The Evolution of Wikipedia's Norm Network

Social norms have traditionally been difficult to quantify. In any particular society, their sheer number and complex interdependencies often limit a system-level analysis. One exception is that of the network of norms that sustain the online Wikipedia community. We study the fifteen-year evolution of this network using the interconnected set of pages that establish, describe, and interpret the community's norms. Despite Wikipedia's reputation for \textit{ad hoc} governance, we find that its normative evolution is highly conservative. The earliest users create norms that both dominate the network and persist over time. These core norms govern both content and interpersonal interactions using abstract principles such as neutrality, verifiability, and assume good faith. As the network grows, norm neighborhoods decouple topologically from each other, while increasing in semantic coherence. Taken together, these results suggest that the evolution of Wikipedia's norm network is akin to bureaucratic systems that predate the information age.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Matches published version. Data available at http://bit.ly/wiki_nor

HMGT 610: French Hospitality January-Term Abroad

January-term faculty-led courses abroad are a new initiative at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). As a former graduate of the hospitality management program, and now a graduate intern at the Center for International Education at UNH, I believe a January-term hospitality management class abroad is needed. Research focused on the purpose of January-term using NAFSA and IIE publications, and the hospitality management program‟s curriculum, mission and structure were examined. The research supported from an academic and financial viewpoint, a January-term hospitality management class abroad, to increase the accessibility of hospitality management students studying abroad. The paper is based on a structural-functionalist theoretical framework and uses David Kolb‟s experiential learning theory for the program design. The course is a two week trip that takes place in Paris and the Burgundy and Provence regions of France and incorporates hands-on experience by exposing the students to various hospitality facilities, cooking and baking techniques, and French wines. The January-term was designed to increase accessibility and provide hands-on experience for the hospitality management student

Attitudes Towards Self-Harm

In recent years, research with a concentration on self-harm has begun to surface. Most of this research focuses on methods and functions of self-harm, mental health disorders associated with self-harm, and attitudes towards self-harm from the perspective of others. However, self-harm research that focuses on examining attitudes towards people who self-harm is lacking. More specifically, research is limited on those who self-harm and their attitudes toward someone else who self-harms. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining how the level of familiarity with self-harm affects a person’s attitudes towards self-harm and if there are differences between the attitudes of people who have self-injured and people who have not. Participants consisted of 110 people who have self-injured and 45 people who have not self-injured (Mage = 28.39, SD= 11.94; 83% Caucasian). Results revealed that the more familiarity an individual has with self-harm, the less likely they are to endorse certain negative attitudes towards another person who engages in the behavior. Results also revealed a difference in attitudes between those who self-harm and those who do not, such that those who self-harm report more positive and less negative attitudes towards someone who self-injures. These results suggest that familiarity with self-harm may impact attitudes towards a person who self-injurers and a difference in attitudes between people who have self-injured and people who have not exists. Implications and future directions are included for discussion

The Impact of Religiosity on the Sexual Socialization of Emerging Adults

The influence of religion within the socialization process as it pertains to sexuality was examined among 20 emerging adults aged 21-24, using qualitative research methods. Overall, participants fell into two categories: religion was present but no significant influence and religion significantly influenced my sexuality. Results indicated that individuals within the religion was present but no significant influence category lacked internalization of religious beliefs and often perceived that sexual messages from intersecting influences were inconsistent. On the contrary, respondents who fell within the religion significantly influenced my sexuality group expressed that religious beliefs had become part of their personal belief structure and were an intrinsic motivator that guided behavior. Within this category there was diversity concerning the way religion influenced sexuality. In particular, participants fell into four categories: abstinent, delayed sexual debut, regret and desire to change, and acceptance of all lifestyles. Although religiosity was related to different outcomes among the religion significantly influenced my sexuality group, internalization and the consistency of messages among influencing sources were recurrent themes. Results reflect the idea that emerging adulthood is a time characterized by exploration and change and that there are various influences that intersect to impact the sexual socialization of emerging adults.  M.S

Does the agricultural fungicide Tebuconazole inhibit the growth of the amphibian chytrid fungus?

In the US, significant research is ongoing regarding the interactions of pesticides with species and processes within wetland ecosystems. For example, the effect of such pollutants on amphibian survival and physiology has been an area of focused research. Negative impacts of pesticides to non-target organisms (e.g. amphibians) have been observed. The effects of the fungal disease to amphibians that are also exposed to pesticides is complex, however the effects of pesticides on the free-living fungal pathogen has received little attention. We hypothesized that Tebuconazole would inhibit the growth of the amphibian chytrid fungus in culture. To test this hypothesis, we measured the growth of the fungus exposed to a high concentration of Tebuconazole (0.02mg/ml) over a 12 day period. We observed a rapid increase in fungal density in the first two days of the experiment, followed by a steady decrease in the density. We conclude that a high concentration (0.02 mg/ml) amphibian chytrid fungus growth appears to be inhibited by Tebuconazole, although exposure time appears to be an important factor in the response

Medication adherence: process for implementation

Improving medication adherence is a critically important, but often enigmatic objective of patients, providers, and the overall health care system. Increasing medication adherence has the potential to reduce health care costs while improving care quality, patient satisfaction and health outcomes. While there are a number of papers that describe the benefits of medication adherence in terms of cost, safety, outcomes, or quality of life, there are limited reviews that consider how best to seamlessly integrate tools and processes directed at improving medication adherence. We will address processes for implementing medication adherence interventions with the goal of better informing providers and health care systems regarding the safe and effective use of medications

Medication adherence: process for implementation

Improving medication adherence is a critically important, but often enigmatic objective of patients, providers, and the overall health care system. Increasing medication adherence has the potential to reduce health care costs while improving care quality, patient satisfaction and health outcomes. While there are a number of papers that describe the benefits of medication adherence in terms of cost, safety, outcomes, or quality of life, there are limited reviews that consider how best to seamlessly integrate tools and processes directed at improving medication adherence. We will address processes for implementing medication adherence interventions with the goal of better informing providers and health care systems regarding the safe and effective use of medications

Comparative study of three-dimensional localization accuracy in conventional, confocal laser scanning and axial tomographic fluorescence light microscopy

key words: conventional and confocal fluorescence light microscopy, spatial resolution, point spread function, axial tomography, quantitative image analysis ABSTRACT For many biological applications, precise and accurate 3D object localizations and 3D-distance measurements are necessary. Point spread functions of artifical objects of subwavelength dimensions have been measured in order to characterize the image foririing properties as well as to localize extended objects in both conventional and confocal fluorescence light microscopy with and without the axial tomographic technique. With the axial tomographic technique it is possible to tilt the object in such a way, that substructures are located in the same focal plane. The distance of two points measured under this optimal perspective fits best to the real 3D-distance. In this case, optical sectioning is unnecessary, if only distance measurements have to be performed