The Dual Enrollment Challenges of First-Generation Appalachian College Students: A Holistic Single-Case Study

The purpose of this holistic single-case study was to describe the dual enrollment experiences of first-generation Appalachian college students in Southwest Virginia. The theory guiding this study was Tinto’s theory of college student retention as it related to first-generation Appalachian college students who have taken dual enrollment courses. To further understand the challenges faced by these students the following research question was posed: What are student, teacher, and administrator descriptions of the challenges faced by first-generation college students taking dual enrollment courses in Southwest Virginia? Subquestions served to investigate the role of dual enrollment courses on the college involvement, college retention, and degree completion of first-generation Appalachian college students. The participants for this study included 11 individuals who were first-generation Appalachian college students who graduated from high school and were enrolled in dual enrollment courses in high school; dual enrollment instructors; school guidance counselors or principals; and dual enrollment program administrators. Data were collected via individual interviews, online focus group interviews, and reflective journals. Data were analyzed by transcribing interviews, identifying and grouping themes, and constructing a narrative that can provide information on the experiences of first-generation college students taking dual enrollment courses in the Appalachian region. Findings indicated parents may not have had the knowledge to support their children who were taking dual enrollment courses academically; however, they were able to significantly support them emotionally and financially throughout the process. This study also found dual enrollment courses are a generally positive experience for first-generation students in the Appalachian region and the support of their parents played a key role in this positive experience

The Relationship Between ADHD and Trait Facets of the Five-Factor Model

Facets of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) were examined in order to understand its interaction with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-symptoms. By utilizing archival data, in a correlational design, adults between the ages of 18-66 were tested for the presence of ADHD, which was then compared with data gathered from the NEO-PI-R. Comorbid psychiatric conditions often associated with ADHD were accounted for in the design. Results partially supported the hypotheses, specifically, that altruism was inversely related to Impulsivity, as predicted. However, other findings largely did not support a relationship between other specific NEO-PI-R facets and ADHD. Other significant relationships that were not predicted were also established and discussed. The impact of these findings includes the utility of facets in predicting ADHD symptoms and the potential influence of compensation in an adult ADHD population. Limitations to this study were also indicated

Comparison of avian and non-avian reptile digestion on small mammal remains and the implications for palaeoecological interpretations.

Small mammals are a uniquely important group in understanding paleoecology due to their restricted habitat and sensitivity to changing environments. The use of small mammal fossils has been widely documented in taphonomical and paleontological research, mainly in the form of owl pellet analysis. However, few studies have focused on other animal clades, though a small number have examined digestive damage due to mammals and reptiles. Research presented here examines digestive modification of small mammals caused by various species of snakes, a previously unresearched taxa, compared to previous work done on owl pellets. This study lays out a systematic approach for sample collection from snake remains as well as detection and characterization of digestion modification using stereo microscopy. Comparisons of snake remains to owl remains shed light on community dynamics in ancient small mammal assemblages. Preliminary analysis of owl pellets and snake fecal remains suggest a significant difference in the destructive capacity between the two digestive systems with snakes causing extreme modification and owls causing light modification

Parametrization and distillability of three-qubit entanglement

There is an ongoing effort to quantify entanglement of quantum pure states for systems with more than two subsystems. We consider three approaches to this problem for three-qubit states: choosing a basis which puts the state into a standard form, enumerating ``local invariants,'' and using operational quantities such as the number of maximally entangled states which can be distilled. In this paper we evaluate a particular standard form, the {\it Schmidt form}, which is a generalization of the Schmidt decomposition for bipartite pure states. We show how the coefficients in this case can be parametrized in terms of five physically meaningful local invariants; we use this form to prove the efficacy of a particular distillation technique for GHZ triplets; and we relate the yield of GHZs to classes of states with unusual entanglement properties, showing that these states represent extremes of distillability as functions of two local invariants.Comment: 17 pages RevTeX 3.0 including 2 figures (encapsulated Postscript) Final version, to appear in Physics Letters

Exploring the Interplay Between Equity Groups, Mental Health and Perceived Employability Amongst Students at a Public Australian University

This article explores the interplay between perceived employability (PE), mental health, and equity group membership amongst students at a large public urban university in Australia. The article reports from a study conducted between 2017 and 2022, during which students self-assessed their PE. Differences in PE by equity group membership were assessed using responses to structured fields in the questionnaire (n = 24,329). Custom measures were constructed using student responses to open-ended fields to proxy student wellbeing based on sentiment analysis and mention of mental health or synonymous terms (n = 12,819). Analyses included two-way tests of differences between groups and multivariate analyses considering the effect of equity group membership and mental health concerns on employability beliefs. Results indicate that students with a disability, with English as a second language, or with wellbeing concerns report lower perceived employability. Of all the PE dimensions, academic self-efficacy is most consistently affected by equity group membership and wellbeing concerns. Further, wellbeing concerns are more prevalent for students with disabilities. The findings strengthen support for policy and institutional initiatives focusing on student wellbeing in general but also specifically for equity groups that are already associated with poorer employability beliefs. In particular, students with disabilities appear to have poorer self-esteem and academic self-efficacy and are more likely to have mental health concerns.</p

Locating Potential Aspect Interference Using Clustering Analysis

Software design continues to evolve from the structured programming paradigm of the 1970s and 1980s and the object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigm of the 1980s and 1990s. The functional decomposition design methodology used in these paradigms reduced the prominence of non-functional requirements, which resulted in scattered and tangled code to address non-functional elements. Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) allowed the removal of crosscutting concerns scattered throughout class code into single modules known as aspects. Aspectization resulted in increased modularity in class code, but introduced new types of problems that did not exist in OOP. One such problem was aspect interference, in which aspects meddled with the data flow or control flow of a program. Research has developed various solutions for detecting and addressing aspect interference using formal design and specification methods, and by programming techniques that specify aspect precedence. Such explicit specifications required practitioners to have a complete understanding of possible aspect interference in an AOP system under development. However, as system size increased, understanding of possible aspect interference could decrease. Therefore, practitioners needed a way to increase their understanding of possible aspect interference within a program. This study used clustering analysis to locate potential aspect interference within an aspect-oriented program under development, using k-means partitional clustering. Vector space models, using two newly defined metrics, interference potential (IP) and interference causality potential (ICP), and an existing metric, coupling on advice execution (CAE), provided input to the clustering algorithms. Resulting clusters were analyzed via an internal strategy using the R-Squared, Dunn, Davies-Bouldin, and SD indexes. The process was evaluated on both a smaller scale AOP system (AspectTetris), and a larger scale AOP system (AJHotDraw). By seeding potential interference problems into these programs and comparing results using visualizations, this study found that clustering analysis provided a viable way for detecting interference problems in aspect-oriented software. The ICP model was best at detecting interference problems, while the IP model produced results that were more sporadic. The CAE clustering models were not effective in pinpointing potential aspect interference problems. This was the first known study to use clustering analysis techniques specifically for locating aspect interference

Perfect state distinguishability and computational speedups with postselected closed timelike curves

Bennett and Schumacher's postselected quantum teleportation is a model of closed timelike curves (CTCs) that leads to results physically different from Deutsch's model. We show that even a single qubit passing through a postselected CTC (P-CTC) is sufficient to do any postselected quantum measurement, and we discuss an important difference between "Deutschian" CTCs (D-CTCs) and P-CTCs in which the future existence of a P-CTC might affect the present outcome of an experiment. Then, based on a suggestion of Bennett and Smith, we explicitly show how a party assisted by P-CTCs can distinguish a set of linearly independent quantum states, and we prove that it is not possible for such a party to distinguish a set of linearly dependent states. The power of P-CTCs is thus weaker than that of D-CTCs because the Holevo bound still applies to circuits using them regardless of their ability to conspire in violating the uncertainty principle. We then discuss how different notions of a quantum mixture that are indistinguishable in linear quantum mechanics lead to dramatically differing conclusions in a nonlinear quantum mechanics involving P-CTCs. Finally, we give explicit circuit constructions that can efficiently factor integers, efficiently solve any decision problem in the intersection of NP and coNP, and probabilistically solve any decision problem in NP. These circuits accomplish these tasks with just one qubit traveling back in time, and they exploit the ability of postselected closed timelike curves to create grandfather paradoxes for invalid answers.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; Foundations of Physics (2011

Physical implications of prolonged sitting in a confined posture - a literature review

The main purpose of this review article was to highlight some of the physical consequences of sitting for prolonged periods in a confined setting. More specifically, the review relates this research to call centre work and where applicable comments on the limited literature relating specifically to ergonomics research within call centre settings. In particular the article explores the biomechanical stresses placed on the musculoskeletal system during prolonged sitting at a workstation, and the physiological consequences thereof. The paper then provides possible solutions to reduce the physical strain placed on these workers by looking at workstation design and work organisation emphasizing worker education and the promotion of worker well being

An investigation into accounting and business students’ employability beliefs

The accounting profession is challenged by professional shortages, declining university enrolments, and uncertainty about the profile of future accountants regarding technological advancements. It is thus timely to investigate the employability beliefs of accounting students in higher education throughout Australia. This study employed a multi-factor self-assessment of perceived employability (PE) grounded in social cognitive career theory to investigate the PE of accounting students (n = 3116) relative to other business students (n = 4973), and across degree progression. Compared with their business peers, accounting students reported greater program awareness, but their perceived communication skills, emotional intelligence, and ethical and responsible behaviour were lower than their business peers. Accounting students became more likely to reconsider their choice of program as they progressed, with accounting students in their third year or later less confident in terms of self-awareness, program awareness, the perceived relevance of their program, and their perceived ethical and responsible behaviour. The discipline-specific comparisons extend previous research and indicate that employability initiatives should be embedded early in accounting curricula to enhance students’ PE, career understanding, and related skillsets. The potential to enhance accounting students’ PE, and thus improve academic achievement, persistence, and employment outcomes is relevant to educators, curriculum managers and accreditation bodies