In the journal Ecology: A publication of the Ecological Society of America, Anne Blach-Overgaard and other ecologists part of the Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity Group in Aarhus, Denmark published an article titled: “Multimillion-year climatic effects on palm species diversity in Africa.” The article demonstrates that the species diversity and richness of the palm species from tropical, subtropical and dry-tropical climates throughout Africa are deeply influenced by historical climatic patterns that runs deeper than previously expected. By obtaining continent-scale data on precipitation, temperature and species richness from the late Miocene period (~10 mya), the Pliocene (~3 mya) and the Last Glacial Maximum (0.021 mya), the results show that climate change affects diversity patterns over multimillion-year “historical legacies” that extended farther back in the geological time scale than previously expected. The article uses a combination of acts, behavior, or events and reports of acts, behavior, or events data to conduct their analysis due to the combination of historical records on the species and data directly surveyed by the ecologists. The data was obtained from public and privates records, as well as detached observation of the species patterns and species distribution modeling created by the authors for this study. Statistical analysis for this study consisted of calculating bivariate correlations between the response variables (species richness) and the potential predictors (temperature and precipitation). A second multivariate analysis was conducted to compare the categorized response variables of total species richness, rain forest species richness and open-habitat species richness. The results included beautiful maps of Africa showing the data collection that easily identify the patterns with intriguing results about how far back climatic changes can affect an entire family of plants. I was initially curious about why the authors chose the palm family (Arecaceae), but they article quickly answered my question by addressing that they are keystone species for tropical and subtropical regions. It just goes to show that what anthropocentric changes to climate we cause today will affect species distribution on the planet for millions of years.

Blach-Overgaard, A., Kissling, W., Dransfield, J., Balslev, H., & Svenning, J. (2013). Multimillion-year climatic effects on palm species diversity in Africa. Ecology, 94(11), 2426-2435. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23597204

I decided to look at the article “Response Styles and the Rural-Urbal Divide” because it provided information about response styles based on sociodemographic characteristics. This has to do with the topic I am dealing with which has to do with high school graduation rates based off of socioeconomic status. In this study, the researchers traveled to the country of Guyana, which is a country in the Caribbean that is currently developing. In this country, they have determined that age, gender and education will effect the different response styles that each local will give to a series of questions that were on a scale from one to five. Before the researches conducted the study, they hypothesized that ARS, which means that one gives an agreement response, and ERS, which means to give an answer at either end of the spectrum, would be lower in urban areas compared to rural areas. This would mean that the people in rural areas would be more likely to agree to something that is false. In their findings, they found that their hypothesis was correct. However, they stated that there are findings where their hypothesis would be wrong if conducted in another country. This study was fascinating because I can relate it to work on my topic. Based on the amount of education one has, students might be able to form opinions and participate in arguments if they are educated on the subject matter. Overall, the source gave much detail and is an interesting study.

Thomas, Troy D., Abts, Koen, and Weyden, Patrick Vander. “Response Styles and the Rural-Urban Divide” Educational and Psychological Measurement Issue 74, no. 1 (2014): 97-115

I selected the Journal, “Criminal Justice and Behavior,” to look at more closely. I chose this journal in particular because it has to do with my general topic of criminal justice. For my research project I would like to look at why certain types of criminal behavior occur, some of the roots causes, and how these could be combated. In volume 41 of the journal, released on November 11^th 2014, I found an article that aligned with my interests. The title of the article is, “A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Offenders.” Steven Pirutinsky from Columbia University is the author of this particular article that I looked at. The Articles research question was clearly stated and is as follows, does religiousness increase self-control and reduce criminal behavior? I believe this is a great research question because it is very specific and allows us to figure out exactly what kind of data will be necessary to collect. In the case of this research question, the most efficient types of data that should be used would be acts and reports of acts. In the case of this study from which there were 1,354 participants and the goal was to see if religiousness lead to more self-control, and in turn reduced criminal behavior. The study was very clear about proving this process rather than the inverse, more self-control leading to higher religiousness. In the case of a study like this the best way to collect data, and the way the researchers did in fact collect the data, would be to do an ethnography. Throughout the study they did find that Religiousness did lead to reduced offending, in the short term at least. This article seemed to have a clear research question from which it completed the remaining five steps of the process. It is interesting and has broadened my view to help me narrow in a specific research question for my topic.

Pirutinsky, Steven. “A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Offenders.” Criminal Justice and       Behavior. vol.14, no. 11 (2014) November, 11. 1290-1307.

Hodgson, Geoffrey M., and Kainan Huang. “Brakes on Chinese Development: Institutional Causes of a Growth Slowdown.” Journal of Economic Issues 47, no. 3 (2013): 599-622. doi:10.2753/jei0021-3624470301.

This journal article notes the multiple factors responsible for vastly accelerating Chinese economic growth since the 1980s, but is aimed at explaining the factors that have and will impede that growth. The authors argue that despite China’s remarkable explosion in GDP, unless the country addresses certain institutional factors its growth will be unsustainable. The institutional factors are namely “demographic shifts and the problem of supporting a larger dependent population; the lack of a developed institutional—legal and financial—foundation for indigenous, advanced private enterprise; and the severe developmental constraints inherent in the existing system of land rights and residency registration” (600). To summarize, the major points are China’s one-child policy, impediments on capitalist private enterprise, and the cultural/economic/political divide between rural and urban populations. I would identify the first factor as demographic and the last two factors as organizational data. To collect this data, the authors primarily relied on public and private records. The authors commonly cited the US Census Bureau and the National Bureau of Statistics in China. The authors collected other data from various other sources; (BBC, Wikipedia, Chinese constitution) however, most of the empirical data came from Bureaus and Governmental agencies. Data for economic trends were quantitative, thus when analyzing GDP and macro-scale trends, I agree with the authors that the best way to collect this data is to look at public and private records. While the authors could have gone to China and asked farmers, businessmen and politicians for in-depth interviews this research would have been tiresome and ineffective. In order to explain China’s overall growth (a hard task to accomplish) the best method seems to be piecing together the data from numerous databases.

In a time where sports and particularly college sports might seem like the most miniscule and unimportant thing in the world, the US still brings itself to watch one of the greatest spectacles in sport: March Madness. And in the midst of a chaotic presidential race, last year’s tournament helped people forget and bring them together with the help of one team and one spectacular title game. When the Villanova Wildcats entered the 2016 tournament they came with an impressive 82 wins over the last three seasons. They also came with the notoriety of being bounced from the dance in the early rounds five out of the last six seasons. They were the Cinderella, underdog, long shot.  This Villanova team was what makes American sports so great: A team that people rally behind, outstanding leadership, the feel good story. After a regular season that landed them a second seed in the South Region the stage was set once again to make their statement amongst the country’s elite. During the dance they not only exceeded the expectations of national pundits they absolutely destroyed them. They edged out overall seed Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite Eight and then a dominating Final Four win over Oklahoma to advance to the National Championship game where they faced off against North Carolina-one of college basketball’s elite and regular title contenders. With 4.7 seconds left, Carolina guard Marcus Paige threw up a miracle three to tie the game at 74. And with overtime looming, Nova stole America’s heart with a game winning buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins that captured the Wildcats’ first title since 1985.

Luke Winn/Sports Illustrated:PHILADELPHIA THREEDOM/ 11.04.16

In the article, “The Interplay Between Media Use and Interpersonal Communication in the Context of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: Reinforcing or Substituting?” by Chul-Joo Lee, Lee explores how media exposure and interpersonal communication effect and impact healthy lifestyle behaviors. Lee found that healthy lifestyle behaviors are heightened among people who talk about health issues with their family and friends less often. Which is interesting considering that most people who talk about what they are interested in and it is reflective in their life. The question that Lee is after in this article is whether or not there is a relationship between how the media uses health information and what is the effect of it on people in terms of a healthy lifestyle.  To find this information out Lee tested a sample size 2,107 United States citizens who were noninstitutionalized that were age eighteen and older. To test his question Lee conducted surveys asking about how often exercise, smoke, drink, and how much vegetables and fruits they eat.  For the testing the media Lee asked to rate from one (being not at all) to four (a few times a week) for how often you use print media, television, and internet for health information. Interpersonal health communication was measured the same way.  Lee’s research examines whether not a relationship exists and I think that the approach of this was done affectively. Lee focused on four aspects that are related to health but I think the study could have improved with other aspects of health like sleep habits. I think an interesting part of this study is that print media use did not interact with interpersonal health considering that print media is the original form of media.  This makes me think that digital media is taking quickly making print media obsolete.   

Lee, Chul-Joo. “The Interplay Between Media Use and Interpersonal Communication in the Context of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: Reinforcing or Substituting?” Mass Communication and Society 13.1 (2010): 48-66.

The article “Lethal and Other Serious Assalts: Disentangling Gender and Context” seeks to address a lack of contextualization of female offenders, specifically in the realm of assault on intimate partners. Authors Carol E. Jordan, James Clark, Adam Pritchard, and Richard Charnigo seek to answer the research question: ‘under what circumstances do females kill or seriously assalt their intimate partners, and do the stereotypes surrounding female intimate partner violence have legitimacy?’.  Jordan, Clark, Pritchard, and Charnigo utilize the data collection method of public and private records to answer this question, taking data from the institutional records of an unnamed state’s Department of Corrections. This data was used to compare male and female inmates incarcerated for the assalt or murder or their intimate partners based on a number of different characteristics, such as race, marital status, and substance abuse history. Notably, some people were intentionally excluded  from the data, such as DUI or child-assalt cases, due to the fear that they might alter the data. Personally, I found the research question to be rather broad, and that equal numbers of men and women should have been analyzed. However, I also felt that the study was both interesting and thoroughly researched, and that the various conclusions drawn from the project were well analyzed and succinctly laid out. I particularly thought many of the trends discovered were very interesting. For example, women tended to be more likely to have a history of victimization or mental health problems, be more educated, be married and with children, and be unemployed. In contrast, men were more likely to have a criminal record, to have been employed, and to be considered violent offenders. Yet the authors emphasize the complex nature of this type of violence, and that reducing these women to a single stereotype can be misleading.

Crime & Delinquency, vol. 58, number 3, May 2012

The article I found is titled Examining Student Responses to Frequent Bullying: A Latent Class Approach by Tracy Evian Waasdorp and Catherine P. Bradshaw. This article is published in the Journal of Educational Psychology. The article discusses bullying and the ways in which students respond to frequent victimization by peers. The study explores whether there are groups of children who display similar patterns of responses to constant bullying. An examination of the patterns of responding, characteristics of victimization, and internalizing or externalizing symptoms are interpreted through data from 4,312 frequently victimized middle school and high school students. The research topic centers around the responses to bullying, while the research question of “Are there similar patterns of responses of bullying based on characteristics of the victimization?” focuses on the specific and patterned responses of frequent victimization. This study requires descriptive research because the study focuses on events occurring in a school to understand what is happening, how it is happening, and how those involved explain the event. The type of data needed for this study is shallow opinions and attitudes because an anonymous online survey is the data collection method of the bullying in a Maryland school district. Students responded to select questions so the researchers could investigate whether students externalized or internalized their problems, evaluate the extent and frequency of victimization, and interpret whether the forms of victimization were direct or indirect. The data collection site is both the sample and the population. I found this type of research to be thorough and detailed. The study successfully investigated the responses of bullying and found four common patterns of responses, which are passive and low, active and support-seeking, aggressive, and undifferentiated. I think the choice to research those who are victimized rather than the perpetrators of the bullying behavior are note-worthy aspects of the research because the study aims to identify improved coping strategies for those experiencing victimization.

Waasdorp, T.E. & Bradshaw, C.P. (2011). Examining Student Responses to Frequent Bullying:     A Latent Class Approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(2), 336-352.

Recovery Potential of the Worlds Coral Reef Fishes

Aaron MacNeil, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Joshua E. Cinner, Shaun K. Wilson, Ivor D. Williams, Joseph Maina, Steven Newman, Alan M. Friedlander, Stacy Jupiter, Nicholas V. C. Polunin & Tim R. McClanahan

An examination of coral reef management techniques and reef resilience was conducted and published in Nature: The International Journal of Science. The question the authors attempt to answer is; what ecological management techniques support reef resilience and increase overall fish biomass while meeting conservation benchmarks? This question is being asked because large-scale fishing operations have been the primary source of diminished reef functionality across the globe, resulting in cascading ecological problems since coral reefs support more species than any other marine habitat in the world. Calls to recover fish biomass and therefor reestablish reef functionality have been vocalized by environmentalists everywhere, so the purpose of the study was to set empirical conservation benchmarks and develop fish biomass recovery timelines for protected and unprotected regions of coral reef habitats. The researchers compiled private and public organizational data from 64 countries and territories regarding 832 coral reefs, and used a Bayesian estimation approach to analyze the data of global fished and un-fished biomass to determine recovery potential of the 800+ coral reefs. The results demonstrated that crucial coral reef ecosystem functions could be maintained through multiple fishery restrictions, and reef fish biomass has the potential to recover within 35 years on average and less than 60 years when heavily depleted.

Although this research was meant for an audience with experience in the field of ecology, it was reasonably easy to read and contained no bias. The authors did not include what types of fish management techniques could be combined for the best possible result or any other ways to build on top of the research. One fact that caught my attention in the research was that 83% of commercially fished coral reefs are missing more than half their expected biomass, which has severe consequences for ecosystem functions and predation.

The article I found is called “Engaging in Birds in Vegetation Restoration after Elwha Dam Removal” published in Ecological Restoration March 2013, written by John F. McLaughlin. This article was centered around the restoration of native plant species by using birds in what used to be Lake Mills reservoir in Olympia National Park. McLaughlin was interested in finding out if it would be possible to use birds as a way to distribute seeds from native plants and disperse them fairly reliably in the sediment without introducing the invasive species as well. In order to complete this research, he had to go to the area and observe samples of bird scat and see how much was in proximity to the lake area and observe the behaviors and flight patters of the birds in the area. In the end McLaughlin found that there were three main bird species that met all of his criteria, though he focused exclusively on the American Robin as it apparently contributed the most as its diet is mostly made up of fruit and other related types of food.

However he did have some limitations in this study for example: he did not identify the source of the various bird scat observed nor did he measure the seed content in the samples.  He was also fairly selective in where he conducted his observations as most of the data came from exposed sediments and it is possible that the scat deposition may be different in the lower reservoir as the material in that area had been subjected much longer than where this study happened.  

I think this study could be very useful in for future reference if there when there is another decision to remove dams. I also find it interesting that when given an option that birds are more likely to disperse seeds from native plants. Though I suppose that would be expected if the native plant is what that species of bird evolved to eat. I do wonder if the same method of dispersal could be used to help with repairing forests that have been damaged due to deforestation or other types of habitats like a swamp or marsh land.

Mclaughlin, John F. “Engaging Birds in Vegetation Restoration after Elwha Dam Removal.” Ecological Restoration 31.1 (2013): 46-56. print.