Gaining Longitudinal Accounts of Carers' Experiences Using IPA and Photograph Elicitation.

Fluctuations in positive and negative caregiving experiences remain only partially explained as the significant variability over time of potential predictive factors themselves is understudied. The current study aims to gain considerable insight into caregiving experiences and perceptions over time by using photovoice methodology to support semi-structured interviews. A case study, longitudinal design is taken with three female caregivers who provide detailed insight into their caregivers' experiences over a 12 month period.

Rainfall manipulation experiments as simulated by terrestrial biosphere models: Where do we stand?

Changes in rainfall amounts and patterns have been observed and are expected to continue in the near future with potentially significant ecological and societal consequences. Modelling vegetation responses to changes in rainfall is thus crucial to project water and carbon cycles in the future. In this study, we present the results of a new model-data intercomparison project, where we tested the ability of 10 terrestrial biosphere models to reproduce the observed sensitivity of ecosystem productivity to rainfall changes at 10 sites across the globe, in nine of which, rainfall exclusion and/or irrigation experiments had been performed.

Stomatal optimization based on xylem hydraulics (SOX) improves land surface model simulation of vegetation responses to climate.

Land surface models (LSMs) typically use empirical functions to represent vegetation responses to soil drought. These functions largely neglect recent advances in plant ecophysiology that link xylem hydraulic functioning with stomatal responses to climate. We developed an analytical stomatal optimization model based on xylem hydraulics (SOX) to predict plant responses to drought.

Exploring caregiving experiences: caregiver coping and making sense of illness.

Objectives: The current research explores how family caregivers (1) make sense of caregiving and (2) cope with their circumstance.

Method: We analysed semistructured interviews of 13 caregivers of people with either stroke (n = 5) or dementia (n = 8) and used photographs that caregivers took exemplifying their caregiving experiences to elicit their description of how they made sense of caregiving. This enabled greater insight into caregivers' perspective of caregiving complementing our use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyse verbatim transcripts.