Biculturalism And Native American College Students\u27 Performance On The WAIS-III

Consideration of cultural appropriateness in using Westem-European standardized intelligence measures with Native Americans for clinical and educational purposes has been neglected by professionals in the field of clinical assessment. Some studies suggest the possibility of a “Native American Pattern” on such tests, indicating a consistent, yet little-understood discrepancy. The present study investigated the impact of cultural identification of Native American college students on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III). The study assessed the relationship between cultural identification and cognitive-testing scores between two groups of Native American college students. The first group consisted of off-reservation Native American students attending the University of North Dakota (UND). The second group consisted of Native American students attending an on-reservation tribal college, Oglala Lakota College (OLC). The Northern Plains Bicuituralism Inventory (NPBI) (Allen & French, 1993) was employed to measure cultural orientation and the WAIS-III provided scores indicative of intellectual functioning. Many important factors, including heredity, socioeconomic background, and historical background play important roles in determining an individual\u27s intelligence level. Due to skepticism and suspicion, historical factors, and a lifestyle and world-view that varies a great deal from that of European-Americans, intelligence test performance can also differ between Native Americans and European-Americans. The degree to which these factors actually impact Native American intelligence is not well understood by psychologists. This study provided some important clues to understanding the relationship between cultural orientation and measured intelligence. It was predicted that the Traditional sample (i.e., as assessed by the NPBI) compared to the Assimilated sample, would display different patterns on the WAIS-I1I. Results showed that the Traditional group scored higher on Verbal IQ and the Assimilated group scored higher on Performance IQ. This was possibly due to the fact that the UND group scored higher on Verbal IQ and also identified themselves as more Traditional then the Oglala College group, which scored lower on Verbal IQ. The overall sample scored higher on Performance IQ than Verbal IQ as predicted, which possibly supports a unique patterning difference. Also, when comparing the UND and OLC groups, the UND group scored significantly higher on Verbal IQ and Full Scale IQ. An important limitation to this study was that subjects were in college; therefore, the results may not generalize to real world settings. It will be important for future research to examine the effects of Biculturalism on IQ performance in an environment that may be more generalizable. More research needs to be conducted to learn how Biculturalism can impact IQ performance on assessment measures

WISC-III Performance Patterning Differences Between Native American and Caucasian Children

Native American children are sometimes inappropriately assessed, diagnosed, and labeled using Western European standardized intelligence measurements. The use of these measures with Native American children leads to questions regarding appropriate placement issues. Many clinicians are unfamiliar with these unique cultural differences. Some studies suggest the possibility of a “Native American Pattern” on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (McShane & Plas, 1982). Mishra (1982) also found cultural bias with Information, Similarities, and Vocabulary subtests on the WISC-R when comparing Anglo and Navajo children with matching Full Scale IQ\u27s. The present study investigated the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) patterning differences between Native American and Caucasian children. The study sample consisted of 89 Native American children that have attended or are currently attending a tribally controlled boarding school in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and 70 Caucasian children that were assessed at the University of North Dakota. Many important factors related to cultural differences can impact performance on intelligence measurements. This becomes especially concerning when Native American children are assessed with intelligence measures developed primarily for the majority culture and these scores are used for important placement decisions. The degree to which these factors measurably impact Native American children is not well understood. This study may have provided some important clues and information related to patterning performance differences between Native American and Caucasian children

Using Natural Pelt Patterns to Estimate Population Abundance with Mark-Resight Models

Estimating population abundance through time is an essential component of wildlife conservation and management. However, accurate population monitoring can be difficult and expensive for many elusive species occurring across large, dynamic landscapes. Thus, wildlife managers require methods that accurately estimate population abundance, while also minimizing field effort and cost. We estimated abundance of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on Tejon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains of California, using natural markings to identify individuals for mark-resight population estimation. Wild pigs in this region, like many species not traditionally identified using natural marks, are generally homogeneous in appearance with distinctive features that range dramatically in relative visibility, uniqueness and permanence. We developed a method based on standardized thresholds of image quality and animal flank distinctiveness to account for the inherent variability of natural markings between individuals. This method was tested over a fifteen-month period between March 2015 and June 2016, using an array of 48 camera traps across a 48km² survey grid. With 18.5% of wild pigs meeting our conservative standard of identifiability, we generated absolute estimates of abundance across five consecutive three-month sampling periods using the Poisson log-normal estimator under Pollocks robust design. Using left-flank photos of both naturally marked and unmarked pigs, we generated abundance estimates ranging from 352 (SE + 56) individuals in summer 2015 to 157 (SE + 43) individuals in spring 2016. These results suggest an overall decline in the wild pig population on Tejon Ranch from 2015 to 2016, which is supported by a simultaneous decline in Ranch-wide hunter harvest totals during this period. As this mark-resight method requires no trapping or tagging of any kind, it may be utilized as a cost and resource efficient alternative to traditional mark-resight techniques that rely on ear-tags or neck-bands for individual identification of species traditionally considered unidentifiable using natural marks alone

Kartlegging av liten jordbærbladlus (Chaetosiphon fragaefolii) 2017

Sommeren 2017 ble det samlet 100 bladprøver fra norske jordbærfelt plantet i perioden 2015-2017 med importert plantemateriale, for å lete etter liten jordbærbladlus (Chaetosiphon fragaefolii). Denne bladlusarten er på grunn av sin rolle som virusvektor forbudt å introdusere og spre i Norge. Den er ikke tidligere funnet på jordbær i Norge. Den ble heller ikke funnet i denne undersøkelsen, der til sammen 10 000 blader ble undersøkt.publishedVersio

[Photograph 2012.201.B0985.0104]

Photograph used for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "SYMPHONY OF SISTERS 130-piece symphonic group, composed of nun-teachers in Boston Archdiocese will perform publicly for the first time Saturday at Sacred Heart School, Roslindale.

[Photograph 2012.201.B0985.0104]

Photograph used for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "SYMPHONY OF SISTERS 130-piece symphonic group, composed of nun-teachers in Boston Archdiocese will perform publicly for the first time Saturday at Sacred Heart School, Roslindale.

Grappling with Wild Pigs in California High Country: Wild Pig Population and Disturbance Research at Tejon Ranch

Wild pigs cause extensive damage to ecological resources, agricultural lands, and private property, and carry diseases that may pose a health risk to livestock and humans. At the Tejon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains of California, a population of wild pigs produce extensive ecological and economic damages, and share rangelands with cattle. Via the Tejon Ranch Conservation and Land Use Agreement, the Tejon Ranch Conservancy is charged with the science-based stewardship of over 970 km2 of conserved lands at Tejon Ranch. During the summer of 2014 we initiated pilot field research to develop monitoring and control methodologies to better manage wild pigs and associated disturbance across Tejon Ranch’s conserved lands. We compared line transect surveys (LTS) with remotely triggered wildlife trap-cameras as alternative methods to estimate pig abundance. Density estimates were made from LTS survey results using program DISTANCE, while indices of abundance were developed from camera trap data. We also estimated ecological disturbance by measuring the amount of pig rooting along segments of LTS transects. Wetland areas, along with higher elevation interior habitats received more damage than dryer, lower elevation habitats, which was expected given our summer surveys. Expanding on these pilot abundance surveys, we are now attempting to achieve more precise population density estimates using mark-resight techniques through a combination of trapping and collaring animals as well as individually identifying pigs from their unique pelage patterns