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Ssrn As An Initial Revolution In Academic Knowledge Aggregation And Dissemination, David Bray, Sascha Vitzthum, Benn Konsynski Jan 2010

Ssrn As An Initial Revolution In Academic Knowledge Aggregation And Dissemination, David Bray, Sascha Vitzthum, Benn Konsynski

Sascha Vitzthum

Within this paper we consider our results of using the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) over a period of 18 months to distribute our working papers to the research community. Our experiences have been quite positive, with SSRN serving as a platform both to inform our colleagues about our research as well as inform us about related research (through email and telephoned conversations of colleagues who discovered our paper on SSRN). We then discuss potential future directions for SSRN to consider, and how SSRN might well represent an initial revolution in 21st century academic knowledge aggregation and dissemination. Our paper …


Review: Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture Through Japanese Dance By Tomie Hahn, Wendy Hsu Oct 2008

Review: Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture Through Japanese Dance By Tomie Hahn, Wendy Hsu

Wendy Hsu

No abstract provided.


Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, L. Brown Sep 2008

Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, L. Brown

John E. McCormack

No abstract provided.


Niche Expansion Leads To Small-Scale Adaptive Divergence Along An Elevation Gradient In A Medium-Sized Passerine Bird, John Mccormack, Thomas Smith Aug 2008

Niche Expansion Leads To Small-Scale Adaptive Divergence Along An Elevation Gradient In A Medium-Sized Passerine Bird, John Mccormack, Thomas Smith

John E. McCormack

Niche expansion can lead to adaptive differentiation and speciation, but there are few examples from contemporary niche expansions about how this process is initiated. We assess the consequences of a niche expansion by Mexican jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina) along an elevation gradient. We predicted that jays at high elevation would have straighter bills adapted to feeding on pine cones, whereas jays at low elevation would have hooked bills adapted to feeding on acorns. We measured morphological and genetic variation of 95 adult jays and found significant differences in hook length between elevations in accordance with predictions, a pattern corroborated by analysis …


Review: Queering The Popular Pitch Edited By Sheila Whiteley And Jennifer Rycenga, Wendy Hsu Aug 2008

Review: Queering The Popular Pitch Edited By Sheila Whiteley And Jennifer Rycenga, Wendy Hsu

Wendy Hsu

No abstract provided.


Integrating Paleoecology And Genetics Of Bird Populations In Two Sky Island Archipelagos, John Mccormack, Bonnie Bowen, Thomas Smith May 2008

Integrating Paleoecology And Genetics Of Bird Populations In Two Sky Island Archipelagos, John Mccormack, Bonnie Bowen, Thomas Smith

John E. McCormack

Background: Genetic tests of paleoecological hypotheses have been rare, partly because recent genetic divergence is difficult to detect and time. According to fossil plant data, continuous woodland in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico became fragmented during the last 10,000 years, as warming caused cool-adapted species to retreat to high elevations. Most genetic studies of resulting 'sky islands' have either failed to detect recent divergence or have found discordant evidence for ancient divergence. We test this paleoecological hypothesis for the region with intraspecific mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite data from sky-island populations of a sedentary bird, the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina). …


Speciation In The Highlands Of Mexico: Genetic And Phenotypic Divergence In The Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, A. Peterson, E. Bonaccorso, Thomas Smith Apr 2008

Speciation In The Highlands Of Mexico: Genetic And Phenotypic Divergence In The Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, A. Peterson, E. Bonaccorso, Thomas Smith

John E. McCormack

The pine-oak woodlands of the Mexican highlands harbour significant biological diversity, yet little is known about the evolutionary history of organisms inhabiting this region. We assessed genetic and phenotypic differentiation in 482 individuals representing 27 populations of the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina) — a widespread bird species of the Mexican highlands — to test whether populations in the central and northern Mexican sierras display discrete breaks between groups, which would be consistent with a role for the different mountain chains in divergence and speciation. We found abrupt breaks in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; ND2 and control region) delineating four major genetic …


The Mean Reply Depth Algorithm: A Correlational Study Of Quantitative Versus Qualitative Measures Of Threaded Discourse, Sandie Waters Dec 2007

The Mean Reply Depth Algorithm: A Correlational Study Of Quantitative Versus Qualitative Measures Of Threaded Discourse, Sandie Waters

Sandie H Waters

In the world of online learning, instructors look for the keys that open the door to student learning, engagement, satisfaction, retention, and ability to transfer newly acquired knowledge to real-world situations. One of the most common communication tools in online courses is the threaded discussion. With a growing number of students participating in online education comes the potential for an increase in faculty load. The reviewed courses provided over 1500 threads for two sections of a graduate course at a Mountain Region University. The number of threads that are produced by a student accounts for countless hours of reading, processing, …