Clarke University

Single parent students remain an understudied population in STEM education research, despite facing substantial financial, time, and caregiving constraints. This study examines STEM degree completion and early labor market outcomes of single parent students using nationally representative data. Focusing on students who declared STEM majors and persisted into their senior year, the study compares STEM degree completion rates by single parent student status. It also examines students who earned STEM degrees to assess persistence in STEM occupations and income levels one and four years after graduation by single parent student status. The results indicate that single parent students who reach their senior year complete STEM degrees at rates comparable to those who are not single parent students. Among STEM graduates, single parent graduates demonstrate similar persistence in STEM careers and comparable income one and four years after graduation. The findings suggest that inequities in the STEM pipeline for single parent students may be concentrated earlier in the undergraduate years, particularly in STEM major enrollment and persistence in college. Future research should examine STEM major enrollment by single parent student status and employ longitudinal designs to analyze rates of STEM persistence and degree completion conditional on initial STEM enrollment by single parent student status. Mixed-methods studies are needed to examine how early academic performance and STEM-specific self-efficacy shape long-term educational and career trajectories in STEM for single parent students.

American policing is in the midst of a staffing crisis characterized by high rates of attrition fueled by job dissatisfaction and burnout. Organizations have responded in kind by recruiting individuals whose background characteristics could serve as an asset for police work, including those with higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI), a known predictor of a range of positive occupational outcomes. In the current study, we examine the sociodemographic correlates that predict EI, with an explicit focus on military veterans who are currently employed as police officers. The results of our study indicate that, in these agencies, veterans report higher EI than nonveterans and that specific sociodemographic characteristics are modestly associated with emotional competencies. These patterns suggest that veteran status may be one correlate of EI in policing and point to directions for future research on how emotional competencies relate to recruitment, retention, and occupational outcomes.

AIMS:The current state of entry-level physical therapy edu¬cation lacks a focus on health promotion, despite the global rise in prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Physical therapists have the potential to play a key role in NCD prevention through patient education and intervention. This study aimed to enhance entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students' knowledge, beliefs, assessment, and intervention abilities related to nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, and substance use avoidance. LITERATURE REVIEW:The American Physical Therapy Association advocates for the inclusion of wellness topics in physical therapy, yet research reveals that entry-level DPT programs offer limited training in areas such as nutrition, wellness, and prevention. Similar educational gaps exist in medical training, hindering practitioners' counseling effectiveness. SUBJECTS:First-year DPT students enrolled in an entry-level physical therapist education program. METHODS:A 12-hour lecture-based course with active learning, discussions, and mock interviews was integrated into their existing curriculum over a period of 3 weeks. Affective behaviors were measured through previously validated self-reported outcome measures. RESULTS:Nineteen students, with an average age of 22.3 years, completed the study. Thirteen had prior nutrition education, while few had background in sleep, smoking cessation, or stress management. Pre- and post-course assessments using the Patient Health Questionnaire-8, Start the Conversation, and Sleep Inventory Score showed no significant affective change (p>0.05). However, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form indicated a significant reduction in activity (p<0.05). The pre-course exam average score was 51.6%, which improved to 80.5% post-course (p<0.001, Cohen's d = 1.86), showing significant knowledge gains. CONCLUSION:Undergraduate education was insufficient in preparing DPT students in health promotion education for this small sample. Only 12 hours of teaching intervention in the curriculum significantly improved knowledge and confidence in health promotion with a large effect size. Although affective behavior was unchanged, students performed well in mock interviews, reflecting successful knowledge application.

Adam Smith's two distinct benefits from foreign trade were offered to dissuade others from adopting the mercantilist view that there is one principal gain from trade: the importation of money. Although Smith's two benefits received considerable attention in the literature, there was no consensus on what Smith meant by his two benefits. This paper offers a new interpretation of those benefits. Smith's first benefit is a micro benefit, with its impact on individuals. That benefit is the subjective value creation that results from voluntary international exchange. Both parties to the exchange experience an improvement in their living standard. Smith's second benefit is a macro benefit, impacting the economy at large. International trade extends markets and allows for production on a larger scale. A greater division of labor increases labor productivity and increases the national product. This increase in aggregate production is the second benefit from foreign trade. What makes this interpretation of Smith's two benefits attractive is the evidence that Adam Smith concurs with the interpretation.

We give a crystal structure on the set of Gelfand-Tsetlin patterns which parametrize bases for finite-dimensional irreducible representations of the general linear Lie algebra. The crystal data are given in closed form, expressed using tropical polynomial functions of the entries of the patterns. We prove that with this crystal structure, the natural bijection between Gelfand-Tsetlin patterns and semistandard Young tableaux is a crystal isomorphism.