University of North Carolina at Wilmington

About: University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a education organization based out in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 3329 authors who have published 6797 publications receiving 186308 citations.

Developing a Sense of Scale: Looking Backward

Abstract: Although scale has been identified as one of four major interdisciplinary themes that cut across the science domains by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1989), we are only beginning to understand how students learn and apply scale concepts. Early research on learning scale tended to focus on perceptions of linear distances, navigation and way finding, whereas more recent work has examined how students conceptualize scale in science contexts. This study sought to understand how understandings of scale develop from childhood to adulthood by asking 50 professionals to reflect on their experiences (in and out-of-school) learning about scale. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to obtain information about educational experiences, informal experiences, and applications of scale in different professions. Results showed that most of the participants used anchor points as conceptual benchmarks when applying scale in their job. Seventy-six percent of the participants attributed physical experiences such as moving through the environment by car, walking, bicycling, or flying in an airplane as contributing to the development of a sense of scale. Results of this study were used to develop a possible model of the trajectory of scale concepts that develop as individuals move from novice through increasing degrees of expertise. Across professions, participants emphasized the critical role that scale plays in their work. For many, scale was viewed as central to accomplishing the work-related tasks. 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 460-475, 2009

THE PREJUDICIAL NATURE OF VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS Implications for Capital Sentencing Policy

Abstract: Victim impact evidence is presented during sentencing hearings to convey the harm experienced by victims and victims’ relatives as a result of a crime. Its use in capital cases is highly controversial. Some argue that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the admission of victim impact statements (VIS) during capital sentencing proceedings (Payne v. Tennessee, 1991) invites prejudice and judgments based on emotion rather than reason. Others reason that it provides an important voice for survivors and affords the jury an opportunity to learn about the victim. The authors outline the chief psychological issues that arise in the context of VIS, including their relevance to jurors’ judgments of blameworthiness, concerns that the social worth of the victim will influence jurors’ sentencing decisions, and issues related to the emotional appeal of VIS. Psycholegal research on the influence of VIS on mock jurors is reviewed, and implications of this work for capital sentencing policy and suggested directions for future research are discussed.

Reproduction in short-beaked common dolphins ( Delphinus delphis ) from the western North Atlantic

Abstract: A single population of short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus) occurs in the western North Atlantic from Florida to Newfoundland. Dolphins killed in a swordfish driftnet fishery between 1989 and 1998 provided samples for the present study. These were combined with additional observations from carcasses collected from stranding programs. Samples were examined from 74 female and 161 male short-beaked common dolphins. A highly significant male bias in the sex ratio of both the bycatch and stranding samples suggests that sex-based habitat partitioning or school segregation occurs in this population. Age was estimated from decalcified thin sections of teeth and testis and ovarian samples were examined both macro- and microscopically. Analyses showed that reproduction was both seasonal and synchronized. Females reached sexual maturation at approximately age eight; males matured at 9.5 years. Conception occurred during July and August (mean day 24 July). Gestation was estimated to last just under a year, so most females gave birth during July and August (mean day 15 July). Annual pregnancy rate was estimated to be between 25 and 33%. Males undergo a fivefold seasonal increase in testes mass and a twofold increase in seminiferous tubule diameter. Peak sperm production potential was observed in July. At the end of the breeding season testis size and activity decreased after August. Male dolphins in this population are hypothesized to engage in some form of sperm competition.