Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area in Waterloo Iowa, December 31, 2001 (Audit report on America's Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape Inc.)

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Audit report on America's Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape Inc. D/B/A Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area in Waterloo Iowa, December 31, 2002

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Audit report on America's Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape Inc. D/B/A Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, December 31, 2003

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A stratified approach for modeling the distribution of a threatened ant species in the Swiss National Park

We present models predicting the potential distribution of a threatened ant species, Formica exsecta Nyl., in the Swiss National Park ( SNP). Data to fit the models have been collected according to a random-stratified design with an equal number of replicates per stratum. The basic aim of such a sampling strategy is to allow the formal testing of biological hypotheses about those factors most likely to account for the distribution of the modeled species. The stratifying factors used in this study were: vegetation, slope angle and slope aspect, the latter two being used as surrogates of solar radiation, considered one of the basic requirements of F. exsecta. Results show that, although the basic stratifying predictors account for more than 50% of the deviance, the incorporation of additional non-spatially explicit predictors into the model, as measured in the field, allows for an increased model performance (up to nearly 75%). However, this was not corroborated by permutation tests. Implementation on a national scale was made for one model only, due to the difficulty of obtaining similar predictors on this scale. The resulting map on the national scale suggests that the species might once have had a broader distribution in Switzerland. Reasons for its particular abundance within the SNP might possibly be related to habitat fragmentation and vegetation transformation outside the SNP boundaries.

Monitorage national des dépendances (AMIS): rapport module 1

[Table des matières] 1. Introduction. 2. Quelques définitions et indicateurs de consommation utilisés au niveau international ( Tabac, alcool, drogues illégales, médicaments, cyberdépendance). 3. Indicateurs sociodémographiques. 4. Tabac. 5. Alcool. 6. Drogues illégales. 7. Médicaments. 8. Cyberdépendance. 9. AMIS (Addiction Monitoring in Switzerland) et l'Enquête CoRoIAR (COntinuous ROlling survey on Addictive behaviours and related Risks). 10. Abréviations. 11. Annexes.

Assessment of terrestrial small mammals and a record of the critically endangered shrew Crocidura wimmeri in Banco National Park (Cote d'Ivoire)

This study investigated the small mammal community of the periurban Banco National Park (34 km(2)), Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, using identical numbers of Sherman and Longworth traps. We aimed to determine the diversity and distribution of rodents and shrews in three different habitats: primary forest, secondary forest and swamp. Using 5014 trap-nights, 91 individuals were captured that comprised seven rodent and four shrew species. The trapping success was significantly different for each species, i.e., the Longworth traps captured more soricids (31/36 shrews), whereas the Sherman traps captured more murids (37/55 mice). The most frequent species was Praomys cf. rostratus, followed by Crocidura buettikoferi, Hybomys trivirgatus and Crocidura jouvenetae. Indices of species richness (S) and diversity (H') were greatest in primary forest, followed by secondary forest and swamp. - Several expected species, such as Crocidura obscurior, were not found, whereas we captured four specimens of the critically endangered (IUCN 2012) Wimmer's shrew Crocidura wimmeri, a species that has vanished from its type locality, Adiopodoume. Therefore, Banco National Park represents an important sanctuary, not only for plants, birds and primates, but also for other small forest vertebrates.

Global alcohol exposure estimates by country, territory and region for 2005--a contribution to the Comparative Risk Assessment for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study.

AIMS: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of life-time abstainers, former drinkers and current drinkers, adult per-capita consumption of alcohol and pattern of drinking scores, by country and Global Burden of Disease region for 2005, and to forecast these indicators for 2010. DESIGN: Statistical modelling based on survey data and routine statistics. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 241 countries and territories. MEASUREMENTS: Per-capita consumption data were obtained with the help of the World Health Organization's Global Information System on Alcohol and Health. Drinking status data were obtained from Gender, Alcohol and Culture: An International Study, the STEPwise approach to Surveillance study, the World Health Survey/Multi-Country Study and other surveys. Consumption and drinking status data were triangulated to estimate alcohol consumption across multiple categories. FINDINGS: In 2005 adult per-capita annual consumption of alcohol was 6.1 litres, with 1.7 litres stemming from unrecorded consumption; 17.1 litres of alcohol were consumed per drinker, 45.8% of all adults were life-time abstainers, 13.6% were former drinkers and 40.6% were current drinkers. Life-time abstention was most prevalent in North Africa/Middle East and South Asia. Eastern Europe and Southern sub-Saharan Africa had the most detrimental pattern of drinking scores, while drinkers in Europe (Eastern and Central) and sub-Saharan Africa (Southern and West) consumed the most alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Just over 40% of the world's adult population consumes alcohol and the average consumption per drinker is 17.1 litres per year. However, the prevalence of abstention, level of alcohol consumption and patterns of drinking vary widely across regions of the world.

Audit report on America's Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape Inc. d/b/a Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Independent Auditor's Reports, Financial Statements and Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs, December 31st, 2003 & 2004

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The political economy of childcare in OECD countries : Explaining cross-national variation in spending and coverage rates

If childcare policy has become topical in most OECD countries over the last ten years or so, actual developments display huge cross-national variations. Countries like Sweden and Denmark spend around 2 per cent of GDP on this service, and provide affordable childcare places to most children below school age. At the other extreme, in Southern Europe, only around 10 per cent of this age group has access to formal daycare. Against this background, this article aims to account for cross-national variations in childcare services. It distinguishes two dependent variables: the coverage rate and the proportion of GDP spent subsidising childcare services. Using a mix of cross-sectional and pooled times-series methods, it tests a series of hypotheses concerning the determinants of the development of this policy. Its main conclusion for the coverage rate is that key factors are public spending and wage dispersion (both positive). For spending, key factors are the proportion of women in parliaments (positive) and spending on age-related policies (negative).

What made him change? an individual and national analysis of men's participation in housework in 26 countries

We offer new evidence on multi-level determinants of the gender division of housework. Using data from the 2004 European Social Survey (ESS) for 26 European, we study the micro and macro-level factors which increase the likelihood of men doing an equal or greater share of housework than their female partners. A sample of 11,915 young men and women is analysed with a multi-level logistic regression in order to test at individual level the classic relative-income, time-availability and gender-role values, and a new couple conflict hypothesis. At individual level we find significant relationships between relative resources, values, couple's disagreement, and the division of housework which support more economic dependency than "doing gender" perspectives. At the macro-level, we find important composition effects and also support for gender empowerment, family model and social stratification explanations of cross-country differences.