Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

A Corepressor Participates In Lexa-Independent Regulation Of Error-Prone Polymerases In Acinetobacter, Janelle M. Hare, Alison N. Grice, Megan A. Peterson

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The DNA damage response of the multidrug-resistant pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, which induces mutagenic UmuD′2C error-prone polymerases, differs from that of many bacteria. Acinetobacter species lack a LexA repressor, but induce gene transcription after DNA damage. One regulator, UmuDAb, binds to and represses the promoters of the multiple A. baumannii ATCC 17978 umuDC alleles and the divergently transcribed umuDAb and ddrR genes. ddrR is unique to the genus Acinetobacter and of unknown function. 5' RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) PCR mapping of the umuDAb and ddrR transcriptional start sites revealed that their −35 promoter elements overlapped the UmuDAb binding site, …

Cognitive Dissonance In Higher Education: Inflating Grades And Not Feeling Guilty, Ahmad Hassan, Fatma Mohamed, Jonathan Nelson

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Although there has been growing interest in recent years in investigating the phenomena of grade inflation in higher education, little has focused on the actual psychological processes through which professors may engage in inflating grades without feeling guilty or perceiving this behavior as problematic. Social psychology has focused on the apparent inconsistency between stated attitudes and actual behavior; specifically, cognitive dissonance theory provides insights into why people may behave immorally. By outlining the role of cognitive dissonance in the grade inflation process we provide greater understanding as to how professors cope with the negative psychological arousal associated with grade inflation.

Safety Concerns In Football: An Analysis On The Protocol Of Return To Play After Concussion, Steve Chen, Gina B. Gonzalez, Alexis Smith

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The purpose of this article was two-fold: (1) to address and highlight the standards of concussion management protocol provided by the NATA, CDC and major sports governing bodies, and (2) to examine how concussion protocols of different levels of athletic programs and organizations adhere to the proposed guidelines and standards. According to the literature, an ideal concussion management plan must cover elements such as: concussion education, responsibility and information about student athletes’ self-reporting signs and symptoms, policy and rules on restricting activities of athletes who are diagnosed with a concussion, requirements and procedures for diagnosis of a concussion and clearance …

Comparative Gene Expression Profiling Between Optic Nerve And Spinal Cord Injury In Xenopus Laevis Reveals A Core Set Of Genes Inherent In Successful Regeneration Of Vertebrate Central Nervous System Axons, Kurt M. Gibbs

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Background: The South African claw-toed frog, Xenopus laevis, is uniquely suited for studying differences between regenerative and non-regenerative responses to CNS injury within the same organism, because some CNS neurons (e.g., retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve crush (ONC)) regenerate axons throughout life, whereas others (e.g., hindbrain neurons after spinal cord injury (SCI)) lose this capacity as tadpoles metamorphose into frogs. Tissues from these CNS regions (frog ONC eye, tadpole SCI hindbrain, frog SCI hindbrain) were used in a three-way RNAseq study of axotomized CNS axons to identify potential core gene expression programs for successful CNS axon regeneration.

Results: Despite …

The Rural Rise (Rural Initiatives Supporting Excellence): University-Rural K-12 Collaboration Programs For College And Career Readiness For Rural Students, Shane C. Shope

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Faculty from two universities in Florida and Ohio designed, developed, and implemented programs to work with youth from their respective service regions to support college and career readiness initiatives. Both programs were directed by university faculty and utilized university resources to support K-12 students’ career development skills. In this paper, we examine the programs’ designs, implementations, and results; we include feedback from students, school personnel, and local stakeholders. Attentive to results and the relevant literature, we hope to ignite a longterm discussion on how universities can create effective outreach programs that help support student transitions from high school to college, …

The Worsening Political Divide: Adult Education As Part Of The Cure, Lee W. Nabb, Fujuan Tan, Daryl R. Privott

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The US is experiencing extreme social and political polarization not seen since the Civil War. This divisiveness is causing civil unrest and governmental dysfunction which threatens the stability of the nation. Four major causes of the current state are party realignment, the deregulation of news broadcasting, algorithmic personalization of electronic information, and an unknowing public. Adult education can and should be part of the remedy reducing or eliminating harmful polarization. Knowledge of authoritative systems is key to the solution. To promote such knowledge, adult educators can create practical and theoretical learning experiences about authoritative systems and incorporate such knowledge into …

The Effects Of Attending Annual Professional Conferences On The Personal Development Of International Faculty, Lee Nabb, Fujuan Tan

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Especially given the current emphasis on internationalization and globalization, international faculty members constitute an important part of the overall faculty of higher education in the US and abroad. Personal as well as professional well-being is important in retaining international faculty. While annual professional conferences, by design, support and enhance professional development, little information exists as to the effect they have on personal development of international faculty members. This qualitative study was designed to provide foundational information on which to build further research as to the impact attending professional conferences have on the personal development and well-being of international higher education …

Examining Contextual Differences In Participant Characteristics And During-Program Occurrences With Drug Court Program Completion, Shondrah T. Nash

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The study purpose was to compare individuals participating in rural and urban drug courts to examine factors associated with program completion. Secondary data (participant assessment; drug court Management Information System) as well as conviction information from a statewide database were examined for a sample of drug court participants (N = 534). Based on multivariate analysis, for rural participants, two variables were significantly associated with increased program completion: age and outpatient treatment. Conversely, for rural participants, the number of felony/misdemeanor convictions before drug court and receiving an incarceration sanction during drug court were associated with program non-completion. For urban participants, gender …

Intensive Disc-Reverberation Mapping Of Fairall 9: 1st Year Of Swift & Lco Monitoring, Dirk Grupe

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

We present results of time-series analysis of the rst year of the Fairall 9 intensive disc-reverberation campaign. We used Swift and the Las Cumbres Observatory global telescope network to continuously monitor Fairall 9 from X-rays to near-infrared at a daily to sub-daily cadence. The cross-correlation function between bands provides ev- idence for a lag spectrum consistent with the / 43 scaling expected for an optically thick, geometrically thin blackbody accretion disc. Decomposing the ux into con- stant and variable components, the variable component's spectral energy distribution is slightly steeper than the standard accretion disc prediction. We nd evidence at the …

Acceleration Of Coronal Mass Ejection Plasma In The Low Corona As Measured By The Citizen Cate Experiment, Jennifer J. Birriel, Ignacio Birriel

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) Experiment was a new type of citizen science experiment designed to capture a time sequence of white-light coronal observations during totality from 17:16 to 18:48 UT on 2017 August 21. Using identical instruments the CATE group imaged the inner corona from 1 to 2.1 RSun with 1 43 pixels at a cadence of 2.1 s. A slow coronal mass ejection (CME) started on the SW limb of the Sun before the total eclipse began. An analysis of CATE data from 17:22 to 17:39 UT maps the spatial distribution of coronal flow velocities from about …

Rearview Mirror Rainbow: An Optics Investigation, Jennifer Birriel, Ignacio Birriel

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

No abstract provided.

Key Components Of Tourism Destination Development, Janet Ratliff, Michelle B. Kunz

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

This paper examines variables that contribute to tourism revenues as reported by the state of Kentucky for a sample of 54 counties in Appalachian Kentucky. The study utilized five components of tourism, online promotional information, and reported tourism revenues to identify what variables contribute to regional tourism revenues. Regression analysis using factor scores found two factors influenced employment revenue and one factor influenced direct tourism revenue.

A Structural Equation Modeling Investigation Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior Applied To Accounting Professors’ Formal Enforcement Of Cheating Rules, Stephen S. Brigham

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

This study investigates factors that influence accounting professors’ formal enforcement of academic misconduct rules using the Theory of Planned Behavior (“TPB”) as a theoretical framework. Obtaining a better understanding of formal enforcement will inform efforts to improve it. We emailed survey requests to 8,663 accounting faculty in 35 countries and received a reasonably representative sample of 1,207 (13.9% response rate) complete surveys from 23 countries— exceeding sample-size requirements for structural equation modeling to test our TPB model, which explains 43.3% of the variance in Formal Enforcement Behavior and 52.4% of Intention, consistent with past TPB studies. Results indicate that of …

Life And Death In The Chicxulub Impact Crater: A Record Of The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, Jennifer M. O'Keefe

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Thermal stress on the biosphere during the extreme warmth of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was most severe at low latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial sections have been identified, and the response of land plants to this extreme heat is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new record of the PETM from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater that has been identified based on nannofossil biostratigraphy, an acme of the dinoflagellate genus Apectodinium, and a negative carbon isotope excursion. …

Virtual Laboratory Of Industrial Scenarios For Training In The Areas Of Automation And Control, Jorge Alberto Ortega-Moody, William R. Grise

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The incorporation of new technologies and technological developments in the area of automation and control requires constant training of the personnel involved in such area. The majority of this training begins in the laboratories of educational institutions and training centers for automation personnel. These laboratories are where theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom is applied. Unfortunately, being limited in infrastructure, the use of those laboratories, in the best case scenarios, are restricted to only some actuators and sensors. Industry training is another source in which individual companies have their own internal training programs led by experts in the field. However, …

The Midway To Carrizo Succession In The Southeastern Texas Gulf Coast: Evolution Of A Tidally-Influenced Coastline, Jennifer M. O'Keefe

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

This study demonstrates that the Upper Midway to Carrizo stratigraphic succession in southeastern Texas contains a greater variability in depositional systems, facies, and reservoir sandstone-body geometry than previously documented. It also documents significant tidal processes on sedimentation in the Wilcox Group and Carrizo Formation.

Novel Machine Learning Algorithms For Centrality And Cliques Detection In Youtube Social Networks, Craigory Coppola, Heba Elgazzar

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The goal of this research project is to analyze the dynamics of social networks using machine learning techniques to locate maximal cliques and to find clusters for the purpose of identifying a target demographic. Unsupervised machine learning techniques are designed and implemented in this project to analyze a dataset from YouTube to discover communities in the social network and find central nodes. Different clustering algorithms are implemented and applied to the YouTube dataset. The well-known Bron-Kerbosch algorithm is used effectively in this research to find maximal cliques. The results obtained from this research could be used for advertising purposes and …

Social-Emotional Climate In The Community College Classroom: An Action Research Study Investigating The Impact Of Real-Time Student Feedback To Instructors, Angela E. Quitadamo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Community college students often have obligations outside the classroom (supporting dependents or working part-or full-time jobs), preventing them from participating in extracurricular activities and fulfilling their social-emotional needs on campus. As a result, they rely heavily on classroom interactions with their instructors to gain a sense of belonging and motivation necessary for optimal cognitive growth. This action research study was conducted at a rural community college in New England to learn if an informal feedback tool, given to students, could provide real-time data to instructors to enhance the social-emotional classroom environment. An inquiry group (IG) comprised of the researcher and …

Exploring Reflective Journal Writing Among Pre-Registered Student Nurses, Seyed Abolghasem Fatemeh

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study furnishes a comprehensive exploration of reflective journal writing in diploma nursing education of pre-registered student nurses (PRSN) in a Malaysian context. The focal point is directed toward the practice of reflective journal writing and the roles it plays in developing professional knowledge and skills among novice student nurses. Within this domain, this study explored the participants’ perceptions on reflective journal writing, investigated their evaluation of reflective journaling and looked into their levels of reflection demonstrated in their reflective journals as documented in Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) proposed by Mezirow (1990). For these purposes, dual methodologies were adopted to …

Relationship Between Esl Teachers’ Reading Habits And Their English Language Proficiency, Appa Rwoo Sharmila

Student Works (2020-2029)

This research is carried out with the purpose of gaining more in-depth information in regards to the reading habits of 210 ESL teachers in the district of Klang, Selangor and how these habits correspond to their English language proficiency. Using the convenience sampling method and quantitative instruments such as survey questionnaire and an English language proficiency test, this research aims to achieve four research objectives. First, it intends to study the types of reading materials read by ESL teachers in Malaysia. Secondly, it aims to calculate the rates of general and extensive reading among these teachers and thirdly, the problems …

Aware I Am Alone: Intersections Of Solitude And Mindfulness, Richard Cleveland

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the relationship between solitude and mindfulness. Parallels between the two constructs exist, allowing them to complement each other in furthering the well-being of individuals and communities. Three perspectives through which mindfulness may assist in forming foundational understandings of solitude are presented; these comprise Theoretical, Practice, and Research. The Theoretical lens provides introductory understandings of both solitude and mindfulness. On this basis, integral parallels between the two constructs are outlined. Next, Practice reviews solitude that is fostered through mindfulness practices. Further, additional models for recognizing solitude as a part of mindfulness are proposed. Finally, Research …

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume, 2020

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Student's Perceptions Of Smartphone Use At Home And At A High School Regarding A New Smartphone Policy: A Case Study, Ana Zurita

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The new generation raised in the digital era continues to present unresolved challenges for both parents and teachers. The purpose of this case study is to analyze students' usage of their smartphones in their lives, and understand the success of a new school policy on smartphone use at an arts school in the U.S. For this qualitative research, I interviewed ten participants from the high school. The literary review informs us that smartphones are potentially addictive, with negative effects for healthy mental, emotional and social child development, as well as a source of misleading information. As a consequence, smartphones in …

Strengthening Middle School Students’ Commitment To Social Justice Issues: Building Connections With Teacher Education Candidates, Anne Katz

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

This article was published in Dragon Lode.

A Study Of Self-Evaluation And Estimator Error In Internal Medicine Residents And Its Influence On The Academic Achievement Of Medical Knowledge, William Morse

Wayne State University Dissertations

The main objective of this study is to address the research question—how does a sample of internal medicine residents self-evaluate and what, if any, influence does this have on their academic achievement of medical knowledge? The research builds on and extends our understanding of the self-evaluation process through the moderating effects between competency-related beliefs and academic achievement of medical knowledge. The study design is quantitative, cross-sectional survey research using a non-random sample of 58 internal medicine residents at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. The primary sources for data collection included a study survey that measured competency-related beliefs as a …

Instructional Leadership Practices And School Leaders' Self-Efficacy, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Carter Akins, Antonio P. Gutierrez De Blume, Richard E. Cleveland, Summer Pannell

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate instructional leadership practices and the degree to which these practices predict the leadership self-efficacy of school leaders while controlling for years of experience as a school leader. With educational reform focused on school accountability, principals must attend to tasks that lead to school improvement. Identifying such tasks as instructional leadership practices and gaining a more comprehensive understanding of instructional leadership practices through leadership self-efficacy may contribute to school improvement. The methodology utilized a survey and the participants were 100 principals and assistant principals of public schools in the southeastern United States, …

Doctoral Candidacy Examination Scores And Time To Degree Completion, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Steven Tolman, Katherine E. Fallon

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between doctoral students’ candidacy examination scores and estimated time to degree completion, measured by dissertation progression.

Background

Time to degree completion in doctoral programs continues to be an issue and reasons for high attrition rates for doctoral students are broad and include varied core components of the academic pathway such as challenges with critical thinking during coursework, stress about passing comprehensive examinations, poor academic writing, and lack of knowledge around scholarly practitioner research.

Methodology

An ex post facto, correlational research design utilized quantitative data to determine …

Georgia’S Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver Program: Current Status, Web Presence, And Web Content, Donald L. Ariail, W. Ken Harmon, David Nwokocha

Georgia Educational Researcher

Senior citizens are becoming a larger and more significant part of the workforce as they desire to work longer. Companies have found these individuals bring valuable skills to the workplace; however, they frequently need to update those skills or pursue new degrees. Since 1976, Georgia has had a law granting senior citizens tuition waivers in the state’s public higher education institutions, thus allowing them the ability to take courses to update their skills. This study assessed the current status of the tuition waiver program by reviewing web sites of the 26 institutions in the University System of Georgia to determine …

Testing For All: An Exploration Of Disproportionality In The Georgia Alternate Assessments, Kelly D. Childers, Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm, Katharine S. Adams, Heather M. Kelley Ph.D.

Georgia Educational Researcher

Public schools use standardized testing to measure students’ academic achievement at the conclusion of each school year. Students with severe cognitive disabilities are evaluated through the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the demographic characteristics of students who took the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) and students who took the Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessment (EOG) in English/Language Arts using publicly available data from the 2014-2015 academic year. Additionally, the study investigated disproportionality of certain student groups who took the GAA and EOG in English/Language Arts. A series of chi-square analyses resulted in …

Dare We Speak Of It: The Teaching Of Evolution In Private Schools Of An Urban Middle Georgia Setting, Eric J. Thompson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions, experience, and thinking of teachers at three private schools in Middle Georgia to determine how different private schools approach the teaching of evolution. For this project three private schools were included representing a secular, non-religiously affiliated private school, a Catholic affiliated private school, and an independent, Christian private school. The research was designed to answer one research question and three sub-questions. The primary research question was: How do private schools of the Middle Georgia area teach the theory of evolution? The three sub-questions were (2) Does the type of …