Potential nitrogen mineralization responses of urban and rural forest soils to elevated temperature in Louisville,KY

Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is an important process determining terrestrial N availability, and evidence suggests elevated temperatures will enhance N mineralization rates. Along a 40 km urban-rural gradient of chestnut oak forest stands in Louisville, KY, we expected N mineralization rates would be higher in urban than in rural forests in part due to increased temperatures caused by the urban heat island. However, a 12-month field study along this Louisville gradient showed that annual N mineralization rates were lower in urban than in rural stands. Since variation in precipitation inputs and other factors across this land-use gradient may be influencing soil N mineralization rates, we conducted a three-month soil incubation experiment in the lab to determine the extent to which a + 2 °C temperature difference could affect soil N mineralization in urban and rural soils. Across the range of temperatures tested, rural soils mineralized N at twice the rate of urban soils under base (7.86 vs. 3.65 mg N kg^?1 AFDW soil d^?1) and elevated (9.08 vs. 4.76 mg N kg^?1 AFDW soil d^?1) temperatures (p < 0.01). A 2 °C temperature difference, did not significantly alter total inorganic N production in urban (p = 0.272) or rural soils (p = 0.293). The proportion of nitrate produced was lower in the urban (15.1 %) than in the rural soils (72.3 %; p < 0.01). These results suggest that differences in soil organic matter quality and potentially decomposer community composition are the primary explanatory factors for forests along this Louisville gradient.     

Patterns of pollinator turnover and increasing diversity associated with urban habitats

The role of urban expansion on bee diversity is poorly understood, but it may play an important role in restructuring pollinator diversity observed in rural regions at the urban perimeter. We studied bee communities in two habitats essential for pollinators (residential gardens and semi-natural areas) at 42 sites situated at the edge of greater Montreal, Canada. Bee species richness, abundance and functional diversity all increased with urbanization in both habitat types, but gardens and semi-natural areas supported distinct bee communities with unique responses to urbanization in terms of species turnover. Compared to semi-natural sites, residential gardens supported bees that foraged from a greater number but a lower proportion of available plant species. Bees did not discriminate between exotic and indigenous plant species in either gardens or semi-natural sites and were attracted to flowers in either habitat irrespective of their origins. Protecting semi-natural ruderal areas and providing residential garden habitats for pollinators are both effective means of promoting regional bee diversity in urbanizing regions.     

“It’s a generosity loop”: Religious and spiritual motivations of volunteers who glean produce to reduce food insecurity

Food insecurity is a common social issue and households look to assistance from food pantries, which often have difficulty supplying fresh or nutritious food. A substantial amount of produce is left in the fields, which can be collected through gleaning. In a focus group with volunteer gleaners at a faith-based nonprofit organization that attempts to fill the gaps of food insecurity, the motivations, challenges, and benefits of volunteering were examined. Volunteering in gleaning generated a sense of collective purpose and community; it addressed deeply held religious and spiritual impulses; and it puts volunteers directly in contact with nature.     

Forensic Evaluation of Deaf Individuals: Challenges and Strategies

ABSTRACT

Forensic evaluation of deaf individuals presents unique challenges due to many examinees’ fund of information deficits, potential for language deprivation, and examiners’ frequent lack of creativity regarding communication methods. This article describes challenges most frequently encountered in competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations and offers strategies for overcoming them. The value of employing multiple communication methods, especially the use of illustrations, is emphasized. Suggestions also are offered regarding preparing evaluation reports and effectively communicating “key deaf fundamentals” to legal personnel. Encouragement is offered for qualified, sign-fluent professionals to engage in forensic work.     

The effects of perceived quality of organizationally provided meal service on employees’ job performance and mediating role of organizational identification

Contemporary managers are developing alternative ways to sustain their competitive advantages. Motivation-enhancing features such as high-quality meal service provided by organizations can be thought of as one of these methods. The effect of the perceived quality of meal service provided by organizations on the job performance of employees and the mediating role of organizational identification during this process is studied. Private security-sector employees working in Turkey (N?=?597) are being focused in this study. As a result of analyses (correlation and regression analyses, structural equation model), the authors find that the perceived quality of meal service provided by organizations improves employees’ job performance significantly and organizational identification has a partial mediating role on this association. The findings of this study will be of interest to key stakeholders such as public or private organizations, labor unions and the media.     

Child-custody reform and the division of labor in the household

We investigate whether the adoption of joint-custody laws affects the amount of time that married mothers and fathers devote to market and household work. Our findings suggest that custody reform induces a reallocation of time within marriage, with mothers working more in the market and fathers working more in the home. However, fathers lower their labor-force-participation rates in response to custody reform. The patterns in the data are most easily reconciled with models that emphasize shifts in bargaining power to one household member, which is likely the father in the case of joint-custody reform.     

A varying coefficient approach to estimating hedonic housing price functions and their quantiles

The varying coefficient (VC) model introduced by Hastie and Tibshirani [26 T. Hastie and R. Tibshirani, Varying-coefficient models, J. R. Statist. Soc. (Ser. B) 55 (1993), pp. 757–796.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]] is arguably one of the most remarkable recent developments in nonparametric regression theory. The VC model is an extension of the ordinary regression model where the coefficients are allowed to vary as smooth functions of an effect modifier possibly different from the regressors. The VC model reduces the modelling bias with its unique structure while also avoiding the ‘curse of dimensionality’ problem. While the VC model has been applied widely in a variety of disciplines, its application in economics has been minimal. The central goal of this paper is to apply VC modelling to the estimation of a hedonic house price function using data from Hong Kong, one of the world's most buoyant real estate markets. We demonstrate the advantages of the VC approach over traditional parametric and semi-parametric regressions in the face of a large number of regressors. We further combine VC modelling with quantile regression to examine the heterogeneity of the marginal effects of attributes across the distribution of housing prices.     

Optimal and lead-in adaptive allocation for binary outcomes: A comparison of Bayesian methods

We compare posterior and predictive estimators and probabilities in response-adaptive randomization designs for two- and three-group clinical trials with binary outcomes. Adaptation based upon posterior estimates are discussed, as are two predictive probability algorithms: one using the traditional definition, the other using a skeptical distribution. Optimal and natural lead-in designs are covered. Simulation studies show that efficacy comparisons lead to more adaptation than center comparisons, though at some power loss, skeptically predictive efficacy comparisons and natural lead-in approaches lead to less adaptation but offer reduced allocation variability. Though nuanced, these results help clarify the power-adaptation trade-off in adaptive randomization.     

“You Just Don't Understand Me!” Determinants of Second Generation Asian and Latino Youth Self‐Esteem

To understand the integration of second‐generation Asians and Latinos, we study the association between acculturation and self‐esteem, an aspect of psychological wellbeing and belongingness. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), we find that Asians have lower self‐esteem than Latinos. Females, youth who are from lower socioeconomic status families, have been in the US for less than five years, have lower grade point averages, experience discrimination, or experience more family conflict, are at risk for lower self‐esteem. For Asians, identifying as American is associated with higher self‐esteem than identifying by nationality or having a hyphenated identity, but it does not provide a similar benefit to Latinos. Both groups benefit from being fluently bilingual, whereas English‐language dominance is protective only for Asian youths’ self‐esteem. Our analysis nuances the role that acculturation factors play in adolescent self‐esteem, signalling that future research should consider interactions between acculturation and race/ethnicity.