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Against the backdrop of today's increasingly multicultural society, are America's elite colleges admitting and successfully educating a diverse student body? No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal pulls back the curtain on the selective college experience and takes a rigorous and comprehensive look at how race and social class impact each stage--from application and admission, to enrollment and student life on campus. Arguing that elite higher education contributes to both social mobility and inequality, the authors investigate such areas as admission advantages for minorities, academic achievement gaps tied to race and class, unequal burdens in paying for tuition, and satisfaction with college experiences. The book's analysis is based on data provided by the National Survey of College Experience, collected from more than nine thousand students who applied to one of ten selective colleges between the early 1980s and late 1990s. The authors explore the composition of applicant pools, factoring in background and \"selective admission enhancement strategies\"--including AP classes, test-prep courses, and extracurriculars--to assess how these strengthen applications. On campus, the authors examine roommate choices, friendship circles, and degrees of social interaction, and discover that while students from different racial and class circumstances are not separate in college, they do not mix as much as one might expect. The book encourages greater interaction among student groups and calls on educational institutions to improve access for students of lower socioeconomic status.

Thirty years after reunification, East and West Germany are still characterized by a considerable difference in satisfaction with democracy (SWD). This paper proposes and tests a model which assumes SWD to be shaped by the interests (economic and cultural) and moral values individuals demand to see fostered by the democratic system. Empirical application of the model reveals substantial differences between the East and West German SWD function in that the satisfaction of economic interests is much more important in the East than the West whereas the opposite applies to moral concerns. Demands on redistribution and immigration policies—conceptualized as proximate drivers of SWD—also shape SWD differently in the East and the West, in addition to being shaped by interests and morals in different ways. East–West differences in the relationship between economic demands and SWD are more important than differences in the levels of demand.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the material nature of legacy technology makes its users passionately prefer it over its digital alternatives. Design/methodology/approachThis ethnographic study uses data from 26 in-depth interviews with vinyl collectors, augmented with longitudinal participant–observation of vinyl collecting and music store events. FindingsThe findings reveal how the physicality of vinyl facilitates the passionate relationships (with music, the vinyl as performative object and other people) that make vinyl so significant in vinyl users’ lives. Research limitations/implicationsAs this study examines a single research context (vinyl) from the perspective of participants from three developed, Anglophone nations, its key theoretical contributions should be examined in other technological contexts and other cultures. Practical implicationsThe findings imply that miniturisation and automation have lower limits for some products, material attributes should be added to digitised products and that legacy technology products could be usually be reframed as tools of authentic self-expression. Originality/valueThis study explains what can happen beyond the top of the “S” curve in the Technology Acceptance Model, furthering our understanding of consumers’ reactions to the proliferation of digital technology in their lives.

In holometabolous phytophagous insects, adult females and larvae determine host plant selection through oviposition and feeding preferences. Pre-imaginal and/or imaginal experiences with plant chemical cues can modulate these preferences. Various studies found evidence, or not, of host preference modulation through previous experience but they appear to contradict each other. Most probably, modulation of host preference depends on the degree of specialization of the insects. Our literature analysis revealed that the positive influence of experience in the modulation of host plant preference occurred equally in polyphagous, oligophagous and monophagous species, but was significantly more influenced by the phylogeny of the insect and the developmental stage involved in plant cue experience. Identification of phylogenic and developmental stage factors of “host learning” abilities appeared to be key information for predicting the response of species to habitat modifications rather than the insect’s degree of host plant specialization. The signification of this output on the fact that some insect species or populations shifted from the wild to cultivated habitats to become important pests is discussed.

During Communism, party members and their relatives were typically privileged elites in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU). At the same time, secret police informants were often coerced to spy and report on their fellow citizens. After the fall of Communism, CEE countries and the Baltics underwent decommunization, unlike most FSU countries. This paper is the first to empirically distinguish between these two Communist party regime affiliations and study their long-term implications for the well-being and preferences of affiliated individuals and their relatives. In the FSU, we find that individuals connected to the former Communist party are more satisfied with their lives, but those linked to secret police informants seem to have lower life satisfaction than those without such ties. The life satisfaction benefit of having former Communist regime party connections in the FSU is, on average, equivalent to one month’s household income. Simultaneously, the psychological costs of being an informant can amount to two monthly household incomes. In CEE countries, having informant connections is not associated with life satisfaction, but having links to the former Communist party is negatively correlated with subjective well-being. Formal and informal decommunization efforts are an important mechanism behind our findings. We also show that those connected to the former regimes differ from those without such connections in their preferences for democracy and market economy, levels of optimism, and risk tolerance, which provides suggestive evidence for the mechanisms underpinning our findings. Our results underscore that the former Communist regimes produced winners and losers based on the trustee status of their collaborators that decommunization efforts further shaped and solidified. Future decommunization efforts in the FSU may thus have important welfare implications.

Aim: To assess contemporary and historical determinants of taxonomic and ecological trait turnover in birds worldwide. We tested whether taxonomic and trait turnover (1) are structured by regional bioclimatic conditions, (2) increase in relationship with topographic heterogeneity and environmental turnover and change according to current and historical environmental conditions, and (3) decrease with human impact. Major Taxa: Birds. Location: Global. Methods: We used computationally efficient algorithms to map the taxonomic and trait turnover of 8,040 terrestrial bird assemblages worldwide, based on a grid with 110 km 3 110 km resolution overlaid on the extent-of-occurrence maps of 7,964 bird species, and nine ecological traits reflecting six key aspects of bird ecology (diet, habitat use, thermal preference, migration, dispersal and body size). We used quantile regression and model selection to quantify the influence of biomes, environment (temperature, precipitation, altitudinal range, net primary productivity, Quaternary temperature and precipitation change) and human impact (human influence index) on bird turnover. Results: Bird taxonomic and trait turnover were highest in the north African deserts and boreal biomes. In the tropics, taxonomic turnover tended to be higher, but trait turnover was lower than in other biomes. Taxonomic and trait turnover exhibited markedly different or even opposing relationships with climatic and topographic gradients, but at their upper quantiles both types of turnover decreased with increasing human influence. Main conclusions: The influence of regional, environmental and anthropogenic factors differ between bird taxonomic and trait turnover, consistent with an imprint of niche conservatism, environmental filtering and topographic barriers on bird regional assemblages. Human influence on these patterns is pervasive and demonstrates global biotic homogenization at a macroecological scale. K E Y W O R D S Anthropocene, beta diversity, biogeographical legacies, biotic homogenization, functional diversity, life-history traits, regional assemblages 1190 |

Seed dispersal effectiveness, which measures the number of adult plant individuals produced by seed dispersal, is the product of the number of seeds dispersed and the probability a seed produces an adult. Directed dispersal to certain habitat types may enhance some stages of recruitment but disfavor others, generating demographic conflicts in plant ontogeny. We asked whether temporal changes in habitat features may affect the distribution of seedlings recruited from dispersed acorns, and whether this could induce shifts in the life-stage conflicts experienced by successive cohorts of naturally recruited plants. As early successional habitats are characterized by rapid change, we used a burnt pine stand in southern Spain to monitor the recruitment and performance of a major tree species (Quercus ilex) across 7 yr in four types of post-fire habitats. These differed in structure and included patches of unburnt forest and three management alternatives of burnt trees: logging, partial cutting, and nonintervention. Young oaks that resprouted after the fire were mainly located near acorn sources, while new seedlings initially emerged mostly in habitats with standing snags due to habitat selection by European jays, Garrulus glandarius, for dispersal. The dead pines gradually collapsed and attracted less dispersal, so subsequent seedling cohorts mainly recruited within patches of unburnt pines. These live pines enhanced the survival of the oaks located beneath their canopy but greatly reduced their growth as compared to the other post-fire habitats, thus representing a demographic conflict that was absent elsewhere. As a consequence of the directional shift in the habitat where seedlings recruited, successive seedling cohorts experienced a gradual improvement in their likelihood of survival but a reduction in growth. The progressive intensification of this life-stage conflict hinged on the reduction of vertical structures in the habitat with standing burnt pines. Recruitment success thus involved temporal variation in the habitat where recruitment occurred, likely resulting from changes in the direction of seed dispersal, and spatial variation in habitat suitability for seedling establishment and growth. Temporal changes in habitat structure can indirectly change the environment in which recruitment occurs, and consequently seed dispersal effectiveness, by shifting the direction of seed dispersal.

Heterogeneous land cover patterns contribute to unique ecological conditions in cities and little is known about the drivers of these patterns among cities. We studied tree cover patterns in relationship to urban morphology (for example, housing density, parcel size), socioeconomic factors (for example, education, income, lifestyle characteristics), and historical legacies in Baltimore, Maryland, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Utilizing a multimodel inference approach and bivariate analyses, we analyzed two primary datasets employed in previous research predicting urban tree cover—one comprising continuous data (US Census), and the other consisting of categorical variables (Claritas PRIZM) that incorporate consumer purchasing data. Continuous data revealed that urban morphological characteristics were better predictors of tree cover patterns than socioeconomic factors in Raleigh and Baltimore at the parcel and neighborhood scales. Although the categorical dataset provided some evidence for the importance of socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics in predicting tree cover patterns, the hierarchical nature of these data preclude separating the impacts of these factors from levels of urbanization. Bivariate analyses of continuous and categorical variables revealed that the highest correlation coefficients were associated with variables describing urban morphology—parcel size, percent pervious area, and house age. In Baltimore, historical census data were better predictors of present-day tree cover than census data from recent years. Most notably, parcel size, a key predictor of tree cover, has decreased with time in Raleigh to sizes consistently seen in Baltimore. Our findings demonstrate that urban morphology, the main driver of tree cover patterns in these cities, may lead to the homogenization of tree canopy in Raleigh and Baltimore in the future.

Humans and ornamental plants have a long relationship that could explain why ornamental gardening has been one of the main reasons for intentionally introducing and spreading plants worldwide. In Southern Africa, a significant part of the alien flora was introduced for ornamental purposes. Some species have become invasive, with ecological and socio‐economic impacts that can create conflicts between stakeholders, depending on their relationships with the species. This paper unpacks how the ornamental industry in Southern Africa operates as well as people's preferences for ornamental plants and practices to highlight links between the industry and plant invasions and to help address potential conflicts. Drawing on empirical data primarily collected in 2022/23 in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe (and other Southern African countries), our results show that Southern Africa's ornamental industry is highly influenced by the global industry, especially South Africa. The sector provides ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ jobs to people in urban areas, especially middle‐aged women from ethnic majorities. The sector's operation and gardening practices show expressions of the typical cultural hybridity of postcolonial states where hegemonic and subaltern practices coexist and mix. Alien plants and foreign styles often symbolise higher social status, but controversially, socially privileged groups are publicly leading shifts towards more geographically contextualised practices and native plants. We conclude by arguing that recognising the influences that historical processes have on the sector's operation and its links with alien plants is essential for a more ethically sound and fair stakeholder engagement in preventing and managing plant invasions from the ornamental industry in Southern Africa. Short Given the historical role of the ornamental industry in plant invasions in Southern Africa, we assess how the ornamental sector and practices there relate to alien plants. The sector's operation and gardening practices show different expressions of the typical cultural hybridity of postcolonial states, where alien plants and foreign styles often symbolise higher social status that links to colonial legacies. We argue that managing ornamental‐related biological invasions in Southern Africa should address the intersections with socio‐historical processes and issues.

Parasitic wasps rely on a hierarchy of stimuli to locate their hosts. Olfactory cues from the natal host complex affect parasitoid preferences and can be learned by parasitoids during larval stages and the early adult stage. While the existence of pre-imaginal conditioning has been documented in several braconid aphid parasitoids, no evidence has yet been provided for parasitic wasps attacking Tephritidae. Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a koinobiont larval–pupal endoparasitoid of tephritid flies. In this study, we evaluated the influence of larval and early adult experience on subsequent host seeking in P. concolor females. Parasitoids were reared using Ceratitis capitata or Bactrocera oleae larvae as hosts, and emerging wasp adults were tested for host preferences in two-choice bioassays. P. concolor females preferred to oviposit in, and had higher oviposition success rates on the natal host. When P. concolor females were excised from their host puparia, preventing them from chewing emergence holes, they lost their natal host preference, solidifying the evidence of early adult learning for host selection. This study adds to the growing body of basic knowledge on braconid host-location behavior. From an applied point of view, training procedures for early adult learning has potential for use in mass rearing of parasitoids employed in biological control programs against tephritid flies.