Wildlife Damage Control in Eastern Cities and Suburbs

The topics covered in this paper are based mainly on experiences with people seeking help from the University of Maryland and the National Institute for Urban Wildlife. Although most residents of cities and suburbs enjoy and appreciate wildlife, we are frequently reminded that some do not, other people only tolerate and enjoy selected animal species, provided that these animals \u27\u27behave - they don\u27t make noise, keep their distance, don\u27t damage ornamentals, and are not messy. Some people are so intolerant of wildlife that they even complain about frog choruses from nearby ponds. Response to wildlife varies such that one resident may detest squirrels and seek to destroy all that visit his property, while his neighbor, on the other hand, enjoys having them in his yard and may even provide them with food and nesting shelters

Out in the Cowboy State: a Look at Gay And Lesbian Lives in Wyoming

We know relatively little about the lives and experiences of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals who live in rural areas, with early research tending to focus on the challenges of rural living. The present survey research examined the experiences and beliefs of gays and lesbians living in Wyoming. Findings highlight the interactions across personal, familial, community and societal levels. Differences based on gender and community size were found for the respondents' experiences with discrimination and their interest in the pursuit of "gay rights." Of special interest is the importance ascribed to the geographical community and the paucity of community-based resources

Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Crewmen of U.S. Air Force Fighter and Cargo Planes

Serum levels of cortisol and testosterone were measured in 39 United States Air Force personnel on active duty flying status. The subjects selected belonged to one of the following categories: pilot of a fighter-type aircraft, nonpilot on a fighter plane, pilot of a cargo-type aircraft, or nonpilot on a cargo plane. Blood samples were taken prior to and after a routine flying mission. Cortisol levels prior to the flight did not differ across groups. However, postflight samples of cortisol were elevated in the nonpitots, in comparison to the pilots, regardless of aircraft type. Conversely, while testosterone levels were unaffected by crew position, the men flying on fighter-type planes had lower serum levels than did those on cargo planes. These results suggest that hormone levels may be differentially affected by the stressors of routine military flight

Stimulus and Hormonal Determinants of Flehmen Behavior in Cats

Felids are the main group of animals, other than ungulates, that display flehmen behavior during sociosexual interactions. In ungulates the behavior is evoked most readily by olfactory investigation of urine and vaginal secretions, and is believed to be involved in the transport of fluid-borne chemical stimuli, such as sex pheromones, from the oral cavity to the vomeronasal organ. In this study of cats flehmen was virtually always preceded by nasooral contact with the stimulus material, supporting the notion that flehmen in this species is also involved in the transport of fluid-borne stimuli. As in ungulates, flehmen in cats during heterosexual encounters was found to be displayed by males only. However, the sexual dimorphism was situation specific. In exploring a urine-marked room without another cat present, females also performed flehmen, albeit less frequently than males, and when urine was applied to the nasooral surface, flehmen was evoked equally reliably in females and males. Administration of testosterone propionate to spayed female cats paired with estrogen-treated females markedly increased their tendency to genitally inspect the female partner and subsequently perform flehmen. Thus the sexually dimorphic attributes of flehmen behavior are not only stimulus dependent, but also intluenced by concurrent hormone stimulation

Female and Male Sexual Responses in Female Cats with Ventromedial Hypothalamic Lesions

Following preoperative testing for receptivity, proceptivity, and male mating behavior, 27 female cats received either lesions in the anterior or posterior portion of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) or sham lesions. Neither of the VMH lesion placements reduced proceptivity and receptivity scores. However, the female mating pattern was significantly altered in that although females in both lesion groups initially allowed a stud male to mount, they usually did not allow the male to intromit. As in rodents, the VMH in the cat appears to be an important neural area for the display of normal female sexual behavior. Low levels of male sexual behavior were seen in the 3 groups preoperatively, and no changes were observed in the levels of male behavior following lesion placement. Thus, because lesions that disrupted female behavior did not affect male sexual behavior, it appears that the neural areas controlling homotypical and heterotypical sexual behaviors are not necessarily neurally linked

Female Sexual Responses in Male Cats Facilitated by Olfactory Bulbectomy and Medial Preoptic/Anterior Hypothalamic Lesions

Bilateral lesions of the medial preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area and olfactory bulbectomies were performed sequentially in sexually active male cats, with the order of operations balanced. Male sexual behavior was virtually eliminated by the combined operations in all cats. Increased levels of female preceptive behavior were seen following either type of lesion alone, and combined operations resulted in increased levels of receptivity. The results support the concept that there exists, within the brains of male animals, the neural basis for the display of female as well as male sexual responses and that certain brain operations may potentiate the display of female responses. However, it does not appear that the reduction of male behavior is necessarily coupled with an increase in female behavior since no correlation was seen between the degree of enhancement of female behavior and the decrement in male behavior

Gender Equity in Mathematics: Beliefs of Students, Parents and Teachers

The attitudes about mathematics held by girls and boys participating in a regional mathematics contest, their parents, teachers, and mathematics coaches were investigated. Quantitative data regarding mathematics as a male domain, perception of importance of mathematics, confidence in learning mathematics, effectance motivation, and usefulness of mathematics were obtained. It was found that the traditional gender-based differences in the beliefs regarding mathematics persist even in these mathematically talented students. Furthermore, parents' responses to the questions regarding the role of mathematics revealed that mothers, more than fathers, focused on the computational aspects of mathematics, while fathers more than mothers mentioned the role of mathematics in science or as a language. Boys, fathers, and certain mathematics teachers admitted to a low level of gender stereotyping, as evidenced by their scores on the Mathematics as a Male Domain subscale. However, the girls, mothers, and mathematics coaches did not endorse this stereotyping. Unsolicited responses of girls and mothers, in fact, emphatically denied that gender stereotyping exists. These findings are discussed in terms of the need to resolve the essential conflicts between students', parents', and teachers' deeply held beliefs regarding the nature of mathematics, gender differences in mathematical abilities, and the desire for equity within mathematics education

Felony Convictions and Program Admissions: Theoretical Perspectives to Guide Decision-Making

Social work education programs face an ethical dilemma when determining whether to admit an applicant who has been convicted of a felony. Decisions must be made which protect future clients while also providing educational opportunities to qualified students. A hybrid decision-making model, integrating statistical modeling and intuitive processes, is presented

The representation of scientific research in the national curriculum and secondary school pupils’ perceptions of research, its function, usefulness and value to their lives

Young people’s views on what research is, how it is conducted and whether it is important, influences the decisions they make about their further studies and career choices. In this paper we report the analysis of questionnaire data with a particular focus on pupil perceptions of research in the sciences and of the scientific method. The questionnaire was a 25-item Likert Scale (1-5) distributed to seven collaborating schools. We received 2634 returns from pupils across key stages 3, 4 and 5. We also asked teachers to complete the questionnaire in order to explore how they thought their pupils would respond. We received 54 teacher responses. Statistically significant differences in the responses were identified through a chi-square test on SPSS. As what is being taught influences secondary pupil views on research we also consider how the term ‘research’ appears in the national curriculum for England and Wales and the three main English exam boards. The main theoretical construct that informs our analysis of the questionnaire data and the national curriculum is Angela Brew’s 4-tier descriptor of perceptions of research (domino, trading, layer, journey). We use this framework in order to map what, when and how research is presented to school pupils in England and Wales. We also use this framework in order to highlight and discuss certain pupil views that emerged from the questionnaire data and which indicate areas where curriculum and pedagogy intervention may be necessary: pupils seem less confident in their understanding of research as involving the identification of a research question; and, they often see research as a means to confirm one’s own opinion. They do however understand research as involving the generation of new knowledge and the collection of new data, such as interviews and questionnaires as well as laboratory work, field trips and library searches and they appear relatively confident in their statements about their ability to do research, their school experiences of research and the importance of research in their future career choice