Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities on green roofs in Switzerland: synthesis and perspectives

Urban Ecosystems - Green roofs have recently gained recognition for their potential contribution to urban ecosystems by providing, among other services, habitat for plants and animals, and stepping...     

Protected areas in the periphery: Conservation and controversy in northern Scotland

Controversies arising from the notification of large areas of land as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in northern Scotland are reviewed against the background of surveys of land occupiers' experiences on the one hand, and of trends in conservation thinking in the wider world on the other. Most of the protected area is of low capability for productive land use, and there is little evidence of adverse trends in labour and employment on SSSIs compared with similar, non-SSSI land. Site designation has in practice impeded land management in the cases of relatively few land occupiers, but rather more have negative attitudes towards it. It is concluded that some elements of the ‘scientific colonialism’ model of protected areas can be detected.     

Misbeliefs About Gambling in a Convenience Sample from the General Population

We examined knowledge about the role of randomness in gambling and the principle of independence of events, in a community sample. We also investigated whether this knowledge varies according to gender and age. A convenience sample of 1257 residents in French-speaking Switzerland, aged 18–88 years (28.5% of women) completed a short online questionnaire. This assessed the perceived role of human skills in four different games as well as beliefs relating to the principle of independence of events. The results show that 19.5% of the respondents perceived Roulette as a game for which the outcome is determined by skill. They also showed that 15.1% of the respondents did not hold beliefs about the independence of events principle. Gender and age differences were also observed: Men were proportionally more likely to hold erroneous beliefs about gambling skills and the independence of events, compared to women. The 18–25 year-old age group attributed Roulette outcomes to the gambler’s skill more frequently than the older categories. The implications of these findings for prevention and social support are discussed.     

Parent–child gender matching and child psychological adjustment after divorce

The present study aimed to determine whether a parent–child gender match would influence child psychological adjustment after divorce. Participants included 69 parents (36 mothers) in active family law litigation to resolve issues related to postdissolution of marriage or time-sharing matters. Participants provided demographic information and completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991 Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont. [Google Scholar]) to assess their perceptions of their child’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Results demonstrated that internalizing and externalizing behaviors were not affected by whether children spent more time with the same gender parent, opposite gender parent, or split their time equally between both. Comparisons and contradictions between the results in this study and existing research are discussed, as well as practical implications.     

Personality profiles of factitious disorder imposed by mothers: A comparative analysis

Factitious Disorder Imposed by Another (FDIA) can be difficult to expeditiously identify. Understanding personality characteristics of FDIA perpetrators via psychological assessment may decrease the time between initial abuse and identification of FDIA. Personality characteristics of FDIA mother-perpetrators were examined through a comparative analysis of MMPI-2 profiles. It was predicted that mother-perpetrators would have significantly higher overall profile elevations on the MMPI-2 and elevations on specific clinical scales than a comparative control group. Results indicated that mother-perpetrators displayed significantly higher, elevations on the Psychasthenia (Pt) and Schizophrenia (Sc) scales and a trend toward significantly higher elevation on the Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) scale than the control group. These findings, along with the demographic information obtained, establish a preliminary foundation for understanding an overall profile of mother-perpetrators.     

Does childhood family structure help create stratification in adult education and labor market attainment?: An argument for the selectivity perspective

Stratification in opportunities for and attainment of educational credentials, stable and well‐paying jobs, wealth, and socioeconomic status causes problems for both individuals and the societies they live in. It is unclear, however, the extent to which important childhood experiences, such as family structure and transitions, shapes opportunity paths and eventual attainment later in adulthood. The intergenerational transmission literature suggests little if any role of family structure in later attainment, while family scholars and demographers find more compelling evidence that childhood family structures and transitions are influential in adulthood. We argue that both perspectives may be identifying selectivity processes that help explain potential links between families of origin and differences in opportunities to attain education, careers, and status. We then provide suggestions for future work in each of these scholarly traditions to help untangle both the degree to which family structure does or does not affect adult attainment and whether selectivity is the key explanation for any such relationships.     

“They Make Me Not Wanna Have a Child”: Effects of Companion Animals on Fertility Intentions of the Childfree

This article argues that for some who are childfree, the increasing perception of the companion animal as a sentient being with agency provides a deep, meaningful relationship with the power to inform fertility intentions. Qualitative, in‐depth interviews with childfree companion animal owners reveal that this relationship serves to reinforce previous fertility choices such as delaying or completely opting out of childbirth, thus affecting present household structure. This is reflected in the active choice by some participants to have companion animals instead of human children, the presence of a cost‐benefit analysis concerning animal companions and human children, and narratives that express a desire to mother or nurture as fulfilled in the relationship with the companion animal. Implications of these findings for both demography and marriage and family research in the United States are discussed.