Onthe Ground Research Articles

Right Care, Right Time, Right Place: Real-life Challenges in Delivering Sláintecare – A Multi-Centre Survey of Multidisciplinary Team Members

Abstract Background Sláintecare launched in 2018 seeks to reform the delivery of healthcare services in Ireland towards equity of access based on patient need1. However, delivering the right care, in the right place at the right time is, as yet an aspirational goal. We sought to identify the on-the ground challenges that exist in delivering Sláintecare in the day-to-day practice of multidisciplinary team members. Methods An online survey questionnaire was distributed to medical social workers, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. Respondents were asked about their experience in applying for community-based care in their practice including home care packages, community occupational therapy and home equipment. Descriptive statistics were applied to numerical data and a thematic analysis was performed on free text responses. Results There were 31 respondents from 10 clinical sites including acute and rehabilitation settings. All nine community healthcare organisations (CHOs) were represented. 29/31 (94%) felt that access to community-based care differed based on the patient’s residential address. 23/31 (74%) stated the referral documentation and process for home care packages varied depending on the patients’ CHO. Qualitative analysis identified three core themes; Unfulfilled care hours due to dearth of carer availability differed across CHOs; inconsistencies in the application process that exists between CHO’s and incongruities in the availability of and accessibility to publicly funded services on hospital discharge. Conclusion Our survey highlights the practical challenges of delivering Sláintecare currently. It reinforces the health inequities that limits patients’ ability to access quality healthcare because of their geographical location.

All for One and One for All: Dissecting PREMIERE’s Inclusive AKIS Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Innovation is increasingly being considered a social process, more bottom-up and interactive, than top-down science to implementation. Projects funded at a European level under Cluster 6 of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, and EIP-AGRI Operational Groups at a national and regional level in each of the 27 EU Member States, reflect this by placing a greater focus on making the best use of different types of knowledge and complimentary expertise (practical, scientific, technical, organisational, etc.) through the Multi-actor Approach (MAA). A wealth of strategic management literature exists on good practice stakeholder engagement strategies which mobilise the necessary bidirectional and cross-sectoral knowledge exchange and idea generation required for successful co-innovation ecosystems. Its counterpart however, from an Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) perspective, is largely absent. This method article addresses this disparity and gap in literature by describing a 5-step AKIS Stakeholder Engagement Strategy developed by the PREMIERE Horizon Europe Project to help co-create an ‘enabling environment’ to foster and ‘speed up’ innovation, knowledge sharing and digitisation in agriculture, forestry and related sectors through mutually beneficial interactions between an extensive and diverse network of AKIS actors (e.g. researchers, advisors, agri-businesses, farmers) at EU, National and regional level. The inclusive nature of the multi-staged stakeholder engagement strategy outlined in this paper, inspired by strategic management literature, helps close the innovation gap between policy, research and practice through genuine multi-actor dialogue, holistic insights and feedback from project inception to completion, thereby helping to build trusting, meaningful and lasting relationships of mutual respect amongst relevant AKIS stakeholders, ranging from policy makers to harder to reach groups ‘on-the ground’, in place of mere, one-off consultations. The resultant knowledge exchange will significantly contribute to meeting objectives and targets set out in the European Green Deal, EU Climate Policy, Common Agricultural Policy and Farm to Fork Strategy.

‘On-the ground’ strategy matrix for fostering quality participation experiences among persons with disabilities in community-based exercise programs

ObjectiveThe purposes of this paper are to (1) document the generation and refinement of a quality participation strategy list to ensure resonance and applicability within community-based exercise programs (CBEPs) for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, and (2) identify theoretical links between strategies and the quality participation constructs. MethodsTo address purpose one, a list of strategies to foster quality participation among members was extracted from qualitative interviews with providers from nine CBEPs serving persons with physical disabilities. Next, providers from CBEPs serving persons with physical (n = 9) and intellectual disabilities (n = 6) were asked to identify the strategies used, and examples of their implementation, within their programs. Additional strategies noted by providers and in recent published syntheses were added to the preliminary list. A re-categorization and revision process was conducted. To address purpose two, 22 researchers with expertise in physical and/or intellectual disability, physical activity, participation and/or health behaviour change theory completed a closed-sort task to theoretically link each strategy to the constructs of quality participation. ResultsThe final list of 85 strategies is presented in a matrix. Each strategy has explicit examples and proposed theoretical links to the constructs of quality participation. ConclusionsThe strategy matrix offers a theoretically-meaningful representation of how quality participation-enhancing strategies can be practically implemented “on-the-ground” in CBEPs for persons with disabilities.

The impact of peripheral circulation characteristics of typhoon on sustained ozone episodes over the Pearl River Delta region, China

Abstract. The peripheral circulation of typhoon forms sustained ozone episodes. However, how it impacts the day-to-day ozone pollution levels during the episodes has not been clearly studied, which is crucial for better prediction of the daily ozone variation. In this study, the analysis of ground observation, wind profile data, and model simulation is integrated. By analysing the wind profile radar observations, we found a weak wind deepening (WWD; vertical depth of the weak winds increased), more correlated with the ground-level ozone variation than surface weak wind. Long-term statistical analyses showed that the WWD is a common weather phenomenon in the peripheral subsidence region of typhoons and is generally accompanied by ozone pollution episodes. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) with process analysis simulation showed that the peripheral subsidence chemical formation (CHEM) and vertical mixing (VMIX) effects are two major contributors to the enhancement of ozone levels to form the episode, while the advection (ADV) showed negative values. However, the day-to-day variation of the daytime ozone levels during the episode is not determined by the daily variation of daytime CHEM and VMIX but is dominated by the ADV terms. Therefore, the ozone and its precursors accumulation, including the enhancement during the night-time, contribute to the daytime ozone increase in the following day. A detail day-to-day process analysis showed that in additional to decrease of negative ADV values (e.g. the weakened advection outflow or dispersion) on the ground, the integrated effect of the daily variation of the accumulative CHEM and ADV above the ground throughout the planetary boundary layer (PBL) together determined the overall day-to-day daytime ozone variation on the ground through the VMIX process. The results indicate that the peripheral characteristics of approaching typhoon not only form the ozone episode by the enhanced photochemical reactions, but also could increase the day-to-day daytime ozone levels via pollution accumulation throughout the PBL due to the WWD up to 3–5 km. These results illustrate the important role of the WWD in the lower troposphere for the formation of sustained ozone episodes due to the peripheral circulation of the typhoon, which helps to better predict the daily changes of daytime ozone levels.

Marking the Resting Place with the Deceased

In this paper I tried, on the basis of available literature and newly discovered data, to indicate possible links among the practices of mirila, karsikko, and cross-tree. Using these comparisons I endeavor to show that the custom of marking the place of resting with the deceased is not specific to a narrow strip of Croatian hinterland and that, if we want to get to importantinsights about the custom of mirila, it will be necessary to expand the geographical context and focus of research. The term mirila in the literature involves the stone construction marking the resting place with the deceased. It’s usually on the way from the home of the deceased to the cemetery. The funeral procession would stop, carriers would lay down the deceased onthe ground for the first and last time before the cemetery. In Finland there was a custom known as karsikko which roughly means “pruning of the tree”, but also denotes memorial inscriptions features on board, on building walls or on rocks (Vilkuna 1993:136). The funeral procession from the house of the deceased to the cemetery stoped at a certain place which is alreadyused for the same purpose, and people would select a tree and carve a cross, the initials of the deceased, year of death, etc., or write the same data on the board which would then be attached on the tree. Karsikko as a memorial to the place of resting with the deceased has the same function as a cross-tree (Vilkuna 1993: 136). Over time, karsikko became the term for markingson the stone, the walls of buildings and for the inscription on the wooden board that they nailed to the cross-tree. At sixteen sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are also records of the custom of incising the cross on trees at the road crossings were they rested with the deceased. At two locations in Bosnia, geographically close to the Dalmatian hinterland andthe rockier area, there was another form of marking such a place. In Brežnja near Srebrenica they would stop three times and each time they would place a stone under the head of the deceased. In Pale, near Sarajevo, the procession also stopped three times. The deceased is laid on the ground and a stone is placed above his head and under his feet. In Serbia the funeralprocession would also stop three times at intersections. Stopping places were called počivališta (resting place) and there they carved a cross on a tree. In Montenegro, at the site of the Trepča near Nikšić, they were resting three times on the road to the cemetery. In Macedonia, there are also records of stopping at crossings but without defining a locality. At all recorded sites, there is a repeated pattern of constant change of performance and meaning of the ritual practice. Starting with Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and coming to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. The significance of the place also changes, because ofchange in everyday life. In Karelia in the 19th century it was no longer important to carve in the three, or to rest on a half way to the cemetery, it was enough to make a mark on the stone in the yard or on the wall of the farm building. In the hinterland of Zadar today (2012.), it is not important to lay down the deceased on the ground (they don`t even carry him out of thecar), but it is important to stop and mark the resting place. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that there could be a possible link between customs of building of mirila, karsikko and cross-tree relying on almost identical custom that was recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia and its geographical change as one approaches tothe Dalmatian hinterland.

Advancing salt marsh restoration for coastal resilience: a learning exchange

A multidisciplinary group of salt marsh professionals from Maine to Virginia participated in a collaborative learning exchange to improve restoration for the overall health and resilience of coastal wetlands. This was an unprecedented forum through which participants representing different geographies, backgrounds, and roles in salt marsh management were able to share and learn from one another to develop the best available restoration methods for on-the-ground projects that address multiple benefits. By including mosquito control agencies, restoration practitioners, regulatory agencies, academic researchers, and conservation organizations in the learning exchange, we developed an understanding and acceptance of different approaches. Regulators learned about project ideas and contributed to project designs in early development stages. Collaborating while engaged in on-the ground projects enabled participants to implement lessons learned in real time. Field trips to restoration sites at different stages of development allowed a greater and more fluid exchange of ideas and practical implementation advice. Practitioners leveraged resources and developed new collaborations. Lessons learned and shared through this faster and more flexible forum will inform the design, implementation, and monitoring of restoration projects across the region and improve overall marsh health and resilience in the face of climate change. Learning exchanges like this should be used more frequently to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coastal restoration particularly when there is a windfall of cash and a short window of opportunity such as with post-disaster federal spending.

A multi-purpose, multi-rotor drone system for long-range and high-altitude volcanic gas plume measurements

Abstract. A multi-rotor drone has been adapted for studies of volcanic gas plumes. This adaptation includes improved capacity for high-altitude and long-range, real-time SO2 concentration monitoring, long-range manual control, remotely activated bag sampling and plume speed measurement capability. The drone is capable of acting as a stable platform for various instrument configurations, including multi-component gas analysis system (MultiGAS) instruments for in situ measurements of SO2, H2S, and CO2 concentrations in the gas plume and portable differential optical absorption spectrometer (MobileDOAS) instruments for spectroscopic measurement of total SO2 emission rate, remotely controlled gas sampling in bags and sampling with gas denuders for posterior analysis on the ground of isotopic composition and halogens. The platform we present was field-tested during three campaigns in Papua New Guinea: in 2016 at Tavurvur, Bagana and Ulawun volcanoes, in 2018 at Tavurvur and Langila volcanoes and in 2019 at Tavurvur and Manam volcanoes, as well as in Mt. Etna in Italy in 2017. This paper describes the drone platform and the multiple payloads, the various measurement strategies and an algorithm to correct for different response times of MultiGAS sensors. Specifically, we emphasize the need for an adaptive flight path, together with live data transmission of a plume tracer (such as SO2 concentration) to the ground station, to ensure optimal plume interception when operating beyond the visual line of sight. We present results from a comprehensive plume characterization obtained during a field deployment at Manam volcano in May 2019. The Papua New Guinea region, and particularly Manam volcano, has not been extensively studied for volcanic gases due to its remote location, inaccessible summit region and high level of volcanic activity. We demonstrate that the combination of a multi-rotor drone with modular payloads is a versatile solution to obtain the flux and composition of volcanic plumes, even for the case of a highly active volcano with a high-altitude plume such as Manam. Drone-based measurements offer a valuable solution to volcano research and monitoring applications and provide an alternative and complementary method to ground-based and direct sampling of volcanic gases.

A framework for managing regulatory policy life-cycle challenges: an empirical design

This paper proposes a process for developing a comprehensive policy life-cycle management (PLM) framework that institutionalises the essential elements of regulatory policy life-cycle implementation. Central banks face challenges during the life-cycle processes of regulatory policy management. The evident reasons for some of these challenges are missing significant policy quality attributes (PQAs) associated with the dynamics of multidimensional constraints that negatively impact the policies' return. This paper suggests using PQAs to formalise a systematic and comprehensive PLM framework. Thematic analysis of data collected at Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) revealed thirteen policy life-cycle challenges and identified eleven PQAs. The constructed PLM framework encompasses six phases: engineering, analysis, evaluation, execution, monitoring, and optimisation. The application of the PLM framework and its PQAs in a single case study provides insights into its potential usability and strength in improving regulatory policy implementation more broadly. The extended PLM framework's contribution is to open avenues of research and inform practice for diverse stakeholders such as regulatory authorities, policy science community engagement, and on-the ground regulatory policy initiatives.

ТЕОРЕТИКО-МЕТОДИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ НАВЧАННЯ ВІЙСЬКОВО-СПЕЦІАЛЬНИХ ДИСЦИПЛІН МАГІСТРІВ ВІЙСЬКОВО-СОЦІАЛЬНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ:ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНЕ ДОСЛІДЖДЕННЯ

Introduction. Experimental research was reviewed and way of a scertaining and generating experiment was exposed concerning introducing technique of development of military and special competence of master sofmilitary and social management based onthe grounds of the content presentation in the process of teaching military and special disciplines. Purpose. The a imof generating experiment was toexamine effective nessof the teaching military special disciplinest echniqueof masters of military and social management. Methods. Authenticity of the got results is well-proven by means of methods of mathematical statistics.Results. The article presents tages of organizing and conducting a pedagogical experiment and the resultsof development of military and special competence of mastersof military and social management base don the ground sofve rsatilestructural and functional techniqueof a content presentation in the process of teaching military and special disciplines. Aiming to very fying maturitylevel of military and special competen ceofmastersof military and social management, we haved evelopedan experimental research program. In 2016-2019 ascert aining and generating experiments were conducted in the National Defence University of Ukrainen amed after Ivan Cherniakhovskyi, the National Academy of the National Guardof Ukraine, the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukrainen amed after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. Ascer taining experiment in cluded the following stages: – determinati on of accuracy; – determination of the currentstate of the teaching military and special disciplines of masters of military and social management; – development of researchhypo thesis.In the control groupeducation of the future master sof military and socialmanage ment was conducted under traditional technique of teaching military and special disciplines whilein the experimental groupanin novation techniqueof the content presentationin the processof teaching military and special disciplines was applied. There sultsofex perimental research of special military competence development in the process of teaching military and special disciplines for student of ficersin the higher military educational in stitutions were summarized; a level of maturity of special military competence of masters of military-social management was analysed. There sults of generating experiment in the control and experimental groups in dicated advantages of military and special competencete chnique effectiveness of the student off icersin the experimental group. Originalit. Results of the experimental researchindicate that in troduction of the applied techniqueduring educational processin the higher military educational in stitutions improve smaturity of military and special competence of masters of military and social management. Conclusion Experimental study confirmsourhypothesisthat effectiveness of professionalactivity of masters of military and socialmanagementis higherif directive military and special competence development basedon competent approach and introduction of the applied techniquein to the educational processin the higher military educational in stitutionstakeplace.

Reporting familicide-suicide in broadcast media: An Irish case study to inform better practice

News media coverage plays an important role in the public recognition of intimate partner homicide (IPH) and familicide as crimes. However, studies find that news coverage typically fails to contextualise these crimes, relies on non-expert sources, and often engages in victim-blaming. Existing studies have primarily investigated print media. The lack of attention to broadcast media is significant because broadcast news attracts a larger share of public attention and it relies on distinct routines and practices that may influence coverage. To address this gap, this study presents an in-depth analysis of the broadcast news coverage surrounding a 2016 case of familicide-suicide in Ireland. Our analysis identifies patterns of decontextualisation, non-expert sourcing and perpetrator exoneration. Specifically, coverage decontextualised the crime through an emphasis on the family and the response of the community and through the privileging of (male) local sources, including male religious voices, over expert sources. Although victim-blaming was not very explicit, coverage frequently exonerated the perpetrator through references to his good character. Thus, we find that broadcast news replicates the patterns of print news and that the preference for on-the ground reporting privileged sources who were proximate to the crime rather than those who could provide an expert understanding of it. These findings are discussed in terms of efforts to change media practices for more accurate representations of IPH and familicide in news media.

Attention to misleading and contentious tweets in the case of Hurricane Harvey

The spread of false and misleading information through online social media is an elevated concern in emergency contexts such as natural disasters, where the on-the ground decision-making window is shorter, and the stakes can be particularly high. Misinformation that gets attention and is drawn out longer during and after such disasters potentially puts the affected population at additional risk. This research focuses on popular but ambiguous and contentious narratives transmitted via Twitter during Hurricane Harvey. Two most talked about contentious narratives consisted of (1) government agencies putting undocumented immigrants at risk and (2) decisions about evacuation. They depict the process of debunking, competing narratives, and political ideology that have kept the stories alive. Our findings suggest the following: that government and reporters play important roles in stemming the spread of contentious or false information; ambiguous and contentious narratives remain in the conversation longer, specific debunking works faster and reaches a larger audience than general or confused debunking; and the lack of coordination of messaging online and on the ground as well as among different government agencies may threaten the timely and accurate delivery of disaster responses.

T-standpoint assists the waiting of predatory birds in lucerne

Field rodents can cause considerable economic losses in perennial crops, especially lucerne. Predatory birds can provide biological control of field rodent populations. However, modern arable landscape usually provides few or no natural standpoints for predatory birds to wait for their prey. According to the old farmers in eastern Croatia, T-standpoints installed into lucerne were traditional implements assisting the bird predation over field rodents. Aim of this study was to check whether the T-standpoints really are appropriate installations for the predatory birds to wait for their prey on the ground or not. The research has confirmed that predatory birds (Buteo buteo and Falco tinnunculus) descended on the installed T-standpoints (in average 1.35 arrivals per day of observation), waited (average period of stay was 17 minutes in the morning and 34 minutes in the afternoon) and landed on the ground, most probably to catch the prey (in average 13 % of arrivals to T-standpoints ended with landing to the ground, likely for the prey attack). Small forest restoration in arable landscapes and less chemical rodent control would probably improve the predatory bird populations, thus enhancing the biological control of field rodents. There remains the need for further investigation of efficiency of field rodent control by predatory birds

The Impact of Legislative Harmonisation on Effective Judicial Protection in Europe's Area of Criminal Justice

By focusing on the adoption of EU minimum standards in the field of procedural rights in criminal proceedings, this article will assess the relationship between secondary law harmonisation, and the principles of effectiveness of EU law and of effective judicial protection in Europe's area of criminal justice. This article will begin by exploring the third pillar legacy on harmonisation, by focusing on what the EU has not done (i.e.to legislate on a horizontal instrument on defence rights) and what the EU has done (i.e.to legislate specifically on judgments in absentia with the specific purpose of clarifying, and in some instances limiting, the grounds for refusal in a number of EU mutual recognition measures). The analysis will then examine the impact of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and will evaluate critically the impact of EU harmonisation measures on defence rights on effective judicial protection. The analysis will focus on the relationship between EU law and national law, as well as on the relationship between EU law and the Charter and ECHR. Great emphasis will be placed on the strengthening of enforcement avenues offered by the normalisation of EU criminal law after Lisbon. These avenues have the potential to ensure that, even minimum, harmonisation measures in the field of defence rights can have a real impact on enhancing effective judicial protection and achieving the effectiveness of EU legislation on the ground.

Saving Lives One Bite at a Time: The King Hussein Cancer Foundation´s Restaurant Care Program

Amount raised: Since 2007, the program has raised USD 5.25 million. Background and context: In 2007, the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) established the Restaurant Care Program (RCP); an innovative sustainable fundraising program targeting the general public. The RCP invites restaurants to incorporate a fixed contribution to KHCF as a line item on their diner bills, enabling restaurant guests to join the fight against cancer. At the time when cancer was still considered a taboo, the idea of bringing cancer onto restaurant tables and associating it with food was a huge undertaking which was frowned upon by most. It took one champion to join the program to for the rest to follow suit; gradually overcoming the taboo and changing public behavior. Within 10 years, the program was able to partner with over 70 restaurants with an annual growth of 8.4%. Aim: Establishing an innovative, sustainable fundraising program that creates behavior change and serves as an accessible, effortless donation channel while they dine Strategy/Tactics: Generating funds in a systematic and sustainable method by including the contribution as a line item on diners' bills within partner restaurants' financial/billing systems. Customizing the contributions according to restaurant's tier; JD 1 (USD 1.4), JD 0.50 (USD 0.70) and JD 0.25 (USD 0.35). Implementation of a donation opt-out method rather than making it opt-in. This means that the contribution is automatically added by the restaurant to the bill, yet allows the diner to optionally remove the donation if they request to do so. Shifting from the opt-in to opt-out method significantly more than doubled the donations received allowing the program to raise USD 512,711 in 2017 alone. Training and educating restaurant employees and raising their awareness about cancer, the program and the impact of raising funds to support patients- deeming them on-the ground KHCF advocates. Program process: Official agreements are signed with partner restaurants indicating the fixed donation amount and the financial process. Restaurants add the contribution as a fixed line item within their financial/billing system-KHCF provides restaurant partners with jointly branded marketing materials which are placed on dining tables and which explain the program and its process. Training of restaurant financial staff and waiters on program process in addition to educating them on cancer, KHCF mission and impact of the donations. Monthly financial reconciliation with each partner restaurant based on provided and audited receipts/bills. Costs and returns: The expenditure of the program is 2-4% of the programs' returns making the program cost-effective and sustainable. What was learned: Despite KHCF being in a resource-poor developing country, the program´s success is proof that it´s possible to conquer taboos and create an innovative funding model that is both cost-effective and sustainable and can be replicated across sectors and countries.

The perceived effectiveness of online social work education: insights from a national survey of social work educators

ABSTRACTDespite rapid growth in online learning in social work and a growing body of research showing comparable levels of effectiveness and student satisfaction, concerns about online social work education remain among faculty. This is important given that faculty acceptance can play a pivotal role in the success and failure of online education. The current study aimed to compare levels of perceived effectiveness of online and on-the-ground education across nine social work competencies, as well as examine the association between experience with online education and perceived effectiveness of online education. The sample included 376 faculty recruited from schools of social work in the United States. Results suggest that online education is consistently perceived as being less effective than on-the ground education in helping students to meet Council on Social Work Education competencies. Furthermore, perceptions of effectiveness of online education are lowest for practice-oriented competencies. Regression analyses showed that tenure status, years of full-time teaching, technological preparedness, and level of exposure to online education were significantly associated with perceived effectiveness of online education. It is critical that schools develop more opportunities for faculty to engage in direct teaching experience online as well as enhance their levels of comfort and proficiency with technology.

Theorising the effect of transition on female labour force in the European semi-periphery: An interdisciplinary methodology

This article presents an interdisciplinary methodological framework that I developed to theorise and empirically test the drivers of female labour force participation in post-socialist Eastern Europe. As I attempted to apply existing theories from consolidated capitalist economies onto the Eastern European cases, I faced the dilemma of either having to label the Eastern European cases as ?deviant?, because they were not fitting into the pre-existing Western-centric theoretical categories, or having to build a more useful theoretical abstraction which would reflect the Eastern European post-socialist reality. Being interested in the on-the ground socioeconomic development of Eastern Europe rather than validation of Western-centric theories in the East, I chose the latter option. My aim was to open the black box of transition and address this theoretical gap between Western theory and Eastern reality of gender and labour markets, while providing an answer to a specific research question. To achieve that, I embarked on a study of the history of explanations in the social sciences, an elaboration of a theory-oriented mode of explanation, and the development of a mixed methods empirical strategy which combined statistical analysis with qualitative case studies.

Translocation as a Population Restoration Technique for Northern Bobwhites: A Review and Synthesis

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) abundance has declined precipitously for decades across much of the species range, to the point of widespread local, regional, and statewide extirpation. Because of successful translocations of other gallinaceous birds, bobwhite enthusiasts increasingly call for use of the approach. Consequently, the National Bobwhite Technical Committee (NBTC), on behalf of state agencies, requested a review and recommendation by the NBTC Science Subcommittee. Thus, our paper is co-authored by invited experts and includes reviews of peer-reviewed publications, manuscripts in these proceedings, state agency reports, experience by co-authors, and a survey of perspectives on translocations by state wildlife agency members of the NBTC. We discuss the state of science on key aspects of bobwhite conservation, offer best management practices (BMPs) for using translocation as a potential bobwhite restoration technique, and suggest ways to reduce uncertainty about implementation. We note that although conservationists operate on a relatively solid foundation of improving bobwhite abundance via increased quantity, connectivity, and quality of habitat, population restoration success to- date is relatively rare and unpredictable. Similarly, some past translocations have been unreliable with an abundance of failures and inadequate experimental designs. We conclude that because of major uncertainties regarding habitat, population phenomena (e.g., Allee effect) and restoration techniques, outcomes of translocations remain unpredictable; thus, future efforts must be a part of sound and rigorous peer-reviewed research. To improve scientific efforts, we recommend the following BMPs for future translocations: (1) target bobwhite abundance should be >800 post-translocation which will likely necessitate ≥600 ha of suitable and accessible habitat while a larger (e.g., >800 ha) area will be needed in areas with lower carrying capacity and when sites are highly fragmented or isolated, (2) personnel should identify and avoid stressors to bobwhites in all phases of the translocation process (i.e., capture, holding, transportation, and release), (3) source populations should be disease free and from similar environments and latitude; preferably from the nearest suitable source, (4) conspecifics should be present on recipient sites (5) birds should be released just before the breeding season (i.e., March or April), and (6) the translocation should incorporate robust short- and long-term bird (i.e., abundance and/or density) and habitat monitoring efforts (i.e., the Coordinated Implementation Program (CIP) of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI)). In conclusion, we note that translocation of bobwhites is not a panacea for broad scale restoration of bobwhites; however, the technique should remain at the forefront of bobwhite science, taking into account knowledge of the species’ life history and ecology, so that a practical and reliable solution can be developed. We recognize this paper is just the beginning of vigorous debate, testing of concepts, and on-the ground implementation of successful bobwhite conservation.

PROBLEMS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ORGANIZATION OF UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC STAFF AND WAYS OF THEIR SOLVING

Onthe ground of the experimental studies the articleclarifies the reasons that significantly affect the efficiency of scientific research of academicstaff (overloading by educational work, obsolete and poor material and technical base, weak contacts with leading academic institutions). The following solutions are proposed in order to overcome the identified negative factors: to involve the scientists of scientific research institutions in scientific research at higher school; to establish joint basic research laboratories, research centers, centers of innovations, departments and other institutions; to implement an effective system of incentives for scientific research activities of academicstaff of higher educational institutions.

Evaluación de la morfología ovárica en hembras Sacrificadas en la planta de beneficio animal de san gil

El propósito de esta investigación fue analizar la morfología de los ovariosen hembras sacrificadas en la planta de beneficio animal de San Gil. Se tuvoacceso a la planta de sacrificio animal al momento del faenado,recolectando los ovarios de 70 hebras vacías, luego de recolectados sellevaron a cabo las diferentes variables; se observó la cantidad de folículose identificación de la etapa del cuerpo lúteo. Como resultado se tuvo que elpeso promedio de las gónadas femeninas fue de 8,24 gr en los ovariosderecho y 7, 7 gr. El 98% de los ovarios presentaron estructuras foliculares,en las que se apreció un promedio de 31,572 folículos en los ovariosderecho y 31,486 en los ovarios izquierdo, el valor promedio de estos, nomostró diferencias significativas (p>0,05) entre los ovarios. Las hembrasque mostraron cuerpo lúteo en uno o ambos ovarios pudieron haberpresentado celo anteriormente, ya que el cuerpo lúteo crece sobre el sitiode la ovulación del celo anterior.

Development of Images-Symbols in the Russian Language (Linguoculturological Aspect)

The article is devoted to linguistic images-symbols as national-specific elements of the Russian languagereflecting the peculiar character of the national (Russian) culture, special aspects of national way of thinking andinterpretation of the surrounding world. The dependence of images-symbols evolving in the Russian language onthe specifics of each historical period in the development of Russian language cultural community is exposed onthe grounds of the study being undertaken. It has been established that functioning of images-symbols with theemotive-estimating nature having imaginative-symbolic sense appeared to be the consequence of religioussymbolism deprivation in syntagmatic combinations of the ancient syncretism epoch as a result of decompositionin syncretic thinking of a man within the Epichristian period, of change in socio-cultural situation in AncientRussia, i.e. the rejection of the Church Slavonic nature of language and the implantation of laic principle into thecommunity of medieval-era.