Ecological validity of a simplified version of the multiple errands shopping test

Shallice and Burgess (1991) reported the utility of the Multiple Errands Test (MET) in discriminating executive deficits in three frontal lobe patients with preserved high IQ, who were otherwise unimpaired on tests of executive function. The aim of this study was to ascertain the value of a simplified version of the MET (MET-SV) for use with the range of people more routinely encountered in clinical practice. Main findings were as follows: 1) The test discriminated well between neurological patients and controls, and the group effects remained when the difference in current general cognitive functions (WAIS-R FSIQ) was taken into account. 2) The best predictors of performance in the healthy control group (n = 46) were age and the number of times participants asked for help (with more requests associated with poorer performance). 3) In the neurological group, two clear patterns of failure emerged, with performance either characterized by rule breaking or failure to achieve tasks. These two patterns were associated with different dysexecutive symptoms in everyday life. 4) The patients not only made more errors than controls, but also different ones. A scoring method that took this into account markedly increased test sensitivity. 5) Many patients passed traditional tests of executive frontal lobe function but still failed the MET-SV This pattern was strongly associated with observed dysexecutive symptoms in everyday life. The results demonstrate the clinical utility of the test, and suggest that there are two common and independent sources of failure on multitasking tests in a general neurological population: memory dysfunction, and initiation problems

High pressure polymorphism of ?-TaON

The high pressure behavior of TaON was studied using a combination of Raman scattering, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy in diamond anvil cells to 70 GPa at ambient temperature. A Birch–Murnaghan equation of state fit for baddeleyite structured ?-TaON indicates a high bulk modulus value Ko = 328 ± 4 GPa with K?o = 4.3. EXAFS analysis of the high pressure XAS data provides additional information on changes in the Ta–(O,N) and Ta–Ta distances. Changes in the X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectra indicate onset of a pressure induced phase transition near 33 GPa. Our analysis indicates that the new phase has an orthorhombic cotunnite-type structure but that the phase transition may not be complete even by 70 GPa. Similar sluggish transformation kinetics are observed for the isostructural ZrO2 phase. Analysis of compressibility data for the new cotunnite-type TaON phase indicate a very high bulk modulus Ko 370 GPa, close to the theoretically predicted value.<br/

The case for the development and use of "ecologically valid" measures of executive function in experimental and clinical neuropsychology

This article considers the scientific process whereby new and better clinical tests of executive function might be developed, and what form they might take. We argue that many of the traditional tests of executive function most commonly in use (e.g., the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; Stroop) are adaptations of procedures that emerged almost coincidentally from conceptual and experimental frameworks far removed from those currently in favour, and that the prolongation of their use has been encouraged by a sustained period of concentration on “construct-driven” experimentation in neuropsychology. This resulted from the special theoretical demands made by the field of executive function, but was not a necessary consequence, and may not even have been a useful one. Whilst useful, these tests may not therefore be optimal for their purpose. We consider as an alternative approach a function-led development programme which in principle could yield tasks better suited to the concerns of the clinician because of the transparency afforded by increased “representativeness” and “generalisability.” We further argue that the requirement of such a programme to represent the interaction between the individual and situational context might also provide useful constraints for purely experimental investigations. We provide an example of such a programme with reference to the Multiple Errands and Six Element tests

Improving solar cell performance through surface modification of silicon

This project sets out to improve the efficiency of thin crystalline silicon solar cells by enhancing the photoexcitation through light harvesting, and by developing a novel surface passivation technique via the covalent attachment of organic molecules to the surface. To aid the characterisation of these novel structures, we have developed a new measurement technique for surface recombination using the Kelvin prove.A passivation method through the attachment of alkyl monolayers to the silicon surface has been developed. These layers were shown to have good passivation properties whilst retaining excellent resilience to oxidation. The passivation effect was determined to be caused by the generation of surface charge, as measured by the Kelvin probe. Further functionalisation of the organic monolayers was undertaken to attach fluorescent chromophores. A novel method for measurement of the surface recombination velocity was developed utilising the Kelvin probe. Changing the incident photon flux, and thus the photogenerated current, allows measurement of the surface recombination current through the change in surface photovoltage. This dependence can then be used to extract the value of the surface recombination velocity. Furthermore, we have shown that this method can be developed further into a mapping technique for surface recombination lifetime, of potentially significant industrial interest.The effect of the silicon surface charge on the passivation observed has been investigated through the attachment of charged monolayers. It was found that through the attachment of a positive charge, the observed recombination lifetime in n-type silicon decreased whilst a negative charge (through the attachment of carboxylic acid groups to the surface) was found to improve the surface passivation. The carboxylic acid functional groups were charged through immersion in triethylamine (base) and returned to the neutral, starting state through immersion in acetic acid. We have found that the recombination lifetime decreases linearly with decreasing charge-surface distance. This technique allows an in-depth study of surface passivation to be carried out by separating the two principal causes for passivation – the removal of surface states and charge attachment to the surface.Fluorescent chromophores were attached to the silicon surface by two different techniques – through the reaction of an alcohol-terminated monolayer with an acyl chloride porphyrin and by palladium-catalysed cross-coupling of an allyl-terminated surface with a cyanine dye. The fluorescence quenching was investigated at various chromophore-silicon distances by varying the length of the alkyl chain spacer. We find that the fluorescence lifetime decreases with decreasing chromophore-silicon distance, and follows a logarithmic trend. Further work is required, however, to combine sensitisation with surface passivation as incorporation of a sensitisation layer by the palladium cross coupling of an allyl-terminated surface results in metal contamination to the surface, reducing recombination lifetime

Tourism and toponymy: Commodifying and Consuming Place Names

Academic geographers have a long history of studying both tourism and place names, but have rarely made linkages between the two. Within critical toponymic studies there is increasing debate about the commodification of place names, but to date the role of tourism in this process has been almost completely overlooked. In some circumstances, toponyms can become tourist sights based on their extraordinary properties, their broader associations within popular culture, or their role as metanyms for some other aspect of a place. Place names may be sights in their own right or ‘markers’ of a sight and, in some cases, the marker may be more significant than the sight to which it refers. The appropriation of place names through tourism also includes the production and consumption of a broad range of souvenirs based on reproductions or replicas of the material signage that denote place names. Place names as attractions are also associated with a range of performances by tourists, and in some cases visiting a place name can be a significant expression of fandom. In some circumstances, place names can be embraced and promoted by tourism marketing strategies and are, in turn, drawn into broader circuits of the production and consumption of tourist space

Care and phronesis in teaching and coaching: dealing with personality disorder

My aim in this article is to contribute to the discussion about how teachers and coaches come to act in appropriate ways given the complex nature of both practices. I focus on two specific dispositions or qualities from the philosophical literature, namely the virtue of care and the Aristotelian concept of phronesis (or practical wisdom), which have been put forward as possible explanations. I argue that care and phronesis are fundamental qualities for both good teachers and coaches. Talk of care and phronesis in the literature is welcome, but these concepts are themselves complex. Care and phronesis, like other virtues are context-specific, difficult to acquire (or teach) and their particular expression depends on a host of complex factors, not least one's character and personal and professional experience. I illustrate my argument with reference to a former professional football player who exhibited symptoms of personality disorder from an early age and who presented challenges to his teachers and coaches through his disruptive behaviour

DNA metabarcoding as a marine conservation and management tool: A circumpolar examination of fishery discards in the diet of threatened albatrosses

Almost all of the world's fisheries overlap spatially and temporally with foraging seabirds, with impacts that range from food supplementation (through scavenging behind vessels), to resource competition and incidental mortality. The nature and extent of interactions between seabirds and fisheries vary, as does the level and efficacy of management and mitigation. Seabird dietary studies provide information on prey diversity and often identify species that are also caught in fisheries, providing evidence of linkages which can be used to improve ecosystem based management of fisheries. However, species identification of fish can be difficult with conventional dietary techniques. The black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) has a circumpolar distribution and has suffered major population declines due primarily to incidental mortality in fisheries. We use DNA metabarcoding of black-browed albatross scats to investigate their fish prey during the breeding season at six sites across their range, over two seasons. We identify the spatial and temporal diversity of fish in their diets and overlaps with fisheries operating in adjacent waters. Across all sites, 51 fish species from 33 families were identified, with 23 species contributing >10% of the proportion of samples or sequences at any site. There was extensive geographic variation but little inter-annual variability in fish species consumed. Several fish species that are not easily accessible to albatross, but are commercially harvested or by-caught, were detected in the albatross diet during the breeding season. This was particularly evident at the Falkland Islands and Iles Kerguelen where higher fishery catch amounts (or discard amounts where known) corresponded to higher occurrence of these species in diet samples. This study indicates ongoing interactions with fisheries through consumption of fishery discards, increasing the risk of seabird mortality. Breeding success was higher at sites where fisheries discards were detected in the diet, highlighting the need to minimize discarding to reduce impacts on the ecosystem. DNA metabarcoding provides a valuable non-invasive tool for assessing the fish prey of seabirds across broad geographic ranges. This provides an avenue for fishery resource managers to assess compliance of fisheries with discard policies and the level of interaction with scavenging seabirds

Maternal protein-energy malnutrition during early pregnancy in sheep impacts the fetal ornithine cycle to reduce fetal kidney microvascular development

This paper identifies a common nutritional pathway relating maternal through to fetal protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and compromised fetal kidney development. Thirty-one twin-bearing sheep were fed either a control (n=15) or low-protein diet (n=16, 17 vs. 8.7 g crude protein/MJ metabolizable energy) from d 0 to 65 gestation (term, ∼ 145 d). Effects on the maternal and fetal nutritional environment were characterized by sampling blood and amniotic fluid. Kidney development was characterized by histology, immunohistochemistry, vascular corrosion casts, and molecular biology. PEM had little measureable effect on maternal and fetal macronutrient balance (glucose, total protein, total amino acids, and lactate were unaffected) or on fetal growth. PEM decreased maternal and fetal urea concentration, which blunted fetal ornithine availability and affected fetal hepatic polyamine production. For the first time in a large animal model, we associated these nutritional effects with reduced micro- but not macrovascular development in the fetal kidney. Maternal PEM specifically impacts the fetal ornithine cycle, affecting cellular polyamine metabolism and microvascular development of the fetal kidney, effects that likely underpin programming of kidney development and function by a maternal low protein diet

Habit, Memory, and the Persistence of Socialist-Era Street Names in Postsocialist Bucharest, Romania

The critical study of toponymy has paid considerable attention to the renaming of urban places following revolutionary political change. Such renaming is intended to institutionalize a new political agenda through shaping the meanings in everyday practices and landscapes. Renaming, however, might not always be successful, and this article examines this issue with reference to a market in Bucharest, Romania. Originally named Piaţa Moghioroş during the socialist era to commemorate a leading Communist Party activist, the market was renamed in the postsocialist period. Yet, more than two decades on, the original name remains in widespread everyday use. Using a mixed-method approach, we seek to advance the critical toponymies literature by exploring the persistence of the socialist-era name within everyday practice. Although many authors have highlighted the issue of popular resistance to an unpopular renaming, we find little evidence of conscious resistance, and instead we explore the importance of habit within everyday practices as an explanation, drawing on an understanding of habit derived from sociocognitive psychology. This perspective proposes that habits are stable and hard to break if the broader context in which they are situated is stable. We suggest that this explanation, rather than popular contestation, has more to offer in understanding the persistence of the toponym Piaţa Moghioroş. We thus highlight the importance of considering how the “users” of place names react to the changes of such names and create their own meanings in relation to them in ways unintended by elites

The Paradoxical Profession: Project Management and the Contradictory Nature of Sustainable Project Objectives

Professions are undergoing a significant change in how they integrate environmental and social objectives into their core values. This article examines the situation in which those working in the project management profession are expected to work under contradictory sustainability constraints. In this article, we investigate the tensions project managers experience when addressing sustainable objectives. Results show that when tensions arise over sustainable objectives (temporality of objectives, organizational barriers, and lack of control), they are addressed only when anchored to an economic one in the form of a business case for sustainability. We also find that when matching traditional project objectives with sustainable ones is not possible, practitioners enact a set of reactions characterized as greenwashing, it can’t be one person, no space for sustainability in my job, other actors involved, or pushing back, depending on the specific project context. Adopting the paradox theory lens, we provide an alternative approach to the business case for sustainability. The practical contribution of this article lies in suggesting the need to find strategies to embrace paradoxical situations and we provide some suggestions to illustrate this