34116 research outputs found
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Simultaneous Modeling of Occupancy and Behavior Dynamics
No full textChapters 1 – 3 report studies that focus on single state variables within behavioral systems. Behavioral systems, however, involve multiple state variables. In this chapter we demonstrate the efficacy of differential equation-based modeling which focuses on two state variables, behavior and habitat occupancy. This research was initially published in the journal Animal Behaviour in 2007 by Shandelle Henson, Brian Dennis, James Hayward, J. M. Cushing, and Joseph Galusha [16]
Envisioning an Ethically Engaged University Based on Value-Pluralism
No full textThis chapter advances a proposal for an ethically engaged university based on value-pluralism. Value pluralism refers to the existence of many types of ethical values and knowledge that are equally important for students’ ethical development: awareness, reflective dialogue, carefulness, and wisdom among others. The value-pluralistic ethically engaged university should prioritize providing educators, learners and policy-makers with fresh knowledge, ethical principles, and alternative future visions that are not tied down by the ‘dry technicality of skills.’ Hence, we posit that the core mission of an ethically engaged university based on value-pluralism should be to contribute significantly to developing planetary sustainability, social justice, critical consciousness, caring ethics, ecology, and humanity empowerment. By working to realize such goals, the ethically engaged university can powerfully help higher education return to its core mission—effectively educating students to be responsible, emancipated, creative, caring, and constructive citizens of a democratic society
Capturing chaos: a multidisciplinary approach to nonlinear population dynamics
No full textThe hypothesis of chaotic population dynamics was proposed in ecology by Robert May in the mid-1970s. At that time the idea was controversial, and it remains a fascinating and unsettled issue today. We report the results of a 20-year laboratory research programme that continued in the tradition of the pioneering ecologist Thomas Park using the Tribolium flour beetle model. We present biological evidence of complex population dynamics–including bifurcations, chaos, saddle nodes, phase switching, resonance effects, and multiple attractors–by using a low-dimensional difference equation model for Tribolium together with carefully designed, conducted, and statistically analysed experiments. The model, parameterized with data, also explains the results of historical Tribolium experiments, such as the classical competition studies of Thomas Park and his colleagues. Our research programme has inspired other studies using the Tribolium mathematical and laboratory model. This work was conducted by a multidisciplinary team, which included Jim Cushing
An Examination of the Influence of Ethnic Identity, Spirituality, and Social Support as Predictors of Resilience among Black Male College Graduates Born in the United States
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This study aimed to assess the influence of ethnic identity, spirituality, and social support on resilience among Black males (BM) who were born in the United States of America and are recent college graduates. The achievement gap between BM and their counterparts is among education\u27s most infuriating problems. Educators are more likely to dissuade Black men from going to college, and those who enroll drop out before they graduate (Noguera 2003; Wilborn 2013).
Method
This study employed a non-experimental, quantitative correlation research design using self-report questionnaires. The target population for this study was American-born Black males who were graduates from any four-year post-secondary institution in the United States of America. The 380 respondents in the study ranged from 21 to 35 years of age. The questionnaire used in this study included instruments such as the CD-RISC-25, which measured resilience, the MEIM-R, which measured ethnic identity, the ISS, which measured spirituality, and the MSPSS, which measured social support. Testing and analysis of the data was completed with structural equation modeling and descriptive statistics. A mediation analysis was also conducted to assess the relationship between spirituality and resilience, with social support as the mediator, and the relationship between social support and resilience with ethnic identity as a mediator.
Results
This study examined the nature of resilience among Black male college graduates in the United States. The findings revealed that Black male graduates possess moderate levels of resilience (M=77.7, SD=16.2). For the ethnic identity of Black male college graduates, results showed that the participants in the sample typically responded with relatively moderate to high ratings. (M=3.28, SD=0.57). Subsequently, the results showing the intrinsic spirituality (SI) of Black male college graduates indicated that approximately 75.3% of the participants who identified as spiritual in the sample endorsed within the moderate range to test items (M=4.66, SD=2.6; M=5.97, SD=3.0). This study also examined who provides Black male college graduates with social support. Findings showed that the participants received an adequate amount of perceived social support from mostly family and friends (M=5.18, SD=1.40; M=5.18, SD=1.38). Through an analysis using structural equation modeling, the hypothesized model demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data. (GFI =.92, NFI = .91, TLI=.93, and CFI = .94) The Chi-Square value of 257.32, df = 99, RMSEA of .07, and the SRMR of .28 of the initial model required modification, as the criterion for the SRMR index was not met. The respecified model showed a Chi-square value of 155.82, df = 70, and p = .000. and after an examination of the fit indices (SRMR= .12 RMSEA=.06, GFI =.95, NFI = .94, TLI=.96, and CFI = .97) it was clear an improved fit to the data was achieved. The results also indicated that social support was the best predictor of resilience among the participants in the sample. (β = .53, p \u3c .01). A mediation analysis assessed how spirituality affects the resilience of Black male college graduates through social support as a mediating variable. Results indicated that spirituality had an insignificant indirect effect on resilience through social support (β = 0.033, p=.003, unstandardized, β =0.064, p=.223 standardized). In addition, a mediation analysis was completed to determine how social support affects the resilience of Black male college graduates through ethnic identity as a mediating variable. Results revealed that ethnic identity partially mediates the association between resilience and social support (β = 0.084, p=.004, unstandardized, β =0.140, p=.005 standardized).
Conclusion
This study revealed that Black male college graduates persevere during times of adversity, have a clear sense of their ethnic identity, and tend to be most resilient when they receive adequate social support. The result of the current study contributes to the gap in the literature investigating the relationship between ethnic identity, social support, and spirituality as it relates to the resilience of Black male college graduates. Counseling psychologists, as well as other professionals who work with Black males and other at-risk populations, can use the information garnered from this study to make further contributions to the framework of resilience
Examining Christ’s Method of Ministering to People Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A Theoretical Analysis
Get PDFThis article seeks to view Christ’s Method through the lens of Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of Needs. The ensuing theoretical discourse adheres to a structured framework, encompassing the following components: Introduction, Christ’s Methods as Found in Scripture, Christ’s Method as Articulated by Ellen G. White, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Christ’s Method and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Application and Implications, and a Concluding Section
