Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Elk Calf Survival And Mortality Following Wolf Restoration To Yellowstone National Park, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, P. J. White

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We conducted a 3-year study (May 2003–Apr 2006) of mortality of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) calves to determine the cause for the recruitment decline (i.e., 33 calves to 13 calves/100 adult F) following the restoration of wolves (Canis lupus). We captured, fit with radiotransmitters, and evaluated blood characteristics and disease antibody seroprevalence in 151 calves ≤6 days old (68M:83F). Concentrations (x, SE) of potential condition indicators were as follows: thyroxine (T4; 13.8 μg/dL, 0.43), serum urea nitrogen (SUN; 17.4 mg/dL, 0.57), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT; 66.4 IU/L, 4.36), gamma globulins (GG; 1.5 g/dL, 0.07), and insulin-like growth …

The Words You Brought Us: A Digital Lexicon Of The Recognized American Indian Treaties--Website Announcement & Link, Charles D. Bernholz, Brian L. Pytlik Zillig, Cokie G. Anderson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Text analysis is a rapidly growing endeavor within the digital world. The development of effective tools will accelerate progress in this area and, simultaneously, unveil aspects of selected materials that may never have been previously studied.

This article introduces TokenX, a text visualization and analysis tool that will expedite such examinations. The use that may be derived from its deployment is demonstrated through the creation and assessment of the two lexicon corpora of American Indian treaties made with the federal government (N = 368), and of those documents formed during the earlier British occupation (N = 7). Token frequency tables …

Academic Rank Of Authors Publishing In Open Access Journals, Elaine Maytag Nowick

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Abstract: When deciding where to publish their research results, faculty take into consideration factors such as the prestige and readership of journals. The weight a journal article will carry is particularly a concern for pre-tenured faculty members. Previous research has indicated that some faculty members may have some concerns about publishing in Open Access journals because of a perceived lack of rigor and reputation of Open Access titles. In this study, the academic rank of authors publishing in Open Access and commercial scholarly journals was compared. Most authors in both Open Access and For-fee journals were full professors. There was …

The Subject Specialist Librarian’S Role In Providing Distance Learning Services, Mary Cassner, Kate E. Adams

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Subject specialist librarians play a role in providing resources and services to distance students. The authors surveyed subject librarians and distance librarians, examining how and to what extent subject librarians provide service to distance learners.

The Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services (Association of College and Research Libraries [ACRL], 2004) state that it is the responsibility of the originating post-secondary institution to meet the teaching, learning, and research needs of distance students and distance faculty. Within the institution, the library has primary responsibility for distance learning library services. While the guidelines include a section that outlines the role and activities …

The Pursuit Of Happiness, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Gretchen Rubin of New York City takes the pursuit of happiness seriously. A few years ago, Rubin decided that what she wanted from life was to be happy. Although she had much to be happy about, she said she realized she wasn't as happy as she could be and that her life wouldn't change unless "I made it change."
Now, she's writing a memoir about a year she spent testing every tip and theory related to achieving happiness, "The Happiness Project" (www. happiness-project.com ). I asked her to share three of her best lessons:
First, take care of your body. …

Geographies Of Indigenous-Based Team Name And Mascot Use In American Secondary Schools, Ezra J. Zeitler

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation identifies the geographic locations and characteristics of high schools using Native American nicknames and, through the examination of Indigenous-based iconography, analyzes the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in these learning environments. Primary and secondary data collected from archives, newspapers, yearbooks, directories, school websites, and fieldwork are utilized in various ways, including cartographic and quantitative analyses of 1,368 school locations and their attributes, numerous case studies highlighting concocted histories and stereotypical depictions of Native Americans, and a content analysis of Indigenous-based imagery photographed in 125 schools with predominately white student bodies.

The first chapter defines the dissertation topic and provides …

A Longitudinal Study Of Early Adolescent Precursors To Running Away, Kimberly A. Tyler, Bianca Bersani

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research has examined correlates of running away among samples of currently homeless and runaway adolescents, little is known about what factors will predict the likelihood that a housed adolescent with no prior history of running away will leave home. As such, the current study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine predictors of running away among a diverse sample of housed adolescents ages 12 through 13. Results indicate that socioeconomic status, being African American or Hispanic, and monitoring were significantly predictive of a decrease in the mean rate of running away in midadolescence. In contrast, being …

Where Do We Go From Here?

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

With just three weeks until president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s inauguration, many Taiwanese and their friends and relatives abroad are experiencing a sense of optimism, perhaps best expressed in the frequent utterances of the phrase mashang jiuhao 馬上就好, which can mean either “Everything will ready right away” or “Things will get better as soon as Ma takes power”. At the same time, however, there is also a growing sense of trepidation about some of the challenges facing the in-coming Ma administration:

1. To begin with, much of Taiwan’s non-Mainlander population has yet to be convinced that the new administration will be sensitive …

In Case You Missed It: The China Fantasy, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Though published last year, James Mann’s The China Fantasy takes on renewed relevance in light of the recent Tibetan riots and various responses to them. In this little book (just about 120 pages), Mann argues that the grab bag of American policymakers, business leaders, and academics he calls the “China elites” have convinced Americans that more trade will lead to more freedom in China. Mann asserts that this vision, which he calls the “Soothing Scenario,” has led the United States to overlook human rights abuses it would not otherwise.

Mann is certainly correct in pointing out that the belief that …

The Economic Optimal Weight For The Replacement Beef Female, Matthew Stockton, Roger K. Wilson

Cornhusker Economics

Determining the optimal weight for breeding replacement heifers has been a goal of researchers for decades. It is an important question because replacing cows in the beef herd is expensive.

Finding the answer is a complex problem because of the inter-related nature of the economic and physiological variables. Patterson et al. (1992) may have expressed the nature of the problem best when he said, “Although puberty in the female and the events that precede its onset may be fixed from a physiological standpoint, the animal and management environment in which it is placed are in constant transition.” This indicates that …

Growing Up Han: Reflections On A Xinjiang Childhood, Timothy B. Weston

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The US media rarely covers the regular people who are living in the areas of China with large ethnic minorities. In chatting with a Han Chinese student (Han Chinese are by far the largest ethnic group in China) at the University of Colorado named Leong, I was struck by his nuanced perspective on his experiences growing up in Xinjiang, a province in western China with large populations of Hui (ethnically Chinese Muslims), Uighers (Turkic Muslims), and other ethnic minorities. Given the recent discussions in the Western media—in light of the situation in Tibet—of Chinese policies toward ethnic minorities, I thought …

Follow The Bouncing Torch

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It can become numbing to try to keep up with all the stories about the torch and keep track of where exactly it has been and is going next. Still, it remains fascinating to see how the response to it have varied from place to place. Plus there are some intriguing locales such as Pyongyang are on the horizon. Fortunately, for those who want a quick visual reminder of what’s happened so far, as well as a guide to where the flame is headed, there’s a handy interactive map in the Financial Times.

With a name like the FT’s, clever …

Five Sites For Lesson Plans And Teaching Materials On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Many of us who write for China Beat are also teachers. There are multiple web resources that we use, recommend, and, in some cases, have even contributed to. If you teach about China, or are interested in learning more about how Chinese history is being taught in the United States, take a look at these innovative websites and programs.

1. Asia for Educators: Based at Columbia University, this website provides a variety of background information for educators on Asia history topics like the Song Dynasty, China and Europe comparisons, Chinese religion, and the Mongols. The website includes images, literature selections, …

National Geographic On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The current issue of National Geographic focuses on China. The photos, in the magazine’s style, are stunning, but the magazine also features pieces by a noted batch of China writers, including two pieces by Peter Hessler (on migration and economic change), Leslie Chang (on the lives of the children of China’s growing middle class), Amy Tan (on village life and traditional singing in Dimen, Guizhou), Ted Fishman (on Beijing’s Olympic construction), and Brook Larmer (on Yellow River pollution). See more at the National Geographic website.

Potential Economic Impact Of Drought On Rafting Activity, Prabhakar Shrestha, Karina Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

As part of a research project with the National Drought Mitigation Center, we have been studying the impact of drought on the Colorado rafting industry. During our research we conducted personal interviews with seven outfitters operating in the Upper Arkansas River and Colorado Department of Natural Resources officials, represented by the Arkansas Headwaters Recreational Area (AHRA). The customer distribution for this river for the last twenty-year period is shown in Figure 1 (on next page). Compared to previous seasons, the 2002 season had a dramatic decrease in the total number of customers. This season was impacted due to several factors, …

A Weekend Chockfull Of Interesting China Events, Jeff Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Seeking enlightenment on China’s increasing enmeshment in the wider world, trends in Chinese media, human right issues, Chinese films, or the complexities of defining the “Han” ethnicity? If you are, and you happen to be in New York City, Los Angeles, Stanford, or Irvine, California, between April 24 and 27 and have some time to kill, you are in luck. There’ll be an event going on that can answer your questions—or at least give you novel food for thought. And some will include presentations by people who’ve either posted to this blog in the past (yours truly, Tom Mullaney, and …

It’S Not Just 8/8/08: A Year Of Chinese Anniversaries, Kenneth Pomeranz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One thousand years ago (1008 C.E.) The Song Emperor, the goddess of Mt. Tai, and transformations of Chinese religion:

I’ve been waiting awhile to post another “round number anniversary” piece, figuring I’d let discussions of Tibet take precedence while it remains in the news – but it looks like that could be a long while. Meanwhile, choosing this anniversary may be a bit self-indulgent, since I’ve been writing about this goddess off and on for years – but bear with me.

The story starts when Song Zhenzong, the not-very-successful emperor (r. 998-1023), claimed that he had received a Heavenly Letter, …

More Tibet Reading

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It has been a few weeks since we last posted an installment of recommended reading on the situation in Tibet and neighboring provinces. Here are a few of the interesting or informative things we’ve run across in that time:

1. Historian James Millward’s piece at openDemocracy on how China could right its worldwide public image is insightful–we urge you to read it.

2. A recent (often heated) discussion on the Asian history listserv, H-asia, centered around China’s historical role in Tibet–reflecting questions that have been important in the popular discussions of Tibet as well. For example, Tibet specialist Elliott Sperling …

Frivolous Friday: Remembering The Tokyo Olympics

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This video of the opening ceremony for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games (mislabelled as the winter Olympics at Youtube) seems like an example of how China would like this summer’s games to be remembered.

April 2008 - Staff Meeting Minutes

ALEC Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Branding Through The Romantic Rural

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The following ad for GE, featuring a short love story set in rural China, has been running in the United States. The ad’s soundtrack is the song “In Summer” by Cao Fang (you can hear the complete song here).

Lust, Camera, Action: How Ang Lee’S Risqué Thriller Charts A Profitable New Course For Transnational Cinema, Matthew Johnson

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Was it real? While anticipation for the release of Lust, Caution built, one perennial question followed director Ang Lee’s most recent feature: were the sex acts performed by its two stars, Tony Leung and Tang Wei, simulated or full? The parties involved played coy. Lee himself spoke sparingly of the closed sets and skeleton film crew used to film these scenes. While he would later lament the ceaseless focus on his film’s erotic content, however, Lee could hardly be disappointed with the outcome. Lust, Caution reveled in its superstar cast, splashy publicity, and arresting imagery. Released in both edited and …

The Return Of Stagflation?, Jeffrey S. Royer

Cornhusker Economics

Within the past few months, there has been a substantial increase in the news media’s use of the term “stagflation” in reference to the future of the U.S. economy. Economists use stagflation to refer to a prolonged period characterized by both stagnation, represented by slow economic growth and high unemployment, and inflation, which is an increase in the general price level.

Stagflation was an important economic problem for many countries during the 1970s. In the United States, stagflation is associated with the 1973 oil embargo, which brought skyrocketing energy prices. Although the embargo was lifted in 1974, its effects persisted …

Report From The Road: Aas Meeting, 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As our regular readers will have noticed, China Beat has been unusually quiet of late. This is mainly because we were out of range of the internet two weeks ago to attend the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (and in recovery from the conference hubbub the following week). The AAS is primarily composed of scholars but is also open to those in other fields who study and think about Asia; it has about 7,000 members, with a few thousand in attendance at this conference.

We took advantage of the largest gathering of China Beat contributors …

Predictions And Timing In An Olympic Year

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Let’s pretend that, twelve months ago, someone had put me in a room with 20 or so other China specialists, handed us each four slips of paper, and asked us to write on each piece a story with a Chinese theme that we predicted would make headlines in 2008, the year when the Beijing Olympics will start on August 8. It’s quite possible that the following would have happened:

1) One or more of us would have written that a headline-grabbing protest would break out. And going into more detail, some of those who made that forecast would have added …

2007 Nebraska Farm Income Averages, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. farm income averages for the 2007 year are just about finished, and to no one’s surprise, it was an excellent year. The average net farm income for 2007, reported by the participants of the program is $193,259 per operation. Since some of these operations are organized with more than one member, the per operator net farm income of $160,726 is also important.

Rejoinder, Alejandro Onofri, Lilyan Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Public Inputs And Dynamic Producer Behavior: Endogenous Growth In U.S. Agriculture, Alejandro Onofri, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Lilyan E. Fulginiti Publications

This paper is an attempt to understand the impact of public R&D and public infrastructure on the performance of the U.S. agricultural sector during the last part of the twentieth century. A neoclassical Solow growth model is not sufficient for this understanding given the sustained growth performance of the sector. We base our analysis on a well known endogenous growth model, the 'AK model' where nonconvexities are introduced through non-rival inputs. Based on these models and within the dynamic models that rationalize private and public decision making, we have identified three testable hypotheses regarding the aggregate agricultural production technology. They …

Rejoinder, Alejandro Onofri, Lilyan Fulginiti

Lilyan E. Fulginiti Publications

No abstract provided.

2008 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates - Part I, Doug Jose, Page Bek

Cornhusker Economics

Every two years a survey of custom operators is conducted to determine the current rates charged for specific machinery operations. The PRELIMINARY results reported here reflect only the statewide results for Part I, which includes the spring and summer operations such as planting and small grains harvest. This is not the full report for all operations.

Custom rates reported include charges for the use of necessary equipment, fuel and supplies such as baling wire or twine provided by the custom operator, and labor. Seed, fertilizer and chemical costs are not included.

This survey is not based on a random sample …