3790 research outputs found
Sort by
Connecting the dots: Making sense of sociograms
Full text linkThis chapter provides a practical approach to understanding the history, terminology, and methods used to create sociograms, which are graph-based visualizations that showcase social connections. Data collection processes, privacy implications, and ties to DEI initiatives are explored as they relate to responsibly interpreting, evaluating, and creating this type of visualization. Examples of data visualization in social network analysis (SNA) as it has been used by the fields of social psychology, human resources, and education are included to demonstrate the breadth and practicality of the approach.PublishedYes - Ope
(Mis)Reading Characters in Middlemarch
No full textArticle from the George Eliot Review. Digitized and hosted by the George Eliot Review Online, editor Beverley Park Rilett.Publishe
The Size of college football stadiums and towns they are in: are all towns equipped for college football mass gathering?
Full text linkCollege football games had more than 47 million attendees in 2019. Mass gatherings in small communities can strain local resources, including emergency departments (EDs). The objective of this study was to conduct a retrospective, descriptive analysis among municipalities with “Power 5” football programs, focusing on stadium size and measures of municipal resources, such as population, distance to the closest ED, and presence of a teaching hospital. “Power 5” football programs were defined as members of the Big 12, Southeastern, Big 10, Pac-12, or Atlantic Coast conferences. We calculated summary statistics (medians, quartiles, and percentages) and conducted an unsupervised machine learning analysis with K-means clustering to group schools based on many of these factors. Among the schools and municipalities we identified (n=66), the median(quartile 1, quartile 3) football stadium size was 62,061 seats (51,576, 79,985), with the smallest median stadium size being for the Pac-12 (52,722) and the largest being for the Southeastern Conference (82,801). The K-means algorithm with 4 clusters identified the following: a “rural” cluster with smaller municipal populations, smaller numbers of beds in the ED, and no teaching hospital (n=19); a “university hospital” cluster with smaller stadium capacities, shorter distances to the closest ED, and larger numbers of beds in the ED (n=23); a “big stadium/big community hospital” cluster with larger municipal populations, larger football stadium capacities, larger numbers of beds in the ED, and longer distances to the closest ED (n=22); and a “Los Angeles” cluster (n=2). Municipalities with a “Power 5” football team vary in terms of the size of football gatherings (using stadium capacity as a proxy), as well as by ED capacity. The stress that football gatherings place on the health system may vary, with municipalities in the “rural” cluster with large football stadium capacities potentially bearing the most significant stress.n
Size and Composition as a Proxy for Identification of Wild Pig Sounders
Full text linkManagement of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) typically employs some form of population survey methodology, and trail cameras are the most common tool for conducting these surveys. Identification of individual sounders is generally at the foundation of these population surveys. Pelage characteristics and relative age distribution of individuals within the sounder coupled with total sounder size are common characteristics used to identify unique sounders. However, in many populations, the pelage of many wild pigs is either black or wild/grizzled, making pelage characteristics unreliable for sounder identification. Consequently, our objective was to assess the potential of using sounder size and composition as a simple proxy for identification of individual sounders visiting a camera station. Specifically, we aimed to determine the probabilities of encountering two sounders of a specific size and composition at the same camera site. Our findings revealed that sounders comprised of two adult wild pigs were the most common to be found at the same camera site. Yet, sounders of unique size and composition with more than three adults had a very low frequency (95%) confidence simply by counting the number of individuals and number of adults in the sounder. Only four sounder size/composition categories (sounder of two with zero adults, sounder of two with two adults, sounder of three with zero adults, and sounder of three with one adult) had probability of co-occurrence >0.10. Hence, our study suggests that using sounder size and composition as a proxy for sounder identification is suitable for population surveys and management purposes.PublishedYe
Data for: Estimating the Landscape of Natural Selection During Island Colonization in an Invasive Lizard
No full textColonization of new habitats exposes populations to novel selective pressures, and the evolutionary dynamics of invasive species are determined by how the founding environment interacts with the phenotypes of invaders. Measuring these processes depends on measuring natural selection immediately upon colonization, which has been a logistical hurdle for understanding how selection operates in newly established populations. We established six brown anole (Anolis sagrei) populations on spoil islands in Florida and manipulated initial sex ratios to understand how natural selection differs based on the composition of founding populations. We found unpredictable spatial and temporal variance in natural selection, and selection increased in strength over time and with increasing adult density. The relationship between phenotypes and fitness in newly established populations may not be consistent over time. As a result, each colonization event by an invasive population provides the opportunity for a novel evolutionary trajectory towards either establishment or extirpation.
In submission for reviewN
Review of Livia Arndal Woods' Pregnancy in the Victorian Novel
No full textArticle from the George Eliot Review. Digitized and hosted by the George Eliot Review Online, editor Beverley Park Rilett.Publishe
Developmental reaction norms vary among families of lizards in response to multivariate nest environments
No full textDevelopmental plasticity is the capacity of a single genotype to express multiple phenotypes in response to different early-life environments. Such responses are defined by reaction norms, which may vary among individuals or populations. Variation in developmental reaction norms allows natural selection to operate on plasticity, which is rarely examined in vertebrates. We quantified variation in embryonic developmental plasticity within and between populations using the brown anole lizard. We captured lizards from two islands in the Matanzas River (Florida, USA) and incubated their eggs under one of two multivariate treatments that mimicked the temperature, moisture, and substrates of nest sites in either a shaded or open habitat. We measured hatchling morphology, performance, and physiology to quantify variation in family-level reaction norms. We observed evidence of family-level variation in reaction norms for morphology but not for performance or physiology, indicating an opportunity for natural selection to shape plasticity in hatchling body size. Overall, the results indicate that multiple abiotic conditions in natural nests combine to increase or reduce phenotypic variation and that family-level variation in reaction norms provides a potential for natural selection to shape plasticity.AcceptedYe
George Eliot's Irish Acquiantance: Augusta, Lady Castletown
No full textArticle from the George Eliot Review. Digitized and hosted by the George Eliot Review Online, editor Beverley Park Rilett.Publishe
Long-term research on hedgerow pruning management for alley cropping in Haiti: implications for soil fertility maintenance and sustainability in low resource farming in the tropics
Full text linkIn 1990, this study was designed to carry out agroforestry research in Haiti in support
of extension activities of two development agencies, CARE International and the Pan American
Development Foundation (PADF), as part of the Agroforestry II project, funded by USAID. The primary
focus of the project was tree planting on agricultural lands, but the project also promoted planting
of leguminous trees as hedgerows for soil conservation on sloping land. Food crops were planted
between the hedgerows. My assignment was to design trials that would address the needs of CARE
and PADF with respect to tree hedgerows. Success of the hedgerow planting effort in the project
was reported in terms of “soil saved,” with the assumption that by preventing soil loss and planting
leguminous trees, they were also improving soil fertility. That was a questionable assumption given
the way in which the hedgerows were managed.One of the basic concepts of alley cropping as practiced in the tropics is that the leaves and
stems are used to add nitrogen and organic matter to the soil and recycle other plant nutrients. As
I discussed the system with project leaders, I was made aware that the leaves and small stems of the
trees were being removed to feed livestock or the hedgerows were heavily grazed by livestock. One
of the purposes of designing this trial was to demonstrate the benefits to the crop of applying the
hedgerow prunings to the alleys rather than removing them to feed livestock. Because of previous
experience carrying out an alley cropping experiment in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I had
become aware of the importance of managing the competition between the tree hedgerows and the
associated crop through the timing of pruning operations. Therefore, I also felt it important to focus
on identifying the proper timing and frequency of pruning operations during a growing season.
Although this research was carried out in Haiti, the results relating to hedgerow management will be
beneficial to those practicing alley cropping in other areas of the tropical world
Resistance model for confined circular reinforced concrete columns under eccentric loads
Full text linkCircular reinforced concrete columns with spiral reinforcement exhibit an increased ductility
and resistance due to the confinement effect. Many experimental investigations and theoretical studies related
to this topic are focused on columns under axial load, while those for eccentric load are seldom. The scope of
the paper is to present a developed calculation model of resistance for eccentrically loaded confined circular
concrete columns. The model assumptions extend procedures of the ACI and Eurocode to the confined
concrete case. In order to determine the resistance of columns in the form of the force-moment interaction
diagrams, a special procedure is elaborated and described in detail. The peak stress and corresponding strain
for axially loaded confined concrete is calculated using the Richart’s model. Then, an increase of ultimate
strength capacity due to confinement is related to the axial strain level. The more the eccentricity, the less
the confinement effect is engaged in the column resistance. The contribution of spiral reinforcement in the
bearing capacity is the greatest in concentrically loaded columns and it vanishes at the point where axial
strain in the concrete column is equal to zero, which initially governed the beneficial effect of the spiral
reinforcement. A sample interaction diagram is obtained for the selected design case and compared with the
diagram for unconfined column.Ye