scholarly journals Lessons learned from 12 years of ecological research on partial cuts in black spruce forests of northwestern Québec

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (03) ◽  
pp. 350-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole J. Fenton ◽  
Louis Imbeau ◽  
Timothy Work ◽  
Jenna Jacobs ◽  
Hervé Bescond ◽  
...  

Multi-cohort management that creates or maintains an uneven structure within forest stands has been widely advocated as a means to attenuate the impact of forest harvesting. An experimental network was put in place in black spruce forests of northwestern Québec to test this assertion. Here we synthesize the biodiversity results in two main lessons: (1) at least 40% to 60% retention of pre-harvest basal area was required to maintain pre-harvest conditions for most species groups; (2) partial harvests showed the potential to be efficient deadwood delivery systems. In addition to these two main general conclusions, we emphasise that future research should examine whether partial harvest may be able to advance forest succession.

Author(s):  
Matt Broadway-Horner 1

This paper seeks to explore the aspects of being made homeless or Internally Displaced person (IDP) and how the team attempted to assess this. The team of 10 psychological researchers and statisticians spent a day at 5 camps in 4 locations within Kegalle, Sri Lanka. The languages within the team are Tamil, English and Sinhalese. The aim to find out if depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms are evident within child, adolescents and adults categories, 3 months after the landslide triggered by the storm Roanu May 2016. The participants volunteered to be interviewed using self report measures. The psychological researchers did have undergraduate and post graduate degrees in psychology. Whilst the project lead had clinical experience, the researchers did not and so this was their first field trip. The research was granted ethical clearance by the ethics board at CIRP – Colombo. Unfortunately, due to low numbers, significance is problematic and so this paper addresses the experience and lessons learned by implication for professional growth and future research with IDP. But the impact upon men’s health becomes clear as the team discovers the psychosocial aspects of being homeless.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Burke-Garcia ◽  
Kate Winseck ◽  
Leslie Cooke Jouvenal ◽  
David Hubble ◽  
Kathryn M. Kulbicki

IntroductionGiven the reach and influence of social media, the National Children’s Study Vanguard Study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of using social media to support participant retention.MethodsWe describe a social media experiment designed to assess the impact of social media on participant retention, discuss several key considerations for integrating social media into longitudinal research, and review factors that may influence engagement in research-related social media.ResultsUser participation varied but was most active when at launch. During the short life of the private online community, a total of 39 participants joined. General enthusiasm about the prospect of the online community was indicated. There were many lessons learned throughout the process in areas such as privacy, security, and Institutional Review Board clearance. These are described in detail.ConclusionsThe opportunity to engage participants in longitudinal research using online social networks is enticing; however, more research is needed to consider the feasibility of their use in an ongoing manner. Recommendations are presented for future research seeking to use social media to improve retention in longitudinal research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Dunlop ◽  
Becky Freeman ◽  
Sandra C. Jones

The near-ubiquitous use of social media among adolescents and young adults creates opportunities for both corporate brands and health promotion agencies to target and engage with young audiences in unprecedented ways. Traditional media is known to have both a positive and negative influence on youth health behaviours, but the impact of social media is less well understood. This paper first summarises current evidence around adolescents’ exposure to the promotion and marketing of unhealthy products such as energy dense and nutrient poor food and beverages, alcohol, and tobacco on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We explore emerging evidence about the extent of exposure to marketing of these harmful products through social media platforms and potential impacts of exposure on adolescent health. Secondly, we present examples of health-promoting social media campaigns aimed at youth, with the purpose of describing innovative campaigns and highlighting lessons learned for creating effective social media interventions. Finally, we suggest implications for policy and practice, and identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-466
Author(s):  
Jos Akkermans ◽  
Ricardo Rodrigues ◽  
Stefan T. Mol ◽  
Scott E. Seibert ◽  
Svetlana N. Khapova

PurposeThis article aims to introduce the special issue entitled “the role of career shocks in contemporary career development,” synthesize key contributions and formulate a future research agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe authors provide an introduction of the current state-of-the-art in career shocks research, offer an overview of the key lessons learned from the special issue and present several important avenues for future research.FindingsThe authors discuss how the special issue articles contribute to a better understanding of career shocks' role in contemporary career development, focusing on (1) conceptual clarity of the notion of career shocks, (2) career outcomes of career shocks, (3) mechanisms that can explain the impact of career shocks and (4) interdisciplinary connectivity.Originality/valueThis article offers a synthesis of the critical contributions made within this special issue, thereby formulating key ways to bring the field of career shocks research forward. It also provides new avenues for research.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Samuel Roy Proulx ◽  
Sylvain Jutras ◽  
Alain Leduc ◽  
Marc J. Mazerolle ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton ◽  
...  

The boreal forest is considered to be a low productivity forest due to its cold climate and poorly drained soils promoting paludification. These factors create conditions favouring accumulation of undecomposed organic matter, which causes declining growth rates of forest stands, ultimately converting mature stands into peatlands. Under these conditions, careful logging is conducted during winter, which minimizes soil disturbance in northwestern Quebec boreal forest. This results in water table rise, increased light availability and paludification. Our main objective was to evaluate the short-term effect of partial harvesting as an alternative method to careful logging in winter to mitigate water table rise on black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) stands. We quantified tree stem diameter variation and daily variation in water table depth in mature spruce stands before and after partial harvest (basal area reduction of 40%) and girdling (same basal area reduction with delayed mortality) during 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Water table variation prior to and following silvicultural treatments did not differ one year after treatment. Daily stem diameter variation in black spruce did not differ between treatments and control. Furthermore, temperature exerted a positive effect on variation in water table and on stem diameter. These results suggest that partial harvest could be more effective than clearcutting to mitigate negative effects of a high water table while limiting paludification.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. F. Newton ◽  
G. F. Weetman

A stand density management diagram for black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) was developed using data derived from 49 0.081-ha permanent sample plots and 257 open-grown sample trees located throughout central insular Newfoundland. The diagram illustrated the reciprocal equation of the competition-density effect, self-thinning rule, approximate crown closure line, zone of imminent competition-mortality, and isolines for relative density, quadratic mean diameter and merchantability ratio. Mean prediction error for natural stand trajectories over a 30-projection period were 2.5 dm3 for mean volume, 306 stems/ha for density, 16.1 m3/ha for merchantable volume, 14.3 m3/ha for total volume, and 1.9 m2/ha for basal area. Implementation procedures using a combination of monoareal and polyareal sampling methods were described and the potential application of the diagram for evaluating thinning alternatives was demonstrated. Limitations of the diagram and future research directions were identified. Key words: stand density management diagram, black spruce, natural stands, central Newfoundland


Author(s):  
Daniel G. Morrow ◽  
H. Chad Lane ◽  
Wendy A. Rogers

Objective We examined the potential of conversational agents (CAs) to support older adults’ self-care related to chronic illness in light of lessons learned from decades of pedagogical agent research, which investigates the impact and efficacy of CAs for a wide range of learners. Background The role of CAs in education (i.e., pedagogical agents) has been long studied, but their potential for supporting self-care has received less attention, especially for older adults. Methods We reviewed work on pedagogical agents and considered how it informs the design of CAs for older adults. We propose a framework for designing CAs to support older adult self-care, which organizes a review of work in this area and integration with the pedagogical agent literature. Results Our review of the pedagogical agent literature revealed an evolution from teaching machines to interactive, social systems that influence student motivational as well as learning outcomes. To integrate this review with work on CAs and self-care, we developed a framework that specifies how self-care goals evolve with stages of an illness, communication goals that support self-care at each stage, patient needs, and requirements for CAs to support these needs. The review identified an agenda for future research on CA functions and features that help older adults accept need for self-care, establish self-care, and sustain self-care over time. Conclusions Integrating insights from the pedagogical agent literature with research on developing CAs for self-care defines an agenda for developing and evaluating CAs to help older adults manage illness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174550652110170
Author(s):  
Marika Guggisberg ◽  
Hillary J Haldane ◽  
Vicki Lowik ◽  
Annabel Taylor ◽  
Bethany Mackay ◽  
...  

Background: University students have been recognized as particularly being vulnerable to sexual victimization. Purpose: With little research to date, and acknowledgement for the need of a better understanding of sexual violence, our study analysed the CQUniversity Sexual Assault Survey’s qualitative responses. An open-ended qualitative question allowed students to provide information anonymously. Methods: A total of 109 participants contributed responses with 17 respondents commenting on the fact that the survey omitted to ask about child sexual abuse prior to the cut-off age of 12 years. Results: University students revealed unexpected disclosures of prepubescent child sexual abuse victimization and ongoing sexual victimization into adulthood. Furthermore, students’ comments indicated negative impacts including distress, mental health and substance use problems, distrust, and interpersonal difficulties. Strong feelings about ‘silencing’ prepubescent child sexual abuse in university surveys were expressed with a request that questions about child sexual abuse prior to the age of 12 years be included. Conclusion: Our study found that child sexual abuse victimization is important to students. Recommendations indicate the need for future research about sexual violence among university students without age restrictions to gain a better understanding about the impact of trauma including revictimization experiences.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Atkeson ◽  
Ariel T. Burstein ◽  
Manolis Chatzikonstantinou

What quantitative lessons can we learn from models of endogenous technical change through innovative investments by firms for the impact of changes in the economic environment on the dynamics of aggregate productivity in the short, medium, and long run? We present a unifying model that nests several canonical models in the literature and characterize both their positive implications for the transitional dynamics of aggregate productivity and their welfare implications in terms of two sufficient statistics. We review the current state of measurement of these two sufficient statistics and discuss the range of positive and normative quantitative implications of our model for a wide array of counterfactual experiments, including the link between a decline in the entry rate of new firms and a slowdown in the growth of aggregate productivity. We conclude with a summary of the lessons learned from our analysis to help direct future research aimed at building models of endogenous productivity growth that are useful for quantitative analysis.


Author(s):  
Bernardo Peredo ◽  
Samuel Wurzelmann

Abstract The impact of community-based ecotourism is contingent upon the community’s involvement in the development and management of activities, as well as their access to and the comprehensiveness of benefits. The ecotourism business owned by the Tacana Indigenous community of San Miguel in the Bolivian Amazon provides a model as to how Indigenous communities can harness social entrepreneurship to address economic, social, and environmental challenges. This article reviews the origins and development of this business, and draws on participant observation research, interviews, surveys, and economic analysis to illustrate the lessons learned and challenges faced. The findings are presented to inform existing and new Indigenous tourism ventures, policy considerations, and future research.


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