scholarly journals The Boundaries of Trust: Cross-Religious and Cross-Ethnic Field Experiments in Mauritius

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470491881764 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Shaver ◽  
Martin Lang ◽  
Jan Krátký ◽  
Eva Kundtová Klocová ◽  
Radek Kundt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Religious Commitment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trust Game ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Religious Systems ◽  
Reliable Mechanism

Several prominent evolutionary theories contend that religion was critical to the emergence of large-scale societies and encourages cooperation in contemporary complex groups. These theories argue that religious systems provide a reliable mechanism for finding trustworthy anonymous individuals under conditions of risk. In support, studies find that people displaying cues of religious identity are more likely to be trusted by anonymous coreligionists. However, recent research has found that displays of religious commitment can increase trust across religious divides. These findings are puzzling from the perspective that religion emerges to regulate coalitions. To date, these issues have not been investigated outside of American undergraduate samples nor have studies considered how religious identities interact with other essential group-membership signals, such as ancestry, to affect intergroup trust. Here, we address these issues and compare religious identity, ancestry, and trust among and between Christians and Hindus living in Mauritius. Ninety-seven participants rated the trustworthiness of faces, and in a modified trust game distributed money among these faces, which varied according to religious and ethnic identity. In contrast to previous research, we find that markers of religious identity increase monetary investments only among in-group members and not across religious divides. Moreover, out-group religious markers on faces of in-group ancestry decrease reported trustworthiness. These findings run counter to recent studies collected in the United States and suggest that local socioecologies influence the relationships between religion and trust. We conclude with suggestions for future research and a discussion of the challenges of conducting field experiments with remote populations.

A Synthesis of Knowns, Unknowns, and Policy Recommendations from the Sea Lamprey International Symposium

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 2202-2208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Walters ◽  
George Spangler ◽  
W. J. Christie ◽  
Patrick J. Manion ◽  
James F. Kitchell
Keyword(s):  
International Symposium ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Lake Trout ◽  
Sea Lamprey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Pilot Studies

The Sea Lamprey International Symposium (SLIS) has provided a broad spectrum of facts and speculations for consideration in future research and management programs. Many aspects of the laboratory biology and field life history of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are now well understood. There is little question that it can now be controlled by chemical larvicides, and perhaps in the future by more efficient integrated control programs. There is correlative evidence (wounds, scars, catch curves) that lamprey caused major mortalities in some fish species, and that control in conjunction with stocking has lead to remarkable recoveries of salmonid stocks in the Great Lakes. However, there are great gaps in understanding about just what the lamprey does under field conditions, and it is not yet possible to reject several hypotheses that assign lamprey a minimum or transient role in fish stock changes. Further studies on details of lamprey biology are, in themselves, unlikely to fill the gaps; one alternative is to conduct a large-scale field experiment involving cessation of lamprey control while holding other factors (fishing, stocking) as steady as possible. If it is decided to proceed with management on the assumption that lamprey are important, without the major field experiments to confirm it, then at least the following steps should be taken: (1) the chemical treatment program should be reviewed in detail, with a view to finding treatment schedules that will minimize frequency and dose rates for lampricide applications; (2) pilot studies on alternative control schemes (sterile male, attractants, barriers) should only be funded if they are statistically well designed (several replicate and control streams), and involve quantitative monitoring of lamprey spawning success and subsequent total production of transforming larvae; (3) the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) stocking program should be maintained at its present level, and should involve diverse genotypes rather than a few hatchery strains; (4) growth in the sport fisheries for lake trout should be curtailed, and commercial fisheries should not yet be permitted; (5) a multispecies harvesting policy should be designed that takes into account the buffering effect of each species on lamprey mortality suffered by others (i.e. should some species not be harvested at all, and viewed instead as buffers for more valuable species?); and (6) a program should be developed for restoring, by culture if necessary, native forage species in case the introduced smelt and alewife should collapse under pressure from fishing and prédation by the growing salmonid community.Key words: sea lamprey, proposed research, fishery management, mathematical models, population dynamics

scholarly journals Teacher Preparation, Motivation, and Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Study of New Teachers in Japan and the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 368
Author(s):  
Shaoan Zhang ◽  
Andromeda Hightower ◽  
Qingmin Shi
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
New Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Utility Value ◽  
The U.S

Using the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, this study examines U.S. and Japanese new teachers’ initial teacher preparation (ITP), feelings of preparedness, motivations, and self-efficacy. The analysis of 355 U.S. and 433 Japanese new secondary teachers provided several findings. First, ITP in the U.S. more often included teaching in mixed-ability and multicultural settings, cross-curricular skills, and technology than Japan, and U.S. teachers felt more prepared than Japanese teachers in every category of preparation. Second, Japanese teachers were more likely to declare teaching as their first career choice and reportedly scored significantly higher on motivations to become a teacher of personal utility value, while U.S. new teachers scored higher on social utility value. Third, there were no significant differences in self-efficacy between U.S. and Japanese new teachers. This study contributes to the gap of large-scale, comparative literature between the U.S. and Japanese initial teacher preparation. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals The Efficacy of Ethnic Stacking: Military Defection during Uprisings in Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Morency-Laflamme ◽  
Theodore McLauchlin
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Loyalty ◽  
Limited Support ◽  
History Of ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Does ethnic stacking in the armed forces help prevent military defection? Recent research, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, suggests so; by favoring in-groups, regimes can keep in-group soldiers loyal. In-group loyalty comes at the cost of antagonizing members of out-groups, but many regimes gladly run that risk. In this research note, we provide the first large-scale evidence on the impact of ethnic stacking on the incidence of military defection during uprisings from below, using data on fifty-seven popular uprisings in Africa since formal independence. We find clear evidence for the downside: ethnic stacking is associated with more frequent defection if out-group members are still dominant in the armed forces. We find more limited support for the hypothesized payoff. Ethnic stacking may reduce the risk of defection, but only in regimes without a recent history of coup attempts. Future research should therefore trace the solidification of ethnic stacking over time.

Going “Beyond the Surface” in an App-Based Group: A Heuristic Inquiry

2020 ◽  
pp. 002216782097450
Author(s):  
Natalie F. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heuristic Inquiry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Group A ◽  
Group Members

Six co-researchers conducted a heuristic inquiry of a group experience composed of hundreds of video messages, posted consistently over 4 months, via the Marco Polo smartphone application, to explore the universal implications associated with this uniquely intimate experience. This diverse, artist-led group was composed of five individuals who identify as female and one individual who identifies as non-binary, of African and African American descent, from three states in the United States, with varying levels of income and education. According to the founder, the purpose of the group was to cultivate a space for “wellness through creativity, connection, and collaboration,” primarily for herself, but also for her closest friends. A formal study was necessary to illuminate the salient themes and generate findings from this serendipitous group process. Three themes emerged: (a) the group changed over time, in alignment with long-established theories of group work (i.e., forming, storming, norming, performing, and mourning/adjourning); (b) group members navigated conflict within the group and in dyads outside of the larger group; (c) and members experienced meaningful benefits and impacts as a result of participation, which supports the growing research on online mental health support groups. Implications for future research, training, and practice are provided.

REASSESSING “TOWARD A THEORY OF RACE, CRIME, AND URBAN INEQUALITY”

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sampson ◽  
William Julius Wilson ◽  
Hanna Katz
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Urban Inequality ◽  
Race And Crime ◽  
Causes Of Crime ◽  
Proper Context ◽  
Neighborhood Level

AbstractIn “Toward a Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban Inequality,” Sampson and Wilson (1995) argued that racial disparities in violent crime are attributable in large part to the persistent structural disadvantages that are disproportionately concentrated in African American communities. They also argued that the ultimate causes of crime were similar for both Whites and Blacks, leading to what has been labeled the thesis of “racial invariance.” In light of the large scale social changes of the past two decades and the renewed political salience of race and crime in the United States, this paper reassesses and updates evidence evaluating the theory. In so doing, we clarify key concepts from the original thesis, delineate the proper context of validation, and address new challenges. Overall, we find that the accumulated empirical evidence provides broad but qualified support for the theoretical claims. We conclude by charting a dual path forward: an agenda for future research on the linkages between race and crime, and policy recommendations that align with the theory’s emphasis on neighborhood level structural forces but with causal space for cultural factors.

Looking Backward to Move Forward

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boaz Hameiri ◽  
Arie Nadler
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Emotional Needs ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Right Of Return ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level

Two large-scale surveys conducted in Israel (Study 1A) and the Palestinian Authority (Study 1B) show that the belief by group members that people in the “enemy” group acknowledge their victimhood (i.e., Holocaust and Nakba for Jews and Palestinians, respectively) is associated with Israeli-Jews’ readiness to accept responsibility for Palestinian sufferings and offer apologies. For Palestinians, this belief is linked to a perceived higher likelihood of a reconciled future with Israelis. Three field experiments demonstrate that a manipulated high level of acknowledgment of Jewish victimhood by Palestinians (Studies 2 and 4) and of Palestinian victimhood by Israeli-Jews (Study 3) caused greater readiness to make concessions for the sake of peace on divisive issues (e.g., Jerusalem, the 1967 borders, the right of return) and increased conciliatory attitudes. Additional analyses indicate the mediating role of increased trust and reduced emotional needs in these relationships.

The revolution will not be randomized: Universal basic income, randomized controlled trials, and ‘evidence-based’ social policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801812110101
Author(s):  
Malte Neuwinger
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Boundary Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Impact ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Work Requirements ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Science And Politics

Organizations in various countries have launched large-scale randomized field experiments to evaluate the empirical effects of basic income. Surprisingly, scholars have paid only scarce attention to the way basic income experiments are actually run. To address this shortcoming, I present three case studies of basic income experiments in the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. I ask: Why do experiments’ designs only remotely resemble the ‘paradigmatic’ model of basic income they are in fact interested in – universal, unconditional, individual payments, no means tests, and no work requirements? Interviewed researchers identify three types of constraints that prevent basic income experiments from successfully testing basic income – politics, money, and the law – which I explain through the mechanism of ‘boundary work’ between science and politics. I conclude by cautioning against overstated expectations about the policy impact of both current and future basic income experiments.

scholarly journals Epidemiology of community-acquired and recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175628482110162
Author(s):  
Yichun Fu ◽  
Yuying Luo ◽  
Ari M Grinspan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile ◽  
Epidemiologic Surveillance ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile Infection ◽  
Healthcare Associated ◽  
Hospital Acquired

Clostridioides difficile infection is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections with significant morbidity and mortality. For the past decade, the bulk of infection prevention and epidemiologic surveillance efforts have been directed toward mitigating hospital-acquired C. difficile. However, the incidence of community-associated infection is on the rise. Patients with community-associated C. difficile tend to be younger and have lower mortality rate. Rates of recurrent C. difficile infection overall have decreased in the United States, but future research and public health endeavors are needed to standardize and improve disease detection, stratify risk factors in large-scale population studies, and to identify regional and local variations in strain types, reservoirs and transmission routes to help characterize and combat the changing epidemiology of C. difficile.

Giant Foxtail Seed Predation byHarpalus pensylvanicus(Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Weed Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith J. Ward ◽  
Matthew R. Ryan ◽  
William S. Curran ◽  
Jeffrey Law
Keyword(s):  
Weed Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Common Lambsquarters ◽  
Giant Foxtail ◽  
Seed Preference ◽  
Activity Density

The utility of biological control for weed management in agroecosystems will increase with a greater understanding of the relationships between common weed and granivore species. Giant foxtail is an introduced, summer annual grass weed that is common throughout the United States and problematic in numerous crops.Harpalus pensylvanicus(DeGeer) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is a common, native, omnivorous carabid beetle with a range that overlaps giant foxtail. In 2004 and 2005,H. pensylvanicuswas captured from farm fields in Centre County, PA, and subjected to laboratory feeding trials to test the preference of giant foxtail and other species on predation byH. pensylvanicus. Weed species seed preference experiments that included “Choice” and “No Choice” treatments were conducted using giant foxtail, common lambsquarters, and velvetleaf. When given a choice amongst the three weed species,H. pensylvanicuspreferred giant foxtail and common lambsquarters seeds equally compared to velvetleaf seeds. When given the choice,H. pensylvanicuspreferred newly dispersed giant foxtail seeds over field-aged seeds. Phenology of giant foxtail seed shed relative toH. pensylvanicusactivity density was also quantified in field experiments in 2005 and 2006. Giant foxtail seed rain was determined by collecting shed seeds from August through October using pan traps. Activity density ofH. pensylvanicuswas monitored for 72-h periods using pitfall traps from June to October. Peak activity density ofH. pensylvanicusoccurred at the onset of giant foxtail seed shed in both years; however, giant foxtail seed shed peaked approximately 30 to 50 d afterH. pensylvanicusactivity density. Future research should focus on management practices that enhance and supportH. pensylvanicuspopulations later in the growing season to maximize suppression of giant foxtail and other weeds that shed palatable seeds later in the season.

scholarly journals Folk Theories of Religious Identity- Evidence from Palestine and the United States

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Salari Rad ◽  
Jeremy Ginges
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Kinds ◽  
The United States ◽  
Category Membership ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
Intergroup Conflicts ◽  
Role Of Religion

How do people understand what makes a person Muslim, Hindu, or Christian? Social categories are sometimes viewed as natural kinds, where category membership is believed to derive from an underlying biological essence. Current theorizing posits this tendency to be motivated by contextual features such as saliency of categories, or quality of intergroup relations. Accordingly, along with categories such as ethnicity or gender, religious categories may be susceptible to essentialism in contexts of violent conflict along religious lines. An alternative perspective, drawn from the literature that links the spread of aspects of religious cognition to the growth of large-scale cooperative societies, is that religious category membership could be perceived as especially transformable by context and practice. We investigated essentialist reasoning about religious categories heavily implicated in intergroup conflicts in two populations: Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, and citizens of the United States. In four experiments (N = 2578), we employed variations of the adoption task to compare how people reason about membership in religious and national categories. Results show that people are less likely to believe that one’s religion (compared to one’s nationality) is passed on through some type of biological mechanism and so is “fixed at birth”. Thus, religious categories seem particularly resistant to essentialist reasoning, even when the social context appears to motivate such reasoning. Implications for understanding essentialist reasoning and the role of religion in intergroup conflict are discussed.

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