Bucknell University

Stone-Bury L.E., Segal D.L.

Abstract: The alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD) contains two diagnostic criteria: personality functioning and pathological personality traits. This study examined the temporal stability and predictive validity of the AMPD’s key constructs among older adults. A sample of older adults ( n = 172) completed AMPD and psychosocial functioning measures 3 months apart. Results indicated mixed evidence of the AMPD’s temporal stability among older adults. Predictive validity was supported, indicating that AMPD may be an adequate prognostic indicator in late life. This study provides further evidence in support of the validity and clinical utility of the AMPD among an older adult population, although some important areas of improvement remain. We discuss the findings in light of the broader PD, AMPD, and older adult personality literature.

Reynolds M., Anyadike-Danes N., Lagdon S., Aventin Á., Flack W.F., McGlinchey E., Armour C.

The consistently high prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences (USEs) on university campuses has led to increasing calls for evidence-based solutions to inform policies, training, and intervention development. However, Research Ethics Committees are often hesitant to approve sexual trauma research due to beliefs that asking participants about traumatic experiences will cause extreme distress. Conversely, previous literature has found that many participants who have experienced sexual trauma report positive reactions following their participation in such research. Studies have found that while immediate negative emotional reactions are common, this distress is short-term (e.g., lasting only minutes or hours after participation). The present study assessed 469 Northern Irish university students’ experiences of participating in research addressing USEs. The findings indicated that participating in USE research was a positive experience for participants, regardless of victimization status. Further, participants who reported a victimization experience did not report experiencing a negative emotional reaction to participating in the study. This article considers the ethics of conducting sexual trauma research among university students, with reference to common ethical concerns that can be addressed as part of the research process.

Boyd N.M., Piatak J.

Waldrep G.C.

Burns C., Perry K.

Campbell C.E., Norum R., Wynn G.

This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .

Dryden E.B., Gordon C., Moreno J., Rowlett J., Villegas-Blas C.

Abstract We explore the Steklov eigenvalue problem on convex polygons, focusing mainly on the inverse Steklov problem. Our primary finding reveals that, for almost all convex polygonal domains, there exist at most finitely many non-congruent domains with the same Steklov spectrum. Moreover, we obtain explicit upper bounds for the maximum number of mutually Steklov isospectral non-congruent polygonal domains. Along the way, we obtain isoperimetric bounds for the Steklov eigenvalues of a convex polygon in terms of the minimal interior angle of the polygon.

Dhar S., Gorkin P., Jeffrey S.

Duret C., Bartet T., Hambuckers A., Kishida O., Okada S., Taguchi Y., Takahashi M.K., Denoël M.

Giant salamanders are the world’s largest amphibians and keystone predators in riverine ecosystems where they face global declines. Identifying environmental variables influencing their distribution is, therefore, an essential step for their conservation. This study aims to assess the current habitat suitability and distribution of the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) and to predict changes under future climate scenarios. We used species distribution models (SDMs) over a 282,916 km² area, including 477 high-resolution occurrence data of giant salamanders and seven remote-sensing environmental predictors (climatic, topographic and land use). We projected the prediction maps, identified the most contributing variables and calculated the shifts of suitable areas for three periods (2050, 2070 and 2090) under projected climatic conditions. Climatic variables highly contributed to the distribution of giant salamanders (76% of the total), with preferences for areas with moderate precipitations during cold and wet seasons and mild summer temperatures. A moderately steep surrounding environment was favourable for salamanders, whereas the land-use variables had less influence. Future climate predictions indicate a major decrease of suitable areas. Altogether, our results highlight the habitat preferences of giant salamanders at a broad scale and the negative impact of climate change on future suitable areas. These findings provide important steps for upcoming conservation actions for this threatened species in delineating favourable distribution ranges and priority areas that should be directly affected by climate change. Finally, they emphasise the need for new research at a fine scale on disturbances to the aquatic habitat to enhance the conservation of giant salamanders. We used a species distribution model (MaxEnt), high-resolution occurrence data and remote sensing data (climatic, topographic and land use) to identify suitable habitats for the Japanese giant salamander in Japan. The most suitable environments for the Japanese giant salamander are located both within and beyond its current distribution range, with the ‘Japanese Alps’ forming an impassable natural barrier. Among the variables studied, precipitation of the warmest quarter, precipitation of the coldest quarter, mean temperature of the warmest quarter and mean temperature of the wettest quarter were the most important environmental predictors of the species’ distribution. Climate change is expected to severely reduce the potential suitable geographical areas for the Japanese giant salamander in the future. The present work calls for new surveys based on the projected maps to improve the mapping of salamander distribution and to focus on ecological features and threats at the aquatic habitat level to understand the risks to their populations.

Forfar M.J., Feudale C.R., Shaffer L.E., Ginder G.M., Duval M.E., Vovsha M., Smith Q.B., Chambers M.C., Smith S.J.

Scott J.B.

Abstract In this article, I extend the existing theoretical foundation on the mental load to the realm of academia. Using autoethnographic analysis paired with femme theory (Hoskin 2017), I argue that my experience of the mental load within academia distinctly illustrates the denigration of femininity and feminine traits while simultaneously relying upon them for the success and functionality of the workplace. As a result of sharing these autoethnographic vignettes and highlighting these experiences, I advocate for mechanisms to intervene into these phenomena, which impact the professional climate and experience for feminized academics. Ultimately, I highlight a few immediate practical applications for examining our own work cultures and advocating for cultures that are less femmephobic and which more readily recognize the value and contributions of feminized labor including the critical role of the mental load.

White G.W., Yamamoto J.K., Elsyad D.H., Schmitt J.F., Korsgaard N.H., Hu J.K., Gaines G.C., Frescino T.S., McConville K.S.

Nationwide Forest Inventories (NFIs) collect data on and monitor the trends of forests across the globe. Users of NFI data are increasingly interested in monitoring forest attributes such as biomass at fine geographic and temporal scales, resulting in a need for assessment and development of small area estimation techniques in forest inventory. We implement a small area estimator and parametric bootstrap estimator that account for zero-inflation in biomass data via a two-stage model-based approach and compare the performance to a Horvitz-Thompson estimator, a post-stratified estimator, and to the unit- and area-level empirical best linear unbiased prediction (EBLUP) estimators. We conduct a simulation study in Nevada with data from the United States NFI, the Forest Inventory & Analysis Program, and remote sensing data products. Results show the zero-inflated estimator has the lowest relative bias and the smallest empirical root mean square error. Moreover, the 95% confidence interval coverages of the zero-inflated estimator and the unit-level EBLUP are more accurate than the other two estimators. To further illustrate the practical utility, we employ a data application across the 2019 measurement year in Nevada. We introduce the R package, saeczi, which efficiently implements the zero-inflated estimator and its mean squared error estimator.

Azhar S.

The paper critically examines the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Daron Acemoğlu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. It argues that their work provides a mystified account of Paul Baran's seminal work on the political economy of growth, the long-run divergence between rich and poor countries, and the genocidal roots of settler colonialism.

Weil A.B., Gray M.B., Cush K.G., Needle M.D., Crider J.G.

Abstract Outstanding three-dimensional exposures of adjacent folds in an abandoned coal mine within the Appalachian Valley-and-Ridge tectonic province permit a detailed analysis of macroscopic strain accommodation by minor faulting in the lead up to and during buckle folding. A kinematic analysis of more than 900 outcrop-scale faults coupled with clearly established relative age relationships allows delineation of distinctive fault sets and their roles in accommodating strain within a quartz-dominated sandstone and an overlying silty shale. Conjugate contractional faults are interpreted as evidence of layer-parallel shortening (LPS) prior to and during fold initiation, based on geometric relationships to primary bedding. A clearly overprinting population of younger conjugate faults accommodate layer-parallel extension (LPE) that is both parallel and perpendicular to the fold axes; they are interpreted to have developed during fold limb rotation and fold tightening. Curving and overprinting slip lineations on some strike-slip faults track the transition from LPS to LPE during fold growth. Although the fault-related extensional linear strain magnitudes are relatively small, LPE faults are present in all fold dip domains, in two contrasting lithologies, and on adjacent open and tight folds, highlighting the importance of minor faulting and LPE strains in the formation of contractional buckle folds in the shallow crust. Our findings do not strictly conform with those predicted by classical conceptual models of buckle folds, such as orthogonal flexure or flexural slip. The work further suggests that bed-parallel extension, both axis-parallel and perpendicular, is an underappreciated component of three-dimensional, buckle folding–induced strain and that models for minor fault sets that accommodate three-dimensional strain during fold formation are currently incomplete.

Morin K.M.