Digital Commons Network^™

Florida Institute Of Technology Catalog 2012-2013, Florida Institute Of Technology

Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne and Jensen Beach Catalogs, 1967-2015

Academic catalog by Florida Institute of Technology for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Evaluating Algal Growth At Different Temperatures, Keelin Owen Cassidy

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

In recent years, there has been a concern for the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and how it will be captured. One way to capture carbon dioxide is with algae. In this study, algae's growth was measured at different temperatures. The first part of the study was to grow Scenedesmus and Chlorella with M8 or urea growth media at a temperature of 25, 30 or 35ºC. It was found that 30ºC had the best growth rates for both algae. The second part studied Scenedesmus growth with urea, more in-depth, and found the optimum growth temperature to be …

Predictive Model For Bigheaded Carps In Mississippi River, Jitendra K. Shrestha

Mathematics Theses - Archive

Bigheaded carps refer to two species of fish called Silver carp and Bigheaded carp which have invaded the Upper Mississippi River System and are causing nuisance to the native fish like catfish, paddlefish and gizzard Shad by encroaching their habitat. The exponential growth of their population due to their overwhelming reproduction capability and adaptation features calls for a careful study of their population dynamics. In this study, we offer a mathematical model with artificial excessive fishing effort to reduce the population of Bigheaded carps. We numerically observe the correlation among growth rate, fishing rate and the future population of the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Magnetic Nanoparticles, Sunilsingh Gusain

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Carbon incorporated iron nanoparticles (Fe-CNPs) were successfully synthesized using ultrasonic cavitation in Benzene. This novel method of carbon nanoparticle (CNP) synthesis is a very cost-effective and versatile as one can easily tune the microstructure and magnetic properties by varying few parameters, for e.g. voltage. The Fe-CNP complexes are produced due to the electric plasma discharge generated between the electrodes in an ultrasonic cavitation field of liquid benzene. The constituent of the CNPs can be easily modified by different choice of electrode materials- iron and graphite. The resultant Fe-CNPs were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to …

Recruiting Students Into The Earth Sciences Through Undergraduate Research, Anne E. Egger, Simon L. Klemperer

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the challenges of recruiting undergraduate students into STEM disciplines and describes strategies which have been used to stimulate undergraduate interest in Earth sciences research at Stanford University.

Gender And Ethnicity As Moderator Of Young Adults' Perception With Their Mother And Grandparents, Erika Quezada

Honors Capstones

Limited research is available on adolescent-grandparent relationships, especially from the young adult perspective and across ethnicities. This study explores the perception of the child-mother and the grandchild-grandparent relationships across Caucasian, African American and Hispanic ethnicities as well as the role young adults' gender plays in predicting the quality of the grandchild-grandparent relationship. This study was based on answers to a structured questionnaire from a sample of274 undergraduate students aged 19-24 at a large Midwestern university. Mixed results suggest that perception of the relationship is moderated by ethnicity and gender. Findings suggest that young adults of Caucasian descent perceived a more …

Improving Group Functioning In Solving Realistic Problems, Sassan Asgari, Gloria Dall'alba

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Group work in educational settings has several advantages, but it is also associated with some difficulties, most commonly concerns about group functioning. The aim of this study was to improve group functioning in solving realistic problems, using a combination of: 1) team skill training prior to group work; 2) peer and self-assessment to evaluate contribution to group work; and 3) lecturer-designed versus student-designed problems. The results showed positive effects on group functioning. After initial team skill training, peer assessments and moderation of marks based on those assessments stimulated the so-called free loaders to improve their contributions to group work, which …

Which Way To Sotl Utopia?, John D. Draeger, Linda Price

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Where is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement headed? This paper offers a vision for the future by using an Aristotelian model of virtue to sketch an account of intellectual habits. We argue that these habits allow students, teachers, and scholars to engage in the endless pursuit of learning. We call this place ‘SoTL Utopia’ as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is the vehicle that allows us to reach this destination. While utopian, we argue that these habits will improve learning in higher education through more ubiquitous engagement in SoTL.

Primary Movement In Sign Languages: A Study Of Six Languages, Donna Jo Napoli, M. Mai, N. Gaw

Linguistics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Developing A Statistically Valid And Practically Useful Student Evaluation Instrument, Jeffrey S. Skowronek, Bruce K. Friesen, Heather Masonjones

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The current article presents the findings on the development of a student evaluation instrument in which course evaluation is directly tied to student learning outcomes. With a committee consisting of instructors from six distinct disciplines brought together as part of a working group for this purpose, the instrument was developed utilizing research on the components of effective teaching and how these components impacted student learning. The instrument was tested at two time points, once via pen and paper (n=340 students) and the other online (n=2636 students). Factor Analysis resulted in one latent factor both times. The instrument also had high …

Exploring The Variation In First Year Undergraduates' Induction Into Their Academic Disciplines, Min Yang, Beverly Joyce Webster, Michael Prosser

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This study explored qualitative variation in first year undergraduates’ induction into the discipline in four dimensions: (1) induction into disciplinary knowledge, (2) induction into disciplinary research, (3) integration of learning from different courses, and (4) induction into disciplinary skills. Data were drawn from focus groups with students from different disciplines at a university in Hong Kong. Phenomenographic analysis identified four categories about induction into disciplinary knowledge and disciplinary research, and three categories regarding integration of learning. The categories were described in terms of the referential (aspects of the dimension discerned by students) and structural components (how students explained the aspects). …

The Potential For Teaching Quantitative Reasoning Across The Curriculum: Empirical Evidence, Nathan D. Grawe

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Educational theorists have argued that effective instruction in quantitative reasoning (QR) should extend across the curriculum. While a noble goal, it is not immediately evident that this is even possible. To assess the feasibility of this approach to QR instruction, I examine papers written by undergraduates for submission to a sophomore writing portfolio. I distinguish papers in which QR is central to the main thrust of the argument (“centrally relevant”) from those in which QR would strengthen the argument by providing context, enriching description, or presenting background (“peripherally relevant”). I find extensive potential for QR instruction across the curriculum. In …

What Really Matters: Assessing Individual Problem-Solving Performance In The Context Of Biological Sciences, Steven M. Mitchell, William L. Anderson, Cheryl A. Sensibaugh, Marcy Osgood

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The evaluation of higher-level cognitive skills can augment traditional discipline-based knowledge testing by providing timely assessment of individual student problem-solving abilities that are critical for success in any professional development program. However, the wide-spread acceptance and implementation of higher level cognitive skills analysis has been delayed by the lack of rapid, valid, and reliable quantified-scoring techniques. At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, we have developed an examination format that can be routinely and sequentially implemented for both formative and summative assessments of individual students in large classes. Rather than providing results …

Lighting Up The Mind: Transforming Learning Through The Applied Scholarship Of Cognitive Neuroscience, Daniel J. Glisczinski

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

"I am as sick of boring presentations as you are" admitted Medina (2008, p. 93), explaining how the typical academic lecture embodies the antithesis of scholarly, brain-rich teaching and learning. In contrast to what Kohn (1999, p. 218) decried as the "mind numbing" monotony of even the most well intended academic monologues, Medina explained that brains retain lessons learned through concrete experiences with emotionally cogent and relevant stimuli. Are such research-based insights the sort Boyer (1990) was invoking in Scholarship Reconsidered, which made the case for a new standard of scholarly teaching and learning? Thinking so, this essay synthesizes …

Mapping The Field Of Statistics Education Research In Search Of Scholarship, Linda Van Der Merwe, Annette Wilkinson

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This paper is intended as a contribution to the advancement of scholarship in the field of statistics education, which directly links with the scholarship of teaching and learning. It is apparent from the literature, that statistics education research, as an interdisciplinary field, does not rely on a single tradition of research methodology. There are different research backgrounds, different research methods are used, studies have different foci and different outcome variables are studied. What constitutes research in statistics education is therefore still a fundamental issue, with a consequent call for more research in this field. The present study attempts to identify …

Reviewer Essay: What Makes For A High Quality Ij-Sotl Research Article?, Lorraine Stefani

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Excerpt:

The characteristics of a high quality research article for the IJ-SoTL do not differ markedly from research articles for other journals. Obviously the nature of a research article presented for review and publication must be a good fit with the terms of reference of the Journal being targeted. It follows therefore that any research article for IJ-SoTL must show that the authors understand the nature, the nuances and the complexities of the scholarship of teaching...

Plasma Myeloperoxidase Predicts Incident Cardiovascular Risks In Stable Patients Undergoing Medical Management For Coronary Artery Disease, W.H. Wilson Tang, Yuping Wu, Stephen J. Nicholls, Stanley L. Hazen

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations predict adverse clinical outcomes in the setting of acute coronary syndromes and heart failure, but the prognostic role of MPO in stable patients with known atherosclerotic burden is unclear. METHODS: We examined plasma MPO concentrations and their relationship with prevalent significant coronary artery disease (defined as >50% stenosis in any coronary vessel) and incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), including death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, in a 3-year prospective follow-up study of 1895 patients undergoing elective coronary angiography. RESULTS: The median plasma MPO concentration was 101 pmol/L (interquartile range 68–187 pmol/L). Patients with plasma MPO concentrations …

Discrete-Time Recurrent Neural Network And Its Application To Compression Of Infra-Red Spectrum, Leong-Kwan Li, Sally S. L. Shao

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

We study the discrete-time recurrent neural network that derived from the Leaky-integrator model and its application to compression of infra-red spec- trum. Our results show that the discrete-time Leaky-integrator recurrent neural network (RNN) model can be used to approximate the continuous-time model and inherit its dynamical characters if a proper step size is chosen. Moreover, the discrete-time Leaky-integrator RNN model is absolutely stable. By developing the double discrete integral method and employing the state space search algorithm for the discrete-time recurrent neural network model, we demonstrate with quality spectra regenerated from the compressed data how to compress the infra-red spectrum …

Day Of Dialogue On Multipurpose Prevention Technologies: Toward Clarity In Nomenclature, Martha Brady, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The report summarizes a half-day meeting convened by the Population Council to clarify the wide variety of nomenclature and concepts associated with multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs). The first section outlines where different types of products are reviewed within the FDA and existing processes that could be applied to MPTs. This is followed by a section that reviews what guidance exists and what else may be needed for review of products like MPTs that address two (or more) indications, including those with a single active, two actives, and multiple components. This meeting identified some of the specific opportunities and challenges for …

Protecting Young People From Sex Without Consent, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the last decade, a growing body of evidence has laid to rest any illusion that the young are protected from unwanted sexual advances or forced sex both within and outside of marriage. Studies have established the prevalence of unwanted sex within marriage among young women and its risk factors; the association between poverty and forced sex among adolescent girls in South Africa; levels and correlates of forced sex reported by young people in Ethiopia and Kenya. Evidence has established that sex without consent among the young exists in every region of the world, and that girls, as well as …

Empowering Adolescent Girls In Rural Bangladesh: Kishori Abhijan, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In 2001, UNICEF initiated a pilot intervention to test whether livelihoods opportunities could ameliorate early marriage and other adverse outcomes for girls in rural Bangladesh. Kishori Abhijan (“Adolescent Girls’ Adventure”) aimed to lower school dropout rates, increase girls’ independent economic activity, and raise the age at which girls marry. Life-skills training consisted of enhancing self-esteem and leadership skills and providing education related to gender roles and discrimination, health and nutrition, and legislation and legal rights, particularly early marriage and girls’ and women’s rights. Livelihoods training included vocational skills. As noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief …

Bayesian Inference For Exponential Random Graph Models, Alberto Caimo, Nial Friel

Articles

Exponential random graph models are extremely difficult models to handle from a statistical viewpoint, since their normalising constant, which depends on model parameters, is available only in very trivial cases. We show how inference can be carried out in a Bayesian framework using a MCMC algorithm, which circumvents the need to calculate the normalising constants. We use a population MCMC approach which accelerates convergence and improves mixing of the Markov chain. This approach improves performance with respect to the Monte Carlo maximum likelihood method of Geyer and Thompson (1992).

Faculty Senate Librarian's Report-2011, Georgia Southern University

Faculty Senate: Librarian's Reports

No abstract provided.

2011 Georgia Southern Football Full Media Guide, Georgia Southern University

Men's Football Records

• 30 Years of Football
• Georgia Southern Football 2011 Media Information Guide

Basic Functions And Principles Of International Environmental Law In The Context Of Managing Water Resources, James A. R. Nafziger

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Meeting Across The River: Why Affirmative Action Needs Race & Class Diversity, Deirdre M. Bowen

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

Listening To The Debate On Reforming Law School Admissions Preferences, Richard H. Sander

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibition: A Novel Strategy To Improve Stem Cell Therapy In The Heart, Nicholas Hoke

Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have shown cellular replacement therapy as a treatment strategy of myocardial infarction but results have been limited. Therefore, enhancing the therapeutic potential of stem cells injected into ischemic microenvironments by novel preconditioning (PC) techniques is critical for improving cellular therapy. Recent studies have shown that inhibition of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) is a powerful strategy to precondition the heart and cardiomyocytes against ischemia/reperfusion injury. We therefore tested the hypothesis that inhibition of PDE-5 with sildenafil (Viagra®) or selective knockdown with a silencing vector in adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) would improve their survival after ischemia/reoxygenation in vitro and enhance cardiac …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

No abstract provided.