scholarly journals Kindergarten Children’s Perception about the Ecological Roles of Living Organisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9565
Author(s):  
Claudia Melis ◽  
Per-Arvid Wold ◽  
Anna Maria Billing ◽  
Kathrine Bjørgen ◽  
Børge Moe
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Ecological Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Living Organisms

Young children will inherit the biosphere; therefore, it is crucial that they recognize the importance of all living organisms based on their intrinsic value and ecosystem function, not only on their “cuteness”. However, children’s knowledge about the interdependence among organisms has been little investigated. We interviewed 56 kindergarten children (5–6 years old) in Norway. The aim of the study was to investigate their perception of the importance for nature of six organisms, representing different trophic levels of food webs (producers, consumers, decomposers) and providing different ecosystem services (production, decomposition, and pollination). There was no difference in ranking between sexes or between ordinary and farm-based kindergartens. Bumblebees and earthworms were perceived as the most important organisms, followed by squirrel, trees, and wolf. None of the children recognized the ecological role of mushrooms. Our results show that, although upon completing kindergarten many children had gained an early understanding of the role of different organisms in nature, they missed the importance of plants and fungi. Kindergarten children’s “fungi blindness” might reflect a neglect of the public for this extremely important, diverse, and dominating taxon. We should therefore put more emphasis in raising awareness about the interdependence among trophic levels in food webs.

scholarly journals Increasing the public health potential of basic research and the scientist satisfaction. An international survey of bioscientists

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Scita ◽  
Carmen Sorrentino ◽  
Andrea Boggio ◽  
David Hemenway ◽  
Andrea Ballabeni
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Diagnostic Method ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Previous Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Survey Results

Basic scientific research generates knowledge that has intrinsic value which is independent of future applications. Basic research may also lead to practical benefits, such as a new drug or diagnostic method.  Building on our previous study of basic biomedical and biological researchers at Harvard, we present findings from a new survey of similar scientists from three countries.  This survey asked about the scientists’ motivations, goals and perspectives along with their attitudes concerning  policies designed to increase both the practical (i.e. public health) benefits of basic research as well as their own personal satisfaction. Close to 900 basic investigators responded to the survey; results corroborate the main findings from the previous survey of Harvard scientists.  In addition, we find that most bioscientists disfavor present policies that require a discussion of the public health potential of their proposals in grants but generally favor softer policies aimed at increasing the quality of work and the potential practical benefits of basic research. In particular, bioscientists are generally supportive of those policies entailing the organization of more meetings between scientists and the general public, the organization of more academic discussion about the role of scientists in the society, and the implementation of a “basic bibliography” for each new approved drug.

The Impact of Different Teaching Strategies on Teaching Spelling to Kindergarten Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 730
Author(s):  
Ali Hashemi ◽  
Omid Ghalkhani
Keyword(s):  
Language Teaching ◽  
Kindergarten Students ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
The Public ◽  
Correct Spelling ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Arts Community

Many specialists in the field of foreign language teaching consider spelling as an important and perhaps necessary part in language teaching, and observe that spelling is a significant concern among both the language arts community and the public. The teaching of spelling is an issue that provokes strong feelings and attitudes in teachers, students, and parents as well, and those involved have strong opinions about the importance of correct spelling at school. A close look at the role of spelling in the general language curriculum, makes it known that learning to write and read in the whole language can benefit greatly from teaching spelling. Searching the Net under the keywords ‘spelling’ and ‘teaching spelling’ reveals many studies on spelling and the interest of the readers. In this study, we made use of two techniques to teach spelling, which included “the Personalized Instruction Technique”, or simply the PI technique, and “the Detection Technique” or the D technique. Meanwhile, a control group was included to make up for and take into account any possible background differences.82 kindergarten children, studying at three kindergartens in Tarom, Zanjan, took part in the study. They were randomly assigned to three groups: one control group and two experimental groups. The PI group consisted of 28 kindergarten students both boys and girls, and the Group comprised 27kindergarten students, both boys and girls. The control group, too, contained 27 kindergarten students, both boys and girls. The findings indicated that both the experimental groups that used the spelling techniques performed significantly better than the control group. Meanwhile, the PI group exceeded the DT group.

scholarly journals Quantifying macrodetritus fluxes from a small temperate estuary

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca V. Gladstone-Gallagher ◽  
Dean R. Sandwell ◽  
Andrew M. Lohrer ◽  
Carolyn J. Lundquist ◽  
Conrad A. Pilditch
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Nutrient Budgets ◽  
Suspended Material ◽  
Net Flux ◽  
Net Export ◽  
Material Fluxes

Empirical measurements of estuary-to-coast material fluxes usually exclude the fraction of primary production that is exported as macrodetritus (marine plant litter), potentially leaving a gap in our understanding of the role of estuaries as outwelling systems. To address this gap, we sampled water and suspended material seasonally from the mouth of Pepe Inlet, Tairua Estuary, New Zealand. From samples collected hourly over 24h, we calculated the lateral tidal fluxes (import, export, net flux) of macrodetritus, particulate and dissolved forms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Annually, the inlet was a net exporter of N and P (5145 and 362kg respectively). However, macrodetritus accounted for <13 and <3% of seasonal N and P exports respectively. Macrodetritus is an obvious and visible source of estuary-to-coast subsidy, but our derived nutrient budgets suggest the dissolved and particulate forms dominate the net export of N and P (>87%). Nevertheless, seasonal pulses in the source and supply of macrodetritus may have consequences for the temporal scales over which this resource subsidy affects receiving ecosystems (e.g. intertidal sandflats). These mensurative investigations are useful to inform estuarine nutrient budgets that quantify the ecosystem services provided by temperate estuaries (e.g. contribution to fisheries food webs).

scholarly journals Szpiedzy i szpiegostwo w prasie poznańskiej okresu dwudziestolecia międzywojennego

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 57-78
Author(s):  
Patrycja Kanafocka
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Special Services ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Subject

Przedmiotem przedstawianego tekstu jest działalność poznańskiego kontrwywiadu w uświadomieniu zagrożenia szpiegostwem ludności cywilnej na terenie województwa poznańskiego, a także rola, jaką odegrała prasa Poznańskiego w realizacji tego zadania. Temat szpiegostwa w prasie wielkopolskiej był niewątpliwie jednym z najczęściej poruszanych w okresie II Rzeczypospolitej. Na jego popularność wpływało nie tylko szerokie zainteresowanie czytelników. Rozrastający się rynek prasowy i coraz większa konkurencja na nim powodowały, że konieczność zdobycia uwagi czytelników wymuszała koncentrację na tematach wzbudzających zainteresowanie. Zamieszczano nawet krótkie, a niepozbawione sensacyjnych wątków informacje o aresztowaniach czy podejrzeniach o szpiegostwo. Odrębną zupełnie kwestią była współpraca prasy z poznańską „Dwójką”, która, dopuszczając zamieszczanie artykułów o szpiegach i szpiegostwie, prowadziła akcję uświadamiania obywateli o grożącym im niebezpieczeństwie. Symbioza prasy i służb specjalnych przyniosła równe korzyści obydwu stronom. Dla prasy zamieszczanie interesujących opinię publiczną informacji przekładało się na liczbę czytelników i nakład, a co za tym idzie także na zysk. Służby specjalne realizowały poprzez prasę swoje cele. Edukowanie społeczeństwa było tylko jednym z nich, ważniejsze z perspektywy realizowania operacji było odwrócenie uwagi od przeprowadzanych działań kontrwywiadowczych i kierowanie jej w stronę działalności obcych służb. Spies and espionage in the Poznań press in the period 1918–1939 The subject of the article is the operation of counterintelligence in Poznań and its role in raising awareness of the danger of espionage among civilians in the Poznań region, as well as the role of Poznań press in fulfilling this task. The subject of espionage was undoubtedly one of the most frequently discussed in the Greater Poland press in the period of the Second Polish Republic. The reasons for its popularity lay not only in avid interest it aroused among the readers. The expanding press market and growing competition meant that newspapers had to draw readers’ attentions by concentrating on those subjects which the public found interesting. No matter how short the pieces information about the arrests or the suspicion of espionage were, their sensational character meant they were published. The cooperation between the press and the Poznań counterintelligence which, by allowing the press to publish articles on spies and espionage, raised awareness among the citizens on the possible dangers, is a whole separate issue. The collaboration between the press and special services was mutually beneficial. The press printed articles that were interesting from the point of view of the public, which was then reflected in the number of readers and circulation, as well as financial profit. Special services achieved their own goals. Educating the society was only one of them. From the point of view of their operations, drawing attention away from the activity of counterintelligence and towards the operation of foreign services remained more important.

scholarly journals Phytoplankton Fuel Fish Food Webs in a Low-Turbidity Temperate Coastal Embayment: A Stable Isotope Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goutam Kumar Kundu ◽  
Changseong Kim ◽  
Dongyoung Kim ◽  
Riaz Bibi ◽  
Heeyong Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Estuarine Fish ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
Fish Food ◽  
High Productivity

Trophic contributions of diverse OM sources to estuarine and coastal food webs differ substantially across systems around the world, particularly for nekton (fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans), which utilize basal resources from multiple sources over space and time because of their mobility and feeding behaviors at multiple trophic levels. We investigated the contributions of putative OM sources to fish food webs and assessed the spatiotemporal patterns, structures, and trophic connectivity in fish food webs across four seasons from three closely spaced (10–15 km) sites: an estuarine channel (EC), a deep bay (DB), and an offshore (OS) region in Gwangyang Bay, a high-productivity, low-turbidity estuarine embayment off the Republic of Korea. While nearly all previous studies have focused on few representative species, we examined δ13C and δ15N values of whole nekton communities along with dominant benthic macro-invertebrates, zooplankton, and their putative primary food sources. The δ13C and δ15N values coupled with MixSIAR, a Bayesian mixing model, revealed that these communities utilized multiple primary producers, but phytoplankton comprised the primary trophic contributor (46.6–69.1%). Microphytobenthos (15.8–20.4%) and the seagrass Zostera marina (8.6–19.8%) made substantial contributions, but the role of river-borne terrestrial organic matter was negligible. Spatially different species composition and stable isotope values, but higher utilization of coastal phytoplankton by estuarine fish, indicated disparate food webs structures between the EC and DB/OS coastal areas, with considerable trophic connectivity. Greater overlaps in fish and cephalopod isotopic niches than among other consumers and a higher estimated carbon trophic enrichment factor for EC nekton confirmed feeding migration-mediated biological transport of coastal OM sources to the estuary. Further, the seasonally consistent structures and resource utilization patterns indicate that fish food webs are resilient to changes at lower trophic levels. Our results contrast with those for other highly turbid coastal systems depending highly on diversified basal sources, including exported terrestrial and wetland detritus alongside autochthonous phytoplankton. Finally, this study provides a novel perspective on the role of OM sources in such low turbidity and highly productive coastal embayments and enhances our understanding of marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Role of Print Media During COVID-19: A Content Analysis of Daily Mashriq and Daily Aaj in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol V (II) ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahid ◽  
Amna Istimraj ◽  
Umair Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽  
The Public ◽  
Raising Awareness

Print media plays a key role in raising awareness among people and in the public understanding of various issues. This study discusses the role the print media during COVID-19 pandemic how the print media raises awareness among people in the contagion. Using a quantitative method, the researchers analysed the contents of two leading newspapers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, daily Mashriq and Daily Aaj. The study then achieved the results regarding how they reported the stories in various dimensions such as awareness, negative, positive aspects, etc.

scholarly journals Interpreting stable isotopes in food webs: Recognizing the role of time averaging at different trophic levels

2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 306-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. O'Reilly ◽  
R. E. Hecky ◽  
A. S. Cohen ◽  
P.-D. Plisnier
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Time Averaging

scholarly journals Subtitling as a Vector for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Patriotism

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-276
Author(s):  
Lum Suzanne Ayonghe ◽  
Godson Enowmbi Besong
Keyword(s):  
Information Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Audiovisual Media ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Local Media ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Audiovisual Translation ◽  
And Training ◽  
Tv Broadcasting

This paper is aimed at showing that subtitling can be used to foster bilingualism and patriotism in Cameroon. The objectives are to investigate how deeply rooted the practice of audiovisual translation is in local media outlets, focusing on how it can help in promoting bilingualism; promote the use of subtitling in the Cameroonian audiovisual media landscape; and assess the pivotal role of the audiovisual translator in this sector. A sample of 151 persons was used. Questionnaires were administered to respondents and stakeholders were interviewed in two media houses: Hi TV and CRTV. Hi TV is based in an English-speaking region, and CRTV is a State-owned media house and believed to have the widest audience in the country. Findings revealed that subtitling does not only provide TV viewers with information in their second official language, but also enables them to improve on their reading and writing skills, as well as their bilingualism, among others. Subtitling is not advanced in media houses in Cameroon. Recommendations were made to  improve on the practice of subtitling in media houses in Cameroon. These include increasing the level of subtitled programmes  broadcast on TV stations, raising awareness on the importance of media information access by the hearing impaired; creating an  audiovisual translation unit in each TV broadcasting house and recruiting audiovisual translators; voting of laws to make the subtitling of some, if not, all TV programmes broadcast by Cameroonian TV channels mandatory; educating the public on the importance of subtitling by gradually introducing them to viewers through TV programmes, so that their eyes and mind could progressively get used to watching subtitled material and thus avoid total rejection of the subtitles; and training more audiovisual translators in Cameroon. Key words: Translation, Bilingualism, Patriotism, Vector, Subtitling

‘Hitchhiker’ polynoid polychaetes in cold deep waters and their potential influence on benthic soft bottom food webs

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Schiaparelli ◽  
Maria Chiara Alvaro ◽  
Jehns Bohn ◽  
Giancarlo Albertelli
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
New Association ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
True Predator

AbstractWe describe a new association for Antarctica, involving an holothuroid host,Bathyplotes bongrainiVaney, 1914, and a parasitic polynoid polychaete,Eunoe opalinaMcIntosh, 1885, which lives on the host body. Both species have never been recorded in the study area, the Ross Sea. The ecological definition of this partnership is difficult to assess, being a mix of phoresis, protective association, parasitism and, possibly, kleptocommensalism.Eunoe opalinaemerges also as a true predator, ingesting several food items that do not belong to the diet ofBathyplotes. We compare this association with analogous examples known from shallow tropical environments as well as bathyal and abyssal depths. Given the conspicuous similarities between the deep water and high latitude examples of this kind of association, a possible common origin is hypothesized. Although the role of such a kind of parasitic relationships in Antarctic communities remains to be fully evaluated, it seems evident that, at high latitudes, where trophic levels are simplified and food webs do not have much redundancy, the impact of such a ‘multitasking’ predator-parasite asE. opalinamight be of a greater magnitude than its shallow water tropical counterpart.

scholarly journals Deciding how to decide on public goods provision: The role of instrumental versus intrinsic motives

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 205316802110141
Author(s):  
Philipp Harms ◽  
Claudia Landwehr ◽  
Maximilian Lutz ◽  
Markus Tepe
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Majority Voting ◽  
Public Good Provision ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Good Provision ◽  
Alternative Decision

What determines citizens’ preferences over alternative decision-making procedures – the personal gain associated with a procedure, or the intrinsic value assigned to it? To answer this question, we present results of a laboratory experiment in which participants select a procedure to decide on the provision of a public good. In the first stage, they choose between majority voting and delegation to a welfare-maximizing algorithm. In the second stage, subjects either vote on the public good provision, or the decision is taken by the algorithm. We define three experimental conditions in which participants receive information about whether a majority in the group faces a positive or negative pay-off from the public good provision, about whether there is a positive group benefit from its provision, or neither kind of information. Findings confirm the importance of instrumental motives in procedural choices. At the same time, however, a significant share of participants chose a procedure that does not maximize their individual benefit. While majority voting seems to be preferred for intrinsic values of fairness and equality, support for delegation to the welfare-maximizing algorithm increases if the group benefit from a public good is known – even in participants who are net payers for its provision.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document