Estimation of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) population size using a novel Superimposed Urban Strata (SUS) method

A reference method to estimate Feral Pigeon (C. livia) population size in urban areas is missing: results of different surveys are difficult to compare due to the wide heterogeneity of approaches. A combined technique, the Superimposed Urban Strata (SUS) method, especially designed to estimate pigeon population size in urban areas, is proposed. SUS implements methods based on stratified sampling layers: its reliability was tested with a pilot study in Padua (Italy). The survey area was split into two superimposed strata and a different survey technique was applied to each stratum. The first stratum consisted of twelve topographic sampling units, identified as critical ornithic-density loci. The second stratum was obtained by selecting 10 % of the survey area with systematic sampling. In the estimate of the population size, different detection probabilities were assigned to the two strata. The SUS method was first applied in 2007, when three-year growth projections for the C. livia population were calculated, with a density-dependent model. In 2010, the survey was repeated to countercheck previous data. Estimated C. livia population size was of 2340 ±93 units in 2007, whereas in 2010 it was of 3679 ±161 units. The 2010 estimated population size resulted in fair accordance with the three-year projections, showing less than a 4 % mismatch. SUS proved to be an adequate estimate method for urban areas: so far it has been tested only in an average Italian urban area, but it could be easily adapted to other cities by calibrating parameters linked to the peculiar urban background.     

The relationship between open innovation,entrepreneurship, and introduction of new business models in Korean and Indonesian information technology enterprises

This case study sought to identify the relationships that can exist between open innovation, entrepreneurship, and the introduction of new business models at the enterprise level. Eleven Korean enterprises and five Indonesian enterprises were chosen, to obtain minimum research generality. While the number of enterprises is not great, it provides enough samples to determine the concrete relationships among these factors. The article starts by pointing out the general relationship between entrepreneurship, open innovation, and the introduction of a new business model. It examines two different contexts: the difference between the Seoul and Daegu regional innovation systems, and the difference between the Indonesian and Korean national innovation systems.     

Why Wait ‘til Marriage? The Determinants of Premarital Sex among Adolescents in a Country in Sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana

The purpose of the study was to describe the premarital sexual behaviors of Botswana adolescents and examine the factors associated with premarital sex intentions. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was administered to 1,054 pupils ages 10 to 18 years in school and out of school. The findings indicate that the theory of planned behavior provides a model for developing interventions to reduce the risk behavior in regard to HIV/AIDS through premarital sex. The findings in the study indicate factors that influence adolescent intentions to engage in premarital sexual intercourse and the need to address these when designing effective interventions.     

Alternative to incarceration for low‐income non‐custodial parents

Increasingly, low‐income non‐custodial parents in the USA, primarily fathers, are at risk of incarceration for failure to make child support payments, clogging the prison system, preventing already at‐risk fathers from holding a job and removing them from relationships with their children. This paper examines an innovative programme in one south‐eastern state that provides an alternative to incarceration for non‐compliant parents, also allowing fathers an opportunity to find gainful employment; to learn valuable life skills; and to establish healthier relationships with their children. Data analysis from 3 years of programme implementation suggests that low‐income non‐custodial fathers enrolled in the Alternative to Incarceration programme have a much greater chance to fulfil their obligations, both as wage earners and as parents, when they are in a programme that provides life skills, helps them find employment and provides other supports to help them improve their life situation rather than incarcerating them for non‐payment of child support. Furthermore, this programme represents a substantial cost savings to the state, as hundreds of fathers have remained outside of the prison system. To date, this alternative to incarceration is a promising solution to a previously intractable problem.     

Training Issues in Family Therapy*

Group versus individual supervision, the family therapy training model, videotape as a training method, and training paraprofessionals in a traditional academic setting are discussed from the authors' experience in conducting a family therapy training program. Editor.     

Perceived Risks from Radiation and Nuclear Testing Near Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: A Comparison Between Physicians, Scientists, and the Public

Determining the difference in perception of risk between experts, or more educated professionals, and laypeople is important so that a potential hazard can be effectively communicated to the public. Many surveys have been conducted to better understand the difference between expert and public opinions, and often laypeople exhibit higher perceptions of risk to hazards in comparison to experts. This is especially true when health risk is due to radiation, nuclear power, and nuclear waste. This article focuses on one section of a risk perception survey given to two groups of individuals with a more specialized education (scientists and physicians) and laypeople (villagers) in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. All of these groups live near the former Soviet nuclear test site. Originally, it was expected that the scientists and physicians would have similar perceptions of radiation risk, while the public perceptions would be higher, but this was not always the case. For example, when perceptions of risk pertain to the health impacts of nuclear testing or the dose-response nature of radiation exposure, the physicians tend to agree with the laypeople, not the scientists. The villagers are always the most risk-averse group, followed by the physicians and then the scientists. These differences are likely due to different frames of reference for each of the populations.     

Consistency and Change in Children's Tattling on their Siblings: Children's Perspectives on the Moral Rules and Procedures of Family Life

Children's tattling on their siblings was observed in 39 families when children were 2- and 4- and 4- and 6-years of age. Tattling was more frequent among older siblings, and increased across time, despite a corresponding decrease in sibling transgressions against one another and an increase in parents' negative reactions to tattling. Tattling was largely truthful, implicit in form, and more likely to concern transgressions of what parents also regarded as more important standards. Among 4- and 6-year-olds, tattling was related to children's negative behaviour to one another and equally likely when children faced ongoing conflict issues and when they merely wished to inform parents of sibling wrongdoing. Parents generally allowed their children to tattle on one another, rarely reprimanded tattlers, but responded to the information contained in the tattlers' reports. The parents' responses were related to the quality of their children's tattling, but the children's tattling was unrelated to the likelihood that parents would react either positively or negatively to it. Results are discussed in terms of the place of tattling within the family system, with emphasis on the children's understanding of the implications of their parents' involvement in their own disputes.