Advancing Diversity in Behavior Genetics: Strategies for Incorporating Undergraduates into Student-Driven Research

Undergraduate research experiences are crucial for fostering the next generation of behavior genetics researchers. However, incorporating undergraduates into research can be challenging for faculty mentors. In this article, we provide strategies for successfully integrating undergraduates into behavior genetics research based on our experiences mentoring undergraduates in our lab. These strategies include: (1) Practicing reflexivity, specifically an ongoing self-examination and critical self-awareness of personal biases, beliefs, and practices; (2) Implementing an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) centered approach; (3) empowering students through clear expectations; (4) Providing focused training and mentorship; (5) Aligning research projects with student interests; (6) Assigning meaningful tasks; and (7) Facilitating professional development opportunities. By following these strategies, faculty mentors can cultivate a supportive and inclusive research environment that empowers undergraduates for successful careers in behavior genetics research.

Gap between Willingness and Behaviors: Understanding the Consistency of Farmers' Green Production in Hainan, China

The green transformation of production modes plays an essential role in the sustainable development of China's agriculture and the modernization process, but there is often a deviation between farmers' behavior and their willingness regarding green production. This paper analyzed the factors influencing the deviation of farmers' green production behaviors from their willingness, along with their hierarchical logic structure, using the ordered logit model and ISM model with field survey data of 436 households in Hainan Province. The results show that: (1) there are deviations between farmers' green production behavior and willingness; (2) age, number of dependents, peer influence, and social networks aggravate farmers' green production behavior-willingness deviation, while ethnicity, education, land fragmentation, agricultural expenditure, land transfer, neighborhood learning, and green production cognition mitigate the deviation; (3) among the significant influencing factors, farmers' perceptions of green production, peer influence, land transfer, and agricultural expenditure are the direct surface factors, while neighborhood learning, land fragmentation, and number of dependents are the middle indirect factors, and farmers' education, social networks, age, and ethnicity are the deep-rooted factors. This study sheds more light and detail on the understanding of the factors influencing farmers' green production behavior-willingness deviation, and provides more practical and relevant guidance for the agricultural green development in tropical China.

Nursing students admitted through the affirmative action system display similar performance in professional and academic trajectories to those from the regular path in a public school in Brazil

Objectives

Affirmative action providing higher education access for socially vulnerable students has been implemented in several countries. However, these policies remain controversial. This study compares the performance of students admitted through the regular path and social quota systems, during and after completion of nursing education, in a public nursing school in Brazil.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included all students admitted to nursing school at the School of Health Sciences (ESCS), Brazil, between 2009 and 2014, who were followed until May 2020. The first phase involved document analysis from the ESCS academic management system and Brazilian government agencies. In the second phase, a survey was conducted among the alumni. The social quota system criterion was public school attendance across all primary and secondary education levels.

Results

Of the 448 students included in the study, 178 (39.7%) were from the affirmative action and 270 (60.3%) from the regular path systems. Affirmative action students were older at the time of nursing school admission (p < 0.001) and took longer to be admitted to the nursing school (p < 0.001) after completing high school. There were no significant differences in the dropout rates and years to complete nursing school. In the second phase, 108 alumni answered the survey. No significant differences were found in their participation in the undergraduate scientific research program and university extension projects, attending residency programs, getting a master’s degree and doctoral degree, monthly income, teaching activity, joining public service through a government job competition process, participation in management activities in the private and public health sector, and degree of job satisfaction.

Conclusion

Our results revealed that affirmative action is a policy that contributes to the reduction of inequalities and guarantees the training of nursing professionals with a similar professional qualification received through affirmative action and regular path systems.

The Deviation of the Behaviors of Rice Farmers from Their Stated Willingness to Apply Biopesticides-A Study Carried Out in Jilin Province of China

The substitution of chemical pesticides by biopesticides is crucial to ensure the quality of agricultural products and to foster environmental sustainability. This study takes the willingness and the behaviors of rice farmers on the application of biopesticides as the research object. The survey questionnaire was designed based on the theory of rational small-scale farmers from three aspects: "individual and family characteristics of farmers", "cognition of farmers" and "external factors". The survey was then conducted on 163 rice farmers in seven prefecture-level cities in Jilin Province of China. The logistic model was used to analyze the influencing factors resulting in the deviation of the behaviors of the rice farmers from their initial willingness on the application of biopesticides. The explanatory structure model (ISM) was used to analyze the logical hierarchical relationship among various influencing factors. The results show that: (1) For 45% of the farmers surveyed, there's a deviation between their willingness and behaviors regarding the application of biopesticides; (2) Among the significant factors leading to the deviation between farmers' willingness and behaviors concerning the application of biopesticides, the surface-level direct factor is biopesticide awareness. The mid-level indirect factors are agricultural product quality and safety awareness and the deep-level root cause is farmers' education level. (3) The primary reason for the deviation of the farmers' behaviors from their willingness is their lack of knowledge about biopesticides and the biopesticides' incomplete market structure. Based on the comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to improve the professionalization of the farmers, to strengthen the publicity of green production and to accelerate the formulation of the biopesticides market to further promote the usage of biopesticides.

The governmental ranking of class and the academic performance of Indian adolescents

Social and economic factors are commonly examined as contextual variables that predict academic achievement, apart from the educational environment. In India, a major segment of the socioeconomic status of students comprises the governmental stratification of population into three broad classes, viz., scheduled castes/tribes (SC-ST), other backward classes (OBC) and general class (GC). In this study, we examined the association of these governmental classes with the academic performance of Indian adolescents who enjoy the same school environment. Psychological measures of self-esteem and life satisfaction as well as demographic variables such as gender, age and family income were also examined as covariates. The study was conducted on a convenient sample of 858 students of X and XI grades. Based on multilevel regression models, the relationship between governmental classes and academic performance was significantly positive, wherein higher level of class predicted better academic performance. The study highlighted that students from the same school environment performed differently based on their social status and that this difference was not a function of their family income, thus pointing to potential role of non-economic aspects of the governmental stratification including caste affiliation. The findings indicate the need for further examining as well as planning to improve the aspects of students’ social status that impact academic performance.