Gender Differences in Sitting Positions of College Students and an Explanation of These Differences

This article explores the differences in the sitting positions of college men and women. After conducting unobtrusive observations of 83 students at the University of New Hampshire, we analyzed our data and found that there are differences in the way men and women sit. Men tend to sit in open positions while women tend to sit in closed positions. Differences in leg positions were more notable than differences in arm positions. In regard to arm and leg combinations, the most common combination for men was open arm/open leg. There were no significant differences between arm and leg combinations of women. We explain these differences using the theory of social construction and by pulling from various articles ideas of gender socialization. It is important to understand that gender differences in body movement and behavior are not natural. If we can recognize that these differences are learned, we can begin to eliminate gender inequality and stereotypes

Why Are There Revisions to the Jobs Numbers?

At the beginning of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the change in payroll employment for the previous month. This estimate of jobs gained or lost over the month is closely watched by policymakers and those who work in financial markets and the media. When the estimate is revised in subsequent months, however, data users sometimes perceive a very different picture of the job market than what was initially reported. Data users frequently ask why the number was revised. The short answer is, the revised estimate includes additional information that was not available at the time of the initial release— information that makes the revised estimate more accurate. This BEYOND THE NUMBERS article explains the data collection process that BLS conducts every month to produce the estimate of U.S. employment. The article also should help clarify why BLS releases revisions to the initial estimate so that users will understand the change, if any, in the data

Phase transitions in 3D gravity and fractal dimension

We show that for three dimensional gravity with higher genus boundary conditions, if the theory possesses a sufficiently light scalar, there is a second order phase transition where the scalar field condenses. This three dimensional version of the holographic superconducting phase transition occurs even though the pure gravity solutions are locally AdS$_3$. This is in addition to the first order Hawking-Page-like phase transitions between different locally AdS$_3$ handlebodies. This implies that the R\'enyi entropies of holographic CFTs will undergo phase transitions as the R\'enyi parameter is varied, as long as the theory possesses a scalar operator which is lighter than a certain critical dimension. We show that this critical dimension has an elegant mathematical interpretation as the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set of a quotient group of AdS$_3$, and use this to compute it, analytically near the boundary of moduli space and numerically in the interior of moduli space. We compare this to a CFT computation generalizing recent work of Belin, Keller and Zadeh, bounding the critical dimension using higher genus conformal blocks, and find a surprisingly good match

Children’s Use of Books During the School Day and the Home Literacy Environment

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of children looking at books in the reading area of the classroom and to see if there was a relationship with parent reports of the home literacy environment. Data was collected in a Career Technical School’s laboratory preschool classroom using a checklist for child book engagement. Also used was data from a survey, completed by parents, on the home literacy environment. Specifically of interest was children’s exposure to books as well as their interest in books while at home. The study found that the number of books at home did not have an impact on children choosing to look at books at school. Also, children who showed a low interest in books at school had parents who reported their child had a high interest in books at home