scholarly journals Competitively mediated changes in male toad calls can depend on call structure

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1344-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Stirman ◽  
Karin S Pfennig
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Call Rate ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Call Structure ◽  
Spadefoot Toads ◽  
Spea Bombifrons ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Large Groups ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Male Signals

Abstract Males of many species aggregate in large groups where they signal to attract females. These large aggregations create intense competition for mates, and the simultaneous signaling by many individuals can impair any given male’s ability to attract females. In response to this situation, male signals can be modified, either evolutionarily or facultatively, such that the detectability of the signal is enhanced. The way in which signals are modified varies among even closely related species, yet few studies have evaluated what causes such variation. Here, we address this issue using male spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata and Spea bombifrons), which call to attract females. Using data from natural populations, we examined if, and how, male calls of 3 different call types (S. multiplicata with a slow call, S. bombifrons with a slow call, and S. bombifrons with a fast call) varied depending on competition with other males. We found that in both call types consisting of slow calls, call pulse rate decreased with increasing competition. By contrast, in the call type consisting of fast calls, call rate decreased with increasing competition. Moreover, we found that the relationship between competition and male call effort—a measure of the energy that males expend in calling––differed between the call types. Such variation in male signals in response to competition can have important implications for explaining diversity in male signals and patterns of sexual selection.

scholarly journals Research groups: how big should they be?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Cook ◽  
Sam Grange ◽  
Adam Eyre-Walker
Keyword(s):  
Impact Factor ◽  
Group Size ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Average Group ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Large Groups ◽  
The Relationship

We have investigated the relationship between research group size and productivity in the life sciences in the United Kingdom using data from 398 principle investigators (PIs). We show that the number of publications increases linearly with group size, but that the slope is modest relative to the intercept, and that the relationship explains little of the variance in productivity. A comparison of the slope and intercept suggests that PIs contribute on average 5-times more productivity than an average group member and using multiple regression we estimate that post-doctoral researchers are approximately 3–times more productive than PhD students. We also find that the impact factor and the number of citations are both non-linearly related to group size such that there is a maximum. However, the relationships explain little of the variance and the curvatures are shallow so the impact factor and the number of citations do not greatly depend upon group size. The intercept is large relative to curvature suggesting that the PI is largely responsible for the impact factor and the number of citations from their group. Surprisingly we find this non-linear relationship for post-docs, but for PhD students we observe a slight but significant decrease in the impact factor. The results have important implications for the funding of research. Given a set number of Pis there is no evidence of diminishing returns in terms of the number of papers published and only a very weak cost to very large groups in terms of where those papers are published and the number of citations they receive. However, the results do suggest that it might be more productive to invest in new permanent members of faculty rather than additional post-docs and PhD students.

scholarly journals Research groups: how big should they be?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Cook ◽  
Sam Grange ◽  
Adam Eyre-Walker
Keyword(s):  
Impact Factor ◽  
Group Size ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Average Group ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Large Groups ◽  
The Relationship

We have investigated the relationship between research group size and productivity in the life sciences in the United Kingdom using data from 398 principle investigators (PIs). We show that the number of publications increases linearly with group size, but that the slope is modest relative to the intercept, and that the relationship explains little of the variance in productivity. A comparison of the slope and intercept suggests that PIs contribute on average 5-times more productivity than an average group member and using multiple regression we estimate that post-doctoral researchers are approximately 3–times more productive than PhD students. We also find that the impact factor and the number of citations are both non-linearly related to group size such that there is a maximum. However, the relationships explain little of the variance and the curvatures are shallow so the impact factor and the number of citations do not greatly depend upon group size. The intercept is large relative to curvature suggesting that the PI is largely responsible for the impact factor and the number of citations from their group. Surprisingly we find this non-linear relationship for post-docs, but for PhD students we observe a slight but significant decrease in the impact factor. The results have important implications for the funding of research. Given a set number of Pis there is no evidence of diminishing returns in terms of the number of papers published and only a very weak cost to very large groups in terms of where those papers are published and the number of citations they receive. However, the results do suggest that it might be more productive to invest in new permanent members of faculty rather than additional post-docs and PhD students.

Accent Policy and Accent Modification Enterprises as Potential Indicators of Intercultural Power Relations: A Call for an Updated Research Agenda

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynne D. Ovalle ◽  
Rahul Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article has two purposes: (a) to examine the relationship between intercultural power relations and the widespread practice of accent discrimination and (b) to underscore the ramifications of accent discrimination both for the individual and for global society as a whole. First, authors review social theory regarding language and group identity construction, and then go on to integrate more current studies linking accent bias to sociocultural variables. Authors discuss three examples of intercultural accent discrimination in order to illustrate how this link manifests itself in the broader context of international relations (i.e., how accent discrimination is generated in situations of unequal power) and, using a review of current research, assess the consequences of accent discrimination for the individual. Finally, the article highlights the impact that linguistic discrimination is having on linguistic diversity globally, partially using data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partially by offering a potential context for interpreting the emergence of practices that seek to reduce or modify speaker accents.

Workplace Ostracism and Its Negative Outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoming Zheng ◽  
Jun Yang ◽  
Hang-Yue Ngo ◽  
Xiao-Yu Liu ◽  
Wengjuan Jiao
Keyword(s):  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Intention To Leave ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Workplace Ostracism ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Workplace ostracism, conceived as to being ignored or excluded by others, has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. One essential topic in this area is how to reduce or even eliminate the negative consequences of workplace ostracism. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the current study assesses the relationship between workplace ostracism and its negative outcomes, as well as the moderating role played by psychological capital, using data collected from 256 employees in three companies in the northern part of China. The study yields two important findings: (1) workplace ostracism is positively related to intention to leave and (2) psychological capital moderates the effect of workplace ostracism on affective commitment and intention to leave. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for organizations and employees, along with recommendations for future research.

Editor’s Pick: Regulatory and Ethical Issues in the New Era of Radiomics and Radiogenomics

EMJ Radiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Pesapane
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Images ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
New Era ◽  
Naked Eye ◽  
Disease Characteristics ◽  
The Future ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

Radiomics is a science that investigates a large number of features from medical images using data-characterisation algorithms, with the aim to analyse disease characteristics that are indistinguishable to the naked eye. Radiogenomics attempts to establish and examine the relationship between tumour genomic characteristics and their radiologic appearance. Although there is certainly a lot to learn from these relationships, one could ask the question: what is the practical significance of radiogenomic discoveries? This increasing interest in such applications inevitably raises numerous legal and ethical questions. In an environment such as the technology field, which changes quickly and unpredictably, regulations need to be timely in order to be relevant.  In this paper, issues that must be solved to make the future applications of this innovative technology safe and useful are analysed.

Electricity consumption and economic growth in ASEAN

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ghazali Ismail ◽  
Arlinah Abd Rashid ◽  
Azlina Hanif
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Panel Estimation ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship and causality direction between electricity consumption and economic growth is an important issue in the fields of energy economics and policies towards energy use. Extensive literatures has discussed the issue, but the array of findings provides anything but consensus on either the existence of relations or direction of causality between the variables. This study extends research in this area by studying the long-run and causal relations between economic growth, electricity consumption, labour and capital based on the neo-classical one sector aggregate production technology mode using data of electricity consumption and real GDP for ASEAN from the year 1983 to 2012. The analysis is conducted using advanced panel estimation approaches and found no causality in the short run while in the long-run, the results indicate that there are bidirectional relationship among variables. This study provides supplementary evidences of relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in ASEAN.

Gender Ideology and Fertility: Evidence for a Curvilinear Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Stefani ◽  
Gabriele Prati
Keyword(s):  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
World Population ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Using Data ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

Research on the relationship between fertility and gender ideology revealed inconsistent results. In the present study, we argue that inconsistencies may be due to the fact that such relationship may be nonlinear. We hypothesize a U- shaped relationship between two dimensions of gender ideology (i.e. primacy of breadwinner role and acceptance of male privilege) and fertility rates. We conducted a cross-national analysis of 60 countries using data from the World Values Survey as well as the World Population Prospects 2019. Controlling for gross domestic product, we found support for a U-shaped relationship between gender ideology and fertility. Higher levels of fertility rates were found at lower and especially higher levels of traditional gender ideology, while a medium level of gender ideology was associated with the lowest fertility rate. This curvilinear relationship is in agreement with the phase of the gender revolution in which the country is located. Traditional beliefs are linked to a complementary division of private versus public sphere between sexes, while egalitarian attitudes are associated with a more equitable division. Both conditions strengthen fertility. Instead, as in the transition phase, intermediate levels of gender ideology’s support are associated with an overload and a difficult reconciliation of the roles that women have to embody (i.e. working and nurturing) so reducing fertility. The present study has contributed to the literature by addressing the inconsistencies of prior research by demonstrating that the relationship between gender ideology and fertility rates is curvilinear rather than linear.

Openness and Self-enhancement are predictors of cultural and economic beliefs: an analysis of European countries across 15 years

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Czarnek ◽  
Małgorzata Kossowska
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Economic Beliefs ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

In this study, we investigate the relationship between values and political beliefs and how it varies as a function of cultural context and time. In particular, we analyzed the effects of Conservation vs. Openness to change and Self-transcendence vs. Self-enhancement for cultural and economic political beliefs using data from nationally representative samples of citizens from 34 European countries from eight rounds of the European Social Survey (data spans the 2002–2016 period). We found that the effects of values on political beliefs are moderated by the Western vs. Eastern cultural context and that there is a modest round-to-round variation in the effects of values on beliefs. The relationship between Openness and cultural beliefs was negative and largely consistent across the Western and Eastern countries. Similarly, the effects of Self-enhancement were positive across these Western and Eastern countries. In contrast, the effects of Openness on economic beliefs were positive for the Eastern countries but largely weak and inconsistent for the Western countries. Finally, the effects of Self-enhancement on cultural beliefs are weak for both cultural contexts.

Influence of Confucian culture on entrepreneurial decision making using data from China's floating population

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Ran Xiong ◽  
Ping Wei
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Floating Population ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Confucian Culture ◽  
Chinese Nation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Entrepreneurial Decision ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

Confucian culture has had a deep-rooted influence on Chinese thinking and behavior for more than 2,000 years. With a manually created Confucian culture database and the 2017 China floating population survey, we used empirical analysis to test the relationship between Confucian culture and individual entrepreneurial choice using data obtained from China's floating population. After using the presence and number of Confucian schools and temples, and of chaste women as instrumental variables to counteract problems of endogeneity, we found that Confucian culture had a significant role in promoting individuals' entrepreneurial decision making among China's floating population. The results showed that, compared with those from areas of China not strongly influenced by Confucian culture, individuals from areas that are strongly influenced by Confucian culture were more likely to choose entrepreneurship as their occupation choice. Our findings reveal cultural factors that affect individual entrepreneurial behavior, and also illustrate the positive role of Confucianism as a representative of the typical cultures of the Chinese nation in the 21st century.

Social comparison orientation and mental health: The mediating role of psychological capital

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoliang Yang ◽  
Zhihua Wang ◽  
Weijiong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Comparison Orientation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Little is known about the relationship between social comparison orientation and mental health, especially in the psychological capital context. We proposed a theoretical model to examine the impact of ability- and opinion-based social comparison orientation on mental health using data from 304 undergraduates. We also examined the mediating effect of the four psychological capital components of hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism in the relationship between social comparison orientation and mental health. Results show that an ability (vs. opinion) social comparison orientation was negatively (vs. positively) related to the psychological capital components. Further, the resilience and optimism components of psychological capital fully mediated the social comparison orientation–mental health relationship. Our findings indicate that psychological capital should be considered in the promotion of mental health, and that the two social comparison orientation types have opposite effects on psychological capital.

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