Inspiring the Wonderment: Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education

The purpose of this research was to shed insight on the degree to which instructor Emotional Intelligence (EI) may moderate the student/teacher relationship. Interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data on the experience of several students at a private university in the Midwest. The findings suggest that there appears to be a positive relationship between instructor EI and a positive academic experience by the student. Further research on this topic may indicate that institutions may also benefit from incorporating the tracking and evaluating of EI in their faculty body to enhance academic success student

Advanced technology wind shear prediction system evaluation

The program overviews: (1) American Airline (AA)/Turbulence Prediction Systems (TPS), which have installed forward looking infrared predictive windshear system on 3 MD-80 aircraft; (2) AA/TPS AWAS III evaluation, which is a joint effort and is installed in the noise landing gear (NLG) area and a data recorder installed in the E/E compartment

Strengths-based analysis of student success in online courses

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017The purpose of this research was to increase understanding of post-secondary student success in online courses by evaluating a contextually rich combination of personal, circumstantial, and course variables. A strengths-based perspective framed the investigation. Mixed-method data were collected and analyzed sequentially in three phases: two phases of quantitative collection and analysis were followed by qualitative interviews and comprehensive analysis. The study first used logistic regression to analyze existing data on more than 27,000 student enrollments, spanning a time period of four academic years. The second phase of research enhanced the modeling focused on a subset of the total population; students from a single semester were invited to complete an assessment of non-cognitive attributes and personal perceptions. Between the two phases, 28 discreet variables were analyzed. Results suggest that different combinations of variables may be effective in predicting success among students with varying levels of educational experience. This research produced preliminary predictive models for student success at each level of class standing. The study concluded with qualitative interviews designed to explain quantitative results more fully. Aligned with a strengths-based perspective, 12 successful students were asked to elaborate on factors impacting their success. Themes that emerged from the interviews were congruent with quantitative findings, providing practical examples of student and instructor actions that contribute to online student success

Causes and consequences of color polymorphism in Rambur’s forktail (Ischnura ramburii)

textVariation in male and female forms occurs in countless animal taxa, and has fascinated evolutionary biologists since Darwin and Wallace. The underpinnings of male variation have been elucidated in diverse groups; less is known about the selective forces that diversify female forms in nature. Female-polymorphic damselflies provide ideal systems in which to study how female variation evolves. Color polymorphic damselflies typically contain one female morph that resembles the male (“andromorph”) and one or more alternative morphs with distinctive coloration (“gynomorphs” or “heteromorphs”). My thesis draws upon the unique context of a biological invasion to elucidate factors that promote and maintain this variation in female color. Empirical work in my dissertation is focused upon Rambur’s Forktail (Ischnura ramburii), a species native to the Americas that invaded Hawaii in the 1970s. I first examine whether female color morphs diverge in mating rates or other reproductive traits within the native and invasive range, to see whether such traits might affect morph frequency dynamics in the invasion context (Chapter 2). Next, I test whether variation in selective regimes, both across female development and among populations, predicts variation in andromorph coloration (Chapter 3). Upon finding andromorphs to follow predictions of mimicry theory, I ask whether andromorph presence might result in increased male-male interaction rates, due to sex recognition errors (Chapter 4). Finally, I document recent, rapid evolution of andromorphy within Hawaii populations, and conduct mesocosm experiments to test the potential for density- and frequency-dependent selection to promote and maintain color polymorphism. Results indicate 1) andromorphs may benefit from reduced mating, but male-like morphology may also incur reproductive constraints; 2) andromorph color variation accords with mimicry theory: andromorphs resemble syntopic males, and resemblance is maximized after reproductive onset; 3) male-male interactions increase in the presence of andromorphs, to male detriment; 4) gynomorphs are subject to negative-frequencydependence in high-density populations, which may have driven the rapid evolution of andromorphy in Hawaii following introduction to the islands. These findings offer new insights into multiple mechanisms by which color polymorphism can arise and be maintained within native and invasive contexts.Ecology, Evolution and Behavio

Guiding Local Tourism Entrepreneurs Interested in Ecotourism: A Tool for Extension Facilitators

Tourism can stimulate economies, promote cultural preservation, and incentivize environmental conservation. The tourism assessment and planning process described in this article is a tool for facilitating tourism development at the community level by helping entrepreneurs assess the products and services they currently offer, align their current tourism products with best practices for improving their businesses\u27 sustainability, and coordinate efforts to harness the full benefits of sustainable nature-based tourism or ecotourism. Extension educators can use this tool to educate and coordinate tourism entrepreneurs and to encourage them to adopt practices that maximize the cultural, social, economic, and environmental benefits of local tourism by minimizing potential negative impacts

Aposematic Signal Variation Predicts Male-Male Interactions in a Polymorphic Poison Frog

Many species use conspicuous “aposematic” signals to communicate unpalatability/unprofitability to potential predators. Although aposematic traits are generally considered to be classic examples of evolution by natural selection, they can also function in the context of sexual selection, and therefore comprise exceptional systems for understanding how conspicuous signals evolve under multifarious selection. We used males from a highly territorial poison frog species in a dichotomous choice behavioral test to conduct the first examination of how aposematic signal variation influences male–male interactions. Our results reveal two behavioral patterns: (1) male dorsal brightness influences the behaviors of male conspecifics such that males approach and call to brighter males more frequently and (2) a male\u27s dorsal brightness predicts his own behavior such that bright males approach stimulus frogs faster, direct more calls to bright stimulus frogs, and exhibit lower advertising call pulse rates (a fitness‐related trait). These findings indicate the potential for sexual selection by male–male competition to impact aposematic signal evolution

Molecular evolution of cytochrome \u3ci\u3eb\u3c/i\u3e in high- and low-altitude deer mice (genus \u3ci\u3ePeromyscus\u3c/i\u3e)

Patterns of amino-acid polymorphism in human mitochondrial genes have been interpreted as evidence for divergent selection among populations that inhabit climatically distinct environments. If similar patterns are mirrored in other broadly distributed mammalian species, then adaptive modifications of mitochondrial protein function may be detected in comparisons among locally adapted populations of a single wide-ranging species, or among closely related species that have adapted to different environments. Here, we test for evidence of positive selection on cytochrome b variation within and among species of the ecologically diverse rodent genus Peromyscus. We used likelihood-based comparisons of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates to test for evidence of divergent selection between high- and low-altitude haplogroups of the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus. We also tested for evidence of divergent selection among different species of Peromyscus that inhabit different thermal environments. In contrast to the purported evidence for positive selection on mitochondrial proteins in humans and other nonhuman mammals, results of our tests suggest that the evolution of cytochrome b in Peromyscus is chiefly governed by purifying selection