The regulation of activity in populations of the terrestrial slugLimax maximus (Gastropoda; Limacidae)

Summary The activity of the slugLimax maximus was studied in relation to weather. Three hundred-and-fifty-eight hourly observations of activity and weather were made on 21 nights from May until October, 1976. Factors causally important to molluscan activity were included in a step-down correlation-regression analysis of daily and seasonal behavior. The analysis was also performed using weather data from the previous hourly observation. Models using lag-weather did not explain as much variability as did concurrent weather. The regression models explained about 73% to 87% of the observed variation in activity. The most important factors included in the regression models were time of day (circadian rhythm), light intensity, changes in light intensity and surface temperature. Shelter temperature, temperature gradients, length of the night, and time of sunset were also included in some models. Age and hydration were shown to be key factors in other experiments. A model incorporating weather thresholds estimated from field data explained 83.06% of the variability in the activity ofL. maximus over the season. The values predicted from the model did not differ significantly from those actually observed in the field (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, p>0.50).     

Consumer Confidence In Ghana And Its Implications For Survey-Based Economic Indicators In Africa

Social Indicators Research -     

The spread of HIV into the general population of the USA: A simulation

The spread of HIV from injection drug users and male homosexuals into the general US population is simulated, using survey data on sexual behavior. We estimate that approximately 150,000 persons are currently infected with HIV through heterosexual transmission, the majority of whom are female partners of drug-using or bisexual men. The estimated number of AIDS cases generated by the model is close to the CDC statistics for males, but much higher for females. We conclude that prevention efforts should be targeted towards these high risk groups rather than the general population.Abbreviations IDU injection drug users - NORC National Opinion Research Center; Chicago - STD sexually-transmitted disease     

Educating gay male youth: since when is pornography a path towards self-respect?

In 2000, in the case of Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium, the Canadian Supreme Court was asked to determine whether gay male pornography violated the sex equality protections guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Throughout this case, gay male activists and academics emphasised the risk posed by antipornography legal strategies to the dissemination of materials intended to promote safer sexual behaviour. Other arguments were advanced that gay male pornography should not be restricted because it serves as a learning tool for young men and, in so doing, does much to reduce the alarming incidence of gay youth suicide. The author examines these assumptions within the context of the gay male pornography defended in Little Sisters. His conclusion is that the present gay male obsession with hyper-masculinity, best evidenced in the pornography now widely touted by some gay men as a source of gay male identity and freedom, undermines safer sexual practices and the self-respect needed to combat youth suicide. The author concludes that gay men must commit to a sexuality built on mutuality, respect and caring (i.e., an identity politic built around sex equality).     

The urban services paradox: Shrinking supply in times of rising demand

In the years of plenty, funds were available to experiment widely with different ways to offer services for urban dependents. Services sprang up everywhere, but the net effect in many cities was a piecemeal and largely ineffective delivery system. In the coming lean years, we can expect a more parsimonious distribution of services, but at the same time the need for services may increase in response to worsening conditions in urban areas. This paper considers the implications of this situation, with a particular emphasis on the provision of services for alcohol abusers.An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the 1982 Association of American Geographers annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas (April 27th, 1982). The paper, which was part of a special session co-sponsored by the Urban Geography and the Political Geography Specialty Groups, was entitled The Delivery of Urban Public Services: Implications of Current Federal Policy.     

A Goal-Setting and Feedback Intervention to Increase ID-Checking Behavior: An Assessment of Social Validity and Behavioral Impact

A participative goal-setting and feedback intervention increased cashiers' identification-checking behavior at a large grocery store. The cashiers' identification-checking percentages increased from 0.2% at baseline to 9.7% during the intervention phase and then declined to 2.3% during withdrawal. At the control store, the percentages of identification-checked purchases were 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.7%, respectively, during the A-B-A phases at the intervention store. A comprehensive social-validity assessment showed ID-checking to be accepted by both cashiers and customers.     

Supply Chain Knowledge and Performance: A Meta‐Analysis

Many firms make significant investments into developing and managing knowledge within their supply chains. Such investments are often prudent because studies indicate that supply chain knowledge (SCK) has a positive influence on performance. Key questions still surround the SCK–performance relationship, however. First, what is the overall relationship between SCK and performance? Second, under what conditions is the relationship stronger or weaker? To address these questions, we applied meta‐analysis to 35 studies of the SCK–performance relationship that collectively include more than 8,400 firms. Our conservative estimate is that the effect size of the overall relationship is  = .39. We also find that the SCK–performance relationship is stronger when (i) examining operational performance, (ii) gathering data from more than one supply chain node, (iii) gathering data from multiple countries, (iv) examining service industries, and (v) among more recently published studies. We also found that studies that embraced a single theory base (as opposed to using multiple ones) had a stronger SCK–performance relationship. Looking to the future, our meta‐analysis highlights the need for studies to (i) include lags between the measurement of SCK and performance, (ii) gather upstream data when examining innovation, (iii) examine SCK within emerging countries, and (iv) provide much more information relative to the nuances of the SCK examined.     

Derrick Bell,CRT, and educational leadership 1995–present

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a centered conceptual framework to understand American education and reform (Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995; Solorzano and Yosso; 2001; Decuir and Dixon 2004). Indeed, educational leadership scholars have not been far behind in recognizing the explicative and powerful role of CRT studies in their work (Lopez 2003; Parker and Villalpando 2007). As we acknowledge the role of CRT, we cannot do so without reflecting on the life and works of the quintessential Critical Legal Studies (CLS) scholar Derrick Bell (1930–2011). In this article, we use Bell’s collective works to analyze current trends and research in educational leadership. We bring his works into conversation not only with conceptions of instructional and distributed leadership, but with the palpability that CRT has on the current state of educational reform. More specifically, we use Bell’s theories of interest convergence and conversations around ‘racial remedies’ to understand two recent trends in educational leadership: discourses of social justice leadership and the move toward data-driven leadership behaviors. We ask questions like: what has been the impact of research discourses social justice on the education of African American and Latino urban youth? And, how has the current social structures benefited from such discourses? We conclude with recommendations for educational leadership researchers and professors, and encourage them to consider race as an integral part of their works.     

Punctuated Entropy as Culture-Induced Change:The Case of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

This article grew out of the obser-vation that as disaster events increase in frequency and severity , recovery from certain kinds , or com-binations of , disasters becomes increasingly diffi-cult, i...