People or place? An exploration of social and ecological drivers of urban forest species composition

Urban forests have garnered increasing attention as providers of an array of beneficial ecosystem services. However, urban forest ecosystems are highly complex and heterogeneous systems whose structure are shaped by interacting social and ecological processes. Approaches to reliably identify and differentiate these processes could be valuable for addressing complexity and reducing uncertainty in decision-making in urban forestry. The purpose of this study is to identify and quantify a range of social and ecological drivers of urban forest species composition, distribution, and diversity. This was done using hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis with empirical plot data describing the tree species composition in Toronto, Canada. Tree density and imperviousness were by far the most influential drivers of species composition. Increasing imperviousness saw not just reduced tree density but a decline in native species abundance. Additionally, single-detached housing, homeownership, and income were closely associated and explained higher tree densities and abundances of native species. However, income had a lower than expected influence on urban forest species composition given its importance in canopy cover research. Continuous forest patches were highly distinct compared to the remainder of the urban landscape, which highlights the ecological distinctiveness of residual forests within cities and lends support to their conservation. Increasing the understanding of social and ecological drivers of tree species composition, distribution, and diversity within cities is an integral part of urban forest ecosystem classification, which can be a valuable decision-support tool for ecosystem-based management in urban forestry.     

The concealed middle? An exploration of ordinary young people and school GCSE subject area attainment

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is the standard qualification undertaken by pupils in England and Wales at the end of year 11 (age 15–16). GCSEs continue to play an important and central role in young people's educational and employment pathways. Within the sociology of youth, there has been recent interest in documenting the lives and educational experiences of ‘ordinary’ young people. In this paper, we analyse school GCSE attainment at the subject area level. This is an innovative approach and our motivation is to explore substantively interesting patterns of attainment that might be concealed in analyses of overall attainment or attainment within individual subjects. We analyse data from the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales using a latent variable approach. The modelling process uncovered four distinctive latent educational groups. One latent group is characterised by high levels of overall attainment, whereas another latent group is characterised by poor GCSE performance. There are two latent groups with moderate or ‘middle’ levels of GCSE attainment. These two latent groups have similar levels of agglomerate attainment, but one group performs better in science and the other performs better in arts GCSEs.     

The fall and rise of ‘use of self’? An exploration of the positioning of use of self in social work education

‘Use of self’ was a central concept in social work in the middle of the twentieth century. Since then its emphasis in social work education has declined as more managerial, procedural and task-focused approaches have prevailed. A review of the degree and postgraduate diploma in social work in Scotland, initiated in 2014, incorporated a comparative content analysis of past and present UK National Occupational Standards (NOS) for social work. The analysis revealed many shifts in thinking and practice, including increased emphasis on ‘use of self’ in the 2013 Standards. This paper reports on this finding in the context of the fluctuating positioning of use of self in social work education, and the potential impact of these changes on qualified practice. It concludes that the changing standards reflect increasing interest in social workers’ ability to draw reflectively on ‘self’ in their day to day practice. Some of the drivers and challenges for a renewed focus on relationship-based practice and use of self are identified, as well as the opportunities presented by this review of the degree for evaluating the impact of changing educational policy on day to day social work practice.     

'Russian love,' or, what of lesbian studies in Russia?

This piece discusses the problems attending to the development of Lesbian Studies in Russia.     

Can producers and consumers of color decolonize foodie culture?: An exploration through food media in settler colonies

In this paper, I examine the “Home Cooking” episode of Netflix series Ugly Delicious, and the “Toronto Truths with Foodies of Colour” episode of award-winning Racist Sandwich podcast to uncover their mediation of a foodie and cosmopolitan person of color identity. By paying close attention to biographical details and the foregrounding of certain aspects of foodie and racialized identities, this paper addresses the question of performativity when it comes to food adventuring by using the mediated lens of the two chosen food shows. Are the hosts (and the semiotics of the programs) potentially challenging the archetype of the adventurous meat-eating white male, or reinforcing the same by letting certain people into the fold? This analysis is necessary to understand if producers and consumers of color who are vested in exploring different food cultures through their practices do this any differently from dominant cultures.     

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.     

Are mainstream support services meeting the needs of sexual minority women with breast cancer? An exploration of the perspectives and experiences of users of an online support forum

We conducted an inductive content analysis of messages posted to the lesbian-specific discussion board forum found on breastcancer.org for the purpose of examining sexual minority women's experiences of and perspectives on mainstream cancer support services. Our analysis indicated that currently available support services might not be adequately addressing sexual minority women's unique needs. Individuals posting to the lesbian-specific forum reported the presence of homophobia, heterosexual bias, and feelings of exclusion in mainstream breast cancer support services. In contrast, forum users generally perceived nonspecific cancer support groups to be beneficial, yet the majority preferred lesbian-specific support.     

Who is a volunteer? A cultural and temporal exploration of volunteerism

This study’s purpose was to develop a temporal and cultural definition of volunteering in China. Using a comparative mixed-methods approach, N₁ = 218 Chinese students in Hong Kong were surveyed about their perceptions of volunteering. These quantitative data were compared cross-culturally with a sample of adults in the United States who used the same instrument called Who is a Volunteer? Subsequently, N₂ = 40 of these same students voluntarily participated in a series of focus groups, to further explore more in-depth their opinions about volunteering. The main quantitative results revealed that at the extreme ends of the volunteer scale, both the U.S. and Chinese samples could readily distinguish what volunteering was or was not. The more nuanced empirical differences on the scale (24% of the 21 items) were explained either by unique cultural differences, or the longer and more prominent history that volunteering has had in North America versus China. Main qualitative findings revealed additional between-group cultural differences exemplified by (1) a more family-centric and collectivist Chinese culture versus a more individualistic American culture, (2) a role blurring about volunteer activities versus paid work activities, and (3) that both organizational and cultural context must be seriously considered when defining volunteerism. This study adds to the growing definitional literature on this transformational concept and represents the largest comparative empirical investigation on this subject from East Asia.     

From globalization to Europeanization-and then? Transnational influences in lesbian activism of the Western Balkans

The article looks at transnational dynamics in lesbian activism in the Western Balkans, with particular focus on Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, over the last two decades. Based on 30 interviews with activists from local and international feminist, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), and queer organizations, the article discusses the role played by transnational contacts in the development of lesbian activism in the region and the related issues arising within the conflicting relationship between the "East" and the "West," with special attention to trends related to international intervention and cooperation, globalization, and Europeanization.     

The Legacy of Lynching? An Empirical Replication and Conceptual Extension

Research shows enduring impacts of lynching on a variety of modern outcomes. For instance, Messner, Baller, and Zevenbergen found that lynching is associated with contemporary white-on-black homicide. We propose a model describing how events from the past can have effects on events in the present. Essential to our framework is the notion of social forces of “resistance” that can impede or facilitate the temporal transmission of collective memories. We test “indicators of resistance” that influence the transmission of a collective memory supportive of a “legacy of lynching.” Analyses reveal that the positive and significant association between lynching and white-on-black homicide observed by Messner et al. is attenuated and becomes statistically nonsignificant with the inclusion of these indicators. Our results suggest that the temporal transmission of a racist cultural schema manifested through lynching is more likely where resistance is low. These findings have implications for how researchers can study historical legacies.     

Diary of An Only Daughter

What does a twelve-year-old girl think about her family? Whatdoes she write in her secret diary?     

An Investigation of TV Audience

WITH 850 million viewers watching 300 million TV sets, China has the biggest TV audience in the world. Here, 72 percent of households with TVs. have more than one set. On average, urban citizens spend more than two hours watching TV every day. All the above data comes from the China Central Television Consultation Center of Information Investigation (CCTVCCII).     

Is fairness in the eye of the beholder? An impartial spectator analysis of justice

A popular sentiment is that fairness is inexorably subjective and incapable of being determined by objective standards. This study, on the other hand, seeks to establish evidence on unbiased justice and to propose and demonstrate a general approach for measuring impartial views empirically. Most normative justice theories associate impartiality with limited information and consensus. In both the normative and positive literature, information is usually seen as the raw material for self-serving bias and disagreement. In contrast, this paper proposes a type of impartiality that is associated with a high level of information and that results in consensus. The crucial distinction is the emphasis here on the views of impartial spectators, rather than implicated stakeholders. I describe the quasi-spectator method, i.e., an empirical means to approximate the views of impartial spectators. Results of a questionnaire provide evidence on quasi-spectator views and support this approach as a means to elicit moral preferences. By establishing a relationship between consensus and impartiality, this paper helps lay an empirical foundation for welfare analysis, social choice theory and practical policy applications.

“There is no objective standard of ‘fairness.’ ‘Fairness’ is strictly in the eye of the beholder... To a producer or seller, a ‘fair’ price is a high price. To the buyer or consumer, a ‘fair’ price is a low price. How is the conflict to be adjudicated?” – Milton Friedman, Newsweek, July 4, 1977.

     

An empirical analysis of the time allocation of Italian couples: are they responsive?

The literature suggests that in Italy husbands contribute less to unpaid household work than in any other European country, while women have the lowest market employment rates. Here we examine the time allocation of Italian couples on which there are surprisingly few studies to date. We analyze simultaneously the time allocated by husband and wife to market work, childcare and housework, allowing for various interactions. We use data drawn from the Italian national Time Use Survey 2002–2003 for the analysis. We find that spousal time allocation is sensitive to personal and household characteristics, such as, in particular, education and children’s age. Evidence shows that men married to more highly educated women spend more time with their children. The husband’s own characteristics have less of an effect on women’s time allocation. We also find that patterns differ substantially between weekends and weekdays. The estimated correlations between the unobservable factors affecting the couple’s time allocation suggest that the time devoted by parents to childcare is complementary and that the time they devote to housework is substitutable across weekends and other weekdays.     

What Gets Covered? An Examination of Media Coverage of the Environmental Movement in Canada

This article analyzes press releases from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace (GP) to assess how their tactics and frames affect the amount of coverage they receive in The Globe and Mail and National Post from 2000 to 2010. While it is clear that some tactics are more likely to garner media coverage, the full range of tactics and frames are not effective for all groups. For example, calling to the public to engage in a social issue leads to increased media coverage for GP but not WWF. And, using research does not affect media coverage for WWF, but decreases coverage for GP. This study demonstrates that the effect of tactical choices on media coverage is contingent on the identity of the group using them.     

An Eastern or a Western Capital City? The Spirit of Helsinki

Helsinki's development during the last two centuries has been similar to that of many other medium-size capitals in continental, eastern and northern Europe. Centrally governed Helsinki, raised to a provincial capital in year 1812 in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, was urbanized late. The railway turned Helsinki at the end of nineteenth century into a main port for export and a real capital with connection to all over the country. The new industrial districts, ports, Paris-style boulevards and large stone house areas witnessed bourgeois wealth. The change in policy and governance transferred planning gradually from central to local level. The city's new Urban Planning Committee (1908) got the assignment of making new urban plans in the spirit of European metropolitan plans. This change coincided with the introduction of the one-chamber parliament (1906) and with the golden era of national arts and culture.

After the First World War Finland separated from Russia and Helsinki became capital for the independent republic (1917). The master plan proposal Pro Helsingfors, ordered by private commercial counselor for a Greater Helsinki, was made by architects Eliel Saarinen and Bertel Jung in 1918. It was marked with a continental planning ideas, modernistic monumentalism and traffic optimism. This plan influenced the development of the capital throughout the twentieth century. Among the large problems to be solved was the planning of a new city centre, the Töölönlahti bay area. The symbolic value of this area grew with Parliament House (1930). However, the final planning of this ‘republican core’ is still an open issue, with mixed interest by the state and the city.

After 1945 migration has been steadily growing. With the 1952 Olympics Helsinki joined the exclusive club of Olympic cities. Land area grew five-fold when the suburban zones were annexed in 1946 by decree of the National Government. Local urban planning could see capital, regional, metropolitan, traffic and suburban planning as a whole. The first master plan was approved in 1972. Since that, the city planning has been controlled strictly by the municipality.     

Reality TV,materialism, and associated consequences: An exploration of the influences of enjoyment and social comparison on reality TV’s cultivation effects

This study applied cultivation theory to examine the effects of reality TV on viewer materialism and the associated consequences of materialism. At first glance reality TV appeared to be the programming most strongly associated with materialism. However, the direct effect waned after introducing enjoyment and social comparison as mediators. In particular, the results showed that enjoyment fully mediated the cultivation effect of reality TV on materialism. This study demonstrated that media effects were not only mediated by individual differences in personalities but also determined by the viewing experiences.     

Reward the lucky? An experimental investigation of the impact of agency and luck on bonuses

We examine the impact of agency and luck on bonuses in a two player, two stage controlled laboratory experiment. In the first stage, Player A makes an investment decision on behalf of Player B. In the second stage, Player B makes a dictator allocation for each possible outcome from the investment. We compare dictator giving (bonuses) across outcomes and with a control treatment in which the stage 1 outcomes are determined randomly. We do not find that luck is rewarded with higher bonuses. However, we do find a general tendency to respond to agency with reduced bonuses and, in particular, a significant tendency to reduce bonuses to agents who are unlucky. Additionally, we find that those who are more risk tolerant are less likely to give no bonus under agency but not in the control.