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.     

Migrants’ Descendants and New Mobilities between China and Spain

The economic rise of China and the financial crises in Spain have transformed transnational practices between the two countries and have boosted new strategies of mobility among Spanish of Chinese descent. This article examines the relationship that migrants’ descendants establish with their parents’ country of origin from their childhood, and analyses emerging new mobilities towards China undertaken by migrants’ descendants who have attained high degrees of formal education and are looking for a better professional future. The article argues that migrants’ descendants are reshaping the transnational space between the two countries and re-evaluating their transnational training in order to apply their Spanish and Chinese socio-cultural skills in their professional careers. The research reveals how migrants’ descendants undertake a migration journey to secure upward social mobility, just as their parents did when migrating to Europe. Hence, social and geographical mobility intersect in opposite directions over time and across generations.     

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.     

Underlying Values and Consequences in Financial Services

The freeing of financial markets has brought with it increasing sophistication in regulatory regimes. Over time, a succession of frauds and financial scandals has emphasised some limitations of these complex regulatory schemes. This paper seeks to address the reasons for the events that have caused concern, and suggests that they are to be found principally in three categories: (1) the underlying values that drive financial services; (2) the assumptions and values of regulatory regimes, and (3) the increased opportunities to break or evade the rules. Some possible ways forward are sketched. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Adaptable Careers: Maximizing Less and Exploring More

Today, young adults are expected to decide between educational, vocational, and job options and to make the best choice possible. Career literatures emphasize the importance of young adults' career decision making but also acknowledge the problems related to making these decisions. The authors argue that career counselors could support clients' intuitive processing of career information and help their clients to develop a positive and flexible view of the self and the environment while diminishing concerns about accountability for and irreversibility of career decisions. The authors argue that career adaptability rather than decision making should become the focal concept of career theory and practice.