No description available.

Biological invasions represent both an urgent conservation problem and an opportunity to advance ecological theory. Development of pertinent research questions and proactive management strategies require knowledge of which introduced species are present and of spatiotemporal trends in the distribution of natives and invaders. In Chapter 2 we developed a quantitative framework to identify spreaders and decliners and estimate invasion chronologies based on a historical fish presence data set for upper and middle New River (UMNR) tributaries. Our framework accounts for spatiotemporal variability in sampling effort by aggregating presences by watershed and expressing range size as a function of the number of watersheds sampled per time period. The majority (55%) of fish species present in the study area were introduced, 51% of which were spreaders. Most spreaders (84%) appeared to be spreading exponentially. The rate of new introductions detected in the study area has slowed since the mid-20th century. Two natives, the mound-spawning bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus and its strong nest associate (reproductive mutualist), mountain redbelly dace Chrosomus oreas, were among the most rapid spreaders. Four natives showed evidence of decline. Our framework leverages historical presence data to reconstruct temporal trends in species distributions. It sets the stage for further study of factors driving stream fish invasions and declines in the Appalachian region, and is transferable to diverse taxonomic groups and geographic regions. Species traits and human activities mediating stream-fish invasions remain poorly understood. In Chapter 3 we modeled the contribution of species traits to invasion success of UMNR tributary fishes during the colonization and spread stages. Biological traits accurately explained colonization and spread success, whereas ecological traits resulted in less accurate models. Colonization success was positively related to time since introduction, benthic feeding, an equilibrium life history, and nest spawning. Successful spread was positively related to winter air temperature in the native range and an equilibrium life history. Variables estimating human use and propagule pressure were non-informative. Traits that influenced invasion success were consistent with the hypothesis that human land-use practices have increased the invasibility of highland watersheds by creating novel conditions suited to lowland and equilibrium invaders. / Master of Science

Sveriges befolkning ökar i helhet och storstadsregionerna växer genom en stark urbaniseringstrend. Som en effekt av detta krymper nästan hälften av Sveriges kommuner sett till antal invånare. En minskad befolkning kan ge minskad ekonomisk tillväxt samt ge kommunerna problem att erbjuda service av hög kvalitet till sina invånare. Befolkningsminskningarna beror ofta på utflyttningar, låga födelsetal i kombination med att befolkningen blir allt äldre vilket leder till att det i många fall blir allt färre som ska försörja allt fler. En krympande befolkning är ofta ett känsligt ämne att tala öppet om, det finns en rädsla att kommunen ska framstå som oattraktiv om den förknippas med utflyttningar och befolkningsminskning, samtidigt som en kraftig befolkningsminskning är en aktuell förutsättning för många svenska kommuner. Syftet är att genom en kvalitativ undersökning av två fall se hur olika svenska kommuner hanterar en befolkningsminskning. De frågeställningar som behandlas är:  -   Vad finns det för strategier för hur krympande kommuner kan hanteras i planeringen       enligt forskningen?   -   Hur hanterar svenska kommuner en befolkningsminskning, vilka strategier används?   -   Överensstämmer kommunernas arbete med forskningen?  De dokument som analyserats har avgränsats till kommunala översiktsplaner för att få en förståelse för hur den svenska planeringen hanterar befolkningsminskningar eftersom de är långsiktiga strategiska dokument där kommunens politiker för fram sina visioner för kommunens utveckling och framtida markanvändning. Forskningen kring ämnet skiljer på anpassningsstrategier och tillväxtstrategier och det framgår att det i många fall för krympande kommuner kunde vara lämpligt att fokusera på anpassning istället för tillväxt. De strategier som kunnat hittas genom en forskningsöversikt har varit det teoretiska ramverket för uppsatsen. I arbetet har forskningsöversiktens strategier använts i en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av två kommunala översiktsplaner för att se vilka strategier som används och vilka som inte används. Viktiga resultat är att de svenska kommunerna främst fokuserar på tillväxtstrategier men även vissa anpassningsstrategier. Detta stämmer väl överens med hur forskningen beskriver läget nationellt och internationellt men forskningen föreslår ett paradigmskifte mot en samhällsutveckling i form av anpassning skulle gynna många av de krympande områdena bättre. / The Swedish population is growing but the growth is only occurring in regions with bigger cities because of the fast urbanisation. Over half of the counties in the country is losing population due to outmigration, low fertility rates and an ageing population, leaving a few to support a growing group of seniors. The population decline can lead to a lack of economic growth and that the counties have trouble providing high quality service to its inhabitants. The aim with the study is to examine how Swedish counties cope with demographic decline through case studies. The thesis examines the following research questions:  -       What strategies can be adopted by shrinking cities according to planning research?  -       How do shrinking counties in Sweden cope with population decline?  -       Is the Swedish way of coping matching up with the research?  A qualitative content analysis has been used to find what strategies can be found in two Swedish master plans. Important results from the study is that the counties are focused on growth oriented strategies but do use some forms of adaption. This focus on growth matches with the findings in contemporary research in the field of shrinking cities that suggest a paradigm shift towards smart decline and a focus on adaption for the shrinking areas.

Dementia is a growing burden for society, and it is of interest to discover it at an early stage. Both subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and subjective olfactory decline (SOD) has been associated with future cognitive decline and dementia. However, subjective measures have often been criticized and are still not fully understood. I aimed to examinate the frequency of SCD and SOD and whether they are likely to measure different things and what their longitudinal effects are. The baseline sample (N=784, 35-90 years, 51% female) were split into reported SCD, SOD, combined subjective olfactory and cognitive decline, and controls. Between-subjects and within-subjects statistical tests were conducted on a subset of participants (N=307, 45 to 90 years, 52% female) comparing SCD and SOD and their olfactory ability, cognitive performance, and demographics. In the baseline sample, a total of 21.1% reported a SOD whereas only 9.9% reported a SCD, only 2.7% reported both. SOD individuals had an emerged olfactory decline at follow up, their olfactory performance was associated with performance in several cognitive tests, this was not the case for the SCD individuals. The SOD and the SCD groups differ from each other, and they appear to be rather independent from each other. They might be complementary in understanding the aging brain.

WEAVING IN WOOD  An architectural strategy in Umeå that strive to decrease loneliness and include elderly with physical and cognitive impairments A Master Thesis by Rebecka Littbrand                                                                                                   Spring 2020   Background Feelings of loneliness is common in the whole western world, especially among older people. Loneliness is of public health concerns as being a risk factor for many severe diseases and premature mortality. Scientists argues that an increase of social embeddedness is essential for improvements in well-being and quality of life. The focus group for this master thesis is elderly that lives in ordinary housing in Umeå, Sweden. Among elderly physical and cognitive impairments such as dementia are common, as well as getting help from the Home care service. Methodology This master thesis investigates different factors linked to loneliness, the current situation in Umeå regarding meeting places for elderly and architectural features to include elderly with impairments. Study visits to existing meeting places, interviews with local actors and experts within the field as well as reading literature have driven the project forward.   Findings Most districts in Umeå have no meeting place where elderly with impairments easily can participate. To include elderly with physical and cognitive impairments there are important to counteract 5 barriers: Long distance, Hidden placement, Need to plan and sign up in advance to participate, Insecurity if there will be someone there who can support you and Cost for participating.        To ease for people with dementia and to create a meeting place that feels welcoming and secure there are several architectural features that should be taken into consideration, e.g. arrange the rooms around a central common space, highlight functions by using powerful colours, being on ground floor and visual connections between certain spaces, which the “Open meeting places” provided by the municipality in Umeå have problems in fulfilling.    Conclusion  An architectural strategy in Umeå to reduce loneliness among elderly living in ordinary housing and that counteracts the barriers to include elderly with physical and cognitive impairments is needed. By placing New open meeting places next to the local food stores in the different districts of Umeå the barriers Hidden placement and Long distance are counteracted, enabling the Home care service to guide elderly to the places. The meeting places will consider important architectural features to include people with dementia and create a place that feels welcoming and secure.      The New open meeting places will collaborate with local actors, strive to highlight the importance of social interaction, take away the stigma related to loneliness as well as give the elderly population more prominent and visible places in society.

This study examined the relationship between five neurocognitive domains, including memory, visual-spatial skills, executive functioning, language, and attention, and three instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), (financial management, medication management, and driving), as well as three basic activities of daily living (ADLs), including dressing, feeding, and grooming. Subjects were community dwelling older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) ranging in severity from mild to severe. Correlation and regression models were used to analyze the relationship between neurocognitive domains and self-care activities. All of the neurocognitive domains were significantly but mildly correlated with declines in IADLs, and all of the neurocognitive domains, except memory, were significantly but mildly correlated with ADL decline. None of the regression models, except driving, produced significant results. The hypotheses were based on the belief that overlap occurs between declines in cognitive domains and self-care skills. The results of this study support the assertion that global cognitive decline occurs followed by declines in IADLs and later declines in ADLs. Thus, instead of specific neurocognitive domains predicting decline in individual self-care skills, this research indicates that the degree of severity of cognitive decline is predictive of impairments in IADLs or ADLs with milder global impairment predicting IADLs and more pronounced decline predicting declines in ADLs. Degree of severity may have been more predictive because while individuals vary in cognitive symptom presentation, the course of AD always progresses from mild to more severe. The role of over-learning also potentially impacted the results of the study. Individuals learn and daily practice ADLs at a young age causing them to require less higher level cognitive skills (over-learned). Since over-learned IADLs require less higher level cognition, they were preserved longer in AD course, thus declining after global cognitive impairment. Clinicians need to thoroughly assess the degree to which an individual has over-learned a task in order to make the most accurate recommendations. If an individual has milder global decline, IADLs are likely to be impaired, and if an individual has moderate global decline with memory reaching a floor, ADLs are likely to be impaired.

Numerous variables from mismanagement to lack of a clear marketing approach contribute to the decline of private universities throughout the United States. Limited empirical research exists to identify which variables most frequently occur when a university is faced with the prospect of decline. It is imperative that universities understand the magnitude of the decline process so that, when faced with a decline, the university can take effective corrective action and bring about turnaround. Organizational structure theories as well as organizational decline theories are presented to gain a basic understanding of organizational dynamics and to lay the groundwork for the presentation of general organizational decline theory, stages of organizational decline and sources of organizational decline. The organizational structure of private universities are then be explored. Finally, university decline are explored both historically as well as through the development of a basic understanding of university decline theories. Presidential leadership and market orientation are thoroughly discussed as major variables of the study. A quantitative research design is utilized to identify the relationship of presidential leadership style, market orientation and university decline. Recommendations are then made based upon the data that will assist university leadership in identifying possible antecedents to university decline and the role of market orientation on decline, and which will also provide a framework for further research on those variables occurring in greatest frequency to be analyzed quantitatively in future research. The results of this study reveal several findings for the leadership of private not-for-profit universities. No relationship was found between market orientation and the university growth or decline status. Relationships were found between charismatic leadership style and the presence of a market orientation within a university. Relationships were found between aspects of charismatic leadership style and the growth or decline status of a university but overall where not significant as a whole. Recommendations are made for university presidents to consider based upon these results.

The earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology begins in one of the main components of the olfactory pathway, the entorhinal cortex, making deficits in smell a potential prospective biomarker for the early detection of AD. This study contributes to the field with a reproduction and extension of work by Wilson, Arnold, Schneider, Boyle, Buchman, and Bennett (2009). A sample of 1089 individuals (M=78.4 years), more than double the data available in 2009, completed annual assessments of olfactory functioning, and cognitive functioning for up to 18 years with brain donation at death. Mixed effects models conditioned on demographics estimated between and within-person effects in olfactory functioning and episodic memory (EM). After successful reproduction of Wilson et al. (2009), addition of AD pathology (ADP) demonstrated that both ADP and olfaction were significantly related to EM at baseline. Higher ADP at autopsy was significantly related to faster declines in olfaction, as well as more rapid declines in EM. Higher olfactory scores were associated with higher EM scores and a model for EM with olfaction as time-varying covariate indicated that at a given occasion, individuals with higher olfactory scores also have higher EM scores. These results align with the hypotheses that difficulty in identifying odors predicts development of cognitive impairment; increased levels of AD pathology are related to both decreased EM at baseline and faster declines, as well as faster rates of decline in olfaction; and olfaction and cognition are travelling together over time. / Graduate / 2018-06-01 / 0766 / 0633 / jknight@uvic.ca

A comprehensive investigation examines the decline and changes that have affected Dallas regional theatre development from the dream of Margo Jones in the 1940s to the proliferation of emerging theatres in 1993. Changing economic conditions, lack of audience support, and shortages of performance space have contributed to an exodus of Dallas actors and artists. Reviewed are measures to reverse this trend, including funding changes, awareness campaigns, improved inter-theatre cooperation, and guidelines for audience development. The study's conclusion notes that theatres do, indeed, have a natural life cycle, but with renewed emphasis on audience development and self-sufficiency, theatres in Dallas can endure and contribute to an enlarged sense of civic pride.

Background. Research identifies isolation (being alone) as a risk factor for cognitive decline— yet it is possible that subjective dimensions of isolation are more critical. Potential risk factors are loneliness (the distress stemming from feeling alone) and cynical hostility (an attitude of distrust and cynicism). The present study examined the relationship between these factors and cognitive functioning and decline. Methods. Data came from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of US adults over 50. Loneliness was measured using the Hughes Loneliness Scale; cynical hostility was measured using items from the Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory. Cognitive functioning was indexed by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Regressions were conducted to examine loneliness and cynical hostility as predictors of cognitive function at baseline as well as cognitive decline over four and six-year periods. Models were adjusted for demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and isolation. Results. Loneliness, [f2=.003, t(52)=-3.75; p<.001] and cynical hostility, [f2=.002, t(52)=-2.98, p=.004] predicted cognitive function at baseline. Loneliness and cynical hostility each predicted cognitive decline over four [f2=.001, t(52)=-2.29; p=.026 f2=.003, t(52)=-3.98; p<.001 respectively] but not six years [t(52)= -.78; p=.439; t(52)= -1.29; p=.203 respectively]. Discussion. Loneliness and cynical hostility are correlates of lower cognitive function and risk factors for cognitive decline over four years. The absence of significant effects of loneliness and cynical hostility over six years could be attributed to low statistical power in these analyses. The effect sizes in this study are small, yet meaningful in the context of the personal and social costs associated with cognitive decline.