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This edited volume examines the opportunities to think, do, and/or create jointly afforded by digital storytelling. The contributors discuss digital storytelling in the context of educational programs, teaching anthropology, and ethnographic research involving a variety of populations and subjects that will appeal to researchers and practitioners engaged with qualitative methods and pedagogies that rely on media technology.

Background: Fish entrainment through turbine intakes is one of the major issues for operators of hydropower facilities because it causes injury and/or mortality and adversely affects population abundance. Entrainment reduction strategies have been developed based on the behavior of downstream migrating fishes, particularly diadromous species. However, knowledge of the behavior of migratory fishes has very limited application for reducing the entrainment of resident fishes, including several species that represent important recreational and aboriginal fishery resources in reservoirs. In this study, we used fine-scale acoustic telemetry and state-space modeling to investigate behavioral attributes associated with entrainment risk of resident adult bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in a large hydropower reservoir in British Columbia, Canada. Results: We found that adult bull trout resided longer in the vicinity of the powerhouse and moved closer to the turbine intakes in the fall and particularly in the winter. Bull trout were more likely to engage in exploratory behavior (characteristic of foraging or reduced activity) during periods when their body temperature was lower or higher than 6°C. We also detected diel changes in behavioral attributes, with bull trout distance to intakes and probability of exploratory behavior slightly increasing at night. Conclusions: We hypothesize that the exploratory behavior in the forebay is associated with foraging for kokanee (nonanadromous form of Oncorhynchus nerka), which have been shown to congregate near the dams of hydropower reservoirs in the winter. Our study findings should be applicable to bull trout populations residing in other reservoirs and indicate that entrainment mitigation (for example, use of deterrent devices) should be focused on the fall and winter. This work also provides a framework for combining acoustic telemetry and state-space models to understand and categorize movement behavior of fish in reservoirs and, more generally, in any environment with fluctuating water levels.

BackgroundAlcohol abuse is a risk factor for bone damage and fracture‐related complications. Through precise β‐catenin signaling, canonical Wnt signaling plays a key role in fracture repair by promoting the differentiation of new bone and cartilage cells. In this study, we examined the effects of alcohol on the Wnt pathway in injured bone using a murine model of alcohol‐induced impaired fracture healing.MethodsMale C57Bl/6 or T cell factor (TCF)‐transgenic mice were administered 3 daily intraperitoneal doses of alcohol or saline. One hour following the final injection, mice were subjected to a stabilized, mid‐shaft tibial fracture. Injured and contralateral tibias were harvested at 6, 9, or 14 days post‐fracture for the analysis of biomechanical strength, callus tissue composition, and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling.ResultsAcute alcohol treatment was associated with a significant decrease in fracture callus volume, diameter, and biomechanical strength at day 14 post‐fracture. Histology revealed an alcohol‐related reduction in cartilage and bone formation at the fracture site, and that alcohol inhibited normal cartilage maturation. Acute alcohol exposure caused a significant 2.3‐fold increase in total β‐catenin protein at day 6 and a significant decrease of 53 and 56% at days 9 and 14, respectively. lacZ staining in β‐galactosidase‐expressing TCF‐transgenic mice revealed spatial and quantitative differences in Wnt‐specific transcriptional activation at day 6 in the alcohol group. Days 9 and 14 post‐fracture showed that acute alcohol exposure decreased Wnt transcriptional activation, which correlates with the modulation of total β‐catenin protein levels observed at these time points.ConclusionsAcute alcohol exposure resulted in significant impairment of fracture callus tissue formation, perturbation of the key Wnt pathway protein β‐catenin, and disruption of normal Wnt‐mediated transcription. These data suggest that the canonical Wnt pathway is a target for alcohol in bone and may partially explain why impaired fracture healing is observed in alcohol‐abusing individuals.

Localisation of humanitarian aid has emerged as a major issue after the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 which emphasised the importance of locally-led response as a corrective to power imbalances in the humanitarian system. However, the practical complexities of localised humanitarian aid are yet to be fully discussed. This paper aims to examine the concept of localisation in humanitarian aid through a case study of a local non-governmental organisation, the Cambodian Children's Trust (CCT), in Cambodia. Drawing on the framework of localisation proposed by Baguios et al., (2021), we analyse the application of localisation of child protection programs run by CCT. We provide a holistic understanding of how localisation is conducted in practice, and the impacts it has on the wider humanitarian sector. Our study illustrates that power can be effectively developed to local entities and localisation with empowerment could be achieved despite highly challenging conditions.

Many aquatic species with stylar polymorphisms have the capacity for clonal and sexual reproduction and are sensitive to the balance of the two reproductive modes when there are a limited number of mating morphs within a population. This study asked how the clonal and sexual reproductive modes perform in populations that contain only a single morph and where fitness gain through sexual reproduction is rare. In clonal aquatic Nymphoides montana, polymorphic populations normally contain two mating morphs in equal frequencies. Populations are sexually fertile and appear to be maintained by pollen transfer between the two partners. However, in a monomorphic population of N. montana where mating opportunities are unavailable, female and male function is impaired and clonality maintains the population. Here, the consequences of intraspecific variation in sexuality were explored between monomorphic and polymorphic N. montana populations in eastern Australia.Comparative measurements of male and female fertility, total dry mass and genotypic diversity using ISSR markers were made between populations with variable sexuality.Very few seeds were produced in the monomorphic population under natural and glasshouse conditions due to dysfunctional pollen and ovules. Stigma-anther separation was minimal in the monomorphic population, which may be a consequence of the relaxed selective pressures that regulate the maintenance of sexual function. However, clonal reproduction was favoured at the expense of sexual reproduction in the monomorphic population; this may facilitate the establishment of sterility throughout the population via resource reallocation or pleiotropic effects. The ISSR results showed that the monomorphic population was one large, single genotype, unlike the multi-genotypic fertile polymorphic populations. Evolutionary loss of sex in a clonal population in which a mating morph is absent was evident; under these conditions clonal growth may assure reproduction and expand the population via spreading stolons.

Abstract The effect of the thermal environment on performance and productivity has been a focus of interest among indoor environmental researchers for nearly a century, but most of that work has been conducted in relative isolation from the cognate disciplines of human performance evaluation. The present review examines thermal environmental effects on cognitive performance research conducted across multiple disciplines. After differentiating performance from productivity, we compare the two dominant conceptual models linking thermal stress to performance; (1) the inverted-U concept and (2) the extended-U relationship. The inverted-U specifies a single optimum temperature (or its corresponding subjective thermal sensation) at which performance is maximised. In contrast, the extended-U model posits a broad central plateau across which there is no discernible thermal effect on cognitive performance. This performance plateau is bounded by regions of progressive performance decrements in more extreme thermal conditions. The contradictions between these opposing conceptual models might derive from various confounding factors at play in their underlying research bases. These include, inter alia, environment-related, task-related, and performer-related factors, as well as their associated two-way and three-way interaction effects. Methodological discrepancies that might also contribute to the divergence of these conceptual models are evaluated, along with the proposed causal mechanisms underlying the two models. The weight of research evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that the extended-U hypothesis fits the relationship between moderate thermal environments and cognitive performance. In contrast to the inverted-U relationship, implemention of the extended-U in indoor climate control implies substantial reductions in building energy demand, since it permits the heating and cooling setpoint deadband to expand across the full width of the thermal comfort zone, or even slightly further during emergencies such as peak demand events on the electricity grid. Use of personal comfort systems can further extend the thermostat setpoint range beyond the comfort zone.

Construction involves the use of significant quantities of raw materials and entails high-energy consumption. For the sake of choosing the most appropriate solution that considers environmental and sustainable concepts, tools such as the integrated value model for sustainable assessment (Modelo Integrado de Valor para una Evaluación Sostenible, MIVES) used in Spain, plays a key role in obtaining the best solution. MIVES is a multi-criteria decision-making method based on the value function concept and the seminars delivered by experts. Such tools, in order to show how they may work, require application to case studies. In this paper, two concrete slabs manufactured with differing reinforcements during the construction of the La Canda Tunnels are compared by means of MIVES. The two concrete slabs were reinforced with a conventional steel-mesh and with polyolefin fibres. This research was focussed on the main aspects affecting the construction. That is to say, the environmental, economic, and social factors were assessed by the method, being of special impact the issues related with maintenance of the structure. The results showed that from the point of view of sustainability, the use of polyolefin fibres provided a significant advantage, mainly due to the lower maintenance required.