Note on decomposition of ordered semigroups

Different kinds of decompositions for semigroups and ordered semigroups have beenstudied by several authors. In this note, we define and study a kind of such a decomposition forordered semigroups called right o-ideal decomposition. Some properties of it are obtained

Mathematical Approaches of Modeling Obesity Trends

The prevalence of obesity has drastically increased over the past several decades and has caused strain within the healthcare system, as obesity puts individuals at an increased risk for a variety of diseases and conditions. This project develops multiple mathematical models for obesity trends in the United States. We first used linear regression to model how the overall trends of obesity have changed over time. Linear regressions enabled us to gain insight into the relationship between obesity and societal factors such as poverty and food insecurity and enabled us to gain insight into the relationships seen in the data. Further, the rise in obesity levels has been theorized to mimic the spread of an infectious diseases. Since infectious diseases are often studied using SIR-models, we next developed an SIR model to study and analyze their effectiveness in modeling obesity. This enabled us to gain an understanding of the population level dynamics however might be overly complex. Finally, we used agent-based modeling strategies to create a probabilistic model of obesity trends. The use of agent-based models is supported by the theory that one’s social community may also impact the likelihood of becoming obese. The agent-based model was relatively simple but modeled the population level dynamics well. Developing these and similar models could enable the investigation of various intervention strategies to reduce obesity levels within the United States

Mathematically Forecasting Stock Prices with Geometric Brownian Motion

Predicting the progression of an unsteady stock market appears to be an impossible task due to the volatile nature of investment portfolios. However, principles such as Geometric Brownian Motion account for random occurrences in a way that can be translated to modeling the stock market. This paper analyzes the Reddy-Clinton equation, a difference equation derived by Krishna Reddy and Vaughan Clinton, with the primary intention of modeling stock price movement over time by utilizing existing metrics. The Reddy-Clinton equation incorporates both a certain and uncertain component to generate a figure which effectively depicts the volatility of the stock market. However, this paper aims to clarify the extent of the unpredictability being accounted for by specifically adjusting ε, the variable representing stochasticity, through an adjusted bell-curve model. Additionally, the model is calculated over multiple iterations, with the resulting values collectively averaged to increase accuracy. The adapted model was applied to the following five stocks of varying sectors: AAPL, OXY, PYPL, MCD, and SPG, and resulted in a MAPE of merely 6.87% over a 6-month period. Overall, the paper proposes an altered rendition of the Reddy-Clinton equation to better account for volatility and output an accurate model of a stock’s performance over a period of time

Creating an Integrated Coaching Culture In Higher Education

In higher education, it is a common ask to do more with less while delivering high-quality, holistic service to students. Coaching has been shown to produce significant gains in strengthening self-efficacy, improving GPA, and increasing retention through graduation (Alzen et al., 2021; Capstick et al., 2019; Catchings, 2014; Grover & Furnham, 2016; Losch et al., 2016), therefore making it a logical program to target for growth. To expand the impact of the University of Kentucky’s academic coaching program, in 2020, leadership modified the Appreciative Academic Coaching framework (Bradley & Reynolds, 2021) into Integrated Success Coaching with the intent to build a coaching culture across campus. This modification created a two-pronged approach to serving students, faculty, and staff across our campus: (a) training for professionally certified International Coaching Federation (ICF) coaches across six domains, including academic life, career, finances, wellness, leadership, and identity (e.g., First Gen) to directly serve students, and (b) training in foundational coaching skills for faculty, staff, and student leaders to incorporate into their daily practice. The evolution of this coaching model has allowed for holistic support of students and immersive coaching values and practices for faculty, staff, and student leaders that have led to improved retention and better GPA outcomes for students on probation and a culture of coaching care among faculty, staff, and students

Mentoring New Faculty: An Appreciative Approach

During this period of dramatic social and institutional change in higher education, positive induction and ongoing support for early-career and faculty members new to the campus community is essential. Disparities remain in the recruitment, development, retention, and promotion of diverse faculty, in large part because of the lack of mentoring. The purpose of this article is to enhance approaches for supporting early-career and otherwise new faculty members. Based upon the principles and processes of Appreciative Inquiry, the Appreciative Mentoring Model is presented. Each of the Appreciative Inquiry “D-phases” is described in detail together with research-based best practices that can be employed in mentoring. Prompts, questions, and specific examples designed to support the growing need for a more collaborative, fluid, dynamic, and transformative approach to mentoring are provided.

A New Journal and a New Collaboration

This journal has been a long time coming. When Julie Garlen andmyself began the Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative (CSSC)we talked about creating a journal as an extension of the Collaborative.But, we were both early in our careers and it felt overwhelming to takeon such a project. So, it was put on hold. The idea came back up a fewyears ago when Marla Morris joined the planning council of the CSSC.She argued, convincingly, that it was necessary to have more outletsfor Curriculum scholars to publish their work. Attaching the journalto the Collaborative was a natural fit. We discussed what it might looklike and worked together to get the journal started

The Effects of Furnishings and Technology on Pedagogical Agility and Student Engagement Across Flexible Learning Spaces

We explored how furnishings and technology impact pedagogical agility and student engagement across three flexible learning spaces. We collected various data sources from students and faculty teaching in multiple learning spaces, such as focus group interviews with students, faculty responses to reflection prompts, and pre-and post-occupancy surveys with faculty and students. Flexible furniture configuration was found to support various instructional strategies and facilitate interaction between student-student and student-instructor. A writable surface is beneficial to facilitate student engagement during group activities. Digital displays with content sharing capabilities promote collaborative learning. Specific recommendations for learning space designs and faculty development are provided

Fighting Crisis with Communication Centers

This essay focuses on the struggles undergraduate students are now facing in the wake of the pandemic surge. College students, especially freshmen and sophomores, came into their college experiences underprepared for the rigor of college academics and the social dynamics they need to navigate to be successful. These struggles have hit a crisis point due to lapses in instruction while schools were shut down, leading to lower quality instruction and fewer social interactions for students. This crisis is reflected in both the academic and mental health realms

EPA Particulate Matter Data - Analyses using Local Control Strategy

Statistical Learning methodology for analysis of large collections of observational, cross sectional data can be most effectivewhen the approach used is both Non-parametric and Unsupervised. We illustrate this using "LocalControl Strategy" on 2016 US environmental epidemiology data that we have contributed to Dryad. We invite researchers to download our CSV file, apply whatever methodology they wish, and contribute to development of a broad-based "consensus view" of potential effects of Secondary Organic Aerosols (Volatile Organic Compounds that have predominantly Biogenic or Anthropogenic origin) within PM2.5 particulate matter on Circulatory and/or Respiratory mortality. Our analyses here focus on the question: "Can life in a region with relatively high air-borne Biogenic particulate matter also be relatively dangerous in terms of Circulatory and/or Respiratory Mortality?