Wide Open Spaces: The PKK Shows Violent Non-State Actors Need More Than Weak Governance to Thrive

The PKK in Turkey shows transnational, violent non-state actors operate in weak states for a number of reasons. The most prevalent of these is the host state’s inability to sustain the basic requirement of statehood

Uncovering morphological variation in light of genetic data within the Ozark minnow, Notropis nubilus

It has been hypothesized that the modern distribution of the Ozark minnow was shaped by the fragmentation of a widespread ancestral population by periodic glaciations during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene eras (Berendzen et al., 2010). Today, the species comprises three distinct genetic clades that are: upper Mississippi and northern Ozarks, western Ozarks, and southern Ozarks. In light of this hypothesis, the objective of this study is to determine if the morphology of the fish displays differences that parallel the genetic variation. One way to determine these morphological differences within a population is to look at the geometric morphometrics of the species

Higher Education Business and Technology Leaders’ Behaviors that Drive Outcome Alignment

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national industries studied (Luftman & Kempiah, 2007). Organizations that align BITA strategies perform better, maximize the value of IT, pay less on IT per user and report higher customer satisfaction (Henderson & Venkatraman 1993; Reitz, 2019; Weiss & Anderson, 2004). Without alignment and value in technology investments, HEIs sustain higher operational costs, mis-aligned capacity and threatened financial sustainability, potentially leading to institutions closing or merging (Delany, 2019; Jesek & Lederman, 2018; Oblinger 2019; Witt & Coyne, 2019). The study determined business and technology leaders’ behaviors that demonstrate alignment competencies for higher education’s BITA. The study identified and categorized 141 behaviors demonstrating Luftman’s (2003) BITA competencies. The participants then determined the impact of the categorized behaviors. As a result, HELs identified the behaviors and their impact that demonstrate BITA competencies

“Something Would’ve Been Better Than Nothing”: An Analysis of Young Adults’ Stories of Being Ghosted

Utilizing the Narrative Paradigm (Fisher, 1984) and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), the present study seeks to explore and analyze stories of being ghosted from the perspective of young adults and to identify the themes that may animate these experiences. Recorded qualitative interviews with 21 young adults who had previously been ghosted resulted in 4 emergent themes: a) justifications b) confusion over responsibility c) avoiding future vulnerability and d) contribution of technology. Findings are consistent with previous research concerning ghosting and attachment theory, destiny beliefs, implicit theories of relationships, the role of technology, and more. Directions for future research and limitations of the present study are discussed

Quantifying critical thinking: Development and validation of the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC)

Introductory physics lab instruction is undergoing a transformation, with increasing emphasis on developing experimentation and critical thinking skills. These changes present a need for standardized assessment instruments to determine the degree to which students develop these skills through instructional labs. In this article, we present the development and validation of the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC). We define critical thinking as the ability to use data and evidence to decide what to trust and what to do. The PLIC is a 10-question, closed-response assessment that probes student critical thinking skills in the context of physics experimentation. Using interviews and data from 5584 students at 29 institutions, we demonstrate, through qualitative and quantitative means, the validity and reliability of the instrument at measuring student critical thinking skills. This establishes a valuable new assessment instrument for instructional labs.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Effects of Different Types of Noise on Foreign Accent Adaptation

Understanding foreign-accented speech can be difficult. Comprehension can be further compromised by environmental noise. Previous research has shown that listeners are able to adapt rapidly to a foreign accent. The present study examines how foreign accent (FA) adaptation is affected by two kinds of noise: speech-shaped white noise and competing speech. Native English listeners heard blocks of sentences produced by native-accented or foreign-accented talkers (Korean, Spanish) mixed with either type of noise, and indicated if the word written on the screen and the last word they heard were the same by pressing a button. Results show that listener responses were more accurate (though slower) when sentences were mixed with competing speech than with speech-shaped white noise. These findings suggest that while competing speech made word recognition more effortful, ultimately it was less disruptive than white noise for FA adaptation.Linguistic

Who does what now? How physics lab instruction impacts student behaviors

While laboratory instruction is a cornerstone of physics education, the impact of student behaviours in labs on retention, persistence in the field, and the formation of students' physics identity remains an open question. In this study, we performed in-lab observations of student actions over two semesters in two pedagogically different sections of the same introductory physics course. We used a cluster analysis to identify different categories of student behaviour and analyzed how they correlate with lab structure and gender. We find that, in lab structures which fostered collaborative group work and promoted decision making, there was a task division along gender lines with respect to laptop and equipment usage (and found no such divide among students in guided verification labs).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 3 table