Research notes: A possible alternate explanation for light green spots on yellow leaves in the soybean y11y11 test system

Soybean has a gene Y11 which is involved in chlorophyll synthesis and is incompletely dominant. This means that the homozygous recessive (y11y11) is yellow and seedling lethal, the homozygous dominant (y11y11) is dark green , and the heterozygote (y11y11) is medium green (a yellowish green) and viable. Because a crossover in the heterozygote would produce a dark green/yellow twin spot on a medium green background, the system has been extensively exploited by Vig and Paddock (1968 and 1969) and Vig (1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975) as a tester system for chemicals suspected of mutagenic activity

Credit Where Credit is Due: Looking Back at The Junior Archeological Society of Baton Rouge, 1958-1976

The Junior Archaeological Society of Baton Rouge, which operated from 1958 through 1976, afforded middle- and high school-aged students the opportunity to learn about anthropology, history, and a wide range of other topics. The Society (headed by J. Ashley Sibley, Jr.) also excavated at Native American sites in Louisiana and Mississippi – for the perceived “unprofessionalism” with which they proceeded, they have received considerable scrutiny from the Southeastern archaeological community. My goal, from the project’s outset, was to understand the Society’s archaeological endeavors (particularly as they centered around Smith Creek site in Wilkinson County, Mississippi). In order to do this, I chose to employ interviews with former members and archival materials. I came to understand that, far from being haphazardly-digging bugs, JAS members excavated meticulously, scientifically, and sparingly. Moreover, Sibley placed a great deal of emphasis on education and leadership. In this thesis, I explore the work, play, and continuing positive impact of the Society – hopefully, in the process, I also chip away at the poor reputation with which the Society been saddled

Community stakeholders’ perceptions of crime and victimization: A mixed-methods approach to understanding collective efficacy and social cohesion in the rural heartland

Previous criminological literature has mostly neglected rural communities, often treating these places as smaller pieces of urban culture. Literature suggests rural communities operate differently than urban neighborhoods, with distinctive values, norms, and community cohesion. For example, concepts surrounding collective efficacy may work counterproductively in rural areas—further exploiting outed community members within “close-knit” environments. The current study sought to compare perceptions of collective efficacy and social cohesion, crime, and victimization between rural and urban counties across one Midwestern rural state. Using a mixed-methods approach, community stakeholders from a variety of professions were surveyed. Quantitative results suggest similar perceptions of collective efficacy and social cohesion in rural and urban communities while qualitative responses paint a much different picture—an image of rural communities “minding their own business” and both formally and informally intervening only in the most extreme and personalized scenarios

Exposure to Urbanized Poverty and Attitude Change: A Longitudinal Case Study on Service-Learning with Rural Undergraduate Criminal Justice Students

Criminal justice departments recognize the value of connecting students to real-world problems through service-learning activities. Yet, challenges exist in exposing students to diverse populations. The current study stepped outside the classroom, involving an extra-curricular group of criminal justice students, in a unique service-learning project. Students from a rurally located university traveled to the most poverty-stricken area in Los Angeles, California, known as Skid Row. Students partnered with The Burrito Project, making and serving 950 burritos to people living on the streets. To assess the impact on exposure to poverty, students completed a pre and post-test utilizing the Undergraduate Perceptions of Poverty Tracking Survey. Four years later, follow-up interviews were conducted. Survey results suggest no significant changes pre/post project completion while longitudinal interviews yielded rich data on the project impact. Future directions including criminal justice students within service-learning projects are discussed, especially considering inclusion of students early within their academic careers

Examining expert reviews as a pretest method

Die Autoren betrachten im Rahmen eines Experiments über alternative kognitive Befragungsmethoden die Ergebnisse von Expertenberichten, um die Reichweite von Resultaten abzuschätzen, die durch drei unterschiedliche Interviewergruppen erzielt worden sind. Datengrundlage bilden die Ergebnisse einer CATI-gestützten Haushaltsbefragung in den USA zum Umweltverhalten, insbesondere zur Abfallbeseitigung und zum Recycling. Die Autoren diskutieren die Gründe für die unterschiedlichen Bewertungen der Experten und zeigen forschungspraktische Konsequenzen für Umfragen und Pretests auf. (ICI

Community stakeholders' perceptions of crime and victimization: A mixed-methods approach to understanding collective efficacy and social cohesion in the rural heartland

Previous criminological literature has mostly neglected rural communities, often treating these places as smaller pieces of urban culture. Literature suggests rural communities operate differently than urban neighborhoods, with distinctive values, norms, and community cohesion. For example, concepts surrounding collective efficacy may work counterproductively in rural areas—further exploiting outed community members within "close-knit" environments. The current study sought to compare perceptions of collective efficacy and social cohesion, crime, and victimization between rural and urban counties across one Midwestern rural state. Using a mixed-methods approach, community stakeholders from a variety of professions were surveyed. Quantitative results suggest similar perceptions of collective efficacy and social cohesion in rural and urban communities while qualitative responses paint a much different picture—an image of rural communities "minding their own business" and both formally and informally intervening only in the most extreme and personalized scenarios

Federal Sentencing Disparities and Marginalized Offenders: Revisiting Cumulative Disadvantage Theory Through Individual-Level Variables

Over the past several decades, sentencing reforms have claimed to establish guidelines to reduce sentencing disparity; yet, recent studies continue to find discrepancies in sentencing outcomes. The current study explored individual factors using data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (FY 2010) to further analyze these variables through the lens of cumulative disadvantage theory. The factors included the influence of age, race, sex (gender), offense type, instant offense score, and overall criminal history score on sentencing length (in months). Hierarchical regression revealed being identified as Black, committing fraud/white collar crime or a property offense, and overall criminal history were able to significantly predict sentence length—findings consistent with cumulative disadvantage theory. Contrary to previous studies, the current results suggest that age may have a positive relationship with sentencing length. The findings are not without limitations but do provide a modern-day picture of continued marginalization of certain defendants within the criminal justice system

The Adolescent Brain of the So Called Juvenile Super Predator

The American Democracy Project and Forsyth Library welcome Dr. April Terry of the Criminal Justice Department and Ashley Lockwood, a graduate student from Psychology, to present “Super Predator” on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 in the South Study Area at 12:30pm for Times Talk: The Adolescent Brain of the So-Called Juvenile “Super Predator”

Tolerance among college students: Attitudes towards juveniles with mental illness

In the United States alone, 1 in 5 adults experience a mental illness during any given year (NAMI, 2015). Despite this, research shows that mental health stigma continues to be widely endorsed (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). Unfortunately, mental health stigma has the potential to negatively impact individual’s experiencing it. For example, research indicates that stigma may result in low self-esteem (Link, Struening, Neese-Todd, Asmussen, & Phelan, 2001), reluctance to seek help (Corrigan, Druss, & Perlick, 2014), and failure to adhere to treatment and medications (Sirey et al, 2001). However, much of the previous literature examining stigma and its impact focuses on adults, leaving knowledge of stigma towards youth with mental illnesses under-conceptualized (Heflinger & Hinshaw, 2010; Heflinger, Wallston, Maukolo, & Brannan, 2015). Researchers of the current study hope to close this literature gap by assessing attitudes and stigmas about juvenile mental health among a sample of college students