Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The purpose of this cognitive research was to quickly assess respondent behavior and impressions of two alternative versions of the Hispanic origin and race items on two paper mock versions of the 2010 decennial census short form. This report is qualitative and discusses items tested during one round of in-person, cognitive interviews among 40 adult respondents based on the following four research priorities:

1)Encouraging Spanish, Hispanic and Latino respondents to provide responses to the race and ethnicity items from among the answer categories listed on the census short form, rather than using ‘Some other race (SOR)’ or other write-in lines, such as ‘Other Pacific Islander’ for response;
2)To evaluate respondents’ use and understanding of the inclusion of the term ‘Caucasian’ for the first time as a corollary to the response category ‘White’;
3)Reporting options for Central and South American Indian respondents who do not know that they may choose the ‘American Indian or Alaska Native’ response option or who prefer not to do so; and
4)To assess proxy reporting issues, particularly issues arising from parents reporting children’s race and ethnicity.

The motivation for this small-scale, cognitive study is the Census Bureau’s continuing need to address data completeness, data quality, item nonresponse, respondent burden, and questionnaire format, content and wording issues all while simultaneously addressing reporting compliance needs among an increasingly diverse US population.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper makes an important contribution to the social movement literature on differential participation by modeling participation in various forms of activism as a two-stage process: willingness to engage in specific tactics and conversion of this willingness to actual participation. Using a nationally representative sample of Americans, we show that the effect of biographical availability, organizational involvement, and political networks varies not only depending on the stage of the participation process but also depending on the type of the tactic.

Publication Type: Oral Presentation
Abstract: Off-site herbicide losses represent risks to human and environmental health, as well as a cost to municipalities for removal. Atrazine, widely used in the US for weed control in crops including corn, is detected in many surface waters. Levels are often significantly higher than the 3 µg/L maximum contaminant level (MCL) permitted in drinking water. The advent of glyphosate-tolerant crops brings about a new alternative to atrazine-based weed management. Glyphosate is a nonselective herbicide used in a wide range of engineered glyphosate-tolerant crops, including corn and soybean. Although glyphosate exhibits lower human toxicity than atrazine, as is reflected by its MCL of 700 µg/L, its widespread and potentially continuous use in corn-soybean cropping systems common in the Midwest raises concern. The objectives of this study were to determine extent of agricultural drainage water contamination by atrazine and glyphosate, and how watershed scale impacts observed herbicide levels. Outlet water herbicide levels were monitored from nine watersheds from 300 to 19,000 ha in size, representing sub-basin nestings within three main proximal watersheds in northeast Indiana, for four years. Atrazine concentrations peaked during high-flow events, in some instances reaching 20 to 40 times the MCL. Atrazine levels varied more between years than between watershed sizes. Glyphosate was detected infrequently. During the monitoring period, glyphosate concentration reached 2.5 times the MCL from a 300-ha subwatershed in once high-flow instance less than 48 hours after application. These results indicate that glyphosate has much lower risk to exceed the drinking water standard as compared to atrazine.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While it has been demonstrated that (near) repeat victimization seems to be ubiquitous, it is an open problem how exactly the resulting patterns are linked to target heterogeneity on the one hand, and on the other hand, to offenders’ preferences (possibly dependent on previous choices). We use computer simulation methods for analyzing this problem. What (near) repeat patterns emerge from simple routine-activity style decision models? Models consider various attraction values of targets located in geographical space, offenders who can move to those targets, and guardians associated with these targets. Offenders can decide to attack a target present or not, depending on their previous history, and on their evaluation of the current situation. By systematically varying characteristics of (1) the target attraction pattern over space, (2) the decision model of the offenders (3) reaction patterns by guardians, we investigate whether different near repeat patterns can be generated, and how the various patterns are linked to characteristics of these generating processes and their interaction. The paper finishes with a discussion of the external validity of such simulation methods.

Publication Type: Research Reports
Abstract: This qualitative case study presents research on how novice elementary teachers from various teacher preparation programs learn to teach science and how they may be mentored toward reform-based science instruction.