Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Principal Salary, District Wealth, Student Socioeconomic Status And School Size On The Achievement Level Of Students In Selected Mississippi Public Schools, Michael Henry Mcneece

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of four variables, principal salary, district wealth, student socioeconomic status, and school size, on the achievement level of public school students in Mississippi. The first, principal salary, was found not to have been studied as a variable that may correlate with student achievement. One may have hypothesized that more effective principals would correlate with increased student achievement test scores and that those principals would have been rewarded with higher salaries. The results of this study did not support that idea. The data indicated that there was no meaningful correlation between …

The Use Of A Behavior Screener To Predict Outcomes On High Stakes Tests For Elementary School Students, Rebecca Anne Emens

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have consistently shown that teachers’ ratings of behavior were predictive of academic difficulties. While research has clearly indicated that behavior has a reciprocal relationship with academic achievement, there is a scarcity of research on the relationship between outcomes on high stakes tests and student behavior. Early identification of children at risk for academic difficulties is vital for successful intervention and remediation. Therefore, this researcher investigated use of a brief behavior screener as a predictor of students at risk for failing a high stakes test. Results from the Behavior Assessment System for Children–Teacher Rating Scale–Child Screener (BASC-TRS-C Screener) provided an …

Porcine Embryogenesis And Effects Of Mycotoxins On Early Pig Development, Hongfeng Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The effect of culture media and mycotoxin on porcine preimplantation embryonic development has been investigated. In the first experiment, porcine embryonic cleavage rates were similar in NCSU-23 and PZM-3 culture media, while more blastocysts were produced in PZM-3 (P<0.05). BAX and BCL2L1 transcription levels were similar in blastocysts cultured in both media. Cleavage rates were significantly decreased in the presence of cycloheximide (P<0.05), and both á-amanitin and cycloheximide completely inhibited blastocyst formation. In the mycotoxin experiment, porcine embryonic cleavage rates decreased in 10 ìM á-ZEA group, while blastocyst rates decreased in 30 ìM á-ZEA group (P<0.05). Total cell numbers of blastocysts were significantly lower in the 10 µM á-ZEA group (P<0.05). The transcription levels of POU5F1 and BCL2L1 were similar, while that of BAX and the ratio of BAX/BCL2L1 significantly increased in 3 ìM and 10 ìM á-ZEA groups compared to control group.

John Calvin: An Educational Innovator Or A Reflector Of Society, Jim Llewellyn Codling

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the influence of John Calvin in education, as well as those influences that affected him. It examined his writings to determine if his vision, as to the scope of education and its purpose, made him an innovator. The research searched for reforms in the areas of curriculum, understanding of the teaching office, and universal education. It also looked at philosophy, economics, and labor. Schools existed in Geneva before Calvin arrived in 1536; however, they did not function in the way that Calvin would have liked. Calvin provided the elementary students with a needed text when he prepared …

Design Of Frozen Orbits For Lunar Navigation And Communications Missions, Joel Jefferson Konkle Parker

Theses and Dissertations

Eccentric lunar frozen orbits are analyzed in this study in relation to lunar navigation and communications missions, particularly the proposed Magnolia-1 mission. An overview of the Earth/Moon system, frozen orbits, and the Magnolia-1 mission is provided. A review of existing literature is presented, and potential limitations are discussed. Both preliminary and numerical perturbation analyses are presented, and a general set of perturbations for further analysis of high-altitude lunar orbits is identified. Analysis of potential orbits for the Magnolia-1 mission is performed through calculation of a maximum deviation metric and through visualization as a function of initial orbital elements. Trends are …

A Survey Of Upward Bound Programs On The Achievement Of Rural High School Students, Dewayne Middleton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of African American students on the impact of an Upward Bound Program on their academic performance, self-esteem, and the attitudes toward post-secondary educational success. Specifically, this study was concerned with the following variables: gender, family structure, and age as they related to the students aforementioned perceptions. A survey design was employed in this investigation to collect and analyze the data. Three hundred fifty-three (353) African American high school students participated in this empirical study. An instrument entitled “The Middleton Upward Bound Survey” was used to gather the data. The investigative …

Heuristic Approaches For Crane Scheduling In Ship Building, Charlie Hsiao Kuang Wen

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides heuristic approaches, including an ant colony optimization (ACO) inspired heuristic, to solve a crane scheduling problem that exists in most shipyards, where cranes are a primary means of processing and handling materials. Cranes move on a network of tracks, thus, blocking of crane movements is an issue. The crane scheduling problem consists of two major sub-problems: scheduling problem that determines the best overall order in which jobs are to be performed; the assignment problem that assigns cranes to jobs. The proposed heuristic consists of an Earliest Due Date sorting procedure in combination with an ACO assignment procedure …

Hydrogen Production Through Water Gas Shift Reaction Over Nickel Catalysts, Agus Haryanto

Theses and Dissertations

The progress in fuel cell technology has resulted in an increased interest towards hydrogen fuel. Consequently, water gas shift reaction has found a renewed significance. Even though iron- and copper-based catalysts have been used for water gas shift reaction for decades, the catalysts are not strong enough to bring carbon monoxide concentration to a level tolerable for a fuel cell working at low temperatures. This study is focused on hydrogen production from water gas shift reaction using a nickel catalyst. Literature review revealed that nickel is one of the promising catalysts for water gas shift reaction. A thermodynamic analysis proved …

Evaluation Of The Effects Of The Math To Mastery Intervention Package With Elementary School Students In A School Setting, Michael Douglas Mong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the effects of the Math to Mastery intervention package in a school setting. The participants in this study were elementary school students who were performing at least one year below grade level in math. A between-series multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the Math to Mastery intervention. Results revealed that the multi-component intervention was successful in addressing the student’s academic skill deficits on single skill intervention probes. Improvement was also observed on multiple skill grade level, generalization probes. However, the impact was not as strong …

An Exploration Of Community College State Funding Patterns In The Southern Regional Education Board States, James Jeffrey Markham

Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges continue to play a vital role in the higher education system. However, the institutions’ commitment to open access has been problematic for leaders as enrollments continue to increase, but the institutions’ ability to maintain their services and remain committed to their mission has been decreased. With regard to state funding for education, community colleges generally exist as the least funded entity. Most states place a clear emphasis on financial support for K-12 institutions, often viewing institutions of higher learning as secondary in the funding process. The purpose of this study was to examine community college funding trends in …

College Students' Behavior On Multiple Choice Self-Tailored Exams In Relation To Metacognitive Ability, Self-Efficacy, And Test Anxiety, Jasna Vuk

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe college students’ behavior on five selftailored, multiple choice exams throughout a semester in relation to: a) metacognitive ability, b) self-efficacy expectations, and c) test anxiety. Additionally, the effect of a selftailoring procedure on exam scores and content validity of the tests was observed. Selftailored testing was defined as an option in which students selected up to five questions they wanted to omit from being scored on an exam. Students’ metacognitive ability was defined as the percentage of incorrectly answered questions out of the total number omitted. Ninety-nine college students from two sections …

An Assessment Of The Workplace Readiness Skills Desired By Industries And Perceived By College Personnel In Alabama, Jason Brett Hurst

Theses and Dissertations

Postsecondary graduates often do not have the skills needed for entry level employment in today’s workforce. Postsecondary students should have a curriculum that is relevant to today’s workforce needs to increase the graduates marketability and success in our global economy. This study examined the workplace readiness skills desired by the high-tech industries in Alabama compared to the perceived importance of those skills from educators in Alabama’s Two-Year College System and the integration of those skills in the curricula. It was believed that there was no significant difference in the perceptions of educators and industry supervisors in reference to their perceptions …

An Examination Of The Prevalence Of Obesity And Student Performance In A Low Socioeconomic School District, Mary L. Hillones

Theses and Dissertations

Since few studies exist that examine the relationships between adolescent obesity and academic performance, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of obesity on high school students’ academic performance in a low socioeconomic school district. The topics addressed in this study included prevalence of overweight and obesity in high school students and the impact of overweight and obesity on student academic performance. The potential population of this study consisted of 236 high school students aged 14 to 19 years old enrolled in a rural Mississippi school district in grades 9 -12. However, only 35 students had usable …

Multiple Positive Solutions For Classes Of Elliptic Systems With Combined Nonlinear Effects, Jaffar Ali Shahul Hameed

Theses and Dissertations

We study positive solutions to nonlinear elliptic systems of the form: \begin{eqnarray*} -\Delta u =\lambda f(v) \mbox{ in }\Omega\\-\Delta v =\lambda g(u) \mbox{ in }\Omega\\\quad~~ u=0=v \mbox{ on }\partial\Omega \end{eqnarray*} where $\Delta u$ is the Laplacian of $u$, $\lambda$ is a positive parameter and $\Omega$ is a bounded domain in $R^n$ with smooth boundary $\partial\Omega$. In particular, we will analyze the combined effects of the nonlinearities on the existence and multiplicity of positive solutions. We also study systems with multiparameters and stronger coupling. We extend our results to $p$-$q$-Laplacian systems and to $n\times n$ systems. We mainly use sub- and …

Radio Frequency Evaluation Of Oriented Strand Board, Xiaojian Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Oriented strandboard (OSB) is a wood-based composite product with the largest market share for residential and commercial construction. OSB composite products have introduced variability in their physical and mechanical properties due to their raw material and process variation. Reliable in-line non-destructive evaluation (NDE) devices are needed to rapidly determine OSB panel product quality during and after the manufacturing process. Wood specific gravity (SG) and moisture content (MC) play an important role in the wood composite manufacturing process. A real-time after-press monitoring device for locating SG and MC variations can supply information needed to control and improve mat formation, hot press …

Secondary Career And Technical Student Achievement Measured By The Mississippi Career Planning And Assessment System, Shelley Hemphill Bock

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of teacher attributes and school contextual factors to student achievement in career and technical education in Mississippi. The teacher attributes years of teaching experience, degree(s) of attainment, professional development, and national board certification were included as independent variables. Additionally, the contextual factors of enrollment, academic achievement, and socio-economic status were included as independent variables. The statewide standardized assessment for career and technical education was used as the dependent variable measuring student achievement at the school district, career and technical program area, and individual career and technical course levels. The predictor …

Using Longitudinal Data To Estimate The Effect Of Starting To Exercise On The Health Of Sedentary Older Adults, Paula Diehr, Calvin Hirsch

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Background It is difficult to estimate the effect of exercise on future health from observational data because exercising may be both a cause and an effect of health status. Unadjusted analyses suffer from selection bias (healthier persons more likely to exercise), while adjusted analyses may adjust away some of the benefits of exercise.

Objective To obtain a "low-bias" interpretable estimate of the effect of exercise on future health.

Methods We used data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal study of 5,888 older adults. The number of blocks walked in the previous week, collected annually, were classified as Sedentary (less …

Estimation For Arbitrary Functionals Of Survival, Kyle Rudser, Michael L. Leblanc, Scott S. Emerson

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Summer 2008 Commencement - The University Of Texas Of The Permian Basin, The University Of Texas Permian Basin

UTPB Commencement Programs

Summer 2008 Commencement - August 8, 2008

Observation Of The Suppression Of The Flux Of Cosmic Rays Above 4 X 1019 Ev, J. Abraham, Gregory Snow, The Pierre Auger Collaboration

Gregory Snow Publications

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5 x 10¹⁸ eV, derived from 20 000 events recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory, is described. The spectral index γ of the particle flux, J/ E^{- γ} , at energies between 4 x 10¹⁸ eV and 4 x 10¹⁹ eV is 2.69 ± 0.02(stat) ± 0.06(syst), steepening to 4.2 ± 0.4(stat) ± 0.06(syst) at higher energies. The hypothesis of a single power law is rejected with a significance greater than 6 standard deviations. The data are consistent with the prediction by Greisen and by Zatsepin and Kuz’min.

A Search For Creative Class Trail User Experiences Along The Katy Trail, Shirley Jane Mathews

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This research focused on preferred urban trail attributes and related these to restorative places and user experiences. Focused interviews were employed in the study. Restoration was shown in aspects of naturalness and excitement. Responses to the interviews indicated that a convergence of multiple physical features contributed significantly to a user's restorative experience on the trail, especially where tree canopy was juxtaposed with distant views and there were connections to active urban villages. Where the trail did not enhance the user experience the trail was not seen as contributing to the community in a significant way. Themes emerged from the focused …

A Good Problem To Have

News Releases

No abstract provided.

Plant Recruitment In A Northern Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forest: Testing Seed- And Leaf Litter- Limitation Hypotheses, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Seed availability and leaf litter limit plant establishment in some ecosystems. To evaluate the hypothesis that these factors limit understory plant recruitment in Pinus ponderosa forests, I conducted a seeding and litter removal experiment at six thinned sites in the Fort Valley Experimental Forest, northern Arizona. Experimental seeding of four native species (Penstemon virgatus, Erigeron formosissimus, Elymus elymoides, and Festuca arizonica) and raking of litter occurred in 2005. Seeding resulted in a substantial recruitment of 14 to 103 seedlings/m2 (1 to 10/ft2) one month after seeding for two species (P. virgatus and E. elymoides), but these densities subsequently declined by …

Measurement Of The Inclusive Jet Cross Section In Pp Collisions At √S = 1.96 Tev, V. M. Abazov, Kenneth A. Bloom, Gregory Snow, Dø Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We report on a measurement of the inclusive jet cross section in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy √s = 1.96 TeV using data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.70 fb^-1. The data cover jet transverse momenta from 50 to 600 GeV and jet rapidities in the range -2.4 to 2.4. Detailed studies of correlations between systematic uncertainties in transverse momentum and rapidity are presented, and the cross section measurements are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading order QCD calculations.

A Microanalytical Approach To Understanding The Origin Of Cumulate Xenoliths From Mauna Kea, Hawaii, Megan Pickard

Theses and Dissertations

Cumulate xenoliths erupted with alkalic hawaiite lavas from a postshield cinder cone on Mauna Kea, Hawaii include a variety of mafic and ultramafic rock types. Previous studies of major and trace element compositions of minerals in the xenoliths are interpreted to show transitional to alkalic magma parentages from the postshield stage, although any orthopyroxene-bearing xenoliths are considered to have tholeiitic parents. Major element compositions minerals were analyzed using the electron microprobe and trace element compositions of clinopyroxene grains were analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In this study, major element compositions of clinopyroxene, olivine and plagioclase grains …

Christensen V. S.L. Start & Associates, Inc. Surety Dckt. 35169

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Distributed Support Vector Machine Learning, Kenneth C. Armond Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are used for a growing number of applications. A fundamental constraint on SVM learning is the management of the training set. This is because the order of computations goes as the square of the size of the training set. Typically, training sets of 1000 (500 positives and 500 negatives, for example) can be managed on a PC without hard-drive thrashing. Training sets of 10,000 however, simply cannot be managed with PC-based resources. For this reason most SVM implementations must contend with some kind of chunking process to train parts of the data at a time (10 …

Application Of The Method Of Least Squares To A Solution Of The Matched Field Localization Problem With A Single Hydrophone, Sean R. Chapin

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The single hydrophone localization problem is considered. Single hydrophone localization is a special case of matched field localization where measurements from only one hydrophone are available. The time series of the pressure at the hydrophone is compared with predicted times series calculated using an ocean acoustic propagation model for many different source locations. The source location that gives the best match between the predicted time series and the measurement is assumed to be the correct source location. Single hydrophone localization algorithms from the literature are reviewed and a new algorithm is introduced. The new algorithm does not require knowledge of …

Clustering Via Supervised Support Vector Machines, Sepehr Merat

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

An SVM-based clustering algorithm is introduced that clusters data with no a priori knowledge of input classes. The algorithm initializes by first running a binary SVM classifier against a data set with each vector in the set randomly labeled. Once this initialization step is complete, the SVM confidence parameters for classification on each of the training instances can be accessed. The lowest confidence data (e.g., the worst of the mislabeled data) then has its labels switched to the other class label. The SVM is then re-run on the data set (with partly re-labeled data). The repetition of the above process …

Simulation Of Combustion And Thermal-Flow Inside A Pyroscrubber, Lei Zhao

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The main function of a pyroscrubber in petroleum coke calcining process is to oxidize the carbonaceous contents, including hydrocarbon volatiles, of the exhaust gas from the calcination kiln, so as to leave no more than small traces of unburned volatiles, solid carbon, ashes, or emissions (e.g. CO, NOx and SOx) in the flue gas finally discharged. To maximize the energy recovery and reduce pollutant emission from the pyroscrubber, 3-D computational models are developed using FLUENT to simulate the combustion and thermal-flow phenomena inside the pyroscrubber. The results show the 3-D behavior of the flow, the reaction inside the pyroscrubber, effect …