University of Wisconsin-Madison

About: University of Wisconsin-Madison is a education organization based out in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 108707 authors who have published 237594 publications receiving 11883575 citations.

Identification Problems in the Social Sciences

Abstract: The aim of methodological research in the social sciences is to learn what conclusions can and cannot be drawn given empirically relevant combinations of assumptions and data. Methodologists have long found it useful to separate inferential problems into statistical and identification components. Studies of identification seek to characterize the conclusions that could be drawn if the researcher had available a sample of unlimited size. Studies of statistical inference seek to characterize the generally weaker conclusions that can be drawn given a sample of positive butfinite size. Statistical and identification problems limit in distinct ways the conclusions that may be drawn in empirical research. Statistical problems are most severe when the available sample is small. Identification problems are most severe when the researcher knows little about the population under study and the sampling process yields only weak data on the population. This chapter synthesizes some of my recent research and thinking on identification problems in the social sciences. Four problems are discussed: extrapolation of regressions, the selection problem, identification of endogenous social effects, and identification of subjective phenomena. These problems arise regularly in social science research and are the source of many substantive disputes.

Temperature as an Ecological Resource

Abstract: synopsis. Ectothermic vertebrates respond to the temperature of their habitat in a manner that is remarkably similar to their response to more traditional ecological resources such as food. We review the response to temperature primarily from literature on fishes in terms of ecological concepts related to niche theory and competition. The width of the fundamental thermal niche is about 4?C when measured by a mean plus and minus one standard deviation of the distribution of temperature occupied in a laboratory gradient. Fish of temperate freshwater appear to fail into three thermal guilds along the temperature re? source axis ?cold, cool, and warm water fishes. Realized thermal niches are similar in central tendency to fundamental niches, but niche width appears to be more narrow for the realized niche in limited sample data. The success of interference competition for space with preferred temperature is tied to social dominance in a manner analogous to food competition. Thermal niche shifts in the face of interspecific competition for preferred temperature appear supported by one laboratory study. Exploitation competition in re? spect to temperature seems nebulous. If animals successfully compete for their thermal niche, growth and perhaps other measures of fitness are maximized. Cost/benefit models for thermal resources and food resources lead to similar predictions about resource use. We suggest that viewing temperature and other niche axes in the way ecologists have viewed food resources would be useful.

Gender differences in temperament: a meta-analysis.

Abstract: The authors used meta-analytical techniques to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in mean level and variability of 35 dimensions and 3 factors of temperament in children ages 3 months to 13 years. Effortful control showed a large difference favoring girls and the dimensions within that factor (e.g., inhibitory control: d = -.41, perceptual sensitivity: d = -0.38) showed moderate gender differences favoring girls, consistent with boys' greater incidence of externalizing disorders. Surgency showed a difference favoring boys, as did some of the dimensions within that factor (e.g., activity: d = 0.33, high-intensity pleasure: d = 0.30), consistent with boys' greater involvement in active rough-and-tumble play. Negative affectivity showed negligible gender differences.

Genetic properties of the maize nested association mapping population.

Abstract: Maize genetic diversity has been used to understand the molecular basis of phenotypic variation and to improve agricultural efficiency and sustainability. We crossed 25 diverse inbred maize lines to the B73 reference line, capturing a total of 136,000 recombination events. Variation for recombination frequencies was observed among families, influenced by local (cis) genetic variation. We identified evidence for numerous minor single-locus effects but little two-locus linkage disequilibrium or segregation distortion, which indicated a limited role for genes with large effects and epistatic interactions on fitness. We observed excess residual heterozygosity in pericentromeric regions, which suggested that selection in inbred lines has been less efficient in these regions because of reduced recombination frequency. This implies that pericentromeric regions may contribute disproportionally to heterosis.

Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales: Instruments Designed to Measure Attitudes Toward the Learning of Mathematics by Females and Males.

Abstract: Dvergsten, D. C. The effect of the use of advance organizers combined with guided discovery on achievement and retention in high school biology (Doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota). Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, No. 71-22,198, 1971. Eastman, P. M. The interaction of spatial visualization and general reasoning abilities with instructional treatment in quadratic inequalities: A follow-up study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 1972. Peterson, J. C. Effect of an advance organizer, a post organizer, or knowledge of a behavioral objective on achievement and retention of a mathematical concept. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, February 1971.