Distributional properties of simpson's index of diversity

Closed expressions for the first four moments of Simpson's index of diversity are derived using techniaues suggested by Haldane (1937). As the samole size increases the behavior of the skewness and kurtosis is studied for several Dopulations with varying degrees of diversity, If the populationproportions decrease accordinq to a geometric progression, graphs of β₁and β₂ indicate that convergence to normality in general is more rapid for populations which are less diverse.     

Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Stress: A Study of Foster Parents

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - The overarching purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how foster parents’ parenting-related stress levels have changed over the course...     

THE POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATED POPULATION MODELLING†

Recent work has shown how the Kalman filter can be used to provide a simple framework for the integrated analysis of wild animal census and mark‐recapture‐recovery data. The approach has been applied to data on a range of bird species, on Soay sheep and on grey seals. This paper reviews the basic ideas, and then indicates the potential of the method through a series of new applications to data on the northern lapwing, a species of conservation interest that has been in decline in Britain for the past 20 years. The paper analyses a national index, as well as data from individual sites; it looks for a change‐point in productivity, corresponding to the start of the decline in numbers, considers how to select appropriate covariates, and compares productivity between different habitats. The new procedures can be applied singly or in combination.     

Accumulation of deicing salts in soils in an urban environment

Examining rates of deicing salt accumulation and leaching in urban soils is important for understanding the distribution and movement of salt in the environment. We examined autumn concentrations of deicing salts in soils in a moderately dense urban landscape in eastern New York State. The study area contrasted to the isolated, rural highways examined in previous studies. While NaCl was the most abundantly applied salt, Mg²⁺ (apparently from MgCl₂, a secondary deicing salt) was the most abundant salt cation in soils. Moderate Na⁺ levels, and equivalent concentrations at depth and in surface samples, indicate that leaching of Na⁺ is rapid in this system. Leaching may ameliorate toxicity for land plants but accelerate inputs to aquatic systems. In contrast to rural highway studies, where salt levels declined rapidly with distance to pavement, Na⁺ remained elevated at the maximum distance measured. Airborne salt dispersal and dense networks of pavement likely contribute to widespread elevated salt levels. This semi-urban setting had salt levels high enough to be toxic to terrestrial plants and soil protozoa. Even moderate levels of development can have dramatic effects on salt inputs into soils and aquatic systems.

The Impact of UN Peacekeeping Operations on Human Trafficking

While United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations (PKOs) are generally considered to reduce the likelihood of civil war recurrence, attention in recent years has shifted to understanding the dynamics unique to post‐Cold War peacekeeping, including the changing makeup and mandate of PKOs, and associated patterns of peacekeeper misconduct. While several studies of misconduct emphasize peacekeepers’ implication in sexual exploitation and abuse of host country citizens, this study goes the next step by assessing peacekeeping’s relationship to human trafficking more broadly—a perennial concern in post‐conflict states. Though UN PKOs are not always directly responsible for increases in human trafficking in mission host countries, this paper considers how the attributes of UN peacekeeping missions may create the conditions where trafficking is likely to flourish or flounder.     

Forest ethnography: An approach to study the environmental history and political ecology of urban forests

Urban Ecosystems - A landscape succession paradigm has shaped much of our understanding about the processes of forest emergence and transformation in the United States. Drawing heavily from theory...     

Piketty's Calibration Economics: Inequality and the Dissolution of Solutions?

Abstract

By popularising interest in inequality, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century has made a significant contribution. It has helped to change the basic terms of debate regarding wealth and income. However, Capital exhibits several weaknesses. The overall statement of Piketty's 3 laws tends to confuse the reader by conflating capital with all forms of wealth, and capital with the current market valuation of wealth assets. The whole creates a form of empiricism by metrics or calibration. The aggregation also lends itself to data as history rather than as historically grounded explanation of evidence. Concomitantly, it lacks a theorisation of capitalism, of power, of the state, of social movements, and of social transformations. This affects the way in which possible solutions to inequality are conceived. However, it does provoke further grounds for ethical counterargument productive of more progressive solutions to the problems it highlights.