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Southwest
Kinds of Southwest Terms modified by Southwest Selected AbstractsTribute to Icons of the American SouthwestCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Dale DeNardo No abstract is available for this article. [source] Forest Stand Dynamics and Livestock Grazing in Historical ContextCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005MICHAEL M. BORMAN clima; incendio forestal; pastoreo histórico; pino ponderosa; supresión de fuego Abstract:,Livestock grazing has been implicated as a cause of the unhealthy condition of ponderosa pine forest stands in the western United States. An evaluation of livestock grazing impacts on natural resources requires an understanding of the context in which grazing occurred. Context should include timing of grazing, duration of grazing, intensity of grazing, and species of grazing animal. Historical context, when and under what circumstances grazing occurred, is also an important consideration. Many of the dense ponderosa pine forests and less-than-desirable forest health conditions of today originated in the early 1900s. Contributing to that condition was a convergence of fire, climate, and grazing factors that were unique to that time. During that time period, substantially fewer low-intensity ground fires (those that thinned dense stands of younger trees) were the result of reduced fine fuels (grazing), a substantial reduction in fires initiated by Native Americans, and effective fire-suppression programs. Especially favorable climate years for tree reproduction occurred during the early 1900s. Exceptionally heavy, unregulated, unmanaged grazing by very large numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries occurred in most of the U.S. West and beginning earlier in portions of the Southwest. Today, livestock numbers on public lands are substantially lower than they were during this time and grazing is generally managed. Grazing then and grazing now are not the same. Resumen:,El pastoreo de ganado ha sido implicado como una causa de la mala salud de los bosques de pino ponderosa en el occidente de Estados Unidos. La evaluación de los impactos del pastoreo sobre los recursos naturales requiere de conocimiento del contexto en que ocurrió el pastoreo. El contexto debe incluir al período de ocurrencia, la duración y la intensidad del pastoreo, así como la especie de animal que pastoreó. El contexto histórico, cuando y bajo que circunstancias ocurrió el pastoreo, también es una consideración importante. Muchos de los bosques densos de pino ponderosa y de las condiciones, menos que deseables, de salud de los bosques actuales se originaron al principio del siglo pasado. Contribuyó a esa condición una convergencia de factores, fuego, clima y pastoreo, que fueron únicos en ese tiempo. Durante ese período, hubo sustancialmente menos incendios superficiales de baja intensidad (que afectaron a grupos densos de árboles más jóvenes) como resultado de la reducción de combustibles finos (pastoreo), una reducción sustancial en los incendios iniciados por Americanos Nativos y programas efectivos de supresión de incendios. Al inicio del siglo pasado hubo años con clima especialmente favorable para la reproducción de árboles. Al final del siglo diecinueve y comienzo del veinte hubo pastoreo no regulado ni manejado, excepcionalmente intensivo, por una gran cantidad de caballos, reses y ovejas en la mayor parte del oeste de E.U.A. y aun antes en porciones del suroeste. En la actualidad, el número de semovientes en terrenos públicos es sustancialmente menor al de ese tiempo, y el pastoreo generalmente es manejado. El pastoreo entonces y el pastoreo ahora no son lo mismo. [source] The paleoecology and archaeology of long-term water storage in a Hohokam reservoir, southwestern Arizona, U.S.A.GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2004James M. Bayman Water storage reservoirs were an important feature of economic organization among ancient societies in the North American Southwest. Analyses of reservoir sediments from a Hohokam archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert yielded taxonomic species of ostracodes (microscopic crustaceans) and pollen grains that are indicative of a past water-rich environment. The discovery that this reservoir was capable of storing water on a long-term basis indicates that archaeological models for the region, which have relied on direct historic analogy, must be reexamined. In contrast to the local ethnographic record, paleoecological data generated by this study imply that the Hohokam could establish permanent desert settlements with water storage reservoirs away from perennial rivers and streams. Moreover, residents of these areas were geographically positioned to facilitate the circulation of marine resources (i.e., salt and shell) from the Gulf of California to territories within and beyond the Hohokam region. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] ,It's a public, I reckon': Publicness and a Suburban Shopping Mall in Sydney's SouthwestGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010ADAM TYNDALL Abstract Traditionally, public space has been perceived as an integral part of fully functioning liberal democracy. Yet much research argues that public space is in decline due to regimes of neoliberal governance paralleled with a growth in quasi-public spaces such as shopping malls, casinos and gated communities. It is argued that these new spatial forms posit a commercialised, sanitised and ultimately exclusionary urban form in place of more egalitarian, engaging and ultimately democratic public spaces. Increasingly, however, urban research has questioned the veracity of the claims made about the nature of traditional public space as well as investigating the marginal and contingent nature of publicness as constituted by and enacted in a variety of places. Drawing on Foucault's concept of heterotopic space, this paper reports on a qualitative study based on focus group interviews conducted with users of a suburban shopping mall in Sydney's southwest. The research uncovers both a more complex and less overtly deterministic publicness than has previously been identified in such spaces. From these findings the paper argues for a conception of publicity which moves beyond the zero-sum game approach endemic in much work in this area to one which analyses the qualitative effect quasi-public spaces are having on the nature of publicness in the Australian context. The paper concludes by arguing that a rethinking of publicness allows room for the emergence of a more progressive public ethic. [source] Similar geographic variations of mortality and hospitalization associated with IBD and Clostridium difficile colitisINFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 3 2010Amnon Sonnenberg MD Abstract Background: Superinfection with Clostridium difficile can aggravate the symptoms of preexisting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study served to assess whether the geographic variation of IBD within the United States might be influenced by C. difficile infection. Methods: Hospitalization data of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) from 2001,2006 and mortality data from 1979,2005 of the US were analyzed by individual states. Hospitalization and mortality associated with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and C. difficile colitis were correlated with each other, using weighted least square linear regression with the population size of individual states as weight. Results: Among the hospitalization rates, there were strong correlations between both types of IBD, as well as each type of IBD with C. difficile colitis. Similarly, among the mortality rates there were strong correlations between both types of IBD, as well as each type of IBD with C. difficile colitis. Lastly, each type of hospitalization rate was also strongly correlated with each type of mortality rate. In general, hospitalization and mortality associated with IBD tended to be frequent in many of the northern states and infrequent in the Southwest and several southern states. Conclusions: The similarity in the geographic distribution of the 3 diseases could indicate the influence of C. difficile colitis in shaping the geographic patterns of IBD. It could also indicate that shared environmental risk factors influence the occurrence of IBD, as well as C. difficile colitis. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010) [source] Statistical correction of central Southwest Asia winter precipitation simulations,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2003Michael K. Tippett Abstract Severe drought is a notable feature of the hydrology of central Southwest (CSW) Asia. Although studies have linked the region's interannual precipitation variability to remote forcings that include East Asia jet stream variability and western Pacific tropical convection, atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) forced by observed sea-surface temperatures demonstrate little skill in simulating interannual precipitation variability in this region. Here, statistical methods of correcting systematic errors in GCM simulations of CSW Asia precipitation are investigated. Canonical correlation analysis is used to identify model fields related to observed precipitation anomaly patterns. These relationships are then used to predict observed precipitation anomalies. This approach is applied to the ECHAM 4.5 GCM using regional precipitation, upper-level winds and western Pacific tropical precipitation as predictors of observed CSW Asia precipitation anomalies. The statistical corrections improve the GCM precipitation simulations, resulting in modest, but statistically significant, cross-validated skill in simulating CSW Asia precipitation anomalies. Applying the procedure to hindcasts with persisted sea-surface temperatures gives lower, but statistically significant, precipitation correlations in the region along the Hindu Kush mountain range. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Knowledge and management of infants' pain by mothers in Ile Ife, NigeriaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008Adenike Olaogun Mothers' knowledge and management of pain in infants were assessed in this study. A total of 130 mothers from two health centres in Ile Ife, Southwest, Nigeria were selected by systematic sampling method. Only 3.8% indicated that neonates experience pain. Malaria (46.2%) was the major cause of pain identified. Analgesic/antimalarials (56.9%) and breastfeeding (16.9%) are used in pain relief. To improve the quality of life of infants, mothers must be educated on the assessment, early detection and management of pain. [source] A possible case of coccidioidomycosis from the Los Muertos site, Tempe, ArizonaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2006D. H. Temple Abstract Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease endemic to southwestern North America and parts of Central and South America. Coccidioidomycosis frequently disseminates to the human skeleton and produces mostly lytic skeletal lesions. However, this disease is infrequently described within archaeological populations. As a result, it is important to report potential cases in order to improve current understanding of the appearance and distribution of lesions resulting from coccidioidomycosis in archaeological specimens. This study describes skeletal lesions in an adult male recovered from the Los Muertos site, Tempe, Arizona (AD 500,1450). These lesions are present on the inferior border of the left scapular spine, the medial portion of the left first metacarpal head, and the medial portion of the right first metatarsal. The lesions are predominantly lytic with sclerotic and, in some cases, healed cortical bone distributed around their margins. Evidence of skeletal healing is recorded within the destructive focus of one lesion. Geographical information on pathogen endemism, overall lesion distribution, and agricultural-era Hohokom behaviour suggest that coccidioidomycosis is the most likely diagnostic option for these lesions. Mounting evidence for possible infections in the palaeopathological literature, combined with high frequencies of nutritional stress levels in endemic regions, suggests that coccidioidomycosis contributed at least moderately to morbidity in the American Southwest. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Polydactyly in the prehistoric American SouthwestINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2006D. T. Case Abstract General surveys of skeletal collections from Arizona for evidence of trauma and pathology led to the identification of polydactyly in two subadults. Polydactyly is a congenital condition characterised by the presence of extra digits on the hands or feet. Both affected subadults exhibit a sixth digit in the form of a branching fifth metatarsal. One of the affected individuals is an infant from the Tapia del Cerrito site exhibiting Y-shaped fifth metatarsals indicative of postaxial type A polydactyly. The second individual is a juvenile from the Nuvakwewtaqa (Chavez Pass Ruin) site exhibiting a left fifth metatarsal with a lateral branch, also diagnosed as postaxial type A polydactyly. These two cases appear to be the first examples of polydactyly from archaeological contexts identified among subadults, and bring the total number of known cases from the American Southwest to six. Discovery of so many examples of this relatively rare condition amongst the Puebloan people of the Southwest adds to the evidence that, rather than simply being an artistic motif, rock art depictions featuring hands and feet with six digits were probably inspired by observation of the condition amongst living people. Furthermore, burial treatment of the Tapia del Cerrito infant suggests that polydactyly may have conferred a special status on the bearer. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of ecogeographic variables on genetic variation in montane mammals: implications for conservation in a global warming scenarioJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 7 2007Amy M. Ditto Abstract Aim, Evolutionary theory predicts that levels of genetic variation in island populations will be positively correlated with island area and negatively correlated with island isolation. These patterns have been empirically established for oceanic islands, but little is known about the determinants of variation on habitat islands. The goals of this study were twofold. Our first aim was to test whether published patterns of genetic variation in mammals occurring on montane habitat islands in the American Southwest conformed to expectations based on evolutionary theory. The second aim of this research was to develop simple heuristic models to predict changes in genetic variation that may occur in these populations as a result of reductions in available mountaintop habitat in response to global warming. Location, Habitat islands of conifer forest on mountaintops in the American Southwest. Methods, Relationships between island area and isolation with measures of allozyme variation in four species of small mammal, namely the least chipmunk (Tamias minimus), Colorado chipmunk (Tamias quadrivittatus), red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), and Mexican woodrat (Neotoma mexicana), were determined using correlation and regression techniques. Significant relationships between island area and genetic variation were used to develop three distinct statistical models with which to predict changes in genetic variation following reduction in insular habitat area arising from global warming. Results, Patterns of genetic variation in each species conformed to evolutionary predictions. In general, island area was the most important determinant of heterozygosity, while island isolation was the most important determinant of polymorphism and allelic diversity. The heuristic models predicted widespread reductions in genetic variation, the extent of which depended on the population and model considered. Main conclusions, The results support a generalized pattern of genetic variation for any species with an insular distribution, with reduced variation in smaller, more isolated populations. We predict widespread reductions in genetic variation in isolated populations of montane small mammals in the American Southwest as a result of global warming. We conclude that climate-induced reductions in the various dimensions of genetic variation may increase the probability of population extinction in both the short and long term. [source] Ethnic Labels and Ethnic Identity as Predictors of Drug Use among Middle School Students in the SouthwestJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2001Flavio Francisco Marsiglia This article explores differences in the self-reported drug use and exposure to drugs of an ethnically diverse group of 408 seventh-grade students from a large city in the southwest. We contrast the explanatory power of ethnic labels (African American, non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and mixed ethnicity) and two dimensions of ethnic identity in predicting drug use. One dimension focuses on perceived ethnically consistent behavior, speech, and looks, while the other gauges a sense of ethnic pride. Ethnic labels were found to be somewhat useful in identifying differences in drug use, but the two ethnic identity measures, by themselves, did not generally help to explain differences in drug use. In conjunction, however, ethnic labels and ethnic identity measures explained far more of the differences in drug use than either did alone. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of ethnic identity predict drug outcomes in opposite ways, and these relations are different for minority students and non-Hispanic White students. Generally, African American, Mexican American, and mixed-ethnicity students with a strong sense of ethnic pride reported less drug use and exposure, while ethnically proud White students reported more. Ethnic minority students who viewed their behavior, speech, and looks as consistent with their ethnic group reported more drug use and exposure, while their White counterparts reported less. These findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided. [source] Comorbidity of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence with Medical Conditions in 2 American Indian Reservation CommunitiesALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2006Jay H. Shore Background: The objective was to examine the association of self-reported Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,IV edition alcohol abuse and dependence with medical conditions among American Indians (AIs). Methods: We analyzed data previously collected in a large epidemiological study of members of 2 culturally distinct AI tribes from the Southwest (SW; n=1,446) and the Northern Plains (NP; n=1,638) living on or near their reservations. Associations of combined self-reported alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence with 19 medical conditions were examined through multinomial logistic regression. Results: Medical conditions that had significant relationships with alcohol abuse/dependence were sprains and strains [odds ratio (OR) 2.04, p<0.001], hearing and vision problems (OR 2.05, p<0.001), kidney and bladder problems (OR 1.55, p<0.01), head injuries (OR 2.20, p<0.001), pneumonia/tuberculosis (OR 1.49, p<0.01), dental problems (OR 1.89, p<0.001), and liver problems/pancreatitis (OR 2.18, p<0.001). The total count of medical conditions was also significantly related to alcohol abuse/dependence, with a higher count being associated with the outcome (OR 1.17, p<0.001). Conclusions: In this community-based study of rural AIs, diverse medical conditions were associated with alcohol abuse and dependence. Further research should examine, and confirm, the nature, extent, and tribal variation of the medical consequences of alcohol abuse and dependence in these unique populations. [source] MARSH DEVELOPMENT AT RESTORATION SITES ON THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE RESERVATION, ARIZONA,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 6 2003Jonathan W. Long ABSTRACT: To prioritize sites for riparian restoration, resource managers need to understand how recovery processes vary within landscapes. Complex relationships between watershed conditions and riparian development make it difficult to predict the outcomes of restoration treatments in the semiarid Southwest. Large floods in 1993 scoured riparian areas in the Carrizo watershed on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in east-central Arizona. We evaluated recovery at three of these sites using repeated photographs and measurements of channel cross sections and stream-side vegetation along permanent transects. The sites were mapped as lying on the same soil type, had similar streamside vegetative communities, and were similarly treated through livestock exclusion and supplemental seeding. However, the sites and individual reaches within the sites followed strikingly different development paths. Dramatic recovery occurred at a perennial reach where cover of emergent wetland plants increased from 4.7 percent (standard error = 0.8 percent) in October 1995 to 55.5 percent (standard error = 2.7 percent) in September 2001. At several other reaches, geologic and hydro geomorphic characteristics of the sites limited inputs of fine sediment or surface water, resulting in modest or negligible increases in emergent cover. Recovery efforts for highly valued marshlands in this region should prioritize perennial reaches in low gradient valleys where salty sediments are abundant. [source] CLIMATE IMPACTS ON URBAN WATER RESOURCES IN THE SOUTHWES THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2000Barbara J. Morehouse ABSTRACT: Stresses on water resources in the Southwest take many forms and emanate from many different sources, among which are complex institutional arrangements, significant areal and temporal climatic variability, and high urban growth rates. Further challenges to managing supply and demand in this water-scarce region are posed by environmental, social, and legal differences within and between the individual urban areas. Analysis of the sensitivity of the urban water sector in the Southwest to climatic variability requires careful consideration of these factors. Such analysis, in turn, provides an essential foundation for effective evaluation of the region's sensitivity to longer term climate change. [source] Imported Malaria in Children: A Comparative Study Between Recent Immigrants and Immigrant Travelers (VFRs)JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 4 2010Juan Arnáez MD Background. In Europe, imported malarial cases occur in returning travelers and immigrants mostly from African countries. There have been an increasing number of cases in the past years in Spain. Methods. An analysis of all cases of malaria who attended at the Hospital of Mostoles in the Southwest of Madrid from 1995 to 2007 was performed. Clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, and parasitological findings were analyzed and compared between immigrants coming from endemic countries (recent immigrants) and children who traveled to endemic areas to visit friends and relatives (VFRs). Results. Sixty cases of imported malaria were detected. Most of the cases (59 of 60) were acquired in sub-Saharan Africa. The most common species was Plasmodium falciparum (43 of 60). Microscopic examination was positive in 95%, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Plasmodium achieved additional diagnosis in seven cases. Fourteen cases were VFRs; none of them used appropriate malaria chemoprophylaxis. Fever and thrombocytopenia were significantly more common among VFRs. They also had significantly higher parasite density. Twelve cases were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis; all of them were recent immigrants. Conclusions. VFRs account for a significant number of childhood malarial cases. These patients had not taken malaria chemoprophylaxis and malarial cases were more severe. VFR children are a high-risk group, and pretravel advice should underline the risk for malaria. Recent immigrants can be asymptomatic and parasitemias are lower. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is necessary, and PCR for Plasmodium should be performed in case of negative thick smears. [source] Phylogeography of the longhorn cactus beetle Moneilema appressum LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): was the differentiation of the Madrean sky islands driven by Pleistocene climate changes?MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 10 2005CHRISTOPHER IRWIN SMITH Abstract Although it has been suggested that Pleistocene climate changes drove population differentiation and speciation in many groups of organisms, population genetic evidence in support of this scenario has been ambiguous, and it has often been difficult to distinguish putative vicariance from simple isolation by distance. The sky island communities of the American Southwest present an ideal system in which to compare late Pleistocene range fragmentations documented by palaeoenvironmental studies with population genetic data from organisms within these communities. In order to elucidate the impact of Pleistocene climate fluctuations on these environments, biogeographic patterns in the flightless longhorn cactus beetle, Moneilema appressum were examined using mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Gene tree relationships between haplotypes were inferred using parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian analysis. Nested clade analysis, Mantel tests, and coalescent modelling were employed to examine alternative biogeographic scenarios, and to test the hypothesis that Pleistocene climate changes drove population differentiation in this species. The program mdiv was used to estimate migration and divergence times between populations, and to measure the statistical support for isolation over ongoing migration. These analyses showed significant geographic structure in genetic relationships, and implicated topography as a key determinant of isolation. However, although the coalescent analyses suggested that a history of past habitat fragmentation underlies the observed geographic patterns, the nested clade analysis indicated that the pattern was consistent with isolation by distance. Estimated divergence times indicated that range fragmentation in M. appressum is considerably older than the end of the most recent glacial, but coincided with earlier interglacial warming events and with documented range expansions in other, desert-dwelling species of Moneilema. [source] Social Violence in the Prehispanic American Southwest edited by Deborah Nichols and Patricia CrownAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2009SHIRLEY LINDENBAUM No abstract is available for this article. [source] Hispanic Farmers and Farmworkers: Social Networks, Institutional Exclusion, and Climate Vulnerability in Southeastern ArizonaAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2009Marcela Vásquez-León ABSTRACT In the U.S. Southwest, prolonged drought may force those most dependent on water to abandon their livelihoods. By focusing on Hispanic farmers and farmworkers, in this article I examine how ethnicity and other factors compound risk and create highly vulnerable groups. I use the concept of "social capital" to understand how the critically vulnerable access resources embedded in informal social networks of mutual aid to reduce their vulnerability. By contrasting their situation to that of Anglo farmers, I explore how social networks emerge as a result of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic contexts. Under a more permanent scenario of increased aridity, a better understanding of the risk management mechanisms deployed by vulnerable groups sheds light on how collective approaches build resilience and on the role of policy in promoting or inhibiting these approaches. I seek to contribute to discussions about the importance of sociocultural dynamics and policy decisions to improving society's adaptive capacity. [source] The Establishment and Defeat of Hierarchy: Inalienable Possessions and the History of Collective Prestige Structures in the Pueblo SouthwestAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2004BARBARA J. MILLS ABSTRACT The role of social valuables in establishing and defeating hierarchies in prestate societies is explored through the use of Annette Weiner's concept of "inalienable possessions." Inalienable possessions are objects made to be kept (not exchanged), have symbolic and economic power that cannot be transferred, and are often used to authenticate the ritual authority of corporate groups. Ethnographic examples from Zuni are used to understand the range of individually and collectively owned inalienable objects in Pueblo societies. I then use three classes of these objects from archaeological contexts to gain insight into the history of collective prestige structures in the Southwest. I argue that inalienable goods are more useful than shape prestige goods for understanding the role of social valuables in many nonstate societies, especially those in which inequalities are based on ritual knowledge. [source] Proto-Uto-Aztecan: A Community of Cultivators in Central Mexico?AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2001Jane H. Hill Authorities on the origin and history of Uto-Aztecan have held that speakers of the protolanguage were foragers who lived in upland regions of Arizona, New Mexico, and the adjacent areas of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua about 5,000 years ago. New lexical evidence supports a different view, that speakers of the protolanguage were maize cultivators. The Proto-Uto-Aztecan speech community was probably located in Mesoamerica and spread northward into the present range because of demographic pressure associated with cultivation. The chronology for the spread and differentiation of the family should then correspond to the chronology for the northward spread of maize cultivation from Mesoamerica into the U.S. Southwest, between 4500 and 3000 B.P. [Uto-Aztecan, cultivation, Mesoamerican, historical linguistics, migration] [source] Public Values for River Restoration Options on the Middle Rio GrandeRESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Matthew A. Weber Abstract River restoration is a widespread phenomenon. This reflects strong public values for conservation, though missing are studies explicitly justifying restoration expenditures. Public restoration benefits are not well quantified, nor are public preferences among diverse activities falling into the broad category "restoration." Our study estimates public values for restoration on the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico. Stakeholder meetings and public focus groups guided development of a restoration survey mailed to Albuquerque area households. Four restoration categories were defined: fish and wildlife; vegetation density; tree type; and natural river processes. Survey responses supplied data for both choice experiment (CE) and contingent valuation (CV) analyses, two established environmental economics techniques for quantifying public benefits of conservation policies. Full restoration benefits are estimated at over $150 per household per year via the CE and at nearly $50 per household per year via CV. The CE allows value disaggregation among different restoration categories. The most highly valued category was tree type, meaning reestablishing native tree dominance for such species as Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and eradicating non-native trees such as Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissma). The high public values we have found for restoration offer economic justification for intensive riparian management, particularly native plant-based restoration in the Southwest. [source] State Substance Abuse Treatment GapsTHE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS, Issue 2 2003William E. McAuliffe Ph.D. This study estimated the adequacy of state substance abuse treatment rates relative to treatment needs. The investigators created composite drug and alcohol treatment need indexes from explicit-mention mortality and substance-defined arrest rates. The indexes were reliable and had evidence of construct validity, but alternative population-at-risk and survey-based need measures did not fair as well. States varied substantially in per capita alcohol and drug treatment needs, although the two did not correlate with each other. While the need indexes correlated significantly with state treatment rates, the adequacy of state treatment rates varied greatly. States with the largest treatment gaps were in the South, Southwest, and northern plains and mountain regions. The failure of the Block Grant formula to reflect the needs of rural states with high-risk minority populations may contribute to disparities in access to services. [source] A Tale of Two Families: The Mutual Construction of ,Anglo' and Mexican Ethnicities Along the US,Mexico BorderBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005Howard Campbell In the American Southwest and along the US,Mexico border, ,Anglos' and Mexicans are often viewed as the quintessential ,others'. This ethnographic study problematises the Anglo-Mexican opposition with ethnographic data from interviews with a Mexican farmworker family and an ,Anglo' farmer family of the EI Paso Lower Valley. I argue that ,Anglo' hegemony is not based exclusively on cultural separation but often involves hybridity (including ,Mexicanisation') and patron-client relations entailing ,benevolent' paternalism. I show how the concept of ,Anglo' is a contested identity constructed through interactions between Mexicans and Euroamericans. Through this study of border crossings in situations of asymmetrical power relations, I advocate a ,complicit' anthropology that presents competing ethnic groups in their full complexity rather than as stereotypes or caricatures of their ,others.' [source] The Financial Performance of Low-Cost and Full-Service Airlines in Times of CrisisCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005Triant Flouris This paper examines the stock and accounting performance of three major airlines in the United States in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. September 11 (9/11) resulted in dramatic changes in the airline industry and had significant implications for the economic gains and future prospects of most airlines. Our study focuses on the stock market's perception of the viability of low-cost versus full-service business models in the aftermath of 9/11. We choose Southwest Airlines as a typical low-cost airline and compare its accounting and stock performance to two full-service airlines, Continental and Northwest. We find that Southwest's performance was highly superior to that of Continental and Northwest and argue that Southwest's business model, in the eyes of investors, provides the firm with significantly more financial and operational flexibility than full-service airlines. Southwest's lower operating costs, consumer trust, product offering, corporate structure, workforce and work practices, as well as operational procedures are all factors that appear to contribute to Southwest's relative success. Résumé Cet article étudie la performance boursière et comptable de trois grands transporteurs aériens opérant aux États-Unis au lendemain des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Ces événements ont entraîné des changements radicaux dans l'industrie du transport aérien et ont eu des répercussions considérables sur les gains économiques de la plupart des compagnies aériennes. Notre étude compare la viabilité des modèles d'entreprise à bas prix à celle des modèles traditionnels, au lendemain de l'attaque terroriste. Nous avons choisi Southwest Airlines comme l'exemple type de transporteur aérien pratiquant des bas prix et nous comparons sa comptabilité et le rendement de son action à ceux de deux transporteurs aériens à service complet, notamment Continental et Northwest. Nous constatons que le rendement de Southwest est de loin supérieur à celui de Continental et de Northwest. Nous montrons que, d'après les investisseurs, le modèle de gestion de Southwest lui donne beaucoup plus de flexibilité financière et opérationnelle que le modèle de gestion pratiqué par les transporteurs aériens traditionnels. La faiblesse de ses charges d'exploitation, la confiance des consommateurs, son offre de produits, sa structure d'organisation, son effectif, ses pratiques de travail, ainsi que ses méthodes opérationnelles sont autant d'éléments qui semblent contribuer au succès relatif de Southwest. [source] Breast cancer incidence among American Indian and Alaska Native women: US, 1999,2004,,§CANCER, Issue S5 2008Phyllis A. Wingo PhD Abstract BACKGROUND. Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women. Although published studies have suggested that breast cancer rates among AI/AN women are lower than those among other racial and ethnic populations, accurate determinations of the breast cancer burden have been hampered by misclassification of AI/AN race. METHODS. Cancer incidence data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program were combined to estimate age-adjusted rates for the diagnosis years 1999 through 2004. Several steps were taken to reduce the misclassification of AI/AN race: linking cases to Indian Health Service (IHS) patient services database, restricting analyses to Contract Health Service Delivery Area counties, and stratifying results by IHS region. RESULTS. Breast cancer incidence rates among AI/AN women varied nearly 3-fold across IHS regions. The highest rates were in Alaska (134.8) and the Plains (Northern, 115.9; Southern, 115.7), and the lowest rates were in the Southwest (50.8). The rate in Alaska was similar to the rate among non-Hispanic white (NHW) women in Alaska. Overall, AI/AN women had lower rates of breast cancer than NHW women, but AI/AN women were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage disease. CONCLUSIONS. To the authors' knowledge, this report provides the most comprehensive breast cancer incidence data for AI/AN women to date. The wide regional variation indicates an important need for etiologic and health services research, and the large percentage of AI/AN women with late-stage disease demands innovative approaches for increasing access to screening. Cancer 2008;113(5 suppl):1191,202. Published 2008 by the American Cancer Society. [source] Prostate cancer incidence among American Indian and Alaska Native men, US, 1999,2004,,§CANCER, Issue S5 2008Jeffrey A. Henderson MD Abstract BACKGROUND. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) men experience lower incidence of prostate cancer than other race/ethnic populations in the US, but racial misclassification of AI/AN men threatens the validity of these estimates. To the authors' knowledge, little is known concerning prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in AI/AN men. METHODS. The authors linked cancer registry data with Indian Health Service enrollment records to improve race classification. Analyses comparing cancer incidence rates and stage at diagnosis for AI/AN and non-Hispanic white (NHW) men for 6 geographic regions focused on counties known to have less race misclassification. The authors also used Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System data to characterize PSA testing in AI/AN men. RESULTS. Prostate cancer incidence rates were generally lower in AI/AN than in NHW men for all regions combined (rate ratio of 0.68). However, regional variation was noted among AI/AN men, with incidence rates (per 100,000 population) ranging from 65.7 in the Southwest to 174.5 on the Northern Plains. The rate of distant stage disease was somewhat higher among AI/AN (7.8) than NHW (6.2) men. Nationally, AI/AN men were less likely than NHW men to have undergone recent PSA testing (48.4% vs 58.0%), with prominent regional variation in screening rates noted. CONCLUSIONS. Prostate cancer incidence rates and the proportion of men with recent PSA testing were lower for AI/AN men than for NHW men. However, incident rates and rate of distant stage varied by region more for AI/AN than for NHW. Further research is needed among AI/AN men to evaluate strategies for better understanding the causes of the regional variation in prostate cancer incidence. Cancer 2008;113(5 suppl):1203,12. Published 2008 by the American Cancer Society. [source] Tilting neotectonics of the Guadiamar drainage basin, SW SpainEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 2 2004Josep M. SalvanyArticle first published online: 23 DEC 200 Abstract The Guadiamar river ,ows from the southern Iberian Massif to the Guadalquivir foreland basin, SW Spain. Its drainage basin displays asymmetries in the stream network, the arrangement of alluvial terraces and the con,guration of the trunk river valley. The stream network asymmetry was studied using morphometric measures of transverse topographic sym-metry, asymmetry factor and drainage basin shape. The alluvial terraces were studied through the lithologic logs of more than a hundred boreholes and ,eld mapping. The morphometric methods demonstrate a regional tectonic tilting toward the SSE, causing both the migration of the Guadiamar river toward the east and the migration of the Guadiamar tributaries toward the southwest. As a consequence of the Guadiamar river migration, an asymmetric valley developed, with a steep eastern margin caused by river dissection, and a gentle western margin where the main alluvial deposits are found. The ages obtained using the 14C analysis of samples from several alluvial deposits show that the river migration, and thus tilting, has occurred during the Holocene as well as earlier in the Quaternary. This interpretation revises the Guadiamar longitudinal fault assumed by previous studies. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Geographic body size gradients in tropical regions: water deficit and anuran body size in the Brazilian CerradoECOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2009Miguel Á. Olalla-Tárraga A recent interspecific study found Bergmann's size clines for Holarctic anurans and proposed an explanation based on heat balance to account for the pattern. However, this analysis was limited to cold temperate regions, and exploring the patterns in warmer tropical climates may reveal other factors that also influence anuran body size variation. We address this using a Cerrado anuran database. We examine the relationship between mean body size in a grid of 1° cells and environmental predictors and test the relative support for four hypotheses using an AIC-based model selection approach. Also, we considered three different amphibian phylogenies to partition the phylogenetic and specific components of the interspecific variation in body size using a method analogous to phylogenetic eigen vector regression (PVR). To consider the potential effects of spatial autocorrelation we use eigenvector-based spatial filters. We found the largest species inhabiting high water deficit areas in the northeast and the smallest in the wet southwest. Our results are consistent with the water availability hypothesis which, coupled with previous findings, suggests that the major determinant of interspecific body size variation in anurans switches from energy to water towards the equator. We propose that anuran body size gradients reflect effects of reduced surface to volume ratios in larger species to control both heat and water balance. [source] Amino acids in Quaternary soil horizons from southwest PolandEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2003A. Szponar Summary Aminostratigraphy has proved to be a useful approach for dating fossils from the Quaternary. In these studies the amino acids in Quaternary soil formations were determined in an attempt to establish their stratigraphical relationships and relative ages. The sampling sites are in the southwest of Poland, in the Trzebnickie Hills. Three samples of fossil soils and two of recent soils were analysed. The absolute age of the soil samples was estimated by radiocarbon dating. We found that the total amount of amino acids decreased with the increasing age of soil. The smallest amounts of amino acids were found in the oldest fossil soil of Denekamp (Vistulian) age dated 29 600 ± 760 years bp. A sample of recent loess soil contained the most total amino acids, whereas the fossil soil of Lower Atlantic age, dated 3540 ± 230 years bp, was intermediate in respect of the total amount of amino acids, oxidation state and degree of biochemical transformation. Neutral amino acids formed a majority of all the amino acids studied. The method we describe could be useful in relative chronostratigraphical identification of fossil soils. [source] POSTGLACIAL DISPERSAL OF THE EUROPEAN RABBIT (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS) ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA RECONSTRUCTED FROM NESTED CLADE AND MISMATCH ANALYSES OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA GENETIC VARIATIONEVOLUTION, Issue 4 2002Madalena Branco Abstract Nested clade analysis was applied to cytochrome b restriction site data previously obtained on 20 natural populations of the European rabbit across the Iberian Peninsula to test the hypothesis of postglacial dispersal from two main refugia, one in the northeast and the other in the southwest. Apart from historical fragmentation that resulted in geographic discontinuity of two distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clades A and B, patterns of haplotype genetic variability have been shaped mostly by restricted gene flow via isolation by distance. The distribution of tip versus interior haplotypes suggests that dispersal occurred from both the southwestern and northeastern groups. Dispersal from the southwest had a north and northwest direction, whereas from the northeast it had mostly a western and southern orientation, with subsequent overlap in a southeastern-northwestern axis across the Iberian Peninsula. The analysis of the pairwise mismatch distribution of a 179,181-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region, for seven of those populations, further supports the idea that major patterns of dispersal were in the direction of central Iberia. Additionally, rabbit populations do not show signs of any significant loss of genetic diversity in the recent past, implying that they maintained large population sizes and structure throughout the ice ages. This is congruent with the fact that the Iberian Peninsula was itself a glacial refugium during Quaternary ice ages. Nonetheless, climatic oscillations of this period, although certainly milder than in northern Europe, were sufficient to affect the range distributions of Iberian organisms. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||