as a means of discouraging hybridization, between these recently diverged congeneric species.
The stalked barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes is an important economic resource in Portugal and Spain. Two extreme phenotypes can be identified, based on their morphology. More elongated barnacles are ...associated with bad quality and have a lower commercial value.
The fishers perception about the existence, definition and causes for this phenotypical/quality variation was evaluated through a survey performed in Portugal and Galicia, Spain. The existence of two extreme commercial qualities was validated. Good quality barnacles were mainly defined as thick and short in both countries. In Spain (Galicia), the definition of bad quality animals corresponded mainly to the terms long and thin, while in Portugal, fishers used a wider variety of terms including watery, thin and soft. The characteristics of the rock and the hydrodynamics were the causes most referred by the fishers for this variation.
The morphological variation of P. pollicipes was described by the ratio between maximal rostro-carinal length (RC) and total height (TH): RC/TH values > 0.4 indicate good quality barnacles; and values < 0.4 indicate bad quality barnacles.
Although morphological variation between the two extreme qualities/phenotypes was found, no genetic (amplified fragment length polymorphism - AFLP) or epigenetic (methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism - MSAP) differences were detected.
•Fishers confirmed the existence of two commercial qualities of Pollicipes pollicipes.•Good quality barnacles were defined by fishers as being thick and short.•Bad quality barnacles definition included the terms long, thin, watery, and soft.•RC/TH ratio can describe the morphological variation between the extreme phenotypes•No genetic or epigenetic differences were detected between both qualities/phenotypes.
I denne studien undersøker vi hvilke minner som kommer til syne når unge voksne møter barndommens nærnatur igjen, og hvordan kan vi forstå disse minnene. Arbeidet tar utgangspunkt i en kulturell ...fenomenologisk forståelse. Åtte unge voksne har gått tilbake til sine barndomssteder i skolens nærnatur sammen med en av forskerne. De har gått, klatret og snakket om friluftsliv, lek og lekesteder ute i barndommen. Metoden åpner for å studere komplekse, kroppsliggjorte og stedsspesifikke minner og erfaringer knyttet til konkrete steder, aktiviteter og sosiale relasjoner. Teoretisk bygger studien på fenomenologen Merleau-Pontys beskrivelser av hvordan mennesker bebor verden, Rosas teori om resonans og Caseys tekster om minner og steder. Resultatene viser at de unge voksnes kroppslige utforskning gjennom lek og friluftsliv i barndommen har vært avgjørende for dannelsen av det vi betegner som barndommens landskap. Deres minner fra stedene har hatt betydning for hvem de er i dag, og har lagt et grunnlag for hvordan de forholder seg til natur og medmennesker. Stedsidentitet, formet gjennom friluftsliv og lek i barndommens landskap, kan gi tilhørighet, forankring og resonans i en omskiftelig verden. Dette arbeidet viser at skolens nærnatur kan være viktig for barn og unges dannelse i vid forstand.
Centurio senex is an iconic bat characterized by a facial morphology deviating far from all other New World Leaf Nosed Bats (Phyllostomidae). The species has a bizarrely wrinkled face and lacks the ...characteristic nose leaf. Throughout its distribution from Mexico to Northern South America the species is most of the time rarely captured and only scarce information on its behavior and natural history is available. Centurio senex is frugivorous and one of the few bats documented to consume also hard seeds. Interestingly, the species shows a distinct sexual dimorphism: Adult males have more pronounced facial wrinkles than females and a fold of skin under the chin that can be raised in style of a face mask. We report the first observations on echolocation and mating behavior of Centurio senex, including synchronized audio and video recordings from an aggregation of males in Costa Rica. Over a period of 6 weeks we located a total of 53 perches, where during the first half of the night males were hanging with raised facial masks at a mean height of 2.35 m. Most of the time, the males moved just their wing tips, and spontaneously vocalized in the ultrasound range. Approaches of other individuals resulted in the perching male beating its wings and emitting a very loud, low frequency whistling call. Following such an encounter we recorded a copulation event. The observed aggregation of adult C. senex males is consistent with lek courtship, a behavior described from only few other bat species.
Coastal habitat mapping is a potentially powerful enabling tool to inform the design of strategies and actions in coastal zone planning and management, biodiversity conservation and more recently for ...blue carbon accounting. Habitat mapping is typically carried out by experts in remote sensing and geographical information systems, and rarely integrates stakeholders’ local ecological knowledge. To address a key knowledge gap in a previously unmapped coastal region of the Arabian Gulf, we applied a mixed-methods habitat mapping framework that integrates conventional remote sensing methods with shared knowledge from participatory mapping with local stakeholders. Using methodological pluralism, an accurate and cost-effective coastal habitat map was produced that had local relevance, facilitated knowledge exchange, considered socio-ecological factors, and incorporated spatial details that would have been absent or under-represented with conventional remote sensing methods. We demonstrate the relevance of the coastal habitat map as an enabler of actions that address multiple local and global sustainable development and biodiversity conservation policy targets for the Arabian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates.
•Integrative, participatory and step-wise framework for coastal habitat mapping.•Integration of multiple data sources, including local ecological knowledge.•Mapping Arabian Gulf coastal habitats in the United Arab Emirates.•Efficient and cost-effective mapping approach for the Arabian Gulf coastal waters.
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