Lehigh University

About: Lehigh University is a education organization based out in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Fracture mechanics. The organization has 12684 authors who have published 26550 publications receiving 770061 citations.

Improved space-time coding for MIMO-OFDM wireless communications

Abstract: Improved space-time coding for multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing is studied for wireless systems using QPSK modulation for four transmit and four receive antennas. A 256-state code is shown to perform within 3 dB of outage capacity (and within 2 dB with perfect channel estimation), which is better than any other published result without using iterative decoding.

Navigating the borderlands: the roles of minority stressors, bicultural self-efficacy, and cognitive flexibility in the mental health of bisexual individuals.

Abstract: The present study examined the relations of minority stressors (i.e., experiences of prejudice, expectations of stigma, internalized biphobia, outness/concealment of bisexuality) as well as posited mental health promoters (i.e., bicultural self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility) with psychological distress and well-being in a sample of 411 bisexual people. Most of the minority stress variables were related positively with psychological distress and negatively with well-being, whereas the mental health-promoting variables were related negatively with psychological distress and positively with well-being. Results also indicated that expectations of stigma mediated the associations of antibisexual prejudice with greater distress and lower well-being, internalized biphobia was related directly with greater distress and lower well-being, and outness was linked with some costs and benefits. Moderated mediation analyses offered some evidence consistent with cognitive flexibility (but not bicultural self-efficacy) as a moderator. Specifically, within the mediation models, cognitive flexibility moderated the unique direct relation of antibisexual prejudice with psychological well-being, the relation of antibisexual prejudice with expectations of stigma, and the indirect relations of antibisexual prejudice with distress and well-being through the mediating role of expectations of stigma. These moderations were consistent with the expected buffering role of cognitive flexibility, but they also revealed that some of this buffering effect is exhausted in the context of high prejudice. Limitations of the study as well as implications for future research and practice with bisexual populations are discussed.

Promoting Academic Enablers to Improve Student Achievement: An Introduction to the Mini-Series

Abstract: Although previous miniseries (e.g., see Carnine, 1994; Skinner & Berninger, 1997) and numerous individual articles (e.g., Daly, Witt, Martens, & Dool, 1997; Powell-Smith, Shinn, Stoner, & Good, 2000) have appeared in School Psychology Review exploring empirical and practical issues regarding academic skills, a focused discussion of academic enablers (or nonacademic skills that contribute to academic success) has yet to occur within the field of school psychology. As such, we have assembled a panel of distinguished researchers to share their perspectives regarding conceptual, empirical, and practical issues related to the construct of academic enablers. In the following paragraphs, we describe how the construct of academic enablers has been defined to date as well as provide a context for how academic enablers relate to academic skills and academic achievement. In addition, we explain the rationale for developing this miniseries and the objectives the included articles collectively address. This introduction c oncludes with an overview of each of the articles included in this special issue. Definition of Academic Enablers and Related Constructs The idea of academic enablers evolved from the work of researchers (e.g., Gresham & Elliott, 1990; Malecki, 1998; Wentzel, 1993; Wigfield & Karpathian, 1991) who explored the relationship between students' nonacademic behaviors (e.g., social skills, motivation) and their academic achievement. Based on this earlier research, we hypothesized that a student's academic success--or competence--in the classroom required more than academic skill proficiency. Specifically, we defined academic competence as a multidimensional construct consisting of the skills, attitudes, and behaviors of students that contribute to success in the classroom. The results of our research (DiPema & Elliott, 1999,2000) exploring this construct have indicated that the skills, attitudes, and behaviors contributing to academic competence fall into one of two domains: academic skills or academic enablers. Academic skills are the basic and complex skills that are the primary focus of academic instruction in elementary and secondary schools. In contrast, academic enablers are attitudes and behaviors that allow a student to participate in, and ultimately benefit from, academic instruction in the classroom. Through a variety of means (e.g., review of research literature, discussions with educators, empirical research), we have identified specific domains of academic skill and academic enablers that contribute to academic competence. Specifically, the academic skill domains include language-based skills (reading and writing), mathematics, and critical thinking (DiPerna & Elliott, 2000). The academic enablers include interpersonal skills, motivation, study skills, and engagement (DiPerna & Elliott, 1999, 2000). Figure 1 displays the academic enablers and skills that contribute to the construct of academic competence. Rationale for the Miniseries The rationale for this miniseries is based on the recognition that the current knowledge base regarding academic enablers has--at a minimum--three significant limitations. The first such limitation is that the current definition of academic enablers may be too narrow. That is, to date, academic enablers have been defined as the nonacademic skills, attitudes, and behaviors of students that contribute to academic success in the classroom. From Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963) to Walberg's Theory of Educational Productivity (1981), there is substantial empirical evidence that a variety of environmental factors influence learning. As such, some might suggest (see Christenson and Anderson, 2002) that the construct of academic enablers should be expanded to encompass key student and environmental factors that promote the development of academic skills. …