title: SQAB 2012:Timing

authors: Shahan, Timothy A.

abstract: This special issue of Behavioral Processes reports the proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior (SQAB) held in Seattle, Washington May 24–26, 2012. The special issue focuses on research that examines the subjective experience of the passage of time. All papers make use of models and theories to frame their research and explanations. Internal clock models of various flavors help frame those discussions. Information processing based models such as Scalar Expectancy Theory (SET; Gibbon, 1977) rely on assumptions about sources of error in a pacemaker-accumulator model of an internal clock. Others such as the Behavioral Theory of Timing (BeT; Killeen and Fetterman, 1988) and Learning to Time (LeT; Machado, 1997) place special emphasis on the role of behavior and associative processes in mediating timing. Other models do not posit pacemaker counter systems, such as the Attentional Allocation Model (e.g., Zakay, 1993) which builds its explanations on assumptions about the competition for attentional resources between temporal and non-temporal tasks. Relative-Coding Hypothesis holds that responding is controlled by the relative value of temporal samples (Molet and Zentall, 2008). The Striatal Beat Frequency Model (e.g., Matell and Meck, 2000) offers a very different sort of model based on cortical activity. One thing in common between these models is that they are called on to help to explain timing behavior by providing a mechanism for action. The collection of papers in this special issue is noteworthy because of the diversity of models, methods, and species that have been used.

text: SQAB 2012:Timing This special issue of Behavioral Processes reports the proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior (SQAB) held in Seattle, Washington May 24–26, 2012. The special issue focuses on research that examines the subjective experience of the passage of time. All papers make use of models and theories to frame their research and explanations. Internal clock models of various flavors help frame those discussions. Information processing based models such as Scalar Expectancy Theory (SET; Gibbon, 1977) rely on assumptions about sources of error in a pacemaker-accumulator model of an internal clock. Others such as the Behavioral Theory of Timing (BeT; Killeen and Fetterman, 1988) and Learning to Time (LeT; Machado, 1997) place special emphasis on the role of behavior and associative processes in mediating timing. Other models do not posit pacemaker counter systems, such as the Attentional Allocation Model (e.g., Zakay, 1993) which builds its explanations on assumptions about the competition for attentional resources between temporal and non-temporal tasks. Relative-Coding Hypothesis holds that responding is controlled by the relative value of temporal samples (Molet and Zentall, 2008). The Striatal Beat Frequency Model (e.g., Matell and Meck, 2000) offers a very different sort of model based on cortical activity. One thing in common between these models is that they are called on to help to explain timing behavior by providing a mechanism for action. The collection of papers in this special issue is noteworthy because of the diversity of models, methods, and species that have been used.

year: 2013

title: Identification and the role of hybridisation in Pittosporum

authors: Carrodus, Susan Kathleen

subjects: Pittosporum  turneri

abstract: Godley (1985) proposed that species which have separate juvenile and adult forms may be derived from hybridisation, and proposed that the rare, heteroblastic species P. turneri is a putative hybrid. This study aims to identify whether Pittosporum turneri is derived from hybridisation between a divaricating shrub (P. divaricatum) and a non-divaricating tree (P. colensoi), and to improve resolution of relationships among very closely related species within the genus Pittosporum. A combined approach was used to test the origin of P. turneri. Phylogenetic analysis of the maternally inherited trnT-trnL region of chloroplast DNA was undertaken to compare with a phylogeny based on the biparentally inherited internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) for all New Zealand Pittosporum species. Additionally, inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR's) and allozymes were used in an attempt to identify hybridisation between P. colensoi and P. divaricatum. A morphological study was undertaken to determine whether P. turneri is morphologicaly intermediate to the putative parents. Cross-pollination between the putative parents of P. turneri was also undertaken in the wild between female flowers of P. divaricatum and male flowers of P. colensoi to investigate whether hybridisation between these co-existing species is possible. 

The trnT-trnL region resolved several clades within the New Zealand Pittosporum previously unresolved by the ITS region alone. P. turneri has the same trT-trnL sequence as P. divaricatum, implicating P. divaricatum as the maternal parent. The profile of ISSR bands in P. turneri, exhibit additivity of bands found in P. colensoi and P. divaricatum, supporting a hybrid origin of P. turneri. Morphological analyses also show that P. turneri is intermediate to P. divaricatum and P. colensoi. The cross-pollination experiment was unsuccessful and no seedlings germinated, although four seeds appeared viable. It is proposed that P. turneri has a hybrid origin, however this finding needs to be supported by further work.

text: Identification and the role of hybridisation in Pittosporum Godley (1985) proposed that species which have separate juvenile and adult forms may be derived from hybridisation, and proposed that the rare, heteroblastic species P. turneri is a putative hybrid. This study aims to identify whether Pittosporum turneri is derived from hybridisation between a divaricating shrub (P. divaricatum) and a non-divaricating tree (P. colensoi), and to improve resolution of relationships among very closely related species within the genus Pittosporum. A combined approach was used to test the origin of P. turneri. Phylogenetic analysis of the maternally inherited trnT-trnL region of chloroplast DNA was undertaken to compare with a phylogeny based on the biparentally inherited internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) for all New Zealand Pittosporum species. Additionally, inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR's) and allozymes were used in an attempt to identify hybridisation between P. colensoi and P. divaricatum. A morphological study was undertaken to determine whether P. turneri is morphologicaly intermediate to the putative parents. Cross-pollination between the putative parents of P. turneri was also undertaken in the wild between female flowers of P. divaricatum and male flowers of P. colensoi to investigate whether hybridisation between these co-existing species is possible. 

The trnT-trnL region resolved several clades within the New Zealand Pittosporum previously unresolved by the ITS region alone. P. turneri has the same trT-trnL sequence as P. divaricatum, implicating P. divaricatum as the maternal parent. The profile of ISSR bands in P. turneri, exhibit additivity of bands found in P. colensoi and P. divaricatum, supporting a hybrid origin of P. turneri. Morphological analyses also show that P. turneri is intermediate to P. divaricatum and P. colensoi. The cross-pollination experiment was unsuccessful and no seedlings germinated, although four seeds appeared viable. It is proposed that P. turneri has a hybrid origin, however this finding needs to be supported by further work.

year: 2009

title: Whakapiki Wairua: Co-designing and implementing a Māori mindfulness mental health intervention in a Wharekura.

authors: McDonald, Marama

abstract: This article explores the process of co-designing a mātauranga-Māori-informed mindfulness intervention with rangatahi in a wharekura and examines the effects on wellbeing. Mahitahi co-design methodology underpinned the design, implementation and evaluation of the intervention, and quantitative psychological tests measured improvements in wellbeing and dispositional mindfulness. Findings showed positive indications for a decrease in levels of psychological distress, improvements in Māori quality of life domains, and higher levels of dispositional mindfulness. The effective mātaurangaMāori-informed wellbeing components of the intervention were he āhuru mōwai, mahi a ngā tīpuna, ngā kaitiaki, te taiao, whanaungatanga, and hohou te rongo. Future application of the intervention in mainstream schools and communities is needed to assess the efficacy of the intervention for rangatahi in other environments, the sustainability of mindfulness practice for rangatahi, and the long-term effects on wellbeing.

text: Whakapiki Wairua: Co-designing and implementing a Māori mindfulness mental health intervention in a Wharekura. This article explores the process of co-designing a mātauranga-Māori-informed mindfulness intervention with rangatahi in a wharekura and examines the effects on wellbeing. Mahitahi co-design methodology underpinned the design, implementation and evaluation of the intervention, and quantitative psychological tests measured improvements in wellbeing and dispositional mindfulness. Findings showed positive indications for a decrease in levels of psychological distress, improvements in Māori quality of life domains, and higher levels of dispositional mindfulness. The effective mātaurangaMāori-informed wellbeing components of the intervention were he āhuru mōwai, mahi a ngā tīpuna, ngā kaitiaki, te taiao, whanaungatanga, and hohou te rongo. Future application of the intervention in mainstream schools and communities is needed to assess the efficacy of the intervention for rangatahi in other environments, the sustainability of mindfulness practice for rangatahi, and the long-term effects on wellbeing.

year: 2021