Showing papers by "University of Massachusetts Boston published in 1985"

Reproductive biology of tropical lowland rain forest trees. I: Sexual systems and incompatibility mechanisms

Abstract: A B S T R A C T Sexual systems of tropical lowland rain forest trees were investigated to estimate the relative proportions of hermaphroditic, monoecious, and dioecious species. Controlledhand pollinations were performed on hermaphroditic species to determine the proportions of self-compatible and self-incompatible species. A total of 333 species was examined; 65.5% species were found to be hermaphroditic, 1 1.4% monoecious, and 23.1% dioecious. There were no differences between canopy and subcanopy habitats in the distribution of various sexual systems. Out of the 28 species subjected to controlled pollinations, 24 showed the presence of self-incompatibility. The site of the incompatibility barrier in distylous species was either in the stigma or in the style. In most of the monomorphic species, the incompatibility barrier was in the ovary. Although a majority of tree species in the rain forest appear to be obligate outcrossers (xenogamons), the potential for inbreeding due to small effective population size still remains to be explored.

The Hidden Curriculum of Survival ESL

Abstract: This article discusses a new genre in ESL materials—the increasingly popular survival texts designed for newly arrived adults. A wide range of selections from these texts is examined in light of the stated goals of curriculum writers, as well as the less obvious social implications of these materials. In view of the explicit concern with realistic context, texts are evaluated in terms of both how accurately they reflect the immigrants' reality and the extent to which they may shape that reality. Examination of excerpts reveals that frequently, neither the situational content nor the communicative structure of materials reflects authentic interaction. Furthermore, the texts often prepare students for subservient social roles and reinforce hierarchical relations within the classroom by precluding the creation of meaning and the development of critical thinking skills. Finally, Freire's (1981) distinction between problem-solving and problem-posing pedagogues is suggested as a framework for interpreting the shortcomings of the survival genre and for moving toward a more empowering mode of curriculum.

Demographic and endocrinological aspects of low natural fertility in Highland New Guinea.

Abstract: The Gainj of highland Papua New Guinea do not use contraception but have a total fertility rate of only 4.3 live births/woman 1 of the lowest ever recorded in a natural fertility setting. Reproductive and marital histories were obtained from 305 females and 206 males aged 10+. Each subject was asked about: number of live born offspring ever produced; number of stillbirths ever produced; number and names of offspring currently being nursed; number of current and past spouses; and the cause of dissolution of all past marriages. Blood samples were drawn from 172 volunteer female subjects aged 10-60 years and ovarian function was classified by concentration of progesterone. From an analysis of these cross-sectional demographic and endocrinological data the causes of low reproductive output have been identified in women of this population as: late menarche and marriage a long interval between marriage and 1st birth a high probability of widowhood at later reproductive ages low effective fecundability and prolonged lactational amenorrhea. These are combined with near-universal marriage and a low prevalence of primary sterility similar to that found in other populations. Of all the factors limiting fertility by far the most important are those involved in birth spacing especially lactational amenorrhea. The effects of widowhood on Gainj fertility are negligible. Factors acting to lower fertility fall into 2 categories: those that determine the age of onset of reproduction and those that act to space births. Given the observed pattern of birth spacing however the delay in commencement of reproduction represents on average no more than 1 or 2 live births averted/woman. In contrast were age at 1st reproduction held constant while reducing birth intervals to a mean of 2.0-2.5 years total fertility would increase to about 7 or 8. Future research on natural fertility should focus on specific behavioral and physiological mechanisms governing the reproductive process.

Lactation and birth spacing in highland New Guinea.

Abstract: The effects of infant suckling patterns on the post-partum resumption of ovulation and on birth spacing are investigated among the Gainj of highland New Guinea. Based on hormonal evidence the median duration of lactational anovulation is 20.4 months accounting for about 75% of the median interval between live birth and next successful conception (i.e. resulting in live birth). Throughout lactation suckling episodes are short and frequent the interval changing slowly over time from 24 minutes in newborns to 80 minutes in 3-year olds. Maternal serum prolactin concentrations decline in parallel with the changes in suckling patterns approaching the level observed in non-nursing women by about 24 months postpartum. A path analysis indicates that the interval between suckling episodes is the principal determinant of maternal prolactin concentration with time since parturition affecting prolactin secretion only in so far as it affects suckling frequency. The extremely prolonged contraceptive effect of breastfeeding in this population thus appears to be due to 1) a slow decline in suckling frequency with time since parturition; and 2) absence of a decline over time in hypothalamic-pituitary responsiveness to the suckling stimulus. (authors modified)

Clear Speech: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English

Abstract: Clear Speech, Second Edition, is a highly successful and innovative pronunciation course for intermediate and advanced students of English. The Student's Book emphasizes those aspects of English pronunciation that contribute most to intelligibility: rhythm, stress, and intonation. In addition, it teaches students to focus their attention on individual speech sounds that carry important grammatical meaning, such as the verb-final d that signals the past tense, and the noun-final s that signals plural. Students learn to use all these features to provide navigational guides for the listener. The focus on the relationship between speaking and listening comprehension makes this text uniquely helpful. Clear Speech is suitable as a classroom text, for laboratory use, and for self-study.

Further Studies on Thyroid Growth-Stimulating Immunoglobulins in Euthyroid Nonendemic Goiter

Abstract: . Sixty-two consecutive patients with sporadic eu-thyroid goiter (57 women and 5 men) from noniodine-deficient areas, including 15 patients with diffuse goiter, 39 patients with multinodular goiter, and 8 patients with a single nodule, were studied for the presence of serum thyroid growth-stimulating immunoglobulins (TGI) by the ultrasensitive cytochemical bioassay based on DNA cytophotometry (Feulgen-cytochemical bioassay). Using strictly specified conditions, 43 patients (67%) were positive. Values tended to be high in diffuse goiter, nodular goiters reccuring after partial thyroidectomy, and those with recent growth. Thirty-seven individual immunoglobulin (Ig)-rich fractions obtained by ammonium-sulfate precipitation from 20 normal subjects, 13 atrophic thyroiditis patients, and 4 dyshor-monogenetic goiter patients were tested similarly, and only 3 gave positive growth assays. These results lend further support to our concept that a majority of patients with sporadic nontoxic simple goiters hav...

Factors influencing hydrocarbon degradation in three freshwater lakes.

Abstract: The mixed microbial flora of 3 lakes in Ohio with differing histories of hydrocarbon pollution was examined in relation to the ability to use hydrocarbons. Weathered kerosene was spiked with naphthalene, pristane, 1,13-tetradecadiene, andn-hexadecane and added to water-sediment mixtures from the 3 lakes, and utilization of the 4 marker hydrocarbons was measured. Each of the marker hydrocarbons was metabolized; naphthalene was the most readily used and pristane was the most resistant. Values for dissolved oxygen suggest that oxygen did not limit hydrocarbon degradation in the water column at any site examined. Nutrient addition studies indicated that nitrogen and phosphorus limited hydrocarbon degradation at all sites examined. Maximum numbers of heterotrophic bacteria were detected when the water temperature was 10°C or higher. The data indicate that temperature limits hydrocarbon degradation in the winter, except at a site which had been impacted by an oil spill and which received chronic inputs of hydrocarbons and nutrients. In samples from that site, all 4 marker hydrocarbons were degraded at 0°C. Results of temperature and nutrient-addition experiments suggest that different seasonal populations of hydrocarbon users are selected at that site, but not at other lake sites.

Menahem in Jerusalem a Brief Messianic Episode Among the Sicarii - Not "Zealot Messianism"

Abstract: Mettre en rapport Jesus et les Zelotes suppose qu'il y aurait eu un puissant mouvement zelote ayant une ideologie messianiste. Or en fait, on confond souvent Sicaires et Zelotes. L'A. releve et analyse ce que dit Josephe des differentes factions rivales dans la Jerusalem insurgee. Menahem a la tete des Sicaires eut bien un comportement "messianique" quand il se fit acclamer roi par ses partisans, en entrant solennellement a Jerusalem, apres s'etre arme dans l'arsenal de Massada. Mais ce ne fut qu'un episode passager, qui cessa lorsque Menahem fut assassine.

Becoming Educated: A Journey of Alienation or Integration?*:

Abstract: Today's journey of becoming educated is one of the alienation of mind from body, thought from action, reason from feeling and emotion, and self from other. Education does not have to be alienating....

Gilligan's Theory of Moral Development as Applied to Social Work

Abstract: social worker faces many conflicts. Ethical conflicts are frequently por trayed as forced choices or necessary tensions between incompatible but desirable goals—for example, chang ing society versus helping the indi vidual or protecting an individual's rights versus meeting his or her needs. The importance of these con flicts is evident in the development of the National Association of Social Workers' (NASW) Code of Ethics.1 Although different values have been named in the code of ethics, they have not been justified with respect to their underlying ethical basis. The values are not tied to one or more

Men and the Family

Abstract: Based on interviews with a sample of occupationally successful men, a description is offered of the competing engagements of work and the family and of the contributions these men see their families making to their functioning Attention is given to reasons for limited discussion of work events with wives and for the control of emotion and its expression

Teachers' Behavior Toward LD and Non-LD Children A Strategy for Change

Abstract: Teachers' differential behavior toward isolated/rejected LD children and toward popular non-LD children was assessed in fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms Differential behavior was defined by classroom observations of the interaction patterns and sequences of behavior that occurred between teachers and target students In addition, an intervention strategy designed to make teachers aware of their behaviors was employed Results indicated that prior to the awareness program, teachers initiated significantly more interactions, responded with greater frequency of corrective behavior, and used more negative verbal and nonverbal behaviors with isolated/rejected LD than they used with popular non-LD children Post-awareness, the quantity of teachers' interactions remained essentially the same; however, the negative quality of these interactions was significantly reduced When attempting to promote a more positive social climate for LD children who are low in social status, direct intervention with teache

How Much Income Is Enough? Measuring Public Judgments

Abstract: How MUCH income is enough? If we are to make sense of this question, we must immediately ask at least three subsidiary questions. First, enough to do what? That is, how much income is enough to achieve a particular standard of living or level of welfare, for example, to "get along" or "not to be poor." Second, enough for whom? People differ in the circumstances that affect their needs for income, such as their family size and retirement status. Finally, enough according to whom? Are we to take the judgments of experts or those of ordinary people considering their own needs or the needs of others? The answers to these questions have important implications for the design and evaluation of income-maintenance and transfer programs and for understanding the mechanism by which objective circumstances, such as income, are translated to subjective well-being. This article considers these questions and the measurement traditions that are associated with their answers, and presents the results of an

Psycholinguistic Approaches to Language and Communication in Autism

Abstract: During the past decade, there has been a concerted effort to begin applying some of the basic concepts of developmental psycholinguistics to our understanding of the primary language and communication problems of autistic children. Most of these efforts have addressed two fundamental issues. First, In what ways are autistic children who acquire some functional language similar to, or different from, normal children acquiring language? And second, How can we apply psycholinguistic principles to the treatment of mute or minimally verbal autistic children? In this chapter, I will briefly review the research directed at both these issues and will then present an alternative approach to these issues demonstrating how I believe developmental psycholinguistics can make its greatest impact in furthering our understanding of the autistic child’s language and communication deficits.

Patterns of Fruit and Seed Production in Bauhinia ungulata (Leguminosae)

Abstract: Patterns of seed and fruit production ofBauhinia ungulata, a small tree legume indigenous in tropical America, were studied in Costa Rica. Only about 8% of flowers produced fruits. The average pod had 19 ovules and about two thirds of these began seed development, with mature pods containing an average of 9.7 mature undamaged seeds. About half of the mature pods were damaged by herbivores and within these, 27% of ovules or seeds had been eaten. Among trees there was no significant variation in pod production, but the number of ovules per pod and seed production per pod varied significantly. Within infructescences most pods were retained at middle positions. Within pods, the probability of an ovule developing into a seed increased toward the distal end. The pattern of seed and fruit production in this species agrees well in general with that reported for other neotropical legumes. The abortion of seeds and fruits can be regarded as a way of controlling maternal investment, and as a response to herbivory.

Decomposing Income, Earnings, and Wage Differentials A Reformulation of Method

Abstract: A reformulation of the widely used method for decomposing income, earnings, and wage differentials is undertaken in this article. This new formula is derived from the assumptions of the theory of discrimination that has motivated most of the empirical work on the subject. Unlike previous the decompositions, the method presented here yields separate terms representing the monetary advantage discrimination confers on whites and the monetary disadvantage to blacks.

The long visual fibers of the dragonfly optic lobe: their cells of origin and lamina connections.

Abstract: A pair of long visual fibers projects from each ommatidium of the compound eye of the dragonfly Sympetrum. They arise from retinular cell R7 and its slender partner R6. To investigate the segregation of lamina input pathways between these and the well-described short retinular terminals, we have examined the cell morphology and en passant synaptic involvements of R7 and 6 in the ventral lamina using serial-EM and combined Golgi-EM. In the retinula, R7 has a large apical rhabdomere with microvilli aligned along the animal's horizon, and a basal axon. R6 has a few microvilli at all depths, which align with those of neighboring rhabdomeres. In the lamina, R7 and 6 neighbor on MV, the fifth monopolar cell. The stout axon of R7 has many diffusely distributed spines which contact the neighboring terminals of R5 and 8, and MII. In one entire cartridge R7 was presynaptic to MII at 24 dyads and triads throughout the lamina and also to MV at dyads exclusively in the distal lamina. Another class of element which derives from the unidentified processes called alpha was also postsynaptic to R7 at dyads, and, mostly in the proximal lamina, was reciprocally presynaptic to R7, along with R5 and 8. R6 is slender with a single conspicuous spine. At a total of three zones in the proximal lamina and distal chiasma it was presynaptic at 38 dyads--also upon MII and MV and often in combination with other elements; it was not postsynaptic in the lamina. R6 and 7 thus provide the sole input to MV and contribute to the general retinular input to MII. They form the lowest ratios of triad:dyad synapses of all lamina retinular elements. Comparison is made with the long visual fibers of other arthropods but known examples are too diverse to detect functional commonalities.

Capacity planning in service operations: the case of hospital outpatient facilities.

Abstract: This paper presents models that may be used to balance service capacity and demand in situations in which demand is external and, therefore, is not fixed but may fluctuate in response to factors that include the waiting time imposed upon customers. Such situations are common in retailing, financial services, health services, and other service sector industries. An application is shown to a hospital outpatient facility.

Social Democracy and Bureaucracy The Labour Party and Higher Civil Service Recruitment

Abstract: The Labour Party in Great Britain has been committed to the principle of equality and has addressed itself both in rhetoric and in practice to furthering the equalitarian ideal in power and authority relationships in English society, viz., in Parliament and industrial organizations. However, though the Party has relied heavily on the bureaucracy for effecting social democracy, the Party has had little interest in equalitarian access to the Higher Civil Service, which has traditionally recruited predominantly middle-class Oxbridge graduates. The explanation lies in the joint membership of Labour Party intellectuals and civil servants in what Edward Shils, has called the \"aristo-gentry\" culture.