Digital Commons Network^™

Packet Delivery: An Investigation Of Educational Video Games For Computer Science Education, Robert Lafferty

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The field of educational video games has rapidly grown since the 1970s, mostly producing video games to teach core education concepts such as mathematics, natural science, and English. Recently, various research groups have developed educational games to address elective topics such as finance and health. Educational video games often target grade school audiences and rarely target high school students, college students, or adults. Computer science topics are not a common theme among educational video games; the games that address Computer Science topics teach computer fundamentals, such as typing or basic programming, to young audiences.

Packet Delivery, an educational video …

A Correlational Study Of Perceptions Of Favoritism, Job Satisfaction, And Job Attendance, Edwanda Landrum Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Researchers posit that teachers’ excessive absences may be caused by a lack of commitment or dissatisfaction with their jobs due to school environments and relationships, and a lack of commitment can ultimately influence student achievement. This correlational study sought to determine any relationship between teachers’ absenteeism and job satisfaction as mitigated by perceptions of favoritism. The participants included 38 teachers among 24 primary and secondary schools in a medium-size, rural, school district. This correlational, quantitative research study utilized instruments titled Job Satisfaction Survey and the Nepotism, Favoritism, Cronyism questionnaire to examine the perceptions of job satisfaction and favoritism among 38 …

Examining The Relationship Between Academic Achievement And English Language Proficiency, Cynthia Grant Hyacinth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

English language learners continue to be a growing demographic in American schools. Despite this, linguistically diverse students’ academic achievement continues to lag behind their native English-speaking counterparts. Historically, language proficiency measures have measured language proficiency in terms of social English, neglecting the importance of academic language development. Using Cummins’ threshold hypothesis as a framework for distinguishing social English development from academic language development, language proficiency assessments and standardized assessments focused on reading achievement were examined. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to determine if a relationship exists between 5th grade English language learners scores on a state-mandated standardized …

Perceived Research Skills Of Graduating Library And Information Science (Lis) Undergraduates In A Nigerian University Of Education, Anuoluwa Feyikemi Awodoyin Dr., Niran Adetoro Prof, Precious Oke Miss

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Researchers in institutions of higher learning are required to conduct researches that will expand the frontiers of knowledge, drive innovation in industries, and the economy at large. Consequently, research has become an integral component of a university’s curriculum. However, there is an ‘assumption’ that undergraduates possess requisite research skills at the end of their training due to their exposure to research. To ascertain this, this study investigated the perceived research skills of graduating Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in a Nigerian University of Education. The study is a survey of the ex post facto type. Total enumeration was used …

Growing Evidence Of The Value Of School Board Training, Daniel W. Eadens, Frank D. Davidson, Danielle M. Eadens

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The last three decades of board research has embarked on various aspects of school boards (Alsbury, 2008b; Delagardelle, 2008; Resnick & Bryant, 2010; Strauss, 2018) including characteristics of effective boards (Alsbury & Gore, 2015; Dervarics & O’Brien, 2016), importance of targeted school board trainings (Cook, 2014; Gann, 2015; Hess & Meeks, 2010; Plough, 2014; Pollard, 2012; Reimer, 2015; Weiss, Templeton, Thompson, & Tremont, 2014; Wilkins, 2015), boards and student achievement (Blasko, 2016; Brenner, Sullivan, & Dalton, 2002; Ikejiaku, 2000; Lorentzen, 2013; Peterson, 2000; Saatcioglu & Sargut, 2014; Shelton, 2010), board behaviors (Bradley, 2013; Choi, 2013; Gates, 2013; Gomez, 2013; Murray, …

Examining The Role Of Spatial Skills And Mathematics Motivation On Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Kinnari Atit, Jason R. Power, Norma Veurink, David H. Uttal, Sheryl Sorby, Grace Panther, Camille Msall, Logan Fiorella, Martha Carr

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Background: Spatial skills and mathematical ability have been repeatedly identified as critical for achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Previous studies have identified correlations between spatial skills and mathematical achievement; however, questions remain regarding improvements in non-spatial areas associated with STEM achievement. The current study examined whether competency in spatial skills could be related to individuals’ motivation for mathematics. Measures of spatial skills and mathematics motivation were completed by 1056 seventh grade students. Results: Using hierarchical linear modeling, spatial skills and math motivation were examined relative to students’ performance on a state standardized mathematics subtest. Results indicate that …

Development Of Hplc Stationary Phases With Unique Selectivities And Introduction Of Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectroscopy In Gas Chromatography, Nimisha Thakur

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

This thesis contributes to advancing liquid and gas chromatography by introducing new stationary phases for HPLC and a new hyphenated GC technique. In the first section, new pH stable stationary phases based on geopolymers are presented for applications in liquid chromatography. The first-ever synthesis of micron-sized spherical particles of geopolymers, customized to be used as HPLC stationary phases, is reported. Complete material characterization of geopolymers using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, laser diffraction, and porosimetry is shown. The chromatographic evaluation of geopolymers is done by comparing parameters such as hydrophilicity, ion exchange selectivity, efficiency, hydrolytic stability, and …

Open Data, Collaborative Working Platforms, And Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Building An Early Career Scientist Community Of Practice To Leverage Ocean Observatories Initiative Data To Address Critical Questions In Marine Science, Robert M. Levine, Kristen E. Fogaren, Johna E. Rudzin, Christopher J. Russoniello, Dax C. Soule, Justine M. Whitaker

Publications and Research

Ocean observing systems are well-recognized as platforms for long-term monitoring of near-shore and remote locations in the global ocean. High-quality observatory data is freely available and accessible to all members of the global oceanographic community—a democratization of data that is particularly useful for early career scientists (ECS), enabling ECS to conduct research independent of traditional funding models or access to laboratory and field equipment. The concurrent collection of distinct data types with relevance for oceanographic disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, and geology yields a unique incubator for cutting-edge, timely, interdisciplinary research. These data are both an opportunity and an incentive …

Incidence Of Antibiotic Resistance And Plasmid Content In Freshwater Beach Sand And Water And Clinical Urinary Tract Infection Escherichia Coli Isolates, Robert F. White

Biology Theses

Antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria have been found in environmental ecosystems including beach sand and water, and pose a serious threat to the mitigation of human and animal disease. The presence of antibiotic residues in the environment, fueled by wastewater effluent and agricultural runoff, may produce selective pressure on introduced microbes such as Escherichia coli, leading to the production of AR populations. This study characterized and compared the antibiotic resistance patterns and plasmid content of E. coli isolated from a freshwater beach and clinical urinary tract infection (UTI) samples. A higher level of antibiotic resistance was expected in clinical (UTI) Escherichia coli …

Pattern Recognition In Tyus V Urban Search Management, Lee Anne Fennell

University of Chicago Law Review

Making judgments requires recognizing patterns—paying attention and picking out recurrent features in a noisy environment. Judge Diane Wood’s opinion in Tyus v Urban Search Management¹ is a masterwork in pattern recognition at several levels. It speaks to the need for legal doctrines capable of reaching subtle and cumulative acts of discrimination that continue to limit opportunities and stand in the way of the “truly integrated and balanced living patterns”² that were part of the original vision of the federal Fair Housing Act³ (FHA).

Tyus involved advertising campaigns used to market The New York, an upscale Chicago apartment …

Harassment And Capabilities: Discrimination And Liability In Wetzel V Glen St. Andrew Living Community, Llc, Martha Craven Nussbaum

University of Chicago Law Review

No abstract provided.

Technical Efficiency Of Public Middle Schools In New York City, William C. Horrace, Michah W. Rothbart, Yi Yang

Center for Policy Research

Using panel data and a “true” fixed effect stochastic frontier model, we estimate persistent and transient technical inefficiency in mathematics (Math) and English Language Arts (ELA) test score gains in NYC public middle schools from 2014 to 2016. We compare several measures of transient technical inefficiency and show that around 58% of NYC middle schools are efficient in Math gains, while 16% are efficient in ELA gains. Multivariate inference techniques are used to determine subsets of efficient schools, providing actionable decision rules to help policymakers target resources and incentives.

Making It To The Phd: Gender And Student Performance In Sub-Saharan Africa, Monica Fisher, Violet Nyabaro, Ruth Mendum, Moses Osiru

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Women's underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) impedes progress in solving Africa's complex development problems. As in other regions, women's participation in STEM drops progressively moving up the education and career ladder, with women currently constituting 30% of Africa's STEM researchers. This study elucidates gender-based differences in PhD performance using new survey data from 227 alumni of STEM PhD programs in 17 African countries. We find that, compared to their male counterparts, sampled women had about one less paper accepted for publication during their doctoral studies and took about half a year longer to finish their PhD training. …

The Surface Diffusion And The Willmore Flow For Uniformly Regular Hypersurfaces, Jeremy Lecrone, Yuanzhen Shao, Gieri Simonett

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

We consider the surface diffusion and Willmore flows acting on a general class of (possibly non–compact) hypersurfaces parameterized over a uniformly regular reference manifold possessing a tubular neighborhood with uniform radius. The surface diffusion and Willmore flows each give rise to a fourth–order quasilinear parabolic equation with nonlinear terms satisfying a specific singular structure. We establish well–posedness of both flows for initial surfaces that are C^1+α–regular and parameterized over a uniformly regular hypersurface. For the Willmore flow, we also show long–term existence for initial surfaces which are C^1+α–close to a sphere, and we prove …

Lightning-Fast And Privacy-Preserving Outsourced Computation In The Cloud, Ximeng Liu, Robert H. Deng, Pengfei Wu, Yang Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we propose a framework for lightning-fast privacy-preserving outsourced computation framework in the cloud, which we refer to as LightCom. Using LightCom, a user can securely achieve the outsource data storage and fast, secure data processing in a single cloud server different from the existing multi-server outsourced computation model. Specifically, we first present a general secure computation framework for LightCom under the cloud server equipped with multiple Trusted Processing Units (TPUs), which face the side-channel attack. Under the LightCom, we design two specified fast processing toolkits, which allow the user to achieve the commonly-used secure integer computation and …

Audee: Automated Testing For Deep Learning Frameworks, Qianyu Guo, Xiaofei Xie, Yi Li, Xiaoyu Zhang, Yang Liu, Xiaohong Li, Chao Shen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Deep learning (DL) has been applied widely, and the quality of DL system becomes crucial, especially for safety-critical applications. Existing work mainly focuses on the quality analysis of DL models, but lacks attention to the underlying frameworks on which all DL models depend. In this work, we propose Audee, a novel approach for testing DL frameworks and localizing bugs. Audee adopts a search-based approach and implements three different mutation strategies to generate diverse test cases by exploring combinations of model structures, parameters, weights and inputs. Audee is able to detect three types of bugs: logical bugs, crashes and Not-a-Number (NaN) …

Jointly Optimizing Sensing Pipelines For Multimodal Mixed Reality Interaction, Ramesh Darshana Rathnayake Kanatta Gamage, Ashen De Silva, Dasun Puwakdandawa, Lakmal Meegahapola, Archan Misra, Indika Perera

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Natural human interactions for Mixed Reality Applications are overwhelmingly multimodal: humans communicate intent and instructions via a combination of visual, aural and gestural cues. However, supporting low-latency and accurate comprehension of such multimodal instructions (MMI), on resource-constrained wearable devices, remains an open challenge, especially as the state-of-the-art comprehension techniques for each individual modality increasingly utilize complex Deep Neural Network models. We demonstrate the possibility of overcoming the core limitation of latency–vs.–accuracy tradeoff by exploiting cross-modal dependencies–i.e., by compensating for the inferior performance of one model with an increased accuracy of more complex model of a different modality. We present a …

Conditional Distance Correlation Test For Gene Expression Level, Dna Methylation Level And Copy Number, Shanshan Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past years, efforts have been devoted to the genome-wide analysis of genetic and epigenetic profiles to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms of complex diseases such as cancer. It is of great importance to unravel the complex dependence structure between biological factors, and many conditional dependence tests have been developed to meet this need. The traditional partial correlation method can only capture the linear partial correlation, but not the nonlinear correlation. To overcome this limitation, we propose to use the innovative conditional distance correlation (CDC), which measures the conditional dependence between random vectors and detect nonlinear relations. In …

Esg Investing, Fall 2020, Juliet Kamau, Anthony Qiu, Brent Schiller, Raheem Williams, Ge Yu, Zixin Zhou

Sustainability Exchange Projects

ESG Investing Project for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020

Deicing Impacts On The Danforth Campus, Fall 2020, Lucy Armstrong, Kaela Evans, Kelly Fujimoto, Sydney Hornitschek, Genna Torgan

Sustainability Exchange Projects

De-Icing Impacts on the Danforth Campus, Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020.

Bird Collision Mitigation Report Fall 2020, Alejandra Cohen, Brandon Trusler, Wade Wilson, Ian Mcwilliams

Sustainability Exchange Projects

Bird Strike Mitigation Project Report for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020

Resisting Hyper-Partisan Silencing: Arendt On Political Persuasion Through Exemplification And Truth-Telling As Action, Andrew D. Spear

Articles, Book Chapters, Essays

A central frustration of recent political discourse is the consistent reduction of politically relevant factual and critical speech to mere expression of partisan commitment. Partisans of “the other side”—members of the other tribe—are viewed as de facto wrong, because partisans, even when their speech invokes mere facts or purportedly shared political principles. Ideally, democratic political discourse operates along at least two central dimensions: a dimension of shared factual, historical, and political assumptions, and a more contested dimension of interpretation, prioritization, and evaluation that results in diverse and often competing understandings of what is good, and so of what is best …

Vocational And Life Skills Quarterly Report: Grant Cycle 4 Quarter 2 October-December 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne, Michael Campagna

Reports

This report presents quarterly data and evaluation updates for the Vocational and Life Skills Program (VLS) through Quarter Two of Grant Cycle Four. VLS was created by Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 with the purpose of reducing recidivism and increasing meaningful employment for individuals convicted of a crime in Nebraska. The report contains 1) descriptions of the eight funded organizations across the state, 2) a snapshot of participation, 3) demographics of the participants, and 4) participation breakdowns and descriptions of the skills participants are gaining through VLS programming.

The VLS initiative is evaluated by the Nebraska Center for Justice …

Chapter 1.2: Visualization Of Buffer Capacity With 3-D Topos: Buffer Ridges, Equivalence Point Canyons And Dilution Ramps, Garon C. Smith, Md Mainul Hossain

Water Topos: A 3-D Trend Surface Approach to Viewing and Teaching Aqueous Equilibrium Chemistry

The BufCap TOPOS software generates 3-D topographic surfaces for acid-base equilibrium studies that portray pH and buffer capacity behavior during titration and dilution procedures. Topo surfaces are created by plotting computed pH and buffer capacity values above a composition grid with volume of NaOH as the x-axis and overall system dilution as the y-axis. What emerge are surface features that correspond to pH and buffer behaviors in aqueous solutions. Topo surfaces are created for pH, log buffer capacity and linear buffer capacity. Equivalence point breaks become pH cliffs and logarithmic buffer capacity canyons that grow shallower with dilution. …

Is2020 A Competency Model For Undergraduate Programs In Information Systems: The Joint Acm/Ais Is2020 Task Force, Paul Leidig, Hannu Salmela

College of Computing Peer-Reviewed Articles

The IS2020 report is the latest in a series of model curricula recommendations and guidelines for undergraduate degrees in Information Systems (IS). The report builds on the foundations developed in previous model curricula reports to develop a major revision of the model curriculum with the inclusion of significant new characteristics. Specifically, the IS2020 report does not directly prescribe a degree structure that targets a specific context or environment. Rather, the IS2020 report provides guidance regarding the core content of the curriculum that should be present but also provides flexibility to customize curricula according to local institutional needs.

Quantum Oscillations From Networked Topological Interfaces In A Weyl Semimetal, I. Lin Liu, Colin Heikes, Taner Yildirim, Chris Eckberg, Tristin Metz, Hyunsoo Kim, Sheng Ran, William D. Ratcliff, Johnpierre Paglione, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Layered transition metal chalcogenides are promising hosts of electronic Weyl nodes and topological superconductivity. MoTe₂ is a striking example that harbors both noncentrosymmetric T_d and centrosymmetric T' phases, both of which have been identified as topologically nontrivial. Applied pressure tunes the structural transition separating these phases to zero temperature, stabilizing a mixed T_d–T' matrix that entails a network of interfaces between the two nontrivial topological phases. Here, we show that this critical pressure range is characterized by distinct coherent quantum oscillations, indicating that the difference in topology between topologically nonvtrivial T_d and T' phases gives …

Tuning Magnetic Confinement Of Spin-Triplet Superconductivity, Wen Chen Lin, Daniel J. Campbell, Sheng Ran, I. Lin Liu, Hyunsoo Kim, Andriy H. Nevidomskyy, David Graf, Nicholas P. Butch, Johnpierre Paglione

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrical magnetoresistance and tunnel diode oscillator measurements were performed under external magnetic fields up to 41 T applied along the crystallographic b axis (hard axis) of UTe₂ as a function of temperature and applied pressures up to 18.8 kbar. In this work, we track the field-induced first-order transition between superconducting and magnetic field-polarized phases as a function of applied pressure, showing suppression of the transition with increasing pressure until the demise of superconductivity near 16 kbar and the appearance of a pressure-induced ferromagnetic-like ground state that is distinct from the field-polarized phase and stable at zero field. Together with …

Formative Assessment In English Classroom At Secondary Level: Knowledge And Practice Of Teachers And Students, Muhammad Salahuddin, Mariam Begum

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Student Publications

An assessment helps to discover the truth or reality of learning progress. Students can be evaluated both formative and summative assessments in present schooling systems around the world. The main objective of this study is to explore the knowledge and practice of formative assessment (FA) in English classrooms at the secondary level in Bangladesh along with measuring the perception of teachers and students about FA. Following a convergent parallel design, the data were collected from teachers, students, and classrooms by using a questionnaire, in-depth interview schedule, FGD, Likert scale, and classroom observation checklist. A total number of 230 students, 10 …

Gender And Change Over Time On Reading Achievement For English Learners In Grades 3-4 In Northwest Arkansas, Molly Wingfield

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by change over time between males versus females on reading achievement measured by the NWEA MAP Growth Reading 2-5 AR 2016 for ELPA21 Beginning and ELPA21 Intermediate levels for third- and fourth-grade students from a school district in Northwest Arkansas. This study is important because serving English learners, which is the fastest growing population of students, will help close the achievement gap and eliminate gender bias. This study is rooted in the five main hypotheses of Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition (Krashen, 1981, 1982, 2002). To address each of …

C R Rao And Mahalanobis’ Distance, Probal Chaudhuri

Journal Articles

C R Rao has made seminal contributions in many areas in statistics. A review of some of his fundamental contributions towards the development of the theory and application of Mahalanobis distance in classification problems is presented here. The review is based on information provided in some of Rao’s famous research and autobiographical papers.