Eastern Washington University

According to International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines, all species must be assessed against all criteria during the Red Listing process. For organismal groups that are diverse and understudied, assessors face considerable challenges in assembling evidence due to difficulty in applying definitions of key terms used in the guidelines. Challenges also arise because of uncertainty in population sizes (Criteria A, C, D) and distributions (Criteria A2/3/4c, B). Lichens, which are often small, difficult to identify, or overlooked during biodiversity inventories, are one such group for which specific difficulties arise in applying Red List criteria. Here, we offer approaches and examples that address challenges in completing Red List assessments for lichens in a rapidly changing arena of data availability and analysis strategies. While assessors still contend with far from perfect information about individual species, we propose practical solutions for completing robust assessments given the currently available knowledge of individual lichen life-histories.

The purpose of the paper is to explore how the role a pet played before disposition and how the owner lost his/herpet affect the pet owner’s next pet adoption decision. Results from Pearson chi-square tests of independence showno significant relationship between how the respondent viewed his/her pet before relationship ended and the lengthof time he/she waited before adopting another pet. However, a significant relationship was found between how thepet owner lost his/her pet and the length of time he/she waited before adopting another pet. Respondents who saidthey lost their pet voluntarily were more likely to wait longer before adopting another pet than those who said theylost their pet involuntarily. Moreover, the results confirm that respondents who viewed their pet as a child, beforeend of relationship, were more likely to hold funeral rituals than those who viewed their pet as a friend, a family orhousehold member. Finally, those pet owners who lost their pets and decided to adopt another pet are likely tochoose a pet of the same species but different breed. Implications to theory and practice are discussed.

It has been long observed that firms make choices among corporate social activities. However there is limited research that shows how firms make those choice decisions and what factors determine the outcome. This paper intends to help fill the gap. Based on the insights from the literature review, the authors suggest a conceptual framework that identifies the factors that would drive a firm’s corporate social activity choice. From these factors the authors advance research propositions that discuss the potential relationships with corporate social activity choice decisions, suggest methods and provide a questionnaire that could be a useful tool for further research. Further research can focus on the empirical validation of the suggested research framework and testing the propositions in the off-shoring/outsourcing context.

The purpose of this paper is to show that the use of evidence-based information from academic researchregarding HRM practices can have a positive impact on an organization's degree of competitiveness. This articleexplains how the use of academic information sources results in greater organizational performance. Somesupporting empirical research findings are briefly reviewed. We then propose how the use of evidence-basedinformation in HRM practices can improve global operations. Different sources of academic researchinformation are identified and described. Some specific recommendations for accessing and using academicresearch information are offered. Finally, a brief summary and some general conclusions are provided.

Studies in management and marketing strategy have proven that various dimensions of marketing capabilities are associated with firm performance in a positives way. However, most of the researchers have focused on the relationships within relatively large-sized firms in industrialized countries. In this study, the author investigates market information management capability and marketing control capability and their possible antecedents, strategic orientations (i.e., customer, competitor, and technology orientation) in small-sized firms in Korea. Based on 180 data of small-scaled firms with no more than 500 employees across industries, both capabilities have been found to have an affirmative influence on firm performance. Furthermore, three focal orientations have been proven to drive both capabilities in a positive way. From the additional two-group analysis based on firm size, market information management capability has been found to be more critical to micro-sized firms with 100 employees or fewer while both capabilities show equally important positive impact for small-sized firms with between 500 and 101 employees. Implications are addressed along with the limitations and further research directions.

While legislative polarization at the national level has been carefully examined and largely explained, the causes of polarization in state legislatures have been more elusive. Studies examining factors such as gerrymandering and party primaries as possible explanations have found largely undetectable or at best very modest relationships between these variables and levels of polarization. This paper provides an explanation of state legislative polarization based on socio-economic and demographic factors within the states. Economics and demographics have long played a significant role in understanding party choice, vote choice, the decision to abstain or vote, and support for various policies. Because of this we explore if these factors also influence polarization of state legislatures. Utilizing the Shorr-McCarty polarization data for state legislatures, which provides the differences between the mean Democratic and Republican legislator scores, and controlling for important economic and demographic factors, we explain a significant amount of the polarization existing in state legislatures. These findings present a fascinating look into not only the root causes of polarization in state legislatures, but also point to some fundamental differences in politics and ideology at the state and national levels.

Multiple myeloma remains an incurable plasma cell cancer with radical case-by-case heterogeneity. Because of this, personalized and disease-specific biology of multiple myeloma must be understood for the discovery of effective molecular targets. The highly evolutionarily conserved Notch signaling pathway has been extensively described as a multifaceted driver of the multiple myeloma disease process—contributing to both intrinsic effects of malignant cells and to widespread remodeling of the tumor microenvironment that further facilitates disease progression. Namely, Notch signaling amongst malignant cells promotes increased proliferation, tumor-initiating capacity, drug resistance, and invasiveness. Moreover, Notch signaling between malignant cells and cells of the tumor microenvironment leads to increased osteodegenerative disease and angiogenesis. This comprehensive review will discuss both the intrinsic implications of pathological Notch signaling in multiple myeloma and the extrinsic implications of Notch signaling in the multiple myeloma tumor microenvironment. Additionally, the genetic origins of Notch signaling dysregulation in multiple myeloma and current attempts at targeting Notch therapeutically will be reviewed. While the subject has been reviewed previously, recent developments in the intervening years demand a revised synthesis of the literature. The aim of this work is to introduce and thoroughly synthesize the current state of knowledge in this vein of research and to highlight future directions for both new and in-the-field scientists.

The article focuses on the ontological foundations of lifeworld as Being taken for granted and viewed as a communication phenomenon par excellence, conceptualized as signifying in the presence of others. It is argued that, because there is always a wider horizon of experience against which anything can appear, lifeworld as something continuous can only be thematized in discrete scientific forms. In the article, lifeworld is discussed through the perspectives of four different sciences. From the natural science perspective, lifeworld is conceptualized as an arrangement contingent on the interconnections of human and nonhuman beings. It takes the form of conversation and can be best examined by Conversation Analysis. From the social science perspective, lifeworld is conceptualized as an order that is constituted by symbolic interactions and guided by relevant types and rules that structure our experience. It takes the form of intersubjective action as a meaningful back and forth and can be best examined by Discourse Analysis. From the cultural sciences perspective, lifeworld is the realm of spirit passed from generation to generation that gives human culture its meaning. It takes the form of significant expressions and can be best examined by Textual Hermeneutic Analysis. And, from the philosophical perspective, lifeworld is constituted by phenomena that appear, or monstrate themselves, to consciousness. This lifeworld is of absolute reversibility and immediacy and can be best examined by Critical Analysis, i.e., by postulating our relation to any object through contemplation. Thus, as Being, lifeworld is said in many ways, each lifeworld being relevant in its own way by providing a valuable resource – physico-biological, normative, significational, and transcendental.

Objective To evaluate the rate of instrument‐assisted deliveries among parturient patients hospitalized for live, vaginal births across 5 years and test for factors influencing the use of this procedure. Methods Hospitalizations of pregnant people age 18 years or older presenting for a live vaginal birth between October 2017 and 2022 were included for gestational ages between 35.0 and 42.0 weeks. The outcome measured the presence of neonatal instrument‐assisted birth utilizing forceps or a vacuum. Independent variables tested as influencing the outcome included hospitalization year, maternal age, BMI, parity, gestational age, admission to birth time, labor induction, neonate weight, intrapartum analgesia, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics were conducted in Excel to compare those with and without instrument‐assisted birth. Results The descriptive analysis demonstrated that cases receiving an instrument‐assisted birth had significantly longer admission to birth time (17.8 h [SD = 11.0] vs. 14.1 h [SD = 14.5], p < 0.001) and received intrapartum analgesics as follows: continuous labor epidural (92.1% vs. 80.6%, p < 0.001), opioids (12.6% vs. 5.9%, p < 0.001) and acetaminophen (20.3% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression model demonstrated that intrapartum analgesics were significantly associated with instrument‐assisted births as follows: continuous labor epidural (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.63−2.75), opioids (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.10−1.72) and acetaminophen (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.24−1.80). Conversely, multiparous status demonstrated decreased odds of having an instrument‐assisted birth (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.27−0.37). Conclusion Among pregnant patients, having a longer admission to birth time or receiving an intrapartum analgesic (continuous labor epidural, opioids and/or acetaminophen) was significantly associated with an instrument‐assisted birth, whereas multiparity reduced the odds of the procedure.

As zoonotic diseases coevolved with early agriculture, social distancing within dense human settlements could have conferred a selective advantage in terms of infection risk. Here, we consider the case of Trypillia mega-settlements after 4000 BC, as virulent diseases began affecting humans in the Black Sea region. Through epidemiological susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible (SIRS) models situated on clustered networks and on a site plan of a Trypillia mega-settlement, we show the adaptive benefits of decreasing either occupation density or the frequency of interactions with other communities across the settlement. We explore critical thresholds in these parameters that may shed light on the fluctuations of population densities at Trypillia mega-settlements before and after approximately 3600 BCE. Our findings suggest that disease was probably a significant driver of human settlement patterns by late Neolithic times.