Towards precision ecology: Relationships of multiple sampling methods quantifying abundance for comparisons among studies

ABSTRACTBecause different sampling techniques will provide different abundance values, it is currently difficult to compare results among many studies to form holistic understandings of how abundance influences ant ecology. Using three sampling methods in the same location we found pitfall traps best confirmed A. gracilipes presence recording the fewest zero values (9.1%), card counts were the least reliable (67.1%), and tuna lures were intermediate (30.1%). The abundance of A. gracilipes from card counts ranged from 0 to 20, in pitfall traps from 0 to 325, and the full range of tuna lure abundance scores (0-7) were sampled. We then determined the relationships between these three standard ant sampling techniques for the abundance of yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes. Irrespective of the data transformation method, the strongest relationship was between pitfall traps and tuna lures, and the least strong was between pitfall traps and card counts. We then demonstrate the utility of this knowledge by analysing A. gracilipes abundance reported within published literature to show where the populations in those studies sit on an abundance spectrum. We also comment on insights into the relative utility of the three methods we used to determine A. gracilipes abundance among populations of varying abundance. Pitfall traps was the most reliable method to determine if the species was present at the sample level. Tuna lures were predominantly reliable for quantifying the presence of workers, but were limited by the number of workers that can gather around a spoonful of tuna. Card counts were the quickest method, but were seemingly only useful when A. gracilipes abundance is not low. Finally we discuss how environmental and biological variation needs to be accounted for in future studies to better standardise sampling protocols to help progress ecology as a precision science.

Entrepreneurial Migration

We use cross-state business registrations to track the geographic movement of startups with high growth potential. In their first five years, 6.6% percent of these startups move across state borders. Though startup births are concentrated geographically, hubs like Silicon Valley and Boston on net lose startups to entrepreneurial migration. A revealed preference approach nonparametrically identifies the average utility of cities to migrant founders. University towns and startup hubs have low relative utility. This pattern is due neither to vertical sorting nor industrial specialization. The higher-quality startups move to lower-tax, business-friendly cities, while less growth-oriented startups move to low-tax, high-amenity cities.

A-130 Validity-10, Remaining-12 and Total NSI Scores as Measures of Symptom Validity in Service Members with a History of mTBI

Objective The Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI), a commonly used self-report measure of concussive symptoms, is frequently employed throughout the Defense Health Agency. Embedded measures of symptom validity have been developed that include the Validity-10 and total NSI score. A recent investigation in a small sample of veterans (n = 45) suggested that the 12 items on the NSI that do not contribute to the Validity-10 (Remaining-12) perform in a manner similar to the Validity-10. The current study sought to evaluate the classification accuracy of the Validity-10, Remaining-12 and total NSI score in a larger sample to assess the relative utility of each. Method The NSI and MMPI-2-RF scores of 255 active duty Service Members and Veterans seen ≥4 months after mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) were evaluated. MMPI-2-RF criterion were defined as over-reporting (>79 on Fs, RBS, and/or FBS-r; >78 on F-r; >69 on Fp-r) and invalid (>119 on F; >99 on all other scales). Results Correlations between all MMPI-2-RF over-report scales and the Validity-10, Remaining-12, and NSI total were roughly commensurate and significant at the p < 0.001 level. AUC values for the RF over-report protocols were as followings: Validity-10 = 0.87, Remaining-12 = 0.89, NSI total = 0.89. AUC values for invalid RF protocols were as follows: Validity-10 = 0.91, Remaining-12 = 0.92, NSI total = 0.93. Conclusions The current findings indicate reasonable and equivalent classification accuracies for the Validity-10, Remaining-12, and NSI total score. These data can be taken to suggest that there is limited uniqueness of the Validity-10 relative to the remaining NSI items.

A Glimpse From Behind the Mask: Thoughts from the Old Clinician

This is an article/essay with focus on the question of the conflict between professional mystique and transparency in the clinician-patient relationship. Implied is the assumption that the professional “mask” influences treatment outcome and can distort or enhance the genuine nature of the relationship between those being served and those who serve them. The simple purpose of the question asked in the article is to stimulate discussion as to the relative utility of the professional mystique and professional transparency as to the degree that each influences treatment outcome and clinician satisfaction.

Does Social Science Inform Foreign Policy? Evidence from a Survey of US National Security, Trade, and Development Officials

Scholars continue to debate the relationship of academic international relations to policy. One of the most straightforward ways to discern whether policymakers find IR scholarship relevant to their work is to ask them. We analyzed an elite survey of US policy practitioners to better understand the conditions under which practitioners use academic knowledge in their work. We surveyed officials across three different policy areas: international development, national security, and trade. We also employed multiple survey experiments in an effort to causally identify the impact of academic consensus on the views of policy officials and to estimate the relative utility of different kinds of research outputs. We found that policymakers frequently engage with academic ideas, find an array of research outputs and approaches useful, and that scholarly findings can shift their views. Key obstacles to using academic knowledge include practitioners' lack of time as well as academic work being too abstract and not timely, but not that it is overly quantitative. Additionally, we documented important differences between national security officials and their counterparts who work in the areas of development and trade. We suggest that this variation is rooted in the nature of the different policy areas. Los expertos continúan con el debate acerca del vínculo entre los estudios académicos sobre relaciones internacionales y la política. Una de las formas más sencillas de determinar si los responsables de formular políticas consideran que los estudios de RI son relevantes para su trabajo es preguntándoles. Analizamos una encuesta de élite realizada a profesionales de la política en EE. UU. para comprender mejor las condiciones en las que utilizan los conocimientos académicos en su trabajo. Encuestamos a funcionarios de tres áreas políticas diferentes: Desarrollo Internacional, Seguridad Nacional y Comercio. También realizamos varios experimentos de encuestas para identificar la influencia del consenso académico en las opiniones de los funcionarios políticos y estimar la utilidad relativa de los distintos tipos de resultados de investigación. Comprobamos que, con frecuencia, los responsables de formular políticas se comprometen con las ideas académicas, consideran de utilidad toda una serie de resultados y enfoques de investigación, y que los hallazgos académicos pueden cambiar sus puntos de vista. Entre los principales obstáculos a la hora de recurrir a los conocimientos académicos se encuentran la falta de tiempo de los profesionales, así como el hecho de que los trabajos académicos sean demasiado abstractos y poco oportunos, pero no el hecho de que sean excesivamente cuantitativos. Además, documentamos importantes diferencias entre los funcionarios de Seguridad Nacional y sus colegas que trabajan en las áreas de Desarrollo y Comercio. Sugerimos que esta variación tiene su origen en la naturaleza de los diferentes ámbitos políticos.

Populism: Utility of its Approaches and the Prospects of the Phenomenon's Resurgence in America

Populism in the 21st century became prominent in scholarly circles following Brexit and the 2016 electoral victory of Donald Trump. As democracy and globalization enthusiasts least anticipated these two monumental events in modern history, much emphasis came to be placed on the nature of populism and what conditions led to its manifestation in contemporary times. Working within this background, this study aims to review the ideational, political strategy and discursive approaches to the populism phenomenon and unpack the relative utility of each approach. I offer a thoughtful perspective that while the ideational approach’s “thin-centered” strand has the tendency to blur the boundaries of populism and lead scholars to accept “anything” as populism; it nevertheless enables us to comprehensively capture populism usage in multiple contexts. Further, I advance the notion that the 2020 electoral defeat of Donald Trump should not be misconstrued as the end or weakening of right-wing populism; the present state of American politics makes it ripe for populism resurgence.

Understanding sport skills through the theories of visual perception: Contrasting cognitive and ecological approaches

BACKGROUND: Understanding sport skills through the theories of visual perception brings the debate to the level of basic and applied components of science, characterizing contributions from the most relevant approaches in the field of Motor Behavior, the indirect and the direct paradigms. AIM AND FINDINGS: The first section of this article emphasizes theoretical assumptions of visual perception arising from indirect and direct approaches; the notion of relative utility of these perspectives in explaining vision is discussed, which includes analysis of the goals of explanation, prediction, and simplicity. The second section is devoted to demonstrate critical insufficiencies of indirect perspective. The third and final section focuses on the ecological dynamics account applied to sports, with emphasis on elements of decision-making and motor control. Ecological dynamics is shown as an interesting alternative to understand sport skills, accounting for involved complexities of perception, decision-making, and action.

Neoliberal Feminist Scholarship in Biblical Studies

This essay provides a critical analysis of the neoliberal grounding of feminist biblical studies. I outline the main problems generated by this framework, notably fragmentation, repetition, the absence of theory, the limiting emphasis on method, and above all the validation of traditional (male-dominant) scholarly norms and practices. Seeking greater inclusion within biblical studies, neoliberal feminism has endorsed the normalizing approach to patriarchy and rejected its radical interrogation in women’s studies. My thumbnail historical overview of the field links disconnected publications in biblical theology, historical criticism, and literary criticism. The analysis shows that these possibilities advocate the relative utility of re-objectifying women with five hermeneutical strategies. They are: first, the depatriarchalizing strategy, exemplified in Phyllis Trible’s work; second, the historicizing strategy as employed most prominently by Carol Meyers; third, the textualizing strategy exemplified by Ilana Pardes; fourth, the mythologizing strategy employed by Susan Ackerman; and fifth, the idealizing strategy exemplified by Frymer-Kensky. By placing my critical analysis within the broader context of transformational feminist critiques published at the same time, I argue for a shift from the “biblical” to the “feminist” in feminist biblical studies.