Living with Volcan Tungurahua: the dynamics of vulnerability during prolonged volcanic activity

For the people that live around many of the world’s volcanos, the effects of eruptive activity on livelihoods and wellbeing are seldom experienced as a one-off event. Not only do volcanos commonly enter long-lived phases of activity, during which the physical hazards they create alter in characteristics, but the way exposure to such hazards generates impacts on society and shapes responses by people and institutions also modifies and evolves. Within this dynamic process, the behaviour of the volcano provides a framing, but social, economic and political changes interact to shape unfolding patterns of vulnerability. The research presented in this paper explored this complexity of impact and social change for the case of Volcan Tungurahua in Ecuador, which has been in eruptive phase since 1999. Focussing on the people who live in different areas around the volcano, the study used interview and survey evidence to examine changing knowledge about eruptions and how people have experienced the effects of the volcano over time on their economic livelihoods, mobility, residence patterns, and access to services and infrastructure. Crucially, this meant recognising that the existence of a threat from hazards had societal implications, regardless of whether or not the volcano is actually in a state of high activity. These implications played out differently for different sections of the neighbouring population, with the strongest contrast emerging between the rural and urban populations, though the complexity of the case defies a simple binary comparison. The research underlines the importance of building a longitudinal element into analysis

Self-Determination Skills and Opportunities of Transition-Age Youth With Emotional Disturbance and Learning Disabilities

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/l5vq400577228810/?p=7708b4ddb79e4484ae1a1fc3d5bafcb6&pi=4This study examined the self-determination of adolescents with emotional disturbance (ED) and learning disabilities (LD)from the perspectives of special educators, parents, and the students themselves. Differences in self-determination ratings were associated with both disability group and respondent Specifically, adolescents with ED were found to have lower ratings of selfdetermination than students with LD, with the most pronounced differences evident from the teacher perspective. Eurthermore, students with ED identified infrequent opportunities at school and home for engaging in self-determined behavior, whereas educators and parents differed in their assessments of opportunities in each setting. Implications regarding increasing the self-determination skills and opportunities of adolescents with disabilities are discussed

Promoting self-determination for transition-age youth: Views of high school general and special educators

This is the published version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/m5781621105k3332/?p=a26d6505487b4343b14b0042308735be&pi=2Recent developments in policy and practice have emphasized the importance of promoting self-determination and supporting access to the general curriculum for youth with disabilities. To understand how these trends align, we examined the efforts of 340 general and special educators to promote student self-determination in high school classrooms. Educators attached considerable importance to providing instruction in skills related to self-determination and reported addressing these skills with moderate to high frequency in their classrooms. Although opportunities for students with disabilities to learn skills that promote self-determination were reported to be available across the curriculum, there were some differences across teachers and curricular area. We discuss avenues for promoting student self-determination within the general curriculum, as well as offer recommendations for future research

A new expression for the form stress term in the vertically Lagrangian mean framework for the effect of surface waves on the upper ocean circulation

There is an ongoing discussion in the community concerning the wave-averaged momentum equations in the hybrid vertically Lagrangian and horizontally Eulerian (VL) framework and, in particular, the form stress term (representing the residual effect of pressure perturbations) which is thought to restrict the handling of higher order waves in terms of a perturbation expansion. The present study shows that the traditional pressure-based form stress term can be transformed into a set of terms that do not contain any pressure quantities but do contain the time derivative of a wave-induced velocity. This wave-induced velocity is referred to as the pseudomomentum in the VL framework, as it is analogous to the generalized pseudomomentum in Andrews and McIntyre. This enables the second expression for the wave-averaged momentum equations in the VL framework (this time for the development of the total transport velocity minus the VL pseudomomentum) to be derived together with the vortex force. The velocity-based expression of the form stress term also contains the residual effect of the turbulent viscosity, which is useful for understanding the dissipation of wave energy leading to transfer of momentum from waves to circulation. It is found that the concept of the virtual wave stress of Longuet-Higgins is applicable to quite general situations: it does not matter whether there is wind forcing or not, the waves can have slow variations, and the viscosity coefficient can vary in the vertical. These results provide a basis for revisiting the surface boundary condition used in numerical circulation models

Impact of prescribed burning on blanket peat hydrology

Fire is known to impact soil properties and hydrological flowpaths. However, the impact of prescribed vegetation burning on blanket peatland hydrology is poorly understood. We studied ten blanket peat headwater catchments. Five were subject to prescribed burning, while five were unburnt controls. Within the burnt catchments we studied plots where the last burn occurred ∼2 (B2), 4 (B4), 7 (B7) or greater than 10 years (B10+) prior to the start of measurements. These were compared with plots at similar topographic wetness index locations in the control catchments. Plots subject to prescribed vegetation burning had significantly deeper water tables (difference in means = 5.3 cm) and greater water-table variability than unburnt plots. Water-table depths were significantly different between burn age classes (B2>B4>B7>B10+) while B10+ water tables were not significantly different to the unburnt controls. Overland flow was less common on burnt peat than on unburnt peat, recorded in 9% and 17% of all runoff trap visits, respectively. Storm lag times and hydrograph recession limb periods were significantly greater (by ∼ 1 hr and 13 hr on average, respectively) in the burnt catchments overall, but for the largest 20% of storms sampled, there was no significant difference in storm lag times between burnt and unburnt catchments. For the largest 20% of storms the hydrograph intensity of burnt catchments was significantly greater than those of unburnt catchments (means of 4.2 x10−5 s−1 and 3.4 × 10−5 s−1, respectively), thereby indicating a non-linear streamflow response to prescribed burning. Together, these results from plots to whole river catchments indicate that prescribed vegetation burning has important effects on blanket peatland hydrology at a range of spatial scales

Linkage of sediment supply and transport processes in Miyagawa Dam catchment, Japan

Linkages between sediment supply by episodic geomorphic processes, obtained from aerial photographs and field surveys, and sediment transport, estimated from changes in sediment deposition behind a large dam, were investigated in the Miyagawa Dam catchment, central Japan. A total of 6667 landslides were confirmed in the period from 1965 to 2000 based on seven temporal pairs of aerial photographs. Both the occurrenceof landslides and discharge into the dam lake affect sediment yield, indicating thatfluvial systems in Miyagawa Dam catchment are supply-limited with respect tosediment. Sediment yields are not only affected by the initial failed volume oflandslides but also the mobility of landslides and debris flows. In Miyagawa Damcatchment, percentages of landslides reaching channels varied from 56% in 1997–2000to 75% in 1976-1981, and were correlated with maximum hourly rainfall. In addition,the mobility of debris flows was higher during periods with high maximuminstantaneous discharge compared to lower discharge, suggesting that the water contentboth in initially failed materials and transported sediment controlled their mobility.Topography also affected the mobility of landslides/debris flows. For catchments >0.1km2, the percentage of channel network length impacted by debris flows decreased withincreasing catchment area due to reduced channel gradient. Thus, both the magnitude ofrainfall-runoff events and catchment topography affect how landslide sediment contributes to sediment yield at the large catchment scale.Index terms: Hydrology (1800), Catchment (1804), Debris flow and landslides (1810), Hillslope geomorphology (1826); and Sediment transport (1862).Key words: landslide, debris flow, sediment budget, dam deposits, forest roads, andhillslope-channel linkage

Altered prostanoid production by fibroblasts cultured from the lungs of human subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Prostanoids are known to participate in the process of fibrogenesis. Because lung fibroblasts produce prostanoids and are believed to play a central role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), we hypothesized that fibroblasts (HF) cultured from the lungs of patients with IPF (HF-IPF) have an altered balance between profibrotic (thromboxane [TX]A(2)) and antifibrotic (prostacyclin [PGI(2)]) prostaglandins (PGs) when compared with normal human lung fibroblasts (HF-NL). METHODS: We measured inducible cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 gene and protein expression, and a profile of prostanoids at baseline and after IL-1β stimulation. RESULTS: In both HF-IPF and HF-NL COX-2 expression was undetectable at baseline, but was significantly upregulated by IL-1β. PGE(2) was the predominant COX product in IL-1β-stimulated cells with no significant difference between HF-IPF and HF-NL (28.35 [9.09–89.09] vs. 17.12 [8.58–29.33] ng/10(6) cells/30 min, respectively; P = 0.25). TXB(2) (the stable metabolite of TXA(2)) production was significantly higher in IL-1β-stimulated HF-IPF compared to HF-NL (1.92 [1.27–2.57] vs. 0.61 [0.21–1.64] ng/10(6) cells/30 min, respectively; P = 0.007) and the ratio of PGI(2) (as measured by its stable metabolite 6-keto-PGF(1α)) to TXB(2) was significantly lower at baseline in HF-IPF (0.08 [0.04–0.52] vs. 0.12 [0.11–0.89] in HF-NL; P = 0.028) and with IL-1β stimulation (0.24 [0.05–1.53] vs. 1.08 [0.51–3.79] in HF-NL; P = 0.09). CONCLUSION: An alteration in the balance of profibrotic and antifibrotic PGs in HF-IPF may play a role in the pathogeneses of IPF

Two approaches to the study of the origin of life.

This paper compares two approaches that attempt to explain the origin of life, or biogenesis. The more established approach is one based on chemical principles, whereas a new, yet not widely known approach begins from a physical perspective. According to the first approach, life would have begun with - often organic - compounds. After having developed to a certain level of complexity and mutual dependence within a non-compartmentalised organic soup, they would have assembled into a functioning cell. In contrast, the second, physical type of approach has life developing within tiny compartments from the beginning. It emphasises the importance of redox reactions between inorganic elements and compounds found on two sides of a compartmental boundary. Without this boundary, ¿life¿ would not have begun, nor have been maintained; this boundary - and the complex cell membrane that evolved from it - forms the essence of life

(Re)imagining the ‘backstreet’:Anti-abortion campaigning against decriminalisation in the UK

The risk of death or serious injury from ‘backstreet abortions’ was an important narrative in the 20th century campaign to liberalise abortion in the UK. Since then, clinical developments have reduced the overall health risks of abortion, and international health organisations have been set up to provide cross-border, medically safe abortions to places where it is unlawful, offering advice and, where possible, supplying abortion pills. These changes mean that pro-choice campaigns in Europe have often moved away from the risks of ‘backstreet abortions’ as a central narrative when campaigning for abortion liberalisation. In contrast, in the UK, anti-abortion activists are increasingly using ideas about ‘backstreet abortions’ to resist further liberalisation. These claims can be seen to fit within a broader shift from morals to risk within moral regulation campaigns and build on anti-abortion messages framed as being ‘pro-women’, with anti-abortion activists claiming to be the ‘savers’ of women. Using a parliamentary debate as a case study, this article will illustrate these trends and show how the ‘backstreet’ metaphor within anti-abortion campaigns builds on three interconnected themes of ‘abortion-as-harmful’, ‘abortion industry’, and ‘abortion culture’. This article will argue that the anti-abortion movement’s adoption of risk-based narratives contains unresolved contradictions due to the underlying moral basis of their position. These are exacerbated by the need, in this case, to defend legislation that they fundamentally disagree with. Moreover, their attempts to construct identifiable ‘harms’ and vulnerable ‘victims’, which are components of moral regulation campaigns, are unlikely to be convincing in the context of widespread public support for abortion