Georgia State University

About: Georgia State University is a education organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13988 authors who have published 35895 publications receiving 1164332 citations. The organization is also known as: GSU & Georgia State.

Global Habitat Protection: Limitations of Development Interventions and a Role for Conservation Performance Payments

Abstract: Conservation biologists, policy makers, and citizens have identified the protection of native ecosystems in low-income nations as a global social objective. Among the more popular initiatives toward this objective is the use of development interventions in the peripheral areas of endangered ecosystems. Such interventions indirectly provide desirable ecosystem services by redirecting labor and capital away from activities that degrade ecosystems (e.g., agricultural intensification) and by encouraging commercial activities that supply ecosystem services as joint products (e.g., ecotourism). I examined the economics of such interventions and the available empirical evidence and concluded that development interventions are hindered by (1) the indirect and ambiguous conservation incentives that they generate, (2) the complexity of their implementation, and (3) their lack of conformity with the temporal and spatial dimensions of ecosystem conservation objectives. In contrast, paying individuals or communities directly for conservation performance may be a simpler and more effective approach. In recent years there has been widespread experimentation with contracting approaches to ecosystem conservation. Conservation contracting can (1) reduce the set of critical parameters that practitioners must affect to achieve conservation goals, (2) permit more precise targeting and more rapid adaptation over time, and (3) strengthen the links between individual well-being, individual actions, and habitat conservation, thus creating a local stake in ecosystem protection. In situations where performance payments are unlikely to work, indirect development interventions are also unlikely to work. Thus, despite the potential barriers to developing a system of conservation contracts in low-income nations, my analysis suggests that performance payments have the potential to improve the way in which ecosystems are conserved in these nations. Resumen: Los biologos conservacionistas, los legisladores y los ciudadanos han identificado la proteccion de ecosistemas en naciones con bajos ingresos como un objetivo social global. Entre las iniciativas mas populares para alcanzar este objetivo se encuentra el uso de intervenciones para el desarrollo en areas perifericas de ecosistemas en peligro. Estas intervenciones proveen servicios deseables del ecosistema indirectamente al re-direccionar actividades y capital lejos de las actividades que degradan el ecosistema ( por ejemplo, intensificacion agricola) y alentando actividades comerciales que provean servicios del ecosistema como los productos de coyuntura ( por ejemplo, ecoturismo). Examine la economia de estas intervenciones los y las evidencias empiricas disponibles y conclui que las intervenciones de desarrollo son entorpecidas por (1) incentivos indirectos y ambiguos que generan; (2) la complejidad de su implementacion y (3) la carencia de concordancia con las dimensiones temporales y espaciales de los objetivos de conservacion del ecosistema. En contraste, el pago directo a individuos o comunidades por la ejecucion de la conservacion podria ser una estrategia mas simple y mas efectiva. En anos recientes, ha habido amplia experimentacion con las estrategias de contratacion para la conservacion de ecosistemas. Los contratos para conservacion pueden (1) reducir el conjunto de parametros criticos que los practicantes deben afectar para alcanzar las metas de conservacion; (2) permitir el establecimiento de metas mas precisas; y (3) fortalecer los vinculos entre el bienestar individual, las acciones individuales y la conservacion del habitat, creando asi un interes local en la proteccion del ecosistema. En situaciones donde los pagos por rendimiento no son viables de funcionar, las intervenciones de desarrollo indirecto probablemente tampoco funcionen. Por ello, a pesar de las barreras potenciales al desarrollo de desarrollar un sistema de contratos de conservacion en naciones de bajos recursos, mi analisis sugiere que los pagos por rendimiento tienen el potencial para mejorar la forma en la que los ecosistemas son conservados en estas naciones.

Comparing Two Methods for Estimating Network Size

Abstract: In this paper we compare two methods for estimating the size of personal networks using a nationally representative sample of the United States. Both methods rely on the ability of respondents to estimate the number of people they know in specific subpopulations of the U.S. (e.g., diabetics, Native Americans) and people in particular relation categories (e.g., immediate family, coworkers). The results demonstrate a remarkable similarity between the average network size generated by both methods (approximately 291). Similar results were obtained with a separate national sample. An attempt to corroborate our estimates by replication among a population we suspect has large networks (clergy), yielded a larger average network size. Extensive investigation into the existence of response effects showed some preference for using certain numbers when making estimates, but nothing that would significantly affect the estimate of network size beyond about 6 percent. We conclude that both methods for estimating person...

Testosterone, Social Class, and Antisocial Behavior in a Sample of 4,462 Men:

Abstract: Two hypotheses have been offered to explain the relation between testosterone and antisocial behavior in delinquent and criminal populations. One is that testosterone leads directly to antisocial behavior. The other is that a constellation of dominance, competitiveness, and sensation seeking associated with testosterone leads to either antisocial or prosocial behavior, depending upon an individual's resources and background. Analysis of archival data from 4,462 U.S. military veterans supported the first hypothesis: Testosterone was correlated with a variety of antisocial behaviors among all individuals. However, socioeconomic status (SES) proved to be a moderating variable, with weaker testosterone-behavior relationships among high SES subjects.

Strategies for Design Science Research Evaluation

Abstract: Seminal works in the application of design science research (DSR) in IS emphasize the importance of evaluation. However, discussion of evaluation activities and methods is limited and typically assumes an ex post perspective, in which evaluation occurs after the construction of an IS artifact. Such perspectives can assume that the evaluation is an empirical process and its methods can be selected in the same way as empirical research methods. In this paper, we analyze a broader range of evaluation strategies, which includes ex ante (prior to artifact construction) evaluation. This broader view is developed as a strategic DSR evaluation framework, which expands evaluation choices for IS DSR researchers, and also adds emphasis to strategies for evaluating design processes in addition to design products, using well-known quality criteria as an important asset. The framework encompasses both ex ante and ex post orientations as well as naturalistic settings (e.g., case studies) and artificial settings (e.g., lab experiments) for DSR evaluation. The framework proposed offers a strategic view of DSR evaluation that is useful in analyzing published studies, and also in surfacing the evaluation opportunities that present themselves to IS DSR researchers.