The creation of Behind the Vote, a one-person play

This thesis discusses the inspiration, creation and performance of Jenny Ballard’s one-woman show, Behind the Vote, which was the other half of the thesis requirement in order to complete the Master of Fine Arts program in Theatre Performance. Behind the Vote examines the importance and meaning of voting, both during the women’s suffrage movement and in the present, as seen through the eyes of three contemporary women, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This thesis contains Ballard’s inspirations for the project; her research materials about Stanton and Anthony and her source materials for her contemporary characters, including Facebook messages and emails; both her first and final drafts of Behind the Vote and what she learned from writing both versions; her thoughts and impressions on her performance of Behind the Vote, including audience response and feedback; her experiences and knowledge gained since beginning the process of writing her show; her vita; and a CD with photos from one of her performances of her one-woman show, Behind the Vote

Development and validation of the measure of perceived safety in the college classroom: a mixed methods phenomenological research study.

In recent years, safety has become a focus of discussion in the field of higher education as research indicates that college students’ perceptions of safety are related to several indicators of student engagement. Despite increased recognition of the importance of safety, there remains a lack of consensus with regard to its definition and conceptualization in the higher education context. This lack of a conceptualization of safety that reflects the complexity of the construct within the postsecondary context has acted as a barrier to the development of quality measurement instruments that can be utilized by researchers and practitioners to understand and describe students’ experiences. To fill that gap, a mixed methods phenomenological research study was conducted with the aim of creating a conceptualization of perceived safety in the college classroom and developing a valid and reliable instrument to measure that construct. Results of the qualitative phase suggested a four-dimensional conceptualization of perceived safety, and these dimensions and five subdomains were used to create 80 initial items for the Measure of Perceived Safety in the College Classroom (MOPSICC). Factor analysis of data from administration of the MOPSICC to a random sample of 516 undergraduate students supported a seven-factor solution for a 47-item instrument. Results indicated that perceived safety differs by course format and sexual orientation, anxiety is a significant predictor of perceived safety, and perceived safety is a significant predictor of engagement. Future confirmatory factor analysis with undergraduate students at other universities is necessary for further validation of the MOPSICC-47; however, this study provides promising initial evidence for the use of the MOPSICC-47 as a reliable and valid measure of perceived safety in the college classroom

CAO PERSPECTIVES: THE ROLE OF GENERAL EDUCATION OBJECTIVES IN CAREER AND TECHNICAL PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE

Globalization is changing the way students prepare for careers in the United States and Europe as competition for highly skilled workers is increasing among companies, regions, and nations. Success in this environment requires skills beyond the ability to perform job-related tasks. Skills of this nature are described as “liberal arts,” “basic” or “soft” skills or more broadly, “general education.” This international comparative study examines the processes used to identify, embed, and assess outcomes related to general education within career and technical programs in selected institutions in Europe and the Midwestern United States through the perceptions of their Chief Academic Officers (CAOs). In this qualitative study, three community colleges were selected from the Midwestern United States and matched with three analogous institutions from the European Union offering career and technical programs. The CAO at each college participated in a semi-structured interview. Questions were asked related to the influence of cultural values and beliefs and the role of internal and external policies on the inclusion of general education objectives within career and technical programs. The content, delivery and assessment of those objectives, and future directions envisioned by the CAOs were also discussed. Interview results were triangulated with information from the college’s web sites and other documentation to support conclusions and recommendations. The study found considerable agreement on the components of general education among CAOs on both continents but a broad variation on time spent on these components. Findings also included the growing influence of employers on the curriculum of career and technical programs, including general education content, and growing regional, national and international oversight on both sides of the Atlantic. The study offers recommendations for practice, dissemination of the findings, and further research

Early onset preeclampsia is characterized by altered placental lipid metabolism and a premature increase in circulating FABP4

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-associated disorder that manifests as a sudden increase in maternal blood pressure accompanied by proteinuria. Because the placenta is a key organ in preeclampsia, we used proteomic and lipidomic analyses to compare placentae from preeclamptic and gestational age matched control pregnancies. Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), enoyl-CoA dehydrogenase and delta-3,5-delta-2,4-dienoyl-CoA isomerase had altered abundance in preeclamptic placentae compared to controls. FABP4 placental protein and RNA and plasma levels were all increased in early-onset preeclampsia (prior to 28 weeks gestation) compared to controls (6-fold, 3.3-fold and 3.5-fold respectively). After 28 weeks, FABP4 protein in control placenta and plasma increased to the same concentrations as in preeclampsia. Total tetracosapentaenoic acid in preeclamptic placentae was decreased to 0.6 of control levels before 28 weeks. The data indicate a disruption of fatty acid transport and metabolism in the placenta in early onset preeclampsia that is reflected in the maternal plasma

The use of complementary and alternative medicine among california adults with and without cancer.

This article examines the extent and correlates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among a population-based sample of California adults that is highly diverse in terms of sociodemographic characteristics and health status. As a follow-up to a state-wide health survey of 55,428 people, 9187 respondents were interviewed by phone regarding their use of 11 different types of CAM providers, special diets, dietary supplements, mind-body interventions, self-prayer and support groups. The sample included all participants in the initial survey who reported a diagnosis of cancer, all the non-white respondents, as well as a random sample of all the white respondents. The relation of CAM use to the respondents' demographic characteristics and health status is assessed. CAM use among Californians is generally high, and the demographic factors associated with high rates of CAM use are the same in California as have been found in other studies. Those reporting a diagnosis of cancer and those who report other chronic health problems indicate a similar level of visits to CAM providers. However, those with cancer are less likely to report using special diets, and more likely to report using support groups and prayer. Health status, gender, ethnicity and education have an independent impact upon CAM use among those who are healthy as well as those who report suffering from chronic health problems, although the precise relation varies by the type of CAM used

The Ginsburg Group: Technology: How to Stay out of Court

For professionals in higher education, it is our responsibility to stay on top of the ever changing landscape of technology at our colleges and universities. In order to provide the best and most convenient services, it is our objective to continue to expand the walls of higher education into the global boundaries of technology. For the purpose of this paper, the Ginsburg Group has focused on five different areas regarding the use of technology. In these areas, the information provided is our thoughts and best advice in how institutions of higher learning can avoid the courtroom. The following pages will dive into information on a wide variety of topics that the Ginsburg Group felt was important in discussing “How to Stay Out of Court.” Each chapter presented will contain information regarding the topic and then will finish with reference for that chapter. The five chapters we broke the information down to are: &#; Chapter One: FERPA &#; Chapter Two: Electronic Communication &#; Chapter Three: Plagiarism &#; Chapter Four: Electronic Content &#; Chapter Five: Outsourced Technology As a group, it is important to note that we are students in a Counseling and Student Affairs course who are putting our best attempt forward in regards to the law. The information we are providing in the pages to follow are the culmination of a semester of information received in our Counseling and Student Affairs course that is titled “Parameters of Law/Student Affairs.” When it comes down the specifics of each area, it is always smart to consult your university attorney. Thanks for taking time to read our information on “How to Stay Out of Court.” Sincerely, The Ginsburg Group Jennifer Ballard, Lee Maglinger, Alisha Orosz, Mandy Skinner, Kevin Thoma

Aerobic Capacity and Postprandial Flow Mediated Dilation

The consumption of a high-fat meal induces transient vascular dysfunction. Aerobic exercise enhances vascular function in healthy individuals. Our purpose was to determine if different levels of aerobic capacity impact vascular function, as measured by flow mediated dilation, following a high-fat meal. Flow mediated dilation of the brachial artery was determined before, two- and four-hours postprandial a high-fat meal in young males classified as highly trained (n = 10; VO2max = 74.6 ± 5.2 ml·kg·min-1) or moderately active (n = 10; VO2max = 47.3 ± 7.1 ml·kg·min-1). Flow mediated dilation was reduced at two- (p \u3c 0.001) and four-hours (p \u3c 0.001) compared to baseline for both groups but was not different between groups at any time point (p = 0.108). Triglycerides and insulin increased at two- (p \u3c 0.001) and four-hours (p \u3c 0.05) in both groups. LDL-C was reduced at four-hours (p = 0.05) in highly trained subjects, and two- and four-hours (p ≤ 0.01) in moderately active subjects. HDL-C decreased at two- (p = 0.024) and four-hours (p = 0.014) in both groups. Glucose increased at two-hours postprandial for both groups (p = 0.003). Our results indicate that a high-fat meal results in reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in highly trained and moderately active individuals with no difference between groups. Thus, high aerobic capacity does not protect against transient reductions in vascular function after the ingestion of a single high-fat meal compared to individuals who are moderately active

GNEMRE DBTools : a suite of tools for access, maintenance, and manipulation of seismic data.

DBTools is comprised of a suite of applications for manipulating data in a database. While loading data into a database is a relatively simple operation, loading data intelligently is deceptively difficult. Loading data intelligently means: not duplicating information already in the database, associating new information with related information already in the database, and maintaining a mapping of identification numbers in the input data to existing or new identification numbers in the database to prevent conflicts between the input data and the existing data. Most DBTools applications utilize DBUtilLib--a Java library with functionality supporting database, flatfile, and XML data formats. DBUtilLib is written in a completely generic manner. No schema specific information is embedded within the code; all such information comes from external sources. This approach makes the DBTools applications immune to most schema changes such as addition/deletion of columns from a table or changes to the size of a particular data element