Attitudes and Experiences in Liberal Arts Mathematics

For many university students, the last formal experience in a mathematics classroom is a single semester “general education” mathematics class. Traditionally, students in this type of class often hold negative attitudes towards mathematics. Here I study a sample of students from this population (49 students at a large, urban, comprehensive public university enrolled in a “math for liberal arts majors” course) to research whether a positive experience in a freshman-level general education mathematics course correlates with a positive change in the students’ attitude towards mathematics in general. I also explore which specific aspects of such a course contribute most to a positive student experience. The survey results show that while a positive experience in a freshman-level general education mathematics course correlates with positive responses in a student’s attitude about several key variable components of attitude (including motivation to do mathematics, perceived usefulness of mathematics, and confidence while doing mathematics), it does not correlate with positive change. The course aspects that most correlate with a positive experience include the teacher/professor, difficulty level of the course, and workload

INSIGHTS INTO HEPATIC ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN GENE REGULATION DURING LIVER DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE

The liver is an essential organ for cholesterol homeostasis. If this process becomes dysregulated, cardiovascular disease (CVD) develops. Zinc-fingers and homeoboxes 2 (Zhx2) as an important hepatic gene regulator and contributes to CVD. BALB/cJ mice, with mutant Zhx2 allele, have fewer atherosclerotic plaques compared to other strains on a high fat diet. In my dissertation, I focused on the liver phenotype in BALB/cJ mice on a high-fat diet and found increased liver damage compared to wild-type Zhx2 mice. These data indicates that reduced Zhx2 in the liver leads to CVD resistance, but increases liver damage. Therefore, Zhx2 has an important role in lipid metabolism and liver function. Hepatic alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is expressed abundantly in the fetal liver and repressed after birth regulated through three enhancers (E1, E2, and E3). E3 activity is restricted to a single layer of hepatocytes surrounding central veins (pericentral region) along with glutamine synthetase (GS). In my dissertation, I explore pericentral gene regulation in the adult liver. A GS enhancer (GSe) also exhibits pericentral activity which, along with E3, is regulated by the β-catenin signaling pathway. Orphan receptors, Rev-erbα, Rev-erbβ, and RORα, contribute to E3 activity elucidating a potential mechanism for zonation

The Role of Recipient Questions in Establishing Intersubjectivity and Progressing a Story in Aided Communication

We report on a case study involving two participants: One participant has a communication disability and uses a high-tech, electronic device to speak, and the other is nondisabled. Their interaction differs from typical, everyday conversation because some linguistic resources are unavailable in aided speech, resulting in frequent repair sequences and slower progression. The analysis shows that when the aided speaker initiates an extended telling, the recipient uses questions to do repair-related actions as well as actions that could progress the story. Thus, this context affords the opportunity to investigate how the recipient’s projections interact with intersubjectivity and progressivity

Systemic Control of Bone Homeostasis by FGF23 Signaling

The regulation of phosphate metabolism as an influence on bone homeostasis is profound. Recent advances in understanding the systemic control of Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) has uncovered novel effectors of endocrine feedback loops for calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D balance that interact with 'traditional' feedback loops for mineral metabolism. Not only are these findings re-shaping research studying phosphate handling and skeletal interactions, they have provided new therapeutic interventions. Emerging data support that the control of FGF23 production in bone and its circulating concentrations is a multi-layered process, with some influences affecting FGF23 transcription and some post-translational modification of the secreted, bioactive protein. Additionally, the actions of FGF23 on its target tissues via its co-receptor αKlotho, are subject to regulatory events just coming to light. The recent findings of systemic influences on circulating FGF23 and the downstream manifestations on bone homeostasis will be reviewed herein

A Comparison of American Student and Faculty Experiences in Mathematics Courses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the experiences of mathematics students ( n = 2867) and faculty ( n = 81) at California State University, Fullerton during the fall 2020 semester during which all mathematics classes were taught in a synchronous virtual setting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey results showed that faculty concerns centered around student participation, communication, and academic integrity, while student concerns focused on understanding the material, performance in the course, and commuting to campus. For both students and faculty, appreciation for increased time flexibility was accompanied by feelings of disconnectedness from the course. While student course outcomes did not affect student preference for virtual courses, there was evidence that faculty and students may have experienced virtual learning very differently. As educational institutions move forward there will need to be substantive discussions involving both faculty and students that address the role that academic departments can take to ensure equitable learning for all

The Effects of Gender, Discipline, and Scientist Advocacy on Perceptions of Credibility and Motivations

We sought to replicate and extend research on the impact of scientists’ public advocacy on perceptions of credibility and motivation by adding scientists’ gender and discipline. We found that the field of science, but not gender, had an effect on perceived motives, but perceptions of credibility were not impacted

Donors vs. dictators : the impact of multilateral aid conditionality on democratization : Kenya and Malawi in comparative context

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 461-493).Donors versus Dictators examines the "exporting democracy debate" and the related issue of "nation-building" as manifested in the foreign aid relationship in the post-Cold War era. This dissertation centers on two in-depth case studies of countries where all major donors froze aid on a multilateral basis in order to pressure authoritarian regimes to legalize opposition parties and hold democratic elections. Through careful historical process-tracing, hypotheses drawn from both sides of the debate and from the academic literatures on democratization, aid and economic sanctions are assessed with respect to the attempts at democratization in Kenya and Malawi from 1989 to 2003. Conclusions include the finding that aid conditionality is generally effective in producing multiparty elections and pushing the reform process forward in aid-dependent countries where incumbent regimes have historically been pro-Western and desire to remain engaged in the global economy. However, the ultimate effectiveness of donor policy in producing democratization in these cases has been limited by the patterns of ethnic cleavage within the recipient countries and the relative ability of the emerging constitutional and electoral systems to channel ethnic and clientelist politics in democratic directions, factors which have so far been beyond the scope and level of coherence of donor policy.by Steven E. Clinkenbeard.Ph.D

Differences in Attitudes towards Heterosexual and LGBT Homeless Youth in College Students

Youth homelessness, particularly among those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), continues to be an underreported problem in society today. This research was designed to investigate hypothesized differences in college students’ empathy towards heterosexual and LGBT youth, and what factors influence these differences. A sample of 81 female and 36 male participants read one of 12 vignettes describing a homeless youth’s situation and then, using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, rated their level of empathy on a scale of 1 (low) to 7 (high). Vignettes differed by the youth’s gender, sexual orientation, and reason for homelessness (i.e., drug use, sexual activity, or parental abuse). Finally, participants completed measures on their attitudes towards the LGBT population as well as a demographic information form. An analysis of covariance showed that participants were significantly less empathetic to the LGBT homeless youth than the heterosexual homeless youth. However, there were no significant differences in empathy towards the homeless youth with respect to the reason that they were homeless. Participants with high levels of allophilia toward the LGBT population and low levels of negative attitudes were more likely to be empathetic toward the homeless youth, regardless of the youth’s sexual orientation or the reason they were homeless. However, no other significant predictors of empathy were found. The equality among participants’ empathy towards the homeless, in general, could be due to increased awareness and understanding emerging in younger generations