Temperature and outgroup discrimination

Author(s):  
Donghyun Danny Choi ◽  
Mathias Poertner ◽  
Nicholas Sambanis

Abstract High temperatures have been linked to aggression and different forms of conflict in humans. We consider whether exposure to heat waves increases discriminatory behavior toward outgroups. Using data from two large-scale field experiments in Germany, we find a direct causal effect of exposure to heat shocks on discrimination in helping behavior. As temperature rises, German natives faced with a choice to provide help to strangers in every-day interactions help Muslim immigrants less than they do other German natives, while help rates toward natives are unaffected by temperature. This finding suggests that there may be a physiological basis for discriminatory behavior toward outgroups.

Plant Disease ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gamliel ◽  
A. Grinstein ◽  
Y. Peretz ◽  
L. Klein ◽  
A. Nachmias ◽  
...  

The use of gas-impermeable films to reduce the dosage of methyl bromide (MB) required to control Verticillium wilt in potatoes was examined in field experiments, conducted in soils naturally infested with Verticillium dahliae. The incidence and severity of Verticillium wilt were significantly reduced (by 74 to 94%) by fumigation with MB at 50 g/m2 under standard low density polyethylene (LDPE) or at 25 g/m2 under gas-impermeable films. Fumigation at 25 g/m2 under LDPE was less effective. Disease severity was inversely correlated (r2 = 0.89 to 0.91) with chlorophyll content in the leaves. Fumigation also reduced (by 89 to 100%) stem colonization by the pathogen. Potato yield in the fumigated plots was significantly higher (26 to 69%), than in their nonfumigated counterparts, and was inversely correlated with disease index (r2 = 0.69 to 0.9). The percentage of high-value tubers (above 45 g) was 52 to 56% of total yield in the fumigated plots as compared with 32 to 40% in the nonfumigated controls. Thus, fumigation also improved the commercial quality of tuber yield. Effective control of V. dahliae and yield increases following MB fumigation at the recommended dosage or at a reduced dosage with gas-impermeable films was also observed in a consecutive crop. These results were verified in a large-scale field experiment using commercial applications, further demonstrating the feasibility of reducing MB dosages under farm conditions, without reducing its effectiveness in terms of disease control and yield improvement.


1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 745 ◽  
Author(s):  
PA Taylor ◽  
SP Flett ◽  
RFde Boer ◽  
D Marshall

The period of susceptibility of potato tubers to powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea) was studied by inoculating potato plants with spores, or by watering plants in infested soil, at different stages of plant development in greenhouse conditions. Maximum susceptibility began about 1 week before the stage when 50% of stolons had swollen to at least 5-mm diameter (tuber set), and ended 3-4 weeks later. With holding irrigation water during this period reduced the severity of powdery scab by 65-75% in field experiments in 1981-82 and 1982-83, but had no apparent effect on disease severity in 3 out of 6 large-scale field trials during 1984-85.


2001 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 141-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juauien Vallet ◽  
Urs Gruber ◽  
François Dufour

AbstractDuring winter 1999 three large avalanche events were triggered by explosives at SLF’s avalanche test site, Vallée de la Sionne, canton Valais, Switzerland. One important goal of these large-scale field experiments was to measure the release and deposition volumes of avalanches by photogrammetric methods. In this paper, the photogrammetric measurements of all three avalanches are summarized. For one avalanche event it was possible to realize the whole measuring procedure as planned, and to obtain volume measurements before and after the avalanche triggering In the other two avalanche events, the photographs before the triggering of the avalanche failed. Nevertheless the photographs taken after the avalanche provide valuable information on the fracture depth at the fracture line. The mean fracture depth of the largest avalanche was about 2.10 m, varying between 1 and 3.5 m over a width of > 1000 m. The total volume of the deposition of all three avalanche events was about 1300 000 m3. The deposits are distributed over a length of > 1000 m with depths up to 30 m. The difference between the released and deposited volumes proved that avalanches entrain a large amount of snow along the avalanche track. Furthermore, the snow distribution in the deposition zone provides important information about the behaviour of a dense flowing avalanche in the runout zone.


Author(s):  
Ian Shapiro ◽  
Steven Richardson ◽  
Scott McClurg ◽  
Anand Sokhey

Decades of work have illuminated the influence interpersonal networks exert on voting behavior, political participation, the acquisition of political knowledge, tolerance, ambivalence, and attitude polarization. These central findings have largely been grounded in examinations of political discussion and have remained robust to measurement differences of key concepts like disagreement, various data collection methods, and multiple research designs ranging from the cross-sectional to large-scale field experiments. By comparison, scholars understand considerably less about individuals’ motivation to approach their social contacts when it comes to politics, and about why networks produce the outcomes that they do; this calls researchers to reflect on and revisit previous research, but also to consider new paths of research. Although there is a growing body of promising work focused on “whole,” or complete, networks, much can also be gained by better integrating social psychology into the study of egocentric, or “core,” political networks. Answering these (and other) questions will help connect current findings, emerging methods, and nascent theory. Such connections should advance dialogues between research on group influence, discussion networks, and individual political behavior.


Author(s):  
Paul Ferraro ◽  
James Fan ◽  
Kent Messer ◽  
Collin Weigel

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