scholarly journals Should the Critically Endangered Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara be culled in Florida?

Oryx ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Frias-Torres
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Top Predator ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Goliath Grouper ◽  
Red Lionfish ◽  
National Marine Fisheries Service

AbstractThe Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara has been protected in the USA since 1990. In Florida commercial and recreational fishers consider the species a top predator of fish and lobster and advocate culling the grouper population as a solution to recover declining stocks. I examined the scientific evidence for and against culling the Goliath grouper, using commercial landing data from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (1950–2010), fisheries-independent diver-based surveys from the REEF Environmental Education Foundation (1993–2007), and published dietary and morphological studies. An analysis of the commercial extinction of the Goliath grouper in Florida indicates that its recovering population is not the cause of declining fish and lobster stocks. The recovering Goliath grouper population could provide ecological and socio-economic benefits: as top-down control on other lobster predators, in ecotourism, and as potential biocontrol of the invasive Indo-Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans on Atlantic reefs.

scholarly journals “A debriefer must be neutral” and other debriefing myths: a systemic inquiry-based qualitative study of taken-for-granted beliefs about clinical post-event debriefing

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Carolin Seelandt ◽  
Katie Walker ◽  
Michaela Kolbe
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Clinical Event ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Healthcare Administrators

Abstract Background The goal of this study was to identify taken-for-granted beliefs and assumptions about use, costs, and facilitation of post-event debriefing. These myths prevent the ubiquitous uptake of post-event debriefing in clinical units, and therefore the identification of process, teamwork, and latent safety threats that lead to medical error. By naming these false barriers and assumptions, the authors believe that clinical event debriefing can be implemented more broadly. Methods We interviewed an international sample of 37 clinicians, educators, scholars, researchers, and healthcare administrators from hospitals, universities, and healthcare organizations in Western Europe and the USA, who had a broad range of debriefing experience. We adopted a systemic-constructivist approach that aimed at exploring in-depth assumptions about debriefing beyond obvious constraints such as time and logistics and focused on interpersonal relationships within organizations. Using circular questions, we intended to uncover new and tacit knowledge about barriers and facilitators of regular clinical debriefings. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed following a comprehensive process of inductive open coding. Results In total, 1508.62 min of interviews (25 h, 9 min, and 2 s) were analyzed, and 1591 answers were categorized. Many implicit debriefing theories reflected current scientific evidence, particularly with respect to debriefing value and topics, the complexity and difficulty of facilitation, the importance of structuring the debriefing and engaging in reflective practice to advance debriefing skills. We also identified four debriefing myths which may prevent post-event debriefing from being implemented in clinical units. Conclusion The debriefing myths include (1) debriefing only when disaster strikes, (2) debriefing is a luxury, (3) senior clinicians should determine debriefing content, and (4) debriefers must be neutral and nonjudgmental. These myths offer valuable insights into why current debriefing practices are ad hoc and not embedded into daily unit practices. They may help ignite a renewed momentum into the implementation of post-event debriefing in clinical settings.

scholarly journals Feasibility of using a biofeedback device in mindfulness training - a pilot randomized controlled trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenna Lin ◽  
Christopher Prickett ◽  
Steven Woltering
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Biofeedback Device

Abstract Background Stress can negatively impact an individual’s health and well-being and high levels of stress are noted to exist among college students today. While traditional treatment methods are plagued with stigma and transfer problems, newly developed wearable biofeedback devices may offer unexplored possibilities. Although these products are becoming commonplace and inexpensive, scientific evidence of the effectiveness of these products is scarce and their feasibility within research contexts are relatively unexplored. Conversely, companies are not required, and possibly reluctant, to release information on the efficacy of these products against their claims. Thus, in the present pilot, we assess the feasibility of using a real-time respiratory-based biofeedback device in preparation for a larger study. Our main aims were to assess device-adherence and collaboration with the company that develops and sells the device. Method Data were collected from 39 college students who self-identified as experiencing chronic stress at a Southwestern university in the USA. Students were randomized into either a mindfulness-only control group without a biofeedback device (n = 21), or an experimental group with biofeedback device (n = 18). Both groups received mindfulness meditation training. Pre-test and post-test procedures were conducted 2 weeks apart. Further, both participant compliance and company compliance were assessed and collaboration with the company was evaluated. Results Participant device-adherence as well as the company’s collaboration necessary for a full-scale study was determined to be low. This may also have affected our results which showed a strong main effect for time for all outcome variables, suggesting all groups showed improvement in their levels of stress after the intervention period. No group by time effects were identified, however, indicating no added benefit of the biofeedback device. Conclusions Our findings suggest feasibility of future studies requires full collaboration and detailed and agreed upon data sharing procedures with the biofeedback company. The particular device under investigation added no value to the intervention outcomes and it was not feasible to continue a larger-scale study. Further, as the technology sector is innovating faster than it can validate products, we urge for open science collaborations between public and private sectors to properly develop evidence-based regulations that can withstand technological innovation while maintaining product quality, safety, and effectiveness. Trial registration NCT02837016. Registered 19 July 2016.

Defeating the Minotaur: The Construction of CEO Charisma on the US Stock Market

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 811-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Fanelli ◽  
Nora Ilona Grasselli
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Charismatic Leadership ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Securities Analysts ◽  
The Us ◽  
Organizational Symbolism ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Ceo Successions ◽  
Securities Analyst

This paper illustrates the construction of CEO charisma within the US stock market. By metaphorically employing the myth of the Minotaur, we discuss three forces underlying the rise of heroic CEO images in the USA: Ariadne, or charismatic leadership theory and its formulation of charisma; Theseus, or the CEOs struggling to obtain power over stock market actors; and the Minotaur, or the stock market itself and the securities analyst profession. Building on the literature on organizational symbolism, we present a qualitative study of two CEO successions, focusing on the form and content of the persona and the vision projected by CEOs and elaborated by securities analysts. The results suggest that jointly constructing charisma through discourse, CEOs and analysts enact a form of power that does not lie in top-down coercion, but rather on the emergent, active involvement and contribution of its very subjects.

FDA’s reduced exposure marketing order for IQOS: why it is not a reliable global model

2021 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-056316
Author(s):  
Lauren Kass Lempert ◽  
Stella Bialous ◽  
Stanton Glantz
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Tobacco Product ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
Sales And Marketing ◽  
Philip Morris ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Difference

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued orders in July 2020 authorising Philip Morris Products S.A. to market its heated tobacco product (HTP) IQOS inside the USA with claims that it reduces exposure to some dangerous substances. FDA’s ‘reduced-exposure’ orders explicitly prohibit the marketing of IQOS with claims that IQOS will reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related diseases. Under US law, FDA’s IQOS orders are problematic because FDA disregarded valid scientific evidence that IQOS increases exposure to other dangerous toxins and that Philip Morris Products S.A. failed to demonstrate that consumers understand the difference between reduced-exposure and reduced-harm claims. Unfortunately, both ‘reduced-exposure’ and ‘reduced-harm’ are classified as ‘modified risk tobacco products’ under US law. Exploiting this confusion, Philip Morris International used the FDA decision as the basis for marketing and public relations campaigns outside the USA to press governments to reverse policies that ban or regulate the sales and marketing of HTPs, including IQOS. Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control should reject tobacco companies’ unsubstantiated explicit or implied claims of reduced harm associated with HTPs and resist Philip Morris International’s and other companies’ calls to relax HTP regulations based on the FDA’s actions. Instead, parties should adopt policies aligned with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control when dealing with HTPs and other novel tobacco products.

Il principio di precauzione: il Codice di condotta della Fao per la pesca responsabile e la politica comunitaria della pesca

2009 ◽  
pp. 87-106
Author(s):  
Elisa Fiora Belgrado
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Aquatic Resources ◽  
Fisheries Policy ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second World

- "From ancient times, fishing has been a major source of food for humanity and a provider of employment and economic benefits to those engaged in this activity. The wealth of aquatic resources was assumed to be an unlimited gift of nature. However, with increased knowledge and the dynamic development of fisheries after the Second World War, this myth has faded in face of the realization that aquatic resources, although renewable, are not infinite and need to be properly managed, if their contribution to the nutritional, economic and social well-being of the growing world's population is to be sustained" (Fao Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries - Preface). Thus fishing has to be conducted in a responsible and sustainable manner because fish provides a vital source of food and, at the same time, fishing is closely connected to the environment because, if it is not properly practised can it cause irreparable damage. This work analyses the principle of precaution which was recognized as principle no. 15 in the Declaration of Rio on Environment and Development in 1992 and mentioned at the Conference on Biological Diversity. It represents one of the fundamental principles of the Fao Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and Common Fisheries Policy (Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002). States should apply a precautionary approach choosing the best measures and policy, taking into account the latest scientific evidence available. The aim is «to protect and conserve living aquatic resources, to provide for their sustainable exploitation and to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine eco-systems.» (article 2 Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002).Parole chiave: scienza, protezione, precauzione, pesca, sviluppo.Key words: Science, Protection, Precaution, Fishing, Development.

scholarly journals Comparative Environmental, Economic, and Jobs Impacts in the USA of Renewable Energy Compared to Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Roger H Bezdek ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Environmental Economic ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
And Storage

This paper assesses the relative economic and jobs benefits of retrofitting an 847 MW USA coal power plant with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology compared to replacing the plant with renewable (RE) energy and battery storage. The research had two major objectives: 1) Estimate the relative environmental, economic, and jobs impacts of CCUS retrofit of the coal plant compared to its replacement by the RE scenario; 2) develop metrics that can be used to compare the jobs impacts of coal fueled power plants to those of renewable energy. The hypotheses tested are: 1) The RE option will reduce CO2 emissions more than the CCUS option. We reject this hypothesis: We found that the CCUS option will reduce CO2 emissions more than the RE option. 2) The RE option will generate greater economic benefits than the CCUS option. We reject this hypothesis: We found that the CCUS option will create greater economic and jobs benefits than the RE option. 3) The RE option will create more jobs per MW than the CCUS option. We reject this hypothesis: We found that the CCUS option will create more jobs per MW more than the RE option. We discuss the implications of these findings.

scholarly journals Achieving mangrove conservation and sustainable use in Mexico through community-based Management Units for Wildlife Conservation within and beyond Protected Areas

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Fajardo ◽  
Ignacio Valdez Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Management Units ◽  
Alternative Scheme

Mangroves are valuable socio-ecological ecosystems that provide vital goods and services to millions of people, including wood, a renewable natural capital, which is the primary source of energy and construction material for several coastal communities in developing countries. Unfortunately, mangrove loss and degradation occur at alarming rates. Regardless of the protection and close monitoring of mangrove ecosystems in Mexico during the last two decades, mangrove degradation and the loss of biodiversity is still ongoing. In some regions, unregulated and unsustainable mangrove wood harvesting are important causes of degradation. In this context, community-based mangrove forestry through Management Units for Wildlife Conservation could be a cost-effective alternative scheme to manage and conserve mangrove forests, their ecosystem services and biological diversity within and beyond protected areas while providing sustainable local livelihoods and helping reduce illegal logging. The objective of the Management Units is to promote alternative means of production with the rational and planned use of renewable resources based on Management Plans. If implemented with a multidisciplinary perspective that incorporates scientific assessments this conservation strategy may contribute to achieving national and international environmental and biodiversity agreements providing multiple social, ecological and economic benefits from local to global scales.

scholarly journals First Report of Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera pannosa) of Roses in Sinaloa, Mexico

Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (10) ◽  
pp. 1442-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Félix-Gastélum ◽  
G. Herrera-Rodríguez ◽  
C. Martínez-Valenzuela ◽  
I. E. Maldonado-Mendoza ◽  
F. R. Quiroz-Figueroa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Powdery Mildew ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Flower Bud ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Sphaerotheca Pannosa

Rose (Rosa spp.) is the most important ornamental plant cultivated in greenhouse and open fields in Mexico but its quality has been limited by powdery mildew (PM). High incidence and disease damage is common during winter in Sinaloa, Mexico (temperature range 18 to 25°C and prolonged episodes of relative humidity ≥90%). The fungus attacks leaves and flowers and grows abundantly on the pedicels, sepals, and receptacles, especially when the flower bud is unopened (2). Field advisors in Mexico have referred to Sphaerotheca pannosa (Wallr. ex Fr.) Lév. as a causal agent of the disease. However, there has not been solid scientific evidence to support this statement. Morphometric and molecular analysis were conducted to elucidate the identity of the fungal isolates collected from 2012 through 2013 in northern Sinaloa. PM specimens included eight different rose varieties. Conidiophores and conidia were observed under a compound microscope. The mycelium had a mean diameter of 4.7 to 6.0 μm; conidiophores (Euoidium type) 2 to 5 celled, occasionally 6 celled emerged from the superficial mycelium; conidiophores were unbranched with conidia produced in chains from the apex. The average length of the conidiophores was 54.9 to 98.0 μm; the foot cell of the conidiophores was straight and was 24.9 to 53.6 μm long with a diameter from 8.2 to 9.8 μm across its medium part. Conidia originated from unswollen conidiogenous cells, with fibrosin bodies, formed in long chains, and were cylindrical to ovoid, 25.8 to 30.4 μm long and 13.9 to 17.3 μm wide. The outline of the conidial chains was crenate. Conidia exhibited a slight constriction at one end. The germ tubes emerged from a shoulder of the conidia. The outer wall of partially collapsed conidia showed longitudinal and transversal wrinkling and slight constrictions at the ends; the terminal end of the conidia was concentrically ridged. For molecular characterization, the ITS region of the specimens was amplified with primers ITS1F and ITS4. Phylogenetic analysis was performed with MEGA 6.0 (bootstrap = 1,000) using Kimura 2 parameter (K2P) substitution model. The resulting phylogeny grouped our specimens (GenBank KM001665 to 69) within a clade of Podosphaera pannosa (Wall.: Fr.) de Bary (formerly known as Sphaerotheca pannosa) sequences (e.g., AB525938; bootstrap (1,000) = 98). Phylogenetic and morphometric data are in agreement with descriptions of the anamorphic P. pannosa (1,3). Morphological studies indicate that P. macularis (previously known as S. humuli) and P. pannosa are not indistinctly different (2). Phylogenetic analysis showed relationship to P. pannosa, but not to P. macularis. Typical symptoms caused by P. pannosa were observed. Morphological studies (4) reported the anamorph of P. pannosa on Rosa spp. in central Mexico. To date, no report exists on the molecular identification of P. pannosa associated to roses in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. Future research directions should focus on finding the teleomorph of the fungus to support its identity, and to explore disease management tools such as effective fungicides and developing resistant rose cultivars. References: (1) U. Braun et al. Page 13 in: The Powdery Mildews: A Comprehensive Treatise. APS Press, St. Paul, MN, 2002. (2) R. K. Horst. Compendium of Rose Diseases. APS Press, St. Paul, MN, 1983. (3) L. Leus et al. J. Phytopathol. 154:23, 2006. (4) Yañez-Morales et al. Some new reports and new species of powdery mildew from Mexico. Schlechtendalia 19:46, 2009.

Use them or lose them? Conservation and the consumptive use of marine turtle eggs at Ostional, Costa Rica

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA M. CAMPBELL
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
And Control

'Sustainable use' of wildlife resources and 'community based conservation' are two themes recurrent in contemporary statements of wildlife conservation policy, and their use is in response to a perceived 'deep conservation crisis' which has in part arisen from exclusionary and restrictive conservation practices. The extent to which the legal harvest of marine turtle eggs in Ostional, Costa Rica, is an example of sustainable use and community based conservation is evaluated in this paper. Field research using in-depth interviewing and a household questionnaire was undertaken in Ostional during 1994 and 1995, to investigate local perceptions of the egg harvesting project, both positive and negative. Socio-economic benefits from, and legal and administrative structures supporting, the project were found to be fundamental to community support for a limited egg harvest and allowed for community participation in, and control of, resource use. Participation and control were key to local support for conservation of nesting marine turtles and their eggs. Attempts to use wildlife sustainably must be considered on a case by case basis, to account for the biological nature of the wildlife resource and environment in question and for local socio-economic, political and historical conditions. Nevertheless, some of the lessons learned from the attempt to implement sustainable use and community based conservation in Ostional may be more widely generalized, and may help inform other efforts to reconcile wildlife conservation objectives with local development needs.

scholarly journals Large ranches as conservation tools in the Venezuelan llanos

Oryx ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Hoogesteijn ◽  
Colin A. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Personal Involvement ◽  
Venezuelan Llanos ◽  
Seasonally Flooded

Traditionally, wildlife conservation efforts have concentrated on the establishment of national parks and reserves. Additional strategies are needed if we are to conserve more than a small proportion of the world's natural habitats and their wildlife. One such strategy is the application of wildlife conservation regulations by private land owners on their properties. This paper uses examples of ranches in the seasonally flooded llanos of Venezuela to evaluate if effective wildlife conservation can coexist with sustainable wildlife use and cattle production. Income estimates derived from cattle production data varied among ranches from $US7.1 to $US26.4 per ha, while estimates of potential additional income through regulated capybara Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris and caiman Caiman crocodilus exploitation ranged up to $US7.7 per ha. The economic benefits of capybara and caiman harvests can be realized only by protecting wildlife habitat. Thus, it is suggested that large ranches in the llanos can play a major role in wildlife conservation as well as provide economic gains for those involved. Common denominators for success are: personal involvement of owners, effective patrolling systems, co-operation of neighbouring ranchers in patrolling activities, and ranches being located far from densely populated areas. For the programmes to succeed in the long term, government and conservation agencies will need to give more support to landowners.

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