Florida’s 2014 gubernatorial election shows how switchingparties can be the electoral kiss of death for candidates

How do voters react to politicians who switch parties? Using the 2014 gubernatorial election in the swing state of Florida as a case study M. V. (Trey) Hood III and Seth C. McKee find that despite his positioning of himself as a moderate, when the state’s former Republican Governor Charlie Crist chose to run as a Democrat, most voters saw the switch as politically opportunistic rather than principled. This view then translated into a much lower likelihood that people would vote for the former Republican

An Examination of Collaborative Learning Assessment through Dialogue (CLAD) in Traditional and Hybrid Human Development Courses

This investigation assessed the effectiveness of using Collaborative Learning Assessment through Dialogue (CLAD) (Fitch & Hulgin, 2007) with students in undergraduate human development courses. The key parts of CLAD are student collaboration, active learning, and altering the role of the instructor to a guide who enhances learning opportunities. The effectiveness of this approach was explored in both hybrid formats where classes reduce face-to-face meeting time by incorporating on-line activities and traditional course formats, such as lecture. A sample of 169 students completed courses in human development either using CLAD or using traditional techniques that provided more direct instruction. In addition, some of the classes were taught in a hybrid format. In two of the comparison group subsets, students in the CLAD group demonstrated significantly higher final grades. Hybrid course formats resulted in higher student achievement as well. These results provide preliminary support for the use of CLAD and hybrid formats in higher education settings

Two divergent genetic lineages within the horned passalus beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus (Coleoptera: Passalidae): An emerging model for insect behavior, physiology, and microbiome research

© 2019 by the authors. The horned passalus (Odontotaenius disjunctus) is one of the most extensively studied saproxylic beetles in the eastern United States. For several decades this species has been the subject of investigations into the behaviors associated with subsociality as well as physiological responses to stress, and, most recently, the composition of its gut microbiome has been closely examined. However, no published study to date has characterized this beetle’s broad-scale population genetic structure. Here, we conducted intensive geographic sampling throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas and then assessed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation among individuals. Unexpectedly, we discovered two divergent, yet broadly sympatric, mtDNA clades. Indeed, the magnitude of divergence between- vs. within-clades ranged from 5.9 to 7.5×, depending on the dataset under consideration, and members of the two lineages were often syntopic (i.e., found in the same rotting log). Given the potential implications for past and future studies on behavior, physiology, and the gut microbiome, we developed a simple cost-efficient molecular assay (i.e., polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism; PCR-RFLP) to rapidly determine mtDNA clade membership of O. disjunctus individuals. We suggest that the evolutionary processes that gave rise to the emergence and persistence of divergent sympatric lineages reported here warrant investigation, as this type of spatial-genetic pattern appears to be rare among southern Appalachian forest invertebrates

Self-Actualization: The Zenith of Entrepreneurship

This paper presents entrepreneurship  literature  which supports  a treatment  of entrepreneurial drive as a continuum. Behavioral differences among entrepreneurs are presented and examined in the light of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The two perspectives are linked by a perspective of entrepreneurial activity as a vehicle which can support one's advancement through all levels of the hierarchy. This perspective is examined empirically with a database of 156 entrepreneurs, and the authors conclude that the respondents in this study who displayed higher entrepreneurial drive did view their businesses as vehicles for achieving self-esteem and self-actualization. Those respondents displaying lower entrepreneurial drive viewed their firms as vehicles for providing  basic financial  needs

Consumers’ adoption of mobile payment: comparison between China and Malaysia / S-C Chuah … [et al.]

Mobile payment services has emerged as one of the prominent transaction payment methods. China is leading in mobile payment globally while mobile payment in Malaysia still in its infancy. This paper compares the factors in adoption of mobile payment among consumers’ in Zuhai, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The factors included in the study were perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms and perceived security risk. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken on 96 smartphone users from China and 51 users from Malaysia. Inferential statistics Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare between study variables. Spearman’s ho correlation was used to identify the association between the study variables and behavioral intention to adopt mobile payment services. The study found significant different between users’ perception on subjective norms and perceived security risk in these two city. There was no significant different for perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use between users in Zuhai and Kuala Lumpur. Significant negative linear correlations between perceived security risk and behavioral intention, and significant positive correlations between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and subjective norms and behavioral intention were observed from the study. The findings of this study indicate that the consumers in Kuala Lumpur have higher concern on mobile payment services security and greater social influences to adopt mobile payments

The Occurrence of Compact Groups of Galaxies Through Cosmic Time

We use the outputs of a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation run on the Millennium Simulation to investigate the prevalence of 3D compact groups (CGs) of galaxies from $z = 11$ to 0. Our publicly available code identifies CGs using the 3D galaxy number density, the mass ratio of secondary+tertiary to the primary member, mass density in a surrounding shell, the relative velocities of candidate CG members, and a minimum CG membership of three. We adopt "default" values for the first three criteria, representing the observed population of Hickson CGs at $z = 0$. The percentage of non-dwarf galaxies ($M > 5 \times 10^{8}h^{-1}\ M_{\odot}$) in CGs peaks near $z \sim 2$ for the default set, and between $z \sim 1 - 3$ for other parameter sets. This percentage declines rapidly at higher redshifts ($z \gtrsim 4$), consistent with the galaxy population as a whole being dominated by low-mass galaxies excluded from this analysis. According to the most liberal criteria, $\lesssim 3\%$ of non-dwarf galaxies are members of CGs at the redshift where the CG population peaks. Our default criteria result in a population of CGs at $z < 0.03$ with number densities and sizes consistent with Hickson CGs. Tracking identified CG galaxies and merger products to $z = 0$, we find that $\lesssim 16\%$ of non-dwarf galaxies have been CG members at some point in their history. Intriguingly, the great majority ($96\%$) of $z = 2$ CGs have merged to a single galaxy by $z= 0$. There is a discrepancy in the velocity dispersions of Millennium Simulation CGs compared to those in observed CGs, which remains unresolved.Comment: Revised version to match published version. Uses likeapj.cls (v1.1.5), likeapj.bst style files, 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Compact group detection code available at https://github.com/cdw9bf/CompactGroup ; LaTex style files available at https://github.com/qtast/likeapj/releases/lates

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Tools to Support the Human Factors Design Teams

The scope of this assessment was to develop a library of basic 1-Gravity (G) human posture and motion elements used to construct complex virtual simulations of ground processing and maintenance tasks for spaceflight vehicles, including launch vehicles, crewed spacecraft, robotic spacecraft, satellites, and other payloads. The report herein describes the task, its purpose, performance, findings, NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) recommendations, and conclusions in the definition and assemblage of the postures and motions database (PMD)

Occurrence of Compact Groups of Galaxies through Cosmic Time

We use the outputs of a semianalytical model of galaxy formation run on the Millennium Simulation to investigate the prevalence of 3D compact groups (CGs) of galaxies from z = 11 to 0. Our publicly available code identifies CGs using the 3D galaxy number density, the mass ratio of secondary+tertiary to the primary member, mass density in a surrounding shell, the relative velocities of candidate CG members, and a minimum CG membership of three. We adopt "default" values for the first three criteria, representing the observed population of Hickson CGs at z = 0. The percentage of nondwarf galaxies (M > 5 × 10^8 h^(−1) M ⊙) in CGs peaks near z ~ 2 for the default set and in the range of z ~ 1–3 for other parameter sets. This percentage declines rapidly at higher redshifts (z ≳ 4), consistent with the galaxy population as a whole being dominated by low-mass galaxies excluded from this analysis. According to the most liberal criteria, ≾3% of nondwarf galaxies are members of CGs at the redshift where the CG population peaks. Our default criteria result in a population of CGs at z < 0.03 with number densities and sizes consistent with Hickson CGs. Tracking identified CG galaxies and merger products to z = 0, we find that ≾16% of nondwarf galaxies have been CG members at some point in their history. Intriguingly, the great majority (96%) of z = 2 CGs have merged to a single galaxy by z = 0. There is a discrepancy in the velocity dispersions of Millennium Simulation CGs compared to those in observed CGs, which remains unresolved

A Series of 4- and 5-Coordinate Ni(II) Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Spectroscopic, and DFT Studies

A series of four- and five-coordinate Ni(II) complexes CztBu(PyriPr)2NiX (1–3 and 1·THF–3·THF), where X = Cl, Br, and I, were synthesized and fully characterized by NMR and UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, cyclic voltammetry, and density functional theory calculations. The solid-state structures of 1–3 reveal rare examples of seesaw Ni(II) complexes. In solution, 1–3 bind reversibly to a THF molecule to form five-coordinate adducts. The electronic transitions in the visible region (630–680 nm), attributed to LMCT bands, for 1 → 3 exhibit a bathochromic shift. The thermochromic tendency of the five-coordinate complexes implies the loss of THF coordination at elevated temperatures. Finally, the electronic properties of all Ni(II) complexes were studied by time-dependent density functional theory calculations to characterize the nature of the excited states