Bad Moon Research Articles

Bad moon rising? The influence of the lunar cycle on amphibian roadkills

Annually, roads, and their associated users, are responsible for millions of roadkills worldwide. Mortality affects multiple taxonomic groups, but amphibians are particularly vulnerable, due to their size and underreporting. In fact, very high mortality frequencies can occur, mostly during short periods of time, when individuals migrate to and from reproduction areas (e.g., ponds). In this study, we assess the influence of the lunar cycle on amphibian roadkills, while accounting for weather conditions. As expected, the main environmental effects explaining roadkill numbers were weather related, with increases in minimum air temperature, average relative air humidity, and cumulative rainfall during the previous 24 h having a positive effect on roadkill numbers for all studied species. However, the lunar cycle also affected roadkills for two of the studied species. Darker nights had higher numbers of roadkills of Pleurodeles waltl, while moonlit nights had higher numbers of Salamandra salamandra. As such, these moon effects are species specific. Animals that are more active in moonlight may be at an advantage if their visual acuity is better than that of their predators. We hypothesize that differences between species in the response to moonlight may be due to differences perceived in predation risk. This information should be considered when designing mitigation measures. Volunteer actions, for instance, can be planned and coordinated keeping in mind the most appropriate weather conditions for the general amphibian community and specific phases of the lunar cycle for particular species.

A Bad Moon Rising? Uncertainty Shocks and Economic Outcomes

A Bad Moon Rising? Uncertainty Shocks and Economic Outcomes

When the Full Moon Rises over the Sunshine State: A Quantitative Evaluation of Queensland Police Calls

IntroductionExamining the lunar hypothesis that human behaviour is affected by the full phase of the moon takes one on an interesting journey through time. The earliest recorded account of this belief can be found during the Hippocratic period, circa 400 BC (Cooke & Coles, 1978). The belief that people become lunatics, or that unusual behaviour or events manifest more frequently when the moon is full, hereinafter referred to as the lunar hypothesis, has been the subject of some research, but much discussion. References to the moon affecting human behaviour are common in the worlds of popular culture, academia, as well as the arts. In the late-1960s, the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival warned of a bad moon rising (Fogarty, 1969). And, in the 1970s the Jackson Five advised, don't blame it on the moonlight (Jackson, 1978).While some researchers have disputed the validity of the effects of a full moon (Crowe & Miura, 1995; Owens & McGowan, 2006; Russell & Dua, 1983), there are others who have identified a link (Cohen-Mansfield, Marx, & Werna, 1989; Purpura, 1979; Tasso & Miller, 1976; Templer, Veleber, & Brooner, 1982; Thakur & Sharma, 1984). It would seem that there are no definitive answers. There is an organisational-based discourse within the respected professions of psychiatric nursing, policing, and emergency medicine, all supporting the lunar hypothesis (Calver, Stokes, & Isbister, 2009; Rotton & Kelly, 1985b) and the topic has held academic and public interest for a considerable period.In dismissing the beliefs of mental health professionals, police, and emergency workers, some researchers rationalise the anecdotal evidence as illusory correlation; the tendency to overestimate a relationship between two variables where, in fact, none exists (Gorvin & Roberts, 1994). Attributing beliefs of a lunar effect on human behaviour, is like grounding such a position in little more than the tapestry of folklore associated with the topic (Bickis, Kelly, & Byrnes, 1995, p. 701).TheoryIn respect of the lunar hypothesis, it is argued that there are two dominate theories; yet both are attenuated by a paucity of rigorous scientific investigation. The two theoretical positions this paper puts forward are termed gravity (i.e., human tide) and the other luminosity. Scholars appear to have been content to have examined the lunar hypothesis for close to a century (Cooke and Coles, 1978), more intent upon identifying or quantifying lunacy, than identifying causes associated with the phenomenon. By way of example, Barr (2000) lamented that a change to this situation was still some time away:Researchers do not agree on exactly what effect they are looking for or whether it is only likely to occur in certain individuals. These problems stem from the absence of a widely accepted theoretical base which could account for any supposed lunar effect on [subjects]. Unfortunately, there is little sign this situation will change in the ... future (Barr, 2000).With the two theories-gravity and luminosity-displaying varying degrees of scientific credibility sufficient enough to encourage an observer to reconsider or suspend immediate dismissal of the lunar hypothesis, there are other scientific facts that contradict these theories. Mathematical formulae are used to calculate and quantify the additional forces of gravity experienced by a person at the time of a full moon. Likewise, comparisons can be made between full moon luminosity and common events that make support for either theory problematic at best.Rotton and Kelly (1985, p. 289) brought science to bear on the lunar hypothesis by noting that the gravitational effect of the full moon upon a person is the equivalent of that exerted by a drop of sweat or a flea upon the person's skin. Additionally, they point out that the earth's gravitational pull upon a person is 5,012 times that exerted by the full moon, yet no behavioural phenomena are attributed to such a force (Rotton& Kelly, 1985: 289). …

‘Brazil, Tell Me How It Feels’: Soccer, Music, Narcissism, and the State, or Mascherano’s Failure

During Brazil's 2014 World Cup finals, Argentine fans popularized a chant that stated “Brazil, tell me how it feels”. The chant became viral, and produced a Brazilian response, “Argentina, me diz que se sente”: both discussed relationship of rivalry by joking at the other's expenses. But it was surprising that the chant was based on the melody of a very old song from the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, recorded in 1969, possibly before the birth of those who sang the melody in Brazil (“Bad Moon Rising”, a very popular song recorded many times). This paper discusses several topics derived from that fact: the relationship between popular music and football chants; the uses of popular music and global pop at the World Cups from 1962 to our days; the self-presentation of the “local” (national) fans before a globalized media scene; and, last but not least, the role of sport icons and heroes for the fans but also for the construction of national epics (the icons and heroes invoked in the chants included, obviously, both Maradona and Messi, two of the most important football heroes from the ‘80s until today). The core idea is to show how contemporary football culture must be described and interpreted in the continuous intersection of local texts -and fans’ practices- and global events.

Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime

Popular cultures in Western societies have long espoused the notion that phases of the moon influence human behavior. In particular, there is a common belief the full moon increases incidents of aberrant, deviant, and criminal behavior. Using police, astronomical, and weather data from a major southwestern American city, this study assessed whether lunar cycles related with rates of reported crime. The findings fail to support popular lore, which has suggested that lunar phase influenced the volume of crime reported to the police. Future research directions examining qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of this problem may yield further inform the understanding of whether lunar cycles appreciably influence demands for policing services.

Iran's Power in Context

Iran–US relations – strained at the best of times since the 1979 Iranian revolution – have never been worse than during the past six years, due to the much more intense interaction between the two ...

Bad Moon Rising: the persistent belief in lunar connections to madness

![Figure][1] Figure. Photo by: Fred Sebastian I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightnin'. I see bad times today. — Creedence Clearwater Revival Six patients walk into the emergency department asking for

Bad Moon Rising: a Chronicle of the Middle East Today; Gilles Kepel, translated from the French by Pascale Ghazaleh

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Bad Moon Risiing: A Chronicle of the Middle East Today

BAD MOON RISIING A Chronicle of the Middle East Today Gilles Kepel, trans. Pascale Ghazaleh London: Saqi Books, 2003. 139pp, US$13.95 paper (ISBN 0-86356-303-1)Gilles Kepel is chair of the Middle East studies program at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, and author of the highly acclaimed Jihad: the Trail of Political Islam. First published in French in 2000, this comprehensive and deeply instructive book argued that, while Islamist movements had been able exercise some political power by the late 1980s, the popularity of their blueprint suffered greatly in the 1990s. Islamism, argued Kepel, was neither able survive the continued repression of authoritarian governments nor, perhaps more significantly, recover from the profound rift that developed between the radicals who, fresh from the success of Afghanistan, tried replicate that experience elsewhere (Algeria and Egypt, for example) and the moderates who were trying extend a hand middle class secularists increasingly terrified by the resort violence. The English edition of Jihad came out in 2002. In its introduction, written in the aftermath of the shattering events of 11 September 2001-a time when many observers were preparing for a clash with an emboldened Islamic civilization-Kepel described the traumatic violence of Osama bin Laden in ways that underscored his general analysis of the Islamist movement's declining capacity for political mobilization. September 11 was thus portrayed, rather effectively, as a desperate attempt mobilize the masses and reverse a well-entrenched process of decline, a paroxysm of destructive violence which symbolized above all the movement's fragmentation and isolation.To further grasp the nature of the changes taking place in the Middle East, and better understand the challenges posed by 9/11, Kepel immediately returned to the field. As frequently as his 2001/2002 teaching schedule in Paris would allow, he travelled the region from Egypt the Emirates, recording his observations and conversations against the backdrop of the attack on Afghanistan. Initially published in Le Monde, this translated travelogue has some frustrating limitations-in particular, the general lack of background, context, and references (there is no bibliography, despite frequent though elliptical references academic debates). Nonetheless, Kepel's experienced eye for the telling anecdote and detail will surely reward the interested reader with helpful antidotes widespread stereotypes.Kepel's snapshots of brief visits and encounters reveal much about the largely misrepresented realities on the ground. …

The origins and development of the Jihadist movement: from anti-communism to terrorism

Gilles Kepel is Professor, Institute of Political Studies, Paris (1985 to present); Senior Researcher, CNRS (National Board for Scientific Research), Paris (1984 to present); Director of the Doctoral Program on the Muslim World, Institute of Political Studies (1994 to present). He was Visiting Professor, Columbia University, New York (1996–1997); Researcher, CEDEJ (Egyptian–French Center for Scientific Cooperation), Cairo, Egypt (1980–1983). He is the author of several books on Islam, including Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, published by IB Tauris in 2002 (reviewed in this issue of Asian Affairs, p. 158) and Bad Moon Rising: A Chronicle of the Middle East Today (Saqi, 2003).An earlier version of this article was published in Ramse`s, 2003

THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE JIHADIST MOVEMENT: FROM ANTI-COMMUNISM TO TERRORISM

Gilles Kepel is Professor, Institute of Political Studies, Paris (1985 to present); Senior Researcher, CNRS (National Board for Scientific Research), Paris (1984 to present); Director of the Doctoral Program on the Muslim World, Institute of Political Studies (1994 to present). He was Visiting Professor, Columbia University, New York (1996–1997); Researcher, CEDEJ (Egyptian–French Center for Scientific Cooperation), Cairo, Egypt (1980–1983). He is the author of several books on Islam, including Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, published by IB Tauris in 2002 (reviewed in this issue of Asian Affairs, p. 158) and Bad Moon Rising: A Chronicle of the Middle East Today (Saqi, 2003). An earlier version of this article was published in Ramse`s, 2003

New Dawn or Bad Moon Rising?

This article discusses the potential advantages of large scale, government administered workplace surveys and the limitations of these surveys in the past. It then reviews the 1995 AWIRS (Australia), the 1998 WERS (U.K.), and the 1999 WES (Canada) in accordance with how well they appear to have succeeded in overcoming these limitations, and, more generally, with their implications for the conduct of industrial relations (IR) research. It is argued that the 1995 AWIRS does not appreciably overcome the limitations of previous surveys. In contrast, the 1998 WERS has yielded a substantially higher quality data set, although it also does not completely overcome the limitations of its predecessors. Finally, the 1999 WES promises an even higher quality data set, but is primarily a labour market and productivity survey rather than an IR survey, and could even portend a “bad moon rising” for Canadian IR research.