Digital Commons Network^™

Opening Doors: A Qualitative Evaluation Of The Waterbury Youth Leadership Project, Matthew S. Mutchler, Stephen A. Anderson, Margaret Grillo, Harry Mangle

Journal of Extension

This article describes efforts to evaluate the impact of the Waterbury Youth Leadership Program (WYLP). Although the program meets five criteria for effective youth development programs as identified in previous research, quantitative evaluation efforts have been disappointing. Because of the small number of program participants, the researchers held a qualitative focus group interview, which yielded impressive results. The contents of the program are outlined, as well as the qualitative methods and results. Implications for qualitative evaluation methods and recommendations for future efforts are discussed.

Generating Self-Organizing Capacity: Leadership Practices And Training Needs In Non-Profits, Beverlyn Lundy Allen, Lois Wright Morton

Journal of Extension

Capacity building is a major goal of today's organizations (Senge, 1990). The complex problems that organizations face along with conditions of uncertainty require increased capacity to effectively respond. We propose a self-organizing capacity framework (organizational identity, information flows, and interdependent relationships) and link it to 18 leadership and organizational practices. We find that visioning, mobilizing resources, technology, and building teamwork are self-identified key training needs. Visioning and mobilizing resources are central to organizational identity; technology is necessary for information flows; and building teamwork contributes to interdependent relationships. These are shared leadership skills that build capacity within the organization.

The Ability To Relate: Assessing The Influence Of A Relationship Marketing Strategy And Message Stimuli On Consumer Perceptions Of Extension, Tracy Irani, Amanda Ruth, Ricky W. Telg, Lisa K. Lundy

Journal of Extension

Extension professionals are encouraged to market their programs and their organizations, but one of the most important marketing resources--their relationships--could be overlooked. The exploratory study reported here assessed the influence of a relationship-oriented marketing strategy and specific message stimuli on consumer perceptions of a statewide Extension service. A set of two focus groups, comprised of members of the general public, was utilized. Probability samples were generated using a predetermined sampling frame based on demographic variables. Results of the study showed that the user-focused marketing concepts resonated with participants, providing support for a message strategy focused on a two-way communication approach.

Looking Back, The Impact Of The 4-H Camp Counselor Experience On Youth Development: A Survey Of Counselor Alumni, Jeanne Brandt, Mary E. Arnold

Journal of Extension

The study reported here looked at the long-term impact of being a counselor at a 4-H residential camp. Alumni counselors were asked about their experience and how it related to personal development, the development of skill for working with children and groups, and life skill development. Results showed that being a 4-H camp counselor had significant impact on the participants, particularly in leadership, citizenship, sense of contribution and teamwork. In addition, analysis revealed differences in perceived skill development between younger and older alumni. Overall, the study presents one of the first looks at the lasting impact of 4-H camp counselor …

Exploring The Adolescent Life Skill Outcomes Of State 4-H Congress Participation And The Different Outcomes Of Gender And Race Groups, Barry A. Garst, Joseph R. Hunnings, Kathleen Jamison, Jewel Hairston

Journal of Extension

Research suggests residential 4-H programs enhance life skills. The study reported here explored the life skill outcomes of a 4-day residential State 4-H Congress. Participants were youth ages 14-18. A retrospective pre test and post test were used to evaluate life skills development. Paired sample t-tests indicated significant differences among all of the pre-test and post-test gain scores. Analysis of variance comparisons indicated males and females differed on some life skill items. The study supports the importance of purposeful planning for positive outcomes, as the greatest gains were related to Congress components that were designed to enhance specific life skills.

Attitudes Of 4-H Participants About 4-H Competitive Events, Rama B. Radhakrishna, Lydia Everhart, Megan Sinasky

Journal of Extension

The study reported here sought to determine attitudes about 4-H competitive events as perceived by 4-H participants. A total of 182 4-H participants responded to a two-section survey that contained 29 statements and program and demographic information. Overall, 4-H participants perceived that 4-H competitions was very valuable to them in terms of teaching responsibility, building self-confidence and self-worth, and preparing them to face challenges in a competitive world. Participants disagreed that 4-H competitions promote aggressive behaviors, cheating, and unethical practices and inhibit teamwork. Significant relationships existed between program and demographic characteristics and perceived attitude about 4-H competitions.

Administrative Law, Martin M. Wilson, Jennifer A. Blackburn

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys cases from the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals from June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2006 in which principles of administrative law were either illuminated or formed an important piece of the decisionmaking. For a change, the Authors observed a significant decrease in the number of reported cases during the survey period, but that drop should certainly not be interpreted as any type of trend. No attempt has been made to survey cases that would properly fall under categories of more specific articles in this issue, although some degree of overlap is inevitable …

Insurance, Stephen M. Schatz, Stephen L. Cotter, Bradley S. Wolff

Mercer Law Review

For the second year in a row, Georgia appellate courts have emphasized that even if the slightest doubt exists as to whether a liability insurance policy provides coverage for a loss, an insurer should provide a defense to the insured for the lawsuit or face potentially detrimental consequences out of the insurer's control, which the insurer will have little or no ability to alter after a judgment has been rendered against the insured. Several other recent decisions have made significant changes to insurance law as well. Some of the decisions indicate that it is becoming increasingly difficult for an insurer …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions from the Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court from June 1, 2005 to May 31, 2006. This Article also highlights specific revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

Legal Ethics, Patrick Emery Longan

Mercer Law Review

This Article summarizes the major developments in legal ethics in Georgia between June 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006. The Article covers discipline of lawyers, ineffective assistance of counsel, attorney fees and liens, contempt, disqualification, malpractice (and other claims against lawyers), judicial ethics, unauthorized practice of law, and one case on attorney authority.

Product Liability, Franklin P. Brannen Jr., Richard L. Sizemore, Jacob E. Daly

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in Georgia product liability law. It covers noteworthy cases decided during the survey period by Georgia appellate courts, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States district courts located in Georgia. In addition, this Article discusses relevant legislative enactments by the Georgia General Assembly revising the Official Code of Georgia Annotated ("O.C.G.A.").

Table Of Cases

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Torts, Deron R. Hicks

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Thirteenth Juror: Media Coverage Of Supersized Trials, Mark J. Geragos

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Arbitrary Enforcement: When Arbitration Agreements Containing Unlawful Provisions, Adam Borstein

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Safer (Cyber)Sex With .Xxx: The Case For First Amendment Zoning Of The Internet, Patty Chan

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire (And Brimstone): Is It Time To Abandon The Clergy-Penitent Privilege, Rena Durrant

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Whiff Of Things To Come: The Unreasonableness Of Dog Sniffs In Illinois V. Caballes, Jessica Na

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Race-Conscious Student Assignment Plans: Balkanization, Integration, And Individualized Consideration, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

In deciding Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, the Supreme Court of the United States will likely confront a critical issue to emerge from the lower court opinions on voluntary integration plans: whether school districts that use race as a factor in student assignment must comply with a legal requirement of individualized consideration. The Court has imposed such a requirement in other contexts, but it has not clearly explained what the concept of individualized consideration means and why particular forms of it matter.

This Article clarifies the …

Of Plant Variety Protection, Agricultural Subsidies, And The Wto, Srividhya Ragavan

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines how plant protection and agricultural trade issues intersect. It begins with a historical analysis of the plant [protection regime and discusses its position alongside the WTO’s requirement of plant protection, Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. In discussing the role of global agricultural issues, especially in relation to trade and intellectual property rights, this chapters ties in issues of sustainability which is a long term goal for the trade regime.

Comparativa Entre Les Reformes Dels Estatuts D'Autonomia De Catalunya I D'Andalusia [Comparative Analysis Of The Reforms Of The Charters Of Autonomy Of Catalonia And Andalucía], Albert Lamarca-Marquès, Vanessa Casado-Pérez

Faculty Scholarship

En els ordenaments jurídics continentals europeus no és habitual l’admissió d’escrits acadèmics independents adreçats als tribunals de justícia en el marc de procediments de gran importància. En els països del Common Law, especialment en les jurisdiccions nordamericanes, mitjançant el procediment anomenat d’Amicus Curiae es permet d’adreçar aquesta mena d’escrits als tribunals de justícia, que hauran de decidir si els tenen o no en compte. A través de les pàgines d’InDret, hem volgut oferir aquest document de comparació d’ambdós Estatuts per contribuir al debat jurídic en el marc del procés de reforma dels Estatuts d’Autonomia a l’Estat i en relació als …

The Proteomics Of N-Terminal Methionine Cleavage, Frédéric Frottin, Aude Martinez, Philippe Peynot, Sanghamitra Mitra, Richard C. Holz, Carmela Giglione, Thierry Meinnel

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Methionine aminopeptidase (MAP) is a ubiquitous, essential enzyme involved in protein N-terminal methionine excision. According to the generally accepted cleavage rules for MAP, this enzyme cleaves all proteins with small side chains on the residue in the second position (P1′), but many exceptions are known. The substrate specificity of Escherichia coli MAP1 was studied in vitro with a large (>120) coherent array of peptides mimicking the natural substrates and kinetically analyzed in detail. Peptides with Val or Thr at P1′ were much less efficiently cleaved than those with Ala, Cys, Gly, Pro, or Ser in this position. Certain residues …

The Economic Review Of The Travel Industry In Montana: 2006 Biennial Edition, Kara Grau, Melissa Bruns-Dubois, Norma Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This review provides current and historical data of nonresident travel and tourism in Montana, and offers the industry's economic contributions to the state.

The Hilltop 12-1-2006, Hilltop Staff

The Hilltop: 2000 - 2010

No abstract provided.

Vision-Based Target Geo-Location Using A Fixed-Wing Miniature Air Vehicle, D. Blake Barber, Joshua D. Redding, Timothy W. Mclain, Randal W. Beard, Clark N. Taylor

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a method for determining the GPS location of a ground-based object when imaged from a fixed-wing miniature air vehicle (MAV). Using the pixel location of the target in an image, with measurements of MAV position and attitude, and camera pose angles, the target is localized in world coordinates. The main contribution of this paper is to present four techniques for reducing the localization error. In particular, we discuss RLS filtering, bias estimation, flight path selection, and wind estimation. The localization method has been implemented and flight tested on BYU’s MAV testbed and experimental results are presented demonstrating …

Slovakia's Surge: The New System's Impact On Fiscal Decentralization, Phillip J. Bryson, Gary C. Cornia

Faculty Publications

Slovakia's transition history long paralleled that of the Czech Republic, but the former adopted bold new reforms early in tis decade. This paper is a comparative treatment of fiscal decentralization since 1993 and more recent reforms of public administration, the two efforts representing the foundation of the New System. Czech experience is invoked simply to provide an appropriate benchmark for the evaluation of Slovakia's New System introduced in 2004, including the 19% "flat tax" and other striking measures in local public finance. The second focus of the paper is on the macro-economic impact of the New System. It is too …

Measuring Attentional Ability In Older Adults: Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of Driverscan, Lesa Hoffman, Yang Xiangdong, James A. Bovaird, Susan E. Embretson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Although deficits in visual attention are often postulated as an important component of many declines in cognitive processing and functional outcomes in older adults, surprisingly little emphasis has been placed on evaluating psychometric instruments with which individual differences in visual attention ability can be assessed. This article reports the development and beginning psychometric evaluation of DriverScan, a change detection measure of attentional search for older adults. A constrained graded response model is used to approximate response speed and accuracy with categories of immediate, delayed, or no response. DriverScan items are shown to have excellent reliability over the studied sample, and …

A Dyadic Examination Of Daily Health Symptoms And Emotional Well-Being In Late-Life Couples, Jeremy B. Yorgason, David Almeida, Shevaun D. Neupert, Avron Spiro Iii, Lesa Hoffman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the link between daily health symptoms and spousal emotional well-being in a sample of 96 older dyads. Higher negative mood and lower positive mood were associated with spousal symptoms in couples wherein husbands or wives reported higher average levels of symptoms. For wives, partner effects were moderated by husbands’ marital satisfaction and illness severity. Specifically, higher husband marital satisfaction and illness severity were associated with higher negative mood and lower positive mood for wives on days where husbands reported higher symptom levels. In their work with later-life families, practitioners and educators should address long-term and daily health-related …

An Analysis Of Waves With Applications To Music, Kristen Creech

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Central Florida Future, Vol. 39 No. 42, December 1, 2006

Central Florida Future

No abstract provided.