What shapes plant and animal diversity on urban golf courses?

Recent concern over increasing loss of biodiversity has prompted considerable interest in the role of urban green spaces as reservoirs of local biodiversity. This study assessed the diversity of three indicator taxa - plants, ants and birds - on golf courses spanning a wide range of environmental variation in terms of climate, elevation, course age, size and connectivity to native woodland. Species richness and community composition was further compared between contrasting on-course habitat types that reflect different management intensities. We identified a set of taxon-specific environmental correlates indicating an intricate interplay of landscape- and local-scale variables that affect local species diversity. Our results show that floristic diversity is positively associated with the amount of rainfall, whereas ant and bird diversity are related to local-scale factors, particularly the number of trees and the size of water features on a site. The amount of on-course native habitat was a strong predictor of plant and ant diversity and was also associated with the number of unique species at the site level; this reinforces the value of remnant habitat patches as local biodiversity reservoirs that represent mini hot-spots in an otherwise species-poor urban landscape. Community composition for all three taxa differed markedly between non-playing and playing areas, with boundary and remnant habitats generally having more diverse, species-rich communities. Our results suggest that local floral and faunal biodiversity on urban golf courses can be enhanced by creating woody non-playing areas and, especially, by preserving, restoring or expanding remnant habitats.     

Exploring the Ebbs and Flows of Community Engagement: The Pyramid of Engagement and Water Activism in Two Canadian Communities

In this article, we share results from a comparative study exploring the dynamics of community engagement surrounding local water advocacy organizations in two Canadian communities. Although emergent local issues and the perception of crisis triggered some short-term community engagement, social factors such as collective identity, a sense of community, and sense of efficacy appear to be more important for sustaining and deepening engagement. Drawing on the results, we show how the pyramid of engagement, by depicting activist engagement as a multilevel, developmental process, can serve as a useful tool for community engagement scholars and practitioners alike.     

Reading Polanyi in Erbil: understanding socio-political factors in the development of Iraqi Kurdistan

ABSTRACT

The Kurdistan Regional Government emerges out of the chaos of post-Saddam Iraq as a rare positive, providing both political stability and economic growth. However, the outward display masks a more complex domestic settlement where the trappings of the free market coexist with political parties who are significant economic actors. How can this model of development in Iraqi Kurdistan be explained? Turning to the writings of political economist Karl Polanyi, does his thinking on relations between society and economy offer a way to unpack the development? And what does this analysis tell us of prospects for Iraqi Kurdistan?     

A Content Analysis of Intake Paperwork: An Exploration of How Clinicians Ask About Gender,Sex, and Sexual/Affectual Orientation

In the United States, the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) population has increased twofold since 2011. Although counseling professionals are called to provide competent services to TGNC clients, no empirical studies exist that examine one of the first points of contact: Intake paperwork. The authors conducted a content analysis (N = 128) of intake paperwork and assessed how and if clinicians asked for gender, sex, and sexual/affectual orientation, and whether they conflated these constructs. Findings indicate adjustments need to be made for intakes to be more inclusive of these constructs. The authors offer clinical implications and avenues for future research.     

Does media coverage influence public attitudes towards welfare recipients? The impact of the 2011 English riots

Following the shooting of Mark Duggan by police on 4 August 2011, there were riots in many large cities in the UK. As the rioting was widely perceived to be perpetrated by the urban poor, links were quickly made with Britain's welfare policies. In this paper, we examine whether the riots, and the subsequent media coverage, influenced attitudes toward welfare recipients. Using the British Social Attitudes survey, we use multivariate difference‐in‐differences regression models to compare attitudes toward welfare recipients among those interviewed before (pre‐intervention: i.e. prior to 6 August) and after (post‐intervention: 10 August–10 September) the riots occurred (N = 3,311). We use variation in exposure to the media coverage to test theories of media persuasion in the context of attitudes toward welfare recipients. Before the riots, there were no significant differences between newspaper readers and non‐readers in their attitudes towards welfare recipients. However, after the riots, attitudes diverged. Newspaper readers became more likely than non‐readers to believe that those on welfare did not really deserve help, that the unemployed could find a job if they wanted to and that those on the dole were being dishonest in claiming benefits. Although the divergence was clearest between right‐leaning newspaper and non‐newspaper readers, we do not a find statistically significant difference between right‐ and left‐leaning newspapers. These results suggest that media coverage of the riots influenced attitudes towards welfare recipients; specifically, newspaper coverage of the riots increased the likelihood that readers of the print media expressed negative attitudes towards welfare recipients when compared with the rest of the population.     

Globalization and Collective Labor Rights

The impact of globalization has been a perennial source of contention, and issues regarding labor rights have been a visible aspect of this struggle. Despite the popular controversy about a potential “race to the bottom” regarding globalization and labor rights, the empirical record on these linkages remains mixed. Moreover, despite the multifaceted nature of globalization, extant literature in this area has focused purely on several specific facets of economic globalization, such as trade and FDI. We focus on two additional aspects of globalization, social and political integration, as well as a broadly based measure of economic globalization, and examine how they influence collective labor rights—both in terms of labor laws, as well as their enforcement in practice—in the developing world from 1986 to 2002. We find that all three facets of globalization are negatively related to labor rights. Specifically, social, political, and economic globalization are related to the decoupling of labor practices from extant labor laws; that is, labor practices deteriorate while labor laws remain largely unaffected.     

Social Skills in Children Adopted From Socially-Emotionally Depriving Institutions

This study assessed social skills in post-institutionalized (PI) children with respect to age at adoption, age at assessment, and gender. Parent ratings of social skills (Social Skills Rating System) and behavior problems (Child Behavior Checklist) were obtained for 214 children and 127 adolescents who were adopted from socially-emotionally depriving Russian institutions. Results showed that children adopted before 18 months of age have better social skills than those adopted after this age; those assessed in childhood demonstrate better social skills than those assessed in adolescence. PI females, especially later-adopted adolescents, have particularly poor social skills. Children with poor social skills tend to have higher rates of behavior problems.     

Male gamblers – suicide victims and living controls: comparison of adversity over the life course

The objective of this research is to investigate the possible difference in accumulation of adversity over the life course among decedent gamblers and living control gamblers in the province of Quebec, Canada. A sample of 90 adult men, 41 living participants and 49 suicide decedents, met the criteria for at-risk and problem gambling over the last five years. Data were obtained from informants in the case of suicide and directly from living controls during semi-structured face-to-face interviews using SCID I and II, SOGS, Module K and a recount of life trajectories methodology. The results showed a high level of adversity throughout the life trajectories of both groups. However, the living gamblers faced more difficulties during their lifespan than the suicide victims. In the last six months before their death, suicide victims had a significantly higher number of mental health disorders, especially co-morbid mental health disorders and anxiety, compared to the living controls. We also observed a rapid escalation of difficulties, more life events and more psychological distress in the last six months of their lives among the suicide decedents. Suicidal behaviour needs to be carefully investigated by medical staff and mental health practitioners, especially when gamblers demonstrate evidence of mental health disorders or financial difficulties.     

Distinguishing Features of Just-in-Time Systems in the Make-to-Order/Assemble-to-Order Environment*

Few studies of just-in-time (JIT) implementation examine their significance in make-to-order manufacturing environments. This study examines the relative importance of several operating variables that are characteristic features of JIT systems within such environments in North America. The results suggest that the most salient features of JIT for make-to-order and assemble-to-order firms are the elimination of waste (in the form of time and defects), reduced setup time, reduced lotsize, and a smaller pool of suppliers. In addition, the results suggest that the use of non-domestic suppliers can possibly hinder efforts at JIT implementation of materials procurement.     

Single-Parenthood and Poverty in Great Britain

ABSTRACT This paper examines empirically the relationship between single-parenthood and absolute poverty in Great Britain. Data from two years of the Family Expenditure Survey are used (1968 and 1986). A poverty measure that is additively decomposable with population share weights, and consistent with Sen's axiomatic approach to poverty measurement, is used to decompose the total amount of poverty into the “shares” accruing to different types of households (i.e. female and male single-parents, two-parent households and “other” types of households). Three main conclusions concerning the poverty experience of British single-parents emerge from the analysis. The first is that poverty rates for single-parent households are generally higher than the average for all households. However, this disadvantage is not as large as one might expect, especially when a comparison is made with two-parent households. The second is that single-parent households are over-represented in the ranks of the poor. That is, their “share” of total poverty is greater than their population share. The third is that increasing single-parenthood has had little impact on the overall trend in absolute poverty in the period 1968 to 1986.