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Transformative leadership conversation: a conceptualization and empirical test of its function

PurposeThe study begins by defining and conceptualizing Transformative Leadership Conversation (TLC). The conceptualization addresses the meaning of transformation, sensemaking and learning dialogue, and the conversation structures of framing, questioning and listening, and affirming. Next, the authors build a theoretical argument from self-determination theory on the function of TLC. The study concludes with an empirical test of the structure and function of TLC.Design/methodology/approachThere were two parts to the empirical study. First, the authors designed and tested a scale to measure TLC by its structural features (e.g. questioning, listening and affirming language). Second, the authors used a correlational design with ex-post facto data to test the primary assumption that TLC activates autonomous motivation and action. Data came from a random sample of 2,500 teachers in a southwestern state. Useable responses were obtained from 1,615 teachers, for a response rate of 65%.FindingsThe empirical tests reveal that the 12-item and 6-item measure of the School Leader Transformative Conversation Scale present valid and reliable evidence on the frequent use of TLC. Consistent with the hypothesized model, TLC had a direct, positive relationship with teacher vitality. It also had a negative relationship with autonomy frustration and a positive indirect effect on teacher vitality by reducing the negative effect of autonomy frustration.Originality/valueTLC advances a new conceptual lens to study school leadership as a discursive process. The concept opens lines of inquiry that have not yet been examined in school settings.

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Review of range-wide vital rates quantifies Eastern Wild Turkey population trajectory

Recent declines in eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) has prompted increased interest in management and research of this important game species. However, the mechanisms underlying these declines are unclear, leaving uncertainty in how best to manage this species. Foundational to effective management of wildlife species is understanding the biotic and abiotic factors that influence demographic parameters and the contribution of vital rates to population growth. Our objectives for this study were to: 1) conduct a literature review to collect all published vital rates for eastern wild turkey over the last 50 years, 2) perform a scoping review of the biotic and abiotic factors that have been studied relative to wild turkey vital rates and highlight areas that require additional research, and 3) use the published vital rates to populate a life-stage simulation analysis (LSA) and identify the vital rates that make the greatest contribution to population growth. Based on published vital rates for eastern wild turkey, we estimated a mean asymptotic population growth rate (λ) of 0.91 (95% CI = 0.71, 1.12). Vital rates associated with after second year (ASY) females were most influential in determining population growth. Survival of ASY females had the greatest elasticity (0.53), while reproduction of ASY females had lower elasticity (0.21), but high process variance, causing it to explain a greater proportion of variance in λ. Our scoping review found that most research has focused on the effects of habitat characteristics at nest sites and the direct effects of harvest on adult survival, while research on topics such as disease, weather, predators, or anthropogenic activity on vital rates have received less attention. We recommend that future research take a more mechanistic approach to understanding variation in wild turkey vital rates as this will assist managers in determining the most appropriate management approach.

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Open Access
Student trust in school peers: a relational condition for optimal school functioning

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to establish a line of inquiry into student trust in school peers by: (1) developing a valid and reliable measure and (2) investigating the potential influence of student trust in school peers on optimal school functioning.Design/methodology/approachA non-experimental, survey research design was used. Ex-post facto data were collected in the spring of 2017 and spring of 2019 from a random sample of students in either the 5th, 7th, 9th or 11th grades in 79 schools located in a southwestern city in the US. Two types of analyses were performed. First, structural and convergent validity of the items measuring student trust in school peers were tested with a confirmatory factor analysis, and correlations with bullying and safety. The second analysis tested a hypothesized model with a full structural equation model using robust maximum likelihood estimation.FindingsConfirmatory factor analysis results report that items used to measure student trust in school peers share common variance with the latent trust factor. Both the 10-item and five-item measures had good model fit and parameter estimates. Additionally, the five-item measure had strong relationships with bullying and safety. As specified in the hypothesized model, student trust in peers had a strong, positive relationship with identification with school and positive, yet not as strong, of a relationship with academic grit. These relationships existed when accounting for student perceived teacher support.Originality/valueThis study extends trust research to students' relational connections by conceptualizing student trust in school peers as a cognitive belief, constructing a valid measure and finding a relationship between student–peer trust and elements optimal school functioning.

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Entrepreneurship and institutional uncertainty

PurposeThe study aims to demonstrate how different arrangements and characteristics of institutions can generate or mitigate uncertainty thereby facilitating or hampering the possibilities of entrepreneurial action.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that advances the theoretical understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurial uncertainty and the different institutional levels, their characteristics and their interplay.FindingsEntrepreneurial uncertainty also comes from the institutional environment and this has direct impact on the propensity to take action. The characteristics of the different institutional levels, in specific, their quality, stability, alignment and the burden imposed by L2 impact in the emergence of entrepreneurial uncertainty.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a conceptual paper that makes a number of theoretical suggestions which need to be further analyzed by empirical work.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that different institutional levels need to be dealt with differently by research studies and institutional agents, including policy makers. Among others, the findings also suggest that stability is key to entrepreneurship and that the benefits of high quality regulation can be undermined by its excessive burden, reducing entrepreneurial action and harming development.Social implicationsInstitutional actors should provide stability and allow for the improvement of the environment overall. Specifically, policy makers should aim at good quality regulation that is valid across the board, that provides stability and gives room for improvement of the institutions. Policy makers should refrain from trying to foster specific industries; they should instead provide a leveled playing field without trying to direct the entrepreneurial efforts towards an industry or geographic region and without being overly demeaning.Originality/valueThis research breaks new ground. It unites ideas from entrepreneurship and institutions suggesting a novel, much more nuanced approach to their interplay. The results can be used by scholars in the fields of entrepreneurship, institutions and economic development. They also have the potential to help to educate policy makers in their quest to improve the context for entrepreneurs.

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Stabilization and Long-Term Outcome of a Tibiotarsal Fracture in a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) Using a Supracutaneous Plating Technique

AbstractThe aim of this study was to report the successful outcome of a tibiotarsal fracture in a turkey vulture managed with a supracutaneous plating technique. This is a case report study design. A juvenile male turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) was presented unable to walk. Physical exam revealed instability in the left tibiotarsus. Radiographs confirmed a comminuted mid-diaphyseal fracture of the left tibiotarsus. The turkey vulture underwent fracture stabilization using fluoroscopic guidance with a 12-hole 2.4-mm locking compression plate (LCP) placed in a supracutaneous fashion with locking screws proximally and distally. The turkey vulture was ambulatory immediately following surgery, and lameness had resolved by day three. Four weeks postoperatively, radiographs demonstrated loss of cortical bone density, and the construct was dynamized. At 6 weeks postoperatively, radiographs revealed a bridging callus, and all implants were removed. Following an additional 2 weeks of cage rest, recheck radiographs confirmed continued fracture healing and increased cortical density. At week nine, the turkey vulture was transitioned to a pre-release flight cage where the vulture was noted to set flight, land, grasp, walk, and perch normally. The turkey vulture was released 12 weeks postoperatively. This case report documents the successful functional outcome of a closed, comminuted mid-diaphyseal fracture of the tibiotarsus in a minimally invasive manner utilizing a supracutaneous plating technique. Based on a literature search, this is the first report utilizing supracutaneous plating for a tibiotarsal fracture in a turkey vulture.

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Open Access
Assessment of Intellectual Disability With the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition: Analysis of Part Score Profiles and Diagnostic Outcomes

This study examined the group and individual part score profiles of individuals with mild intellectual disability (ID) who participated in a clinical validity study supporting the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and a comparison group without ID derived from the WISC-V norming sample. Descriptive analyses revealed that both groups exhibited flat profiles of part scores (i.e., the five WISC-V factor indexes), with mean global composites and part scores in the Very Low range for the ID group and in the Average range for the comparison group. However, few participants in either group exhibited profiles similar to their respective group profile, and many in both groups exhibited substantial profile scatter. Examination of global composites and part scores obtained by individuals with ID revealed that the WISC-V’s global composites consistently identified those with ID using score thresholds of 70 to 75, but many individuals with ID obtained part scores much higher than this criterion. No meaningful differences were found between Black and White participants with ID. Implications focus on the risks associated with using part score elevation or profile scatter to defer identification of ID when all other criteria for the condition have been met. Impact Statement Because the cognitive profile of those with intellectual disability (ID) is generally low and flat, indicating a deficit in overall intellectual functioning with little variation among part scores, many presume that individuals with this disorder will exhibit the same pattern. Although most individuals with ID exhibit a low IQ consistent with the disorder, many exhibit much higher part scores, and significant part score scatter is common in individuals with ID. Failure to identify individuals with ID due to part score elevation or to significant profile scatter will likely have unintended negative consequences.

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High speed visual insect swarm tracker (Hi-VISTA) used to identify the effects of confinement on individual insect flight

Individual insects flying in crowded assemblies perform complex aerial maneuvers by sensing and feeding back neighbor measurements to small changes in their wing motions. To understand the individual feedback rules that permit these fast, adaptive behaviors in group flight, both experimental preparations inducing crowded flight and high-speed tracking systems capable of tracking both body motions and more subtle wing motion changes for multiple insects in simultaneous flight are needed. This measurement capability extends tracking beyond the previous focus on individual insects to multiple insects. This paper describes an experimental preparation that induces crowded insect flight in more naturalistic conditions (a laboratory-outdoor transition tunnel) and directly compares the resulting flight performance to traditional flight enclosures. Measurements are made possible via the introduction of a multi-agent high speed insect tracker called Hi-VISTA, which provides a capability to track wing and body motions of multiple insects using high speed cameras (9000–12 500 fps). Processing steps consist of automatic background identification, data association, hull reconstruction, segmentation, and feature measurement. To improve the biological relevance of laboratory experiments and develop a platform for interaction studies, this paper applies the Hi-VISTA measurement system to Apis mellifera foragers habituated to transit flights through the transparent transition environment. Binary statistical analysis (Welch’s t-test, Cohen’s d effect size) of 95 flight trajectories is presented, quantifying the differences between flights in an unobstructed environment and in a confined tunnel volume. The results indicate that body pitch angle, heading rate, flapping frequency, and vertical speed (heave) are each affected by confinement, and other flight variables show minor or statistically insignificant changes. These results form a baseline as swarm tracking and analysis begins to isolate the effects of neighbors from environmental enclosures, and improve the connection of high speed insect laboratory experiments to outdoor field experiments.

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Open Access