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Inferring the “Meaning” of Wing-Tail Flicking Behavior in American Crows
Get PDFWing and tail flicking is observed in many bird species, but the interpretation of this behavior ranges from signaling aggression to reflecting fear. In American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), wing-tail flicking (WTF) may reflect unease and may even be a signal to other birds. We report the first quantitative analysis of wing-tail flicking by crows with respect to its use by context and identity of the crow. We analyzed pre-recorded videos from other experiments exposing crows to novel objects, both on territory and at a group foraging site. WTF was recorded quantitatively (scale of intensity 1-3 and rates/min), along with context and the individual’s identity. WTF was frequent both on territory and at the communal foraging site in social and non-social behavioral contexts. It occurred in higher intensity when crows first landed, retrieved food, or in social conflicts. At the communal foraging site, its frequency and intensity decreased, possibly due to increased safety in numbers or reduced incentive for signaling amongst unrelated individuals. There are few ways to assess the motivational state of animals in the wild. Quantifying subtle signals and their occurrence in known contexts is an important step in understanding the internal state behind the behavior of wild animals.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1096/thumbnail.jp
Misdirected: The Real Enemy Behind the United States\u27 War Against Human Trafficking
Get PDFThe conversation surrounding the issue of human trafficking has long been misdirected and sensationalized in the United States, with government-backed anti-trafficking campaigns hyperfocused on the relationship between sex work and human trafficking rather than on the significantly more common phenomenon of labor trafficking, significantly amongst migrant laborers. The definition of human trafficking has become nearly synonymous with that of sex trafficking, both officially and colloquially — the result of legislation and public campaigning that claim to address trafficking as a whole, yet zero in exclusively on sex trafficking. This hyperfocus on sex work functions to both endanger the livelihoods of consenting sex workers and to neglect addressing the more pressing issue of labor trafficking in other industries, a deliberate misdirection noted by writer Jo Doezema in “What is Human Trafficking?” In her essay, Doezema and her fellow authors push for a reformed image of trafficking as a labor and migration issue, one that must be addressed by implementing specific measures to protect migrants and other marginalized people susceptible to being trafficked. The continued public ignorance about labor trafficking is a direct result of governmental protection and sanctioning of exploitative commercial practices. In this project, I explore the simultaneous prevalence and invisibility of the phenomenon of labor trafficking as the product of years of anti-sex work and anti-market regulation legislation, including the UN’s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Girls and Congress’s Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2018.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1024/thumbnail.jp
Child Domestic Laborers’ Vulnerability To Horizontal Inequality
Get PDFHuman Rights Watch issued a report in 2005 which “documented domestic work [in Morocco] by girls as young as five years old, some of whom worked for as little as US4¢ an hour, for 100 or more hours per week, without rest breaks or days off.” This report would become the basis of a follow up report conducted in 2012 that addressed the exploitative conditions of child domestic labor. How do these conditions create an environment that prevents these child laborers from attending school? How does this contribute to future inequalities? Employment of these children violates the ratification of international covenants and laws on child labor, and minimal advancement has been made to protect child laborers in the countries of North Africa. Young girls are continuously abused and forced to work long hours for indecent wages in private homes in North Africa. Horizontal inequalities are inequalities among groups with a similar social, political, or economic identity. The study of human rights violations occurring in North Africa consists of identifying how the exploitation and powerlessness of child domestic laborers make them uniquely susceptible to structural oppression and how minimal educational opportunities for these children forces them into the unprofessional sector of labor and leads to increased horizontal inequalities. The examination of the US Department of Labor’s labor rights reports and US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices from 2009 to 2019 provides the necessary data to analyze the level of government respect for internationally recognized worker’s rights. Analyzing how child labor violations in North Africa has been damaging to children and informing the world of the atrocities occurring in other countries will bring these violations to the forefront, and allow governments and other stakeholders to put pressure on violators to change their policies and actions.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1042/thumbnail.jp
Racism and Medical Care: Intersectional Analysis of Covid-19 Treatment
Get PDFIt is crucial to analyze the ways in which Black women are discriminated against in the United States healthcare system. As a nation, we are witnessing in real-time the ramifications of the inadequate care Black women commonly receive during the Covid-19 pandemic, however this is historically only one stage of many where Black women suffer at the hands of prejudiced medical treatment. Leading research on the subject presents quantitative data and patient interviews that provide evidence for systemic, discriminatory treatment on the part of healthcare providers. We are looking at patient/health care provider interaction, levels of satisfaction in the care that Black women receive, and differential medical outcomes as a result of varying levels of care. We structured this information around interviews with researchers at Binghamton University to gather personal narratives and advice for the trajectory of our research. Further, we have conducted a meta-analysis of womanist literature on the subject. With this information we provide an updated synopsis of the inequities in medical outreach, treatment, and the care that Black women receive, specifically regarding Covid-19, which manifests in lower confidence in medical professionals, higher infection rates, and higher death rates. Our data collection will assist in delineating this problem and in working towards solutions within the scope of the pandemic and beyond. Black women who face these disparities in health care are left to manage their health without the help of the very people tasked with that responsibility, and it is therefore imperative that we shine light upon the racism and sexism within the United States healthcare system to supply data in support of the demands for reform.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1043/thumbnail.jp
Development and Conservation of Flood Plains
Get PDFIn Broome County flooding has been a core cause of property damage and a danger to residents; most recently historic flooding occurred in 1976, 2006, and 201l. The reoccurrence of record-breaking floods in the County has become an alarming issue and has caused hundreds of millions in property damage in the past decade alone. In a shift from prior prevention methods using levees, floodwalls, and dams, the County government has moved towards enacting smaller-scale flood mitigation strategies. The conservation and protection of floodplains allow for the increased absorption capacity of wetlands, thus lowering the extent of flooding damages. Thus opportunities arise in Broome County for increased cooperation between urban and rural legislators, in the combined effort of preventing flood damages through maximizing the County’s wetland absorption capabilities. Through data collected from government websites, local news articles, and interviews with County legislators this study describes the current situation in Broome County, comparing currently planned policies with existing flood problems throughout the County. Increased urban and rural communication and cooperation allows for more effective policies to be implemented, limiting the opportunity costs that arise from protecting unnecessary flood plains while maximizing the effectiveness of flood mitigation strategies throughout the County.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1049/thumbnail.jp
Victims on Trial: New York’s Response to Sex Trafficking
Get PDFIn 2019, New York State had a reported 454 cases of labor and sex trafficking. It had the fourth most cases of any state in the U.S. behind California, Texas, and Florida, the three most populous states. Sadly, there are likely far more trafficking cases than were reported. In the 21st century, New York State has taken considerable action to combat human trafficking by passing legislation including the Human Trafficking Act (2007) and the Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act (2008). But in 2013, the state began using the criminal justice system to combat sex trafficking. New York established the Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTICs) which receives and evaluates prostitution cases to identify victims of sex trafficking who were mistakenly arrested as voluntary sex workers. This is the first state-wide system of intervention courts in the United States. Once victims are identified, they are provided with various services including job training and medical care. However, many have raised the question of whether people who have been trafficked are being treated as victims or criminals. For example, the HTICs have been criticized for being able to identify victims only after they have been arrested and charged with a crime. This research aims to examine the benefits and drawbacks of the intervention courts by analyzing current and proposed legislation and corroborating secondary source reports on the courts. By evaluating the HTICs, this research can guide reformations made in New York’s response to human trafficking.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1048/thumbnail.jp
Lessons from Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) for Governance in Conditions of Environmental Uncertainty
Get PDFThe role of culture in sustainable communities: the case of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)
Get PDFWe explore how the combination of cultural heritage and present-day cultural affili- ations influences the construction of the concept of sustainability at the scale of the community using the case study of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We argue that overlapping affiliations—expressed through administrative culture, organizational culture, and professional culture—influence the views held by governance leaders. Furthermore, the role of cultural heritage must be considered in efforts to change and perpetuate sustainability-related behaviors within a community. Using archeo- logical and historical evidence from the pre-contact and historical record of Rapa Nui, we discuss how cultural heritage evolved endogenously in response to biophysical and socio-economic forces. We then explore how this cultural heritage inter- acts with cultural affiliations thorugh the analysis of interviews with six governance leaders. Five different discourses that reflect elements of the common heritage of the respondents as well as elements of their various administrative/organizational/ professional cultural affiliations emerge from this analysis
False Starts and Score Marks: New Tools For Historic Butchery Analysis
Get PDFFaunal assemblages from 19th-century urban sites generally consist of retail meat cuts acquired from butcher shops. Bones that have been butchered with regularity, precision, and occasionally, a type of knife mark introduced here as a “score mark”, indicate that the meat was butchered professionally. Additional butchering was often performed at home by housewives or female servants using cookbook direction for guidance. Their activities may be recorded on bones in the form of irregular cut, chop, and/or saw marks that reflect inexperience, poor tool selection, and even frustration. The collective marks of both professional and amateur butchers are “signatures” that may be interpreted to enhance faunal analyses and site interpretations