bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cannabidiol attenuates seizures and social deficits in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome
Authors: Kaplan Joshua S. , Stella Nephi , Catterall William A. , Westenbroek Ruth E.
Published: October 2017

Significance

Medicinal cannabis use is booming despite limited preclinical evidence and mechanistic insight. Recent clinical trials of cannabidiol (CBD) in Dravet syndrome (DS) support its clinical efficacy for reduction of seizure frequency and invite study of its benefits for additional DS symptoms. We demonstrate here that treatment with CBD is beneficial for seizure frequency, duration, and severity and for autistic-like social deficits in a mouse model of DS. CBD rescue of DS symptoms is associated with increased inhibitory neurotransmission, potentially mediated by antagonism of the lipid-activated G protein-coupled receptor GPR55. These studies lend critical support for treatment of seizures in DS with CBD, extend the scope of CBD treatment to autistic-like behaviors, and provide initial mechanistic insights into CBD’s therapeutic actions.
Resistin-like molecule β is a bactericidal protein that promotes spatial segregation of the microbiota and the colonic epithelium
Authors: Propheter Daniel C. , Chara Andrew L. , Harris Tamia A. , Ruhn Kelly A. , Hooper Lora V.
Published: October 2017

Significance

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract is home to diverse communities of bacteria that contribute to the metabolic health of their hosts. The epithelial lining of the intestine produces a diverse repertoire of antimicrobial proteins that limit the ability of these microorganisms to enter host tissues and cause disease. We have discovered that resistin-like molecule β (RELMβ) is a previously unknown member of the intestine's antibacterial arsenal. RELMβ is secreted from the intestinal surface and kills Gram-negative bacteria by damaging their membranes, thereby preventing these bacteria from coming into close contact with host tissues. Our findings reveal a new family of endogenous antibiotic proteins and contribute to the understanding of how mammals maintain mutually beneficial relationships with complex communities of intestinal bacteria.
Molecular architecture of the sheathed polar flagellum in
Vibrio alginolyticus
Authors: Zhu Shiwei , Nishikino Tatsuro , Hu Bo , Kojima Seiji , Homma Michio , Liu Jun
Published: October 2017

Significance

Many important bacterial pathogens such as
Vibrio cholerae
and
Helicobacter pylori
use a sheathed flagellum as the main organelle for motility. Although bacterial flagella have been extensively studied in model systems such as
Escherichia coli
and
Salmonella
, relatively little is known about sheathed flagella. In this study, we use high-throughput cryoelectron tomography to visualize thousands of polar flagella in
Vibrio alginolyticus
. We not only reveal unprecedented details of sheathed flagella in
V. alginolyticus
but also uncover key differences between sheathed flagella and unsheathed flagella in the same
Vibrio
species. Our studies provide insight into the unique aspects of sheathed flagella, which are effectively used by many bacterial pathogens to establish infection and disseminate in humans and other mammalian hosts.
Cytoplasmic MTOCs control spindle orientation for asymmetric cell division in plants
Authors: Kosetsu Ken , Murata Takashi , Yamada Moé , Nishina Momoko , Boruc Joanna , Hasebe Mitsuyasu , Van Damme Daniël , Goshima Gohta
Published: October 2017

Significance

Cell division axis orientation is critical for differentiation and morphogenesis. In animal cells, centrosome-driven mitotic spindle orientation is key to orient cell divisions. However, in naturally acentrosomal plants, the mechanism underlying spindle orientation is poorly understood. Using two model systems, asymmetrically dividing cells in the mossPhyscomitrella patensand tobacco tissue culture cells, we identified de novo assembled microtubule organizing centers during mitotic prophase as a common critical mechanism for spindle orientation. Disruption of these microtubule organizing centers caused misoriented spindles and cell plates. The “phragmoplast guidance” mechanism, which directs cell plate orientation, could not fully restore initial spindle orientation defects. Thus, this study identifies spindle orientation as a conserved factor in land plants to assist division plane orientation.
Limits of variation, specific infectivity, and genome packaging of massively recoded poliovirus genomes
Authors: Song Yutong , Gorbatsevych Oleksandr , Liu Ying , Mugavero JoAnn , Shen Sam H. , Ward Charles B. , Asare Emmanuel , Jiang Ping , Paul Aniko V. , Mueller Steffen , Wimmer Eckard
Published: October 2017

Significance

We constructed viable poliovirus (PV) variants carrying up to 2,104 synonymous mutations in the ORF. We studied proliferation phenotypes, particularly the specific infectivity (
si
) that defines the probability of a single virion to initiate a single cell infection. A recent hypothesis proposes that dozens of loosely conserved hairpins, formed within the viral genome, determine assembly specificity of +ssRNA viruses. Our analysis of recoded PVs does not support this hypothesis. We propose that the progression of +ssRNA virus assembly follows two steps. (
i
) Specificity: recognition between either (
a
) replication protein and capsid precursor or (
b
) single RNA packaging signal and cognate capsid precursor. (
ii
) Cocondensation, occurring between single genome/single capsid precursor complex and multiple cognate capsids aided by multiple genome-specific hairpins.
Interpreting and mediation
Authors: Morelli Mara
Published: October 2017

Starting from teaching conference interpreting in the nineties, the author moved to teaching dialogue interpreting (DI) at the beginning of the new millennium. This paper reflects on the continuities between teaching in DI and mediation, describing the organisation of the Spanish-Italian interpreting modules at the University of Genoa, and of training courses for mediators outside the university context. It also discusses the hybrid nature of DI and translation in a specific education experience, and the potential development of a teaching programme combining translation, interpreting, and mediation. This paper is not meant to draw conclusions, but to inspire reflections which can pave the way to future experiments and the creation of teaching material.
Developing flexibility to meet the challenges of interpreting in film festivals
Authors: Merlini Raffaela
Published: October 2017

The focus of this chapter is on an under-investigated setting of professional interpreting practice, namely Film Festival Interpreting, which is subsumed here under the wider field of “broadcast interpreting” on three counts: the multiplicity of communication levels; the interpreters’ professional exposure; and reference to an “ethics of entertainment”. In line with the rationale of the present volume, the suggested teaching approach addresses only those interpreting tasks that are brought together by the dialogic format of face-to-face spontaneous interaction, involving the use of the short consecutive mode. More specifically, the chapter deals with on-stage talk between the host and the festival’s special guests introducing gala screenings and the awarding of prizes, and both on-air and off-air one-to-one press interviews with actors, directors, or jury members. Given the different expectations, constraints, and requirements characterizing these settings, students are taught to develop the ability to select, autonomously and in full awareness of the specific “environmental conditions”, the interpreting behaviour which is best suited to the unfolding of any given exchange. This flexibility is achieved through a progression of learning activities going from a theoretical discussion of context-specific interactional features, to the analysis of video-recorded authentic data, to role-play practice.
Dialogue interpreting on television
Authors: Dal Fovo Eugenia , Falbo Caterina
Published: October 2017

Television is one of Dialogue Interpreting’s privileged settings. Televised talk show interaction is show aimed at entertaining off-screen viewers. The very existence of an off-screen audience affects every action performed by on-screen interlocutors, whose primary goal is providing entertainment. Interpreters actively participate in the interaction, co-constructing it together with host and guest(s). Television interpreters divest themselves of their traditional invisibility and acquire a higher degree of autonomy, although still abiding by the show and entertainment principles. The pedagogic relevance of our data is its awareness-raising potential on the additional challenge represented by the interpreter acting as on-screen participant, thus encouraging students’ critical reasoning and stimulating meta-translational and interactional observations rather than a merely lexical and propositional analysis of the interpreter’s turns.
Bogan as a keyword of contemporary Australia
Authors: Rowen Roslyn
Published: October 2017

This chapter studies the word bogan as a cultural keyword of contemporary Australian public discourse. The word bogan is specific to Australian English, with its closest counterpart in other Englishes being chav in British English and white trash or redneck in American English. Through a semantic analysis of the word, this chapter demonstrates that the social category of “bogans” remains a negative concept, denoting a certain group of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who are car-loving, prone to violence and have a certain bogan outlook on life. However, the chapter also shows that in contemporary Australian discourse this originally negative concept can be transformed into a way of self-identification, and as a way of positively embracing Australian nationalism. This analysis is supported by studies in the ethnopragmatics and historical pragmatics of Australian English, which show a general tendency to value the “shared ordinariness” of people and to discursively “heroise” the little man, and the semi-criminal person. Applying the NSM approach to linguistic and cultural analysis, this chapter provides new analyses of the meaning of bogan, and cultural scripts related to the concept. It also opens up the study of the emergence of new cultural keywords, and on the semantic and discursive diversity within Anglo Englishes.
Kawaii discourse
Authors: Asano-Cavanagh Yuko
Published: October 2017

With a point of departure in the Japanese keyword kawaii, roughly, “cute”, this chapter explores contemporary Japanese social discourse. Using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage to explicate kawaii, the two kawaii compounds ita-kawaii and otona-kawaii and the related keywords itai and otona, this study breaks new ground into the understanding of the conceptual basis of kawaii and its elaborations in discourse. As the conceptual configurations of kawaii and related concept are analysed, a view on Japanese socialization and gendered discourse is simultaneously developed, and the value of ‘being kawaii’ is being scrutinized through the stability and innovations of kawaii in discourse.
Embedding verbs and subjunctive mood
Authors: Baunaz Lena
Published: October 2017

I give a uniform account of French mood from a semantic and nano-syntactic perspective by revising the criteria for the distribution of indicative vs. subjunctive mood. I claim that the subjunctive is selected by the semantic property of emotivity encoded in the main clause verb. I develop a definition and a syntactic representation of emotive vs. non-emotive verbs and a set of diagnostics for the two classes. I also reexamine the notion of veridicality and show that it is not the determining factor in the choice of mood (contra Giannakidou 1998, 2009, a.o.).
Towards a unified treatment of Spanish copulas
Authors: Arche María J. , Fábregas Antonio , Marín Rafael
Published: October 2017

This paper sets the basis for a uniform account of the alternation between the two Spanish copulas (ser and estar) in adjectival and passive clauses. While the copular contrast has been attributed to the different properties of adjectives (e.g. individual vs. stage level) and to an eventive vs. resultative stative dichotomy in passives, this work shows that they all behave alike regarding their temporal interpretation. We derive such uniformity from the syntactic properties of the copulas themselves: estar includes an additional component ser lacks that makes everything it merges with stative, with particular temporoaspectual properties.
Laísmo and “le-for-les”
Authors: Ausín Adolfo , Fernández-Rubiera Francisco J.
Published: October 2017

This paper discusses and analyzes the syntactic correlation between three different phenomena in Spanish: The presence of the accusative clitic, the presence/absence of number agreement in the dative clitic (a phenomenon called “le-for-les”), and the presence/absence of gender agreement in the dative clitic in laísta dialects. Assuming that accusative clitics manifest exclusively an agreement morpheme and that dative clitics can be decomposed into an applicative morpheme and an optional agreement morpheme, we argue for a unified account of these structures as follows: The presence of the accusative clitic and obligatory agreement in the dative are reflexes of the realization of an agreement morpheme in the structure. The analysis we propose also accounts uniformly for the unavailability of “la-for-las” or partial agreement in laísta dialects.
The morphological markedness of φ
Authors: Torcolacci Giuseppe
Published: October 2017

This paper investigates the morphological markedness of φ features encoded on perfective auxiliaries in a subset of Upper Southern Italian dialects (USIDs).

Following a Distributed Morphology approach (cf. Halle & Marantz 1993, 1994, a.o.), we treat perfective auxiliaries in USIDs as syntactic heads composed of Tense and φ features whose phonological entries are inserted at PF by means of a process called Spell-Out.

Here, we argue that the overt marking of φ features attested on perfective auxiliaries in a group of USIDs depends on the application of a post-syntactic operation called Default Marking, according to which a dedicated set of φ features gets overtly marked only if its grade of markedness is uniform with the one expressed by Tense.
Voice quality transfer in the production of Spanish heritage speakers and English L2 learners of Spanish
Authors: Kim Ji Young
Published: October 2017

The present study examines the use of creaky voice in the Spanish of two groups of Spanish-English bilinguals, namely, U.S. heritage speakers of Mexican Spanish and English L2 learners of Spanish. In American English, creaky voice is used utterance-finally, especially among young women, while it has rarely been found in Mexican Spanish. Participants’ H1-H2 values in utterance-final position were calculated to measure the degree of creaky voice and the values were compared to those of monolingual speakers of Mexican Spanish. Results showed that while monolinguals did not use creaky voice, both heritage speakers and L2 learners did, especially the female speakers. The findings imply that, like other linguistic features, voice quality can be transferred from one language to another.
Null subjects in the early acquisition of English by child heritage speakers of Spanish
Authors: Austin Jennifer , Sánchez Liliana , Perez-Cortes Silvia
Published: October 2017

This paper investigates the development of English and Spanish subject production in 8 heritage bilingual children (age range: 4;1–5;3; mean age: 4;7). Oral production of overt and null subjects was assessed using a picture-based story re-telling task and a description task. Subjects were coded according to type (overt or null), and pragmatic function (new information, topic continuation, recovery, contrast and change of topic). Results indicate a robust distribution of pragmatically appropriate subjects in Spanish; however, non adult-like null subjects were also found in a subset of the English utterances. We propose that cross-linguistic influence from Spanish encouraged children to have more than one grammar available (Amaral & Roeper 2014), with the option to treat English as a null-subject language.
The processing of intrasentential anaphoric subject pronouns in L2 Spanish
Authors: Comínguez Juan P. , Sagarra Nuria , Bel Aurora , García-Alcaraz Estela
Published: October 2017

This paper examines whether L2 learners of Spanish can attain native-like interpretive and parsing patterns in intrasentential subject anaphor resolution, and the extent to which these patterns are modulated by L1 transfer. Adult advanced L2 learners of Spanish with different L1s (Moroccan Arabic, a null-subject language, and English, a non-null subject language) completed an experiment utilizing online (the moving window paradigm) and offline (answers to comprehension questions) techniques. Both Arabic and English learners of Spanish performed in a native-like way at the interpretive and parsing levels. These patterns suggest that L1 transfer plays no crucial role when interpreting and processing intrasentential anaphoric subjects at least at the advanced level.
Exempt anaphors and logophoricity in French
Authors: Charnavel Isabelle
Published: October 2017

The goal of this paper is to account for instances of anaphors that appear to be exempt from Condition A, based on the French anaphors son propre (‘his own’) and lui-même (≈ ‘himself’). Drawing on specific tests, I show that such anaphors must be anteceded by logophoric centers, specifically either by attitude holders or by empathy loci. This generalization is explained if we suppose the existence of silent logophoric operators that corefer with the antecedent and locally bind the anaphor: apparently exempt anaphors are in fact not exempt. This accounts for why they have the same form as anaphors standardly obeying Condition A: they are one and the same element. Their specific distribution and interpretation derives from their silent logophoric binder.
What’s up with dative experiencers?
Authors: Fábregas Antonio , Jiménez-Fernández Ángel L. , Tubino Mercedes
Published: October 2017

In this paper we discuss the argument structure of psych verbs in connection with information structure, particularly object experiencer psych verbs (OEPVs), which select an accusative and/or dative argument. We propose that the natural order available in all-focus sentences for dative OEPVs is OVS, whereas the order for accusative OEPVs is SVO. Any rearrangement of these two patterns is caused by a different information structure interpretation.
Recursion in Brazilian Portuguese complex compounds
Authors: Guzzo Natália Brambatti
Published: October 2017

This paper reports on a preliminary production experiment in order to argue that word-word compounds with a left or right prosodic adjunct in Brazilian Portuguese (e.g.,
porta-guarda-chuva ‘umbrella holder’, lit. holder keep rain, and mico-leão-dourado
‘golden-lion-tamarin’, lit. tamarin lion golden, in which the adjunct is in bold) are prosodized recursively. It assumes that word-word compounds in BP correspond to composite groups, the prosodic domain between the phonological word and the phonological phrase proposed by Vogel (2008, 2009), based on the observation that word-word compounds display phonological behaviour that is distinct from the behaviour of both regular words (i.e., non-compounds) and other composite structures in the language. The preliminary experiment involved the production of sentences containing complex compounds with left adjunction, complex compounds with right adjunction, coordinate compounds and coordinate phrases by native speakers of BP (n = 3). The results indicate that compounds with adjunction have specific acoustic profiles, which differ from the acoustic profile of both coordinate compounds and phrases. The analysis supports both prosodic recursion and the introduction of an additional prosodic domain, two views on prosodic configuration that are traditionally considered to be mutually exclusive.
Does gender agreement carry a production cost?
Authors: Lipski John M.
Published: October 2017

The present study examines the tradeoff between the on-line construction of modifier-noun gender agreement and the automatization of agreement, through the study of bilingual speakers of Spanish and the Afro-Colombian creole language Palenquero, whose lexicon is highly cognate with Spanish, but which lacks gender agreement. The study focuses on L1 Spanish speakers who are acquiring Palenquero as L2, since when switching from the gender-agreeing L1 to the gender-less L2, the persistence or absence of gender agreement in cognate items can be taken as an indirect measure of the cost differential between producing morphosyntactic agreement and suppressing the carryover of obligatory agreement to the L2. The results of experiments conducted with bilingual Spanish-Palenquero speakers in San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia reveal the tenacity of Spanish gender agreement among L2 Palenquero speakers; heritage Palenquero speakers’ retention of gender agreement falls between traditional speakers and L2 speakers.
TP ellipsis with polarity particles
Authors: Matos Gabriela
Published: October 2017

TP-ellipsis with polarity particles exhibits island effects not only in cases of long-distance movement of the remnant but also when the remnant does not cross any island, showing that some non-overt element moves from the elided TP. Also in non-island contexts, TP-ellipsis with non-local antecedents is sensitive to finiteness. Correlating these properties I will argue that the null-T, the head of the elided TP, moves, for scope reasons, to the topmost sentence that relates the elliptical site to the sentence containing its antecedent. The resulting T-chains, which must preserve the finiteness value of each link, constitute a requirement for the identification of the elliptical-TP.
Presence of the voiced labiodental fricative segment [v] in Texas Spanish
Authors: Trovato Adriano
Published: October 2017

The objective of this study is to analyze the production of voiced labial consonants from an auditory and acoustic perspective in the Spanish of speakers recorded in The Spanish in Texas Corpus Project (Bullock & Toribio 2013). For example, the phrase la vaca ‘the cow’ might be realized as [la.'va.ka] in El Paso, Texas as opposed to the standard Mexican Spanish pronunciation [la.'βa.ka]. While a similar pronunciation is attested in some specific varieties, such as in New Mexican (Torres Cacoullos & Ferreira 2000) or Paraguayan (Lipski 1994) Spanish, it is otherwise rare in the Spanish speaking world, where the oral voiced labial phoneme /b/ is usually realized as a bilabial approximant [β], as in la vaca, or occlusive [b] consonant, as in cien vacas ‘one hundred cows’ [sjẽm.'ba.kas].

The aim of the current paper is to establish if the Texas Spanish speakers from the corpus (1) produce an auditorily and visually perceptible distinction between [v] and [β]/[b], and (2) make an acoustic distinction between [v] and [β]/[b] that correlates with the perception of different categories. Furthermore, this investigation (3) analyzes the linguistic and social factors that condition the use of [v] versus [β] and [b]. The influence of the English language is a fundamental factor that must be taken into account; on the other hand, the realization of /b/ as the voiced labiodental allophone [v] might be an archaism inherited from Old Spanish and preserved in West Texas dialects.

In pursuing these research aims, 850 tokens from video-recorded interviews with 17 participants were submitted to auditory, visual, and acoustic analysis. The results will inform that there are two perceptible categories, labiodental vs. bilabial, and that these also constitute separate acoustic categories.
A bibliometric review of the first thirty years of the Journal of Environmental Psychology
Authors: Milfont Taciano L. , Page Esther
Published: October 2017

The Journal of Environmental Psychology (JEP) celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, and since its foundation the journal has given voice to a growing international and interdisplinary community of researchers interested in person-environment interactions. To celebrate, this paper provides a bibliometric review of full-length articles published since its foundation, presenting “Top 10 Lists” including the most prolific authors, countries and universities. To obtain citation records and bibliometric indices, the ScienceDirect page of the Journal, Web of Science and the Publish or Perish software were used. A total of 858 articles published during 1981–2011 were included in the final analysis. Highlights from the review include: the United States of America is the country with the most publications in JEP, but international submission is large with submissions from 42 different countries in 2011; the three most prevalent themes for articles are Pro-environmental Attitudes and Behavior, Spatial Cognition, and Place Attachment or Identity; and the impact factor of the Journal has increased steadily. Although bibliometric indices do no fully capture the multidimensional complexities of scientific impact of a journal, this review provides strong evidence that JEP has been a story of success. The wider environmental psychology community should be proud of the Journal's accomplishments.
Place identity, place attachment and the scale of place: The impact of place salience
Authors: Bernardo Fátima , Palma-Oliveira José
Published: October 2017

Research about place, place identity and attachment supports the idea that bonds with places may differ depending on the place scale. Based on the view that identity is context-dependent, this paper brings to the table the impact of manipulating the salience of place on the intensity of place identity and place attachment reported. A study was designed to examine place identity and place attachment in two groups of residents (permanent and temporary) at three different scales (neighbourhood, city and country), in which the salience of place scale was manipulated. The results showed that place salience could have an impact on the intensity of place identity and place attachment in permanent residents and temporary residents. The salient effects differ depending on the place scale made salient but do not generally differ according to type of residents. These results are in congruence with the predictions of social identity theory and self-categorization theory and show the relevance of exploring the concept of place identity within this theoretical approach.
Attitudes towards saving water, household structural characteristics and water consumption
Authors: Sarabia-Sánchez Francisco-José , Rodríguez-Sánchez Carla
Published: October 2017

The attitudes of households towards saving water must be known and understood in order to generate sustainable behaviour in the use of this resource, as currently this behaviour is not being seen. This study examines whether households (18% of total water distributed), of different sizes and spanning a range of ages in terms of the head of the household, display attitudinal differences towards saving water. It also examines the extent to which attitudes and the aforementioned structural variables affect consumption. Using a sample of 500 subjects from the “Vega Baja del Segura” district, a consistent, valid, reliable and parsimonious scale is constructed to measure attitude. The findings show that attitude encompasses two factors which act differentially. Similarly, it is found that attitude towards saving water and household size explained 23.5% of real consumption in households.
Gender, masculinity and femininity as ecocentrism and anthropocentrism predictors / Género, masculinidad y feminidad como predictores del ecocentrismo y el antropocentrismo
Authors: Calvo-Salguero Antonia , Aguilar-Luzón María-del-Carmen , Salinas-Martínez-de-Lecea José-María , García-Martínez José-Miguel-Ángel
Published: October 2017

The objective of this study is to analyse the function of gender-role orientation (masculinity and femininity) versus gender (man and woman) in explaining anthropocentric and ecocentric beliefs based on the Spanish version of the NEP scale. 116 university students of both genders participated in the study (Men: 51; Women: 65). The NEP scale and the BSRI were used. Covariance and stepwise hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The results suggest that, while anthropocentrism is predicted by gender and masculinity, ecocentrism is only predicted by femininity. The results obtained demonstrate the important role femininity may play in predicting environmental concern and suggest the need to analyse in greater depth the role that gender-role orientation can play in explaining gender differences in pro-environmental attitudes.
Gender and environment. Introduction to the special issue / Medio ambiente y género. Introducción al número especial
Authors: Cortés Beatriz
Published: October 2017

This special issue on gender and environment features five contributions: a theoretical review and four empirical studies. The former proposes methodological strategies from the gender perspective and analyses its presence in research in the field of environmental psychology and in the study of people-environment relationships. Three of the empirical studies use qualitative methods and explore gender as it relates to: (a) the perception of risk (linking masculinity and technocentric epistemic conceptions); (b) agroecosystem conservation practices (identifying the underlying motivations in three generations of women in a rural area of south-eastern Spain); and (c) the current sustainable consumption initiatives along with the communication that fosters it in the Community of Madrid. Finally, this monograph is brought to a close with a correlational study that corroborates that femininity predicts ecocentrism. It is hoped that this issue may inspire an appreciation of the potential of the gender perspective, and three aspects that may deserve attention in the future are acknowledged: sustainability, epistemological reflection and different levels of analysis of gender systems dealing with social inequalities.
Examining environmental psychology through a gender lens / Mirando la psicología ambiental con lentes de género
Authors: Cortés Beatriz
Published: October 2017

This article offers a set of methodological strategies for the inclusion of a gender perspective to promote research innovation. The description of these strategies is grounded here on arguments from the scientific output of environmental psychology; this allows us to reflect on gender blindness and biases in the discipline. The presence of these symptoms is evidenced by the exclusion of sex and gender as analytical categories in a recent review of the empirical research of the field and also in a commemorative bibliometric analysis of papers published during the period 1981–2011. This double exclusion is contrasted with the feminist perspective in the field of study of people-environment relationships in the broad sense. Beyond the underlying epistemological differences between distinct perspectives on disciplinary approach, the goal of equality in the analysis of urban design, planning for everyday life and mobility of care or in the study of pro-environmental concern and behaviour, disaster vulnerability and cooperation towards sustainable development is envisioned.
Women and the conservation of agroecosystems: an experiential analysis in the Río Nacimiento region of Almería (Spain) / Mujeres y conservación de agroecosistemas. Análisis de experiencias en la comarca almeriense del río Nacimiento
Authors: Iniesta-Arandia Irene , Piñeiro Concepción , Montes Carlos , Martín-López Berta
Published: October 2017

Strategies for the conservation of biodiversity need interdisciplinary approaches in order to face the drivers of change that are modifying ecosystems and the communities that manage them. Among these approaches, the dimensions of gender have been under-examined despite their relevance. In this study, we propose to identify and characterize the relationships between different generations of women and agroecosystems and how they have changed, through the study of their individual and collective practices and their underlying motivations for doing so. We conducted qualitative research in 2011 and 2012 in the Nacimiento River watershed (Almería, Spain). Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted, selected through a typological framework elaborated based on the age of the subject and her connection to farming activities. The different discourses provided highlight the need to understand and stimulate the variety of intrinsic motivations and management practices relating to farming activities and to encourage their incorporation into collective strategies.
Positive environment in the workplace: the case of the mediating role of work engagement between restorativeness and job satisfaction / El entorno positivo en el ámbito laboral: el papel mediador del compromiso laboral entre la restauración y la satisfacción laboral
Authors: Bellini Diego , Fornara Ferdinando , Bonaiuto Marino
Published: October 2017

This paper postulates that positive features of the work organizational environment can exert significant positive effects on people’s working organizational life. The focus is on the relationship between the perceived restorative properties of the work environment and some social-psychological dimensions of the organization. A positive relationship between restorativeness and job satisfaction was expected, via Perceived Organizational Support and work engagement. A self-report questionnaire was filled in by 123 office workers employed in the municipality of an Italian town. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses showed a multivariate positive relationship between restorativeness, social support, work engagement and job satisfaction. Moreover, both a full mediation effect of work engagement between restorativeness and intrinsic job satisfaction and a partial mediating effect of work engagement between restorativeness and extrinsic job satisfaction were found. These results illustrate a positive psychological approach for improving employees’ satisfaction in the workplace.
Introduction to the special issue on Positive and Environmental Psychology / Introducción al número especial Psicología Ambiental y Positiva
Authors: Corral-Verdugo Víctor
Published: October 2017

This special issue of Psyecology examines the interface between environmental psychology and positive psychology, by studying the way in which psychological positivity is attained through exposure to certain environmental conditions. It also investigates how psychological positivity is capable of stimulating care and conservation of the socio-physical environment. The papers included in this issue look at theoretical models of environmental positivity in the family, the positive effects of contact with nature on children, the relationship between psychological wellbeing and a frugal use of natural resources, the positive communication of issues related with global climate change, the factors of psychological positivity contained in a positive job environment, and the effects of preference for trees on human wellbeing. The contents reflect relationships of interdependency between environmental and psychological positivity, which become a hugely interesting research issue for studies in human behaviour.
Willingness to pay for preserving local beaches: the role of framing, attitudes and local identification / Voluntad de pagar para preservar las playas locales: el papel del encuadre, la actitud y la identificación local
Authors: Fornara Ferdinando , Caddeo Pierluigi
Published: October 2017

This research concerns the impact of cognitive (i.e., framing issues) and psychosocial (i.e., environmental attitudes and place identity) dimensions on people’s Willingness To Pay (WTP) for preservation and improvement of a ‘local’ environmental public good, i.e., local beaches. After a pilot study, a field experiment ( N = 102) was carried out in order to verify the effects on WTP of: (1) the reminder about the involvement of other people for preserving ‘local’ beaches; (2) attitudes towards the environmental good; and (3) local identity. Results confirmed the reminder effect, so that individuals reminded of other contributors are willing to pay less than individuals who were not reminded. Positive attitudes towards local beaches are associated to higher WTP for preserving them, but this emerged only in those residents showing a higher local identification.
Who wants control in the hospital room? Environmental control, desirability of control and stress / ¿Quién desea control en la habitación del hospital? Control ambiental, deseo de control y estrés
Authors: Andrade Cláudia C. , Devlin Ann S.
Published: October 2017

Perceived control is a desirable quality in the healthcare environment to increase patients’ well-being. However, recent research has demonstrated that perceived control did not predict stress. Based on the hypothesis that control does not always lead to better adjustment, and that it may depend on whether people want to have control, the aim of the current research was to examine the moderating role of individual differences in terms of desire for control. In an experiment, 150 participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. First we measured desirability of control; next we presented a scenario of a hypothetical hospitalization. Perceived control was manipulated by the stated presence or absence of an integrated remote device that allows adjustment of environmental features in the room. Results showed that having control over the room positively predicts stress reduction among people with high desirability for control, whereas among people with low desirability for control this relationship was not significant.
Pro-environmental motivation and regulation to respect environmental laws as predictors of illegal anti-environmental behaviour / La motivación pro-ambiental y la motivación para respetar las leyes medioambientales como predictoras de la conducta anti-ecológica ilegal
Authors: Martín Ana M. , Hernández Bernardo , Alonso Isabel
Published: October 2017

Psychological research into illegal anti-environmental behaviour is scarce because this type of behaviour is difficult to analyse and conceptualize. Motivational variables and, in particular, regulation mechanisms can help to explain this type of environmentally significant behaviour. The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship between pro-environmental motives and illegal anti-environmental behaviour. A total of 311 university students completed a questionnaire that included a Spanish translation of the Motivation Toward the Environment Scale, questions about illegal anti-environmental behaviour and regulation to respect environmental laws. The results indicate that the factor structure of the scale, obtained by means of confirmatory factor analysis, is the same as the one proposed by its authors. Furthermore, we ascertained that pro-environmental motives predict pro-environmental and also illegal anti-environmental behaviour, but that the percentage of explained variance is higher when using regulation to respect environmental laws.
Three good things in nature: noticing nearby nature brings sustained increases in connection with nature / Tres cosas buenas de la naturaleza: prestar atención a la naturaleza cercana produce incrementos prolongados en conexión con la naturaleza
Authors: Richardson Miles , Sheffield David
Published: October 2017

Connecting people more fully with nature is emerging as a societal issue owing to the state of nature, links to pro-environmental behaviour and benefits to wellbeing. Simple, low-cost interventions that deliver sustained increases in nature connectedness would be valuable. Participants ( n = 50) noted three good things in nature each day for five days and a control group noted three factual things ( n = 42). The intervention group showed sustained and significant increases in nature connectedness compared to the control group. Increases in nature connectedness were associated with psychological health improvement in the intervention group. Noting the good things in nature each day can deliver sustained increases in people’s connection with nature.
Learning from risk: lessons from L’Aquila and Japan / Aprender del riesgo: lecciones de L’Aquila y Japón
Authors: Abreu-Santos Isabel , Vasconcelos Lia , Pires Iva
Published: October 2017

Contemporary society faces complex, uncertain and global risks. The extensive scientific literature is not consensual about the concept of risk or the relevance of its perception by the populations, their level of preparedness or the ways they deal with risk and disaster situations. Assuming that better prepared societies face risk situations more efficiently, two case studies were submitted to research and comparison — L’Aquila earthquake and Japan’s triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear). Results point to a general inability to manage risk in unforeseen situations. Risk communication has shown to be inadequate, with major flaws, transmitting a false sense of safety. The governance model exposed the failure of the decision structures in dealing with the events, thus contributing to the creation of distrust and insecurity in the communities smitten by calamity. Past experiences have created adequate behaviours in L’Aquila, but gave rise to false assumptions in Japan, jeopardizing human lives. This paper intends to reflect and draw lessons learned in these experiences, which may serve as a baseline and as support for future guidelines.
Predictive capacity of environmental identity and values on the recycling of glass: effect of environmentalism and appreciation of nature / Capacidad predictiva de la identidad ambiental y los valores sobre el reciclaje de vidrio: efecto del medioambientalismo y el aprecio por la naturaleza
Authors: Carmona-Moya Beatriz , Aguilar-Luzón M. Carmen , Barrios-Sánchez David , Calvo-Salguero Antonia
Published: October 2017

When examining the way in which people relate to nature, many variables have been studied, given their influences and predictive power on certain behaviours that foster environmental care and protection. However, few studies have analysed the predictive capacity of environmental identity. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyse the predictive capacity of this variable with regard to attitude, future behavioural intent and the frequency of glass recycling behaviour, when controlling the effects of variables with demonstrative predictive capacity, such as environmental variables. To this end, a sample of 154 students from the University of Granada was used. The results show that biospheric and egoistic values have significant effects. Once the effects of values are controlled, two of the dimensions of identity — appreciation of nature and environmentalism — also contribute significantly to predicting said attitudes, intents and behaviours.
Parents’ perceptions of affordances for children in nature / La percepción que tienen los padres de las oportunidades para los niños en la naturaleza
Authors: Schubert-Peres Patrícia-Maria , dos-Santos-Raymundo Luana , Longhinotti-Felippe Maíra , Kuhnen Ariane
Published: October 2017

Parents’ actions as either as promoters or as restrictors of affordances depend upon their own perception of the environment in which they identify the affordances that are possible for children to access or not. From this theoretical standpoint, the present study aimed to describe parents’ perception of nature as a place that offers affordances that children may access. In a public park in Florianópolis (Brazil), 105 parents were interviewed face-to-face, guided by open- and closed-ended questions about 26 affordances. The closed-ended questions corresponded to affordances perceived as possible and not possible for children to access in nature. The open-ended questions were about the places in nature where it would be possible for children to access the affordances. The results showed that parents evoked resources as trees, grass and sand, and places such as a lagoon, in a variety of affordances that can be accessed by children. Such results corroborate other studies that have identified the use of nature in children’s play.
Vulnerability and perceived insecurity in the public spaces of Barcelona / Vulnerabilidad y percepción de inseguridad en el espacio público de la ciudad de Barcelona
Authors: Valera-Pertegas Sergi , Guàrdia-Olmos Joan
Published: October 2017

The concept of vulnerability is directly linked with perceived insecurity and fear of crime, especially with regard to women and older people in our cities. However, it is not the only paradigm contemplated in the analysis of this phenomenon. In addition to a model of vulnerability, some scholars propose a model of disorder and a model of social integration. The aim of this article is to set out some of the results obtained from a questionnaire about perceived insecurity in eight public spaces in the city of Barcelona. It analyses the relationship between the variables of gender and age, and factors in the questionnaire linked to the model of vulnerability (coping, prior experiences and social representation), disorder (perceived environmental quality and tolerance towards uncivil behaviours) and social integration (satisfaction/identification and social cohesion). The findings indicate that the models of vulnerability and disorder have a greater impact on perceived insecurity in the case of women, whereas older people displayed no differences from other groups with regard to perceived insecurity, associated with a greater influence of the model of social integration.
Restoration in urban settings: pilot adaptation and psychometric properties of two psychological restoration and place bonding scales / Restauración en contextos urbanos: adaptación piloto y propiedades psicométricas de dos escalas de restauración psicológica y vinculación con el espacio
Authors: Subiza-Pérez Mikel , Vozmediano Laura , San Juan César
Published: October 2017

Over the past few decades, a significant volume of research has been dedicated to the study of psychological restoration within and outside the field of Environmental Psychology. Following a period during which this research focused on gathering evidence in favour of the restorative potential of nature, the notion of restoration in urban settings is beginning to emerge as a new area of interest, with implications for the improvement of urban quality of life. This article presents an adaptation of two scales to be used in specific urban settings (squares, streets or boulevards), which could be valuable to the scientific community to this end: the Restoration Outcome Scale and the Attachment and Identification Scale. An online survey was conducted with 170 subjects. The adapted versions of these instruments obtained adequate reliability indices, and the results also indicate that these scales show convergent validity.
TORC1 signaling exerts spatial control over microtubule dynamics by promoting nuclear export of Stu2
Authors: van der Vaart Babet , Fischböck Josef , Mieck Christine , Pichler Peter , Mechtler Karl , Medema René H. , Westermann Stefan
Published: October 2017

The target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) is a highly conserved multiprotein complex that functions in many cellular processes, including cell growth and cell cycle progression. In this study, we define a novel role for TORC1 as a critical regulator of nuclear microtubule (MT) dynamics in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This activity requires interactions between EB1 and CLIP-170 plus end–tracking protein (+TIP) family members with the TORC1 subunit Kog1/Raptor, which in turn allow the TORC1 proximal kinase Sch9/S6K1 to regulate the MT polymerase Stu2/XMAP215. Sch9-dependent phosphorylation of Stu2 adjacent to a nuclear export signal prevents nuclear accumulation of Stu2 before cells enter mitosis. Mutants impaired in +TIP–TORC1 interactions or Stu2 nuclear export show increased nuclear but not cytoplasmic MT length and display nuclear fusion, spindle positioning, and elongation kinetics defects. Our results reveal key mechanisms by which TORC1 signaling controls Stu2 localization and thereby contributes to proper MT cytoskeletal organization in interphase and mitosis.