Digital Commons Network^™

Measuring Learning Through Cross Sectional Testing, Steve Lovett, Jennie Johnson

Management Faculty Publications

The measurement of student learning is becoming increasingly important in U.S. higher education. One way to measure learning is through longitudinal testing, but this becomes especially difficult when applied to cumulative learning within programs in situations of low persistence. In particular, many Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) find themselves in such situations. Cross sectional testing is a pragmatic alternative, so long as maturity and selection effects can be estimated. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility and mechanics of measuring learning through cross sectional testing.

Characteristics Of Public Alternative High Schools Specifically For Students Placed At-Risk: A National Study Using The 2003-04 And 2007-08 Schools And Staffing Survey, Masashi Izumi

Dissertations

In this study I investigated determinants of the average daily attendance (ADA) and graduation rate of public alternative high schools specifically for students placed at-risk by analyzing the nationally representative data from Schools and Staffing Surveys of 2003-04 and 2007-08. I built three models via successive block entry, predicting the ADA and graduation rate by (a) student demographics, (b) staffing characteristics, and (c) school processes. Through multiple regression analyses on ADA, I found (a) a positive relationship between career technical education and ADA; and (b) a negative relationship between teacher-student ratio and ADA. Through the set of multiple regression analyses …

Assessing The National Innovation System In A Developing Country Context: A Framework And Evidence From Thailand, Maleena Parkey

All Dissertations

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Analyses Of Consumer Perceptions, Farmer Challenges, Polyamine, And Amino Acid Content Of Organic And Conventional Fresh Produce Grown In South Carolina, Emily Steinberg

All Dissertations

Execution of the USDA organic standards led to more support for local food as distinct from organic food. The current study was conducted to examine fresh produce perceptions and purchasing decisions of S.C. consumers. Four-hundred and eight S.C. consumers were surveyed at S.C. grocery stores. More than one-third of the S.C. consumers not knowing about the 'certified S.C. grown' program suggest that the S.C. Department of Agriculture (SCDA) may want to improve the promotion of their program. Eighty-five percent of consumers indicated that they would choose local over organic. This information would be useful to local S.C. produce farmers who …

Principals' Experiences Regarding Culturally Responsive Leadership Preparation And Practices That Promote Academic Achievement Of African American Students, Monica Brown

All Dissertations

Culturally responsive education improves the educational success of ethnically diverse students (Gay, 2002). The research presented states the case of the need of culturally responsive leadership preparation programs that influence the practice of culturally responsive principals. Emerging evidence has found that preparation programs impact the efficacy of future school leaders (Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, Orr, & Cohen, 2007; Jackson & Kelly, 2002). A large body of literature points to persistent achievement gaps for children of color and especially for African American males and demands that school leadership preparation attend to issues of cultural competence (Dantley, 2005; Evans, 2007; Lopez, Magdeleno, & …

The Contribution Of Poly(Adp-Ribose)Polymerase-1 Activity In The Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway, Brenee S. King

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) promotes the formation of UVR-induced, DNA helix distorting photolesions such as (6-4) pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproducts (6-4 PPs) and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs). Effective repair of such lesions by the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is required to prevent DNA mutations and chromosome aberrations. Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a zinc-finger protein with well documented involvement in base excision repair (BER). PARP-1 is activated in response to DNA damage and catalyzes the formation of poly(ADP-ribose) subunits (PAR) that assist in the assembly of DNA repair complexes at sites of damage. In this dissertation, I present evidence for PARP-1 contributions …

Energy Conserving Privacy Enhancing Algorithms For Resource-Constrained Devices, Michael Groat

Computer Science ETDs

Resource-constrained devices such as wireless sensor networks, body area networks, or smart phones collect confidential and sensitive information about their users. Traditional solutions to protect these data, such as encryption, consume a significant amount of resources to be viable. In this dissertation, I present two energy efficient information collection protocols based on the notion that by relaxing the definition of privacy, such as using indistinguishability, energy use can be reduced. The first protocol, multi-dimensional negative surveys (MDNSs), protects multivariate categorical data by perturbing sensed values to something other than what was actually sensed, and transmits the perturbed values to a …

Grand Theft Auto Loans: Repossession And Demographic Realities In Title Lending, Nathalie Martin

Faculty Scholarship

This Article analyzes empirical data on one of America's fastest growing credit products, the title loan. A title loan is a high-interest, deeply oversecured, consumer loan, in which the consumer uses an unencumbered automobile as collateral for a non-purchase money loan. Title loans are made based solely on equity in a car. If a customer has insufficient income to pay the payments under the loan, typically interest-only payments at 300% per annum or more, the lender repossesses the vehicle, many of which have GPS trackers installed for this purpose. Not surprisingly, the repossession rates for title loans are higher than …

The Impact Of Low, Moderate, And High Military Family Mobility School District Transfer Rates On Graduating Senior High School Dependents' Achievement And School Engagement, Jeffrey K. Rippe

Student Work

The results of this study suggest that there were no significant differences in the academic performance of military dependents' with low (n = 20), moderate (n = 20), and high (n = 20) mobility school district transfer rates compared to non-military control students (n = 20) before completing high school. The findings were not consistent with some past research on student mobility. The research school district takes the goal of the Interstate Compact, which is to replace the widely varying treatment of transitioning military students with a comprehensive approach that provides a uniform policy in every school …

The Impact Of Prolonged Participation In A Pro-Social Cognitive Behavioral Skills Program On Elementary Age Students, With Behavior Related Disorders, Behavior Accelerative, Behavior Reductive, And Return To Regular Classroom Outcomes, Ted H. Esser

Student Work

Overall, pretest-posttest results indicated statistically significant pretest beginning program compared to posttest ending program percentage of behavioral improvement for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes improvement for individual students who completed the elementary grades pro-social cognitive behavioral skills program within one school year or less ( n = 16), within one to two school years (n = 14), and within one school year or less ( n = 15). These results indicate program intervention effectiveness for these students. The posttest ending outcomes compared to posttest ending for on task, following directions, and positive interactions outcomes for individual …

The Impact Of Teacher Administered Positive Behavioral Support Interventions On The Behavior And Achievement Of Intermediate Level Students Identified With Measured Moderate, Mild, And Low Disruptive Externalizing Behaviors, Gregory W. Betts

Student Work

Students who demonstrated moderate (n = 18), mild (n = 22), or low (n = 46) externalizing behaviors as rated by teachers on the Universal Behavior Screen at the research school decreased the amount of externalizing behaviors displayed in the research school setting. At posttest 61 students scored in the low range, 24 students scored in the mild range and one student scored in the moderate range demonstrating the effectiveness of the school wide positive behavior support program which focused on a positive proactive reinforcement intervention for all students. While posttest NeSA-Reading scores showed no significant improvement, …

Originalism And Loving V. Virginia, Steven G. Calabresi, Andrea Matthews

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reverse-Commandeering, Margaret Hu

Faculty Publications

Although the anti-commandeering doctrine was developed by the Supreme Court to protect state sovereignty from federal overreach, nothing prohibits flipping the doctrine in the opposite direction to protect federal sovereignty from state overreach. Federalism preserves a balance of power between two sovereigns. Thus, the reversibility of the anticommandeering doctrine appears inherent in the reasoning offered by the Court for the doctrine’s creation and application. In this Article, I contend that reversing the anti-commandeering doctrine is appropriate in the context of contemporary immigration federalism laws. Specifically, I explore how an unconstitutional incursion into federal sovereignty can be seen in state immigration …

The Age Of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition Of Adolescent Marriage, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Age at marriage has for decades been the strongest and most unequivocal predictor of marital failure. The likelihood of divorce nears eighty percent for those who marry in mid-adolescence, then drops steadily. Delaying marriage until the mid-twenties reduces one’s likelihood of divorce to thirty percent. Women who marry at age twenty-one or younger, moreover – and one in ten U.S. women do – experience worse mental and physical health, attain less education, and earn lower wages than those who marry later. Post-divorce, they and their children tend to endure even greater economic deprivation and instability than do never-married mothers, who …

Web-Based Interactive Video Vignettes Create A Personalized Active Learning Classroom For Introducing Big Ideas In Introductory Biology, Leslie Kate Wright, Dina L. Newman, Jean A. Cardinale, Robert Teese

Articles

The typical “flipped classroom” delivers lecture material in video format to students outside of class in order to make space for active learning in class. But why give students passive material at all? We are developing a set of high-quality online educational materials that promote active, hands-on science learning to aid in teaching of core concepts for introductory biology at the college level. Interactive video vignettes (IVVs) incorporate evidence based teaching strategies to address known areas of confusion for entering students. Each IVV includes a live action scenario with undergraduates investigating a biological problem with a realistic experiment that users …

December 2012 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Antiseptics And Disinfectants For The Treatment Of Bacterial Vaginosis: A Systematic Review, Hans Verstraelen Verstraelen, Rita Verhelst, Kristien Roelens, Marleen Temmerman

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: The study objective was to assess the available data on efficacy and tolerability of antiseptics and disinfectants in treating bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Methods: A systematic search was conducted by consulting PubMed (1966-2010), CINAHL (1982-2010), IPA (1970-2010), and the Cochrane CENTRAL databases. Clinical trials were searched for by the generic names of all antiseptics and disinfectants listed in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System under the code D08A. Clinical trials were considered eligible if the efficacy of antiseptics and disinfectants in the treatment of BV was assessed in comparison to placebo or standard antibiotic treatment with metronidazole or clindamycin …

Going Natural African American Women And Their Hair, Brittney Dennis

HIM 1990-2015

The study seeks to gain a better understanding of the term "going natural" in regards to women with natural African American hair. The study also seeks to understand natural hair and reclaiming a positive perspective of acceptance and natural appearance. The study will give light to what it is to have natural hair in present day and calls upon the experience of the Black woman on her journey with her hair and her past.

Fear Vs. Facts: Examining The Economic Impact Of Undocumented Immigrants In The U.S., David Becerra, David K. Androff, Cecilia Ayón, Jason T. Castillo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Undocumented immigration has become a contentious issue in the U.S. over the past decade. Opponents of undocumented immigration have argued that undocumented immigrants are a social and financial burden to the U.S. which has led to the passage of drastic and costly policies. This paper examined existing state and national data and found that undocumented immigrants do contribute to the economies of federal, state, and local governments through taxes and can stimulate job growth, but the cost of providing law enforcement, health care, and education impacts federal, state, and local governments differently. At the federal level, undocumented immigrants tend to …

Perceived Neighborhood Safety And Psychological Distress: Exploring Protective Factors, Jaime Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While a growing body of literature has established a relationship between "disordered" neighborhoods and psychological distress, less is known about the specific mechanisms at work. Using data collected in the 2008 Arizona Health Survey (N = 4,196), hierarchal linear regression was conducted to assess both the independent effect of perception of neighborhood safety on psychological distress, as well as the mediating effects of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust. The findings suggest that the more safe individuals feel in their neighborhood, the less psychological distress they experience (b = 1.07, SE = .17, p < .001). This relationship appears to be partially mediated by feelings of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust, indicating potential risk and protective factors.

Living In Harmony: Health Perspectives Of Hispanics In Rural East Tennessee., Erin E. Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose is to promote culturally competent care among healthcare providers by identifying and describing how Hispanics in East Tennessee view health and what they do to prevent illness. A focus group of six to ten Hispanics of mixed genders over age eighteen moderated by a native Spanish-speaking interpreter. Questions explored how Hispanics define health and sickness, health maintenance practices, and alternative medicines and practices. Results were interpreted from Spanish to English to be analyzed. The Circle in Which You Live was described by members as consisting of relationships, physical health, and peace of the mind and soul. In Shutting …

The Hellenistic Ideal Of The Good Or Virtuous Life., Bernadette Monaco

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper explores the Hellenistic Ideal of the good or virtous life by looking at historical backround, the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, and the literary works of Euripides.

Traditional Knowledge, Cultural Expression, And The Siren’S Call Of Property, Justin Hughes

San Diego Law Review

Discussions on international legal norms for the protection of TK/TCE have, in their contemporary form, been ongoing since the late 1990s. In that time, our understanding of key issues for a workable system—subject matter, beneficiaries, rights, or protections—have advanced little, if at all. Indeed, as Michael Brown has observed, “vexing questions of origins and boundaries . . . are commonly swept under the rug in public discussions.” Yet even if all those questions were settled, we also need a clear justification or justifications for a new form of intellectual property on the world stage.

N-Glycosylation Dictates Proper Processing Of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1b1, Juan Yao, Weifang Hong, Jiujiu Huang, Kai Zhan, Hong Huang, Mei Hong

School of Information Faculty Publications

Organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) have been extensively recognized as key determinants of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of various drugs, xenobiotics and toxins. Putative N-glycosylation sites located in the extracellular loops 2 and 5 is considered a common feature of all OATPs and some members have been demonstrated to be glycosylated proteins. However, experimental evidence is still lacking on how such a post-translational modification affect the transport activity of OATPs and which of the putative glycosylation sites are utilized in these transporter proteins. In the present study, we substituted asparagine residues that are possibly involved in N-glycosylation with …

Contemporary Us-American Satire And Consumerism (Crews, Coupland, Palahniuk), J.C. Lee

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Contemporary US-American Satire and Consumerism (Crews, Coupland, Palahniuk)" J.C. Lee focuses on contemporary satire's potential (or lack thereof) for change, reform, or rebellion through an investigation of works by Harry Crews, Douglas Coupland, and Chuck Palahniuk, all of which target consumerism. The said writers employ satire not to initiate rebellion or cultural change, but to reflect the problematic role of institutions in modern life and, in turn, the potential, even hope, for personal growth. Lee's analysis of texts by Crews, Coupland, and Palahniuk is intended to question satire's potential as a form of cultural critique and institutional …

Memory, Identity, And Narration: A Book Review Of New Work By Assmann And Conrad And Tilmans, Vree, And Winter, Simona Mitroiu

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Family Cancer History And Pedigrees As A Public Health Intervention For Promoting Health And Preventing Prostate Cancer In African American Men, Holisa Wharton

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. African-American men have substantially higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality than European-American men. It is unclear whether this incidence is due to acquired DNA changes (sporadic cancer) or if germline Mendelian genetics/genomics (inherited cancer) is the source of this health disparity. To explore this cause, the focus of this dissertation paper is family health history and hereditary prostate cancer. A family history tool is the most commonly used predictive instrument for hereditary prostate cancer. The …

The Development Of Mennonite Music In The Congo: A Study In Musical Thought, Jill Michelle Schroeder-Dorn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine musical thought among members of the Congolese Mennonite Church. Established and governed by missionaries, the music practices of the Church were initially modeled after Western services, which consisted of church choirs and four-part hymn singing. Congolese who chose to convert to Christianity had to adapt to a new musical system, which included not only properties of musical sound, but also concepts surrounding the music making experience, including what music is and what it has the power to accomplish. The church has now been in existence for over one hundred years, and musical …

A Unifying Approach To Behavioral Coverage, Elena Sherman

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Developing methods for validating that a program works as intended is one of the key research areas in software engineering. Ideally a program P must exhibit its expected be- havior, or property, φ on all of its inputs, i.e., P |= φ. The software engineering community has developed various program analysis approaches to assess whether P |= φ. In general, these approaches can be partitioned into dynamic and static program analysis. The former execute P on a particular input and checks that the execution conforms to φ. The latter in- terprets the code of P and check that on all …

Custom, Normative Practice, And The Law, Gerald J. Postema

Duke Law Journal

Legally binding custom is conventionally analyzed in terms of two independent elements: regularities of behavior (usus) and convictions of actors engaging in the behavior that it is legally required (opinio juris). This additive conception of custom is deeply flawed. This Essay argues that we must abandon the additive conception and replace it with an account of custom that understands legally relevant customs as norms that arise from discursive normative practices embedded in rich contexts of social interaction characterized by intermeshing anticipations and interconnected conduct. The hallmark of legally binding customs, it is argued, is not the addition of belief or …