No description available.

Play fighting is common in juvenile mammals as a peri-pubertal form of agonistic behavior preceding adult aggressive behavior. In golden hamsters, play fighting peaks in early puberty around postnatal day 35 (P-35), and gradually matures into adult aggression in late puberty. Though extensively studied, the neural mechanisms underlying play fighting remains poorly understood. My dissertation focuses on identifying the neural circuitry and neural transmitter systems that mediate this behavior in juvenile golden hamsters. Based on behavioral similarities between the offensive components of play fighting and adult aggression, I predicted that the neural circuitries mediating both behaviors shared common components. This possibility was tested by quantifying the immunolabeling of c-Fos expression in juvenile hamsters after the consummation of play fighting. In support of my hypothesis, I found that areas previously associated with offensive aggression in adult hamsters, including the ventrolateral hypothalamus (VLH), the posterior dorsal part of the medial amygdala (MePD), and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), also showed enhanced c-Fos expression after play fighting, which supported my hypothesis. Vasopressin (AVP) facilitates aggression in adult hamsters. Therefore, I hypothesized that AVP also activates play fighting. To test my hypothesis, juvenile male golden hamsters were tested for play fighting after they received central microinjections of an AVP V1A-receptor antagonist into the anterior hypothalamus (AH). Also, immunocytochemistry was performed to identify possible AVP neurons associated with this behavior. I found that the AVP antagonist selectively inhibited the attack components of play fighting in experimental animals. In addition, AVP cells in the nucleus circularis (NC) and the medial division of the supraoptic nucleus (mSON), which were associated with offensive aggression, also showed increased c-Fos activity after play fighting. Together, these results show that AVP facilitates offensive behaviors throughout hamster development, from play fighting in juveniles to aggression in adults. A recent study shows that oral administration of a CRH receptor antagonist inhibits aggression in adult hamsters. Therefore, I predicted that CRH plays a similar role in play fighting. To test my prediction, juvenile hamsters were tested for play fighting after central microinjections of a CRH receptor antagonist. I found that microinjections of the CRH receptor antagonist within the lateral septum (LS) resulted in an inhibition of several aspects of play fighting. The possible source of CRH affecting the behavior was tested through combined immunocytochemistry to CRH and c-Fos. I found CRH neurons in the diagonal band of Broca (DBB), an area with extensive connections with the LS, were particularly activated in association with play fighting. In conclusion, I find that shared neural elements participating in the “vertebrate social behavior neural network” are associated with both aggression and play fighting in hamsters. This circuitry is activated before the onset of puberty and is affected by rising levels of steroid hormones during the developmental period leading to adult behaviors. Within the circuitry, vasopressin release in the AH appears to control the activation of play fighting attacks. In contrast, CRH release in the LS affects a broader range of aspects of play fighting, including not just consummatory aspects of the behavior, but apparently also appetitive components in the form of contact duration. / text

Anotation Krav Maga is an Israeli combat systém, founded by Imi Lichtenfeld who was of Czechoslovak origin. This systém is currently gaining popularity, but there is no comprehensive publication describing its origin and developement. In addition to Krav Maga, there is even a less known, very similar, systém Kapap. This thesis chronologically describes what preceded the creation of Krav Maga and what it is based on. Then the thesis also involves the sporting career of Imi Lichtenfeld, the experience of his father and also historical events in Mandatory Palestine with regard to the creation of various fighting styles. The thesis deals with the developement of martial arts Krav Maga and older Kapap up to the present days. It offers an insight into the functioning of Krav Maga and Kapap in the world and even in the Czech republic and describes some current issues and events in Krav Maga and Kapap. It answers the most important questions of present days and possible future development of this combat systems and tries to outline the relationship between Krav Maga and Kapap. Keywords: Krav Maga, Kapap, Israel, martial arts and sports.

No description available.

Physical fights among middle school students is a problem in our school systems, with 24.7% of students having been in a physical fight one or more times in 2013. The purpose of this study was to estimate the extent to which physical fights among middle school students in Tennessee was associated with demographic factors (age, sex and race) and to identify individual level factors that influence the likelihood of middle school students engaging in a physical fight.The 2013 Tennessee Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YBRS) data was used for this study, which is an annual cross-sectional school data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 5589 Tennessee Middle school students were included in the analysis. The outcome variable was physical fighting. Explanatory variables included demographic variables, life styles and health behavior risk factors. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported.The analyses indicate that male students were more likely to be involved in a physical fight than the female students (OR 2.89, 95% CI 2.49-3.36) and white students were less likely to be involved in a physical fight than the non-White students (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.43-0.58). For every one year increase in age, the relative odds of being involved in a physical fight increased by 9.4% (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.18). Similarly, students who ever tried to commit suicide (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.39-2.53), drink alcohol (OR 2.48, 95% CI 2.02-3.05) and smoke cigarettes (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.56-2.44) were more likely to be involved in a physical fight than those who did not. Students who carried a weapon were more likely to be involved in a physical fight than those students who did not (OR 2.72, 95% CI 2.31-3.20). While Students who watched television for 3 or more hours per day were more likely to engage in physical fights (OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.04-1.39) than students who did not, students with school grades A and B (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.49-0.68), feeling safe and secure at school (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.62-0.87), sleeping eight or more hours per day (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.92) were less likely to be involved in a fight in school than other students.Age, gender, race, smoking, alcohol, use of marijuana, sleeping time, school performance, school safety environment, suicide attempt and TV time were potential risk factors associated with physical fights among middle school students. Strategies to reduce physical fights among students in Tennessean middle schools are needed.

No description available.

<p>Det är viktigt med ett effektivt samarbete och en välfungerande kommunikation i dynamiska miljöer, till exempel vid släckningsarbetet av en brand. Bristande kommunikation i en sådan miljö skulle kunna få förödande konsekvenser.</p><p>Denna uppsats bygger på material från studien ”Bridging Cultural Barriers to Collaborative Decision Making in On-Site Operations Coordination Centers”, där 32 svenskar samarbetade i olika lagkonstellationer med att släcka simulerade eldar i mikrovärlden C3Fire.</p><p>Kommunikationsteorier visar på att personer samtalar med varandra efter en viss struktur; deras yttranden tenderar att komma i par, så kallade närhetspar. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka närhetspar i beställningssekvenser, i form av en beställning av vatten och/eller bränsle följd av en bekräftelse. Till sin hjälp hade försöksdeltagarna en datorskärm med en karta samt tillgång till ett e-postverktyg för att kommunicera inom laget. Varje person genomgick åtta spelomgångar, vilket resulterade i totalt 64 spelomgångar. De lag som lyckades släcka elden antogs ha större andel närhetspar i beställningssekvenserna, vilket innebar att de skulle bekräfta varandras beställningar mer kontinuerligt än de lag som inte lyckades släcka elden. För studiet av närhetsparen kategoriserades e-postmeddelandena från samtliga spelomgångar, för att se hur strukturen i kommunikationen såg ut.</p><p>Resultatet visade på att något annat måste ha påverkat de medverkandes prestation, eftersom det inte fanns någon påtaglig skillnad i andelen närhetspar i beställningssekvenserna mellan de olika lagen. Det uppmärksammades att de inte bekräftade varandras beställningar endast genom e-postmeddelanden utan även genom direkta manipulationer. Anledningen till detta antas vara att alla lagmedlemmar blev presenterade samma information på sina datorskärmar, vilket frambringade en mer implicit kommunikation.</p> / <p>Efficient communication and cooperation is important in dynamic environments, for instance in fire-fighting teamwork. A lack of communication in this environment could cause devastating consequences.</p><p>This Master’s thesis is based on material from ”Bridging Cultural Barriers to Collaborative Decision Making in On-Site Operations Coordination Centers”, a study where 32 Swedes collaborated in teams conducting fire-fighting exercises in the micro-world C3Fire.</p><p>Communication theories propose that people talk with each other after a certain structure; their utterances tend to come in pairs, so-called adjacency pairs. The purpose of this study was to examine adjacency pairs in request sequences, in form of a request for water and/or fuel followed by a confirmation. The participants had access to a computer screen with a map together with an e-mail tool, to communicate within the team. Every person participated in eight rounds of the game, which resulted in 64 rounds of the game altogether. The teams who managed to extinguish the fire were assumed to have a larger amount of adjacency pairs in their request sequences than the teams who did not extinguish the fire. For the study of the adjacency pairs, the e-mails were categorized, to see what the structure of the communication looked like.</p><p>The result showed that some other factor must have influenced the participants’ performance, since there was no obvious difference in the amount of the adjacency pairs in the request sequence between the teams. It was observed that the team members did not confirm each other’s requests just by sending e-mail, but also by direct manipulations. The reason for this is assumed to be that every member of the team was shown the same information on his computer screen, which gave rise to a more implicit communication.</p>

Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

This thesis deals with behavioural strategies used by caddis larvae in pairwise contests and when selecting microhabitats. Effects of caddis larvae on survival and habitat selection of other insect taxa have also been studied. The behaviours used by Arctopsyche ladogensis larvae fighting for nets, and Agrypnia pagetana larvae fighting for cases, agreed well with predictions from the sequential assessment game, which is an ESS model of animal fighting behaviour. Establishment by net-spinning Hydropsyche siltalai larvae on artificial substrates was highest at intermediate densities of residents. Emigration/mortality was density independent, and it was higher at a poor site (low food availability) than at a rich site. Establishment was unaffected by site quality. Growth was density dependent because larvae in upstream positions reduced both current velocity and concentration of food particles for larvae in downstream positions. A field experiment involved manipulations of the density of H. siltalai larvae and their nets in a lake outlet stream. H. siltalai larvae affected all abundant taxa, but the mechanism involved varied between taxa. Rhyacophila nubila (Trichoptera) and chironomid larvae benefited from the presence of H. siltalai nets. Negative effects on nymphs of the mayfly Ephemerella ignita were due to predation by H. siltalai larvae, while a combination of predation and increased emigration in response to nets depressed densities of Simulium truncatum blackfly larvae. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1992, härtill 5 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

Three hundred years of colonialism, and fifty of internal colonialism, had hardwired a duality into the system, whereby two domains coexisted: on one hand, a globally integrated world of production, exchange and consumption, and on the other, a constrained world of informality, poverty and marginalization. The visions and missions for municipalities in South Africa are outlined in the White Paper on Local Government. The White Paper further calls for the review of the existing legislation which impedes Local Economic Development. Municipalities in, the Free State Province are accordingly faced with the mammoth task of delivering basic services to the communities. Poverty alleviation is crucial in realising this objective. This study aims to show the challenge which faces municipalities in the Free State and their mammoth task of delivering basic services to the communities. Poverty alleviation is crucial in realisation is objective. 'Through all researches and studies conducted it has been clear that there are impediments in this developmental mandate of the municipalities. 'These emanate from the capacity of the municipalities and the theoretical foundation of the Local Economic Development (LED) as one of the strategies for development. The internal validity of the problem stated does not depend on whether or not that the Local Economic Development strategies of the national and provincial spheres of government are very good, the critical part that this study deals with is whether the local and district municipalities have linked their strategies with those of national and provincial spheres. The Constitution of South Africa mandates local government to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner and to encourage the involvement of communities and communities’ organizations in matters of local government. In line with the constitutional mandate, the white paper on Local Government establishes the basis for a new developmental local government system, one which is committed to working with citizens, groups and communities in meeting the social, economic and material needs of communities in a holistic way. The findings indicate that IDPs (Integrated Development Plans) and LED lack detail on SlYME (Small Medium Macro Economic) development. Formal and Informal business are not captured accurately in the IDPs and LED. The importance of infrastructure not adequately located within the LED strategy. It was also found that most of the municipalities in the Free State do not have LED strategy. Proposals for further study on poverty eradication strategies by the municipalities are made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.