The differences in attitudes and achievements in mathematics among socio-economic levels : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

A continual goal of a teacher is to find new ways to reach students so that they become successful in school. I suggest that one factor that has an effect on a student's successes as well as attitudes regarding mathematics, in particular, is their socio-economic status. In order to support my thesis, I have completed several items. First, a school comparison between an affluent school and one from an area with a lower socio-economic area is included. What follows is a literature review of the limited published material that presently exists on the topic, which includes possible causes and solutions. Finally, a survey that could be used as a diagnostic tool to gauge student attitudes is included. If the cause of failure is pinpointed and a cause is then found, teachers are one step closer to attaining their goal of reaching students.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.

Learning journeys: sharing resources for embedding progressive learning development

Following on from work done on integrating learning development into the curriculum (Hill and Tinker, 2013), we have since concentrated on specific aspects of student progression, and in particular how the ‘forgotten’ second year of study (Tobolowsky, 2008) can be used to bridge the gap between first and final years. Through focus groups with students, staff and learning developers, we have established where perceptions of a multi-layered learning journey merge and diverge. Using voices from the focus groups, this presentation identifies shared themes of progressive learning development, but also illustrates the complexity and conflict inherent in these perceptions. The challenge for learning developers is to acknowledge these tensions and design curricula resources and timely interventions which balance the expectations of both teachers and learners. We will showcase a new website resource, developed with ALDinHE, which provides materials to encourage and support learning developers to collaborate with subject specialists in embedding academic, information literacy and employability skills progressively within the curriculum. These materials include a searchable database of case studies, a bank of research literature, and audio, video and workshop resources. Experiences, ideas and concerns of learning developers, captured at the ALDinHE Embedding Skills Day (June 2012), are also incorporated

Feasibility of a Co-operative Winery

The number of operating wineries in the United States has doubled during the past decade. Most of this growth has been due to a large number of entrepreneurial landowners developing their own small acreage vineyards and trying to branch into winemaking. However, wineries are capital-intensive enterprises which require high initial investment and experience lagged cash flow associated with the time between the purchase of grapes and initial wine sales. Additionally, the availability of local grape production often limits the production capabilities of an entrepreneur’s small winery. As a result, some vineyard owners consider establishing co-operative wineries. This paper describes a feasibility assessment tool developed to assist vineyard owners in examining the potential for a co-operative winery and provides an example of how this tool can be used to examine a number of co-operative operating scenarios.co-operative, feasibility template, qualified and nonqualified stock, revolving equity, winery, Agribusiness, Financial Economics,

Influence of micro-topography and crown characteristics on tree height estimations in tropical forests based on LiDAR canopy height models.

Tree or canopy height is an important attribute for carbon stock estimation, forest management and habitat quality assessment. Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) based on Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has advantages over other remote sensing techniques for describing the structure of forests. However, sloped terrain can be challenging for accurate estimation of tree locations and heights based on a Canopy Height Model (CHM) generated from ALS data; a CHM is a height-normalised Digital Surface Model (DSM) obtained by subtracting a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from a DSM. On sloped terrain, points at the same elevation on a tree crown appear to increase in height in the downhill direction, based on the ground elevations at these points. A point will be incorrectly identified as the treetop by individual tree crown (ITC) recognition algorithms if its height is greater than that of the actual treetop in the CHM, which will be recorded as the tree height. In this study, the influence of terrain slope and crown characteristics on the detection of treetops and estimation of tree heights is assessed using ALS data in a tropical forest with complex terrain (i.e. micro-topography) and tree crown characteristics. Locations and heights of 11,442 trees based on a DSM are compared with those based on a CHM. The horizontal (DH) and vertical displacements (DV) increase with terrain slope (r: 0.47 and r: 0.54 respectively, p < 0.001). The overestimations in tree height are up to 16.6 m on slopes greater than 50° in our study area in Sumatra. The errors in locations (DH) and tree heights (DV) are modelled for trees with conical and spherical tree crowns. For a spherical tree crown, DH can be modelled as R sin θ, and DV as R (sec θ – 1). In this study, a model is developed for an idealised conical tree crown, DV = R (tan θ – tan ψ), where R is the crown radius, and θ and ψ are terrain and crown angles respectively. It is shown that errors occur only when terrain angle exceeds the crown angle, with the horizontal displacement equal to the crown radius. Errors in location are seen to be greater for spherical than conical trees on slopes where crown angles of conical trees are less than the terrain angle. The results are especially relevant for biomass and carbon stock estimations in tropical forests where there are trees with large crown radii on slopes

Mentoring Relationships

The purpose of this module is to establish a framework for successful mentoring practices in order to enhance the teaching and learning process. The module addresses the importance of the Four Pillars as a framework for building successful mentor/mentee relationships. The framework pillars are identified as pedagogical competencies,relationship building, reflection, and administrative support. Each pillar is defined with research provided to support the importance of each as a foundational element of successful mentor/mentee relationships. Additionally the module provides reflection activities and additional resources for consideration and site-level implementation. The learning module is intended for use by all educators. Visit professional learning module.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/improve/1005/thumbnail.jp

High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy

Kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments covering nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and astronomy. Examples of their multidisciplinary missions include the search for the particle nature of dark matter and for additional small dimensions of space. In the end, their conceptual design is very much anchored to the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of $10^{20}$ and $10^{13}$ eV, respectively. The cosmic ray connection sets the scale of cosmic neutrino fluxes. In this context, we discuss the first results of the completed AMANDA detector and the reach of its extension, IceCube. Similar experiments are under construction in the Mediterranean. Neutrino astronomy is also expanding in new directions with efforts to detect air showers, acoustic and radio signals initiated by super-EeV neutrinos.Comment: 9 pages, Latex2e, uses ws-procs975x65standard.sty (included), 4 postscript figures. To appear in Proceedings of Thinking, Observing, and Mining the Universe, Sorrento, Italy, September 200

The Power of Voice: Using Audio Podcasts to Teach Vocal Performance and Digital Communication

Today’s students often speak through mediated technologies. Thus, understanding how nonverbal cues impact meaning-making is key to understanding effective communication across mediums. This case study explores a group project where students created audio podcasts to teach others about a specific aspect of communication studies while considering the way sound and vocal performance affect the transference of the message. This article examines the use of audio podcasts as a vehicle for teaching university students about the power of paralinguistic and chronemic nonverbal behaviors