Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Differences In Giant Kidney Worm, Dictophyma Renale, Prevalence In Minnesota Mink, Mustela Vison, L. David Mech

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

Examination of 110 Mink (Mustela vison) carcasses from 1998 through 2007 indicated that the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale, occurred in Pine and Kanabec Counties of eastern Minnesota with annual prevalences of 0-92%. Worm prevalence increased from 20% in 1999 to 92% in 2001 and decreased to 6% in 2005. During 2000 to 2007, no worms were found in Mink from Anoka and Chisago Counties (n = 54), and in 2000, none in 107 Mink from LeSeur, Freeborn, Redwood, Brown and Watonwan Counties. Changes in kidney worm prevalence were positively related to trapping success, considered an index …

Wolf Body Mass Cline Across Minnesota Related To Taxonomy?, L. David Mech, William J. Paul

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

Recent genetic studies suggest that in northern Minnesota two species of wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758 or western wolf and Canis lycaon Schreber, 1775 (= Canis rufus Audubon and Bachman, 1851) or eastern wolf) meet and hybridize. However, little morphological information is available about these two types of wolves in Minnesota. We analyzed the mass of 950 female wolves and 1006 males older than 1 year from across northern Minnesota and found that it increased from 26.30 ± 0.56 kg (mean ± SE) for females and 30.60 ± 0.72 kg for males in northeastern Minnesota to 30.01 ± 0.43 …

Diets Of Lesser Scaup During Spring Migration Throughout The Upper-Midwest Are Consistent With The Spring Condition Hypothesis, Michael J. Anteau, Alan Afton

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

The spring condition hypothesis (SCH) states that the current decline of the North American scaup population (Lesser [Aythya affinis] and Greater Scaup [A. marila] combined) is due to a decline in quality or availability of scaup foods on wintering, spring migration, or breeding areas that has caused a reduction in female body condition and subsequent reproductive success. Our previous research indicated that forage quality in diets of Lesser Scaup (hereafter scaup) at two sites in Northwestern Minnesota was lower in springs 2000-2001 than that reported for springs 1986-1988, consistent with the SCH. Accordingly, we further tested …

Using Plasma-Lipid Metabolites To Index Changes In Lipid Reserves Of Free-Living Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis), Michael Anteau, Alan Afton

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

Understanding daily lipid-reserve changes in migrating wild birds is important for habitat assessment and species conservation. Plasma-lipid metabolites have been used to estimate rates of lipid accumulation or catabolism in small-bodied wild birds(<75 g), but this has not been validated for larger-bodied wild birds such as waterfowl. We developed an index for detecting whether individual birds accumulate or catabolize lipid reserves by regressing plasma-lipid metabolite levels(triglyceride and β-hydroxybutyrate) and known one-day mass changes(daily mass change) of 22 free-living Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis; a larger-bodied species with typical mass range 600–1,000 g). Triglyceride and β-hydroxybutyrate predicted 75% of the variation in daily mass change (F = 28.85, df = 2 and 19, P < 0.001). Triglyceride was positively correlated (P = 0.029) with mass change, and β-hydroxybutyrate was negatively cor¬related (P < 0.001) with mass change (daily mass change = –54.49+ 11.82 [triglyceride] – 28.65 [β-hydroxybutyrate log]). Our results in¬dicate that triglyceride and β-hydroxybutyrate can estimate one-day changes in mass of free-living wild Lesser Scaup, which provides an index to daily changes in lipid reserves and should be useful for assessing quality of migration habitat.

A Two-Part Measure Of Degree Of Invasion For Cross-Community Comparisons, Qinfeng Guo, Amy Symstad

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

Invasibility is a critical feature of ecological communities, especially for management decisions. To date, invasibility has been measured in numerous ways. Although most researchers have used the richness (or number) of exotic species as a direct or indirect measure of community invasibility, others have used alternative measures such as the survival, density, or biomass of either a single or all exotic species. These different measures, even when obtained from the same communities, have produced inconsistent results and have made comparisons among communities difficult. Here, we propose a measure of the degree of invasion (DI) of a community as a surrogate …

Comparing Local Vs. Global Visible And Near-Infrared (Visnir) Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (Drs) Calibrations For The Prediction Of Soil Clay, Organic C And Inorganic C, Joel B. Sankey, David J. Brown, Melisa L. Bernard, Rick L. Lawrence

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

Local, field-scale, VisNIR-DRS soil calibrations generally yield the most accurate predictions but require a substantial number of local calibration samples at every application site. Global to regional calibrations are more economically efficient, but don't provide sufficient accuracy for many applications. In this study, we quantified the value of augmenting a large global spectral library with relatively few local calibration samples for VisNIR-DRS predictions of soil clay content (clay), organic carbon content (SOC), and inorganic carbon content (IC). VisNIR models were constructed with boosted regression trees employing global, local+global, and local spectral data, using local samples from two low-relief, sedimentary bedrock …

Impact Of West Nile Virus And Other Mortality Factors On American White Pelicans At Breeding Colonies In The Northern Plains Of North America, Marsha A. Sovada, Pamela J. Pietz, Kathryn A. Converse, D. Tommy King, Erik K. Hofmeister, Paulette Scherr, Hon S. Ip

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

American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are colonial-nesting birds and their breeding sites are concentrated in a few small areas, making this species especially vulnerable to factors that can influence productivity, such as disease, disturbance, predation, weather events and loss of nesting habitat. Nearly half of the American white pelican population breeds at four colonies in the northern plains: Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in North Dakota, Bitter Lake (Waubay NWR) in South Dakota, Medicine Lake NWR in Montana, and Marsh Lake in Minnesota. Thus, sustained productivity at these colonies is crucial to the health of the entire …

Panel Data Techniques And The Elasticity Of Taxable Income, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the elasticity of taxable income with a focus on income controls designed to control for divergence in the income distribution and mean reversion. Additional emphasis is placed on the difference between short-run and longer-run responses to tax rate changes. Several panel techniques are applied to tax return data for years 1991 to 1997, followed by a cross-section analysis covering the same period. For each panel regression, an innovative inverted panel regression framework is employed to test the efficacy of the controls for mean reversion apart from controls for divergence in the income distribution. Finally, cross-section (and repeated …

A Sensitivity Analysis Of The Elasticity Of Taxable Income, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper applies the methods of Gruber and Saez (2002) to a panel of tax returns spanning years 1979 through 2001 in order to examine the sensitivity of the elasticities of taxable and broad income to an array of factors. The paper finds that Gruber and Saez’s approach yields an estimated elasticity of taxable income (ETI) for the 1990s that is about half the size of my corresponding estimate for the 1980s. The paper finds that weighting regression results by income not only has a substantial impact on the estimates, but also results in overall estimates that are influenced by …

Taxable Income Responses To 1990s Tax Acts: Further Explorations, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper presents applications of variants of a differencing methodology to Internal Revenue Service tax records in order to estimate taxable income elasticities for the 1990s. Estimates are systematically examined by applying a number of sensitivity tests. Estimates are produced after altering the: (1) time interval over which observational-level behavior is measured; (2) income restrictions on the sample; (3) choice of control variables; and (4) weighting scheme used in the regressions. In general, estimates are quite sensitive to a number of different factors. In contrast to some of the literature, estimates are larger when behavior is measured over 3-year intervals …

Tax Reform And Charitable Giving, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Of the $240.7 billion donated to U.S. charities in 2003, 75 percent was from individuals. Of that total, $145.7 billion was taken as itemized deductions on federal income tax returns. In addition, non-itemizers and non-filers contributed $33.0 billion – contributions that received no special tax treatment. Under current law, only taxpayers who itemize may deduct from Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) their charitable donations in determining taxable income. In recent years, a number of different proposals have been put forth that would alter the tax treatment of giving by individuals. Some plans would extend a variant of the charitable deduction to …

Corporate Social Responsibility For Solving The Housing Problem For The Poor In South Africa, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Basheera Mia

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Value And Risk Management Principles In Developing Low-Income Housing Projects, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman

Architectural Engineering

The construction industry is concerned with satisfying its customers’ needs through delivering projects that achieve their objectives and meet their expectations on time, within budget and as specified. Despite the several housing programmes constructed by government authorities, there is a real housing problem for the poor. This problem is attributed to a number of reasons. Amongst them, the inability of the low-incomers to cover the cost of supplied houses and the lack of the constructed projects to achieve users’ satisfaction. This highlighted the need to develop innovative and creative solutions that can deliver housing projects that achieve the satisfaction of …

Assessing Client Progress Session By Session In The Treatment Of Social Anxiety Disorder: The Social Anxiety Session Change Index, Sarah A. Hayes, Nathan A. Miller, Debra A. Hope, Richard G. Heimberg, Harlan R. Juster

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Frequent assessment during therapy can improve treatments and provide accountability. However, clinicians often do not monitor progress because of the time it takes to administer and score assessments. In response, the Social Anxiety Session Change Index (SASCI) was developed. The SASCI is a short, easily administered rating of subjective improvement that asks clients with social anxiety disorder how much they have changed since the beginning of therapy. Change on the SASCI was related to change in fear of negative evaluation, a core aspect of social anxiety, and to clinician-rated improvement, but not to ratings of anxiety sensitivity or depression. Because …

Dimensionality Of Thoughts Of Death And Suicide: Evidence From A Study Of Homeless Adolescents, Kevin A. Yoder, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study used data from a sample of 444 homeless adolescents to determine whether thoughts of death and suicide form one construct (unidimensionality) or two distinct but correlated constructs (multi-dimensionality). Thoughts of death and suicide were common in the sample; over two-thirds of the adolescents positively endorsed at least one of the eight death-or suicide-related items. Evidence regarding dimensionality was mixed. Exploratory factor analysis results and similarity coefficients supported one construct; confirmatory factor analysis and external consistency results provided evidence for two constructs. The results were reconciled by considering suicidality as a continuum from thoughts of death to suicidal ideation, …

Violence Against Separated, Divorced, And Married Women In Canada, 2004, Douglas A. Brownridge, Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Janice Ristock, Ko Ling Chan, Kimberly A. Tyler, Suzy C. Santos

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine violence against separated, divorced, and married women using Statistics Canada's 2004 General Social Survey. Based on a subsample of 6,716 heterosexual women (429 separated; 614 divorced; 5,673 married), available risk markers were examined in the context of a nested ecological framework. Consistent with past research, the results indicated that there may be differences in the dynamics of violence across the 3 groups. Separated women reported 7 times the prevalence of violence and divorced women reported twice the prevalence of violence than married women in the year prior to the study. Young age …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Effects Of Child Maltreatment On Later Outcomes Among High-Risk Adolescents, Kimberly A. Tyler, Katherine A. Johnson, Douglas A. Brownridge

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The current study longitudinally examines the effects of child maltreatment, parenting, and disadvantaged neighborhood on victimization, delinquency, and well-being via running away and school engagement among a sample of 360 high-risk adolescents. Results of a path analysis revealed that parenting was associated with school engagement, running away, and well-being. Childhood neglect was related to victimization while sexual abuse and living in a more disadvantaged neighborhood were associated with poorer wellbeing. Greater school engagement was associated with higher levels of well-being and a lower likelihood of delinquency. Finally, running away was positively associated with participating in delinquent activities. In terms of …

Cultural Considerations In Adolescent Suicide Prevention And Psychosocial Treatment, David B. Goldston, Sherry Davis Molock, Les B. Whitbeck, Jessica L. Murakami, Luis H. Zayas, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Ethnic groups differ in rates of suicidal behaviors among youths, the context within which suicidal behavior occurs (e.g., different precipitants, vulnerability and protective factors, and reactions to suicidal behaviors), and patterns of help-seeking. In this article, the authors discuss the cultural context of suicidal behavior among African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latino adolescents, and the implications of these contexts for suicide prevention and treatment. Several cross-cutting issues are discussed, including acculturative stress and protective factors within cultures; the roles of religion and spirituality and the family in culturally sensitive interventions; different manifestations …

Poor Teenagers’ Religion, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Empirical research has ignored the effects of poverty on adolescent religion even though children are far more likely than adults to live in poverty in the United States. The current research demonstrates considerable differences in the religious activities and religious viewpoints of poor and non-poor American teenagers. Analysis of National Study of Youth and Religion survey data shows that while poor teenagers are especially likely to pray, read religious scriptures, and report high levels of personal faith, they are unlikely to regularly participate in organized religious activities. Other findings include poor teenagers’ emphasis on role reversal in the afterlife, their …

Parasite Pathoecology Of Salmon Pueblo And Other Chacoan Great Houses: The Healthiest And Wormiest Ancestral Puebloans, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Two fields of paleopathological investigation originated in the Southwest. Archaeoparasitology is the study of ancient parasite infection (Reinhard 1990, 1992b). It includes comparisons between time periods of single societies as well as comparisons of parasitism between different, contemporaneous cultures. For example, Fry (1980) compared Fremont and Anasazi parasitism, and also Archaic hunter-gatherer and ancestral Pueblo parasitism. All of these studies fall into the definition of archaeoparasitology.

By contrast, pathoecology is the reconstruction of relationships among behavior, environment, and disease organisms in the development of illness (Martinson et al. 2003; ReinhardandBuikstra2003; Reinhardet al. 2003; Santoro et al. 2003).1his field developed from …

Cranial Deformation As The Cause Of Death For A Child From The Chillon River Valley, Peru, Shelia M.F. Medoncade Souza, Karl J. Reinhard, Andrea Lessa

Karl Reinhard Publications

Two small mummy bundles, found in a tomb at the Chillon River Valley, Lima Plains, Peru exist in the collections of the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were donated to the collections at the beginning of the 20th century. A multidisciplinary team is now curating and studying them. CT scans confirmed both skeletons were of individuals less than one year old at death. One of the bundles is intact and will be preserved and displayed. The other one was partly decomposed and the authors received permission to unwrap it to analyze the bones in details. Mites and pollen …

A Child And His Fate: Tuberculosis, Perimortem Trauma And Mummification, Sheila M. M.De Souza, Karl J. Reinhard, Bernardo Tessarollo, Jose Fernando Cardona Zannier, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

A male child, sitting, 7 years, circumferential deformation, skin marked by coiled fibers, nostril plugs, consistent with Aymara practices was CT scanned. Puppae in the skin suggest exposition of the body previous to the funeral. Dark brown color at the skin suggest blood perfusion. A broken area at the right frontal with the skin partially inside is suggestive of perimorten trauma. There were no bone debris inside the skull and the CT images show two confluent fractures defined by radiating lines extending beyond the missing bone surface. The right eyeball is projected out, the tongue is outside the mouth, the …

Pathoecology And The Future Of Coprolite Studies In Bioarchaeology, Karl J. Reinhard, Vaughn M. Bryant Jr.

Karl Reinhard Publications

Human coprolites currently provide an expanding array of information about the diet, health, and ecology of prehistoric people in the Southwest, but for many years coprolites were not recognized or preserved, or they were not considered important and thus were not saved (Bryant and Dean 2006). With the expansion of archaeological field work during the last half of the twentieth century archaeologists have increasingly explored the "complete" potentials of sites, including the collection and analysis of geomorphologic, botanical, and faunal data. In some ideal habitats (e.g., very dry or frozen) this includes exploring the scientific potential of human coprolite studies. …

Pathoecology Of Two Ancestral Pueblo Villages, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pathoecology is the study of the biotic, abiotic, and cultural environments of disease (Martinson et al. 2003). A parasitic infection is the result of the pathoecological interaction of host behavior, parasite life cycle, the environment in which both life forms live, the nutritional status of the host, and host physiological responses to all of these factors. Parasites contribute to anemia in many ways. Some, such as hookworm, actually consume blood and cause iron loss through their activities. For other parasites, symptoms such as profuse diarrhea reduce intestinal absorption of nutrients. Others, such as certain fish tapeworms, actually compete for absorption …

Paleoparasitology: Perspectives With New Techniques, Adauto Araújo, Karl Reinhard, Otilio M. Bastos, Ligia C. Costa, Claude Pirmez, Alena Iñighez, Ana Carolina Vicente, Carlos M. Morel, Luiz Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Paleoparasitology is the study of parasites found in archaeological material. The development of this field of research began with histological identification of helminth eggs in mummy tissues, analysis of coprolites, and recently through molecular biology. An approach to the history of paleoparasitology is reviewed in this paper, with special reference to the studies of ancient DNA identified in archaeological material.

Paleoparasitologia: perspectivas com novas técnicas
Paleoparasitologia é o estudo de parasitos encontrados em material arqueológico. O desenvolvimento deste campo da pesquisa teve início com a identificação de ovos de helmintos em tecidos mumificados, análise de coprólitos e, recentemente, através da …

Beyond Liberals And Conservatives To Political Genotypes And Phenotypes, John R. Alford, Carolyn L. Funk, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

In the past, most political scientists have been oblivious to the growing empirical evidence challenging environmental determinism. Professor Charney, apparently as a result of the fact that genes and the environment interact in a complex fashion, advocates that this passive unawareness be replaced by active denial. Science, however, does not advance by avoiding important relationships merely because they are complicated and, fortunately, science is not heeding Charney’s ideologically-based fears. Molecular geneticists, often working in tandem with political scientists, are quickly moving beyond twin studies to identify the specific suites of genes and biological systems that predict variation in core political …

Twin Studies, Molecular Genetics, Politics, And Tolerance: A Response To Beckwith And Morris, John R. Alford, Carolyn L. Funk, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Beckwith and Morris raise concerns about the value of twin studies for understanding the role of genetics in complex human behavior, but virtually all of their concerns have been raised and rebutted before. When it comes to the equal environments assumption (EEA), the best approach is to test for and control possible violations of the EEA on heritability estimates rather than merely rejecting all empirical evidence because of the possibility of EEA violations. In many respects, since the study of the genetic basis of complex human behaviors now includes many methods in addition to twin studies, Beckwith and Morris’s critique …

A Case Of Moral Heroism: Sympathy, Personal Identification, And Mortality In Rwanda, Ari Kohen

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

What sort of person chooses to remain in a place like Rwanda when an easy exit is offered, when leaving seems the only safe or sane option, and when one is not directly connected to the would-be victims? And how does this person come to develop a circle of care that is expansive enough to include those who are radically Other? In what follows, I consider these questions through a detailed examination of the recent example of Paul Rusesabagina, the Hutu hotel manager in Kigali, Rwanda, who sheltered more than a thousand Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees during the hundred-day …

The New Empirical Biopolitics, John R. Alford, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Political science traditionally has either ignored biology in favor of purely environmental explanations for political phenomena or merely ruminated about the likely role of biology, leaving data-based research on biopolitics in dangerously short supply. Currently, attention to the apparent genetic basis for political and social orientations holds the greatest promise of advancing empirical biopolitics. Thus, in this essay, we orient behavior genetics research in the larger framework of biology and politics, confront its normative implications, describe the techniques involved, assess the strengths and weaknesses of commonly employed data and procedures, and describe the next steps in this research stream. Because …

Affective Flexibility: Evaluative Processing Goals Shape Amygdala Activity, William A. Cunningham, Jay J. Van Bavel, Ingrid Johnsen Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Although early research implicated the amygdala in automatic processing of negative information, more recent research suggests that it plays a more general role in processing the motivational relevance of various stimuli, suggesting that the relation between valence and amygdala activation may depend on contextual goals. This study provides experimental evidence that the relation between valence and amygdala activity is dynamically modulated by evaluative goals. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants evaluated the positive, negative, or overall (positive plus negative) aspects of famous people. When participants were providing overall evaluations, both positive and negative names were associated with amygdala activation. When …