Smells like sib spirit: kin recognition in three-spined sticklebacks (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gasterosteus aculeatus</Emphasis>) is mediated by olfactory cues

The ability to recognise kin has been demonstrated in several animal species. However, the mechanisms of kin recognition often remain unknown. The most frequently discussed sensory modalities to recognise kin are visual, olfactory and acoustical cues. Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are able to differentiate between kin and non-kin when presented visual and olfactory cues combined. To elucidate, which cues they use to recognise kin female sticklebacks were given the choice between two identical computer animations of courting stickleback males. Next to one animation, water conditioned by a brother was added, while near the other, water from an unrelated male was added. In half of the experiments, the brother was familiar while in the other half he was unfamiliar to the female. Both scenarios were carried out with both outbred and inbred fish. The results showed that the females adjusted their choice behaviour according to relatedness. Furthermore, they were able to recognise both familiar as well as unfamiliar brothers. Inbreeding did not affect this ability. Hence, three-spined sticklebacks are able to recognise their relatives using olfactory cues alone. The cognitive mechanisms underlying this ability were independent from familiarity and not impaired by inbreeding.     

Learning from experience: The value of analysing Avalon

In this article some of the experiences and insights gained from roughly fifteen years of conducting a long term study of Glastonbury are examined. Glastonbury, a small town in the south west of England, has become a multivalent pilgrimage site for a variety of spiritual seekers, and an icon of integrative spirituality (my preferred term for ‘alternative’ or ‘New Age’ spirituality).The concept of vernacular religion is explained, and its appropriateness in relation to both place-centred study and research into integrative spirituality is demonstrated. The rationale and some of the methodological complexities underlying this type of study are explored, and some of the trends and phenomena that the long term observation of one location has revealed are considered. The contextual detail and depth of knowledge gained from such long term study feed into an appreciation of both the internal dynamics of Christianity in Glastonbury, for example, and the growing institutionalisation of the Glastonbury Goddess movement and the spread of its influence through a variety of conduits. The role of the internet in framing expectations and presentations of Glastonbury is examined, and research relating to its unique spiritual service industry is briefly summarised.While Glastonbury is by no means ‘typical’, it is indicative of a number of trends in relation to ‘integrative’ spirituality and therefore lessons learned from there can have wider implications for the study of phenomena increasingly common in the contemporary milieu.     

GENDER, PEER RELATIONS, AND CHALLENGES FOR GIRLFRIENDS AND BOYFRIENDS COMING TOGETHER IN ADOLESCENCE

This article examines how girls' and boys' different peer cultures in middle childhood may set the stage for challenges in emerging heterosexual romantic relationships in adolescence. Two theoretical frameworks are presented for understanding gender differences in children's same-gender friendships and peer groups in middle childhood: the two cultures perspective ( Maccoby, 1998 ) and the emotional trade-offs perspective ( Rose & Rudolph, 2006 ). Emerging empirical evidence is presented to highlight how girls' and boys' gendered friendship qualities may be linked to difficulties girls and boys have when they come together in early romantic relationships. Preliminary longitudinal data are presented that suggest that girls' relational and boys' physical aggression toward same-gender peers in middle childhood may relate to having emotionally intense arguments in early adolescence. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Differences in risk factors for suicidality between African American and White patients vulnerable to suicide

Risk factors for suicidal ideation and attempts have been shown to differ between African Americans and Whites across the lifespan. In the present study, risk factors for suicidality were examined separately by race/ethnicity in a population of 131 older adult patients considered vulnerable to suicide due to substance abuse and/or medical frailty. In adjusted analyses, social support was significantly associated with suicidality in African American patients, while younger age and the presence of an anxiety disorder were significantly associated with suicidality in White patients. The results suggest that race/ethnicity-specific risk profiles may improve the detection of suicidality in vulnerable populations.     

Cognitive and emotional control and perspective taking and their relations to empathy in 5-year-old children

The experience of empathy has been described as involving both emotional and cognitive components. The primary hypothesis tested in this study is that cognition and emotion are integrated within 2 distinct types of abilities-control and perspective taking-and that interactions between emotional and cognitive control and between affective and cognitive perspective taking would be related to children's empathic responding. We also hypothesized that boys' control and perspective-taking skills would be more strongly related to empathy than would those of girls. Fifty-seven 5-year-olds completed tasks measuring cognitive control, cognitive and affective perspective taking, and empathy, and their mothers completed a measure of children's emotional control. Results indicated that cognitive perspective taking moderated the relation between affective perspective taking and empathy. In addition, the relation between cognitive inhibitory control and empathy was moderated by gender; boys' control was positively related to empathy, but girls' control was marginally negatively related to empathy.     

Improving Service Evaluation in Clinical Genetics: Identifying Effects of Genetic Diseases on Individuals and Families

Outcome measurement in clinical genetics is challenging. Outcome attributes used currently have been developed by service providers or adapted from measures used in other areas of healthcare. Many of the ‘patients’ in clinical genetics are healthy but at risk of developing or transmitting a condition. Usually no pharmacological or surgical treatment is offered, although information-giving is an objective of most consultations. We argue that services should be evaluated on the basis of how well they alleviate the effects of disease, from a patient perspective. This paper describes a qualitative study using seven focus groups with health professionals, patients and patient representatives. Social and emotional effects of genetics diseases were identified. Some differences emerged between the effects identified by health professionals and those identified by patients. These findings will be used to inform the evaluation of existing outcome measures and develop robust measures of outcome for clinical genetics services.     

Licensure of Internationally Educated Nurses Seeking Professional Careers in the Province of Alberta in Canada

While the regulation of nursing practice through licensure ensures that nurses meet minimum standards for safe competent and ethical care, it also inhibits integration of immigrant internationally educated nurses (IENs) into the Canadian professional labour market. With projections of significant nurse workforce shortages by 2010, there is impetus to enhance the numbers of licensed professional nurses through multiple strategies. The licensure processes and accompanying tensions in the Canadian context are described. As professional nurse licensure in Canada is a provincial responsibility, the situation in the Province of Alberta is used as an example. Suggestions for policy development and research include needs for better data and for gender-based analysis to address barriers to IEN licensure. The ability to practice in one’s chosen profession can be a major factor in integration of immigrants into Canadian society and thus a powerful factor in attraction and retention of highly skilled immigrants.     

The organization of thinking: What functional brain imaging reveals about the neuroarchitecture of complex cognition

Recent findings in brain imaging, particularly in fMRI, are beginning to reveal some of the fundamental properties of the organization of the cortical systems that underpin complex cognition. We propose an emerging set of operating principles that govern this organization, characterizing the system as a set of collaborating cortical centers that operate as a large-scale cortical network. Two of the network’s critical features are that it is resource constrained and dynamically configured, with resource constraints and demands dynamically shaping the network topology. The operating principles are embodied in a cognitive neuroarchitecture, 4CAPS, consisting of a number of interacting computational centers that correspond to activating cortical areas. Each 4CAPS center is a hybrid production system, possessing both symbolic and connectionist attributes. We describe 4CAPS models of sentence comprehension, spatial problem solving, and complex multitasking and compare the accounts of these models with brain activation and behavioral results. Finally, we compare 4CAPS with other proposed neuroarchitectures.     

Training Genetic Counsellors to Deliver an Innovative Therapeutic Intervention: their Views and Experience of Facilitating Multi-Family Discussion Groups

Innovations in clinical genetics have increased diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of inherited genetic conditions (IGCs). This has led to an increased number of families seeking genetic testing and / or genetic counselling and increased the clinical load for genetic counsellors (GCs). Keeping pace with biomedical discoveries, interventions are required to support families to understand, communicate and cope with their Inherited Genetic Condition. The Socio-Psychological Research in Genomics (SPRinG) collaborative have developed a new intervention, based on multi-family discussion groups (MFDGs), to support families affected by IGCs and train GCs in its delivery. A potential challenge to implementing the intervention was whether GCs were willing and able to undergo the training to deliver the MFDG. In analysing three multi-perspective interviews with GCs, this paper evaluates the training received. Findings suggests that MFDGs are a potential valuable resource in supporting families to communicate genetic risk information and can enhance family function and emotional well-being. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it is feasible to train GCs in the delivery of the intervention and that it has the potential to be integrated into clinical practice. Its longer term implementation into routine clinical practice however relies on changes in both organisation of clinical genetics services and genetic counsellors’ professional development.