title: Noise annoys: Effects of noise on breeding great tits depend on personality but not on noise characteristics

authors: Naguib, Marc

subjects: animal personality

abstract: Anthropogenic noise can have serious implications for animals, especially when they communicate acoustically. Yet, the impacts of noise may depend not only on noise characteristics but also on an individual's coping style or personality. We tested whether noise is more disturbing if it masks communication signals, and whether characteristics of both the noise and the individual affect its impact. Using a unique population of personality-typed great tits, Parus major, we tested whether the kind of noise and parental personality affect parental nestbox visits and nestling begging. Nestboxes were exposed to automated noise playbacks, differing in spectral composition (noise masking begging calls, nonmasking noise or no noise). Parental nestbox visits were recorded using RFID transponders. Video and audio recordings were used to quantify nestling begging. Nestlings mainly begged in silence and in the presence of parents. Parents reduced nestbox visits during noise treatments regardless of the kind of noise and initially reacted more strongly to nonmasking noise. Moreover, slower explorers took longer to enter the nestbox during noise than faster explorers. Total visit rates during noise depended on parental sex and personality. In females, bolder individuals, but in males shyer individuals, reduced total visits during noise. These results extend previous findings in showing experimentally that the disturbance effects of noise do not depend on whether or not the noise directly interferes with information exchange by masking signals. Moreover, personality- and sex-specific responses to noise indicate that anthropogenic disturbance can differentially affect individuals within populations, which will influence mitigation strategies.

text: Noise annoys: Effects of noise on breeding great tits depend on personality but not on noise characteristics Anthropogenic noise can have serious implications for animals, especially when they communicate acoustically. Yet, the impacts of noise may depend not only on noise characteristics but also on an individual's coping style or personality. We tested whether noise is more disturbing if it masks communication signals, and whether characteristics of both the noise and the individual affect its impact. Using a unique population of personality-typed great tits, Parus major, we tested whether the kind of noise and parental personality affect parental nestbox visits and nestling begging. Nestboxes were exposed to automated noise playbacks, differing in spectral composition (noise masking begging calls, nonmasking noise or no noise). Parental nestbox visits were recorded using RFID transponders. Video and audio recordings were used to quantify nestling begging. Nestlings mainly begged in silence and in the presence of parents. Parents reduced nestbox visits during noise treatments regardless of the kind of noise and initially reacted more strongly to nonmasking noise. Moreover, slower explorers took longer to enter the nestbox during noise than faster explorers. Total visit rates during noise depended on parental sex and personality. In females, bolder individuals, but in males shyer individuals, reduced total visits during noise. These results extend previous findings in showing experimentally that the disturbance effects of noise do not depend on whether or not the noise directly interferes with information exchange by masking signals. Moreover, personality- and sex-specific responses to noise indicate that anthropogenic disturbance can differentially affect individuals within populations, which will influence mitigation strategies.

year: 2013

title: Intrinsic barriers to and opportunities for community empowerment in community-based tourism development in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam

authors: Nguyen, Dung Thi Ngoc

abstract: Even though community empowerment is a crucial component of sustainable tourism, true community empowerment is in fact hard to achieve and still eludes many countries. Few studies have looked at factors that may inhibit or encourage empowerment processes for local people. In response to this gap, this article explores intrinsic barriers to and opportunities for community empowerment in community-based tourism development in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam. Drawing on empirical data, results show that intrinsic barriers to community empowerment derived from their dependence on government, especially in top-down political systems such as in Vietnam, and the framing of knowledge associated with formal education. Findings also reveal opportunities to enhance community empowerment if community power were acknowledged, and locals were able to exercise that power. Such recognition has the potential to transform experiences of/about local people, to empower them by shifting the focus to a paradigm that starts from within local people themselves, and their community, to using their inner strength - a significant power that they could use to enable them to achieve what they desire in tourism, and to make real change occur. The paper concludes with the implications of this analysis for community empowerment and sustainable tourism development.

text: Intrinsic barriers to and opportunities for community empowerment in community-based tourism development in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam Even though community empowerment is a crucial component of sustainable tourism, true community empowerment is in fact hard to achieve and still eludes many countries. Few studies have looked at factors that may inhibit or encourage empowerment processes for local people. In response to this gap, this article explores intrinsic barriers to and opportunities for community empowerment in community-based tourism development in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam. Drawing on empirical data, results show that intrinsic barriers to community empowerment derived from their dependence on government, especially in top-down political systems such as in Vietnam, and the framing of knowledge associated with formal education. Findings also reveal opportunities to enhance community empowerment if community power were acknowledged, and locals were able to exercise that power. Such recognition has the potential to transform experiences of/about local people, to empower them by shifting the focus to a paradigm that starts from within local people themselves, and their community, to using their inner strength - a significant power that they could use to enable them to achieve what they desire in tourism, and to make real change occur. The paper concludes with the implications of this analysis for community empowerment and sustainable tourism development.

year: 2021

title: Testing a suicidal ideation-to-action framework among Queer and Takatāpui people in Aotearoa New Zealand: An examination of the three-step theory

authors: Schimanski, Irie

abstract: The three-step theory (3ST) of suicide is well-established in the general population and shows promise for explaining suicidal ideation among Queer samples. This study examined the applicability of the 3ST using data from 250 Queer (n = 213) and Takatāpui (n = 37) people aged 18-74 living in Aotearoa New Zealand. The analytic approach entailed hierarchical multiple regression, ANOVA, t-tests, and logistic regression. Step-one was partially supported, with discrimination and hopelessness independently associated with suicidal ideation, but not their interaction. Step-two was fully supported, showing social support associated with lower suicidal ideation when social support exceeded discrimination, compared with the inverse. Full support for step-three was observed, finding higher self-harm among participants with histories of attempted suicide than those who had never attempted. An adapted version of the 3ST for Queer and Takatāpui people is presented, offering novel approaches to testing the ideation-to-action framework with these communities.

text: Testing a suicidal ideation-to-action framework among Queer and Takatāpui people in Aotearoa New Zealand: An examination of the three-step theory The three-step theory (3ST) of suicide is well-established in the general population and shows promise for explaining suicidal ideation among Queer samples. This study examined the applicability of the 3ST using data from 250 Queer (n = 213) and Takatāpui (n = 37) people aged 18-74 living in Aotearoa New Zealand. The analytic approach entailed hierarchical multiple regression, ANOVA, t-tests, and logistic regression. Step-one was partially supported, with discrimination and hopelessness independently associated with suicidal ideation, but not their interaction. Step-two was fully supported, showing social support associated with lower suicidal ideation when social support exceeded discrimination, compared with the inverse. Full support for step-three was observed, finding higher self-harm among participants with histories of attempted suicide than those who had never attempted. An adapted version of the 3ST for Queer and Takatāpui people is presented, offering novel approaches to testing the ideation-to-action framework with these communities.

year: 2025-08-01