American Style in International Human Rights Adjudication

Published in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolutio

Activity Patterns, Movement Ecology, and Habitat Utilization of Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Radio-collars were fitted on 22 black bears captured on a 155 km2 study area in the northwest portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, between June 1978 and December 1979. Activity monitors in radio-collars indicated that bears exhibited crepuscular daily patterns of activity which were modified seasonally; activity was highest during the day in all seasons but night time activity was highest during fall. Most seasonal variations in diet patterns of activity are attributed to changes in foraging patterns. Monthly activity levels were lowest in the postdenning months of April and May and the predenning months of November and December; activity was highest in August and may be a reflection of the influences of breeding. Neither cloud cover nor precipitation affected activity but bears displayed depressed activity at high temperatures. Subadult and yearling females were the most active group overall; adult males were the least active group. The convex polygon method was used to calculate home range sizes. The fact that home ranges of males (32.1 km2 ) were larger than those of females (5.2 km2) reflects the larger size of males and their instability in the population in the subadult and early adult years (\u3c5 years). Larger home ranges in fall than spring/summer reflects increased feeding activity prior to denning. Linear movements by 7 bears were termed extensive because they were large in relation to their normal home range. None of the 7 bears were over 5 years old; 6 of the 7 bears were male, 2 of the movements terminated with the bear being shot. Six bears (28%) were located outside Park boundaries at some time during the study and neither roads nor reservoirs appeared to act as barriers to bear movement. Hourly travel rates were greatest between the hours of 0600 and 2200. Analysis of habitat relationships with the computer based IMGRID system revealed that bears preferred areas where mast trees were abundant. Females showed stronger preference for areas of mast trees than subadults; and, seasonally, areas of mast trees were preferred during summer and fall. No overall preference for areas of heath abundance was found but females did exhibit preference for these areas. Bears avoided areas within 200m of roads but did not avoid the area around a trail. Females avoided roads more intensely than males; adults showed stronger avoidance of roads than subadults; and, seasonally, the strongest avoidance of roads was during fall. The results of analyses implicate the importance of experience and social organization in habitat utilization of bears. Although IMGRID is a powerful tool for analysis of geographically based information, it appears that other methods will provide a more robust analysis of the dynamics of habitat utilization

Naming Our World, Claiming Our Knowledge: Research-in-Practice in Adult Literacy Programs

Throughout its history adult literacy education has been defined, described, researched, and effectively controlled by external entities. This article discusses how literacy practitioners and learners are gaining a voice through the production of their own knowledge using research-in-practice. It especially examines the applicability, benefits, and inherent risks of practitioner action research, provides a discussion of how this research paradigm is defined, and concludes with possibilities for the future.Depuis ses débuts, l'alphabétisation des adultes a toujours été définie, décrite, étudiée et contrôlée par des entités externes. L'auteur discute de la façon dont les enseignants et les apprenants en alphabétisation commencent à se faire entendre en créant leurs propres connaissances à partir de recherches-actions. Plus précisément, il étudie l'applicabilité, les bienfaits et les risques inhérents de la recherche-action entreprise par les enseignants, discute ensuite de la façon dont ce paradigme s'articule et termine en proposant des possibilités pour l'avenir

Because We Love You

I remember the impotence I felt on the eve of the Gulf War in January 1991. No one could have known at that moment what a brief conflict it would be. We had every reason to believe that the Middle East would be hurled into turmoil. And if protracted war ensued, a draft would surely follow. I watched my college boyfriend sink into despair, with the help of a Bob Mould CD, at the prospect of being called to give his life for his country. I remained uncharacteristically mute. In the face of this battle, our positions were too unequal for my words or touch to console. I had listened to my male friends deliberate the legitimacy of the war-to-be and the potential for service deferment for some days. Though they were liberal-minded, it was clear that my views brought little to bear upon the situation. We were all people with big plans, but the plans of the women were shielded from the looming threat of life-threatening, wartime service. The potential of a male friend being killed, I was reminded, was nothing in the face of that man conceiving his own death. Experiencing such a dynamic compelled me to accept gradually the different situations of men and women in American society and under American law. Men and women used to be similarly situated to me and I was befuddled by, and unsympathetic to, many women\u27s seeming incapacity to assert themselves and achieve their goals in a purportedly male-defined world. But as I\u27ve worked in a professional climate of bravado, developed intimate relationships with men, and provided legal services to hurting women, I have come to recognize that the genders probably are distinct, and that the best we can hope for is harmonization. No Constitutional Right to be Ladies by Linda Kerber1 has further clarified my resolution of the age-old conundrum of whether women can be equal with, while distinct from, men. Kerber draws women as strong but different, ultimately resolving that the unique characteristics of gender should not be manipulated to undermine social equality. Women, she points out, have sought to contribute equally as citizens regardless of gender differences. Kerber sees the remaining barriers to parity, like women\u27s exception from conscription, as enduring from generation to generation. But by focusing on women\u27s assumption of constitutional obligations, Kerber renders an engaging historical framework for considering women as full partners in citizenship