Digital Commons Network^™

A Conceptual Learner-Centered E-Learning Framework, Fletcher H. Glancy, Susan K. Isenberg

Faculty Scholarship

e-Learning has increased rapidly in higher education. Most online education attempts to mirror the traditional face-to-face (FtF) classroom with less than favourable results. This paper proposes a conceptual e-learning framework based on andragogy theory, transformative learning theory, and media synchronicity theory. The conceptual e-learning framework supports the self-directed learning. e-learning based on this framework has the potential to out-perform not only current learning management systems such as Blackboard, but also traditional FtF learning for adult education and with different and better outcomes. Results of early testing of the concept showed increased learner’s online activity, innovation, and creativity.

Transient Receptor Potential Channel M4 And M5 In Magnocellular Cells In Rat Supraoptic And Paraventricular Nuclei, R. Teruyama, M. Sakuraba, H. Kurotaki, W. E. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

The neurohypophysial hormones, vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT), are synthesised by magnocellular cells in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. The release of VP into the general circulation from the neurohypophysis increases during hyperosmolality, hypotension and hypovolaemia. VP neurones increase hormone release by increasing their firing rate as a result of adopting a phasic bursting. Depolarising after potentials (DAPs) following a series of action potentials are considered to be involved in the generation of the phasic bursts by summating to plateau potentials. We recently discovered a fast DAP (fDAP) in addition to the slower …

Faculty Senate Newsletter, Holiday 2011, Louisiana State University And Agricultural & Mechanical College

LSU Faculty Senate Publications

Message from President: With the arrival of the Advent season comes the temptation to make lists. Universities and their assorted faculty, political, and professional leaders rejoice in lists, whether the ranking lists published by US News and World Report or Kiplinger’s or the eruditionflaunting lists more commonly known as curriculum vitae or the lists of problems with so many aspects of academic life that everyone carries in the ever-running journal of his or her mind. Among the most salient lists are those enumerating the parties responsible for the decay of education in Louisiana. Compiling a list of those who have …

Density Dependent Utilities With Transaction Costs, Eriyoti Chikodza, Julius N Esunge

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Consistent Price Systems For Bounded Processes, Florian Maris, Eric Mbakop, Hasanjan Sayit

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Stochastic Analysis Of Backward Tidal Dynamics Equation, Hong Yin

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Intraday Empirical Analysis Of Electricity Price Behaviour, Eckhard Platen, Jason West

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Site-Specific Proteolytic Cleavage Of The Amino Terminus Of Herpes Simplex Virus Glycoprotein K On Virion Particles Inhibits Virus Entry, Nithya Jambunathan, Sona Chowdhury, Ramesh Subramanian, Vladimir N. Chouljenko, Jason D. Walker, Konstantin G. Kousoulas

Faculty Publications

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein K (gK) is expressed on virions and functions in entry, inasmuch as HSV-1(KOS) virions devoid of gK enter cells substantially slower than is the case for the parental KOS virus (T. P. Foster, G. V. Rybachuk, and K. G. Kousoulas, J. Virol. 75:12431-12438, 2001). Deletion of the amino-terminal 68-amino-acid (aa) portion of gK caused a reduction in efficiency and kinetics of virus entry similar to that of the gK-null virus in comparison to the HSV-1(F) parental virus. The UL20 membrane protein and gK were readily detected on double-gradient-purified virion preparations. Immuno-electron microscopy confirmed the …

Repetitive Elements May Comprise Over Two-Thirds Of The Human Genome, A. P.Jason De Koning, Wanjun Gu, Todd A. Castoe, Mark A. Batzer, David D. Pollock

Faculty Publications

Transposable elements (TEs) are conventionally identified in eukaryotic genomes by alignment to consensus element sequences. Using this approach, about half of the human genome has been previously identified as TEs and low-complexity repeats. We recently developed a highly sensitive alternative de novo strategy, P-clouds, that instead searches for clusters of high-abundance oligonucleotides that are related in sequence space (oligo "clouds"). We show here that P-clouds predicts >840 Mbp of additional repetitive sequences in the human genome, thus suggesting that 66%-69% of the human genome is repetitive or repeat-derived. To investigate this remarkable difference, we conducted detailed analyses of the ability …

The Pan American (2011-12-01), Alma E. Hernandez, Roxann Garcia

UTPA Archives - The Pan American Newspaper

Vol. 68, No. 12

Communities Of Practice And Teacher Development – Lessons Learnt From An Educational Innovation In Pakistan, Sajid Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Communities of Practice (CoP) is a novel idea that highlights the importance of informal learning and working groups in an organization. Organizations need to nurture informal spaces of learning so as to enhance overall organizational success. This article builds on this idea and applies it to educational context of Pakistan, particularly towards the issue of teacher training. The paper presents the example of an educational improvement programme in KPK province of Pakistan titled ‘Primary Education Project – Improvement of the Learning Environment (PEP-ILE)’. It is highlighted that PEP-ILE created cluster based training model around subject areas. Such configuration allowed for …

Social Networks And The Desire To Save Face: A Case From Singapore, Michael A. Netzley, Akanksha Rath

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

For five years, corporate communication undergraduates have maintained a wiki as a final course and community service project. Using Web 2.0 platforms to crowdsource and curate content, they learn to employ online communications for work purposes. When the course was launched in 2007, the dominant social media narrative invited educators to embrace a technological optimism with sub-themes of open communication, sharing, and co-creation. By 2011, student feedback had compelled the instructor to consider the limits of technological optimism and revise the course. Specifically, Singaporean students have displayed a need to save face online, which has led to a localized teaching …

A Tale Of Two Eddies: Diagnosing Coherent Eddies Through Acoustic Remote Sensing, T. Rossby, C. Flagg, P. Ortner, C. Hu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A 38 kHz vessel-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler is used to explore in detail the dynamics of an anticyclonic and a cyclonic eddy during two transits of the cruise vessel Explorer of the Seas from the Caribbean to New Jersey in July 2007. The radial scale of the two eddies is similar, but whereas the cyclone is strongly surface intensified, the anticyclone has its maximum expression with near–solid body rotation between 200 and 800 m depth. The anticyclone has a minimum in relative vorticity very close to −f at 800 m depth and the cyclone has a maximum of about …

Card-Check Laws And Public-Sector Union Membership In The States, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler

Faculty Publications

We examine the impact of state card-check legislation on public-sector union membership. Based on an empirical analysis of data from 2000 to 2009, a time during which eight states enacted card-check legislation for public employees, we find significantly higher levels of public-sector union membership for states that passed card-check legislation in years after the laws were enacted relative to states that did not pass such laws. Moreover, average public-sector union membership increased for the states that passed card-check legislation after the laws were passed relative to their precard-check law union-membership levels.

Social Issues: A Qualitative Case Study Revealing The Importance Of Activism In The Middle School Art Education Classroom, Vonessa L. Toczynski

Art Education Projects

I began this qualitative case study on art activism in the Art Education classroom because I wanted to find the benefits of employing an activist curriculum in an art classroom. I also wanted to learn methods and strategies for this type of teaching. I choose two middle school art teachers and seventy of their sixth and seventh grade students in six of their art classes. Both teachers had been teaching for over five years and said they incorporated social issues and contemporary art, as well as encouraged activism in their art room. In this study, I was an observer participant …

Participatory Action Research Using Critical Pedagogy To Study Environmental Consciousness In A High School Art Classroom, Jennifer L. Licata

Art Education Projects

This qualitative participatory action research study explored the question, “How might the introduction of a campaign to raise environmental consciousness in a high school art classroom impact art students and their artworks, other students in the school, and the local community?” This study was conducted in an all female catholic high school. One Studio in Art One class and one Studio in Advanced Digital Media class comprised of 15 students in grades 9-12 participated in the study. The data was collected and analyzed over a period of eight weeks. Guided by the lens of critical pedagogy, my focus was …

A Qualitative Action Research Project Documenting Student Perceptions Of The Effects Of Visual Culture On Identity, Jessica M. Miccichi

Art Education Projects

I have conducted a qualitative action research project focusing on student perceptions of the impact of visual culture on teens including popular media. Students especially in high schools are bombarded with visual imagery through various technology sources. While working with high school juniors and seniors I noticed a rise in teen pregnancy and sexual confusion among this population. I wondered how much their exposure to sexually explicit imagery effected their identity and choices.

I started off planning research through a feminist and engaged pedagogical lens, specifically adhering to bell hook’s (1994) principals of “holistic teaching”, which focuses on emotional as …

A Qualitative Participant Observation Study Investigating The Use Of Web 2.0 Technologies In One High School Visual Arts Classroom Using A Social Constructivist Lens, Nicholas R. Napierala

Art Education Projects

This qualitative project studied the benefits of Web 2.0 technology in one high school visual arts classroom using a participant observation stance. I examined an advanced art class through a social constructivist lens, with student’s ages from 16-18 years. I implemented several lessons teaching the students how artists display ideas within their artwork, through having the students use the blogging service Tumblr and the video sharing Web site YouTube. In analyzing the student’s interactions with their peers and their experiences with the technology, the project revealed that using the technology benefited their learning. I collected data from a variety of …

A Qualitative Case Study That Explores The Use Of Visual Thinking Journals In An Urban Arts Magnet High School, Shannon E. Machina

Art Education Projects

This qualitative case study research project investigated the question, “What can be learned from a study that explores how an art teacher uses visual thinking journals and how students respond to the use of visual thinking journals in an urban arts high school setting?” The participants of this study were the art educator Mrs. Carlson and the students enrolled in her ninth grade Graphic Design and 12^th grade Advanced Drawing and Painting courses. Over an eight week period data was collected and analyzed utilizing constructivist pedagogy to investigate the variety of ways high school art teachers and students …

Integrated Economic And Climate Modeling, William D. Nordhaus

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This survey examines the history and current practice in integrated assessment models (IAMs) of the economics of climate change. It begins with a review of the emerging problem of climate change. The next section provides a brief sketch of the rise of IAMs in the 1970s and beyond. The subsequent section is an extended exposition of one IAM, the DICE/RICE family of models. The purpose of this description is to provide readers an example of how such a model is developed and what the major components are. The final section discusses major important open questions that continue to occupy IAM …

Divorce And Remarriage: Applying Biblical Standards To A Modern Culture, John E. Grab Jr.

Senior Honors Theses

Divorce rates in America have reached historic levels. The American home has been exposed to disruption and fragmentation that has radically changed the culture of the American family. Furthermore, the uniqueness of the American situation resides in the near-apathetic approach that the American public has taken to the issue. Divorce rates are historically high and the American home is drastically changing, yet the American culture neglects the issue both in the local community of the church and the home and in the public arena of politics and government. By examining the biblical foundation of marriage, one can transition from principle …

A Study Of Expressed Emotion In Psychiatric Nurses And Its Relation To The General Role And Effects Of Emotions In Nursing, Lauren A. Buck

Senior Honors Theses

Nurses play a vital role in the health and care of a patient. Through that care, the nurse has the ability to improve the patient’s experience or ruin it. A vital component influencing the care provided are the emotions the nurse displays toward her coworkers, patients, and patients’ family members. The emotions of a nurse may positively or negatively impact a patient. The studies that examine the impact of the nurse’s emotions on patient’s outcomes are varied and few. The communication and emotion of nurses are likely to impact their care and, from that, the patient’s outcome; however, there is …

Sprouty2 Deficiency In Mice Leads To The Development Of Achalasia, Benjamin Lee Staal

Masters Theses

Sprouty 2 (Spry2), one of the four mammalian Spry family members, is a negative feedback regulator of many receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) signaling including Met. It fine-tunes RTKs signaling through multiple levels of regulations starting from RTK itself to several downstream molecules that are crucial for signal transduction. To understand what role Spry2 might play during developmental processes, we created a Spry2 conventional knockout mouse in which Spry2 expression is replaced by enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter. Spry2 appears to be expressed in mouse embryo and in many adult tissues, and Spry2- deficient mice have smaller body size and …

Promoting Innovation In Hospitality Companies Through Human Resource Management Practices, Song Chang, Yaping Gong, Cass Shum

Hospitality Faculty Research

In this study, we investigate how hospitality companies can promote incremental and radical innovation through human resource management practices (i.e., selection and training). Data from 196 independent hotels and restaurants operating in the People’s Republic of China show that hiring multi-skilled core customer-contact employees and training core customer-contact employees for multiple skills both have a significant and positive effect on incremental and radical innovation among hotel and restaurant companies. The two human resource management practices are also found to have a negative joint impact on incremental but not radical innovation. The implications for promoting innovation in hospitality companies are discussed.

A Case Study Of The Rhetorical Styles And Content Used In Devising And Delivering A Workplace Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Program As An Example Of A Gender-Related Power Construct In A Private Sector Workplace With A Predominantly Male Workgroup, Kimberly Campbell

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This work examines what rhetorical approaches were used in the devising and delivery of workplace training materials that address intimate partner violence and gender-related power constructs in a predominantly male workplace and why these approaches were chosen. Specifically, this study analyzes the language used throughout the discourse for the purposes of determining how language can shape the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of the participants. The data was obtained using the qualitative methods of rhetorical analysis and interviewing. The materials were analyzed and this data was synthesized with the results of interviews with the author of the discourse. Supporting research examines …

An Expectancy Violations Theory Study Of Employee Satisfaction, Melissa Cleland

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study seeks to find what drives employee satisfaction using the expectancy violations theory. An exploration of the literature including Judee Burgoon’s expectancy violations theory against leadership credibility, narcissistic communication, and use of power are fully discussed. Ethnographic research is used to study a nonprofit organization, the three employees of Nonprofit XYZ were surveyed, interviewed, and observed over a two week period. The Executive Director of Nonprofit XYZ allowed full access to her office space and employees, however, didn’t participate in the study. The results of the study showed that employee satisfaction was a direct result of specific leadership attributes …

Website Development: A Study Of The Communication And Decision-Making Process Associated With Developing An Effective Website Within A Complex Corporate Structure, Leslie Marie Hebert

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The 21st Century demands the use of technology and the internet to promote businesses and the services or products they provide. It is with this challenge that organizations are faced with how they can compete in their market place with their website. When an organization decides they need to create a website, several questions need to be asked and process structure needs to be created. In a complex organization, one with multiple offices and several employees, the communication process for developing a website can quickly become a multifaceted and unorganized if proper planning and communication tools have not been established. …

Media Portrayal Of The Feminist Movement: The Seattle Times Coverage From 1970 To 1979, Kelly Patricia Darrah

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This research examines how feminism has been covered by mass media in general, and specifically how The Seattle Times portrayed the women’s movement in the 1970s. The fight for women’s suffrage in the early 20th century marks the beginning of the modern women’s movement for equal rights. Most young women today agree with many of the feminist ideals but reject the label. Because media have been proven to have a strong influence on public opinion, the question arises as to whether agenda-setting and negative media coverage are reasons for this disconnect. Using content analysis, this study analyzes print news media …

What Is The Perceived Impact Of Social Media On Personal Relationships In Adolescence?, Samantha Sexton

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

A study was conducted to review the perceived impact social media plays in children’s personal relationships during adolescence. Surveys and interviews were sent out to 50 subjects in an effort to gather and compile information for analysis. The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (Meerkerk et al.) was used in a survey format and administered to participants to access their perceptions in which their child(ren) and/or grandchild(ren)’s use the internet and social media. A 5-point Likert Scale was also implemented in order to provide measurable analysis. Adult anxiety in regards to social media was observed at different levels depending on the developmental …

Direct Instruction And African American Middle School Students, Zelda Togun

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined teacher-created instruction and direct instruction using The Muted Group Theory. The study questions were: RQ1: Which is the better method for teaching African American middle-school children? RQ2: What role does Muted-Group Theory play in the academic choices offered to families of African American middle school children?