Albion College

About: Albion College is a education organization based out in Albion, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Higher education. The organization has 485 authors who have published 754 publications receiving 20907 citations.

Religiosity, Religious Doubt, and the Need for Cognition: Their Interactive Relationship with Life Satisfaction

Abstract: Previous research has found a consistent, negative relationship between holding religious doubts and mental well-being, and a small positive relationship between religiosity and mental well-being. To assess the interrelationship between religious doubt, religiosity, and need for cognition on life satisfaction, a survey was administered to an almost exclusively Christian sample of 192 Americans drawn from undergraduates and alumni of a small mid-western college, undergraduates from a small south-eastern college, and several churches from the metro-Detroit area. Zero-order correlations revealed relationships between religiosity and life satisfaction, as well as religious doubt and life satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the three-way interaction of religiosity, religious doubt, and the need for cognition was predictive of life satisfaction. Significant two-way interactions also emerged for both gender and religiosity, and gender and religious doubt as predictors of life satisfaction. Based upon these findings, counseling applications are discussed, and the importance of probing for interactions in research on religious influences on well-being is espoused.

Breeding Biology of the Savannah Sparrow on Kent Island

Abstract: -I studied the breeding biology of the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada from 1964 through 1968. I estimated the breeding population to be 125-135 pairs (412-445 individuals/kM2). The mean number of nests produced per female, including those destroyed by predators, was 2.97. Clutch size ranged from 2 to 5 The mean clutch size based on 1,142 eggs in 284 nests of known clutch size was 4.02. Not only was the four-egg clutch most numerous but a greater percentage of eggs in the four-egg clutches hatched and the mean number of young fledged per nest was also highest. The mean incubation period was 12.2 days, the mean duration of nestling life was 9 days, and the approximate length of the breeding season as 52 days. The daily mortality rate of eggs was 11.99% and of nestlings 2.1%. Predation was the major factor affecting reproductive success; 50.5% of all nests located were destroyed by predators. The main nest predators were Common Crows and Herring Gulls. Of the nests destroyed by predators, 87.8% contained eggs rather than nestlings. The intense predation necessitated high nest replacement. The mean interval between the termination of one nest and the appearance of the first egg in the succeeding nest was 6.3 days. If successive nests are destroyed on the day incubation begins, it is hypothetically possible for a pair to produce four nests during a single breeding season; many birds in the population produce at least three. Although enough time was available for birds to fledge two broods in a season, few of them fledged more than one. Thus, the nesting success was low (success from egg to hatching 18. 1%). High nest replacement compensated for high egg mortality, and an average of 2.16 young per pair were fledged per season. Received 26 June 1975, accepted 15 March 1977. KENT Island, New Brunswick, Canada (66?46'W, 44?35'N) is the outermost island in the Grand Manan archipelago, on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Maine at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. The greatest length of this 60.7 ha island is 2.8 km and its width varies from 0.2 to 0.8 km. In the central part of the island there are approximately 10.7 ha of open grassy meadow which constitute the primary nesting area of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). This paper, based on field data obtained during five breeding seasons (1964 through 1968), describes the clutch size and its variations, incubation, mortality, and breeding success of this population.

Nascent Transcription Affected by RNA Polymerase IV in Zea mays

Abstract: All eukaryotes use three DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RNAPs) to create cellular RNAs from DNA templates. Plants have additional RNAPs related to Pol II, but their evolutionary role(s) remain largely unknown. Zea mays (maize) RNA polymerase D1 (RPD1), the largest subunit of RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV), is required for normal plant development, paramutation, transcriptional repression of certain transposable elements (TEs), and transcriptional regulation of specific alleles. Here, we define the nascent transcriptomes of rpd1 mutant and wild-type (WT) seedlings using global run-on sequencing (GRO-seq) to identify the broader targets of RPD1-based regulation. Comparisons of WT and rpd1 mutant GRO-seq profiles indicate that Pol IV globally affects transcription at both transcriptional start sites and immediately downstream of polyadenylation addition sites. We found no evidence of divergent transcription from gene promoters as seen in mammalian GRO-seq profiles. Statistical comparisons identify genes and TEs whose transcription is affected by RPD1. Most examples of significant increases in genic antisense transcription appear to be initiated by 3ʹ-proximal long terminal repeat retrotransposons. These results indicate that maize Pol IV specifies Pol II-based transcriptional regulation for specific regions of the maize genome including genes having developmental significance.

Religion and Intergroup Conflict Findings From the Global Group Relations Project

Abstract: How might religion shape intergroup conflict? We tested whether religious infusion-the extent to which religious rituals and discourse permeate the everyday activities of groups and their members-moderated the effects of two factors known to increase intergroup conflict: competition for limited resources and incompatibility of values held by potentially conflicting groups. We used data from the Global Group Relations Project to investigate 194 groups (e.g., ethnic, religious, national) at 97 sites around the world. When religion was infused in group life, groups were especially prejudiced against those groups that held incompatible values, and they were likely to discriminate against such groups. Moreover, whereas disadvantaged groups with low levels of religious infusion typically avoided directing aggression against their resource-rich and powerful counterparts, disadvantaged groups with high levels of religious infusion directed significant aggression against them-despite the significant tangible costs to the disadvantaged groups potentially posed by enacting such aggression. This research suggests mechanisms through which religion may increase intergroup conflict and introduces an innovative method for performing nuanced, cross-societal research.