In the article “Body piercing, tattooing, self-esteem, and body investment in adolescent girls”, by: Lynne Carroll and Roxanne Anderson, the talked about girls with tattoos and piercings and how a lot of them get them to change themselves or even help their self esteem. In the article they talk about another author called “Sweetman” he explains the reason some girls get tattoos on and piercings on their body, he said that tattoos and piercing’s emanate from inner self sense of self and try to change themselves in order to be likes, he also said says that they permit ones to record ones history on their body. The article also talks about explanations for body modifications, it says one gives people ownership and control over their body and life and culture and the other reason is it helps identify and affiliate with a group. In the overall study that was conducted for this article they took 79 adolescent girls from the ages 15-18 with parent consent, they took the girls that were part of the at risk programs at their high schools. They tool 35 European American, 30 African American, 4 Multiracial, 2 Asian American, 1 Native American, and 1 self-classified as “other” and 6 did not report their ethnicity. They focused on the topics of self-esteem, Body image, Depression, and anger. 34 of the participants reported that they had tattoos and piercing on parts of their bodies other than their ear lobes. They reported for piercings that 29 people had them 9 had their tongues, 9 had their navels, 6 pierced their nose, 3 pierced above their eyebrows and 2 said on other parts of their bodies. For tattoos 16 people reported having them 5 people said on their legs, 4 said stomach, 3 said arms, 2 said breasts, 1 said shoulder and 1 said hand. The participants were also asked the reasons why they got their tattoos and piercings 13 said they wanted it, 6 said it was the style, 4 said it was cute, 1 said it was fun. The overall findings in the test they did between tattoos and piercings were there was a negative association found between the number of piercings and tattoos and the feeling sub-scale, basically means the greater the number of body modifications the more negative feelings toward the body.

After reading this article I know it was talking about female adolescence but thinking from a guys perspective I feel like tattoos do make people or guys feel a little better about them selves and give them that little bit of swagger look. I know for me personally I got tattoos to help identify myself and to help sort of tell a story of my life through art work and tattoos, not all people think about things like this and about how tattoos can help you self esteem or just help you feel good about yourself. I really wonder if some people with tattoos look back at their experience and life and not so much regret getting them but actually feel worse about them selves. I would love to hear people’s opinions and thoughts on if they think tattoos and piercings could affect people’s self-esteem.

http://0-search.proquest.com.books.redlands.edu/sociology/docview/195946753/FAFA2A97DF3B4ED4PQ/8?accountid=14729

Liu, Y., Ke-Ming, M., Jing-Zhu, Z., Bai, X., & Qing-Hai Guo. (2007). The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of hanyang, china. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 14(3), 317-327. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.books.redlands.edu/docview/198071001?accountid=14729

Researchers Yang Liu, Ma Ke-Ming, Zhao Jing-Zhu, Xue Bai, and Qing-Hai Guo all worked on a journal titled, “The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of Hanyang, China.”  They started to study this because of what converting rural land into urban land rapidly does to the environment.  The water quality is heavily polluted because of the change in land use.  There had not been much research on non-point source pollution.  There study area was Hanyang, Hubei Province, China.  This area is filled with rivers and lakes.  They preformed an observational study on the land use and how it correlated with the water quality in the area.  They collected the land use data by using high-resolution quickbird multispectral imagery.  The water quality was measured by Soil and Water Assessment Tool model which divided each lake into several pieces.  The water quality indicators that were selected were pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen, and 49 heavy metals.  To analyze their data, they used numerous steps.  They compared the urbanization at all of the lakes.  To determine the land impacts on the lake water quality they used a Pearson’s correlation to reveal any relationships.  They concluded that land uses can be used as sources or sinks to non-point source pollution.  This was the most in-depth research on water quality ever done in China before.  The abundance of urbanization is causing a worse quality of water.  This research journal has made me realize how much work goes into water analysis.  If I was to do my research project, I am not sure if I would have the ability to test all of the elements that they did.  However, I would do the best that I could with what I could analyze.

In 2003 Joan McCord uses five case studies of Crime Prevention programs in the American Academy of Political and Social Science Journal article, “Cures That Harm: Unanticipated Outcomes of Crime Prevention Programs”, to take a look at crime prevention programs effectiveness and the program’s evaluations of their effectiveness. By using five case studies from a randomized sample, McCord takes descriptive organization data and beliefs of the organization to look at, specifically, how these organizations may have good intentions while at the same time are potentially doing harm. Many of the crime prevention programs have the belief that if the program helps one individual then it is worth it and other similar positive beliefs that are used as an excuse not to use evaluations of the program. While these programs may think positively about the work they are doing and at the same time not see a need to report their evaluation, the programs are relying on testimonials or researchers that are biased. This lack of evaluation is harmful to many as it allows a social program to continue to operate even with adverse effects. McCord concludes by insisting that these Crime Prevention Programs must be evaluated for both adverse effects and benefits. The evaluation should be unbiased and should use a random assignment of individuals for both the treatment and comparison group. Overall, McCord argues that more attention should be paid to the effects of these crime prevention programs.

http://ann.sagepub.com/content/587/1/16.short

Hummingbirds are the most important avian pollinators in the Western Hemisphere. They are especially important in highly diverse areas.  Because of this, many plants and hummingbirds have coevolved. Artificial feeders have been introduced in many areas, and the question of whether they affect the relationship between hummingbirds and flora has arose many times. These researchers formed two hypothesis; one was that hummingbirds visit flowers less frequently when feeders and present, and the second was that flower visitation frequencies are not affected due to the increase in population that feeders cause.

The study was conducted in cloud forest reserves of Ecuador. Feeders with a 1:10 sugar water concentration were placed either in near a lodge in the reserve or near the reserve’s entrance. The visitation by hummingbirds to flowers were measured in 4 categories based on their distance away from the feeders, and recorded as visits per hour. The genus of the hummingbirds were also noted, since hummingbird behavior and territoriality varies between species.

There was no statistical difference found between the frequency of hummingbird visitation to flowers and their distance from feeders. These results differ from another study done in Mexico that found that feeders do lower the rates of visitation to plants by hummingbirds. One reason for this study’s findings could be that the territoriality of the hummingbirds was not measured. Another factor could have been that the sugar water was only 1:10, which is a relatively low concentration.

This study concluded that artificial feeders do not tend to decrease flower visitation by hummingbirds, and may in fact facilitate more visitation to flowers at close proximity to the feeders. This should be taken with a grain of salt, because this study was done on 10 species in a particular area, and differences between taxonomic groups of both hummingbirds and flowers could yield different results in other areas. More research should be done on this.

Works cited:
Brockmeyer, T., Schaefer, H.. 2012. Do nectar feeders in Andean nature reserves affect flower visitation by hummingbirds? Basic and Applied Ecology. 13(3), 294-300.
Article sent to me by a previous professor.

With the escalation of the influx of refugees and asylum seekers to Germany, the German people are becoming fed up about the lax restrictions that the country has on boarder control. As the refugee crisis in Germany continues, people, according to a poll done by ARD Deutschlandtrend reports that 81% of Germans think that the refugee crisis is out of control under Merkel’s government. The poll also included members from Merkel’s Christian Social Union, in which 67% of this party voted that Merkel is not handling the situation well. As more and more refugees come to Germany, Germans are calling for stricter regulations on asylum seekers and refugees as they enter the country. 88% of Germans even said that if the refugees who fail or are not willing to assimilate to German culture should have curbed benefits.

While open boarders is something that the EU prides themselves on, with light of recent events, many Germans believe that there should now be stricter boarder control throughout the EU and Schengen areas. Germans are not only calling for stricter regulations in Germany, but also for the EU as a whole. 77% of respondents on this poll believe that the EU should set up refugee centers at all external EU boarders to process migrant applications to see who really is eligible for asylum.

At the beginning of the refugee crisis, Germany paved the way with their “welcoming policy”, pledging to accept all refugees who come their way. Now, with the reality of the refugee crisis setting in, German citizens are not as enthusiastic to accept incoming refugees or asylum seekers. Germany has already accepted about 1.1 million refugees in the last year, but the question remains if they will be able to keep this up while appeasing their citizens.

Citation:

“81% of Germans Say Refugee Crisis ‘out of Control’ under Merkel Govt – Poll.” RT    International. Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 4 Feb. 2016. Web.      13 Mar. 2016.

In the Article Inmate tattoos and in-prison and post-prison Violent behavior By William D. Bales, Thomas Blomberg, and Kevin Waters It talked about and went over prisoners with tattoos and prisoners with out tattoos and how their violent behavior either in prison or after prison increased or decreased.  They talked about a juvenile prison in Australia and the findings were that inmates released from custody with tattoos were significantly more likely to be reconvicted for a new violent offense, But on the other had there were no differences found between tattooed and non tatooed inmates in relation to conviction of any new crime or reconviction for non violent new offenses. It also talked about how African American males were more likely to recidivate in criminal activity than caucasian males. The findings for the overall study were that males, yonger and black inmates have higher rated of recidivism while there is no Hispanic effect. Also that inmates that were incarcerated for a violent, drug or other offenses have lower recidivism rates than those on a term of incarceration for property crime. Also proven that inmates with a higher education level are significantly less likely to recidivate. Other findings were that the more the tattoos the prisoner has increases the likelihood of inmates commiting one or more violent behavior infractions during their imprisonment and are more likely to recidivate in their crimes three years after being released from prison.

After reading this Article it made me think about how people look at tattoos and how tattoos are seen as a way of categorizing populations and how they have such a negative conotation with them. When reading this it made me think about how yes when people go to prison most of them come out with more tattoos that they have went in with and how based off their number of tattoos how they are judged by saying that they are more likely to end up back in the system after being released i think that its sort of unfair to the population of inmates and ex-convicts that have multiple tattoos that are very successful after being incarcerated. I am really interested on what other people think about this topic and their points of view. Do you think that tattoos are a way to gauge peoples behavior and life choices?

http://0-search.proquest.com.books.redlands.edu/sociology/docview/1705563142/A1802F3EDCD542D2PQ/1?accountid=14729

The study “Racial Discrimination and Alcohol-Related Behavior in Urban Transit Operators” analyzes findings from the San Francisco Muni Health and Safety Study. The objective of the study was to determine if there is a trend between racial discrimination and alcohol-related behaviors. For this study, a sample of urban transit operators was used.

The data gathered was used to conduct a cross-sectional study. Data from transit operators in San Francisco, California (1993-1995) consisted of a survey approach. In the survey, the responses to two sets of questions relating to racial discrimination, were closely examined. The first set of questions focused on “reaction to unfair treatment.” On the other hand, the second set focused on “arenas, or domains,of discrimination.” The variables that were considered in the study consisted of “number of drinks per month, heavy drinking, alcohol dependence, and negative consequences of alcohol consumption.”

According to the study, operators who reported five or more domains of discrimination also drank an average of 13.4 more drinks per month than those who reported no domains of discrimination (P= 0.01). Operators who reported more domains of discrimination were also found to be more likely to be heavy drinkers than those who reported none.

The study concludes that the data collected from the sample of urban transit operators revealed a correlation between the amount/number of domains of discrimination and a fraction of alcohol-related outcomes. However, there was no correlation for many of variables tested.

This conclusion could be pursued further. However, due to the lack of information gathered, it is difficult to draw conclusions about number of domains of discrimination reported, the operators, and link the results with alcohol use. It links two things that may or may not be dependent on one another.

Citation

Yen, I. H., D. R. Ragland, B. A. Greiner, and J. M. Fisher. “Racial Discrimination and Alcohol-Related Behavior in Urban Transit Operators: Findings from the San Francisco Muni Health and Safety Study.” Public Health Reports. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1308517/>.

In 2008 Greenwood evaluates evidence-based delinquency prevention programs and analyzes programs that are successful, as well as examples of programs that are not successful. The prevention programs are analyzed on their standards for effectiveness as well as their cost benefit analysis. Greenwood used several studies of juvenile delinquency programs and compared them against each other in terms of average effectiveness, and cost benefit analysis, for all the juvenile delinquency studies. This meta-analysis helps compare and contrast the different juvenile delinquency programs, and will hopefully create some guidance to policy makers, communities, and family members of delinquents as to what programs are most likely to work.

Greenwood discovers that overall, the general public prefers treatment and rehabilitation compared to punishment for juvenile delinquents. Yet, only about five percent of juveniles have been able to take part in promising school and community based prevention programs, due to the custodial care and community supervision being a widespread common prevention option – regardless of its effectiveness.

Prevention programs that are community based and emphasize the role of family ties are successful. While prevention programs, such as scared straight programs that bring juvenile delinquents together for programing, intensive supervision and programs which focus on the individual offender, are much less successful than programs which focus on family and community ties.

Greenwood’s meta-analysis is very interesting and extremely useful when researching juvenile delinquency programs because he not only compares the cost benefits and effectiveness rates of each evidence-based program, but he also analyzes the programs in terms of what makes it effective and the aspects of these programs that are not effective.

http://0-www.jstor.org.books.redlands.edu/stable/20179984

“Optimal concentrations in nectar feeding” is an article by Wonjung Kim, Tristan Gilet, and John Bush. They are affiliated with the mathematical and engineering department at MIT.  The purpose of this study is to see at what concentration of sugar in nectar is ideal for the energy of nectar feeding species, such as hummingbirds. Although higher amounts of sugar offer more energy, the viscosity of the nectar could make it difficult for nectar feeders to carry. Due to nectar feeders needing to avoid predators, the energy levels are important. The study examines the optimal concentration based on the viscosity of the nectar for the performance of nectar feeders.

The sugar concentration of nectar in flowers is higher for the ones that are pollinated by bees (35%), while there is a lower concentration for those that are pollinated by hummingbirds (20-25%).  Because of the different feeding methods of bees and hummingbirds, the viscosity is important when determining the sugar concentration.

Due to the coevolution of flowers and their pollinators, the flowers have different concentrations that are optimal for its pollinators. Bees feed on nectar through a dipping method. Since less nectar is consumed, the flower produces a higher sugar concentration. Hummingbirds feed with a sucking method, consuming more nectar. These flowers that  are pollinated by hummingbirds produce a lower sugar concentration. The lower concentration also provides a lower viscosity, making it easier to fly. This shows that hummingbirds have a preference to lower concentrations. The flower also evolved to produce optimum concentrations. If the nectar was too sweet, it would reduce the amount of flowers that the hummingbirds visit, but too little would not attract them at all.

Works cited:

Kim, W., Gilet,T., Bush, J. 2001. Optimal concentrations in nectar feeding. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108(40), 16618–16621, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108642108
Retrieved from: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/40/16618.full

Religion plays an important role in the migration crisis in Germany. This article explains the phenomenon of Muslims converting to Christianity in Germany. There have been a growing number of reported Christian-baptisms of Iranian people in churches across Germany. In many of the refugee’s countries, they can be persecuted on religious grounds for converting. In Germany, they are free to convert to Christianity, and many think that this will increase their chances of staying in the country.

The article goes into the idea that what makes assimilation difficult for many is the fact that these refugees are moving from predominantly Muslim countries to either Christian or secular countries. The culture shock alone is hard for many Muslims. In most countries where Islam is the dominant faith, it is also the main form of government and law. This religious divide is making it difficult for not only Muslim refugees to assimilate, but also making the receiving countries bringing in these refugees hard. Many countries see this cultural divide and are hesitant about welcoming Muslim refugees.

Much of this cultural divide however comes from ignorance about the Muslim tradition. Understanding that Islam, just like Christianity, came from Abraham would create a mutual respect. While in theory we would like to believe that modern European countries do not discriminate based on religion, we can clearly see in this migration crisis that many countries are rejecting refugees based on “cultural” differences when in reality, cultural differences also includes religion. While some Muslims are converting to Christianity, a host country must be accepting enough so that these refugees do not feel like they need to convert in order to integrate.

Whether one is secular, Christian, Muslim, or practice any other faith, religion is interwoven into the fabric that makes up the migration crisis in Germany and all of Europe. Until people learn how to accept and integrate different cultures and religions into their society, the migration crisis will never be solved completely.

Citation:

Palmer, Richard. “Europe’s Immigration Crisis: A Clash of Civilizations.”Europe’s Immigration Crisis: A Clash of Civilizations. The Trumpet, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.