Photographic Field Guide to Australian Frogs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sanders

Australia is home to more than 240 species of frogs, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The Photographic Field Guide to Australian Frogs provides readers with the tools to confidently identify 242 species and five recognised subspecies. It includes detailed information on the distribution, habitat preferences and call of each frog species, as well as fully illustrated keys to genera to assist with identification. Multiple photographs of each species show variation in colour and pattern as well as features used for identification such as thigh colouration, skin texture, belly colour and patterning, eye colour and extent of webbing between the toes. With a strong focus on illustrating variation and key diagnostic features, this guide will enable frog enthusiasts, environmental professionals and research scientists to identify Australian frog species with a high level of confidence.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adib Rifqi Setiawan

“The real treasure is in the minds of our children, and all we have to do is extract it.” Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah writes in website Queen Rania Foundation For Education And Development www.qrf.org/en. Rania Al Yassin was born on August 31, 1970. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Cairo in 1991. She applied this, first, to a banking career in Jordan and, later, to the information technology sector. After marrying Prince Abdullah bin Al Hussein on June 10, 1993, they went on to have four children: Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma, and Prince Hashem. In addition to being a wife and mother, Queen Rania works hard to lift the lives of Jordanians by supporting their endeavours and helping to create new opportunities for them. Locally, she is committed to breathe new life into the public education system; empower communities and women especially through microfinance initiatives; protect children and families; and drive innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, especially amongst young people. Internationally, Queen Rania is an advocate for tolerance, compassion and bridge building between people of all cultures and backgrounds. Her efforts to simultaneously challenge stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, and promote greater understanding and acceptance between people of all faiths and cultures, have won her global recognition. Her Majesty’s passion is education. She believes that every Jordanian girl and boy, and all children, should have access not only to stimulating classrooms and modern curricula, but inspiring teachers and technology that can connect Jordan’s children to the world and the world to Jordan’s children. Her efforts in the education sector complement the work of the Ministry of Education through initiatives such as the Jordan Education Initiative, the Queen Rania Teachers Academy, Madrasati, Edraak and others. To realize these and so much more, Queen Rania has encouraged private sector partners to drive improvements and strengthen the foundations of Jordan’s education system. Queen Rania is also a global voice for access to quality education for children around the world. In 2009, Her Majesty championed the 1 Goal campaign for education; she is Honorary Chair of the UN Girl’s Education Initiatives and has advocated access to education in forums and gatherings around the world. Her work and her efforts to improve the learning opportunities for children have been recognized at the highest levels, nationally, regionally and internationally. Additionally, through her position on their boards, Her Majesty contributes to the work of the United Nations Fund and the World Economic Forum. She is the Eminent Advocate for UNICEF; and she was part of the UN appointed High Level Panel who advised on the shape and content of the Sustainable Development Goals which aim to improve the lives of millions of people before 2030. In recognition of her work, Her Majesty has humbly accepted many awards, locally, regionally and globally. These include the Walther Rathenau Award from the Walther RathenauInstitut in Germany for her efforts to greater peace and understanding; the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award from Tech Awards, USA; the Arab Knight of Giving Award from Arab Giving Forum, UAE; the North South Prize by the North South Prize, Portugal; as well as the YouTube Visionary Award. Her Majesty authored several books primarily for children including the Sandwich Swap, which was inspired by her own childhood experiences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-57
Author(s):  
V.M. Loskot ◽  
G.B. Bakhtadze

Geographic distribution and habitat preferences of Saxicola rubicola rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766), S. maurus variegatus (S.G. Gmelin, 1774), and S. m. armenicus (Stegman, 1935) inhabiting the Caucasian Isthmus and adjacent areas are described in detail. We examined the individual, sexual, age, seasonal and geographical variations of seven main diagnostic features of both plumage and morphometrics (exactly, the length of wing and tail) using 381 skin specimens. Substantially improved diagnoses of S. m. variegatus and S. m. armenicus are provided. After a thorough examination of the materials and history of the expedition of Samuel Gmelin in 1768–1774, and his description of Parus variegatus, it was concluded that the type locality of this taxon was the vicinity of Shamakhi in Azerbaijan not Enzeli in North-Western Turkey. It is also shown the fallacy of the recently proposed attribution of the holotype of the northern subspecies S. m. variegatus to the southern taxon S. m. armenicus and synonymisation of these names, as well as the replacement of the name S. m. variegatus by its junior synonym S. m. hemrichii Ehrenberg, 1833 for the northern subspecies.


Author(s):  
E.S. Zenkevich ◽  
N.V. Popov

During the second half of 20th century, a high level of plague incidence in the world was in 1960–1979 and 1990–2009. The significant decrease of infection cases was in 1950–1959, 1980–1989, 2010–2015. It is noticed, that the observed cyclical nature of the alternation of high and low incidence plague’s periods, in many respects related to modern trend of climate fluctuations.


Author(s):  
Nina Maksimchuk

The attention of modern linguistics to the study of verbal representatives of the mental essence (both individual and collective one) of the native speakers involves an appeal to all subsystems of the national language where territorial dialects take a significant part. The analysis of dialect linguistic units possessing linguistic and cultural value is considered as a necessary way for the study of people’s worldview and perception of the world, national mentality as a whole. The ability of stable phrases (phraseological units) to preserve and express a native speaker’s attitude to the world around them is the basis for the use of the analysis of folk phraseology as a way of penetration into a speaker’s spiritual world. Volumetric representation of the external and internal peculiarities of stable phrases allows the author to get their systematization in the form of phraseosemantic field consisting of different kinds singled out in phraseosemantic groups. The article deals with stable phrases of synonymic value recorded in the Dictionary of Smolensk dialects and stable phrases forming a phraseosemantic group. These phrases are analyzed taking into account the semantic structure of the key word, the characteristics of the dependent word, and the method of forming phraseological semantics. On the example of the analysis of phrases with the key word «bit’» and a synonymic series with the semantic dominant «bezdel’nichat’», the article discusses the peculiarities of phraseological nomination in Smolensk dialects and confirms a high level of connotativity and evaluation in the folk phraseology.


Author(s):  
Andrea Renda

This chapter assesses Europe’s efforts in developing a full-fledged strategy on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The strong focus on ethics in the European Union’s AI strategy should be seen in the context of an overall strategy that aims at protecting citizens and civil society from abuses of digital technology but also as part of a competitiveness-oriented strategy aimed at raising the standards for access to Europe’s wealthy Single Market. In this context, one of the most peculiar steps in the European Union’s strategy was the creation of an independent High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG), accompanied by the launch of an AI Alliance, which quickly attracted several hundred participants. The AI HLEG, a multistakeholder group including fifty-two experts, was tasked with the definition of Ethics Guidelines as well as with the formulation of “Policy and Investment Recommendations.” With the advice of the AI HLEG, the European Commission put forward ethical guidelines for Trustworthy AI—which are now paving the way for a comprehensive, risk-based policy framework.


Author(s):  
Ana Mengual-Recuerda ◽  
Victoria Tur-Viñes ◽  
David Juárez-Varón ◽  
Faustino Alarcón-Valero

Haute cuisine is emblematic in the world of tourism and is of fundamental importance in the economic and social life in most countries worldwide. Haute cuisine gastronomic experiences play with the senses, involving the diner, thus generating a unique experience for the customer. This empirical study aims to analyze the influence on the consumer of the characteristic stimuli of a high-level gastronomic experience in a restaurant with two Michelin stars. Using neuromarketing biometrics, combined with a qualitative research technique, the objective of this research was to determine the emotional impact of the presentation and tasting of dishes compared to wines and to draw conclusions about each variable in the general experience. The results indicate that the dishes have a greater influence on the level of interest than the wines, and both have a different emotional impact at different moments of the experience due to its duration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 413-414
Author(s):  
Carlyn Vogel ◽  
Debra Dobbs ◽  
Brent Small

Abstract Spirituality is difficult to define as researchers assign it different meanings and individuals’ perceptions can vary. For example, spirituality may connect to religiosity, while others consider religiosity a less significant part of spirituality. This study investigates factors outside of religiosity that are significantly associated with spirituality to inform the characteristics of the concept. Webster’s (2004) existential framework of spirituality was used to guide variable selection. The National Survey of Midlife in the United States wave three (MIDUS 3; 2013-2014; n = 2,594; Mage = 63.5, SD = 11, range = 39–92) was used to examine individuals’ reported levels of spirituality. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine factors related to low and high levels of spirituality compared to a moderate level. Participants with low spirituality were more likely to be male, less likely to be mindful, mediate/chant, feel a strong connection to all life, to indicate that they cannot make sense of the world, and to be religious. Participants with high spirituality were more likely to be female, have at least some college experience, be mindful, meditate/chant, feel deep inner peace, have a sense of deep appreciation, think that a sense of purpose is important for a good life, and have a high level of religiosity. Framed by Webster’s conceptual model, the current study observed that religiosity is significantly associated with spirituality and that other mindfulness-based aspects are also present within this concept. Incorporating mindfulness with religious efforts will more accurately and holistically address spirituality.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J Wiseman

The burden of cancer worldwide is predicted to almost double by 2030 to nearly 23 million cases annually. The great majority of this increase is expected to occur in less economically developed countries, where access to expensive medical, surgical and radiotherapeutic interventions is likely to be limited to a small proportion of the population. This emphasises the need for preventive measures, as outlined in the declaration from the United Nations 2011 High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases. The rise in incidence is proposed to follow from increasing numbers of people reaching middle and older ages, together with increasing urbanisation of the population with a nutritional transition from traditional diets to a more globalised ‘Western’ pattern, with a decrease in physical activity. This is also expected to effect a change in the pattern of cancers from a predominantly smoking and infection dominated one, to a smoking and obesity dominated one. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that about a quarter to a third of the commonest cancers are attributable to excess body weight, physical inactivity and poor diet, making this the most common cause of cancers after smoking. These cancers are potentially preventable, but knowledge of the causes of cancer has not led to effective policies to prevent the export of a ‘Western’ pattern of cancers in lower income countries such as many in Africa.


Contexts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-65
Author(s):  
Marina Zaloznaya ◽  
Freda B. Lynn

According to a recent study, in forty-eight countries around the world, more than a quarter of citizens pays bribes in exchange for service. In this article, the authors suggest that a key to a more effective and socially responsible fight against corruption lies in sequencing. Here, they explain how initiatives targeting high-level corruption in government and business must take priority, preceding the reforms of the public sector.


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