Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background People who are homeless or vulnerably housed face significant health inequities and yet are rarely involved in health and social care research as participants, public contributors or co‐researchers. The I Am More Than… project was developed to address this lack of inclusion by working in partnership with community organisations and individuals with lived experiences of being homeless or vulnerably housed. Objective To co‐design a flexible and inclusive approach for public and community involvement in research (sometimes referred to as public and patient involvement or PPI). Methods The project drew on a range of co‐production and participatory research strategies, with input from various stakeholders, to identify and address enablers and barriers to participation. Community researchers with lived experience of homelessness or being vulnerably housed were central to all stages of the project, including the co‐design of strategies to engage people through conversations, interviews, creative outputs and stakeholder events. Findings We identified core principles for inclusive public and community involvement in research. including the need to: develop relationships first and tasks second; gain a deep understanding of communities and their priorities; harness lived experience expertise; however someone may choose to share it; go at the pace of trust; and work in partnership with voluntary and community sector organisations who are embedded in their communities. Conclusion Developing a flexible and inclusive approach to public and community involvement in research required shifting from a transactional approach to a relational approach. The project demonstrated the importance of building trust, working in partnership and being flexible and responsive to people's everyday realities for genuine inclusion to be achieved. Patient or Public Contribution This is a co‐produced project between a university, an integrated care system, two community organisations and people experiencing homelessness or being vulnerably housed. Individuals with lived experience participated as community researchers, shaping the design, methods and outcomes. Their contributions are detailed throughout the paper, which is co‐authored by members of the project team, including staff from two community organisations and one community researcher.

Background There is a pressing need for more inclusive research practices, as recognised by researchers, funding bodies and community organisations. It is increasingly acknowledged that research should actively involve a more diverse range of voices, such as individuals experiencing homelessness or vulnerable housing. Despite their valuable insights, they are often excluded due to systemic barriers, such as lack of opportunity or confidence to participate, limited access to resources and inflexible research structures. As a result, their perspectives are frequently missing from studies that shape policies and services. In response, the I Am More Than… project sought to co-design inclusive approaches with people with lived and living experiences of being homeless and vulnerably housed, to increase opportunities for their involvement in shaping and designing health and social care research. This was achieved through a partnership between Bournemouth University, an integrated care system, and two community organisations: Lantern Trust and HealthBus Trust. Focus This paper shares our reflections on the co-design of inclusive community involvement in research, sharing the perspectives of Jim, a community researcher with experience of homelessness, and Lantern Trust – a partner on the project, and the community organisation that supported Jim. We present the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned, from the perspectives of the community partners, offering recommendations that may be transferable to other researchers and community organisations aiming to work inclusively in research. Conclusion The I Am More Than … project highlighted the need for a reciprocal approach for research to be inclusive, the value of collaborating with community organisations with existing relationships with the communities they serve, and the need for a shift in power for research to be inclusive. Creativity, flexibility and a willingness to try new approaches can facilitate inclusive research practice.

AIMS: The severity of soil water repellency (WR) is affected by fire in dry eucalypt forests in Australia. This study aimed to investigate the variability of soil WR and moisture in and around typical seedling microsites after fire: in ashbeds near coarse woody debris (CWD). METHODS: Values of soil WR severity and moisture content were measured adjacent to and at multiple distances from CWD in ashbeds and in unburnt soils. Soils were measured at depths of 0 to 5 cm in 1 cm increments for 8 individual CWD samples in ashbeds. Data were analysed to determine whether WR varied significantly among soil depths and distances from CWD. RESULTS: In microsites subjected to a severe burn, WR differed significantly among depths but not distance from CWD. Next to CWD, soil was wettable for 1–2 cm below the surface and this wettable layer was underlain by a severely water repellent layer of at least 1 cm thickness with less repellent soil below that. In areas of less severe and no burn, surface layers were moderately to extremely water repellent. CONCLUSIONS: The interaction between fire and CWD and the resultant severe burn, leads to spatially restricted regions where surface soil WR is reduced, moisture accumulates and seedling establishment is promoted.

With climate change impacting trees worldwide, enhancing adaptation capacity has become an important goal of provenance translocation strategies for forestry, ecological renovation, and biodiversity conservation. Given that not every species can be studied in detail, it is important to understand the extent to which climate adaptation patterns can be generalised across species, in terms of the selective agents and traits involved. We here compare patterns of genetic-based population (co)variation in leaf economic and hydraulic traits, climate–trait associations, and genomic differentiation of two widespread tree species (Eucalyptus pauciflora and E. ovata). We studied 2-year-old trees growing in a common-garden trial established with progeny from populations of both species, pair-sampled from 22 localities across their overlapping native distribution in Tasmania, Australia. Despite originating from the same climatic gradients, the species differed in their levels of population variance and trait covariance, patterns of population variation within each species were uncorrelated, and the species had different climate–trait associations. Further, the pattern of genomic differentiation among populations was uncorrelated between species, and population differentiation in leaf traits was mostly uncorrelated with genomic differentiation. We discuss hypotheses to explain this decoupling of patterns and propose that the choice of seed provenances for climate-based plantings needs to account for multiple dimensions of climate change unless species-specific information is available.

Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to contemporary environments is fundamental to predicting the evolutionary responses of tree species to future climates. Using seedlings grown in a glasshouse from 275 open-pollinated families collected from 37 Tasmanian populations, we studied quantitative genetic variation and adaptation in Eucalyptus pauciflora, a species that is widespread in Tasmania and the alpine regions of mainland Australia. Most traits exhibited significant quantitative genetic variation both within and between populations. While there was little association of the trait-derived Mahalanobis distance among populations with geographic distance or divergence in putatively neutral markers (F ST), there was strong evidence of climate adaptation for several genetically independent, functional traits associated with ontogenetic maturation, biomass allocation, and biotic interactions. This evidence comprised the following: (i) significantly more differentiation among populations (Q ST) than expected through drift (F ST); (ii) little association of pairwise population divergence due to drift (F ST) and trait divergence (Q ST); and (iii) strong correlations of functional traits with Q ST > F ST with potential environmental drivers of population divergence. Correlates with population divergence in quantitative traits include altitude and associated climatic factors, especially maximum temperature of the warmest period and moisture indices. It is argued that small changes in climate, such as a long-term 1 °C increase in the maximum temperature of the warmest period, are likely to affect the adaptation of local populations of the species. However, since there appears to be significant quantitative genetic variation within populations for many key adaptive traits, we argue that populations are likely to maintain significant evolutionary potential.

With the demand for, and scale of, ecological restoration increasing globally, effectiveness monitoring remains a significant challenge. For forest restoration, structural complexity is a recognised indicator of ecosystem biodiversity and in turn a surrogate for restoration effectiveness. Structural complexity captures the diversity in vegetation elements, from tree height to species composition, and the layering of these elements is critical for dependent organisms which rely upon them for their survival. Traditional methods of measuring structural complexity are costly and time-consuming, resulting in a discrepancy between the scales of ‘available’ versus ‘needed’ information. With advancements in both sensors and platforms, there exists an unprecedented opportunity for landscape-level effectiveness monitoring using remote sensing. We here review the key literature on passive (e.g., optical) and active (e.g., LiDAR) sensors and their available platforms (spaceborne to unmanned aerial vehicles) used to capture structural attributes at the tree- and stand-level relevant for effectiveness monitoring. Good cross-validation between remotely sensed and ground truthed data has been shown for many traditional attributes, but remote sensing offers opportunities for assessment of novel or difficult to measure attributes. While there are examples of the application of such technologies in forestry and conservation ecology, there are few reports of remote sensing for monitoring the effectiveness of ecological restoration actions in reversing land degradation. Such monitoring requires baseline data for the restoration site as well as benchmarking the trajectory of remediation against the structural complexity of a reference system.

An interesting question arises upon viewing the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz (MGM). The main character Dorothy Gale faces a long arduous journey on foot. Why did she not have a car? Women had formed strong associations with the automobile in its early years, yet they appeared to have weaker associations with the automobile a few decades later. A look back to three other “Dorothies” from the World War I era demonstrates the evolution of women’s associations with the early automobile, and how war impacted them.In the pre-World War I years, women drivers appeared in film, while Dorothy Levitt wrote columns for other women on how to drive and repair a car and many other women invented safety technologies for automobiles. During World War I, the pinnacle of recognition for women’s driving emerged with the woman ambulance drivers on the front lines. Dorothie Feilding was one of the first women to arrive in Belgium to drive ambulances, often while under fire. Feilding and many women like her were given war medals for their service, and their bravery was touted in newspapers. However, once the war ended, their accomplishments would be erased and ignored.In the post-World War I years, Dorothée Pullinger’s experience as CEO of the Galloway factory illustrate how ideas of masculinity and femininity. promoted by governments after the war, impacted women. The Galloway factory in Tongland Scotland, was staffed by women engineers and workers. After World War I ended, these women were pushed out of their jobs. War-induced disability and its economic costs to governments were at the heart of gender inequities and served to displace women from automobile technology. Policies such as Britain’s “Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act” set the stage for a script that constructed women’s jobs as expendable and marketed ideas of the disabled soldier needing to “re-gain his manliness” by re-entering the labour force at women’s expense. As a result, the state imbued a new relational, gendered analytic onto automobile use and production that remains with western society today.

Aim To assess whether restoration of dry eucalypt‐dominated plant communities on ex‐pasture sites is constrained by soil characteristics. Location Central Tasmania, Australia. Methods We use nutrient status to test recovery trajectories of soils within eucalypt woodland restorations established on ex‐pasture sites. Eucalyptus trees within these sites have been successfully established but understorey plant communities have had negligible recovery. Soils from restoration sites, aged from 3 to 22 years, were contrasted with those from two reference ecotypes: established pastures and native eucalypt woodlands presumed to be similar to that originally replaced by the pastures. We hypothesized that (a) total soil carbon to nitrogen ratios (C:N) would be substantially higher in forest soils than in pasture soils; (b) soil nutrient levels would be lower in forest sites than within pasture sites; and (c) if restoration soils were recovering they should fit between these continuums according to age of planting. Results Woodland and pasture reference soils were highly constrained in soil C:N and conformed to expectations. However, ex‐pasture restoration sites retained the characteristically low C:N and high nutrient levels of pasture soils, in particular total N. They also failed to demonstrate a transformational effect with age of planting. Conclusions The results suggest that both restoration interventions and natural processes had not sufficiently disrupted existing below‐ground systems within the given time frame. Such an intractable stable state within the soil system highlights the need within restoration practice for an increased emphasis on soil ecological transformation. Improving and implementing practices aimed at driving soil change may assist a timelier reassembly of complex native ecosystems. This study also shows that soil C:N ratios may provide a cheap and simple means of identifying soil constraints on restoration. Historical legacies on ex‐agricultural sites can pose considerable constraints to the re‐assembly of native vegetation communities. In eucalypt forest restorations we demonstrate the intractability of total soil carbon to nitrogen ratios. Soil chemistry remained consistent with previous pasture status and distinct from that of native forests. We suggest these findings support the need for increased emphasis on soil focused intervention.

Fire regimes are changing in several regions of the world. In those regions, some exotic species may be better adapted to new regimes than the native species. This study focused on identifying the microsite characteristics associated with the occurrence of post-fire Eucalyptus globulus regeneration from seeds, outside the species native-range. This information is important in helping to assess the naturalization status of the species, to understand its invasion risk, and to manage wildlings in plantations. To characterize the establishment niche, pairs of microsites (sapling presence/absence) were sampled in four salvage-logged plantations of E. globulus two years after fire (20 pairs/plantation). Microsites of wildlings from three size classes and control microsites were established in one of these plantations (20 quartets) in order to characterize the recruitment niche and to assess ontogenic niche shifts. Two post-fire wildling cohorts were identified. The first emerged just after fire and was abundant. The second emerged after logging and was scarce, probably due to seed limitation. First-cohort wildlings were observed in microsites characterized by a high incidence of fire-related variables (charcoal, ash, increased soil pH and K). The aggregated distribution of these wildlings and their association with other species may indicate the existence of facilitative relationships and/or the exploitation of resource-rich patches. All these factors were relevant for first-cohort persistence and likely also for its establishment and recruitment. Second-cohort wildlings occurred in microsites where salvage-logging disturbance was evident, showing the importance of this disturbance for its emergence. Wildling size diversity was explained by the two recruitment events and by the asymmetrical competition between wildlings and adults. No niche shifts were detected. The high densities of E. globulus wildlings found established in burnt plantations indicated naturalization was in progress. The timing of major recruitment events and the phenology of the species should be considered for monitoring this regeneration and scheduling control interventions, if required.

People have long found comfort and support by interacting and sharing their lives with animals, and from this interest has led to a specific modality in human healthcare called Animal-Assisted Interactions (AAI). One application of AAI in higher education has gained much attention in the past 10 years. University campuses are a setting where suicide is the second leading cause of death and where college student mental health is in crisis. However, a robust understanding of the development, implementation, and impact of these programs in relation to these immense challenges remains vastly understudied. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore campus-based AAI programs for college student mental health, and as a three-paper manuscript, the information is presented in a progressive fashion. In the first paper, I describe a scoping review study in which I map the literature on campus-based AAI programs for college student mental health. In the second paper, I present the findings from a repeated, six-year cross-sectional study for academic years 2014/15 through 2019/20 using a secondary analysis of existing data from a campus-based AAI program. In the third paper I define a conceptual model of practice that I developed called the PACE—Practitioner, Animal, Client, and Environment—Model for AAI to frame the way AAI programs are established and applied. The implications presented from this study can inform future practice, education, policy, and research in the fields of social work, college student development, and AAI.