UVM Big Data? Aggregating Campus Databases and Creating a Data Warehouse to Improve Student Retention Rates at the University of Vermont

One of the biggest concerns of universities across the United States is the student retention rate. Because it is much more cost effective to keep an existing student enrolled than to enroll a new student, improving a university’s retention rate translates to a saving in costs for that institution. UVM’s first-year retention rate is currently 85.8%, which places them above many other public universities, but below most of UVM’s aspirant schools. UVM conducted a study in 2011 in an effort to determine causes of students leaving after their first year, but retention rates since the study have only marginally increased. Some universities have been using data mining techniques to determine factors correlated with student retention, such as living off campus or an income level below the poverty line. This thesis recommends that UVM create a data warehouse aggregating all student-related data from across campus in an attempt to improve student retention. There is currently no central repository of student-related data from sources such as Residential Life, Blackboard, Student Health Services, and Undergraduate Admissions. Data mining techniques could be used with this data warehouse to discover patterns between different fields of data and a student’s likelihood to withdraw from UVM. For example, what if there is a correlation between a student’s dorm view room and their likelihood to leave UVM? How does a student’s frequency of Blackboard use impact their chance of staying enrolled? This thesis explores the technical and logistical considerations involved in a large data warehousing project. While building a data warehouse may seem operationally daunting, the insights it could generate would be very beneficial for decision support for many years

Validity and Reliability of a 5-minute Web-Camera Based Eye Tracking Test to Assess Visual Memory and Cognition

There are approximately 5.7 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Early detection of cognitive impairment allows for earlier treatment, potentially slowing or halting cognitive decline. A 30-min web-camera eye tracking assessment (30-min VPC) has been validated as a tool to predict AD risk. However, a shorter version would allow for greater scalability and improve user experience. The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the validity of the 5-minute web-camera based VPC test with the 30-min test, 2) determine the test-retest reliability of the 5-min test, 3) compare the 5-minute test scores of cognitively intact adults (18-39 years of age) to the scores of cognitively intact older adults (\u3e65 years of age), 4) examine the relationship between the 5-min web camera based VPC test and additional cognitive tests. This prospective study included two groups, both with normal cognitive function: 24 young adults (26.5 + 7.4 years) and 20 older adults (79.3 + 6.4). Participants were tested on two separate occasions. Trial 1 included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Digit Symbol Coding, NIH Toolbox Assessment, 30-min VPC, and 5-min VPC. Trial 2 occurred at least 14 days later and participants completed the 5-min VPC, Digit Symbol Coding, NIH Toolbox, and dual-task walking assessments. The 5-min VPC significantly correlated to the 30-min VPC during the first (p = .003) and second (p = .001) trial, and showed significant test re-test reliability (p \u3c .001). The 5-min VPC mean scores were 83% and 80% for Trial 1 and Trial 2, respectively, with a significant time interaction (p = .04). There was a significant relationship between the 5-min VPC and DCCS ( p = .03), MoCA (p = .00), and Digit Symbol Coding (p = .00), during Trial 1. As well as Flanker (p \u3c .01), PCPST (p = .00), PSMT (p \u3c .01), MoCA (p = .00), and Digit Symbol Coding ( p = .00), during Trial 2. The results from this study suggest the 5-min VPC test is a valid and reliable tool to assess cognitive function

The Cost of Uncertainty: Navigating the Boundary Between Legal Information and Legal Services in the Access to Justice Sector

The self-regulatory bodies that oversee legal professionals in Canada maintain strict control on the delivery of legal services, and access to justice projects must therefore always be conscious of activities that would violate certain restrictions. Careful adherence to these parameters is made difficult, however, by the lack of clarity about where the relevant boundaries are drawn. Using a project that provides legal assistance for refugees as a case study, this article highlights the challenges that the unclear distinction between “legal information” and “legal services” creates for access to justice initiatives. We conclude that the uncertainty can carry a variety of significant costs—including financial expense, human resource burdens, and unnecessary limits on program innovation—in a sector where affordable and creative solutions are desperately needed as a result of a persistent access to justice crisis. Ultimately, it is not merely the under-resourced access to justice sector that bears these costs, but rather disadvantaged individuals and society as a whole

The Social Construction of Frivolity

Leisure is a continuum of behavior from normative to deviant. Some forms of leisure reflect widely shared cultural norms while others reflect only marginal or sub-cultural acceptance. Within this continuum, we label some harmless forms of non-traditional behavior frivolity. The social construction of frivolity is tempered by time, place, social class and tradition. In addition, frivolity can be a two-edged sword, defining the abnormal as normal or the normal as abnormal. Anthropologists document the functional nature of frivolity as a safety-valve to the pressures of conformity. Sociologists explore how patterns of interaction are altered or suspended in response to special events defined as periods of frivolity. Likewise, students of popular culture study the emergent norms, behaviors and the social definitions associated with carnivals, festivals and special environments dedicated to frivolity

The Cost of Uncertainty: Navigating the Boundary Between Legal Information and Legal Services in the Access to Justice Sector

The self-regulatory bodies that oversee legal professionals in Canada maintain strict control on the delivery of legal services, and access to justice projects must therefore always be conscious of activities that would violate certain restrictions. Careful adherence to these parameters is made difficult, however, by the lack of clarity about where the relevant boundaries are drawn. Using a project that provides legal assistance for refugees as a case study, this article highlights the challenges that the unclear distinction between “legal information” and “legal services” creates for access to justice initiatives. We conclude that the uncertainty can carry a variety of significant costs—including financial expense, human resource burdens, and unnecessary limits on program innovation—in a sector where affordable and creative solutions are desperately needed as a result of a persistent access to justice crisis. Ultimately, it is not merely the under-resourced access to justice sector that bears these costs, but rather disadvantaged individuals and society as a whole

An inwardly rectifying K+ channel is required for patterning.

Mutations that disrupt function of the human inwardly rectifying potassium channel KIR2.1 are associated with the craniofacial and digital defects of Andersen-Tawil Syndrome, but the contribution of Kir channels to development is undefined. Deletion of mouse Kir2.1 also causes cleft palate and digital defects. These defects are strikingly similar to phenotypes that result from disrupted TGFβ/BMP signaling. We use Drosophila melanogaster to show that a Kir2.1 homolog, Irk2, affects development by disrupting BMP signaling. Phenotypes of irk2 deficient lines, a mutant irk2 allele, irk2 siRNA and expression of a dominant-negative Irk2 subunit (Irk2DN) all demonstrate that Irk2 function is necessary for development of the adult wing. Compromised Irk2 function causes wing-patterning defects similar to those found when signaling through a Drosophila BMP homolog, Decapentaplegic (Dpp), is disrupted. To determine whether Irk2 plays a role in the Dpp pathway, we generated flies in which both Irk2 and Dpp functions are reduced. Irk2DN phenotypes are enhanced by decreased Dpp signaling. In wild-type flies, Dpp signaling can be detected in stripes along the anterior/posterior boundary of the larval imaginal wing disc. Reducing function of Irk2 with siRNA, an irk2 deletion, or expression of Irk2DN reduces the Dpp signal in the wing disc. As Irk channels contribute to Dpp signaling in flies, a similar role for Kir2.1 in BMP signaling may explain the morphological defects of Andersen-Tawil Syndrome and the Kir2.1 knockout mouse

Patient co-payments for women diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia

Purpose: Among Australian women, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. The out-of-pocket cost to the patient is substantial. This study estimates the total patient co-payments for Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for women diagnosed with breast cancer and determined the distribution of these costs by Indigenous status, remoteness, and socioeconomic status. Methods: Data on women diagnosed with breast cancer in Queensland between 01 July 2011 and 30 June 2012 were obtained from the Queensland Cancer Registry and linked with hospital and Emergency Department Admissions, and MBS and PBS records for the 3 years post-diagnosis. The data were then weighted to be representative of the Australian population. The co-payment charged for MBS services and PBS prescriptions was summed. We modelled the mean co-payment per patient during each 6-month time period for MBS services and PBS prescriptions. Results: A total of 3079 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in Queensland during the 12-month study period, representing 15,335 Australian women after weighting. In the first 3 years post-diagnosis, the median co-payment for MBS services was AU$748 (IQR, AU$87–2121; maximum AU$32,249), and for PBS prescriptions was AU$ 835 (IQR, AU$480–1289; maximum AU$5390). There were significant differences in the co-payments for MBS services and PBS prescriptions by Indigenous status and socioeconomic disadvantage, but none for remoteness. Conclusions: Women incur high patient co-payments in the first 3 years post-diagnosis. These costs vary greatly by patient. Potential costs should be discussed with women throughout their treatment, to allow women greater choice in the most appropriate care for their situation

The Curious Question of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Edema

The question of whether pulmonary edema develops during exercise on land is controversial. Yet, the development of pulmonary edema during swimming and diving is well established. This paper addresses the current controversies that exist in the field of exercise-induced pulmonary edema on land and with water immersion. It also discusses the mechanisms by which pulmonary edema can develop during land exercise, swimming, and diving and the current gaps in knowledge that exist. Finally, this paper discusses how these fields can continue to advance and the areas where clinical knowledge is lacking