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Immortals
\"In this epic tale of vengeance and destiny, power-mad King Hyperion ... threatens to destroy all of humanity on his maniacal quest to obtain the ultimate weapon - the legendary Epirus Bow that gives the power to unleash war on both Heaven and Earth. But Theseus ..., a heroic young villager chosen by the gods, rises up to stop Hyperion's brutal rampage. With supernatural help from the beautiful oracle Phaedra ..., Theseus embraces his destiny and leads a fierce band of warriors in a desperate fight for the future of mankind\"--Container.
DVD
Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Qualitative Data Analysis: The Case of ChatGPT
The potential use of artificial intelligence programs such as a ChatGPT to analyze qualitative data raises any number of questions, most notably whether it is possible to produce similar results without the demanding process of manual coding. In addition, there are questions about both the simplicity of using ChatGPT for qualitative data analysis and the potential time savings that it might provide This article addresses these questions by using ChatGPT to reinvestigate two qualitative datasets that were previously analyzed by more traditional methods. In particular, it examines the extent to which the responses from ChatGPT can recreate the themes that were originally chosen to summarize the two previous analyses. The results show that ChatGPT performed reasonably well, but in both cases it was less successful at locating subtle, interpretive themes, and more successful at reproducing concrete, descriptive themes. In doing so, the program was quite easy to use and required very little effort in comparison to approaches that rely on manual coding. It is important to recognize, however, that both coding and approaches based on artificial intelligence are simply tools that must be applied within a larger analytic process. Overall, this exploration suggests that artificial intelligence may well have the power to disrupt the coding of data segments as a dominant paradigm for qualitative data analysis.
Journal Article
Iterative Thematic Inquiry: A New Method for Analyzing Qualitative Data
Because themes play such a central role in the presentation of qualitative research results, we propose a new method, Iterative Thematic Inquiry (ITI), that is guided by the development of themes. We begin by describing how ITI uses pragmatism as a theoretical basis for linking beliefs, in the form of preconceptions, to actions, in the form of data collection and analysis. Next, we present the four basic phases that ITI relies on: assessing beliefs; building new beliefs through encounters with data; listing tentative themes; and, evaluating themes through coding. We also review several notable differences between ITI and existing methods for qualitative data analysis, such as thematic analysis, grounded theory, and qualitative content analysis. The use of ITI is then illustrated through its application in a study of exiters from fundamentalist religions. Overall, the two most notable features of ITI are that it begins the development of themes as early as possible, through an assessment of initial preconceptions, and that it relies on writing rather than coding, by using a continual revision of tentative results as the primary procedure for generating a final set of themes.
Journal Article
A Systematic Comparison of In-Person and Video-Based Online Interviewing
Due to the increasing popularity of online qualitative interviewing methods, we provide a systematically organized evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages in comparison to traditional in-person interviews. In particular, we describe how individual interviews, dyadic interviews, and focus groups operate in both face-to-face and videoconferencing modes. This produces five different areas for comparison: logistics and budget, ethics, recruitment, research design, and interviewing and moderating. We conclude each section with set of recommendations, and conclude with directions for future research in online interviewing.
Journal Article
Thermal performance responses in free-ranging elasmobranchs depend on habitat use and body size
Temperature is one of the most influential drivers of physiological performance and behaviour in ectotherms, determining how these animals relate to their ecosystems and their ability to succeed in particular habitats. Here, we analysed the largest set of acceleration data compiled to date for elasmobranchs to examine the relationship between volitional activity and temperature in 252 individuals from 8 species. We calculated activation energies for the thermal performance response in each species and estimated optimum temperatures using an Arrhenius breakpoint analysis, subsequently fitting thermal performance curves to the activity data. Juveniles living in confined nursery habitats not only spent substantially more time above their optimum temperature and at the upper limits of their performance breadths compared to larger, less site-restricted animals, but also showed lower activation energies and broader performance curves. Species or life stages occupying confined habitats featured more generalist behavioural responses to temperature change, whereas wider ranging elasmobranchs were characterised by more specialist behavioural responses. The relationships between the estimated performance regimes and environmental temperature limits suggest that animals in confined habitats, including many juvenile elasmobranchs within nursery habitats, are likely to experience a reduction of performance under a warming climate, although their flatter thermal response will likely dampen this impact. The effect of warming on less site-restricted species is difficult to forecast since three of four species studied here did not reach their optimum temperature in the wild, although their specialist performance characteristics may indicate a more rapid decline should optimum temperatures be exceeded.
Journal Article
Migration to freshwater increases growth rates in a facultatively catadromous tropical fish
Diadromy is a form of migration where aquatic organisms undergo regular movements between fresh and marine waters for the purposes of feeding and reproduction. Despite having arisen in independent lineages of fish, gastropod molluscs and crustaceans, the evolutionary drivers of diadromous migration remain contentious. We test a key aspect of the ‘productivity hypothesis’, which proposes that diadromy arises in response to primary productivity differentials between marine and freshwater habitats. Otolith chemistry and biochronology data are analysed in a facultatively catadromous tropical fish (barramundi, Lates calcarifer) to determine the effect of freshwater residence on growth rates. Individuals that accessed freshwater grew ~ 25% faster on average than estuarine residents in the year following migration, suggesting that catadromy provides a potential fitness advantage over non-catadromous (marine/estuarine) life histories, as predicted by the productivity hypothesis. Although diadromous barramundi exhibited faster growth than non-diadromous fish, we suggest that the relative reproductive success of diadromous and non-diadromous contingents is likely to be strongly influenced by local environmental variability such as temporal differences in river discharge, and that this may facilitate the persistence of diverse life history strategies within populations.
Journal Article
Faster juvenile growth promotes earlier sex change in a protandrous hermaphrodite (barramundi Lates calcarifer)
The relationship between growth and sexual maturation is central to understanding the dynamics of animal populations which exhibit indeterminate growth. In sequential hermaphrodites, which undergo post-maturation sex change, the size and age at which sex change occurs directly affects reproductive output and hence population productivity. However, these traits are often labile, and may be strongly influenced by heterogenous growth and mortality rates. We analysed otolith microstructure of a protandrous (i.e., male-to-female) fish (barramundi
Lates calcarifer
) to examine growth in relation to individual variation in the timing of sex change. Growth trajectories of individuals with contrasting life histories were examined to elucidate the direction and extent to which growth rate influences the size and age individuals change sex. Then, the relationships between growth rate, maturation schedules and asymptotic maximum size were explored to identify potential trade-offs between age at female maturity and growth potential. Rapid growth was strongly associated with decreased age at sex change, but this was not accompanied by a decrease in size at sex change. Individuals that were caught as large females grew faster than those caught as males, suggesting that fast-growing individuals ultimately obtain higher fitness and therefore make a disproportionate contribution to population fecundity. These results indicate that individual-level variation in maturation schedules is not reflective of trade-offs between growth and reproduction. Rather, we suggest that conditions experienced during the juvenile phase are likely to be a key determinant of post-maturation fitness. These findings highlight the vulnerability of sex-changing species to future environmental change and harvest.
Journal Article
Divergent field metabolic rates highlight the challenges of increasing temperatures and energy limitation in aquatic ectotherms
Environments where extreme temperatures and low productivity occur introduce energetically challenging circumstances that may be exacerbated by climate change. Despite the strong link between metabolism and temperature in ectotherms, there is a paucity of data regarding how the metabolic ecology of species affects growth and fitness under such circumstances. Here, we integrated data describing field metabolic rates and body condition of two sympatric species of ectotherms with divergent lifestyles, the benthic freshwater (or largetooth) sawfish (Pristis pristis) and the epipelagic bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) occurring in the Fitzroy River, Western Australia, to test the implications of their differing metabolic ecologies for vulnerability to rising temperatures. Over a temperature range of 18–34 °C, sawfish had lower field metabolic rates (63–187 mg O₂ kg⁻⁰⁸⁶ h⁻¹) and lower temperature sensitivity of metabolic rates [activation energy (EA) = 0.35 eV] than bull sharks (187–506 mg O₂ kg⁻⁰⁸⁶ h⁻¹; EA = 0.48 eV). Both species lost body mass throughout the dry season, although bull sharks significantly more (0.17% mass loss day-1) than sawfish (0.07% mass loss day-1). Subsequent bioenergetics modelling showed that under future climate change scenarios, both species would reach potentially lethal levels of mass loss during dry season periods before the end of the century. These results suggest that ectotherms with low metabolic rates may be better suited to extreme environmental conditions, and that even small increases in temperature due to climate change could have substantial impacts on the ability of ectotherms to grow and survive in harsh conditions, including high temperatures and energy-limiting circumstances.
Journal Article
The return of \Stumpy\ the whale shark: two decades and counting
Few fish capture the human imagination like whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). Each is born with unique body pigmentation - a natural patterning of lines and spots that is retained throughout its life and may therefore be used to identify individuals (eg Norman 1999; Arzoumanian et al. 2005). Through the combination of photographed encounters and spot-pattern matching, a whale shark may be \"tagged\" without physical contact or interference. These non-invasive tagging methods, including the digital images captured by citizen scientists, are key to monitoring the return rate and site fidelity of individuals of this long-lived species at global aggregation sites (Holmberg et al. 2008; Davies et al. 2013). Information can also be gathered on other aspects of their natural history, such as changes in growth or body condition, identification of commensal species, and large-scale migration patterns.
Journal Article
Single-case research methods for the behavioral and health sciences
This text ntroduces readers to the history, epistemology, and strategies of single-case research design. The authors offer concrete information on how to observe, measure, and interpret change in relevant outcome variables and how to design strategies that promote causal inferences.Key FeaturesIncludes case vignettes on specific single-case designs; Describes clinical and applied case studies; Draws on multiple examples of single-case designs from published journals across a wide range of disciplines; Covers recent developments in applied research, including meta-analysis and the distinction between statistical and clinical significance; Provides pedagogical tools to help readers master the material, including a glossary, interim summaries, end-of-chapter review questions, and activities that encourage active processing of material.Intended AudienceThis text is intended for students and practitioners in a variety of disciplines—including psychology, nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy—who are increasingly called upon to document the effectiveness of interventions.
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