Personality and national identity: How the Big Five relate to civic and ethnic conceptions of nationhood

In recent years, the concept of national identity has recaptured the imagination of public opinion research and with it individuals' conceptions of what it takes to be a “true” member of their nation. This investigation aims to add to the explanation of varying conceptions of nationhood by scrutinising their personality-based foundations. It provides the first systematic analysis of a yet unstudied link between the Big Five personality traits and two ideal-typical conceptions of nationhood: civic and ethnic national identity. Using 18 samples from six European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and the United Kingdom), each containing around 1000 individuals, we uncover psychological underpinnings of attitudes towards national membership, revealing several consistent trait patterns. We find a negative relationship between openness to experience and an ethnic national identity, while conscientiousness associates positively with the civic ideal type of national identity content. The findings presented extend current understandings of how people conceptualise national belonging and provide evidence that distinct conceptions of nationhood are related to different dispositional foundations.     

中国春运人口流动网络的富人俱乐部现象与不平衡性分析

基于“百度地图春节人口迁徙大数据”,利用加权网络的富人俱乐部系数和归一化不平衡系数方法,对2015年中国春运期间人口流动网络的富人俱乐部现象和不平衡性进行分析。研究结果表明：中国春运人口流动网络中存在明显的富人俱乐部现象,富人俱乐部城市包括北京、上海、广州、苏州、深圳和东莞,这些城市主导了超过77.66%中国城市的省际人口流动,且与这些城市之间的人口流动多属于不平衡关系,同时俱乐部城市之间、俱乐部城市与一小部分城市之间则属于平衡关系,这种流动格局很容易造成各城市在人口流动网络中的地位分化,严重影响了人口流动网络的公平性和安全性。     

Who were the Meroites? A biological investigation into the Nubian post‐hiatus group

Scholars have identified a hiatus in the archaeological record of Lower Nubia that spans approximately 1000 years. This interval may represent a desertion of Lower Nubia by its inhabitants. Evidence of occupation did not reappear in the area until the Meroitic time period. However, the identity of the returning people has been the subject of speculation. In order to determine who the Meroites of Lower Nubia were, 20 cranial non‐metric traits were observed on six Nubian groups, representing five time periods. Two groups date to time periods immediately before (Kerma) and immediately after (X‐Group) the Meroitic period. Three additional Nubian groups (two Christian samples from different sites and Sesebi, a contemporary sample) were utilised as outgroups to elucidate a clearer picture of the relationship among the six samples. Mahalanobis D² with a tetrachoric matrix was employed for calculating biological distances among the groups. Principal coordinates analysis produced two clusters of Nubians, where the Meroitics clustered with other Nubian groups. Specific distance scores indicate the Meroites were biologically similar to individuals from the time periods prior to and after their arrival in Lower Nubia. The Meroites therefore appear to be a Nubian group returning to Lower Nubia after its desertion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial analysis of bureaucrats’ attempts to resist political capture in a developing democracy: The distribution of solar panels in Ghana

Can civil servants in a developing democracy successfully resist political capture in the distribution of public goods? Existing research tends to highlight political patronage logics of distribution, and scholarship focuses primarily on politicians’ motivations. But service decisions are often made by bureaucrats, who sometimes explicitly try to avoid capture and allocate on the basis of need. Using qualitative interviews and spatial regressions with geo-coded data from a solar panel program in Ghana, we examine such a situation. We show that, despite considerable efforts to thwart it, national-level civil servants were unable to fully resist political capture. While solar panel distribution partially corresponded to need for electricity, we find that panels also went to areas where voter turnout was historically inconsistent, likely to motivate voter turnout. The direction of these relationships was consistent across subnational space, but the magnitudes varied considerably and were strongest in districts adjacent to Lake Volta. Qualitative data analysis reveals that this subnational variation reflects the logistics of space and the historical politics of place. The article contributes to theories of distributive politics and of voting behavior, and highlights the need for subnational disaggregation across space.     

Biological continuity between the A- and C-groups in lower Nubia: Evidence from cranial non-metric traits

Data are presented on 45 cranial non-metric traits in skeletal samples of the Lower Nubian A-Group (ca. 3100–2500 BC) and C-Group (ca. 2000–1500 BC) cultural periods. Results, based on the mean measure of divergence statistic, reveal biological continuity, consistent with interpretations of in situ evolution as opposed to models of discontinuity resulting from gene flow. Any differences between the A-and C-Group cultural phases that may be evident in the archaeological record are therefore more likely the result of local cultural evolution, rather than the introduction of new ideas, customs, and materials through the migration of a new population into this area. The problem of small samples necessitates that our results be accepted cautiously.     

Dental morphological evidence for biological continuity between the A-group and C-group periods in lower Nubia

Data are presented on non-metric dental morphological traits in skeletal samples from the Lower Nubian A-Group (ca. 3100–2500 BC) and C-Group (ca. 2000–1500 BC) cultural periods. In order to examine possible biological differentiation between these two periods, their trait frequencies were analysed using the mean measure of divergence statistic. Results indicate biological continuity, consistent with in situ evolution, although the problem of small samples requires that these results be accepted with caution. Although the diffusion of ideas or material culture into the area through military and trade contacts is likely, any archaeologically observable cultural differences between these two phases are more consistent with local cultural evolution than with the importation of a new cultural system through the migration of a foreign population into the area. The timing of a population replacement in ancient Nubia that has been identified by other scholars should now be sought either before the A-Group period or after the C-Group.     

The frequency of os acromiale in the Robert J. Terry Collection

Normal fusion of the acromion process in humans begins at about age 15 and should complete ossification by age 22–25. Os acromiale occurs when fusion of the acromial epiphysis does not follow its normal ossification pattern, resulting in the retention of a separate epiphyseal end to the acromial process. Depending on how the metaphyseal junctures fuse, differential size and shape of the unattached acromial segment is produced. As a result of shoulder anatomy and the mobile epiphysis, os acromiale is associated with shoulder impingement and rotator cuff problems. The purpose of this study is to document the frequency of os acromiale in the Robert J. Terry Collection and gain a perspective on the occurrence of os acromiale in this specific US population. The overall frequency of os acromiale in the sample of 1594 skeletons was 8.34%. This study also evaluates the prevalence of os acromiale between sexes and ancestral groups in the Terry Collection. Significant frequency differences in the expression of os acromiale were found between both ancestry and sex; the black male sample has the highest frequency (12.47%), with a lower occurrence in the black female sample (9.22%). The white sample exhibited observably lower frequencies, with the white males at 6.8%, and white females at 3.2%. Size and shape and side expression (laterality) showed no significant differences between the sexes. However, significant differences in laterality by ancestry were observed; black males exhibited 48.3% bilateral expression, while white males exhibited bilateral expression only 29% of the time and 54.8% had a right lateral expression. Based on the results presented in this study, it is suggested that there is a genetic causation for os acromiale, which may or may not be exacerbated by physical activity. The use of this anomaly as an additional non‐metric feature in inferring familial relationships and personal identification is discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluations of sex assessment using weighted traits on incomplete skeletal remains

Several studies have presented a variety of sexually dimorphic traits on the skeleton offering possibilities to score these traits for sex determination. However, few have discussed how fragmentation of skeletons affects the reliability of the results, and how to assess sex attribution based on a variety of methods. In the present study sex was determined for 354 skeletons from the medieval Swedish town Sigtuna, using well‐recognized sexing techniques on the pelvis, skull and femur. The preservation of the skeletons varied markedly, thus affecting possibilities for sex assessments. An attempt was made to evaluate the result of the sex assessment when weighting of different traits with different scales was used. The resulting estimation for each individual was called total mean value A. In addition, a total mean value B that considers unobservable missing traits was estimated. It can be concluded that both weighting and fragmentation affect sex assessments of incomplete skeletons. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国入境旅游的空间关联特征及其影响因素探析——基于地理加权回归的视角

国内外关于入境旅游的研究已有丰富积累,但现有关于我国入境旅游影响因素的研究均较少考虑地理邻近与空间关联性、空间非平稳性等特征。本文基于修正的旅游引力模型,首次运用地理加权回归模型,探析经济外向度、旅游资源和地理距离对我国31个省域入境旅游影响的空间差异。研究表明：入境游客在空间上具有正相关性（空间依赖性）和集聚特征;经济外向度和旅游资源对入境游客数量都有积极的影响,旅游资源的促进作用相对较大,而地理距离的增加对入境游客数量有负向的影响。并且,各影响因素的系数存在空间非平稳性,经济外向度和地理距离估计系数形成了以东北地区为核心,不断向西南方向扩散的圈层;相反的是,旅游资源对入境旅游的作用程度形成了由西南向东北地区逐渐递减的格局。研究也发现,邻近地区的入境游客数量对本地区具有正向影响,境外游客从目的地向周边地区扩散,省区之间存在空间溢出效应。     

Dynamics of Land Surface Temperature in Response to Land‐Use/Cover Change

In this study, we employed Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing techniques to investigate the impact of land‐use/cover change on land surface temperature (LST) in a rapidly urbanisation city, Kunming in south‐west China. Spatial patterns of LST and land use for 1992 and 2006 were derived from Landsat images to examine how LST responded to urban growth. Remote sensing indices were used to quantify land‐use types and employed as explanatory variables in LST modelling. The geographically weighted regression (GWR), a location dependent model, was performed to explore the influences of the spatially varied land‐use conditions on the LST patterns. Results revealed that rapid urbanisation in Kunming altered the local thermal environment, particularly in increasing the LST in the zone surrounding the urban core. Remote sensing indices demonstrated that water and vegetation played an important role in mitigating the urban heat island effect, while built‐up and barren land accounted for the increase in LST. The GWR improved the goodness‐of‐fit for LST modelling and provided insights into the spatially varied relationship between LST and land‐use conditions.