Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Restless Fanatic:Mogens Abraham Sommer, 1829-1901, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

This account of the life and activities of a Danish religious fanatic who played a significant role in emigration has been prepared on the basis of materials available in this country. Further items are available in Denmark, but on the basis of what is known to be available, it is doubtful that this would make any appreciable difference. To my knowledge, this is the only English language story of his life.

Time To Retire: Providing For Retirement On A Danish Farm In 1863, J.R. Christianson

The Bridge

Peder S0rensen and Ane Mette were ready to retire, but the year was 1863, and the famous Danish welfare state was far in the future. So what did they do? It was a problem faced by the families of many Danish immigrants. When he was young, Peder S0rensen had come to the village of Lindeballe and bought a piece of land from the rich widow in Lindeballegaard. That was thirty-seven years ago. He and his first wife, Maren Sofie, built their farm on that piece of land, and they called it L0kkegaard.1 They had no children.

Reviews

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

Progressive Women In Japan And Thailand During The Modernization Period: A Comparative Study, Pipada Yongcharoen

Asian Review

The Meiji Restoration and the reforms of King Rama V during the mid-nineteenth century produced great changes in the societies of both Japan and Thailand. One of the outstanding changes was the attempt to utilize aspects of western culture in order to modernize the respective countries. It is clear that some Japanese and Thai intellectuals were influenced by western thought in analyzing problems in their societies. The problem concerning the status of women in the two societies was one of the issues which interested Japanese and Thai intellectuals. Fukuzawa Yukichi and Thienwan were examples of intellectuals who discourses at great …

Question Answering: Cnlp At The Trec-9 Question Answering Track, Anne R. Diekema, Xiaoyong Liu, Jiangping Chen, Hudong Wang, Nancy Mccracken

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes a question answering system that automatically finds answers to questions in a large collection of documents. The prototype CNLP question answering system was developed for participation in the TREC-9 question answering track. The system uses a two-stage retrieval approach to answer finding based on keyword and named entity matching. Results indicate that the system ranks correct answers high (mostly rank 1), provided that an answer to the question was found. Performance figures and further analyses are included.

How Do Information And Communication Technologies Reshape Work? Evidence Form The Residential Real Estate Industry, Kevin Crowston, Steve Sawyer, Rolf Wigand, Marcel Allbritton

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

We are exploring how ICT use affects the work lives of real estate agents, the process of selling/buying houses and the overall structure of the residential real estate industry. Earlier stages of our work involved intensive field research on how real estate agents use ICT. In this paper, we report on the design and analysis of a pilot survey of 868 agents intended to investigate their ICT use more generally. Analysis of the 153 responses to this survey sheds light on how ICT use supports information control, enables process support, and helps agents to extend and maintain their social capital.

The Effects Of Market-Enabling Internet Agents On Competition And Prices, Kevin Crowston, Ian Macinnes

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

The Internet offers a vision of ubiquitous electronic commerce. A particularly useful feature is the ability to automate the search for price or other information across multiple vendors by using an "agent" to retrieve relevant information. The use of agents has the potential to dramatically reduce buyers ' search costs. We develop a framework that suggests that vendors who sell products with many differentiating factors beyond price will tend to accept agents, while vendors of commodities or branded goods will tend to resist them unless they have lower costs than their competitors. Empirically, we found that agents seem to be …

Processes As Theory In Information Systems Research, Kevin Crowston

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Many researchers have searched for evidence of organizational improvements from the huge sums invested in ICT. Unfortunately, evidence for such a pay back is spotty at best (e.g., Brynjolfsson, 1994; Meyer and Gupta, 1994; Brynjolfsson and Hitt, 1998). On the other hand, at the individual level, computing and communication technologies are increasingly merging into work in ways that make it impossible to separate the two (Gasser, 1986; Zuboff, 1988; Bridges, 1995). This problem—usually referred to as the productivity paradox—is an example of a more pervasive issue—linking phenomena and theories from different levels of analysis. Organizational processes provide a bridge between …

Searching And Search Engines: When Is Current Research Going To Lead To Major Progress?, Elizabeth D. Liddy

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

For many years, users of commercial search engines have been hearing how the latest in information and computer science research is going to improve the quality of the engines they rely on for fulfilling their daily information needs. However, despite what is heard, these promises have not been fulfilled. While the Internet has dramatically increased the amount of information to which users now have access, the key issue appears to be unresolved – the results for substantive queries are not improving. However, the past need not predict the future because sophisticated advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP) have, in fact, …

Cross-Language Information Retrieval Using Dutch Query Translation, Anne R. Diekema, Wen-Yuan Hsiao

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes an elementary bilingual information retrieval experiment. The experiment takes Dutch topics to retrieve relevant English documents using Microsoft SQL Server version 7.0. In order to cross the language barrier between query and document, the researchers use query translation by means of a machine-readable dictionary. The Dutch run was void of the typical natural language processing techniques such as parsing, stemming, or part of speech tagging. A monolingual run was carried out for comparison purposes. Due to limitations in time, retrieval system, translation method, and test collection, there is only a preliminary analysis of the results.

Question Answering: Cnlp At The Trec-10 Question Answering Track, Jiangping Chen, Anne R. Diekema, Mary D. Taffet, Nancy Mccracken, Necati Ercan Ozgencil

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes the retrieval experiments for the main task and list task of the TREC-10 question answering track. The question answering system described automatically finds answers to questions in a large document collection. The system uses a two-stage retrieval approach to answer finding based on matching of named entities, linguistic patterns, and keywords. In answering a question, the system carries out a detailed query analysis that produces a logical query representation, an indication of the question focus, and answer clue words.

The Changing Face Of Wisconsin Dairyfarms: A Summary Of Pats Research On Structural Change In The 1990s, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, B. Barham

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Medium-sized, diversified, family-labor farms1 have long defined the structure of dairy farming in “America’s Dairyland.” The red barns, silos, farm houses, and fields of hay, grain, and pasture associated with these operations have given rise to the state’s distinctive pastoral landscapes. As family businesses these farms have been successful enough to provide their operators with “middle-class” standards of living. Nationally, in the 20th century, Wisconsin’s dairy sector produced more milk and especially more cheese than any other state in the U.S. Among Wisconsin residents, much cultural pride stems from the state’s preeminence in dairying — car license plates bear the …

The Use And Performance Of Intensiverotational Grazing Among Wisconsin Dairy Farms In The 1990s, M. Ostrom, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Growing numbers of Wisconsin dairy farmers have reported success using management intensive rotational grazing (MIRG) techniques that rely on pastures as the primary source of forage for their milking herds. The Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (PATS) has been tracking the use and performance of MIRG systems in Wisconsin since the early 1990s through periodic, large-scale, random sample surveys and on-farm interviews with Wisconsin farmers. Utilizing recent results from the PATS 1997 and 1999 Wisconsin Dairy Farm Polls, this report provides an important update to previous PATS reports. In our surveys, the dairy farmers who report utilizing pastures for forage …

Farming Inwisconsin At The End Of The Century: Results Of The 1999 Wisconsin Farm Poll, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, S. Moon, M. Ostrom, B. Barham

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Farming in Wisconsin has undergone considerable change in the last few decades. U.S. Census statistics suggest that the state lost almost 13 percent of its farms and over 10 percent of its farmland between 1987-1997. The decline in farm numbers was particularly severe for mid-sized commercial livestock farms. During this period, the number of hog farms dropped by almost 60 percent, dairy farms fell by 40 percent, and farms with any harvested cropland declined by more than 20 percent (Buttel, 1999). Meanwhile, when dairy and hog farm number declines are removed from the equation, census results show that there was …

Exposing The ‘Pretty Woman’ Myth: A Qualitative Investigation Of The Lives Of Female Streetwalkers, Rochelle L. Dalla Dr.

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Intensive interviews were conducted with 43 women involved in street-walking prostitution. Data were analyzed according to Phenomenological Descriptive Analysis, results of which are presented in two parts. Detailed accounts of the lives of a subgroup of 5 participants are described first, followed by a broader discussion of results including the entire sample of 43. Themes common across the larger group are presented int three segments, including (a) early development, (b) life in "the game," and (c) leaving the streets. Implications for advocacy and further research are presented.

The Joint Archives Quarterly, Volume 10.01: Winter 2000, Allyson Boggess, Larry J. Wagenaar

The Joint Archives Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Integration And Recruitment Of Women To The Irish Defence Forces, Tom Clonan

Books/Book chapters

Having examined the trend for a greater integration of women in the international military, it is intended in this chapter to examine the integration and recruitment of women in the PDF. This represents the beginning of the main focus of the study. The documentary, statistical and interview data presented in the next four chapters form the bulk of the analysis of the status and roles assigned female personnel in the PDF. The analysis of status and role of women within the organisation is organised in the subsequent chapters as follows: 1. Role of female personnel It is intended to establish …

Leadership In Wolf, Canis Lupus, Packs, L. David Mech

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

I examine leadership in Wolf (Callis lupus) packs based on published observations and data gathered during summers from 1986 to 1998 studying a free-ranging pack of Wolves on Ellesmere Island that were habituated to my presence. The breeding male tended to initiate activities associated with foraging and travel, and the breeding female to initiate, and predominate in, pup care and protection. However, there was considerable overlap and interaction during these activities such that leadership could be considered a joint function. In packs with multiple breeders, quantitative information about leadership is needed.

Do Wolves Affect White-Tailed Buck Harvest In Northeastern Minnesota?, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

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

We used simple linear regression to analyze 8-23 years of data on a wolf (Canis lupus) population and human harvest of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) bucks in northeastern Minnesota to determine any effects of wolves on buck harvesting. Over the long term, wolves accounted for at least 14-22% inter-year variation in buck harvest in the region, but an unknown amount of variation in hunter effort have obscured any more precise estimate. For part of the area with poorest habitat, we found strong relationships (r² = 0.66-0.84) between annual wolf numbers and buck harvests from 1988 …

Partridges, Quails, Francolins, Snowcocks, Guineafowl, And Turkeys Status Survey And Conservation Action Plan, 2000–2004, Richard A. Fuller, John P. Carroll, Philip J. K. Mcgowan, Wpa/Birdlife/Iuch-Ssc Partridge, Quail And Francolin Specialist Group

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Executive Summary

This Action Plan covers the partridges, quails, francolins, snowcocks, guineafowl, and turkeys, a group of nearly 150 ground-dwelling gamebirds found in every continent apart from Antarctica. They live in a wide variety of habitats from tropical forests, high-altitude alpine zones, temperate forests, and open country of various kinds, to desert environments. Although they are very widespread, little is known about the species occurring outside Europe and North America. Several species are considered to be at grave risk of extinction, while others are so poorly known that it is difficult to evaluate their conservation needs. In 1995, the first …

Seminars In The City Update, Paisley Currah

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

Each semester, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies hosts a Seminar in the City, a series of monthly discussion meetings where nonacademic readers read major works in lesbian/gay/ bisexual/transgender and queer studies. This fall, Seminars in the City focused on the theme of transgender politics, reading texts by Kate Bornstein, Leslie Feinberg, and Riki Anne Wilchins.

The Decline Of Bureaucrats And The Rise Of Feudal Democracy In Japan, Chikako Usui, Richard Colignon

UMSL Global

No abstract provided.

The Status Of The Blacknose Shiner (Notropis Heterolepis) Tn Iowa: A Preliminary Survey, Neil P. Bernstein, Michael Getting, Timothy Kamp, Stevenson Christain, Ryan Smith, Joseph Steele, Steven Steele

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

During the last 45 years, the blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) has been restricted to a three county area in northwestern Iowa. We surveyed locations where this siltation-intolerant species had been captured to update the status of the fish in the state. Streams were blocked with nets on both the upstream and downstream ends of sample areas, and fish were collected with a backpack electrofisher and seines. Lakes where the blacknose shiner had been found were also sampled. No blacknose shiners were found and several possible explanations are offered for their absence from historical sites.

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Distribution And Abundance Of Three Freshwater Mussel Species (B1valv1a: U Ntontdae) Correlated With Physical Habitat Characteristics In An Iowa Reservoir, J. R. Straka, J. A. Downing

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A rapid drawdown (weeks) of a reservoir allowed us to determine the combined influence of water depth, maximum effective fetch, bottom slope, and substrate characteristics on abundance of three species of freshwater mussels. The three principal mussel species were significantly (PPyganodon grandis(Say) was most abundant on deeper shelves (ca. 3 m depth, slope 1 km), and sediment organic matter content was moderate (Lampsilis siliquoidea(Barnes), however, was most abundant in shallow water (Potamilus alatus(Say) had a more cosmopolitan depth distribution, but was found only on bottoms with low slope (Pyganodon grandiswas found to be negatively affected by increasing substrate organic matter …

Population Size Estimates For The Endangered Iowa Pleistocene Snail, Discus Macclintocki Baker, Tama K. Anderson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Discus macclintocki Baker, the Iowa Pleistocene snail, is a federally endangered species found only on algific talus slopes in northeastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois. Population size estimates for fourteen D. macclintocki populations in Iowa and Illinois ranged from 182 to 22,125 individuals. Estimates from the program CAPTURE as well as Bayesian estimation procedures gave similar results, although the Bayesian method allowed estimation of populations that could not be estimated with CAPTURE due to small sample sizes. A comparison of two methods of sampling, visual counts of quadrats and cover boards, showed that using cover boards resulted in much higher probabilities …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

The North American Reporting Center For Amphibian Malformations, Douglas H. Johnson, Suzanne C. Fowle, Jeffrey A. Jundt

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations was established to provide a conduit of information about, and a systematic data base on, malformed amphibians. This article describes the Reporting Center and the variety of features available at its Web site, presents an example of a summary analysis that can be conducted with its data, discusses caveats about the data, and makes recommendations about systematic surveys to better understand patterns and trends in the incidence of malformed amphibians.

Demographic And Reproductive Characteristics Of A Southern Illinois Population Of The Crayfish Frog, Rana Areolata, Michael Redmer

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Demographic (snout-vent length, skeletochronologically estimated age) and reproductive (fecundity, ova size) characteristics were examined in Riina areolata from Williamson County, Illinois. Fifty-nine frogs (36 males, 23 females) were sampled from breeding choruses in March 1996. Hematoxylinophilic annular lines of arrested growth (LAG) were detected in the diaphyses of cross-sectioned phalanges of all sampled frogs. t-tests revealed that male age (mean = 3.53 yr) and female age (mean = 3.83 yr) were not significantly different, but male SVL (mean = 82.78 mm) was significantly smaller than that of females (mean = 89.61 mm). There were positive correlations between SVL and age …