Engineering Leadership Programs in Colleges and Universities: A Focus on Morality

Engineering programs at the college and university level have increased their focus on engineering leadership programs over the last decade. The education has focused primarily on skill-based subjects such as organizing, effective communication, and team-building. There is evidence that supports the ability to improve leadership ability by including material related to moral disengagement and moral identity in any leadership development program. This paper describes what is being done today and evidence to support changes in current programs

An analysis of experimental data on entrance effects in circular thrust bearings

Empirical method for considering entrance effects in computing flow rates and load capacities of circular thrust bearing

Nonmonotonicity in Absolute and Relative Preferences for Real and Imagined Rewards

A key assumption in many studies examining valuation of reward is that participants’ preferences for various rewards are meaningfully, monotonically ordered with respect to other possible rewards. However, this assumption has not been systematically tested. Two studies consisting of 74 undergraduates from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and 122 community members demonstrated nonmonotonic reward preferences when provided with parametrically varied reward magnitudes. Although deficits in reward processing are believed to be a key feature of depression, depressed participants were more willing to work hard for rewards and exhibited more monotonic reward preferences than non-depressed participants. Relative to imaginary rewards, participants were more willing to work for real money and spent more time making decisions when there was a possibility of earning real money

Latino Cultural Implications for Art Therapy: The Influence of Cultural Risk Factors and Academic Performance in High School

Through art therapy, this research examines the influence of the main components of Latino culture as risk and/or protective factors for internalizing and externalizing behaviors and disorders in Latino adolescents. The goal of this research is to also identify how these factors impact academic performance for Latino high school students. First, a literature review examines preexisting research evaluating the presence and influence of particular cultural factors like family expectations and roles, gender, religion, language, and parental involvement in education. Non-cultural factors include peer influence and socioeconomic influences. The literature further examines the impact these factors have been found to influence internalizing and externalizing behaviors. No literature regarding the presentation of these cultural factors within art therapy was found. Second, data was collected from a case study conducted by the researcher with a Latino high school adolescent participating in school-based counseling within the art therapy modality and demonstrated internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Themes and symbols from the art created were analyzed and coded for the risk and/or protective qualities of each factor. Lastly, a discussion of findings guided by the literature review expands the meaning of the case study data and addresses five main areas: the protective or risk qualities of cultural themes and symbols within the art and art process, how the themes and symbols presented by the client can inform and guide treatment in relation to cultural factors, whether to examine these factors individually within treatment or in an integrated manner, and how this process played out within a crosscultural therapeutic relationships

Present absence: The Visible and invisible in graphic design

None provided

Latitudinal Variation in Seasonal Activity and Mortality in Ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta)

The ecology of ectotherms should be particularly affected by latitude because so much of their biology is temperature dependent. Current latitudinal patterns should also be informative about how ectotherms will have to modify their behavior in response to climate change. We used data from a total of 175 adult black ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta) radio tracked in Ontario, Illinois, and Texas, a latitudinal distance of \u3e 1500 km, to test predictions about how seasonal patterns of activity and mortality should vary with latitude. Despite pronounced differences in temperatures among study locations, and despite ratsnakes in Texas not hibernating and switching from diurnal to nocturnal activity in the summer, seasonal patterns of snake activity were remarkably similar during the months that snakes in all populations were active. Rather than being a function of temperature, activity may be driven by the timing of reproduction, which appears similar among populations. Contrary to the prediction that mortality should be highest in the most active population, overall mortality did not follow a clinal pattern. Winter mortality did increase with latitude, however, consistent with temperature limiting the northern distribution of ratsnakes. This result was opposite that found in the only previous study of latitudinal variation in winter mortality in reptiles, which may be a consequence of whether or not the animals exhibit true hibernation. Collectively, these results suggest that, at least in the northern part of their range, ratsnakes should be able to adjust easily to, and may benefit from, a warmer climate, although climate-based changes to the snakes\u27 prey or habitat, for example, could alter that prediction

Investigation of new methods for increasing thermal contact conductance in a vacuum Final report

Increasing thermal contact conductance in vacuu

Review of literature on thermal contact conductance in a vacuum Final report

Conductive heat transfer across solid-solid interface in vacuu

Linking Snake Behavior to Nest Predation in a Midwestern Bird Community

Nest predators can adversely affect the viability of songbird populations, and their impact is exacerbated in fragmented habitats. Despite substantial research on this predator-prey interaction, however, almost all of the focus has been on the birds rather than their nest predators, thereby limiting our understanding of the factors that bring predators and nests into contact. We used radiotelemetry to document the activity of two snake species (rat snakes, Elaphe obsoleta; racers, Coluber constrictor) known to prey on nests in Midwestern bird communities and simultaneously monitored 300 songbird nests and tested the hypothesis that predation risk should increase for nests when snakes were more active and in edge habitat preferred by both snake species. Predation risk increased when rat snakes were more active, for all nests combined and for two of the six bird species for which we had sufficient nests to allow separate analyses. This result is consistent with rat snakes being more important nest predators than racers. We found no evidence, however, that nests closer to forest edges were at greater risk. These results are generally consistent with the one previous study that investigated rat snakes and nest predation simultaneously. The seemingly paradoxical failure to find higher predation risk in the snakes\u27 preferred habitat (i.e., edge) might be explained by the snakes using edges at least in part for non-foraging activities. We propose that higher nest predation in fragmented habitats (at least that attributable to snakes) results indirectly from edges promoting larger snake populations, rather than from edges directly increasing the risk of nest predation by snakes. If so, the notion of edges per se functioning as ecological traps merits further study

The Factor Structures of Ability and Trait Emotional Intelligences Relative to General Intelligence and Personality

Emotional Intelligence is a popular term used to describe one’s experience with their own emotions and awareness of others’. Although emotional intelligence is thought to be a helpful predictor of various variables such as work performance and wellbeing, there is disagreement within the field of the precise definition and method of measurement. The current study examines two of the most popular models of emotional intelligence, ability and trait models, to determine if they are the same construct or two different constructs that share a moniker. Additionally, both ability and trait emotional intelligences’ factor structures are examined through hierarchical and bifactor models to determine the best fitting model for each. Finally, ability emotional intelligence is explored relative to how it fits with current understandings of cognitive ability and trait emotional intelligence is explored relative to how it fits with current understandings of normal-range personality