An evaluation of the effectiveness of three types of study guides in producing immediate and delayed recall.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Thermal rearrangements of reactive intermediates in organosilicon chemistry

It is well known that silicon undergoes facile 1,5-migrations from carbon to carbon. In an attempt to generate a (p-p) (pi) bonded silicon via a 1,5-trimethylsilyl migration from silicon to oxygen, it was found that cis-7,7,8,8-tetramethyl-7,8-disilanon-5-en-4-one did not rearrange thermally or photochemically to a silene. Rather, coordination of the internal silicon with oxygen followed by 1,2-silicon migration afforded a cyclic silylenol ether;The thermolysis of 1,2-diallyl, 1,2-dibenzyl and 1-allyl-1-benzyldisilanes affords silicon centered radicals. These radicals were found to cyclize by (pi)-addition followed by rearrangement or by ipso substitution. This discovery prompted the proposal of a mechanistic alternative to the thermal conversion of allyltrimethylsilane to trimethylvinylsilane. A deuterium labeling study provides support for the proposed mechanism;An unprecedented silene to silylene rearrangement was discovered. The thermal decomposition of allyl, benzyl and polysilanes generates silicon radicals which disproportionate to silylsilenes, then rearrange to silylenes by a 1,2-silicon migration and ultimately form 1,3-disilacyclobutanes by C-H insertion. This silene to silylene rearrangement was unambiguously shown to occur when (trimethylsilyl)methylsilene was generated by a retro Diels-Alder reaction. The successful incorporation of this rearrangement into a novel system furnished an unprecedented silylene to silene to silylene arrangement;A new reaction of silylenes and acetylene was discovered. Copyrolysis of 2-methoxyheptamethyltrisilane and acetylene affords trans-(beta)-(trimethylsilylvinyl)methylethynylsilane. A mechanism involving rearrangement of 1-trimethylsilyl-1-methyl-1-silacycloprop-2-ene to trans-(beta)-(trimethylsilylvinyl)methylsilylene is proposed

Reflective Journaling: Innovative Dialogue in LIS Education

Innovative pedagogy, embedded in LIS courses structures, is desired and strengthens LIS preparation. Including reflection as one such strategy can assist in building the reflective practice LIS educators hope students maintain in the field. While widely used in teacher preparation courses (Hodgins, 2014) reflective journaling equally aligns with the text-based nature of LIS coursework, especially as more LIS schools move to online formats (Kymes & Ray, 2012). This phenomenological case study explores structured, dialogic journaling as a pedagogical tool to inform the reflective practice of preservice librarians. Journals were introduced as a teaching tool in an early LIS course and structured using Schon’s (1987) Reflective Practitioner model. Additional points of data collection included journals from a faculty-guided teaching experience and a final journal entry collected after one year of practice. Findings explore participant perception on reflection through incorporated use of reflective journals to explore reflection in action, reflection on action, and reflection on reflection in action as a structured exercise. Implications suggest journaling as a teaching tool in LIS programs might promote more reflective practitioners and practitioners who are better able to critically reflect on practice when provided the experience in coursework

Higher Education Faculty’s Attitudes toward White Privilege

This study was completed between the months of March 2011 and April 2011, and focused on White privilege attitudes among both part- and full-time faculty members in a College of Education at a metropolitan university in the Midwestern United States. Specifically, it answered the following question: What is the relationship between the participants’ demographic characteristics and their White privilege attitudes? Eighty-four White, Caucasian, or European American faculty members were selected for this study, and a total of 17 faculty members participated in the study. Two survey instruments were administered. The first was a demographic survey that obtained information, which included: age; gender; race / ethnicity; highest level of education completed; current area of residence; level of exposure to people of color; and number of multicultural courses, workshops, and conference sessions attended in the last five years in which White privilege was discussed. The second survey instrument administered was the White Privilege Attitudes Scale (WPAS), which measures White privilege from three distinct dimensions: affective; behavioral; and cognitive (Pinterits, Poteat, & Spanierman, 2009). The results of this study suggest that younger faculty members may experience greater remorse associated with White privilege. Additionally, younger faculty may also experience greater affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to their exposure to White privilege, as opposed to older faculty. The data also indicates that faculty members who had completed a Doctor of Philosophy Degree may have a greater understanding of the potential costs of addressing their White privilege on both personal and professional levels. Faculty who live in suburban settings may experience the least amount of remorse associated with White privilege. Finally, the study concludes that the demographics of faculty members may impact their remorse associated with White privilege. This study is important for the following reasons: (a) it uncovers the attitudes White faculty hold with regards to White privilege; (b) the results may drive faculty members toward an increase in self-awareness; and (c) the results of this research may encourage higher education programs to supplement their curriculum with classes or workshops which introduce aspiring faculty members to White privilege and its effects in educational settings

Implementing the U.S. School Library Standards: Data and Dialogue from the Field

In this exploratory study, a survey was conducted to learn about school librarian perceptions on the implementation and practice using the US National School Library Standards (NSLS) for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries published by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Participants in the state of Virginia in the United States, reported on their experiences after attending training on the new NSLS and they began their personal plan of implementation. This report documents preliminary findings indicating participants found implementation training largely introductory. After one year many remain at the awareness phase of implementing the new standards, yet to begin transitioning their activities or implementing the standards into practice. Participants have encountered challenges to implementing the Standards including awareness and “buy-in” from other stakeholders in the district and time constraints, preventing their implementation efforts. Additionally, lack of confidence in their own understanding of the materials has prevented some school librarians from fully implementing the new Standards. Future directions of this research include final data collection and analysis from additional training sessions, as well as follow up interviews with some participants to gather deeper insights on the perceptions of the population. Recommendations include future training at both the school and district level to increase and sustain implementation efforts

Factors That Contribute to Student Graduation and Dropout Rates: An In-Depth Study of a Rural Appalachian School District

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of the loss in revenue but also as a result of the education level of the population. Individuals who choose to drop out of high school are not prepared for the most basic minimum wage jobs available, much less well paying jobs that sustain livelihoods. This study seeks to determine if variables exist that contribute to students making the choice to graduate or drop out of high school in Lyttle County, Kentucky (name changed to protect the identity of the county). The research utilized a mixed methods research design. After demographic data was collected on a cohort of students, interviews were conducted with leaders, educators, and students. Thompson\u27s (2008) four elements of student success states that family, community, school, and students must work together to contribute to the success of students. By looking through the lens of each element and Bandura\u27s (1993) achievement theory, based on data collected from the student, educator, and leader population in Lyttle County, the researcher drew conclusions and offered recommendations for future endeavors and research to assist in finding solutions to the dropout epidemic that plagues this county, the region, and the nation. As a result of the findings of this study, recommendations concerning curriculum development, mapping, and tracking were suggested based on the number of students who move, many of which do so several times throughout their lives. In addition, the practice of grade retention should be reviewed with leaders and educators reviewing policies that lead to retaining students. Research shows that grade retention has a negative effect and often results in students dropping out of school. Leadership at the school and district level should attempt to bring parents into the educational process. Data from the study demonstrated that parental involvement is lacking within the district. Research shows that the involvement of parents in a student\u27s education can be a major factor in whether students succeed academically or not. In conclusion, findings from this study suggest that students in this rural Appalachian region of the nation face many obstacles in pursuit of a high school diploma. They include poverty, high rates of mobility, a lack of parental involvement, practice of grade retention by the district, and a lack of role models. Although leaders and educators within the district show interest and concern in the educational success of their students, their statements and actions are often not reinforced in the home environment. Schools, leaders, and educators are often expected to contribute to the basic needs of students that are not available at home. Students often witness generations of family members who have not earned a high school diploma and sustain themselves through government assistance. School officials try to combat the image of education not being important that this portrays on a daily basis but many feel it is a losing battle. Often students are expected to be the decision maker when it comes to their education because their family members do not feel they are qualified to assist them in this process

The Effects Of An Education Recovery Team On Teacher Professional Practices, Collective Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement In Persistently Low Achieving Schools

This paper is an exploration of the daily work of education recovery teams in turnaround schools in eastern Kentucky. Data used for this analysis were collected from the Kentucky Department of Education. Data from the identified persistently low achieving schools was compared to pre and post-test over one school year to determine the effectiveness of the turnaround practices on the low achieving schools. Forty-one schools have been identified in the state as low performing; sixteen in the eastern service region. Findings from this study lend insights into the work of education turnaround and best practices of education recovery teams. The purpose of this paper is to help administrators, as well as local, state and federal policy makers, better understand factors that influence school turnaround efforts and the impact on best practices for all educational practice

Bcr-abl-mediated Regulation of Sphingomyelin Synthase

SMS is an enzyme belonging to the sphingolipid metabolic pathway. Since the discovery and initial characterizations of sphingolipids (SLs) in 1884, extensive research has established that these molecules not only are structural components of eukaryotic membranes but they are also critical bioactive lipids involved in fundamental cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, inflammation, migration, and autophagy. In particular, SMS produces sphingomyelin (SM) in mammalian cells by transfering the phosphorylcholine moiety from phosphatidylcholine (PC) onto ceramide forming SM and diacylglycerol (DAG). Both ceramide and DAG are bioactive lipids with opposing functions, and SMS produces sphingomyelin (SM) while consuming ceramide (negative regulator of cell proliferation) and forming diacylglycerol (DAG) (a mitogenic factor). Therefore enhanced SMS activity could favor cell proliferation. To examine if disregulated SMS contributes to leukemogenesis, we measured SMS activity in several leukemic cell lines and found that it is highly elevated in K562 chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells. The increased SMS in K562 cells was caused by the presence of the BCR-ABL oncogene, a hallmark of CML, as stable expression of BCR-ABL elevated SMS activity in the BCR-ABL negative HL-60 cells while inhibition of the tyrosine kinase activity of BCR-ABL with Imatinib mesylate, decreased SMS activity in K562 cells. The increased SMS activity was the result of up­ regulation of the SMSI isoform. Inhibition of SMS activity with D609 (a pharmacological SMS inhibitor) or down-regulation of SMS1 expression by siRNA, selectively inhibited the proliferation of Bcr-abl positive cells. The inhibition was associated with an increased production of ceramide and a decreased production of DAG, conditions that antagonize cell proliferation. A similar change in lipid profile was also observed upon pharmacological inhibition of Bcr-abl (K526 cells) and siRNA-mediated down-regulation of BCR-ABL (HL-60/Bcr-abl cells). These findings indicate that SMS1 is a downstream target of Bcr-abl, involved in sustaining cell proliferation of Bcr-abl positive cells. The increased SMS1 activity in bcr-abl positive cells was associated with higher levels of the SMS1 protein due to enhanced transcription, as measured by quantitative real time PCR (QRT-PCR) of heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA). In particular, the highest increase of SMS1 transcript and mRNA was observed when probing down-stream of exon 6, suggesting the preferential utilization of an alternative transcription start site (TSS) in Bcr­ abl positive cells. Thus this study investigated the effect of Bcr-abl on SMS1 transcription. Indeed, RLM-RACE based analysis of Bcr-abl positive cells identified multiple SMS1 TSSs, including a TSS located within intron 6 in close proximity and upstream to exon 7 (TSS C). Notably, in silica analysis of the entire SMS1 locus, including large areas of its 5\u27 and 3\u27 UTR, revealed multiple putative promoter regions, including Promoter C located upstream to TSS C. Further promoter-based studies corroborated the possibility of Bcr-abl to mediate transcription of SMS1 through the putative Promoter C and the dependence of SMS1 transcription on Bcr-abl was further confirmed by demonstrating the inhibition of Promoter C activity upon inhibition of bcr-abl activity with Imatinib. A series of deletions from the 5\u27 end of promoter C revealed a core promoter region from -110 to -113 from TSS C suggesting that the cis-element(s) needed for Bcr-abl mediated SMS1 regulation was located within this area. Overall, these results provide strong evidence of Bcr-abl \u27s regulation of SMS1 expression through enhanced transcription via a promoter switch

Analyzing cost and schedule growth in public works projects

The final cost of a Public Works project can directly affect the number of projects that can be accomplished during a fiscal year. Many of the factors that determine the final cost of a project are not under the control of the Project Engineer. For example, there is the Contractor\u27s productivity and manning levels, the weather, the price of materials, and the price of labor. Those items that are under the control of the Engineer are the quality of the drawings and specifications. Likewise, the time required to complete the project is dependent on complexity and quantity of work, site conditions, weather, and the clearly stated statement of work required; This study analyzed three types of Public Works projects, transportation, flood control, and utility, using one-way ANOVA to determine if the mean cost and schedule growth were significantly different from each other. The results were summarized and conclusions drawn on the tests performed