Experimental analysis of movements by prairie rattlesnakes, Crotalus viridis , during hibernation

Prairie rattlesnakes from Colorado, USA, were subjected to two thermal treatments during hibernation. The control treatment was carried out in a surrogate den in St. Louis, MO, USA and followed the normal seasonal thermal regime. Experimental manipulations were carried out in a second den in St. Louis. These series of manipulations reversed or modified the thermal gradient normally expected in wild dens. Periodic observations of the snakes within the control and experimental dens provided corroborative data to support the hypothesis that entry to and exit from dens is regulated by a reversing thermal gradient within wild dens.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47740/1/442_2004_Article_BF00344649.pd

The role of receptivity in the courtship behavior of Podocnemis erythrocephala in captivity

The courtship behavior of Podocnemis erythrocephala (Red-headed Amazon River Turtle) in captivity was studied to examine female receptivity and male response to female rejection. We observed 20 females and 39 males in 150 sessions (3–6 h/day for a total of 450 h). In 36% of the trials, there was no interaction between males and females, and 20% of the trials resulted in copulations. All males introduced into tanks approached females, and eventually there was aggression among the males. In 48% of the experiments, females also searched for or approached males. When males initially approached females, they either accepted the male’s advances (14%), rejected the male passively (38%), or rejected the male aggressively (48%). In 86% of the cases where males were rejected, 4% attempted to approach females again, and in 51% they were ultimately successful

Modelling the Sociocultural Contexts of Science Education: The Teachers’ Perspective

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleA growing body of research argues that teachers’ beliefs and practices should be studied within the sociocultural contexts of their work because the relationship between their beliefs and practices is both complex and context-dependent. There is a need for further research in this area in understudied contexts such as developing countries, in order to promote effective education in schools and the professional development of teachers. This paper argues that if this ‘black box’ of sociocultural contexts in which science teachers are embedded is better understood, it may be possible to identify specific aspects of these contexts related to educational organizations that act as either supports or barriers to pedagogical reform or to implementing innovations in science education. Consequently, the main purpose of this study is to explore the sociocultural contexts of ten Egyptian science teachers and to what extent these sociocultural contexts help in understanding teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. This paper, by utilizing a multi-grounded theory approach and qualitative methods, reveals a variety of sociocultural contexts that are related to teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices

Male and Female Auditors: An Ethical Divide?

This article aims to explore the behavioural differences between male and female auditors with respect to professional ethics rules. We used factorial correspondence analysis to study disciplinary rulings issued against French statutory auditors between June 1989 and December 2008. Our results highlight significant gender-related behavioural differences between auditors regarding professional ethics. Male statutory auditors are more likely to exhibit behaviour that harms the image of the profession, while their female counterparts principally commit disciplinary offences relating to audit quality and to obstruction of professional peer-review controls. This study therefore shows that gender offers a relevant perspective for investigating differences in statutory auditor professional ethical behaviour. It is also a useful source of information for the profession in terms of increasing the effectiveness of its disciplinary processes