39 research outputs found
The Diversity of Religious Diversity. Using Census and NCS Methodology in Order to Map and Assess the Religious Diversity of a Whole Country
Religious diversity is often captured in “mapping studies” that use mostly qualitative methods in order to map and assess the religious communities in a given area. While these studies are useful, they often present weaknesses in that they treat only limited geographic regions, provide limited possibilities for comparing across religious groups and cannot test theories. In this article, we show how a census and a quantitative national congregations study (NCS) methodology can be combined in order to map and assess the religious diversity of a whole country (Switzerland), overcoming the problems mentioned above. We outline the methodological steps and selected results concerning organizational, geographic, structural, and cultural diversity
Sensitivity of populations of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in relation to human development in northern Paraná, southern Brazil
The decline of the sharp-snouted day frog (Taudactylus acutirostris): the first documented case of extinction by infection in a free-ranging wildlife species?
Infectious diseases are increasingly recognized as the cause of mass mortality events, population declines, and the local extirpation of wildlife species. In a number of cases, it has been hypothesized that pathogens have caused species extinctions in wildlife. However, there is only one definitively proven case of extinction by infection, and this was in a remnant captive population of a Polynesian tree snail. In this article, we review the potential involvement of infectious disease in the recent extinction of the sharp-snouted day frog Taudactylus acutirostris. Our review of available evidence suggests that a virulent pathogen of amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, caused a rapid, catastrophic decline of this species, from which it did not recover. We propose that this is the first case of extinction by infection of a free-ranging wildlife species where disease acted as both the proximate and ultimate cause of extinction. This highlights a probable underreporting of infectious disease as a cause of biodiversity loss historically and currently
Social capital and community heterogeneity
Abstract
Recent findings indicate that more pronounced community heterogeneity is
associated with lower levels of social capital. These studies, however, concentrate on
specific aspects in which people differ (such as income inequality or ethnic diversity). In
the present paper, we introduce the number of parties in the local party system as a more
encompassing measure of community heterogeneity. This builds on the argument that the
number of relevant socio-economic cleavages in the population (i.e. heterogeneity)
determines the level of party system fragmentation. Using data on 307 Flemish municipalities,
we find that municipalities with a more heterogeneous population indeed have
lower levels of social capital. Hence, our study endorses—and generalizes—previous
results linking community heterogeneity to lower levels of social capital