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Specialization
Kinds of Specialization Terms modified by Specialization Selected AbstractsA NEW METHOD FOR STUDYING THE EXTENT, STABILITY, AND PREDICTORS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIALIZATION IN VIOLENCE,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2007D. WAYNE OSGOOD Specialization in violence is an important scientific and policy topic, and over the past several decades, many analysis techniques for studying specialization have emerged. Research in this area continues to be hampered, however, by remaining methodological problems. To overcome these problems, we propose a new method for studying specialization in violence based on an item-response theory measurement approach that is implemented through a multilevel regression model. Our approach defines specialization as an individual level latent variable, takes into account the inherent confounds between specialization and overall level of offending, and gauges specialization relative to the population base rates of each offense. Our method also enables researchers to 1) estimate the extent and statistical significance of specialization, 2) assess the stability of specialization over time, and 3) relate specialization to explanatory variables. Using data from three studies, we found substantial levels of specialization in violence, considerable stability in specialization over time, and several significant and relatively consistent relationships of specialization to explanatory variables such as gender, parental education, and risk-seeking. [source] DISASSORTATIVE MATING, SEXUAL SPECIALIZATION, AND THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER DIMORPHISM IN HETERODICHOGAMOUS ACER OPALUSEVOLUTION, Issue 7 2008Gabriela Gleiser In sexually polymorphic species, the morphs are maintained by frequency-dependent selection through disassortative mating. In heterodichogamous populations in which disassortative mating occurs between the protandrous and protogynous morphs, a decrease in female fitness in one morph is hypothesized to drive sexual specialization in the other morph, resulting in dimorphic populations. We test these ideas in a population of the heterodichogamous species, Acer opalus. We assessed both prospective gender of individuals in terms of their allocations and actual parentage using microsatellites; we found that most matings in A. opalus occur disassortatively. We demonstrate that the protogynous morph is maintained by frequency-dependent selection, but that maintenance of males versus protandrous individuals depends on their relative siring success, which changes yearly. Seeds produced later in the reproductive season were smaller than those produced earlier; this should compromise reproduction through ovules in protandrous individuals, rendering them male biased in gender. Time-dependent gender and paternity analyses indicate that the sexual morphs are specialized in their earlier sexual functions, mediated by the seasonal decrease in seed size. Our results confirm that mating patterns are context-dependent and change seasonally, suggesting that sexual specialization can be driven by seasonal effects on fitness gained through one of the two sexual functions. [source] SPECIFICITY AND SPECIALIZATION OF CONGENERIC MONOGENEANS PARASITIZING CYPRINID FISHEVOLUTION, Issue 5 2006Andrea, Imková Abstract Patterns and likely processes connected with evolution of host specificity in congeneric monogeneans parasitizing fish species of the Cyprinidae were investigated. A total of 51 Dactylogyrus species was included. We investigated (1) the link between host specificity and parasite phylogeny; (2) the morphometric correlates of host specificity, parasite body size, and variables of attachment organs important for host specificity; (3) the evolution of morphological adaptation, that is, attachment organ; (4) the determinants of host specificity following the hypothesis of specialization on more predictable resources considering maximal body size, maximal longevity, and abundance as measures of host predictability; and (5) the potential link between host specificity and parasite diversification. Host specificity, expressed as an index of host specificity including phylogenetic and taxonomic relatedness of hosts, was partially associated with parasite phylogeny, but no significant contribution of host phylogeny was found. The mapping of host specificity into the phylogenetic tree suggests that being specialist is not a derived condition for Dactylogyrus species. The different morphometric traits of the attachment apparatus seem to be selected in connection with specialization of specialist parasites and other traits favored as adaptations in generalist parasites. Parasites widespread on several host species reach higher abundance within hosts, which supports the hypothesis of ecological specialization. When separating specialists and generalists, we confirmed the hypothesis of specialization on a predictable resource; that is, specialists with larger anchors tend to live on fish species with larger body size and greater longevity, which could be also interpreted as a mechanism for optimizing morphological adaptation. We demonstrated that ecology of host species could also be recognized as an important determinant of host specificity. The mapping of morphological characters of the attachment organ onto the parasite phylogenetic tree reveals that morphological evolution of the attachment organ is connected with host specificity in the context of fish relatedness, especially at the level of host subfamilies. Finally, we did not find that host specificity leads to parasite diversification in congeneric monogeneans. [source] PARENTAL EFFECTS AND GENDER SPECIALIZATION IN A TROPICAL HETEROSTYLOUS SHRUBEVOLUTION, Issue 3 2000Germá;n Avila-Sakar Abstract., Male sterility in hermaphroditic species may represent the first step in the evolution toward dioecy. However, gender specialization will not proceed unless the male-sterile individuals compensate for fitness lost through the male function with an increase in fitness through the female function. In the distylous shrub Erythroxylum havanense, thrum plants are partially male-sterile. Using data collected throughout eight years, we investigated whether thrum individuals have an increased performance as female parents, thereby compensating for their loss of male fitness. We found that thrum plants outperformed pins in the probabilities of seed maturation and germination and long-term growth of the seedlings. In turn, pollen from pin plants achieved greater pollen tube growth rates. Our results suggest that the superior performance of the progeny of thrum maternal plants is a consequence of better seed provisioning via effects of the maternal environment, cytotype or nuclear genes. Overall, our results suggest that E. havanense is evolving toward a dioecious state through a gynodioecious intermediate stage. This evolutionary pathway is characterized by an unusual pattern of gender dimorphism with thrums becoming females and pins becoming males. We propose that this pattern may be better explained by the interaction between male-sterility cytoplasmic genes and the heterostyly supergene. [source] SPECIALIZATION AND TRADE: A GAME THEORETICAL APPROACHPACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2006Shuntian Yao Different from the classical treatment, we adopt a game theoretical approach. Therefore in our models the prices of traded goods are endogenously formulated according to the bidding strategies of the producer-consumers. Furthermore, we assume that in the beginning individuals randomly choose their professions. As a result, with a short-run Nash equilibrium different types of professionals may have different utility levels; while through a dynamic process, a long-run Nash equilibrium with utility equalization is reached. Besides, we also attempt to provide a new algorithm for the computation of general equilibrium models in the Yang-Ng framework. [source] DIVISIONS OF LABOUR, SPECIALIZATION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF A SYSTEM OF PROPERTY RIGHTS: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSISPACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2004Li Ke The model suggests that fiscal competition between states facilitates important circular effects, which propel improvements in economic welfare and promote economic growth. In particular, improvements in institutional efficiency expand the demand for transactions, which in turn increases the need for further third-party protection of property rights. We illustrate our results using the growth of the state system in Western Europe. [source] Brand Name Audit Pricing, Industry Specialization, and Leadership Premiums post-Big 8 and Big 6 Mergers,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Andrew Ferguson Abstract This paper investigates brand name, industry specialization, and leadership audit pricing in the wake of the mergers that created the Big 6 and the Big 5 accounting firms. For samples of Australian listed public companies in each of the postmerger years 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998, we estimate national audit fee premiums for the Big 6/5 auditors and the industry specialists and leaders. We find limited support for the ability of the Big 6/5 to obtain fee premiums over non-Big 6/5 for those industries not having specialist auditors. Nonspecialist Big 6/5 auditors are able to obtain fee premiums over nonspecialist non-Big 6/5 auditors for those industries having specialist auditors. However, this result only holds among the smaller half of our sample. We do not find strong support for the presence of industry specialist premiums in the postmerger years, especially after 1990, using various definitions of industry specialist. We find, at best, limited support for the presence of industry leadership premiums. The evidence suggests that after the Big 8/6 audit firm mergers, some caution is required in generalizing the Craswell, Francis, and Taylor 1995 finding of national market industry specialist premiums. More generally, the study raises questions about the tenuous link between the concept of specialization and national market-share statistics. [source] A NEW METHOD FOR STUDYING THE EXTENT, STABILITY, AND PREDICTORS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIALIZATION IN VIOLENCE,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2007D. WAYNE OSGOOD Specialization in violence is an important scientific and policy topic, and over the past several decades, many analysis techniques for studying specialization have emerged. Research in this area continues to be hampered, however, by remaining methodological problems. To overcome these problems, we propose a new method for studying specialization in violence based on an item-response theory measurement approach that is implemented through a multilevel regression model. Our approach defines specialization as an individual level latent variable, takes into account the inherent confounds between specialization and overall level of offending, and gauges specialization relative to the population base rates of each offense. Our method also enables researchers to 1) estimate the extent and statistical significance of specialization, 2) assess the stability of specialization over time, and 3) relate specialization to explanatory variables. Using data from three studies, we found substantial levels of specialization in violence, considerable stability in specialization over time, and several significant and relatively consistent relationships of specialization to explanatory variables such as gender, parental education, and risk-seeking. [source] Specialization across varieties and North,South competitionECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 53 2008Lionel Fontagné SUMMARY North,South competition quality Analyzing a new database that makes it possible to disaggregate trade flows across many countries according to unit values, we show that international specialization in terms of quality within industries and product categories plays an important role in the dynamics of North,South competition. The different specialization of countries at different levels of development within products and across varieties is mirrored in the recent shifts in world market shares, which are very different across quality segments: the South is not gaining market share in high-value portions of trade pattern. In this respect Europe's specialization pattern appears to be different from that of the US and Japan, and may allow it to better resist the competitive pressure of the South. , Lionel Fontagné, Guillaume Gaulier and Soledad Zignago [source] Will Basel II Lead to a Specialization of Unsophisticated Banks on High-Risk Borrowers?,INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 1 2005Bertrand Rime The stability of the banking sector is an essential precondition for a well-functioning economy. Enhancing this stability was one of the main motivations for the elaboration of the new capital adequacy framework, Basel II. The present paper examines the impact of Basel II on risk allocation in the banking sector and its implications for bank capital adequacy. Basel II introduces a two-layer framework for the calculation of the capital requirement for credit risk: (i) a very risk-sensitive internal ratings-based (IRB) approach that will be used by large sophisticated banks and (ii) a standardized approach, much less risk sensitive, which will be used by smaller, less sophisticated banks. We show that because the two bank types compete in the loan market, Basel II may induce sophisticated banks to specialize on low-risk borrowers and unsophisticated banks to specialize on high-risk borrowers. As a consequence, we may face a trade-off between the capital adequacy of the two types of banks, with an ambiguous net effect on financial stability: the risk sensitivity of the IRB approach improves the capital adequacy of sophisticated banks, but it deteriorates the capital adequacy of unsophisticated banks, as their increased risk taking is not appropriately reflected by the standardized capital requirement. [source] Greater capacity for division of labour in clones of Fragaria chiloensis from patchier habitatsJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2007SERGIO R. ROILOA Summary 1Unlike non-clonal plants, clonal plants can develop a division of labour in which connected ramets specialize to acquire different, locally abundant resources. This occurs as a plastic response to a patchy environment where two resources tend not to occur together and different ramets experience high availabilities of different resources. We hypothesized that if division of labour is an important advantage of clonal growth in such environments in nature, then clones from habitats where resource availabilities are negatively associated should show a greater capacity for division of labour than clones from habitats where resource availabilities are more uniform. 2To test this, we collected clones of Fragaria chiloensis from sand dune and grassland sites in each of three regions of the central coast of California, grew pairs of connected or severed ramets under low light and high N or under high light and low N, and measured leaf area, chlorophyll content and final dry mass. Given that previous work has indicated that high availabilities of light and N show a stronger tendency not to occur together in the dune than in the grassland sites, we expected that clones from dunes would show greater capacity for division of labour than clones from grasslands. 3Clones from dunes showed a greater capacity than clones from grasslands to specialize for acquisition of abundant N via high proportional mass of roots. Clones from the two types of habitats showed similar capacity to specialize for acquisition of abundant light via high leaf area and chlorophyll content of leaves. Specialization via leaf area and chlorophyll content took place mainly within the first half of the 60-day experiment. 4These results provide evidence that division of labour in a clonal plant has been selected for in natural habitats where high levels of different resources tend to be spatially separated. Results also show that division of labour can occur, not just via allocation of mass, but also via physiological traits, and that both morphological and physiological specialization can take place within a few weeks. 5Clonal plants dominate many habitats and include many highly invasive species. Division of labour is one of the most striking potential advantages of clonal growth, and is a remarkable instance of phenotypic plasticity in plants. This study further suggests that division of labour in clonal plants is an instance of adaptive plasticity and could therefore play a part in their widespread ecological success. [source] China's booming livestock industry: household income, specialization, and exitAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 6 2009Allan N. Rae China; Livestock industry; Specialization; Exit Abstract China's production of livestock products has generally kept pace with her rapidly increasing demand. Over-supply and market corrections for various livestock products took place over the latter part of the 1990s and large numbers of householders exited this type of production. Using household survey data, we estimate the relationship between a household's specialization in livestock production and household net income in 1995, and use a logit model to explore some predictors of household exit from livestock production over the following decade of market instability. We conclude that specialist livestock households with access to necessary skills, technologies, and markets increase their incomes from further livestock specialization in the base year, whereas those to whom livestock production is relatively unimportant can increase household incomes by diverting their resources away from animal husbandry. It was specialist rather than diversified livestock households that tended to bear the brunt of the adjustment to unfavorable price movements over the decade post-1995. Policy concerns include the exit of larger-scale specialized producers who tended to earn relatively high household incomes in 1995, barriers to the effective formation and operation of horizontal and vertical integration options to help mitigate market instability, the further development of insurance programs and markets for livestock producers, and development assistance to livestock households that for various reasons cannot increase scale and specialization. [source] Host Specialization among Vegetative Compatibility Groups of Verticillium dahliae in Relation to Verticillium longisporumJOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2002K. ZEISE A collection of 24 isolates of Verticillium dahliae and 10 isolates of Verticillium longisporum originating from nine different host plants and from several geographic regions was tested for host specificity on 11 economically important crops such as potato, tomato, strawberry, linseed, three legumes and four Brassica species. In order to reveal host specificity the potential of each isolate to induce disease and affect plant yield was recorded for all isolate,host combinations. The collected data were statistically processed by means of a cluster analysis. As a result, the host range of individual isolates was found to be more dependent on the vegetative compatibility group (VCG) of the isolate than on its original host plant provenance. Twenty-two out of 24 V. dahliae isolates belonged to either VCG 2B or 4B. VCG 2B isolates showed specificity for legumes, strawberry, potato and linseed, whereas VCG 4B was specifically virulent on potato, strawberry and linseed. Subgroups within VCG 2B and 4B almost lacking any host preference were designated 2B* and 4B*. Three isolates from VCG 2B*, however, severely attacked tomato which is a host outside the authentic host range of VCG 2B. The pathogenicity of V. longisporum isolates was restricted to cruciferous hosts. Conversely, cruciferous plants were not affected by isolates from VCGs 2B and 4B of V. dahliae. This lack of cross-infectivity of certain subpopulations of V. dahliae and of V. longisporum may be useful in the management of this soil-borne wilt disease. [source] The Determinants of Child Labour: The Role of Primary Product SpecializationLABOUR, Issue 2 2005Leonardo Becchetti The paper tests predictions of a traditional intra-household bargaining model which, under reasonable assumptions, shows that lack of bargaining power in the value chain significantly reduces the capacity for obtaining benefits from increased product demand arising from trade liberalization and therefore is positively associated with child labour. Cross-sectional and panel negative binomial estimates in a sample of emerging countries support this hypothesis. They show that proxies of domestic workers' bargaining power in the international division of labour (such as the share of primary product exports) are significantly related to child labour, net of the effect of traditional controls such as parental income, quality of education, international aid, and trade liberalization. The positive impact of the share of primary product exports on child labour outlines a potential paradox. The paradox suggests that trade liberalization does not always have straightforward positive effects on social indicators and that its short-run effects on income distribution and distribution of skills and market power across countries need to be carefully evaluated. [source] Lawyer Specialization,Managing the Professional ParadoxLAW & POLICY, Issue 2 2010RICHARD MOORHEAD This article explores a series of paradoxes exposed by specialization within the legal profession. It will argue that while the existing literature rightly identifies specialization as posing potential challenges to coherence, legitimacy, and professional ethics, it fails to grapple with the relationship between professional competence and specialization. In exploring this relationship, three paradoxes are articulated. The first is that specialization is both a necessary element in the development of professionalism and a threat to it. The second is the normative ambiguity of specialization: specialization is capable of giving rise to both benefits and detriments. The third paradox is the profession's response to this ambiguity. It will be argued that the profession's approach is incoherent in public interest terms and can be best explained as part of a desire to protect its members' interests and its collective identity over the public interest in competence. These arguments are made in the context of a series of three empirical studies of specialists and nonspecialists in legal aid practice in England and Wales. The evidence is worrying enough to suggest significant concerns about the quality and indeed legitimacy of the professional qualification as a general warrant of competence. The implications for institutionalizing specialization within the legal profession are discussed. [source] Industrial Specialization, Catching-up and Labour Market DynamicsMETROECONOMICA, Issue 1 2000Michael A. Landesmann This paper presents a dynamic model as a heuristic tool to discuss some issues of changing industrial specialization which arise in the context of catching-up processes of (technologically) less advanced economies and the impact which various scenarios of such catching-up processes might have on the labour market dynamics both in the advanced and in the catching-up economies. In analysing the evolution of international specialization, we demonstrate the twin pressures exerted upon the industrial structures of "northern" economies: competition from "type-A southern" economies, which maintain a comparative competitive strength in labour-intensive and less skill-intensive branches, and competition from "type-B catching-up" economies, whose catching-up increasingly focuses upon branches in which the initial productivity gaps and hence the scope for catching-up are the highest. The contrast between these two catching-up scenarios allows the explicit analysis of the implications of "comparative advantage switchovers" between northern and southern (type B) economies for labour market dynamics. [source] Specialization of flowers: is floral orientation an overlooked first step?NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2009Charles B. Fenster First page of article [source] Rise of Medical Specialization and Organizations Affecting OtolaryngologyTHE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 7 2001Jerome C. Goldstein MD Abstract As we enter the third millennium, there are in the United States 24 medical specialties recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The majority of the members of each of these specialties have their education, training, and knowledge "certified" by an examining board unique to their specialty. One hundred years ago virtually none of the foregoing existed. At the turn of the 20th century, nearly all physicians practiced all of medicine. How and why did this evolution occur and what controls evolved to contain this? The goal of this presentation is to review the rise of medical specialties and the board examination system and describe some of the many organizations, often known by acronyms, which deal with this now complex architecture. [source] 12 Elite Household Multicrafting Specialization at 9N8, Patio H, CopanARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2009Randolph J. Widmer First page of article [source] "Specialized" Production in Archaeological Contexts: Rethinking Specialization, the Social Value of Products, and the Practice of ProductionARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2007Rowan K. Flad The contributions to this volume are introduced via a critical review of terms and concepts used in craft production studies today. Recent detailed contextual and technological analyses of artifacts from all aspects of complex societies have revealed interesting patterns that are difficult to conceptualize using a purely economic framework. Furthermore, interest in practice theory, and sociocultural theory in general, has shifted some foci of archaeological investigation toward the social aspects of production and specialization. New data, methods, and theories require a rethinking of what is meant by specialized production, and this chapter represents an introduction to this endeavor. [source] Specialization, Context of Production, and Alienation in the Production Process: Comments and AfterthoughtsARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2007Yung-ti Li The study of craft specialization has gone through several stages since the pioneering work of Childe, each with changing foci and emphases. The current volume marks yet another development in the field that demonstrates both discontents with existing theories and efforts to enhance and strengthen the discourse. Acting as a commentator to facilitate further discussion, the first half of my chapter addresses specific issues in individual chapters, while the second half explores another dimension of production by looking at bronze and pottery production in ancient and premodern China. Whereas some contributors examine alienability in the social role of the objects and the rights over alienation of the product, this discussion examines another form of alienation that can be considered in the study of craft production, one that is both salient and tangible in archaeological data: alienation of the manufacturing process, that is, alienation of the craft producers from their own skills. The work of Ursula Franklin on Shang bronze production is reviewed, and new studies on porcelain production at Jingdezhen and stoneware production at Yixing are incorporated to further develop Franklin's model. I argue that through examining the material patterns of the production process and the type range of finished products, alienation in the workplace can be detected archaeologically. [source] On "Rethinking" Craft Specialization: Responses by the AuthorsARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2007Zachary X. Hruby First page of article [source] Performance Trade-offs Driven by Morphological Plasticity Contribute to Habitat Specialization of Bornean Tree SpeciesBIOTROPICA, Issue 4 2009Daisy H. Dent ABSTRACT Growth-survival trade-offs play an important role in niche differentiation of tropical tree species in relation to light-gradient partitioning. However, the mechanisms that determine differential species performance in response to light and soil resource availability are poorly understood. To examine responses to light and soil nutrient availability, we grew seedlings of five tropical tree species for 12 mo at < 2 and 18 percent full sunlight and in two soil types representing natural contrasts in nutrient availability within a lowland dipterocarp forest in North Borneo. We chose two specialists of nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor soils, respectively, and one habitat generalist. Across all species, growth was higher in high than low light and on more nutrient rich soil. Although species differed in growth rates, the ranking of species, in terms of growth, was consistent across the four treatments. Nutrient-rich soils improved seedling survival and increased growth of three species even under low light. Slower-growing species increased root allocation and reduced specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area ratio (LAR) in response to decreased nutrient supply. All species increased LAR in response to low light. Maximum growth rates were negatively correlated with survival in the most resource-limited environment. Nutrient-poor soil specialists had low maximum growth rates but high survival at low resource availability. Specialists of nutrient-rich soils, plus the habitat generalist, had the opposite suite of traits. Fitness component trade-offs may be driven by both light and belowground resource availability. These trade-offs contribute to differentiation of tropical tree species among habitats defined by edaphic variation. [source] On the Relevance of the "Genetics-Based" Approach to Medicine for Sociological Perspectives on Medical Specialization,CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 2 2007William Leeming First page of article [source] Rule Quality Measures for Rule Induction Systems: Description and EvaluationCOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 3 2001Aijun An A rule quality measure is important to a rule induction system for determining when to stop generalization or specialization. Such measures are also important to a rule-based classification procedure for resolving conflicts among rules. We describe a number of statistical and empirical rule quality formulas and present an experimental comparison of these formulas on a number of standard machine learning datasets. We also present a meta-learning method for generating a set of formula-behavior rules from the experimental results which show the relationships between a formula's performance and the characteristics of a dataset. These formula-behavior rules are combined into formula-selection rules that can be used in a rule induction system to select a rule quality formula before rule induction. We will report the experimental results showing the effects of formula-selection on the predictive performance of a rule induction system. [source] Conservation of Insect Diversity: a Habitat ApproachCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2000Jennifer B. Hughes To explore the feasibility of basing conservation action on community-level biogeography, we sampled a montane insect community. We addressed three issues: (1) the appropriate scale for sampling insect communities; (2) the association of habitat specialization,perhaps a measure of extinction vulnerability,with other ecological or physical traits; and (3) the correlation of diversity across major insect groups. Using malaise traps in Gunnison County, Colorado, we captured 8847 Diptera (identified to family and morphospecies), 1822 Hymenoptera (identified to morphospecies), and 2107 other insects (identified to order). We sampled in three habitat types,meadow, aspen, and conifer,defined on the basis of the dominant vegetation at the scale of hundreds of meters. Dipteran communities were clearly differentiated by habitat type rather than geographic proximity. This result also holds true for hymenopteran communities. Body size and feeding habits were associated with habitat specialization at the family level. In particular, habitat generalists at the family level,taxa perhaps more likely to survive anthropogenic habitat alteration,tended to be trophic generalists. Dipteran species richness was marginally correlated with hymenopteran species richness and was significantly correlated with the total number of insect orders sampled by site. Because these correlations result from differences in richness among habitat types, insect taxa may be reasonable surrogates for one another when sampling is done across habitat types. In sum, community-wide studies appear to offer a practical way to gather information about the diversity and distribution of little-known taxa. Resumen:No existe ni el tiempo ni los recursos para diseñar planes de conservación para cada especie, particularmente para los taxones poco estudiados, no carismáticas, pero ecológicamente importantes que componen la mayoría de la biodiversidad. Para explorar la factibilidad de basar acciones de conservación en biogegrafía a nivel comunitario, muestreamos una comunidad de insectos de montaña. Evaluamos tres aspectos: (1) la escala adecuada para el muestreo de comunidades de insectos; (2) la asociación de especialización de hábitat,quizá una medida de vulnerabilidad de extinción,con otras características ecológicas o físicas; y (3) la correlación de la diversidad a lo largo de los grupos principales de insectos. Mediante el uso de trampas en el condado Gunnison, en Colorado, capturamos 8847 dípteros (identificados a nivel de familia y morfoespecies), 1822 himenópteros (identificadas hasta morfoespecies) y 2107 otros insectos (identificados a nivel de orden). Muestreamos tres tipos de hábitats,vega, álamos temblones y coníferas,definidos en base a la vegetación dominante a escala de cientos de metros. Las comunidades de dípteros estuvieron claramente diferenciadas por tipos de hábitat y no por la proximidad geográfica. Este resultado también se mantiene para las comunidades de himenópteros. El tamaño del cuerpo y los hábitos alimenticios estuvieron asociados con la especialización del hábitat a nivel de familia. En particular, los generalistas de hábitat a nivel de familia,los taxones que posiblemente tengan mayor probabilidad de sobrevivir alteraciones antropogénicas del hábitat,tendieron a ser generalistas tróficos. La riqueza de las especies de dípteros estuvo marginalmente correlacionada con la riqueza de especies de himenópteros y estuvo significativamente correlacionada con el número total de órdenes de insectos muestreadas por sitio. Debido a que estas correlaciones resultaron de diferencias en la riqueza de especies entre tipos de hábitats, los taxones de insectos podrían ser substitutos mutuos razonables cuando se muestrea entre diferentes tipos de hábitats. En resumen, los estudios a lo largo de comunidades parecen ofrecer una forma práctica de recolectar información sobre la diversidad y distribución de los taxones poco estudiados. [source] The Impact of R&D Intensity on Demand for Specialist Auditor Services,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005JAYNE M. GODFREY Abstract The audit fee research literature argues that auditors' costs of developing brand name reputations, including top-tier designation and recognition for industry specialization, are compensated through audit fee premiums. Audited firms reduce agency costs by engaging high-quality auditors who monitor the levels and reporting of discretionary expenditures and accruals. In this study we examine whether specialist auditor choice is associated with a particular discretionary expenditure - research and development (R&D). For a large sample of U.S. companies from a range of industries, we find strong evidence that R&D intensity is positively associated with firms' choices of auditors who specialize in auditing R&D contracts. Additionally, we find that R&D intensive firms tend to appoint top-tier auditors. We use simultaneous equations to control for interrelationships between dependent variables in addition to single-equation ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression models. Our results are particularly strong in tests using samples of small firms whose auditor choice is not constrained by the need to appoint a top-tier auditor to ensure the auditor's financial independence from the client. [source] Brand Name Audit Pricing, Industry Specialization, and Leadership Premiums post-Big 8 and Big 6 Mergers,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Andrew Ferguson Abstract This paper investigates brand name, industry specialization, and leadership audit pricing in the wake of the mergers that created the Big 6 and the Big 5 accounting firms. For samples of Australian listed public companies in each of the postmerger years 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998, we estimate national audit fee premiums for the Big 6/5 auditors and the industry specialists and leaders. We find limited support for the ability of the Big 6/5 to obtain fee premiums over non-Big 6/5 for those industries not having specialist auditors. Nonspecialist Big 6/5 auditors are able to obtain fee premiums over nonspecialist non-Big 6/5 auditors for those industries having specialist auditors. However, this result only holds among the smaller half of our sample. We do not find strong support for the presence of industry specialist premiums in the postmerger years, especially after 1990, using various definitions of industry specialist. We find, at best, limited support for the presence of industry leadership premiums. The evidence suggests that after the Big 8/6 audit firm mergers, some caution is required in generalizing the Craswell, Francis, and Taylor 1995 finding of national market industry specialist premiums. More generally, the study raises questions about the tenuous link between the concept of specialization and national market-share statistics. [source] Delinquency and the profile of offences among depressed and non-depressed adolescentsCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2006MINNA RITAKALLIO Background,Depression has previously been found to be closely connected to adolescent delinquency, but little is known about how depression is related to different types of delinquency. Aim,To investigate patterns of criminal behaviour according to depression among repeatedly delinquent adolescents. Method,The sample was 14- to 16-year-old repeatedly delinquent adolescents (n 3679) taking part in the Finnish School Health Promotion Study, surveyed for versatility and specialization of delinquency in relation to depression. Results,Patterns of criminal behaviour differed between depressed and non-depressed delinquent adolescents. The delinquent behaviour of depressed adolescents was more versatile than that of non-depressed adolescents who mainly specialized in one offence type. Non-depressed delinquent boys had most often specialized in violence. Most depressed delinquent boys had committed a variety of offences, but among those who did specialize the specialist category was violent offences. Non-depressed delinquent girls had specialized in shoplifting. Among depressed delinquent girls vandalism was the most typical offence. Conclusion,Differences in the delinquent behaviour of depressed and non-depressed delinquent adolescents suggest the value of including clinical assessment, and treatment for some, in an appropriately comprehensive pattern of management. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A REAPPRAISAL OF THE OVERLAP OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS AND VICTIMS,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 4 2008CHRISTOPHER J. SCHRECK Because research shows a close association between offending and victimization, recent work has argued that theories that account for crime should explain victimization as well. The current study uses a new approach to examine the extent of the overlap between offenders who commit violent crime and victims of violence to determine whether it is worthwhile to pursue separate theories to account for these phenomena. Specifically, we take the statistical approach that Osgood and Schreck (2007) developed for analyzing specialization in violent versus property offending and apply it to analyzing tendencies to gravitate toward violent offending versus victimization. In doing so, we treat the differentiation into victim and offender roles as an individual-level latent variable while controlling for confounding between the likelihood that individuals will take either role in violent acts and their overall numbers of encounters with violence (as either offender or victim). Our purpose is to examine 1) whether significant differentiation can be observed between the tendency to be an offender versus the tendency to be a victim, 2) whether any such differential tendency is stable over time, and 3) if it is possible to predict whether individuals will tend toward violent offending versus victimization. Using two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to explore these objectives, we find significant and stable levels of differentiation between offenders and victims. Moreover, this differentiation is predictable with explanatory variables. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||