A SCALE DEVELOPMENT ON NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME IN DAVAO CITY: AN EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

This paper aimed to develop a multidimensional framework of neighborhood crime in Davao City. The study employed a quantitative, non-experimental research design employing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A researcher-made instrument was utilized which was developed from in-depth interview of 12 selected residents, related literatures, and studies. To determine the validity of items, the researcher employed Content Validity Ratio (CVR) where ten (10) experts reviewed and validated the instrument. Item statements that passed the threshold of 0.80 were selected as part of the survey questionnaire. As a result, 43-item instrument was developed and utilized as data collection tool administered to 300 residents of Davao City as research participants. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, 29 items remained in the model to compose the four (4) constructs after 17 rotations and iterations, therefore, making them the factors characterizing neighborhood crime in Davao City. Using thematic analysis, the factors were clustered as (1) breakdown of social control, (2) social disorder, (3) social deviance, (4) social disintegration.  Revealed structures of neighborhood crime can be an aid to frame policies and strategies to augment peacekeeping efforts in suppressing crime and other forms of delinquency, to strengthen ties within the community and lastly, to create a safe and secured society.  Article visualizations

THE MODERATING EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP AND QUALITY OF WORK-LIFE AMONG POLICE OFFICERS

The study deals with the moderating effect of organizational environment on the relationship between spiritual leadership and quality of work-life among police officers. The quantitative non-experimental design was used in the study. The respondents of the study were the police non-commission officers, non-uniform personnel, and commission officers. There were 400 respondents were used as study participants. The researcher collected information from Region X police stations with 22 police stations for Bukidnon Provincial Police, Provincial Police Office. The statistical tools used were Mean in order to describe the level of spiritual leadership and organizational environment; Pearson’s r to determine the significance of the relationship between spiritual leadership, quality of the work-life and organizational environment, hierarchical regression analysis, and Hayes Process modgraph were used to establish the significance of the influence between spiritual leadership, quality of the work-life and organizational environment and the modraph Sobel z-test to determine the moderating effect of organizational environment on the relationship of spiritual leadership and quality of work-life. Findings revealed significant relationship between the three variables. Finally, organizational environment was seen to fully moderate the already significant effect of spiritual leadership towards quality of work-life among police personnel. Implications were discussed.JEL: L10; O15  Article visualizations

The effects of landscape modifications on the long-term persistence of animal populations

Background: The effects of landscape modifications on the long-term persistence of wild animal populations is of crucial importance to wildlife managers and conservation biologists, but obtaining experimental evidence using real landscapes is usually impossible. To circumvent this problem we used individual-based models (IBMs) of interacting animals in experimental modifications of a real Danish landscape. The models incorporate as much as possible of the behaviour and ecology of four species with contrasting life-history characteristics: skylark (Alauda arvensis), vole (Microtus agrestis), a ground beetle (Bembidion lampros) and a linyphiid spider (Erigone atra). This allows us to quantify the population implications of experimental modifications of landscape configuration and composition. Methodology/Principal Findings: Starting with a real agricultural landscape, we progressively reduced landscape complexity by (i) homogenizing habitat patch shapes, (ii) randomizing the locations of the patches, and (iii) randomizing the size of the patches. The first two steps increased landscape fragmentation. We assessed the effects of these manipulations on the long-term persistence of animal populations by measuring equilibrium population sizes and time to recovery after disturbance. Patch rearrangement and the presence of corridors had a large effect on the population dynamics of species whose local success depends on the surrounding terrain. Landscape modifications that reduced population sizes increased recovery times in the short-dispersing species, making small populations vulnerable to increasing disturbance. The species that were most strongly affected by large disturbances fluctuated little in population sizes in years when no perturbations took place. Significance: Traditional approaches to the management and conservation of populations use either classical methods of population analysis, which fail to adequately account for the spatial configurations of landscapes, or landscape ecology, which accounts for landscape structure but has difficulty predicting the dynamics of populations living in them. Here we show how realistic and replicable individual-based models can bridge the gap between non-spatial population theory and non-dynamic landscape ecology. A major strength of the approach is its ability to identify population vulnerabilities not detected by standard population viability analyses

Using habitat selection theories to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of migratory birds during stopover - a case study of pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus

Th is study was part of MC ’ s PhD project funded by Aarhus University. Th e fi eldwork was supported by the Norwegian Research Council project MIGRAPOP.Understanding how animals select for habitat and foraging resources therein is a crucial component of basic and applied ecology. The selection process is typically influenced by a variety of environmental conditions including the spatial and temporal variation in the quantity and quality of food resources, predation or disturbance risks, and inter-and intraspecific competition. Indeed, some of the most commonly employed ecological theories used to describe how animals choose foraging sites are: nutrient intake maximisation, density-dependent habitat selection, central-place foraging, and predation risk effects. Even though these theories are not mutually exclusive, rarely are multiple theoretical models considered concomitantly to assess which theory, or combination thereof, best predicts observed changes in habitat selection over space and time. Here, we tested which of the above theories best-predicted habitat selection of Svalbard-breeding pink-footed geese at their main spring migration stopover site in mid-Norway by computing a series of resource selection functions (RSFs) and their predictive ability (k-fold cross validation scores). At this stopover site geese fuel intensively as a preparation for breeding and further migration. We found that the predation risk model and a combination of the density-dependent and central-place foraging models best-predicted habitat selection during stopover as geese selected for larger fields where predation risk is typically lower and selection for foraging sites changed as a function of both distance to the roost site (i.e. central-place) and changes in local density. In contrast to many other studies, the nutritional value of the available food resources did not appear to be a major limiting factor as geese used different food resources proportional to their availability. Our study shows that in an agricultural landscape where nutritional value of food resources is homogeneously high and resource availability changes rapidly; foraging behaviour of geese is largely a tradeoff between fast refuelling and disturbance/predator avoidance.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

How predation and landscape fragmentation affect vole population dynamics

Background: Microtine species in Fennoscandia display a distinct north-south gradient from regular cycles to stable populations. The gradient has often been attributed to changes in the interactions between microtines and their predators. Although the spatial structure of the environment is known to influence predator-prey dynamics of a wide range of species, it has scarcely been considered in relation to the Fennoscandian gradient. Furthermore, the length of microtine breeding season also displays a north-south gradient. However, little consideration has been given to its role in shaping or generating population cycles. Because these factors covary along the gradient it is difficult to distinguish their effects experimentally in the field. The distinction is here attempted using realistic agent-based modelling. Methodology/Principal Findings: By using a spatially explicit computer simulation model based on behavioural and ecological data from the field vole (Microtus agrestis), we generated a number of repeated time series of vole densities whose mean population size and amplitude were measured. Subsequently, these time series were subjected to statistical autoregressive modelling, to investigate the effects on vole population dynamics of making predators more specialised, of altering the breeding season, and increasing the level of habitat fragmentation. We found that fragmentation as well as the presence of specialist predators are necessary for the occurrence of population cycles. Habitat fragmentation and predator assembly jointly determined cycle length and amplitude. Length of vole breeding season had little impact on the oscillations. Significance: There is good agreement between our results and the experimental work from Fennoscandia, but our results allow distinction of causation that is hard to unravel in field experiments. We hope our results will help understand the reasons for cycle gradients observed in other areas. Our results clearly demonstrate the importance of landscape fragmentation for population cycling and we recommend that the degree of fragmentation be more fully considered in future analyses of vole dynamics

Communicating complex ecological models to non-scientist end users

Complex computer models are used to predict how ecological systems respond to changing environ- mental conditions or management actions. Communicating these complex models to non-scientists is challenging, but necessary, because decision-makers and other end users need to understand, accept, and use the models and their predictions. Despite the importance of communicating effectively with end users, there is little guidance available as to how this may be achieved. Here, we review the challenges typically encountered by modellers attempting to communicate complex models and their outputs to managers and other non-scientist end users. We discuss the implications of failing to communicate effec- tively in each case. We then suggest a general approach for communicating with non-scientist end users. We detail the specific elements to be communicated using the example of individual-based models, which are widely used in ecology. We demonstrate that despite their complexity, individual-based models have characteristics that can facilitate communication with non-scientists. The approach we propose is based on our experiences and methods used in other fields, but which until now have not been synthesised or made broadly available to ecologists. Our aim is to facilitate the process of communicating with end users of complex models and encourage more modellers to engage in it by providing a structured approach to the communication process. We argue that developing measures of the effectiveness of communication with end users will help increase the impact of complex models in ecology