Examination of decision-making processes for resource allocation at the college-level and school-level within an academic unit

The purpose of this study was to examine the quantitative and qualitative factors used when deciding how to allocate resources within a single academic unit and three subunits, and who was involved in those decision-making processes. It focused on the College of Engineering and three Schools of Engineering at Purdue University from 2000 – 2007, when Dr. Martin C. Jischke was president. The university underwent institution-wide strategic planning and increased use of metrics in decision-making under his leadership. Financial data from the college and three schools were collected and analyzed. An interview protocol was developed and piloted before implementation in interviews with nine administrators from three levels at the institution: university, college, and school. These participants all had some degree of involvement in the resource allocation processes affecting either the college or one of the three schools. The research was designed as an embedded case study and incorporated qualitative and quantitative data; systems theory provided the framework and grounded theory guided the analysis. ^ The results suggest that the role of strategic plan development and enactment served to address the issue of shared governance. The administrators\u27 efforts to involve stakeholders led to changes in perceived ownership in various places within the College of Engineering. The university\u27s increased focus on interdisciplinary research, furthermore, encouraged new research collaborations across school and college boundaries. Suggestions for implementation include establishing and communicating a decision-making framework to improve stakeholders\u27 understanding of this process, conducting regular reviews of existing programs to improve efficiency, and increasing interdisciplinary collaborations

Understanding writing problems in young children: contributions of cognitive skills to the development of written expression

While several models of adult writing have been proposed and studied, the development of writing skills in young children has only recently garnered attention. Using measures of fine-motor, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions, the current study explored motor and cognitive skills that may contribute to writing skill in first grade. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the Not-So-Simple View of Writing. This study addressed the following questions: (a) do the cognitive variables represented in the Not-So-Simple View of Writing contribute to text generation of students in first grade; (b) do demographic variables contribute to text generation of students in first grade; and (c) is there a hierarchy of predictive power of motor and cognitive skills for text generation of children in first grade? The structural equation modeling techniques did not result in interpretable findings due to the covariance model being underidentified and nonpositive definite. Since structural equation modeling techniques did not result in interpretable findings, analysis of variance methods were used as an alternative method to explore the contributions of motor and cognitive skills to writing skill in first grade. Alternative questions asked: (a) do students at-risk for writing problems differ from typically developing students on the motor and cognitive components of fine-motor skills, language skills, attention/executive functioning skills, and working memory skills; and (b) are fine-motor skills, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions predictive of writing skill for children in first grade? Results showed differences on measures of fine-motor skills (dominant hand dexterity), language (rapid letter naming and orthographic processing), working memory (nonverbal and verbal), and attention/executive functions (word retrieval, planning, and inhibition of response). Results of the logistic regression analysis indicated that the motor and cognitive variables were predictive of text generation performance. Findings from the analysis of variance methods suggested that fine-motor, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions can be used to identify children who are at-risk for writing problems. This evidence could be used to develop early writing assessments or target interventions for writing development. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

Metabolic suppression in thecosomatous pteropods as an effect of low temperature and hypoxia in the eastern tropical North Pacific

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Biology 159 (2012): 1955-1967, doi:10.1007/s00227-012-1982-x.Many pteropod species in the eastern tropical north Pacific Ocean migrate vertically each day, transporting organic matter and respiratory carbon below the thermocline. These migrations take species into cold (15-10ºC) hypoxic water (< 20 µmol O2 kg-1) at depth. We measured the vertical distribution, oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion for seven species of pteropod, some of which migrate and some which remain in oxygenated surface waters throughout the day. Within the upper 200 meters of the water column, changes in water temperature result in a ~60-75% reduction in respiration for most species. All three species tested under hypoxic conditions responded to low O2 with an additional ~35-50% reduction in respiratory rate. Combined, low temperature and hypoxia suppress the metabolic rate of pteropods by ~80-90%. These results shed light on the ways in which expanding regions of hypoxia and surface ocean warming may impact pelagic ecology.This work was funded by National Science Foundation grants to K. Wishner and B. Seibel (OCE – 0526502 and OCE – 0851043) and to K. Daly (OCE – 0526545), the University of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Fellowship program.2013-06-3

Shelled pteropods in peril: Assessing vulnerability in a high CO2 ocean

The impact of anthropogenic ocean acidification (OA) on marine ecosystems is a vital concern facing marine scientists and managers of ocean resources. Euthecosomatous pteropods (holoplanktonic gastropods) represent an excellent sentinel for indicating exposure to anthropogenic OA because of the sensitivity of their aragonite shells to the OA conditions less favorable for calcification. However, an integration of observations, experiments and modelling efforts is needed to make accurate predictions of how these organisms will respond to future changes to their environment. Our understanding of the underlying organismal biology and life history is far from complete and must be improved if we are to comprehend fully the responses of these organisms to the multitude of stressors in their environment beyond OA. This review considers the present state of research and understanding of euthecosomatous pteropod biology and ecology of these organisms and considers promising new laboratory methods, advances in instrumentation (such as molecular, trace elements, stable isotopes, palaeobiology alongside autonomous sampling platforms, CT scanning and high-quality video recording) and novel field-based approaches (i.e. studies of upwelling and CO2 vent regions) that may allow us to improve our predictive capacity of their vulnerability and/or resilience. In addition to playing a critical ecological and biogeochemical role, pteropods can offer a significant value as an early-indicator of anthropogenic OA. This role as a sentinel species should be developed further to consolidate their potential use within marine environmental management policy making

Parameter Space and Potential for Biomarker Development in 25 Years of fMRI Drug Cue Reactivity: A Systematic Review.

IMPORTANCE: In the last 25 years, functional magnetic resonance imaging drug cue reactivity (FDCR) studies have characterized some core aspects in the neurobiology of drug addiction. However, no FDCR-derived biomarkers have been approved for treatment development or clinical adoption. Traversing this translational gap requires a systematic assessment of the FDCR literature evidence, its heterogeneity, and an evaluation of possible clinical uses of FDCR-derived biomarkers. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the state of the field of FDCR, assess their potential for biomarker development, and outline a clear process for biomarker qualification to guide future research and validation efforts. EVIDENCE REVIEW: The PubMed and Medline databases were searched for every original FDCR investigation published from database inception until December 2022. Collected data covered study design, participant characteristics, FDCR task design, and whether each study provided evidence that might potentially help develop susceptibility, diagnostic, response, prognostic, predictive, or severity biomarkers for 1 or more addictive disorders. FINDINGS: There were 415 FDCR studies published between 1998 and 2022. Most focused on nicotine (122 [29.6%]), alcohol (120 [29.2%]), or cocaine (46 [11.1%]), and most used visual cues (354 [85.3%]). Together, these studies recruited 19 311 participants, including 13 812 individuals with past or current substance use disorders. Most studies could potentially support biomarker development, including diagnostic (143 [32.7%]), treatment response (141 [32.3%]), severity (84 [19.2%]), prognostic (30 [6.9%]), predictive (25 [5.7%]), monitoring (12 [2.7%]), and susceptibility (2 [0.5%]) biomarkers. A total of 155 interventional studies used FDCR, mostly to investigate pharmacological (67 [43.2%]) or cognitive/behavioral (51 [32.9%]) interventions; 141 studies used FDCR as a response measure, of which 125 (88.7%) reported significant interventional FDCR alterations; and 25 studies used FDCR as an intervention outcome predictor, with 24 (96%) finding significant associations between FDCR markers and treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Based on this systematic review and the proposed biomarker development framework, there is a pathway for the development and regulatory qualification of FDCR-based biomarkers of addiction and recovery. Further validation could support the use of FDCR-derived measures, potentially accelerating treatment development and improving diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive clinical judgments

Understanding Writing Problems in Young Children: Contributions of Cognitive Skills to the Development of Written Expression

While several models of adult writing have been proposed and studied, the development of writing skills in young children has only recently garnered attention. Using measures of fine-motor, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions, the current study explored motor and cognitive skills that may contribute to writing skill in first grade. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the Not-So-Simple View of Writing. This study addressed the following questions: (a) do the cognitive variables represented in the Not-So-Simple View of Writing contribute to text generation of students in first grade; (b) do demographic variables contribute to text generation of students in first grade; and (c) is there a hierarchy of predictive power of motor and cognitive skills for text generation of children in first grade? The structural equation modeling techniques did not result in interpretable findings due to the covariance model being underidentified and nonpositive definite. Since structural equation modeling techniques did not result in interpretable findings, analysis of variance methods were used as an alternative method to explore the contributions of motor and cognitive skills to writing skill in first grade. Alternative questions asked: (a) do students at-risk for writing problems differ from typically developing students on the motor and cognitive components of fine-motor skills, language skills, attention/executive functioning skills, and working memory skills; and (b) are fine-motor skills, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions predictive of writing skill for children in first grade? Results showed differences on measures of fine-motor skills (dominant hand dexterity), language (rapid letter naming and orthographic processing), working memory (nonverbal and verbal), and attention/executive functions (word retrieval, planning, and inhibition of response). Results of the logistic regression analysis indicated that the motor and cognitive variables were predictive of text generation performance. Findings from the analysis of variance methods suggested that fine-motor, language, working memory, and attention/executive functions can be used to identify children who are at-risk for writing problems. This evidence could be used to develop early writing assessments or target interventions for writing development. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

Academic Help-Seeking Behaviors of Marshall University Students

In 2012, Marshall University began to use Bloom and Martin’s (2002) appreciative advising model in the residence halls by turning the focus on students who are succeeding academically and celebrating students who sought academic support. Assessment results show a large increase in help-seeking behaviors, particularly for native West Virginians. This unconference session will feature a brief presentation of the data and a facilitated discussion on how to promote help-seeking behaviors for students in educational institutions in Appalachia. Participants will leave the session with learning outcomes, strategic plans, and assessment ideas for their own institutions