There's no contest: Human sex differences are sexually selected

The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009An evolutionary psychological perspective drawing on sexual selection theory can better explain sex differences in aggression and violence than can social constructionist theories. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence that, in accordance with predictions derived from sexual selection theory, men modulate their willingness to engage in risky and violent confrontations in response to cues to fitness variance and future prospects

La violence contre l’épouse, un crime passionnel

Two Statistics Canada data sources provide case information on violence against Canadian wives : the "Homicide Survey", an archive of all homicides known to police since 1974, and the 1993 national telephone "Violence against Women Survey". When combined with population-at-large information, these sources illuminate risk patterns for lethal and nonlethal violence, which are similar in most, but not all, particuliars. Rates of both lethal and nonlethal violence against wives vary in relation to age, registered versus common law status, separation, and autonomy-limitating behaviour by the husband. These risk patterns are discussed in relation to factors affecting the intensity of male sexual proprietariness. Risk patterns in Quebec parallel those for Canada as a whole in most, but not all, particulars

The Governor-Generalship of Sir Lee Stack in the Sudan, 1917-1924.

The subject of this thesis is the history of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan during the governor-generalship of Sir Lee Stack, 1917-1924. The study is based primarily on the unpublished records of the Sudan Government and various collected private papers. The first chapter deals with the appointment of Stack to succeed Sir Reginald Wingate; the economic and political effects on the Sudan of the first world war; the structure of the central government and the officials who directed it; and provincial administration. Stack's relations with Wingate and Viscount Allenby as high commissioners in Cairo are discussed. Among the most important developments of Stack's tenure were the emergence, on the one hand, of Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi as leader of the revivified Mahdist sect, and, on the other, of secular opposition to the Sudan Government. The second chapter traces the rise of Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahman, the nature of his support, and the government's attempts both to utilize and to limit his influence. The second part of the chapter charts the tentative beginnings, after the war, of secular opposition, and in focussing on the disturbances of 1924 attempts to analyse the motives of this opposition and the response of the government to it. The surge of Egyptian nationalism following the war led to a fundamental change in the relationship of Egypt and Britain, the co-domini in the Sudan. The Sudan's prominent place in the complicated series of negotiations before and especially after the British declaration to Egypt in February 1922, is considered in chapter three. An attempt is made to analyse the reasons for the breakdown in negotiations that culminated in the British ultimatum to Egypt in November 1924 following the assassination of Sir Lee Stack. The ultimatum itself and its consequences in the Sudan are considered in detail. Revived Mahdism, secular opposition, and Egyptian hostility, combined with a latent mistrust of educated Sudanese led the administration under Stack away from the direct, "bureaucratic" methods of the Wingate era toward Indirect Rule. This development is traced in the final chapter, in which conclusions are reached regarding the nature of Indirect Rule in the Sudan and its consequences for the political future of the country

The independence of eye movements in a stomatopod crustacean is task dependent

ABSTRACT Stomatopods have an extraordinary visual system, incorporating independent movement of their eyes in all three degrees of rotational freedom. In this work, we demonstrate that in the peacock mantis shrimp, Odontodactylus scyllarus, the level of ocular independence is task dependent. During gaze stabilization in the context of optokinesis, there is weak but significant correlation between the left and right eyes in the yaw degree of rotational freedom, but not in pitch and torsion. When one eye is completely occluded, the uncovered eye does not drive the covered eye during gaze stabilization. However, occluding one eye does significantly affect the uncovered eye, lowering its gaze stabilization performance. There is a lateral asymmetry, with the magnitude of the effect depending on the eye (left or right) combined with the direction of motion of the visual field. In contrast, during a startle saccade, the uncovered eye does drive a covered eye. Such disparate levels of independence between the two eyes suggest that responses to individual visual tasks are likely to follow different neural pathways.</jats:p

Revamping the ‘scientific method’: A unifying framework for scientific literacy

Despite long-standing criticism from scientific and philosophical communities, the hypothetico-deductive model still forms the foundation of the ‘scientific method' as typically taught at primary, secondary and some tertiary education levels. In an age of heated debate over critical scientific findings, the growing need for scientific literacy is hindered by this educational reliance upon an out-dated and unrealistic account of science. A working revision of the ‘scientific method' is proposed in this paper, comprising a set of theoretical postulates and a system for diagramming research inquiry and method. Encompassing key 20th Century epistemological developments, this Framework aims to (1) clarify scientific vocabulary, (2) incorporate core scientific concepts such as validity, replication and representativeness, (3) clarify and detail the relationship between theory and observational data, and (4) provide a realistic account of the nature of, and challenges to, high-quality research design. Commonly applicable across all empirical disciplines and scalable in complexity, the Framework’s potential to act as a united foundation underpinning scientific literacy from primary levels through to professional research practice is explored

Homicídio e impunidade: análise ecológica em nível de estado no Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To assess a new impunity index and variables that have been found to predict variation in homicide rates in other geographical levels as predictive of state-level homicide rates in Brazil. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional ecological study. Data from the mortality information system relating to the 27 Brazilian states for the years 1996 to 2005 were analyzed. The outcome variables were taken to be homicide victim rates in 2005, for the entire population and for men aged 20-29 years. Measurements of economic and social development, economic inequality, demographic structure and life expectancy were analyzed as predictors. An "impunity index", calculated as the total number of homicides between 1996 and 2005 divided by the number of individuals in prison in 2007, was constructed. The data were analyzed by means of simple linear regression and negative binomial regression. RESULTS: In 2005, state-level crude total homicide rates ranged from 11 to 51 per 100,000; for young men, they ranged from 39 to 241. The impunity index ranged from 0.4 to 3.5 and was the most important predictor of this variability. From negative binomial regression, it was estimated that the homicide victim rate among young males increased by 50% for every increase of one point in this ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Classic predictive factors were not associated with homicides in this analysis of state-level variation in Brazil. However, the impunity index indicated that the greater the impunity, the higher the homicide rate.OBJETIVO: Evaluar un nuevo índice de impunidad y variables que predicen variación en tasas de homicidio en otros niveles geográficos como predictivos de las tasas de homicidio a nivel de estados en Brasil. MÉTODOS: Estudio ecológico transversal. Fueron analizados datos del Sistema de Informaciones sobre Mortalidad referentes a los 27 estados brasileros en el período de 1996 a 2005. Fueron consideradas variables de resultado de tasas de victimización por homicidio en 2005, para la población entera y para hombres de 20-29 años. Fueron analizados como predoctores medidas de desarrollo económico y social, desigualdad económica, estructura demográfica y expectativa de vida. Fue elaborado un índice de impunidad calculado por el número total de homicidios entre 1996-2005 dividido por el número de personas en la prisión en 2007. Los datos fueron analizados empleándose regresión linear simple y regresión binomial negativa. RESULTADOS: En 2005, tasas brutas de homicidio a nivel de estado variaron de 11 a 51 por 100.000 y aquellas para hombres jóvenes de 39 a 241. El índice de impunidad varió entre 0,4 y 3,5, siendo el predictivo más importante de esta variable. En la regresión binomial negativa, se estimó aumento de 50% en la tasa de homicidio en hombres jóvenes para cada aumento de un punto en esta relación. CONCLUSIONES: Predictivos clásicos no estaban asociados con la variación en las tasas de homicidio en este análisis a nivel estatal en Brasil. Mientras tanto, el índice de impunidad indicó que cuanto mayor era la impunidad, mayor era la tasa de homicidio.OBJETIVO: Avaliar um novo índice de impunidade e variáveis que predizem variação em taxas de homicídio em outros níveis geográficos como preditivos das taxas de homicídio no nível de estados no Brasil. MÉTODOS: Estudo ecológico transversal. Foram analisados dados do Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade referentes aos 27 estados brasileiros no período de 1996 a 2005. Foram consideradas variáveis de desfecho taxas de vitimização por homicídio em 2005 para a população inteira e para homens de 20-29 anos. Foram analisados como preditores medidas de desenvolvimento econômico e social, desigualdade econômica, estrutura demográfica e expectativa de vida. Foi construído um índice de impunidade calculado pelo número total de homicídios entre 1996-2005 dividido pelo número de pessoas na prisão em 2007. Os dados foram analisados empregando-se regressão linear simples e regressão binomial negativa. RESULTADOS: Em 2005, taxas brutas de homicídio em nível de estado variaram de 11 a 51 por 100.000 e aquelas para homens jovens de 39 a 241. O índice de impunidade variou entre 0,4 e 3,5, sendo o preditor mais importante dessa variabilidade. Na regressão binomial negativa, estimou-se aumento de 50% na taxa de homicídio em homens jovens para cada aumento de um ponto nessa razão. CONCLUSÕES: Preditores clássicos não estavam associados com a variação nas taxas de homicídio nessa análise em nível estadual no Brasil. Entretanto, o índice de impunidade indicou que quanto maior a impunidade, maior a taxa de homicídio