Boundaries, Expectations and Empirical Research: A Commentary on Judith Becker's "Crossing Boundaries"

In her paper “Crossing Boundaries”, Judith Becker raises and discusses important points about where various boundaries between different ways of studying music might lie, how we negotiate those boundaries, and some of the frustrations that ensue in trying to get boundary-crossing work published. This response considers the increasingly heterogeneous nature of musicology itself; some possible overlaps, discontinuities and confusions between the terms ‘psychological’, ‘empirical’ and ‘scientific’; and the different institutional expectations and reviewing styles that often apply to work in the humanities and the sciences. There is no doubt that these differences can cause problems, conflicts, and misunderstandings; but my response ends by recognising the vigorous health of current interdisciplinary research in music, and the opportunities for carrying out and disseminating ‘boundary-crossing’ research that now present themselves, of which this journal – Empirical Musicology Review – is one

Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii: Integration of NOAA Digital Benthic Habitat Mapping and Coral Reef Ecological Studies

Over the past four decades, the state of Hawaii has developed a system of eleven Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs) to conserve and replenish marine resources around the state. Initially established to provide opportunities for public interaction with the marine environment, these MLCDs vary in size, habitat quality, and management regimes, providing an excellent opportunity to test hypotheses concerning marine protected area (MPA) design and function using multiple discreet sampling units. NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Team developed digital benthic habitat maps for all MLCD and adjacent habitats. These maps were used to evaluate the efficacy of existing MLCDs for biodiversity conservation and fisheries replenishment, using a spatially explicit stratified random sampling design. Coupling the distribution of habitats and species habitat affinities using GIS technology elucidates species habitat utilization patterns at scales that are commensurate with ecosystem processes and is useful in defining essential fish habitat and biologically relevant boundaries for MPAs. Analysis of benthic cover validated the a priori classification of habitat types and provided justification for using these habitat strata to conduct stratified random sampling and analyses of fish habitat utilization patterns. Results showed that the abundance and distribution of species and assemblages exhibited strong correlations with habitat types. Fish assemblages in the colonized and uncolonized hardbottom habitats were found to be most similar among all of the habitat types. Much of the macroalgae habitat sampled was macroalgae growing on hard substrate, and as a result showed similarities with the other hardbottom assemblages. The fish assemblages in the sand habitats were highly variable but distinct from the other habitat types. Management regime also played an important role in the abundance and distribution of fish assemblages. MLCDs had higher values for most fish assemblage characteristics (e.g. biomass, size, diversity) compared with adjacent fished areas and Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) across all habitat types. In addition, apex predators and other targeted resources species were more abundant and larger in the MLCDs, illustrating the effectiveness of these closures in conserving fish populations. Habitat complexity, quality, size and level of protection from fishing were important determinates of MLCD effectiveness with respect to their associated fish assemblages. (PDF contains 217 pages

Making and Hearing Meaning in Performance

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DOES ELECTRONIC TRADING IMPROVE MARKET EFFICIENCY? EVIDENCE FROM SPATIAL ARBITRAGE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MARKET

Price disparities across locations can occur when sellers in one location have difficulty matching with buyers in a different location due to the transaction costs of trading across distance. Spatial arbitrageurs exploit these discrepancies by buying goods from locations where prices are low and reselling them at locations where prices are high. Electronic channels should lower the transaction costs of trading across distance, thereby facilitating buyer/seller matching. It follows that electronic trading should reduce spatial arbitrage opportunities, thereby improving market efficiency. We test this hypothesis in the automotive market. The distinguishing feature of our data is that we can identify the distinct buyers, sellers, and vehicles involved in transactions, giving us a detailed look at transaction patterns likely motivated by spatial arbitrage. We conclude that traders are engaging in spatial arbitrage within the market but that spatial arbitrage has become less prevalent over time due to increased electronic trading