Attainable Values Research Articles

Examining interactions between baseline expectancy beliefs and task values on weekly motivation in an introductory statistics course

Situated expectancy-value theory is one of the most prominent theories for examining students’ motivational beliefs, suggesting that both students’ expectancy beliefs and task values are antecedents of important academic outcomes. Further, interactions between expectancy beliefs and task values often exist and suggest critical theoretical considerations. In this study, we examined how the interaction between students’ baseline expectancy beliefs and task values (utility, attainment, interest, and cost) predicts weekly motivational beliefs in an introductory statistics course for psychology majors in the United States (N = 145) using an intensive longitudinal design. Using multilevel modeling, we found interaction effects of expectancy beliefs x attainment value on weekly competence and cost, expectancy beliefs x anticipated cost on weekly value, expectancy beliefs x interest value on weekly cost. Results suggested that having high baseline value, or low cost, may be unable to buffer against low expectancy beliefs. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Costly involved? An examination of latent motivational profiles in physical education

ABSTRACT Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) posits that expectancy for success, task value, and perceptions of cost are pivotal motivational factors influencing learning in a specific educational setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the profiles of expectancy, value, and cost beliefs pertaining to participation in physical education. Additionally, this study aimed to explore the longitudinal associations between these belief profiles and students’ demographics (gender, grade), class engagement and cardiorespiratory fitness throughout a school year. A total of 455 students from two urban public middle schools in China participated in this study, with latent profile analyses employed for the analysis. Three distinct profiles were identified: a high cost with moderate attainment value profile, a high expectancy-value with moderate effort cost profile, and a moderate mixed motivation profile. Further analyses demonstrated associations between gender and grade level with latent profile memberships (b = 1.13, SE = .31, p < .01). The high expectancy-value with moderate effort cost profile exhibited higher initial class engagement compared to the other two profiles (χ²(2) = 18.74, p < .01), while the decline in cardiorespiratory fitness over time was most pronounced in the high cost with moderate attainment value profile (χ²(2) = 5.10, p < .05). This study enhances our comprehension of the amalgamation of various motivational beliefs within student groups and emphasises the importance of taking into account diverse perceptions of cost. Tailored support may be crucial for students with differing motivational beliefs to foster continuous development in physical education.

Sex-specific guideline target value attainment and prognostic value of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in tertiary care

Abstract Background Factors contributing to guideline-target-level-attainment of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in countries with high healthcare expenditure are incompletely understood. Purpose the primary aim of this study was to test two hypotheses: 1) LDL-C control may be inferior in women versus men; 2) within the secondary prevention group, presence of a previous acute atherothrombotic event (acute myocardial infarction and stroke) may result in superior LDL-C control. Methods LDL-C levels and guideline target level attainment were determined in 4090 consecutive patients referred for myocardial perfusion single photon emission tomography (MPI-SPECT) between 2010 and 2016. Findings were validated in an independent cohort (n=1228) of consecutively enrolled patients in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program, between 2016 and 2023. Results About one third of patients (33%) were women, median age was 68 years, 1439 patients had a history of atherothrombosis, 759 patients a history of atherosclerosis without atherothrombosis, and 1892 were in primary prevention. LDL-C levels were higher and guideline target level attainment worse in women than in men in all three strata: age-adjusted difference in atherothrombosis 0.19 mmol/L (95%CI 0.03,0.35 mmol), guideline-target-value-attainment 39.5 % versus 49.4%, p&amp;lt;0.01; in atherosclerosis 0.33 mmol/L (95%CI 0.10-0.57), guideline-target-value-attainment 27.3 % versus 42.2 %, p&amp;lt;0.01; and in primary prevention 0.24 mmol/L (95% CI 0.13-0.38). This was confirmed in the validation cohort. LDL-C levels were higher and guideline-target-value-attainment worse in women versus men: age-adjusted difference age-adjusted difference 0.17 mmol/L (95%CI 0.02-0.33) guideline-target-value-attainment 43.8% versus 49.5%, After multivariate adjustment, female sex remained an independent predictor for higher LDL-C levels. LDL-C concentrations with atherothrombosis was 1.93 mmol/L (IQR 1.48-2.47) versus 2.07 mmol/L (IQR 1.40-2.72, p=0.003) with atherosclerosis and guideline target value attainment 47.5% vs 38.6%, p&amp;lt;0.001, respectively. Conclusion Concerning age-adjusted sex-inequalities with higher LDL-C levels and lower guideline-target-value-attainment in women were found in both primary and secondary prevention. Within secondary prevention, a previous atherothrombotic event was associated with lower LDL-C levels and higher guideline-target-value-attainment.

Undergraduate persistence in an open-access, online, scientific computing training is influenced by expectancy, value, and cost

During 2020 a free, 3-month long, certificate-granting, online workshop was offered to increase undergraduates’ knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and interest in observational seismology and scientific computing. Course registrants were comprised of 760 upper-level undergraduates from across science and math majors, representing 60 countries. Performance data revealed 58% of registrants initiated the workshop by completing at least one assignment, and 30% successfully completed the full workshop. These rates were higher than most comparable large-scale, open-access courses. This study explores factors associated with persistence by examining registration, performance, and pre/post survey data through the lens of the expectancy-value theory (EVT). Results indicate that EVT constructs show moderate to weak associations with initiation, including intrinsic (p<.001), utility (p<.001), and attainment value (p=.24), and expectancy (e.g., completion intentions [p<.001], prior computing experience [p<.001], seismology research experience [p=.01], seismology self-efficacy [p=.84]). Two expectancy factors, academic major (p=.050) and prior geophysics coursework (p<.001), showed weak associations with completion. Demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, and gender were not associated with initiation or completion, but primary language showed an association with attainment and intrinsic values. Dissuading factors or costs were also captured through surveys. The few responses from non-completers limited the analysis. However, an examination of acute and accumulated costs suggests they may influence persistence, especially at completion. Based on these results, interventions are proposed to enhance persistence in future workshops. These include increasing motivational messaging, tailoring course structure to mitigate avoidable costs, and where possible, increasing communication to set time and effort expectations and showcase prior participants overcoming costs.

Bridging Generations and Values: Understanding Generation Z’s Organizational Preferences and the Mediating Role of Sustainability and Innovation Attitudes in Turkey

Gen Z is well-recognized as the first generation to have lived through the full digital era. They are used to utilizing technology, have been on social media since they were young children, and have even developed an addiction to it because they grew up in a technologically advanced world. Preliminary research has looked at Gen Z’s educational preferences in the marketing and education realms, as well as product promotion techniques directed towards them. Furthermore, most of the early Gen Z research was conducted in the United States. Because there is a lack of reliable literature studies on HR and organizational research material related to Gen Z and their career-related objectives, organizations are ill-prepared to accept this new generation into the workforce. This study identifies the organizational values that the members of Generation Z find significant. The purpose of the study is to ascertain how closely the members of Generation Z align with corporate values and preferences. The research employs a quantitative methodology: 109 Turkish university students who were enrolled in classes were given a survey. Consequently, this identified the preferences of Generation Z members in Turkey. The literature lacks reliable studies regarding diverse investigations on Generation Z’s preferences conducted outside of the United States. This research will add to the literature about this topic. This study’s conclusions highlight how complex and multidimensional Generation Z’s views are regarding innovation and sustainability in the Turkish setting. The analyses did not show any significant mediating or predicting effects, contrary to the initial hypotheses that suggested a direct relationship between these attitudes, society contributions, educational attainment, and personal values. This implies that the variables influencing university students in Generation Z’s sustainability and innovation orientations are more complicated than previously thought and might not be directly impacted by the variables looked at in this study.

Predictors of university students’ intentions to enroll in computer programming courses: a mixed-method investigation

Students in technology majors such as Computer Science and Information Technology need to take a series of computer programming courses to graduate. Yet, not all students will persist in taking programming courses as required, and little is known about the factors influencing their enrollment intentions. Research is needed to better understand which factors predict students’ enrollment intentions for programming courses. Based on Expectancy-Value Theory, we surveyed three hundred university students in China to measure their intentions of enrolling in future programming courses and factors influencing their enrollment intentions. Mediated Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes models were run to identify the relationships between these factors and enrollment intentions. Expectancies, intrinsic value, attainment value, and utility value of the courses directly predict enrollment intentions. Peer comparison, quality of teaching, and programming experiences were found to influence enrollment intentions through expectancies and values indirectly. No gender difference was found in expectancies and enrollment intentions. Qualitative data analysis confirmed the findings from the quantitative data analysis and further revealed that course difficulty is another major factor influencing enrollment intentions. These findings have implications for supporting students' expectancies and values in computer programming and curriculum design.

Teachers matter: linking teachers and students’ self-regulated learning

ABSTRACT Teachers play an essential role in supporting students to become self-regulated learners. It is assumed that teachers’ professional competence in self-regulated learning (SRL) influences their promotion of SRL, which in turn influences students’ acquisition of SRL skills. However, the links between teachers’ SRL competences, SRL promotion, and students’ SRL have not yet been the subject of extensive research. In a multilevel analysis with 167 lower secondary teachers and their 2,785 students, we examined the relationships between teachers’ professional competences (own SRL skills, mindsets, pedagogical content knowledge about SRL, self-efficacy, and attainment values), teachers’ self-reported and students’ perceived SRL promotion, and students’ SRL skills (metacognitive, motivational, and cognitive strategies, and metacognitive strategy knowledge). The results highlight the importance of teachers’ self-efficacy for their self-reported SRL promotion. Furthermore, SRL promotion was positively related to students’ metacognitive, motivational, and cognitive strategies but not to their metacognitive strategy knowledge. The analyses of indirect effects showed that teachers’ own SRL as self-regulated learners and their self-efficacy as agents of SRL were indirectly related to students’ SRL through the promotion of SRL. Focusing on teachers’ SRL competences as both learners and agents could help to understand better why teachers do or do not promote SRL, thereby explaining the development of students’ SRL.

The role of study and leisure values in students’ decisions in study-leisure conflicts: A latent difference score model

Students often face decisions between academic and leisure activities, especially when they have academic activities that need to be completed but are disturbed by leisure activities at the same time. The relative strength of study and leisure values has been theorized to be related to students' decisions in study-leisure conflicts, yet previous studies have focused mainly on the role of the absolute strength of study or leisure values. This study aims to test the relationship between the relative strength of study and leisure values and early adolescent students' decisions in study-leisure conflicts and systematically consider multiple value components defined in expectancy-value theory. Data were collected from 2564 Chinese seventh graders and analysed by latent difference score modelling. The results showed that students with higher study interest value, higher study attainment value, higher study utility value, or lower study cost relative to leisure value components tended to choose academic activities in study-leisure conflicts. Moreover, when considering the four value components simultaneously, the relative strength of study and leisure attainment values had the strongest effect on decisions in study-leisure conflicts. These findings provide a new perspective and new evidence for the relationship between students' study and leisure values and decisions in study-leisure conflicts.

Preserving and strengthening physical culture by empowering multifaceted course engagement via individual interest in fitness and Sports

This present study determines the direct influence of individual interests of students toward fitness and sports via course engagement in the promotion and preservation of physical culture inside the university. This study surveyed a total sample of 231 students taking fitness, sports coaching, and management at a state university. The results revealed that individual interest, along with its three important factors (positive affect and willingness to engage, stored utility value, and stored attainment value and knowledge-seeking intentions), is directly related to course engagement and its four components (skills, participation/interaction, emotional, and performance engagement). Therefore, it can be concluded that individual interest in fitness and sports is an important determinant of course engagement that may lead students to practice healthy living, even outside the academe. Limitations and future recommendations are hereby presented.

Emotional intelligence and dropout intention: the mediating influence of expectancy and task value

Timely degree completion is a topic of interest for numerous stakeholders, including university officials, students, and parents. Unfortunately, a significant number of students encounter challenges within university settings that postpone degree completion or contribute to academic dropout. The available literature suggests that emotional intelligence functions as a protective factor that promotes academic resilience and decreases the likelihood of academic dropout. However, the mechanisms by which emotional intelligence supports degree completion are not fully understood. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate if the relationship between emotional intelligence and dropout intentions is mediated by task-value and expectancy. University students (N = 337; 66.97% Caucasian/White; 85.89% female; Mean Age = 27.92) completed the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence scale, self-report measures of task-value (i.e., attainment, intrinsic, utility, & cost) and expectancy, and the Dropout Intentions scale. Using mediation analysis, we determined there was no direct relationship between emotional intelligence and dropout intention. However, indirect effects revealed the relationship between emotional intelligence and dropout intention is mediated by intrinsic and attainment value. These results offer insights into how emotional intelligence may contribute to academic retention and have implications for interventions and support services designed to promote on-time degree completion.

Examining Motivational Attitudes Toward Statistics and Their Relationship to Performance in Life Science Students

A strong foundation of statistics is essential for undergraduates pursuing life science careers, but this foundation is frequently undermined by negative student attitudes toward statistics. This study explored life science students’ motivational attitudes toward statistics, and their relationship to performance, using expectancy-value theory as a guiding framework. According to expectancy-value theory, task-values—interest in a task (intrinsic value), importance of doing well on a task (attainment value), perceptions of the usefulness of a task (utility value), and negative aspects of engaging in a task (cost)—impact achievement outcomes. However, task-values may be better represented by differentiating each into more specific underlying dimensions, or facets. Using 360 undergraduate life science students enrolled in biostatistics courses across two institutions, this study assessed the fit of a task-value facets model for statistics and examined which task-value facets relate to performance on a statistics assessment. Results show that life science students distinguish among facets of attainment value (importance of achievement, personal importance), utility value (school, daily life, social, career/job), and cost (effort, emotional, opportunity) for statistics. Students’ perceptions of the emotional cost of statistics and the importance of achievement in statistics related to their statistics performance. Implications for teaching and research are discussed. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Student-scientist interactions: student value perceptions in science communication meetings

ABSTRACT The dissemination and acceptance of misinformation/disinformation and the denial of scientific claims and facts have become increasingly common practices in the post-truth era. The recent global pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of science communication (Sci-Comm) in a dialogical model that supports public engagement with science. Sci-Comm may promote scientific literacy by sharing knowledge and attitudes about science and is considered an important strategy for public engagement, but it requires evaluation based on participants’ motivations. This mixed-methods study examined middle school students’ subjective task values regarding Sci-Comm meetings with scientists. Seventh-grade students (N = 80) attended five meetings aligned with science curriculum topics. Based on the expectancy-value theory, students completed surveys assessing the meetings’ utility, attainment, and intrinsic value. Results showed that value ratings increased significantly across meetings, varying by topic. Qualitative themes highlighted meeting scientists, asking questions, and the interactive structure as valuable aspects. This research provides important insights into the current body of knowledge regarding the influential role of Sci-Comm within the expectancy-value theory framework. Additionally, it may guide educators and researchers in designing effective Sci-Comm sessions to increase student motivation and engagement in science, thereby enhancing the existing literature in science education and Sci-Comm.

Integrating socioeconomic and ecological data into restoration practice.

Driven by the United Nations Decade on Restoration and international funding initiatives, such as the Mangrove Breakthrough, investment in mangrove restoration is expected to increase. Yet, mangrove restoration efforts frequently fail, usually because of ad hoc site-selection processes that do not consider mangrove ecology and the socioeconomic context. Using decision analysis, we developed an approach that accounts for socioeconomic and ecological data to identify sites with the highest likelihood of mangrove restoration success. We applied our approach in the Biosphere Reserve Marismas Nacionales Nayarit, Mexico, an area that recently received funding for implementing mangrove restoration actions. We identified 468 potential restoration sites, assessed their restorability potential based on socioeconomic and ecological metrics, and ranked sites for implementation with spatial optimization. The metrics we used included favorable conditions for propagules to establish and survive under sea-level rise, provision of ecosystem services, and community dynamics. Sites that were selected based on socioeconomic or ecological metrics alone had lower likelihood of mangrove restoration success than sites that were selected based on integrated socioeconomic and ecological metrics. For example, selecting sites based on only socioeconomic metrics captured 16% of the maximum attainable value of functioning mangroves able to provide propagules to potential restoration sites, whereas selecting sites based on ecological and socioeconomic metrics captured 46% of functioning mangroves. Our approach was developed as part of a collaboration between nongovernmental organizations, local government, and academics under rapid delivery time lines given preexisting mangrove restoration implementation commitments. The systematic decision process we used integrated socioeconomic and ecological considerations even under short delivery deadlines, and our approach can be adapted to help mangrove restoration site-selection decisions elsewhere.

Linking teachers’ and students’ motivation for self-regulated learning: is there a signal and how is it transmitted?

Teachers’ motivation is a core professional competence that influences their choices in their decision-making, such as promoting self-regulated learning (SRL). Promoting SRL supports students’ SRL development and might affect students’ motivation to apply strategies. However, the link between teachers’ motivation to promote SRL and students’ motivation to apply strategies has yet to be empirically investigated. In a multilevel analysis that included 167 lower secondary teachers and their 2,785 students, we analysed the direct and indirect relationships between teachers’ self-efficacy and attainment value, the teacher- and student-reported SRL promotion and students’ self-efficacy, utility value, attainment value and cost at the class and individual level. Additionally, we investigated the contribution of teacher- and student-reported SRL promotion to find indirect relations. Teachers’ self-efficacy was related to teacher-reported SRL promotion, and student-reported SRL promotion was associated with all motivational outcomes at the class and student level except for cost. Further, we found indirect effects between teachers’ self-efficacy for SRL promotion and students’ values and self-efficacy for SRL via teachers- and students-perceived SRL promotion. No direct effects between teacher and student motivation could be found, and no significant indirect relationships were found for the cost aspect. Regarding how the signal is transmitted, the results show that including student reports of SRL promotion is especially crucial to finding indirect links. However, future studies should employ longitudinal designs and incorporate more nuanced teacher and student motivation measures in SRL to better understand the motivational links between teachers and students.

The development of mathematics expectancy-value profiles during the secondary–tertiary transition into STEM fields

BackgroundTo master the secondary–tertiary transition into fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), academic self-beliefs play a pivotal role, especially those related to learning mathematics. The framework of expectancy-value theory has been used widely in primary and secondary education and partly in tertiary education to assess the self-beliefs of students in terms of expectancy of success and perceived value of mathematics. Based on this framework, we measured how the intrinsic value, the attainment value, the utility value, and the cost of learning mathematics as well as the expectancy of success when learning mathematics developed during the secondary–tertiary transition of students into STEM fields. Data were collected in a quantitative repeated-measures questionnaire study with two measurement points (measurement point 1: n = 710, measurement point 2: n = 487, listwise: n = 409). We conducted a latent profile analysis to identify the prevalent patterns of mathematics self-beliefs, called profiles, at each of the two measurement points. We studied the relation of these profiles to prior education, achievement at school, and achievement at university. By performing a latent transition analysis, we determined the probabilities of transitioning from the initial profiles to the posterior profiles.ResultsOur analysis revealed four distinct prevalent profiles at each measurement point, ranging from highly favorable (i.e., high expectancy, high value, low cost) to highly unfavorable with respect to learning mathematics. The profiles with favorable manifestations remained stable over time, while those with undesirable manifestations deteriorated further. We observed a sharp increase in cost across all profiles. Prior achievement correlated strongly with profile membership.ConclusionsThe expenditure of time and energy increased sharply during the secondary–tertiary transition, independently of the students’ initial motivational patterns. The perceived utility of mathematics for potential future careers was shown to be a significant source of motivation. The role of mathematics in future careers should thus be made visible in university teaching. Keeping the detrimental development of initially undesirable motivational profiles in mind, university teachers should create ample opportunities for students to gain a sense of accomplishment.

Search potential of the high energy-large hadron collider for spin-1/2 excited quarks in di-jet final state

Composite models, which suggest a possible substructure of fundamental particles, can be directly proven by the discovery of the excited quark. Higher energy and higher-luminosity particle colliders are needed to discover the composite structure predicted in the proposed models. The High Energy Large Hadron Collider (HE-LHC) has the potential to be a possible discovery machine for composite models. In this collider, with a center-of-mass energy of 27 TeV and integrated luminosity between 750 and 15000 fb\textsuperscript{-1}, we calculated the exclusion, observation, and discovery limits for the mass of spin-1/2 excited quark in the \textit{di-jet} final state, as well as the attainable compositeness scale values. In addition to these calculations, we scanned free parameters from 0.06 to 1 to determine the HE-LHC potential to reveal spin-1/2 excited quark.

THE INFLUENCE OF STEM EDUCATION ON MOTIVATION TO LEARN IN MATHEMATICS LESSONS

This study examined the impact of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education on 8th-grade students' motivation towards learning mathematics at a Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Almaty. The research aimed to assess how STEM education influences motivational factors such as intrinsic value, self-regulation, self-efficacy, utility value, attainment value, and test anxiety. An experimental design was employed with 52 participants divided into two groups: a control group using traditional teaching methods and an experimental group engaging in STEM approaches. The Mathematics Motivation Questionnaire (MMQ), adapted from the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), was utilized for data collection before and after the intervention. Results from paired samples T-tests and descriptive statistics showed significant enhancements in the motivational levels of students in the experimental group, indicating that STEM education effectively boosts motivation towards mathematics learning. This research underscores the significance of incorporating STEM educational practices into mathematics curricula to create a more engaging and motivating learning atmosphere. These findings are crucial for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers focused on improving mathematics education and fostering a greater interest in STEM fields among middle school students, contributing to the existing literature on educational motivation.

AI rising in higher education: opportunities, risks and limitations

PurposeThe aim of this paper is twofold: to explore the significance and implications of the rise of AI technology for the field of tertiary education in general and, in particular, to answer the question of whether teachers can be replaced by intelligent AI systems such as androids, what that requires in terms of human capabilities and what that might mean for teaching and learning in higher education.Design/methodology/approachGiven the interdisciplinary nature of this conceptual paper, a literature review serves as a methodological tool to access data pertaining to the research question posed in the paper.FindingsThis exploratory paper gathers a range of evidence from the philosophy of mind (the mind-body problem), Kahneman’s (2011) System 1 and System 2 models of the mind, Gödel’s (1951) Two Incompleteness Theorems, Polanyi’s (1958, 1966) theory of tacit knowing and Searle’s (1980) Chinese Room thought experiment to the effect that no AI system can ever fully replace a human being because no machine can replicate the human mind and its capacity for intelligence, consciousness and highly developed social skills such as empathy and cooperation.Practical implicationsAI is rising, but there are inherent limits to what machines can achieve when compared to human capabilities. An android can at most attain “weak AI”, that is, it can be smart but lack awareness or empathy. Therefore, an analysis of good teaching at the tertiary level shows that learning, knowledge and understanding go far beyond any quantitative processing that an AI machine does so well, helping us to appreciate the qualitative dimension of education and knowledge acquisition. ChatGPT is robotic, being AI-generated, but human beings thrive on the human-to-human interface – that is, human relationships and meaningful connections – and that is where the true qualitative value of educational attainment will be gauged.Social implicationsThis paper has provided evidence that human beings are irreplaceable due to our unique strengths as meaning-makers and relationship-builders, our capacity for morality and empathy, our creativity, our expertise and adaptability and our capacity to build unity and cooperate in building social structures and civilization for the benefit of all. Furthermore, as society is radically automated, the purpose of human life and its reevaluation will also come into question. For instance, as more and more occupations are replaced by ChatGPT services, more and more people will be freed up to do other things with their time, such as caring for relatives, undertaking creative projects, studying further and having children.Originality/valueThe investigation of the scope and limitations of AI is significant for two reasons. First, the question of the nature and functions of a mind becomes critical to the possibility of replication because if the human mind is like a super-sophisticated computer, then the relationship between a brain and mind is similar (if not identical) to the relationship between a computer as machine hardware and its programme or software (Dreyfus, 1979). [ ] If so, it should be theoretically possible to understand its mechanism and reproduce it, and then it is just a matter of time before AI research and development can replicate the human mind and eventually replace a human teacher, especially if an AI machine can teach just as intelligently yet more efficiently and economically. But if AI has inherent limitations that preclude the possibility of ever having a human-like mind and thought processes, then our investigation can at least clarify in what ways AI/AGI – such as ChatGPT – could support teaching and learning at universities.

Temper wolf hunt optimization enabled GAN for robust image encryption

In today’s digital era, the security of sensitive data, particularly in the realm of multimedia, is of paramount importance. Image encryption serves as a vital shield against unauthorized access and ensures the confidentiality and integrity of visual information. As such, the continuous pursuit of robust and efficient encryption techniques remains a pressing concern. This research introduces a Temper Wolf Hunt Optimization enabled Generative Adversarial Network Encryption model (TWHO-GAN), designed to address the challenges of image encryption in the modern digital landscape. TWHO, inspired by the collective hunting behavior of wolf and coyote packs, is employed to generate highly secure encryption keys. This algorithm excels in exploring complex solution spaces, creating robust, attack-resistant keys. In TWHO-GAN model, GANs are employed to create encrypted images that are virtually indistinguishable from their original counterparts, adding a layer of security by generating complex encryption keys and ensuring robust protection against attacks. The GAN component reconstructs the encrypted images to their original form when decrypted with the correct keys, ensuring data integrity while maintaining confidentiality. Further, the significance of the proposed model relies on the TWHO algorithm formulated by the integration of the adaptability and coordinated hunting strategies to optimize the chaotic map generation in image encryption protecting the sensitive visual information from unauthorized access as well as potential threats. Through extensive experimentation and comparative analysis, TWHO-GAN demonstrates superior performance in image encryption, surpassing former methods in terms of Cs, 𝐻𝑖𝑠C, MSE, PSNR, RMSE, and SSIM attaining values of 0.93, 94.19, 3.274, 59.70 dB, 1.8095, and 0.940 respectively for 5 numbers of images. Moreover, the TWHO-GAN approach attained the values of 0.91,92.22, 2.03, 49.74 dB, 1.42, and 0.88 for Cs, HisC, MSE, PSNR, RMSE, and SSIM respectively utilizing the Airplanes dataset. The model exhibits robust resistance to various attacks, making it a compelling choice for secure image transmission and storage.

Perspectives from Undergraduate Life Sciences Faculty: Are We Equipped to Effectively Accommodate Students With Disabilities in Our Classrooms?

Higher education has evolved in ways that may increase the challenges life science faculty face in providing accommodations for students with disabilities. Guided by Expectancy-Value Theory, we interviewed 34 life sciences faculty instructors from institutions nationwide to explore faculty motivation to create disability-inclusive educational experiences. We found that faculty in our sample perceive that providing most standard accommodations is a manageable but often challenging task. Further, faculty in our sample feel that improving accommodations necessitates additional support from their institutions. Most faculty had high attainment value for providing accommodations, in that they strongly believed that supporting students with disabilities is the fair and right thing to do. However, faculty did not perceive much utility value or intrinsic value in their task of providing accommodations, and most reported that providing accommodations can be a substantial burden on faculty. These findings imply that current approaches to providing inclusive educational experiences for students with disabilities rely primarily on the personal belief that providing accommodations is the right thing to do, which likely results in a flawed and inequitable system given that not all faculty equally share this conviction.