Personality correlates with contextual plasticity in a free-living, long-lived seabird

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (9) ◽  
pp. 1281-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn K. Grace ◽  
David J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Behavioural Syndrome ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Highly Correlated

Despite a rapid increase in animal personality research, critical gaps remain. We have little knowledge of the long-term (as opposed to short-term) consistency of personality and the relationships between personality and behavioural flexibility in wild, free-living animals. This study investigates personality (i.e., consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour) and contextual plasticity (i.e., plasticity in behaviour between contexts) of these traits in the Nazca booby (Sula granti), a long-lived, free-living seabird. We tested birds for personality in the field, during incubation, using a human intruder test, two novel object tests, and a social stimulus test (mirror), and determined repeatability of behavioural traits both within-season (short-term) and between several years (long-term). We found high short- and long-term repeatability of aggressive and anxiety-related behaviours when confronted with a nest intruder and novel objects, but lower repeatability during social stimulation. Contextual plasticity was highly repeatable across years for aggressive behaviours, and low for anxiety-related behaviours. Plasticity did not correlate across behaviours into a ‘meta-personality’ trait. Contextual plasticity in behavioural traits was highly correlated with the expression of those traits, suggesting that individuals are able to both react strongly and modify their behaviour depending on context, perhaps due to consistent differences in individual quality. Model selection exercises using structural equation models evaluated the relationships between personality factors, indicating a behavioural syndrome in which anxiety- or agitation-related behaviours covary strongly and positively, and both covary weakly and negatively with aggression.

Long-Term Total Negative Effects of School-Average Ability on Diverse Educational Outcomes

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Marsh ◽  
Alison J. O’Mara
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Average Ability ◽  
School Grades

In a longitudinal analysis of students measured on five occasions over eight critical developmental years (grade 10 to five years after high school graduation), school-average ability (M-ABIL) had negative effects on academic self-concept (ASC), school grades, and educational and occupational aspirations. For educational attainment, the direct effects were positive, the indirect effects negative, and the total effects nonsignificant. Previous research has typically reported short-term negative direct effects of M-ABIL, known as the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE). Using complex structural equation models, we demonstrate that long-term total (direct plus indirect) effects are systematically much more negative than direct effects across diverse educational outcomes, and explore how M-ABIL effects on long-term distal outcomes are mediated through effects on more proximal variables and distinguished from effects of school-average SES. We also demonstrate how ’grading on a curve’ effects (in which equally able students get lower school grades in schools with a high M-ABIL) – often confounded with the BFLPE in short-term studies – is qualitatively different from the BFLPE when considered longitudinally.

scholarly journals Post-Acquisition Performance of Emerging Market Firms: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Acquisitions in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 567
Author(s):  
Arindam Das
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Acquisition Performance ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance ◽  
A Performance

M&A performance is a multifaceted, compound construct with no overarching factor that captures all different dimensions. This paper examines the concept of acquisition performance and proposes a model that links firm-level factors and transaction parameters with firms’ short-term and long-term performance, extending to financial-, market- and innovation measures. Building on past empirical studies on the influence of various factors on M&A performance, a multi-dimensional structural equation model has been developed and it has been tested with a dataset on acquisitions in the Indian technology sector over a period of ten years. The results suggest that: (a) smaller acquirers with higher book value and leveraged firms demonstrate better long-term performance; (b) contrary to established understanding, short-term market returns are not influenced by deal parameters; (c) majority stake purchases show relatively lesser gains—suggesting the possible presence of post-acquisition integration issues and, (d) acquirers with high intangible assets continue to do well on innovation performance post-acquisition. By indicating situations and conditions under which an acquisition would potentially lead to a performance gain for the acquirer, these results provide significant insight to practitioners pursuing M&As for growth opportunities.

Short-term and long-term variability of indices related to nutritional status. I: Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, and Zn.

1989 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
S K Gallagher ◽  
L K Johnson ◽  
D B Milne
Keyword(s):  
Superoxide Dismutase ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Iron Status ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Analytical Technique ◽  
Metabolic Unit ◽  
Biological Component ◽  
Analytical Variation

Abstract Five free-living women (ages 28-38 y) and five women (ages 23-44 y) residing in a metabolic unit and eating a constant diet were assessed for variation in indices related to mineral nutrition. Blood was sampled once a month for five months, once a week for five weeks, and once a day for five days to assess analytical and biological variability. Analytical variability was determined by using concurrently run duplicate control samples prepared from plasma or serum pools. Of the measured indices, serum ferritin varied most, with intra-individual variance of 4.72% to 18.0%. Much of this variance may have been because of changes in iron status or in the analytical technique used. Intra-individual month-to-month variance for other indices ranged from 17% for superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) to 1.5% for calcium. Correction for long-term analytical variation indicated that most of the variance was associated with the biological component. The higher biological variabilities of some indices, including ferritin or superoxide dismutase, need to be considered when nutritional status is being evaluated or when serial observations are made over a protracted period in clinical studies or trials.

scholarly journals Short-term, but not long-term, increased daytime workload leads to decreased night-time energetics in a free-living song bird

2019 ◽  
Vol 222 (14) ◽  
pp. jeb199513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel E. Visser ◽  
Coby van Dooremalen ◽  
Barbara M. Tomotani ◽  
Andrey Bushuev ◽  
Harro A. J. Meijer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Short Term ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Song Bird

scholarly journals The Evaluation of Short- and Long-Term Performance of Cold-Mix Asphalt Patching Materials

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Chien-Wei Huang ◽  
Tsung-Han Yang ◽  
Guan-Bo Lin
Keyword(s):  
Stability Result ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Curing Conditions ◽  
Initial Stability ◽  
Service Durability ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Marshall Stability ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

Potholes, one of the major types of distress on pavement surfaces, damage vehicles and are a safety hazard for the travelling public. In order to mitigate the effect of potholes, cold-mix asphalt (CMA) patching materials are commonly used for urgent repair of pavement surfaces before resurfacing can be undertaken. Therefore, the short-term (initial stability) and long-term (in-service durability) performance evaluation of CMA patching materials is necessary. This study conducted several curing conditions in the laboratory to investigate short-term, long-term, and moisture effects on pavement surfaces. Moreover, this study compared the Marshall stability of samples prepared under various compaction conditions. Marshall stability, Cantabro abrasion, and UK wheel tracking tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of CMA patching materials. The results indicated that the Marshall stability of dense-gradation (DG) CMA patching materials was higher than that of open-graded (OG) CMA patching materials and the Marshall stability of OG CMA patching materials was highly influenced by the coarse aggregate proportion. The DG and OG CMA patching materials exhibited comparable abrasion resistance, and the Cantabro abrasion ratio was highly correlated to the estimated asphalt film thickness for the OG CMA patching materials. A moisture indicator (MI) was proposed, and the effect of moisture damage on Marshall stability and Cantabro abrasion ratio was related to the proposed MI. The rutting resistance of the DG CMA patching materials was higher than that of the OG CMA patching materials, which is consistent with the Marshall stability result.

scholarly journals Straining at Work and Its Relationship with Personality Profiles and Individual Consequences in Healthcare Workers (HCWs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziana Ramaci ◽  
Massimiliano Barattucci ◽  
Francesca Vella ◽  
Paola Senia ◽  
Emanuele Cannizzaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Personality Profiles

Straining is an attenuated form of mobbing, in which the continuity of vexatious actions is not driven by a discriminatory intent. With the objective of testing the possible moderating role of personality in the relationship between perceptions about straining at work and individual consequences, a correlational design research involved 374 healthcare workers (HCWs) from two Italian hospitals. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) Short Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ), to assess discriminative actions at work); (2) the Italian version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10 scale), to assess personality factors; (3) Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI), to measure psychological and physical health. Regression analysis and Structural Equation Models (SEM) were computed in order to test the relationships between variables. Perceived straining showed significant correlations with both psychological and physical health. Conscientiousness was inversely proportional to work-related bullying (WB), as agreeableness was to personal bullying (PB). Emotional stability was negatively correlated with all the three component scales of S-NAQ: WB, PB, and social bullying. The results seem to confirm that straining perceptions especially elicit, through emotional stability, psychological consequences. As regards the role of emotional stability in risk perceptions, it seems management has to pay thorough attention to personal factors in organizational perceptions and to straining actions.

Do Worries About Cognitive Functioning and Concerns About Developing Alzheimer’s Disease Affect Psychological Well-Being?

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1271-1287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Cutler ◽  
Corina Brăgaru
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Lagged Effects

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if cognitive worries affect psychological well-being, if these effects are long-term, and if such concerns affect well-being more so among persons with a parent having Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Method: We used structural equation models with three waves of data collected from persons ages 40 to 60 at T1. We created summative scores on five indicators of concerns about cognitive functioning and worries about dementia. Well-being measures included depression, life satisfaction, stress, and mastery. Results: We found (a) cognitive worries at Waves 1, 2, and 3 were generally associated with lower levels of psychological well-being at each of these waves; (b) there was no evidence of long-term, lagged effects, and (c) these relationships were statistically similar across groups of adult children and controls. Discussion: Because concerns about cognitive functioning and developing AD are pervasive among middle-aged and older persons, practitioners should be aware of their potentially deleterious effect on psychological well-being.

Effect of disturbances on trophic groups in soil nematode assemblages

Nematology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 553-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert McSorley
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cover ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Soil Nematode ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Free Living Nematode ◽  
A Site

AbstractFree-living nematodes in soil ecosystems are vital in the decomposition of organic matter and recycling of nutrients. The effects of various types of disturbances on nematode assemblages were examined in several experiments on a single soil: a short-term detrimental disturbance from solarisation, a short-term beneficial disturbance from amendment addition, and a long-term detrimental disturbance from bare ground without plant cover. Comparison of solarised and non-solarised field plots revealed lower numbers of fungivores in solarised plots. As a result, indices involving ratios of fungivores to bacterivores and fungivores to total free-living nematodes were decreased as well. Addition of an amendment increased numbers of bacterivores. This change was also reflected in calculated indices that expressed trophic groups as percentages of the total free-living nematodes. A severely disturbed site with bare ground that was without plant cover for more than 5 years was compared with an adjacent site maintained in grass. No plant-parasitic nematodes were recovered from the bare ground site, which contained lower numbers of nematodes in all trophic groups than the grass site. However, the structure of the free-living nematode assemblages in both sites was similar, as indicated by the proportions of various trophic groups and by ratios of fungivores and bacterivores. The free-living nematode assemblage in a site with a perceived severe long-term disturbance maintained a trophic structure similar to a site with perennial plant cover.

An analysis of climatic environments for plant-breeding purposes

1976 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
WJR Boyd ◽  
NA Goodchild ◽  
WK Waterhouse ◽  
BB Singh
Keyword(s):  
Plant Breeding ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Central Zone ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Yield Variation ◽  
Selection Strategies ◽  
Marginal Areas ◽  
Highly Correlated

Variations in the regional means of a number of growing-season climatic variables, and combinations of them, are not highly correlated with the long-term regional distribution of mean wheat yields in Western Australia or with their variation between years. The data suggest that the growing season is characterized by a cyclical alternation of favourable and unfavourable conditions for crop growth. This oscillating pattern varies in amplitude and wavelength as a result of unpredictable 'between'- and 'within'-season variation in the regional distribution of rainfall. In the central zone of the study area, wheat production is subject mainly to between-season variation whilst in more marginal areas yield variation is confounded by opposing and reciprocating within-season effects. The consequences for plant breeding are that specific regional environments expected on the basis of climate do not occur predictably in the short term. It is argued that breeding objectives, selection strategies and regional testing should initially avoid complications associated with specific marginal environments by concentrating on general adaptability within the central zone, which monitors between-season variation only. Subsequent evaluation for additional adaptive features specific to marginal areas should be undertaken.

scholarly journals The evolving relationship between airline profitability and passenger satisfaction

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Kent N Gourdin
Keyword(s):  
Airline Industry ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Passenger Satisfaction ◽  
The U.S

This paper examines the ongoing evolution of the U.S. airline industry under deregulation. After losing money for most of the past 35 years, carriers have made structural changes to their business models that have proven to be, at least in the short term, very profitable. After delineating these management actions, the paper examines their impact on passengers. The author utilizes the Service Quality Model to analyze the long-term implications of this new operating paradigm for passenger satisfaction. Based on this analysis the paper goes on to suggest several actions management could take to improve satisfaction. Finally, conclusions are offered and areas for additional research suggested.

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