Fine-grained Examination Research Articles

Reassessment of the Use of Fire as a Management Tool in Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America

Prescribed burning is increasingly being used in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. Recent work suggests that historical fire frequency has been overestimated east of the prairie-woodland transition zone, and its introduction could potentially reduce forest herb and shrub diversity. Fire-history recreations derived from sedimentary charcoal, tree fire scars, and estimates of Native American burning suggest point-return times ranging from 5-10 years to centuries and millennia. Actual return times were probably longer because such records suffer from selective sampling, small sample sizes, and a probable publication bias toward frequent fire. Archeological evidence shows the environmental effect of fire could be severe in the immediate neighborhood of a Native American village. Population density appears to have been low through most of the Holocene, however, and villages were strongly clustered at a regional scale. Thus, it appears that the majority of forests of the eastern United States were little affected by burning before European settlement. Use of prescribed burning assumes that most forest species are tolerant of fire and that burning will have only a minimal effect on diversity. However, common adaptations such as serotiny, epicormic sprouting, resprouting from rhizomes, and smoke-cued germination are unknown across most of the deciduous region. Experimental studies of burning show vegetation responses similar to other forms of disturbance that remove stems and litter and do not necessarily imply adaptation to fire. The general lack of adaptation could potentially cause a reduction in diversity if burning were introduced. These observations suggest a need for a fine-grained examination of fire history with systematic sampling in which all subregions, landscape positions, and community types are represented. Responses to burning need to be examined in noncommercial and nonwoody species in rigorous manipulative experiments. Until such information is available, it seems prudent to limit the use of prescribed burning east of the prairie-woodland transition zone.

Parameters of Adherence to a Yearlong Daily Report Card Intervention for Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Given that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic disorder, which is likely to require sustained treatment, investigations of the adherence to long-term treatments are clearly needed. The current project is the first analysis examining the parameters of adherence to a daily report card (DRC) intervention over the course of an academic school year. To gain a greater understanding of the complexities inherent in long-term treatment implementation, parameters of adherence with respect to specific, setting-related criteria (i.e., month of the school year, day of the week, and consultant contact) were examined. Participants were 33 children enrolled in first through sixth grade. All participants were diagnosed with ADHD (85% were diagnosed with comorbid oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder), received special education services, and were assigned to an intervention condition wherein behavioral consultants worked with the teacher and parent to construct and implement a DRC intervention. Overall, results provide preliminary support for the utility of the DRC as a sustainable intervention for the duration of an entire school year. Although rates of adherence were relatively stable, a fine-grained examination indicated variability in adherence across days of the week and around behavioral consultation meetings. These results contribute to the research literature supporting the utility of continued behavioral support to enhance treatment adherence.

Whispers of Rebellion: Narrating Gabriel’s Conspiracy by Michael L. Nicholls (review)

Reviewed by: Whispers of Rebellion: Narrating Gabriel’s Conspiracy by Michael L. Nicholls Ted Maris-Wolf (bio) Whispers of Rebellion: Narrating Gabriel’s Conspiracy. By Michael L. Nicholls. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012. Pp. 264. $42.50 cloth; $42.50 e-book) In Whispers of Rebellion: Narrating Gabriel’s Conspiracy, Michael L. Nicholls offers a complex contextual history of an important event that never occurred. Free and enslaved African Americans failed to violently overthrow the Virginia government in 1800, but this fact is far less significant to Nicholls than the geographical setting and underlying social connections that gave rise to the plot in the first place. [End Page 239] Whispers of Rebellion is more than a study of a failed rebellion; it is a fine-grained examination of the power of place and the influence of local geography upon interpersonal relationships, kinship ties, communal gatherings, and the circulation of ideas in the early republic. Unlike Douglas R. Egerton’s Gabriel’s Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of 1800 and 1802 (1993), which largely explores the plot from the perspective of class and ideology, and James Sidbury’s Ploughshares into Swords: Race, Rebellion, and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730–1810 (1997), which focuses on notions of race, identity, and millennial Christianity, Nicholls’s narrative centers on “the Brook, a neighborhood framed by a watershed north of Richmond, and the physical and human connections these men had with other parts of central Virginia” (p. 11). Where the Brook and its tributaries flowed, so too did news, gossip, and other information among African Americans who lived, worked, and socialized in adjoining neighborhoods. Nicholls’s analysis leads to important new insights into how Gabriel and others along the Brook secured additional participants in the planned insurrection. Nicholls writes, “The principal plotters spread their conspiracy not unlike some successful modern cosmetic or vitamin marketing schemes,” in which individuals recruit, then oversee, their own contacts (p. 35). In six concisely written chapters, Nicholls explains the “face-to-face world” along the Brook, the processes by which the conspirators gained followers, the betrayal of the plot by two enslaved men, the legal proceedings following the exposure of the insurrection, and the official and public responses to the planned rebellion (p. 11). At various points, Nicholls challenges the conclusions of previous scholars, especially Egerton, to demonstrate a clearer chronology and understanding of events leading up to the conspiracy. For example, Nicholls argues that Egerton goes “beyond the evidence” in his now-classic account of the rebellion by portraying the planned insurrection in political terms that reveal “more a historian’s vision than Gabriel’s” (p. 32). In addition, Nicholls contends that Egerton’s retelling of the events privileges “dramatic effect” over facts and draws conclusions [End Page 240] unsupported by available evidence (p. 211). Indeed, Nicholls’s account is an important corrective to past scholars’ narratives and proves most convincing in precisely those instances in which Nicholls acknowledges the ambiguity of existing sources or silences in the historical record. Most general readers will appreciate Nicholls’s placement of his extensive notes (which, with appendixes, comprise nearly one-third of the text) at the rear of the volume. For scholars interested in Nicholls’s sources, including official communications, private letters, court testimony, and newspapers, the notes may occasionally convey fine points of even greater interest than those contained in the corresponding main text. Frequently, a single note runs half a page and contains source citations, explanations of the differences between Nicholls’s account and those of other scholars, as well as discussions of contingencies and hypotheses. Until new evidence comes to light concerning the conspiracy itself or the lives of the central actors of the plot, Whispers of Rebellion will stand as the definitive account of Gabriel’s rebellion—an event that did not come to fruition but nonetheless influenced racial dynamics in the early republic, the passage of race-based restrictive law in Virginia, and the subsequent creation of the American Colonization Society. Ted Maris-Wolf Ted Maris-Wolf teaches history at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. He is the author of forthcoming articles in Slavery & Abolition and The Journal of the Civil War Era. He...

Decisions, decisions, decisions: what determines the path taken in lectures?

A group of mathematicians and mathematics educators are collaborating in the fine-grained examination of selected ‘slices’ of video recordings of lectures, drawing on Schoenfeld's Resources, Orientations and Goals framework of teaching-in-context. In the larger project, we are exploring ways in which this model can be extended to examine university lecturing. During this process, we have identified a number of lecturer behaviours. This article describes one of these behaviours where, in what appears to be an internal dialogue, lecturing decisions are driven either by the mathematician, or the teacher, within the lecturer. We analyse two scenarios. In the first, the teacher prevails and in the second, the mathematician. We analyse these behaviours against the framework of the lecturers’ Resources, Orientations and Goals that were either stated by the lecturer or inferred from lecturer practice or discussion and subsequently confirmed. The value of the approach used as a professional development model is also considered.

Facial emotion labeling in language impaired children

ABSTRACTThe few studies that have investigated emotion labeling in children with specific language impairment (SLI) have generally focused on global identification performances and appear contradictory. The current study is a fine-grained examination of how children with SLI and typical peers differ in the accuracy of their emotional lexicon use. Children underwent a free labeling task of five basic emotions expressed by still face photographs. Results revealed that children with SLI were less accurate in their label use than typical children. However, pattern of confusions between the two groups differed only by a confusion between sadness and anger displayed by the SLI group. It is argued that this emotion labeling deficiency may rely on semantic fields overlap.

Mental health and well‐being within rural communities: The Australian Rural Mental Health Study

This paper outlines the methods and baseline data from a multisite cohort study of the determinants and outcomes of mental health and well-being within rural and remote communities. A stratified random sample of adults was drawn in non-metropolitan New South Wales using the Australian Electoral Roll, with the aim of recruiting all adult members of each household. Surveys assessed psychological symptoms, physical health and mental disorders, along with individual-, family/household- and community-level characteristics. A stratified subsample completed a telephone-administered World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (World Mental Health-3.0). Proxy measures of child health and well-being were obtained. Follow up of this sample will be undertaken at one, three and five years. A total of 2639 individuals were recruited (1879 households), with 28% from remote/very remote regions. A significant relationship was found between recent distress (Kessler-10 scores), age and remoteness, with a linear reduction of Kessler-10 scores with age and the lowest mean scores in remote regions. Existing rurality categories cannot address the diverse socio-cultural, economic and environmental characteristics of non-metropolitan regions. While it has limitations, the dataset will enable a fine-grained examination of geographic, household and community factors and provide a unique longitudinal dataset over a five-year period.

Imperial politics and symbolics in ancient Japan: the Tenmu dynasty, 650-800

Imperial Politics and Symbolics is an ambitious and ground-breaking study that offers a new understanding of a formative stage in the development of the Japanese state. The late seventh and eighth centuries were a time of momentous change in Japan, much of it brought about by the short-lived Tenmu dynasty. Two new capital cities, a bureaucratic state led by an imperial ruler, and Chinese-style law codes were just a few of the innovations instituted by the new regime. Herman Ooms presents both a wide-ranging and fine-grained examination of the power struggles, symbolic manipulations, new mythological constructs, and historical revisions that both defined and propelled these changes.In addition to a vast amount of research in Japanese sources, the author draws on a wealth of Sinological scholarship in English, German, and French to illuminate the politics and symbolics of the time. An important feature of the book is the way it opens up early Japanese history to considerations of continental influences. Rulers and ritual specialists drew on several religious and ritual idioms, including Daoism, Buddhism, yin-yang hermeneutics, and kami worship, to articulate and justify their innovations. In looking at the religious symbols that were deployed in support of the state, Ooms gives special attention to the Daoist dimensions of the new political symbolics as well as to the crucial contributions made by successive generations of 'immigrants' from the Korean peninsula.From the beginning, a 'liturgical state' sought to co-opt factions and clans (uji) as participants in the new polity with the emperor acting as both a symbolic mediator and a silent partner. In contrast to the traditional interpretation of the Kojiki mythology as providing a vertical legitimation of a Sun lineage of rulers, an argument is presented for the importance of a lateral dimension of interdependency as a key structural element in the mythological narrative.

Editorial: The search for knowledge: what diagnoses do and do not tell us

Editorial: The search for knowledge: what diagnoses do and do not tell us

Engaging with Historical Source Work

Although primary source work is a major component of undergraduate history degrees in many countries, the topic of how best to support this work has been relatively unexplored. This article addresses the pedagogical support of primary source work by reviewing relevant literature to identify the challenges undergraduates face in interpreting sources, and examining how in two courses carefully articulated course design and supportive teaching activities assisted students to meet these challenges. This fine-grained examination of the courses is framed within a socio-cultural account of learning. The findings show how a skilful drawing of students into the interpretive/discursive practices of source analysis was associated with an epistemological reframing of historical knowledge and dialogical forms of teaching that helped the students to take forward a dialectical engagement with sources. The benefits of an ‘integrated’ approach to source work that fosters students’ affective and intellectual engagement with historical interpretive practices are highlighted.

Children with pets do not show higher empathy: A challenge to current views

A group of children (n=137) were surveyed with respect to pet ownership and pet preferences to explore the link between the human–animal bond and empathy. The most notable findings—and contrary to our predictions—were: (1) there was no difference in empathy (Bryan Empathy Index) between pet owners and non-owners; (2) there was no correlation between empathy and attachment to pets (Companion Animal Bonding Scale); and (3) higher empathy scores were not related to pet-preference indicators. A more fine-grained examination of the pet-owning group only revealed differences with respect to type of animal owned. Higher empathy was evident with dog ownership as opposed to other pet types. However, this needs to be tempered by the equally interesting observation that lower empathy was related to cat ownership. Regardless of how ownership groups are configured, there is consistent evidence that differentiates cat owners (lower empathy) from dog owners (higher empathy). When pet ownership and pet preference are combined to form new groupings, again, the cat effects and dog effects are evident. Implications extend to the need: (1) for future research on the nature of the human–animal bond; (2) to explore the relationship between personality and animal bonding; and (3) to refine the questions surrounding the animal-based links to empathy, as well as other related constructs such as prosocial behaviour, compassion, self-esteem, self-control, autonomy, affection, stress, responsibility, and perhaps even emotional intelligence, career paths and community service.

The Relationship between Communication Skill and Marital Satisfaction: Some Moderating Effects

BRANT R. BURLESON Purdue University WAYNE H. DENTON Wake Forest University* This article proposes that the relationship between communication and marital satisfaction is not simple and straightforward, but rather is quite complex, varying a function of several moderating factors-skill type, marital distress, gender, and analytic unit (couple, self, or other). Participants (30 couples and 30 nondistressed couples) completed tasks providing assessments of four communication and two aspects of marital satisfaction. Analyses revealed that the magnitude-and even the direction-of the associations varied a function of the moderating variables. In particular, and satisfaction were positively associated among nondistressed couples, but were negatively associated among couples. The results are explored in terms of their implications for research on communication in marriage and the treatment of marital distress. Key Words: communication skills, marital communication skills, marital communication, marital distress. marital satisfaction. Communication plays a central role in marriage. For example, communication problems are the relationship difficulty most frequently cited by couples in community surveys (e.g., Cunningham, Braiker, & Kelley, 1982). Consistent with survey findings, communication problems also are the most frequent complaint of couples entering (Geiss & O'Leary, 1981; Hahlweg, Revenstorf, & Schindler, 1984). A popular assumption has been that the cause of many marital communication problems is deficient communication on the part of spouses (e.g., Halford, Hahlweg, & Dunne, 1990; O'Donohue & Crouch, 1996). This assumption, which we shall refer to the communication skills-deficit model of marital distress, has remained largely untested. We examine it critically in this article. We begin by briefly reviewing the contention that communication are an important determinant of marital satisfaction. Next, we critique the assumption that deficits in communication lead to dissatisfaction, identify several confusions in existing research on this topic, and offer four sets of distinctions that should assist in overcoming these confusions. We then report on a study that is designed to provide a fine-grained examination of the relationship between communication skill and marital satisfaction, well some of the factors that may moderate this relationship. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The Assumed Connection Between Communication Skills and Marital Satisfaction The notion that the communication of spouses are major determinants of marital satisfaction is shared by theorists, researchers, and therapists alike. For example, one widely used counseling text asserts: Research indicates that communication problems are the major source of interpersonal difficulties. For example, most marital and family problems stem from misunderstanding, from ineffective communication, which results in frustration and anger when implicit expectations and desires are not fulfilled. And a major problem of those who seek professional help is their inability to recognize and communicate their problems or concerns. (Okun, 1991, p. 23) Consistent with this view, O'Donohue and Crouch (1996) note that communication training, as an attempt to remediate problematic communication, has become an important component in many approaches to marital therapy (p. 87). In particular, behavioral marital therapy-which may be the most researched clinical intervention for the treatment of marital distress (Shadish et. al., 1993)-assumes that a major reason for the scarcity of positive outcomes in relationships is a lack of on the part of marital partners. Specifically, Jacobson and Margolin (1979) suggested that distressed couples are often lacking in a variety of communication skills (p. …

The Nature of Criticism (review)

142Philosophy and Literature interest, Cavell's talk about happiness in these movies is surpassed in depdi and interest by very litde contemporary writing. Swarthmore CollegeRichard Eldridge The Nature ofCriticism, by Colin Radford and Sally Minogue; ? & 180 pp. Adantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1981, $30.00. The Nature of Criticism is packed with arguments, many of which are concerned widi investigating die precise nature of specific critical claims advanced by well-known writers such as René Wellek and F. R. Leavis. Radford and Minogue know both literature and criticism better than many phUosophers of art, and, unlike most uieorists, are wdling themselves to engage in criticism and to chide critics for mistedcen readings and Ulsupported interpretations. Because of its unusual — and largely successful — "case study" approach, its willingness to consider diverse aspects of criticism, its detaUed, fine-grained examination of the logic of critical judgments and arguments, and its philosophically sophisticated but accessible treatment of its topics, The Nature of Criticism is well worth reading. The first chapter, "The Complexities of Critical Judgements," attempts to show that even such banal classificatory judgments as "Hamlet is a tragedy" harbor hidden moral assumptions emd "cem be evaluative in various complex ways" (pp. 9- 10). It also examines the presuppositions of representative interpretive claims in order to determine the critical admissibility of information external to the text. This leads naturally to a discussion ofdie nature of critical arguments, with the relation between a feature cited by a critic in an argument, and its effect (on the critic and on us, as readers of the text and die criticism in question) being die primary object of attention. Differences between scientific and critical arguments are noted (p. 49), and it is urged that the basis for the objective idiom in criticism is agreement in our critical responses. The case study method is at its best in the extensive, detaUed analysis of Christopher Ricks's interpretation of part of Tennyson's In Memoriam. Many of die ideas previously introduced — many not noted above — are put to work here, and other new ideas, such as die view diat die normative dimension of critical arguments does not preclude but radier presupposes a causal dimension, are advanced and argued for. If anydiing can serve to demonstrate diat "critical arguments are frequently complex, elusive and rhetorically misleading as to their true nature, very diverse, and often dubious" (p. 1 14), it is Radford and Minogue's long, complicated, and subde discussion. Anodier question taken up by Radford and Minogue asks whether diere are any necessary conditions for excellence in eirt. Both Clive Bell's and Monroe Beardsle/s views are considered, dien rejected, and Beardsley^ definition of aesthetic experience is also objected to, being criticized as both too narrow emd "eccentric." Radford and Minogue conclude that it is unlikely that there are any substantive criteria of excellence in art. Reviews143 But Radford and Minogue aren't done with Beardsley yet. His General Criterion Theory — that the criteria of criticism are implicitly general — is rejected, as is Arnold Isenberg^ opposing view, that critical remarks — that is, reasons — are logically singular. What Isenberg did not realize, according to Radford and Minogue, is that "cause and target [roughly, the intentional object of our aesthetic responses and the logically proper subject of criticism] may and characteristically do coincide in aesthetic responses" (p. 157). Criticism, diey conclude, is "enormously various . . . highly complex and problematic , [and] cannot be treated as a science, [even] a faded one, with a normative dimension tagged on. [But] neither can it be treated as something sui generis, mysterious, whose truths are only apprehended, never proved" (p. 157). There is much that can be disagreed with in 7Ae Nature of Criticism, but diat, I think, is oflitde moment, all things considered. A book that provokes as much as this one does well deserves a reading by philosophers of art, by critics, and by all persons interested in literature and literary criticism. Philadelphia College of ArtMichael Wreen ...

Effects of Teacher Higher-Order Questions on Student Process and Product Variables in a Single-Classroom Study

AbstractA fine-grained examination of a general relationship between process and product variables in teacher effectiveness research is attempted through a single-classroom experiment. Using an intensive reversal design and time-series analytical procedures, the reported experiment examines the impact of a higher-order question teaching strategy on student process (classroom behaviors) and product (achievement and attitude) variables. Results generally show some impact of changes in the teaching strategy on student process variables, but little positive impact on student product variables. These findings are discussed and a brief evaluation of the experimental methodologies is presented.