Salt marshes and other blue carbon ecosystems have been increasingly recognized for their carbon (C)-sink function. Yet, an improved assessment of organic carbon (OC) stocks and C-sequestration rates is still required to include blue C in C-crediting programs. Particularly, factors inducing variability in the permanence of sequestration and allochthonous contributions to soil OC stocks require an improved understanding. This study evaluates the potential for long-term C sequestration in the semi-natural salt marshes of the European Wadden Sea (WS), conducting deep (1.3 m) down-core OC-density assessments in sites with known site histories and accretion records. Because these young marshes have developed from tidal-flat ecosystems and have undergone rapid succession during the last 80-120 yr, the identification of different ecosystem stages down-core was crucial to interpret possible changes in OC density. This was conducted based on the down-core distribution of different foraminiferal taxa and grain sizes. Comparisons of historic and recent accretion rates were conducted to understand possible effects of accretion rate on down-core changes in OC density. d 13 C in OC was used to assess the origin of accumulated OC (autochthonous vs. allochthonous sources). We show that large amounts of short-term accumulated OC are lost down-core in the well-aerated marsh soils of the WS region and thus emphasize the importance of deep sampling to avoid overestimation of C sequestration. Despite steep declines in OC-density downcore, minimum values of OC density in the salt-marsh soils were considerably higher than those of the former tidal-flat sediments that the marshes were converted from, illustrating the greater C-sequestration potential of the vegetated ecosystem. However, our data also suggest that marine-derived allochthonous OC makes up a large fraction of the effectively, long-term preserved OC stock, whereas atmospheric CO 2 removal by marsh vegetation contributes relatively little. The implication of this finding for C-crediting approaches in blue C ecosystems has yet to be clarified.

Jack, Alexander and Egan, Vincent (2016) Paranoid thinking, cognitive bias and dangerous neighbourhoods: implications for perception of threat and expectation of victimisation. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 62 (2). pp. [123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132] Access from the University of Nottingham repository: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31712/1/alex%20jack%20paranoia%20and%20locale %20paper.pdf Copyright and reuse:The Nottingham ePrints service makes this work by researchers of the University of Nottingham available open access under the following conditions. This article is made available under the University of Nottingham End User licence and may be reused according to the conditions of the licence. For more details see: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/end_user_agreement.pdf A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.For more information, please contact eprints@nottingham.ac.uk Background Information Paranoid thinking is prevalent in the non-clinical population and cognitive mechanisms of heuristic reasoning and jumping to conclusions bias contribute to its formation and maintenance. Aims The present study investigated the degree to which paranoia, perceived environmental risk, heuristic reasoning and jumping to conclusion bias (measured with the beads task) contribute to misinterpretation of neutral stimuli, and whether this informed judgements regarding vulnerability to threat and crime. It is also investigated whether impulsiveness is a confounding factor on the beads task. Methods Two hundred participants were recruited using a snowball-sampling method for a quantitative cross sectional study. Participants reported demographic information, three psychometric questionnaires and two experimental tasks via an online paradigm hosted by the Bristol Online Survey tool. Results Participants with high paranoia scores perceived their environment to be more dangerous than those with low scores. Participants with high paranoia scores also overestimated threat in neutral stimuli and had high expectations of future victimisation. Jumping to conclusions on the bead task did not predict fear of crime outcomes, but was predicted by impulsivity. Conclusions Participants who demonstrated paranoid thinking were more likely to reside in perceived dangerous neighbourhoods and overestimate threat. While this could indicate a paranoid heuristic, it is a potentially rational response to prior experiences of crime and victimisation. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijspsych 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 5...

The psychological assessment of novice and experienced clerics is an important component of ordination, suitability, and risk evaluation to ensure that representatives of religious organizations are equipped, motivated, and safe for a life commitment to a faith vocation. It is the authors’ opinion that such assessments should be conducted by skilled psychologists with expertise that covers occupational, clinical, and forensic domains. Further, the authors emphasize the importance of an objective and secular assessment to better inform the church about its role and responsibility for the oversight and spiritual development of the cleric. A thorough psychological assessment should incorporate a multimodal approach to information gathering, which includes a comprehensive review of background information and medical records, a personal history interview, a mental status examination, and administration of relevant psychometric measures and assessment tools. We also advise that, upon completion of the assessment, the requesting religious organization should be offered the opportunity to meet with the evaluating psychologist to discuss suitability issues and, if necessary, risk management planning.

Experiences of bullying predict the development of paranoia in school-age adolescents. While many instances of psychotic phenomena are transitory, maintained victimization can lead to increasingly distressing paranoid thinking. Furthermore, paranoid thinkers perceive threat in neutral social stimuli and are vigilant for environmental risk. The present paper investigated the association between different forms of bullying and paranoid thinking, and the extent to which school-age paranoid thinkers overestimate threat in interpersonal situations. Two hundred and thirty participants, aged between eleven and fourteen, were recruited from one secondary school in the UK. Participants completed a series of questionnaires hosted on the Bristol Online Survey tool. All data were collected in a classroom setting in quiet and standardized conditions. A significant and positive relationship was found between experiences of bullying and paranoid thinking: greater severity of bullying predicted more distressing paranoid thinking. Further, paranoid thinking mediated the relationship between bullying and overestimation of threat in neutral social stimuli. Exposure to bullying is associated with distressing paranoid thinking and subsequent misappraisal of threat. As paranoid thinkers experience real and overestimated threat, the phenomena may persist.

Summary COVID-19 has transformed healthcare service provision. In addition to the spread of a virus, there has been an equally concerning emergence and spread of conspiracy theories. Such theories can threaten societal cohesion and adherence to the necessary public health guidance. In a forensic in-patient setting, such difficulties can be amplified. In this paper, we outline the key theory in relation to the development and spread of conspiracy theory memes. We propose primary, secondary and tertiary level responses to tackle the possible generation and spread of harmful conspiracies in the forensic in-patient setting. We consider this to be important, as there is a risk that such beliefs could affect patients’ mental health and, in extremis, undermine physical health efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

This reflective article describes my experience of attending Hearing Voices Group training and the subsequent establishment of such a group within a medium-secure forensic hospital. I discuss the philosophy of the movement and consider how this sits alongside other forms of clinical and theoretical information. I attempt to find balance between, what I consider to be flaws, and the many positive aspects that come with the approach.

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