When Learning Counts: Rethinking Licenses for School Leaders

Recommends restructuring state licensing systems to focus on the skills and knowledge leaders need to improve learning, and better aligning licenses with the current job demands on principals

Oil-Mediated Mortality and Induced Behavioral Modifications of Coastal Insects

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected over one thousand kilometers of the southeastern United States’ coast in the Gulf of Mexico especially Louisiana’s salt marshes. These marshes are a vital part of the state’s economy and coastal ecology; however, the insects residing in this area remain largely unstudied. The goal of my project was to answer specific questions arising from two ongoing investigations of the insects in the oiled marshes. I sampled insects using sweep nets and insect vacuums to determine the most efficient technique to use in the marsh, compared insects collected in oiled and non-oiled marshes, and completed a taxonomic list of all of the insects collected in the marsh. I determined the effect of weathered oil on the mortality and foraging behavior of the ant Crematogaster pilosa. I used the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, to test the effect of direct and indirect oil exposure on insect mortality. I also used colonies of A. domesticus to determine if any sub-lethal effects occurred as a result of exposure to oil vapors. Sweep-net sampling collected four times more insects than vacuuming and collected significantly more insect taxa (p = 0.0005). Oiled marshes had increased insect populations compared with non-oiled areas (p = 0.0495). Over 108 insect morphospecies were collected in the marsh. C. pilosa’s foraging behavior was drastically reduced by oil presence (p \u3c 0.0001) though oil did not usually increase mortality. The time for 50% and 100% mortality to occur in A. domesticus was significantly less when exposed to direct contact with oil (p \u3c 0.0001 for both 50% and 100%) and indirect contact with oil (p = 0.0053, p = 0.0005 for 50% and 100%, respectively). House crickets exposed to oil vapors showed reduced adult life spans, longer time to maturation, and changes in resistance to parasites when compared with controls. All these data indicate oil exposure can change insect populations, rates of mortality, and behavior

Personal Identification Based on Patterns of Missing, Filled, and Unrestored Teeth

Dental comparison of antemortem and postmortem records provides one of the best avenues for establishing personal identification in the forensic sciences. The types of antemortem dental evidence are extensive (including treatment notes, odontograms, radiographs, casts, photographs, etc.) and in many instances a positive identification can be established strictly on a dental comparison. Perhaps the best form of antemortem dental evidence is the radiograph, which provides a detailed odontoskeletal record of a specific individual at a specific point in the past. Unfortunately, antemortem radiographic evidence is not always available during forensic comparisons. For example, at the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), dental radiographs are not commonly available when performing antemortem/postmortem comparisons of military personnel missing from past conflicts, especially those missing from WWII or the Korean War. In these instances, as well as some modern forensic cases, antemortem dental information may only be available in the form of handwritten charts and notes derived from the missing individual’s health documents. While these charts are susceptible to human error (not generally a concern with radiographs), dental information of this type that accurately documents an individual’s dental condition can be essential for establishing a link to an unidentified set of remains. Obviously, documents that are incomplete or inaccurate, on the other hand, will not assist in the identification process and could actually hinder the effort. The goal of this dissertation is to validate the use of non-radiographic dental evidence for identification purposes. Statistically, there are trillions of possible combinations of missing, filled, and unrestored teeth within the adult mouth. This quantity of possible combinations suggests that an individual’s dental health pattern should often be of sufficient uniqueness to be used for identification. While the statistical model of possible combinations is mathematically plausible, it does not necessarily represent reality. Each of the 32 teeth in the adult dentition cannot be considered to be at the same risk for loss or disease. Dental morphology will dictate that molars, based on their large surface area, will be more susceptible to decay than other teeth, such as canines or incisors. Furthermore, all dental patterns are not equiprobable, signifying that some patterns will occur more frequently than others and statistical calculations of the total number of possible combinations of dental characteristics are not useful and are potentially misleading. Thus the theoretical number of possible dental health permutations should not be cited to justify the diversity of dental patterns for identification purposes. In order to adequately address the issue of diversity in dental patterns, large datasets are needed for analysis. As part of this dissertation, four datasets were compiled that represent distinct demographic or temporal groups from the United States. These datasets are referred to as WWII-Korea, Southeast Asia, Modern Military, and Modern Civilian. With the exception of the Modern Civilian data, all other datasets consist of U.S. military personnel. The WWII-Korea and Southeast Asia datasets are composed of individuals missing in action from these conflicts, while the Modern Military and Modern Civilian data were originally collected as part of large dental health studies (the 1994 and 2000 Tri-Service Comprehensive Oral Health Surveys and the 1988-1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). Only permanent teeth were considered during this research, excluding third molars. Initially, it was necessary to explore the accuracy of the dental evidence, specifically the military dental charts from WWII, the Korean War, and the Southeast Asia Conflict. In order to gauge the accuracy of the dental records, the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index was used to compare the WWII-Korea and Southeast Asia datasets with published results from temporally and demographically similar populations. The DMFT (Klein and Palmer 1937) is a popular index that is reported in many studies of dental health. Distinct variation between the published DMFT scores and those derived from the datasets used in this dissertation is likely indicative of incomplete/inaccurate recordation of treatment within the military dental records. As another test of the accuracy of antemortem dental records, a sample of dental charts was gathered from identified service members who were originally missing from WWII, the Korean War, or the Southeast Asia Conflict. The identification cases had been processed through either the CILHI or the CILTHAI (Central Identification Laboratory, Thailand) and were not part of the datasets used in this dissertation. The antemortem dental records were compared with the postmortem dental findings and the accuracy was assessed as a ratio of corresponding characteristics. It was found that the WWII and Korea records had an overabundance of individuals with “perfect teeth” (defined as the absence of decay and extraction throughout the mouth). In general, the WWII and Korea records were found to either be thoroughly documented or very poor, with the poor records lacking any documentation of treatment. The Southeast Asia cases were found to show excellent antemortem-postmortem congruence. Next, the overall diversity of dental patterns formed by missing, filled, and unrestored teeth was explored for each of the datasets. As part of this process, the four datasets were transformed into two formats regarding the coding of fillings. Each dataset was coded in a detailed format in which all fillings were designated by the affected tooth surface. In the generic format, fillings were treated as either present or absent with a single code (i.e. there was no surface information coded). The diversity of dental patterns in both the detailed and generic formats was compared to the diversity found in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. The results of this dissertation show that the diversity of dental patterns, regardless of the data format, is on a scale that is comparable, if not superior, to mtDNA. Dental patterns were validated as an excellent means of forensic identification. At this point it was essential to explore the diversity of specific dental patterns and to derive a method for quantifying the frequency that a specific pattern could be expected to occur. It was found that a method of empirical comparison to a relevant reference dataset is the most useful approach to the quantification of dental pattern frequency since this removes subjectivity and standards based on arbitrary points of concordance. This technique is nearly identical to the manner that mtDNA sequence frequencies are reported. Based on empirical comparison, it is possible to compare dental patterns formed by any combination of teeth and their characteristics. Postmortem loss is not a hindrance to the technique. It was found that very common dental treatment would often form a very unique dental pattern when all of the evidence is analyzed as a whole. This may be counterintuitive to many dentists. Furthermore, if numerous teeth are available in the postmortem analysis, the generic format of the data is sufficient to create very individualistic dental patterns. In situations of extensive postmortem loss, the detailed format will be critical to the establishment of individualistic patterns. Prior to this research, forensic odontologists did not have a technique for assessing the strength of an antemortem-postmortem match between non-radiographic dental evidence. Up to this point, the comparison has usually been based on the subjective judgment of the dentist, which cannot be statistically quantified. Through empirical comparison with a large, representative dataset, dental patterns can now be objectively assessed. Patterns that may be initially hypothesized to be common in the general population could actually be shown to be extremely rare and individualistic based on empirical comparison to a reference dataset. By attaching an empirically derived probability value (the expected frequency that a specific pattern would be found in the population), matches based on dental patterns can be quantified in a manner that is easily defensible in a court of law. Two important points need to be understood as part of this research: 1) The end result of this research is not to create a database that can be used to match a dental pattern to a specific individual. Rather once an association to an individual has been made, the technique allows the significance of the dental pattern match to be quantified. 2) The use of non-radiographic dental evidence alone, asdiscussed in this dissertation, is not sufficient to establish a positive identification. It is anticipated that the evidence, in conjunction with other circumstantial evidence, can be used to form a very strong association between a missing individual and an unidentified set of remains that is beyond reasonable doubt

The effects of habitat and connectivity on tropical ant ecology and behavior.

This dissertation explores the role that physical connections among and within habitats play in determining the local diversity and behaviors of cursorial organisms. Understanding the processes that regulate local community assembly and that contribute to the maintenance of species diversity is a cornerstone of community ecology. Ants are a useful model for studies of local communities because they are abundant and fulfill a variety of ecological roles. Chapter one of the dissertation examines the how lianas (woody vines) function as connective structures among tree crowns and how these connections affect arboreal ant community structure within a tropical forest canopy. Trees without lianas act as islands and the number of ant species living in these isolated trees can be predicted by tree size alone. Chapter two describes an experimental approach to examining the relationship between arboreal ants and lianas. Cutting lianas out of trees and connecting trees with ropes revealed that connectivity is a key resource that lianas provide to arboreal ants. The removal of lianas decreased species richness and caused the development of a strong, positive species-area relationship between ant species richness and tree size. Connecting neighboring trees together with ropes completely mitigated the effects of liana removal. Chapter three explored how ants use physical pathways to move across the forest floor. Ants will readily use exposed roots or ropes as highways to move through the complex matrix of leaf litter on the forest floor. As a result, ants appeared in higher frequency on these structures compared to the nearby leaf litter. Increasing the number of paths in an area also increased the rate of discovery and recruitment to food resources by focal species. In combination, these observations and experimental manipulations highlight how connecting isolated habitats or providing bridges through complex environments can enhance local species diversity and promote a variety of interactions among organisms at small spatial scales

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationPurpose: This study sought to (1) identify and describe the experiences of international students participating in U.S. cohort- and text-based asynchronous online courses and to 2) analyze perceptions of belonging/isolation within online environments through group and organizational socialization theory. Research Methods: Data from interviews with international undergraduate students were collected at a U.S. institution of higher education offering asynchronous online courses. Targeted sampling methods were used to seek a broad sample within a greater university international student population base by time of participation in an online course, gender, and major. Discussion board asynchronous communication text was reviewed after the interviews were conducted to better understand the context of the interview data and to inform the ongoing analysis process. The data were analyzed by determining open and axial codes that emerged as categories, themes, and findings. Implications for Research and Practice: This study helps curriculum designers, teachers, administrators, and policy decision makers better understand and appreciate the implications of an expanding enrollment of international undergraduate students within U.S. based online courses

A Nuclear Power Plant Simulator

The United States\u27 energy crisis, which has received so much publicity lately, has focused national attention on how we are to meet our energy demands. Proposed energy sources include conventional nuclear power plants, breeder reactor and fusion reactor plants, coal gasification, liquid hydrogen, solar energy, and geothermal energy. All of these except conventional fission plants are still on the drawing board or in the experimental laboratory, and are described briefly. Government and industry are betting heavily on conventional nuclear power plants. ($40 billion already spent by private utilities for 30 operating plants, 60 under construction, and 75 on order.) A few unpublicized accidents and more and more complex instrumentation in nuclear power plant control rooms has pointed to a desperate need for more effective ways of training individuals to safely operate these plants. Recognizing this need, General Electric Company designed and built a very realistic computer-driven simulator of a plant control room. The physical enclosures and instrumentation duplicates the Dresden II control room in every way, and response to operator manipulation of controls duplicates that of a real plant. The bulk of this paper describes the simulator and its development. The last section raises questions concerning hazards of continued growth of nuclear power and presents some alternatives

Performance Pressure and Resource Allocation in Washington

Based on interviews with state, district, and school officials, explores how performance pressures have changed resource allocation decisions. Examines reform goals and how Washington's finance system impedes efforts to link resources to student learning

The SQUAD : Santa Clara Quadrotor Autonomous Drone

We have constructed a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could be used to supplement emergency response personnel, including police and military, when in the field. The SQUAD focused primarily on designing and constructing a sound structure for the UAV, as well as beginning controls work, which will be continued by another team at a later date. This quadrotor UAV has a video camera to provide a live video from its point of view to the user. It carries a global positioning system (GPS) to provide information on its location, and to navigate to waypoints in the immediate area. The quadrotor will be enhanced with pre-loaded commands to take off, land, circle a point, and to hold position. An onboard computer runs the pre-loaded commands and the auto-stabilization system using the GUI programming tool LabVIEW®