Techno-Apocalypse: Analyzing Technocracy In Cat’s Cradle, Oryx And Crake, And Its Real World Antecedents

This thesis interrogates the relationship between technocracy and the destruction of the world in two contemporary works of speculative fiction, Oryx and Crake and Cat’s Cradle. The creation of technologies within a closed society and the asymmetries of power that develop from the distribution of technology lead to observable shifts in biological, social, and environmental realms. The development of this technocracy in the twentieth century is reflected in the maturation and expansion of science fiction, as writers within the genre attempt to criticize material and cultural elements of technocracy through their work. Vonnegut and Atwood display how a technocratic society leaves crippled environments and disabled, genetically altered, and abused bodies of human and non-human animals in its wake. The last chapter will discuss the negative effects of technocracy in the social realm, specifically turning to linguistic regressions, the dissolution of familial bonds, and the denial of subjectivity to those not involved in the creation, dissemination, and control of technologies. The variation in the technologies that Vonnegut and Atwood focus on, as well as the scope of the damage inflicted by their technocratic societies, reveal the historical realities of these authors situated in two distinct epochs

Who Deserves A Quality Education?: Problems And Possibilities For Education In The United States

The United States’ education system currently offers an unequal and inadequate education to many of its students. As a result of unequal funding, students from different social classes often receive differing educations in terms of quality. In an unequally funded system and one that places such an emphasis on standardized testing, teachers and students are the ones who suffer the consequences of less resources, more testing, and less instructional time. This thesis explores an original framework, based on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Critical Social Theory, in order to counter our current educational system. As more education has been linked to a decrease in criminal activity and a decrease in poverty, it is necessary to find a way to provide United States’ students with quality educations

An Exploratory Analysis Of School, Teacher, And Student Characteristics At Early College High Schools And Selected High Schools In North Carolina

This study was an exploratory analysis of how school, teacher, and student characteristics impact student achievement at 34 ECHSs and 56 selected traditional high schools in North Carolina. The study utilized the database from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC), to examine a randomly drawn sample of 2,175 high school students who took the Algebra I EOC test during the 2008-2009 school year. The researcher chose to utilize data from the NCERDC because it is longitudinal and links student outcomes to multiple teachers, programs, and schools over time. Three logistic regressions were conducted to determine the predictive ability of school, teacher, and student variables on school type (ECHS or control). The school level variables that were predictive of whether a school was an ECHS or not included eligibility for Title I, student gender, student ethnicity, and free/reduced price lunch status. The teacher level variables that were significant predictors included teacher licensure area, licensure route, licensure status, and experience. The student level variables that impacted school type were student grade level, Algebra I subject area, Algebra I achievement and scale scores, participation in extracurricular activities, and attendance. Suggestions for future evaluation of the ECHSI are discussed

The indictment of America in 1925 : a comparative study of The great Gatsby and An American tragedy

Critics generally agree that the presentation of the American dream in The Great Gataby and An American Tragedy is an indictment of American society. Pew critics, however, acknowledge the similarities in characterization, theme, and conclusion between these two novels. Using a close reading of the texts and critical opinions of the two novels, this paper points out and examines the deficiencies in the American social system seen by the two authors and the means they use in indicting that society. Jay Gatsby and Clyde Griffiths represent aspiration in America. Both Clyde and Gatsby struggle to achieve wealth and the glamorous life of the wealthy. Fitzgerald and Dreiser suggest fully the extent to which each of their protagonists will violate law and morality in the pursuit of their dreams. Finally, the indictment of American society may be seen in the failure of Gatsby and Clyde to achieve their dreams and the destruction of both characters. Since the novels were both published in 1925, it seems that, unknown to each other, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Theodore Dreiser were uniting to form a kind of American archetype showing the impossibility of achieving the American dream of wealth, success, and glamor

Factors associated with dietary intake of low income African American female caretakers

"African American (AA) females are at a high risk for poverty and poor health status. A nutrition needs assessment was conducted with a convenience sample (N=100) of AA female caretakers of children < 12 years recruited from Guilford County, NC's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC). Survey components included socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, chronic disease state, nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, food security, and Food Stamp and WIC participation. Body Mass Index was calculated from measured heights and weights. The sample consists primarily of AA women aged 30 years, living in low-income households (average $1400 ± 819 per month) with 4 household members. Eighty-four percent and 87% had or were currently receiving Food Stamps and WIC, respectively. Fifty-seven percent of households were food secure, 26% food insecure without hunger, 16% food insecure with moderate hunger and 1.1% food insecure with severe hunger. Health status among this group is poor with 75% of respondents being overweight/obese. Bivariate analyses revealed no association between household food security and respondent obesity. High levels of food security suggest government assistance program participation may offset food insecurity in this population. However, overweight/obesity is higher than the national levels. Despite food security status, low income AA females still present with high rates of obesity, suggesting interventions should focus on nutrition knowledge."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Obesity's Claim on America

Obesity has flooded America in the past two or three decades; so much it is presently called a national epidemic. Obesity along with being overweight has not been limited to just the American adult population either; childhood obesity is becoming an apparent problem sadly. With increased attention given to this health issue, it is important to not reduce it to an issue of appearance; this health condition is far more severe than fitting into a certain pant size. Obesity is a chronic disease which increases a person's risk for development of other chronic diseases or premature death. As mentioned before, children are becoming susceptible to this national epidemic and the concern of their health has taken a backseat in the school domain. Due to this and my partiality to Pembroke's children, I decided to pursue a research project at the Pembroke Elementary School (PES). A needs assessment was conducted as a part of my evaluation on the healthiness of the school, as well as personal interviews with the teachers, including the physical education teacher. Results showed an alarming trend; the students at PES reported extremely low levels of activity, high amounts of television watching and poor nutritional habits. From there, a healthy teacher task force was formed and we decided our focus would be on physical activity component. Today, a health awareness campaign as well as a school-wide and community-wide fundraiser is underway. Students and teachers are walking daily and recording miles paced. A Walk-a-Thon will take place to culminate the efforts of those who helped, bring further awareness to childhood obesity and the importance of regular exercise and also raise money for a track or walkway that will be built for the students, teachers and parents to use

The ecological legacy of the naval stores industry in North Carolina

Remnant longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) showing scars caused by the turpentine industry are scattered throughout remaining stands of old-growth longleaf in North Carolina. This thesis uses radial growth and morphological characteristics to examine the long-term effects of turpentining on the growth of longleaf pine trees in North Carolina. In addition, this thesis examines the potential role these culturally modified trees have in increasing our understanding and appreciation for the longleaf savanna landscape. The objectives of this thesis are to: 1) discuss the historical and cultural significance of turpentined longleaf pine trees in North Carolina; 2) examine the long-term effects of turpentining on living longleaf pine trees in North Carolina; and, 3) to examine the effects of climate on the radial growth of turpentined trees over time

THE EFFECT OF DIGITAL WORD STUDY ON FIFTH GRADERS’ VOCABULARY ACQUISITION, RETENTION, AND MOTIVATION: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH

Vocabulary and comprehension are so inextricably linked that it ensures the necessity of researchers and teachers to determine the most effective method of vocabulary instruction. Our nation's children are still victims of what has been termed the vocabulary gap (Biemiller & Boote, 2006). This vocabulary gap, according to a large body of research (Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990; Chall & Jacobs, 2003; Hart & Risley, 1995), is largely attributed to students' socioeconomic status. With the increasing digitization of education and proliferation of technology in our culture, students are gaining access to additional learning tools (Collins & Halverson, 2009). Vocabulary is a dimension of education that can be mediated through digital tools such as the Internet. With a global emphasis on the development of 21st century skills, researchers and teachers need to explore new, digital means of teaching vocabulary. The purpose of this study was to explore an alternative method of vocabulary instruction, using digital technologies. The expectation was that digital vocabulary instruction possessed the potential to contribute a means to address the vocabulary gap and provide all students with the mediating tools to improve their vocabularies. This study took place over eight-weeks during the spring semester of 2012 and used a mixed-methods design. Participants included two fifth grade teachers and 43 fifth grade students. The intact classes each had access to two types of vocabulary instruction on Greek and Latin roots: a digital word wall and a non-digital word wall. Group A began instruction with the digital word wall; group B began instruction with the non-digital word wall. At the end of a three week period, the instructional methods were switched and group A was instructed with the non-digital word wall while group B was instructed with the digital word wall. The study took place in a public elementary school located in a suburban area outside of a large city in the southeastern United States. The students learned three new Greek and Latin roots or prefixes per week. Interviews with students and teachers were conducted and thematically analyzed. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine significant differences in students' vocabulary growth as was measured by multiple assessments. While further research is needed, an analysis of the data indicates that the digital word wall is a viable vocabulary instructional method to be added to teachers' repertoires

S&P 500 INDEX RECONSTITUTIONS: AN ANALYSIS OF OUTSTANDING HYPOTHESES

The market reaction to announcements of S&P 500 index changes shows a sustained price increase for added firms and a short-term price decline for newly removed firms. We explore the outstanding hypotheses regarding liquidity, certification, and investor awareness using new evidence. We show that the cost of equity declines following inclusion and increases following removal from the index and these changes are related to liquidity improvements and deterioration rather than changes in investor awareness. Secondly, we conclude that information asymmetry declines following addition but does not change significantly following deletion. Specifically, we show that, after controlling for other pertinent factors, stock analyst earnings forecast errors shrink when a firm is added to the S&P 500 index. These findings support the certification hypothesis to explain stock market response to index reconstitution. Finally, we explore changes in bond yields to distinguish between the type of information certified by Standard and Poors, but our results are inconclusive. Taken together, we find additional support for both the liquidity and certification hypotheses proposed in extant literature about S&P 500 index reconstitutions

An instrument for use in selecting supplementary materials from fiction to illuminate the westward movement for seventh grade pupils

Among the outstanding current directions in American education are the following: from indoctrination to open-minded judgment, from isolatad subject matter to an integrated curriculum, from book focus to pupil focus, from academic goals to life goals, from standardization to differentiation, from memorization to thinking, from external restraint to intelligent self-direction, from teacher purpose to guided pupil purpose, from a single text to source material, from assignments to plans, from listening to doing, from competition to social reciprocity, from passive receptivity to active exploration, from subjects to areas, from subject matter emphasis to trait emphasis, and from assignment-study-recitation to exploration.