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  • Nowadays marketers and practitioners recognize the importance of social marketing as a strategy to acquire customers. Accordingly, the enterprises and brands are embracing the use of social network in communicating with potential consumers ad actual consumers, in order its performance so as to increase its sales. Among all those social media platforms, Instagram is one of the platforms which is image orientated and can easily connect with users and provide information with photos and images. As Macau is small‐sized city where there are abundant small to medium‐sized enterprises, the local small firms are switching their marketing strategies by utilizing the Instagram to promote their product online. In order to get a better grasp of how Instagram affects the promotion of the food and beverage product in Macau, the research question has been formulated: “To what extend can the local food sectors in Macau use Instagram as a marketing tool to engage purchasing intention and strengthen their brand equity? From the perspective of customers.” Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 13 participants who are the Instagram users, with diverse situations of engagement on Instagram. According to the interviews, participants expressed that how Instagram can associate effects with arousal and brand equity (brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality and brand loyalty) and formation of purchase intention eventually through the Instagram marketing activities. The results showed that Instagram marketing activities strongly correlated the brand equity (brand awareness, brand image, and perceived quality while which in turn led to purchasing intention towards the brand. This research comprehensively illustrates the influences of Instagram marketing activities on customer‐based brand equity. The findings of this study will enable local food brands to more accurately forecast the future purchasing behaviors of their customers through Instagram marketing activities and provide a guide in managing brand equity as well

  • The phenomenon of burnout has been recognised as a worldwide occupational health issue after being vastly studied for decades. Trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) and resilience have been identified as personal protective factors (Gutierrez & Mullen, 2016; Listopad et al., 2021), while organisational socialisation is suggested to be an organisational factor in helping people in preventing burnout (Taormina & Law, 2000). With the purpose of 1) investigating the phenomenon in the counselling profession, as well as 2) exploring how trait EI and resilience are related to burnout and whether organisational socialisation might impose moderating effects in between, the present study examined 115 counselling professionals currently employed and working in organisational settings in Macau by snowball sampling, using a quantitative and cross-sectional approach through self-reported online questionnaires. From the data obtained, different burnout patterns were observed according to job titles and work settings, indicating that counselling professionals with different specialties and work in different settings have unique sources of stress, which resulting in differences in their burnout patterns. No between-group differences were observed in age and work experience, while male participants have a higher burnout perception than female participants in the current study. On the other hand, current results suggested trait EI and four components of resilience (determination, endurance, adaptability and recuperability) are negatively correlated to counselling professionals’ burnout perception, providing supportive evidence that trait EI and resilience are protective factors against burnout. Moderation analysis results revealed that organisational socialisation has some moderating effects on the relationship between trait EI, resilience and burnout. However, differences in direction and intensity indicated that the moderating effects of organisational socialisation might be influenced by individual differences. Further studies are needed to better the understanding of the moderating effect of organisational socialisation. Limitations of the current research and implications for counselling professionals and organisations were also discussed in the study

  • Oracle Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Oracle, ORCL, or ‘the Company’) is an American multinational company that provides solutions of products and services that serve the enterprises’ information technology (IT) environment. This thesis is to conduct a business analysis of the Company from a financial perspective, determining the Company’s intrinsic value as of May 31, 2021, and comparing it with the respective market value. Thus, this thesis will study, evaluate, and present an overview of the Company, an analysis of the Company’s market, industry, strategy, financial performance, including external and internal factors, a ten-year pro forma financial statement forecast, and the techniques of using the three discounted cash flow models to estimate the intrinsic value of Oracle. The obtained results from the three valuation models, including the Enterprise Discounted Cash Flow (EDCF) model, the Adjusted Present Value (APV) model, and the Discounted Economic Profit (DEP) model, show that the Company’s intrinsic values were estimated at $74.57, $75.21, and $74.82, respectively. When the results were used to compare with the market price of Oracle’s shares as of May 31, 2021, at $78.74, it reflects that the Company was overvalued

  • This study explored the effect of communication (i.e., among staff, and between staff and clients) and of cultural diversity on job satisfaction (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, and general) and perceived service quality of formal caregivers working in elderly services in Macao. We applied a quantitative methodology, based on a cross-sectional design using a self-response questionnaire to 162 staff in six elderly centres in Macao. Based on an extensive review of the literature, we proposed that: H1) cultural diversity is negatively related to (a) intrinsic job satisfaction, (b) extrinsic job satisfaction, (c) general job satisfaction, and (H5) negatively related to perceived competence and service quality; (H2) communication (a) among staff and (b) between staff and clients is positively related to intrinsic job satisfaction (H3) extrinsic job satisfaction, (H4) general job satisfaction, and (H6) perceived service quality; and finally that (H7) intrinsic, (H8) extrinsic, and (H9) general job satisfaction mediate the relationship between (a) cultural diversity, (b) communication among staff and (c) communication between staff and clients, and perceived service quality. We found that more communication among staff was related to higher intrinsic, extrinsic and general job satisfaction, and perceived competence and service quality. And intrinsic job satisfaction mediated the positive effect of communication among staff on perceived service quality. Opposite to predicted communication between staff and clients was related to lower levels of job satisfaction. And cultural diversity was positively related to satisfaction, as well as perceived competence and service quality. The theoretical and practical implications of findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research were discussed

  • " Air pollution in Macau has become a serious problem following the Pearl River Delta’s (PRD) rapid industrialization that began in the 1990s. While there has been continual improvement in recent years, harmful air pollutant concentration levels are still common, impacting Macau residents' health and creating long-term medical costs to local society. With this in mind, Macau needs an air quality forecast system that accurately predicts pollutant concentration and an early alert system instead of only daily real-time reminders. Some scholars have previously carried out studies to develop an air quality forecast for Macau by successfully using statistical models. Therefore, pursuant to the outcomes of previous studies, this dissertation aims to build upon research results and explore further possibilities of building a better ML air quality forecast model based on the time series of air pollutants concentration and meteorological data. Four different state-of-the-art ML algorithms were used to create predictive models to forecast PM2.5, PM10, and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations for the next 24 and 48-hour. These were Support Vector Machine (SVM), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Random Forest (RF), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). In addition, Multiple Linear Regression MLR, a standard ML model, was used for this dissertation as a baseline reference for performance comparison. The daily measurements of air quality data in Macau from 2016 to 2021 were collected for this dissertation. The 2020 and 2021 datasets were used for model testing while the four-year data prior to 2020 and 2021 were used to build and train the ML models. The results showed that SVM, ANN, RF, and XGBoost were able to provide a very good performance in building up a 24-hour forecast with higher R2 and lower RMSE, MAE, and BIAS. Meanwhile, all ML models in 48-hour forecasting performance were satisfactory enough to be accepted as a two-day continuous forecast even if the R2 value was lower than the 24-hour forecast. The 48-hour forecasting model could be further improved by proper feature selection based on the 24-hour dataset, using the SHAP value test, and the adjusted R2 value of the 48-hour forecasting model."

  • Informal recycling plays a crucial role in municiapl solid waste management in many cities, particularly in the global South. This study examines the practices, challenges, and opportunities of informal recycling in Macau, a small city and Self Autonomous Region (S.A.R.) in China. Using qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, this study explores the motivations and strategies of informal recyclers, the challenges they face, and the potential for collaboration with formal waste management systems. The findings of this study reveal that informal recycling in Macau is a complex and multifaceted reality and practice that involves a range of actors, from waste pickers to small-scale processors to exporters, all with their specific challenges. Informal recyclers are motivated by economic necessity, and they employ a variety of strategies to collect and process recyclable materials. However, they also face significant challenges, including high rental and transportation costs, lack of manpower, China’s waste import policies and ensuing restrictions, fluctuating global price rates of materials and the unstable income as serious consequence, accompanied by limited support from the local Government. This study also identifies opportunities for sustainable development of informal recycling in Macau, supported by the analysis of data collected via questionnaire survey regarding Macau citizens’ waste separation habits and their willingness to pay for resource separation and recovering process. The identified oppurtunities include establishing partnerships between informal and formal waste management actors, improving the infrastructure, and introducing environmental levy system and consistent policies and regulations. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of the role of informal recycling sector in waste management in Macau and provides insights into potential strategies for improving the sustainability of resource and waste management practices in the city

  • Buddhism was founded by Shakyamuni, and this religion has appeared in opposition to Brahmanism's caste system since its inception. Shakyamuni emphasized the important concept of “all beings are equal” from the very beginning. Buddhism spread from India to other regions, and was introduced to China through Central Asia. In China, Buddhism merged the two native cultures of Confucianism and Taoism and finally produced the socalled Chinese Buddhism. Buddhism and its value of equality were also developed and extended in China, and finally spread to Japan. After Buddhism was spread to Japan, it developed rapidly due to official support. Different Buddhist sects have established their own temples in Japan, and among them, Zen Buddhism has the greatest influence among all social classes in this country. Later, after years of development, Zen Buddhism penetrated into many aspects of Japanese culture, such as religion, aesthetics, garden design, samurai spirit and tea ceremony. With the spread of Zen Buddhism, the core value of Buddhism which is “Buddhist concept of equality” was also spread to Japan. The tea ceremony is precisely the place where this value of equality can be detected. This dissertation explains the many processes that reflect this value no matter inside or outside the tea room, and argues that the spirit of the tea ceremony is to pursue the value of equality

  • The demand for plastic has led to enormous plastic waste in the environment, which persist and negatively impact the ecosystems. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most common thermoplastic polymers available on the market. The concerns about plastic waste generated an interest in strategies to enhance its biodegradation and finding alternative polymers. In this work was investigated the possibility of using bacteria to degrade PET and to produce bioplastics (Polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHAs). Finally, the integration of the two processes was tested. Overall, the work aimed to investigate the potential to recycle PET into bioplastic using bacteria. The potential of bacterial consortia from various environmental samples to degrade PET granules in liquid matrix was investigated. . The results revealed maximum PET granules degradation of 1.1 % by one of the tested consortia. PET degradation intermediate terephthalic acid (TPA) was not detected at the end of 55 days. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed major spectral peak shifts and bends on PET chemical structure compared to non-inoculated control. The biodegradation of PET films buried in the soil (A), with mangrove plants (B), and bioaugmented with a bacterial consortium (C) was also investigated. The experiments were conducted for 270 days at ambient conditions. The results revealed no difference between treatments in the degradation, with a maximum weight loss of 0.118 % in the bioaugmented treatment. Nevertheless, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and FTIR results indicated significant surface changes, spectral peak shifts, and stretches in PET chemical structures. Bacterial consortia isolated from the soil of the experimental treatments were assessed for degradation of PET monomers, TPA and monoethylene glycol (MEG), and intermediate Bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET). The consortia were inoculated in flasks containing minimal media with 1000 mg/L TPA or BHET or1113 mg/L MEG as the sole carbon source. Results showed complete degradation of TPA and significant degradation of BHET (96.09%), and MEG (83.65%) by the consortia. In the second part of the study, bacteria were isolated from various environmental samples and screened for PHA production using Sudan Black B staining on colonies and smeared glass slides. Transmission Electron Microscope images were captured to confirm the intracellular PHA inclusions. A total of 35 isolates were screened for PHA, and 22 showed positive staining. The isolate showing higher levels of PHA synthesis (EC2-30-3) was identified based on 16S rRNA gene sequence as Bacillus sp. and selected for PET monomers degradation and fermentation cultures for PHA production. It was cultured in minimal (Moreira et al., 2013) media with 1000 mg/L TPA and 1113 mg/L MEG as the carbon source for eight days. The isolate grew better in media containing MEG, which was selected as a substrate model for PHA fermentation. To integrate PET monomers biodegradation and production of PHA, the isolate was cultured in 0.2 % MEG. A control with 0.2 % of glucose was prepared, and the cultures were incubated for 96 hours. Bacillus sp. EC2-30-3 showed higher PHA accumulation in media supplied with MEG (40.31%) than glucose (25.53%). This is the first report showing that Bacillus sp. uses PET monomer as carbon source to produce a biopolymer. FTIR results of the extracted PHA identified its functional units as C–H, CH3, C=O, and C–O groups. The absorption bands obtained are closely related to the structure of PHB. The study thus confirmed the ability of the isolated bacteria to degrade PET monomers and produce biopolymers. The results of this work open the possibility for upscaling the use of bacteria to mitigate the impact of PET on the environment while producing environmentally friendly bioplastics

  • "Cantonese opera (CO) represents an art form that had its golden time in Macao during the mid-twentieth century. CO still has many loyal fans but they mainly are in the older generation. The purpose of this study was to explore if CO is considered a cultural capital heritage in Macao, related to cultural identity and transmitted across generations to support social bonding. Applying a qualitative methodology, a script for exploring participants’ experiences and opinions about CO was designed, and different groups of individuals were recruited for semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The data collected was analysed by a thematic analysis of the verbatim transcripts. Findings show that in the past first contacts with CO happened in family and related social context, mainly during participants’ developing age. However, currently CO is no longer passed on to the next generation. Despite that the young generations acknowledging their cultural identities in CO, mainly in terms of Cantonese culture and Cantonese language, older individuals engaged with CO seemed to perceive their cultural identities more in depth in its history, literacy and music. Actually, engagement is an important factor that generates social bonds. The CO leisure practitioners, no matter young or old, experienced the effects of social bonding during the ritual of enquiry in the process of learning and practising CO. To improve CO’s preservation in Macao, the adoption of strategies such as developing new productions, crossover with other media, innovations in promotion targeting the young audiences, and absorbing audiences in the Great Bay area were proposed. Finally, the potential use of CO as a tool in counselling and community work is discussed. "

  • This study presents the intrinsic value of Moody’s Corporation, a leading credit rating agency in the U.S. The results of the valuation were compared to the market value of Moody’s Corporation of the same date. The aim of the research is to provide a perspective to the investors on whether the actual value of the Company was overvalued or undervalued in the market, and how much the volatility of the stock price by the change of some factors. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied in the research. The historical data, economic outlook, and the Company’s strategies were collected to be the metrics to determine the intrinsic value and provide an analysis of the prospects of Moody’s Corporation. Three valuation models were applied in the research to estimate the intrinsic value of the Company’s common stock. The cost of debt, cost of equity, the weighted average cost of capital, and the market risk premium were introduced and calculated in the research as they were the critical components in the valuation process. Since the valuation was based on assumptions and historical data to determine future growth, which indicates that the results could be changed due to uncertain factors. This study demonstrates that there was some discrepancy between the stock’s market price and the intrinsic value per share of Moody’s Corporation as of December 31, 2021

  • This dissertation aims to research the need and viability of creating a digital platform that assists the creative processes naturally linked to Visual Merchandising. Through the proposal of a digital platform that works as a co-creative tool for display archives and a co-creative tool for display set-ups through mood boards, we will aim at improving the teamwork in retail and provide a unique, fast-forward platform for information sharing and input under the direction of Visual Departments. Building on rich source materials such as bibliography, scientific papers, news, and articles, and interviewing Visual Merchandisers actively working in the field, we will show the importance of creativity in Luxury Retail and what are the most common challenges in the field that we will propose a solution to. We will focus on the study of concepts, reviewing digital application tools being used by professionals and their best features and improvement opportunities. By gathering this information, we hope to provide accurate insights and information that proves the viability of this proposal and understand what features could serve best the target audience. Finally, we will present a conceptual idea in the form of sketches with functions of this digital application tool to be fully developed in the future and hopefully build a consistent well, designed commercial web-based application

  • The purpose of this study is to examine work engagement and mental well-being in Macau, specifically after more than three years of COVID. Examine whether external factors such as emotional support from supervisors, co-workers, and family members have a positive impact on work engagement and mental well-being, and whether the internal factor self-reflection with its three aspects of need for self-reflection, engagement in self-reflection, and insight from self-reflection moderates the relationship between emotional support, work engagement, and mental well-being. The target audience consists of Macau's integrated resort, hospitality, and gaming industry employees. According to the Affective Event Theory (AET), affective events at work generate emotional responses that influence the attitudes and behavior of employees in the workplace. In this study, this theoretical framework was used to clarify the interplay of variables that explain emotional support from supervisors, co-workers, and family members, work engagement, and mental well-being. An online self-response survey (N=325) was used to conduct quantitative and cross-sectional research. There was also a combination of simple random sampling, convenience sampling, and referral sampling. All variables were found to be correlated, and while perceived supervisor support was a significant predictor of all aspects of work engagement and mental well-being, family and co-worker support only predicted certain aspects of these variables. Self-reflection partially moderated the positive effects of certain emotional support on work engagement and mental well-being

  • The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of leadership styles and organizational cultures to employee’s organizational commitment under the pandemic situation in Macao. The dependent variables comprise of the three dimensions of organizational commitment. Among those three, affective commitment and continuance commitment are considered to be analyzed in this study. The leadership styles concept and organizational cultures are applied as the independent variables. The objectives are achieved using quantitative research method with questionnaires in Likert scale scores. The two significance reveals that laissez-faire leadership style had a positive relationship with continuance organizational commitment (H4) and innovative culture had a positive correlation with continuance organization commitment (H6). Such outcomes were extended to a qualitative study with qualitative approach on discourse analysis to explore the potential factor and a leadership discourse analysis was initiated. While the findings on influence of leadership and culture on organizational commitment is not a major concern for Macao employees in the pandemic situation, the significance of specific leadership style and culture rationalizes the transformation and status of Macao employees’ views towards leadership and employers’ perspective on organizational culture. The data collected in this study may also provide valuable resources for future study and training programs for the coming batch of employees in the coming new phase of Macao in entering the 2nd round of gaming licensing. Create the right leadership and culture for the organization to bring back the passion of Macao employees

  • Seagrasses play a critical role in coastal ecosystems worldwide, providing various ecosystem services based on their region and genus. In Southeast Asia, where seagrass biodiversity and extents are at their highest, the livelihoods and food security of many coastal communities depend on these plants. Despite their ecological and economic importance, seagrasses face global threats from human activities such as pollution and land use changes. Enhalus acoroides, a widely distributed seagrass species in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, is particularly valuable for coastal management and conservation efforts due to its size and provision of various ecosystem services. Although previous research has indicated that it is less sensitive to environmental changes than other tropical seagrass species, recent reports highlight its vulnerability to siltation and eutrophication. This dissertation aimed to examine how Enhalus responds and adapts to changes in light availability, taking into account both morphological adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. Field surveys, reciprocal transplantation field experiments, and investigations of sexual reproductive effort were conducted in the Bolinao-Anda Reef system (NW Philippines) to evaluate the impact of long-term environmental changes on Enhalus populations. The findings of this study revealed that Enhalus has the capacity to adapt its traits and survive changes in depth, light gradients, and different habitat types. This is evidenced by larger shoots in low-light environments, which is apparently a response to the reduction in light availability, as evidenced in both in situ and experimental setups. Larger leaf surface area in light-reduced setups also had higher concentration of chlorophylls a and b pigments. Transplants from light-reduced environments, although morphologically large, appeared more vulnerable (with low survival values) to environmental changes associated with translocation. Being morphologically large is therefore likely a stress response to light reduction, allocating more energy on light harvesting than sexual reproduction. Reciprocal transplantation experiments indicated a high survival rate, suggesting the potential of Enhalus for use in rehabilitation. However, despite having wider plasticity to adapt to light-limitation, they can be wiped out when threshold is reached. This thesis underscores the need for further research on Enhalus' response to stressors, genetic variation, and adaptive capacity to address conservation and management challenges

  • "Parenting styles may have various effects on children’s development and educational outcomes, particularly a relationship with behavioral problems and academic achievement. This study examines the relationship of between parenting styles, behavioral problems and academic achievement. A cross-sectional and questionnaire-design (Parenting Style Scale (Saunders et al., 2013); Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman & Goodman, 2009; Goodman, 1999; Goodman, 1997)) study was used with a sample total of 98 parents with the eldest child of the family aged between six to twelve. Results of the findings are mainly inconsistent with the majority of literature. Indulgent and authoritative parenting are the predominant parenting styles, yet parenting styles does not relate to academic achievement. On the other hand, the correlation between behavioral problems, specifically prosocial behaviors and academic achievement are moderate. Furthermore, there is no difference between the type of behavioral problems according to gender. In further studies, a larger sample size, teachers and students as informants, and the inclusion of the analysis of other factors that could be influencing parenting styles, behavioral problems and academic achievement are suggested to be considered. "

  • For many people, an art museum is a place to display artifacts, artworks, and the temporaryhistory of a community or country. It also advocates for an artist’s viewpoints on art. In fact,museum design is closely related to politics. The purpose for building a museum in a city is toexhibit information about the development of the local culture. Moreover, high culturalvalue land is usually built with museums displaying their heritage nearby, so that people canexplore and learn more about the local historical background and artifacts of the place.The abandoned Iec Long Firecracker Factory in Taipa Center, Macau has been on hold formany years and has also been used as a war game venue that resulted in scratches on thewalls of the dilapidated old heritage buildings. Recently, the Macau government has finalizedits plans for the revitalization of this local heritage site. Due to its dispersed layout andsurrounding landscape, there are some design constraints around the preservation of thisimportant heritage site. The design for high cultural value land should not only consider thepreservation and renovation of old buildings but also consider more ways to effectively usethe site as an important public venue for the city.For developing the methodologies of this project, several concepts and case studies wereanalyzed to extract ideas that can be referenced and to unveil strategies for designing apossible solution to this problem. This dissertation intends to create a model for developingand integrating architectural design into this heritage site and will study the spacearrangements for both the indoor space and the outdoor space within the concept of afragmented space integration. Fragmented space, means that a place is designed using adecentralized layout. This conceptualization of a design can preserves the original appearance of the cultural value of land and at the same time, the space can be used moreefficiently to create a circulation for the public to visit and enjoy the location

  • "Adult neurogenesis, i.e., the production of new neurons in the adult brain, has been studied intensively in the past years, both in humans and in animal models, as the understanding of this process can have major clinical implications. The study of neurogenesis in fish has been receiving more attention as, unlike mammals, they possess remarkably high levels of adult neurogenesis and a high capability for neuronal regeneration and replacement where neuronal death has occurred. Less is known, however, on the importance of adult neurogenesis for behavioural plasticity, i.e., for the capacity to change behaviour according to context. As a product of the brain, behaviour relies on functional neuronal networks and it may be expected that more permanent changes in behavioural states imply structural reorganization of neuronal circuits, with the integration of new neurons. Interestingly, the high level of brain plasticity of fish is paralleled by a high degree of behavioural plasticity, with many examples of species that change, either reversibly or irreversibly, their behavioural phenotype during their lifetime, as illustrated by species with functional sex-change and alternative reproductive phenotypes. Flexibility in behaviour may thus require a reorganization of neuronal networks underlying these behaviours with recruitment of new neurons. In this thesis, the link between brain and behavioural plasticity was studied in a small marine fish that inhabits the Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic coasts, the peacock blenny Salaria pavo. In this species, males adopt nests in rock crevices and attract females into the nest for egg laying, with the male taking care of the eggs until hatching. In some populations, a scarcity of nest sites drives smaller and young males to adopt an alternative reproductive tactic to reproduce. These “sneaker” males mimic the females’ morphology and reproductive behaviour in order to illude the larger nesting males and parasitically fertilize eggs during mating events. Sneaker males later transition into the nesting male phenotype, and this major behavioural transformation in the same animal, first courting males and afterwards courting females, may imply significant reorganization of brain areas associated with reproductive behaviour. During the study, a brain atlas for the species was developed and the main cell proliferation regions, i.e. niches of stem cells birth that may differentiate into cells of the nervous system, characterized. Proliferative areas were observed throughout the whole brain and paralleled the pattern described for other teleosts. Proliferative cells were abundant namely in areas like the olfactory bulbs (granular and glomerular), the anterior subdivision of the dorsomedial telencephalon (DMa), the dorsal and ventral part of the ventral subdivision of the dorsomedial telencephalon (DMvd and DMvv), the dorsal part of the dorsal subdivision of the dorsomedial telencephalon (DMdd), the posterior subdivision of the dorsolateral telencephalon (DLp), the posterior zone of the dorsal telencephalic area (DP), the preoptic area (POA), the dorsal, supracommissural and ventral nucleus of the ventral telencephalic area (Vd, Vs and Vv), the optic tectum and its periventricular grey zone (TeO and PGZ), the ventral zone of the periventricular hypothalamus (Hv), the cerebellum, mainly the molecular layer (CCeM) and the caudal lobe (LCa). A study of the brain nuclei activated during female courtship events using immediate early-genes suggested that some of the areas of the social behaviour network (SBN), a set of brain nuclei underlying the expression of social behaviour across vertebrates, are implicated in female courtship, in particular nuclei in the ventral telencephalic regions. This was followed by an experiment to investigate the possible link between cell proliferation and male tactic switch. Nest availability was manipulated to allow a fraction of sneaker males to adopt a nest and start the transition to nesting males. Ten days after the experiment, some of the smaller males had indeed started switching into nesting males, adopting a nest and starting to develop male secondary sexual characters. The pattern of brain proliferation was studied in these fish to try to confirm that the irreversible behavioural transition would be associated with the reorganization of brain nuclei, assuming that cell proliferation relates to neurogenesis and structural reorganization. Transitional males had elevated cell proliferation levels, as compared to males that remained sneakers, in the dorsolateral anterior and posterior telencephalic regions, thought to be homologous to the hippocampus in mammals. Cell proliferation levels were generally elevated in ventral and ventromedial telencephalic nuclei in both sneakers and transitional males, as compared with nesting males and females, areas considered to be homologous to nuclei of the amygdaloid complex of mammals. There was large variation in proliferation levels within transitional males, and in particular one male more advanced in the transition had higher numbers of BrdU-positive cells than the others. This suggests that a longer time-window for detecting the peak in brain cell proliferation associated with tactic transition in some fish may have been needed. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that behavioural transition in males of this species is paralleled by an increase in cell proliferation in nuclei potentially relevant for the expression of reproductive behaviours, and establishes the peacock blenny as a new relevant model for the study of neuronal plasticity in vertebrates."

Last update from database: 3/29/24, 9:53 AM (UTC)