An increase in atypical petal numbers during a shift to autogamy in a coastal sand verbena and potential evolutionary mechanisms

PremiseThe evolution of variation in reproductive traits is of longstanding interest in biology. In plants, meristic traits, such as petal and sepal numbers, are usually considered invariant within taxa. However, certain species consistently exhibit great variability in these traits, though the factors contributing to “atypical” counts are not well-known. The sand verbenas, Abronia (Nyctaginaceae), usually have five perianth lobes (‘petals’) in their fused corollas and are self-incompatible, thus departures from either of these norms in populations, varieties, or species are of evolutionary interest.MethodsTo characterize and understand an increase in atypical petal numbers during a transition from xenogamy (outcrossing) to autogamy (selfing) in the coastal sand verbena Abronia umbellata, we integrated common garden studies with analysis of over 11,000 photographed flowers from iNaturalist, a citizen science project. Here we evaluate several adaptive and nonadaptive explanations for the production of these ‘atypical’ flowers.Key resultsOur photo analysis and common garden show that the nominate xenogamous variety has 5 petals with very little variation, however, an autogamous, geographically separated variety, A. u. var. breviflora has a high preponderance of four-petalled morphs. Flower morph did not affect successful autogamy, and petal numbers were not related to environmental factors, hybridization, or flower size in the ways hypothesized.ConclusionsWe conclude that this loss of petals is consistent with relaxation of selection on petal number in selfers, inbreeding leading to a loss of developmental stability, or correlated selection on another trait. This study strongly demonstrates the power of data available from public citizen databases for easily scored traits, such as petal number.

Järjestöjen vaikuttamistaktiikat internet-aikana: latentti luokka-analyysi

Associations’ tactics of influence in the age of the internet: a latent class analysisThis article examines the use of different influence tactics, including both traditional (e.g., committee membership) and new internet-based tactics (e.g. social media) by interest groups (associations) in Finland. With interest group theory as our theoretical framework, we use data collected in an online survey to explore how different tactics of influence are conjointly utilised. First, a latent class analysis shows that some organizations use almost all tactics more actively than others, including internet-based tactics. Second, we study how a group’s resources and type affect which ‘influencer type’ (active or more or less passive) they belong to. There seems to be no bias related to group type: for example business groups are not more often the most active ones compared to public citizen groups when resources are controlled.

Citizen Participation in the Democratic Process in West Papua (The Study on the Waisai Community of Raja Ampat Regency)

This study examines how citizen participation in the democratic process in West Papua Province, especially the Waisai community in Raja Ampat Regency. This research is a qualitative descriptive study using observations and interviews as data collection techniques. The results of the study indicated that the level of citizen participation was highly dependent on the process of political education provided. The role of electoral institutions was still not optimal in providing political understanding to the public. Citizen participation in democratic processes such as legislative and regional head elections was still not optimal. Thus, citizen understanding of the democratic process needs to be improved to reach awareness in building democratic values in West Papua Province.

To Kill a Mockingbird and Legal Ethics: On the Role of Atticus Finch’s Attic Rhetoric in Fulfillment of Duties to Client, to Court, to Society, and to Self

Atticus Finch, protagonist of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and longtime hero of the American bar, is well known, but he is not well understood. This article unlocks the secret to his status as the most admired of fictional attorneys by demonstrating the role that his rhetoric plays in his exemplary fulfillment of the duties of an attorney to zealously represent clients, to serve as an officer of the court, and to act as a public citizen with a special responsibility for the quality of justice. Always using the simplest accurate wording, focusing on reason over emotion, and speaking in the same manner whether in private or in public, Atticus’s rhetoric exemplifies the ancient Roman style known by students of rhetoric as “Attic.” Using this style to navigate the potential for conflict among his duties, Atticus reveals the power, the elegance, and the ethical necessity of Attic rhetoric. Connecting Atticus’s name to the Attic style of rhetoric for the first time, this article advances several scholarly debates by demonstrating the mutual compatibility of the duties imposed by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and proffering a powerful tool to attorneys seeking to practice or to teach improved ethical conduct.

Ethical Issues in the Neonatal SUPPORT Trial

The controversy over the neonatal Surfactant, Positive Pressure, and Oximetry Randomized Trial (SUPPORT) study of oxygen saturation targets in extremely premature babies was intense and polarizing. The fundamental issue turned on whether or not there were reasonably foreseeable risks to the babies who were enrolled in the study and, if so, whether that should have either (a) been disclosed in the consent form or (b) led institutional review boards to never approve the study in the first place. The federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) took the first view. The advocacy group Public Citizen (PC) took the second. This chapter suggests that both views were wrong. Being in the study was, in fact, safer than not being in the study. The mistakes made by both OHRP and PC have dangerous implications for research ethics and regulation. They could lead to mandates for consent forms that are inaccurate and misleading.

Police cynicism in Serbia: prevalence, nature and associations with job satisfaction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the first research on prevalence, nature and correlates of the police cynicism in Serbia, with particular attention to the associations of cynicism with job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a paper-based survey, and obtained from 472 police officers from five police departments across the country. For the purpose of measuring of organizational and work aspects of police cynicism a new developed 24 five-level Likert-type items scale was used. Findings The results show that cynicism is normally distributed. No statistically significant gender, education or police rank differences were identified, and the length of service does not appear to influence cynical attitudes significantly. Cynicism scores statistically significantly varied across police departments and predicted job dissatisfaction. The underlying four-factor structure of police cynicism was identified. The factors include: general organizational cynicism; cynicism toward police hierarchy/superiors; cynicism toward public/citizen cooperation; and cynicism toward modernization of policing in the crime control field. Research limitations/implications The generalizability of the sample is limited, giving that participants come from only five out of a total of 27 police departments in the country, while the female police officers and officers with education higher than high school were somewhat overrepresented. Originality/value This research provides some more evidence on the nature and determinants of police cynicism that might inspire future research in this important but under-researched area. It implies that the need to explore more deeply relations between police cynicism and stress, burnout and particularly contextual and departmental factors that might be influential to police cynicism. It might also incite future research on the internal structure of police cynicism.

SPLASSH: A Collaborative Web-Based Application That Crowdsources Environmental Data in Real Time

SPLASSH (Student Programs Like Aquatic Science Sampling Headquarters, <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" href="https://splassh.org">https://splassh.org</ext-link>) is a collaborative web-based application that crowdsources environmental data in real time. Originally launched in 2014, SPLASSH beta version 1.0 was designed to showcase water projects conducted by students. Through its development, it has broadened its reach from students to educators (formal and informal), researchers, resource managers, science professionals, and the public (citizen scientists). SPLASSH's beta version 2.0 (Patent Pending) has an innovative, customizable environmental tracker and project management capabilities that foster community building through collaboration. SPLASSH offers the public an opportunity to contribute more than just data to an existing project. It encourages citizens to play a lead role by initiating their own projects, truly validating and broadening the definition of citizen science. Learning and project outcomes will be measured for their impact and effectiveness.