Dead-Leaf Foraging Specialization in Tropical Forest Birds.

This study investigates an example of extreme foraging specialization by tropical birds, namely foraging for arthropods in suspended aerial leaf-litter in lowland tropical rainforest. Up to 16 species at two southwestern Amazonian sites constitute a guild of specialized dead-leaf foragers that make up roughly 11% of the region\u27s insectivorous bird species. Most dead-leaf specialists are ovenbirds (Furnariidae) or antbirds (Formicariidae) that are characteristic members of mixed-species foraging flocks. Individual dead leaves represent an abundant, seasonally stable resource that supports higher prey densities (number per leaf) and a greater proportion of preferred prey than adjacent live foliage. The arthropod fauna of aerial leaf-litter (dominated by spiders, roaches, other orthopterans, and small beetles) was distinct from that on live foliage. All guild members differed significantly from each other in either foraging height, size or type of leaves searched, diet composition, or prey size, although overlaps between species pairs were usually high ($\leq$0.900). All species selected substrates (leaf types) and prey nonrandomly compared with their availability. Some species segregated by habitat, but individuals apparently joined mixed-species flocks in each habitat independently of the other species present. I further investigated the dietary consequences of substrate specialization in five species of antwrens (Myrmotherula); two dead-leaf specialists, two live-leaf foragers, and one generalist. In a series of outdoor cage experiments with wild-caught birds, all foraging groups showed a similar degree of selectivity of prey types, and each species ate a wider range of prey than seen in natural diets. In additional experiments, live-leaf foraging and generalist species showed little interest in dead- or live-leaf substrates, whereas all dead-leaf foragers repeatedly inspected and manipulated dead and curled leaves in the absence of food. I conclude that substrate specialization in these birds involves fundamental differences in search behavior, but is not accompanied by equivalent changes in prey selectively or preference. Dead-leaf specialization evolved independently in several bird families but shows strong phylogenetic constraints among genera. Genetic relationships among Myrmotherula antwrens suggests that foraging specialization arose before the radiation of modern species, raising questions about the relevance of present-day ecology to the evolution of such specialization

The application of psychometric techniques to determine the attitudes of individuals toward information seeking and the effect of the individual\u27s organizational staus on these attitudes

Many recent studies have attempted to investigate the behavioral aspects ofthe information gathering process. Generally, these studies have developed an insight into the ways by which scientists obtain information, and have developed the methodology for such studies. A number of studies have also sought to determine the actual information needs of scientists. Generally neglected, however, are attempts to discover (a) why individuals prefer certain methods, (b) what attributes of information gathering methods are important, and (c) if the study of the information seeking process should be restricted to research scientists. The purpose of this study is to investigate such questions, is an attempt to make the interpretation of results from information-user studies more meaningful

SI 550 - Seminar on Information Policy

This seminar provides students an opportunity to do in-depth research into an information policy topic of their interest. Students will gain an understanding of current United States Government Policy in areas involved with information and information technology. Policies are forming and changing daily. In order to keep up with these changes the class includes guest lecturers who are studying or actually creating policies in the information area. The first part of the course consists of the student selecting and defining a topic. The second part of the course involves the presentation and discussion of the topic. As an advanced graduate course there is an expectation that the final paper will be, with suitable editing, publishable in a journal.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/5/si550-w10-studentpresentation-ashendel-openprocess.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/6/si550-w10-studentpresentation-ashendel-openprocess.ppthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/7/rosenberg-si550-w10-lecture1.ppthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/8/si550-w10-studentpresentation-hildebrand-acta.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/9/si550-w10-studentpresentation-hildebrand-acta.ppthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/10/si550-w10-studentpaper-hildebrand-acta.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/11/si550-w10-studentpaper-hildebrand-acta.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/12/si550-w10-studentpresentation-hildebrand-acta.odphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/13/si550-w10-studentpaper-hildebrand-acta.odthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/14/rosenberg-si550-w10-lecture1.odphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/15/si550-w10-studentpresentation-ashendel-openprocess.odphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/16/rosenberg-si550-w10-lecture1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/17/si550-w10-syllabus.odthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/18/si550-w10-syllabus.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/19/si550-w10-syllabus.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78189/20/si550-winter2010.zi

Use of personal call alarms among community-dwelling older people.

Having a fall and then lying on the floor for an hour or more is known as a ‘long lie’, which are associated with serious injury and an elevated risk of admission to hospital, long-term care, and death. Personal call alarms are designed to prevent long lies, although little is known about their use. Using cross-sectional data from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing, this study investigated the proportion of self-reported users of personal call alarms among 3091 community-dwelling adults aged 65+ who reported difficulties of mobility or activities of daily living. The characteristics of users were then explored through logistic regressions comparing those living alone with those living with others. One hundred and eighty people self-reported using a personal call alarm (6%). Multivariate regression found the following to significantly predict personal call alarm use among both those living alone and with others: greater difficulty with activities / instrumental activities of daily living, older age, and for those living with others only: lower score on the quality of life subscale for control. Personal call alarm use may be markedly lower than the 30 per cent annual incidence of falls among community-dwelling older people. Better understanding is needed of the reasons for low usage, even amongst those at highest falls risk for whom such alarms are most likely to be beneficial

Política de informação nos países em desenvolvimento: o caso do Brasil visto por um americano

Tanto os países industrializados como os países em desenvolvimento formulam suas políticas de informação com o objetivo de proteger interesses que consideram vitais. O caso do Brasil vem ilustrar as diversas políticas que regulam não só a transferência da informação, mas também os equipamentos e os programas de computação. A política brasileira é comparada com a dos países industrializados. A análise mostra as escolhas que se impõem aos planejadores e formuladores de políticas de informação num país em desenvolvimento. Descritores Política de informação. Transferência de informação. Política de Informática no Brasil. Abstract Both industrialized and developing countries have information policies to protect their vital interests. Brazilian policies, which control information transfer,  computer hardware and software, are compared to the policies of industrialized countries. The analysis illustrates some of the trade-offs faced by information policy makers and planners in a developing country

Occupation, colonialism, apartheid? A re-assessment of Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law

This study was commissioned and coordinated by the Middle East Project (MEP) of the Democracy and Governance Programme, a research programme of the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. The genesis of this study was the suggestion made in January 2007 by Professor John Dugard, in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, that Israel’s military occupation displays elements of colonialism and apartheid. The Human Sciences Research Council commissioned this study to scrutinise Professor Dugard’s hypothesis from the perspective of international law. Over a period of 15 months, the team of scholars engaged in extensive research, discussion, and rounds of lively debate through seven drafts. The result is the consensus represented in this report, offered here for public discussion. Constructive criticism is welcomed, in order that shortcomings in this document may be addressed in a future edition. Although this study is essentially a legal document, observations from other disciplines are encouraged