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[Objective] An ecological security pattern with regional characteristics was constructed in order to provide a scientific reference for the protection of the ecological environment and the construction and zoning management of ecological security patterns at the county level. [Methods] Referring to the Guide for Delimitation of Ecological Protection Red Lines, we selected four indicators for quantitative evaluation of ecology at Yongchun County in Fujian Province: soil and water conservation, water conservation, biodiversity protection, and forestry protection. The minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model and the gravity model were used to build the wildlife corridor, evaluate the importance of the corridor by grades, extract ecological nodes, and construct the ecological security pattern of Yongchun County. [Results] A total of 11 ecological source areas were identified in Yongchun County, with a total area of 64.8 km2, accounting for 4.45% of the total area. Fifty-five ecological corridors and 27 ecological nodes were constructed, including 25 important corridors and 30 secondary corridors that were concentrated in the central and eastern regions with a reticular distribution. [Conclusion] According to the results of ecological source identification and corridor division, an ecological security pattern framework for Yongchun County was constructed, with source as the core, corridor as the network, and ecological nodes as the focus. The interaction intensities between ecological source areas were obviously different. The distribution densities of source areas and the stability of the wildlife corridor in the central region were greater than in the western region, and should be regarded as key protection areas.

The trajectory of successfully completing an undergraduate educational program, attaining postgraduate employment, and beginning advanced degree programs was examined using the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B: 2008/2012), a large U.S. nationally representative longitudinal sample survey of college graduates who completed the requirements for a baccalaureate degree. The third cohort of this longitudinal study was used to compare participants' status at the time of graduation and four years post-graduation. It was hypothesized that graduates whose post baccalaureate employment experiences related to their baccalaureate majors would be more likely to enroll in additional advanced degree studies, and that the post-baccalaureate field of study would be similar to the undergraduate major among those who pursued a graduate degree. Race, gender, disability, and immigration status were entered as control variables. Findings show that within two years, 42.1% of graduates had initiated postsecondary education. These data indicate that graduates were more likely to pursue degrees which were similar to their baccalaureate degree majors. If their bachelor degree majors were health professions, the likelihood that they pursued graduate-level health professional training and related sciences were highest (p<.001). By attending and finishing college, baccalaureate degree recipients heavily invest in their career by using their financial and non-financial resources. College students with fewer resources are less likely to successfully graduate, attain post-graduate employment in their field, and pursue post-baccalaureate studies. Instituting a competency-based curriculum in baccalaureate programs may improve opportunities for students to gain successful employment experiences, increase labor market outcomes, thus narrowing the divide between students with and without financial and non-financial resources.

Despite wide application of research skills in higher education, undergraduate students reported research and computer anxiety, and low association between research and their professional goals. This study aims to assess whether peer-assisted mentoring programs would promote positive changes in undergraduates' attitudes toward research. Using a quasi-experimental one-group, pretest-posttest research design, the study assessed changes in attitudes by having doctoral candidates mentor undergraduate students during a summer statistics camp. Findings from paired-samples t-test indicated that students became familiar with the twelve statistical concepts upon completion, gained more positive affect related to statistics and an increase in their positive attitude about statistical skills, whereas they had lower scores prior to it. Notwithstanding the small sample size, these data indicate that including a peer assisted statistics camp in the academic curriculum would be beneficial for undergraduate students and increase their knowledge about research and statistics.

A declining enrollment in doctoral social work programs not only affects the sustainability of the programs, but also impacts the knowledge-based economy in the long run. The shortage of doctoral-prepared faculty, interwoven with the current national shortage of social workers, will limit effective service delivery, and generation of knowledge base for direct practice and policy advocates. Little is known about the barriers and strategies in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Two focus groups with in-depth interviews were conducted among Master of Social Work (MSW) students at a four-year public university. The study resulted in a wide range of identifiable strategies to boost the doctoral enrollment in the social work program, including more summer courses, more online courses, more flexible class time, higher integration of technology in the classroom and better curriculum structure. Findings suggest that non-traditional becomes the new traditional. With the advancement in smartphone and wireless technology, the University can reposition the program, seek for ways to serve the new traditional student population, and improve the infrastructure to accommodate students' digital needs.

We introduce the stable perturbation of matrices over an arbitrary ∗ {\ast} -ring with respect to pseudo core inverses, which extends the stable perturbation of square complex matrices with respect to core-EP inverses. Let A and B be pseudo core invertible matrices over a unital ∗ {\ast} -ring. Then B is called a stable perturbation of A with respect to pseudo core inverses if ℛ ⁢ ( A k ) ∩ 풩 ⁢ ( ( B s ) ∗ ) = { 0 } {\mathcal{R}(A^{k})\cap\mathcal{N}((B^{s})^{\ast})=\{0\}} and ℛ ⁢ ( B s ) ∩ 풩 ⁢ ( ( A k ) ∗ ) = { 0 } {\mathcal{R}(B^{s})\cap\mathcal{N}((A^{k})^{\ast})=\{0\}} , where k and s are pseudo core indices of A and B, respectively. It is shown that if R is a right FP-injective ring, then B is a stable perturbation of A if and only if I - ( B π - A π ) 2 {I-(B^{\pi}-A^{\pi})^{2}} is invertible, where A π = I - A ⁢ A \⃝raisebox{0.569055pt}{$\scriptstyle{D}$} {A^{\pi}=I-AA^{\text{\textcircled{\raisebox{0.2mm}{$\scriptstyle{D}$}}}}} and B π = I - B ⁢ B \⃝raisebox{0.569055pt}{$\scriptstyle{D}$} {B^{\pi}=I-BB^{\text{\textcircled{\raisebox{0.2mm}{$\scriptstyle{D}$}}}}} are spectral projectors of A and B, respectively. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for B to be a stable perturbation of A in terms of the invertibility of certain matrices involving pseudo core inverses of A and B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-five veterans were recruited from an historically Black university (HBCU) using purposive, non-probability sampling to study their transition to college. Schlossberg's 4Ss transition model evaluated their Situation (operationalized as combat exposure, dangerous duty), Self (current depressive symptoms), Supports/Deficits (marital status/disability), and Strategies for coping (insurance, income). Bivariate analyses and multivariate regression evaluated the relationship of the independent variable (score on the Combat Exposure Scale) and dependent variable (Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression score), controlling for socio-demographics factors, support, and strategies for coping. The interaction effect of combat exposure or dangerous duty (henceforth referred to as "combat exposure") and having a disability were assessed to investigate whether change occurred in response to the exposure of combat on disability status. Thirty-three percent of the sample reported a military-related disability, 53% used military insurance, more than half the sample's income source was military compensation, and more than half used the GI Bill. Severity of combat exposure predicted higher depression score (p < 0.01) but the relationship was greater among disabled students (p = 0.015) and less among married students (p = 0.033). Schlossberg's 4S theory was partially supported. Neither strategies for coping predicted fewer depressive symptoms in this sample.

Background. As China has undergone tremendous socioeconomic and demographic changes during and after the pandemic, it is crucial to enhance youth well-being and facilitate their transition into the workforce. This study aims to explore the multi-dimensional features of well-being and examine their relationships with fairness and trust. Methods. Using the nationally representative data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this study analyzes the well-being of 1726 young adults aged 18 to 34 years old living in 19 provinces in China. Results. The research findings generate five latent factors of well-being and reveal the multi-faceted nature of subjective well-being, including physical and mental health challenges, positive outlook, sense of purpose, personal growth, and self-fulfillment. Physical and mental health is the cornerstone for well-being and happiness. Young people with poor physical and mental health conditions are less likely to perceive that society is fair or that people are trustworthy. Additionally, a positive outlook and future orientation are strongly associated with high fairness and/or trust. Discussion and Conclusions. By investigating the differential domains of well-being, this study contributes to the literature with the new conceptualization of well-being sub-measures and their application to youth. Furthermore, this study identifies that well-being is not only an individual-level characteristic but also a group-level attribute that can contribute to fairness and trust at the societal level. As China continues to expand its infrastructure on education, health, and technology, it is expected that sustainable economic growth and development should boost young people's career development and promote their upward mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen, a clean resource with high energy density, is one of the most promising alternatives to fossil. Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers are beneficial for hydrogen production because of their high current density, facile operation, and high gas purity. However, the large‐scale application of electrochemical water splitting to acidic electrolytes is severely limited by the sluggish kinetics of the anodic reaction and the inadequate development of corrosion‐ and highly oxidation‐resistant anode catalysts. Therefore, anode catalysts with excellent performance and long‐term durability must be developed for anodic oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in acidic media. This review comprehensively outlines three commonly employed strategies, namely, defect, phase, and structure engineering, to address the challenges within the acidic OER, while also identifying their existing limitations. Accordingly, the correlation between material design strategies and catalytic performance is discussed in terms of their contribution to high activity and long‐term stability. In addition, various nanostructures that can effectively enhance the catalyst performance at the mesoscale are summarized from the perspective of engineering technology, thus providing suitable strategies for catalyst design that satisfy industrial requirements. Finally, the challenges and future outlook in the area of acidic OER are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]