Individual Religious Commitment and Interdisciplinary Academic Achievement: Student Religiosity as a Factor in a National Academic Competition

This study included an examination of the differences between the religiosity of students representing both public and private schools that qualified at the state and national levels in the United States Academic Decathlon, a national, interdisciplinary academic competition. The statistical significance of religiosity in relation to achievement scores in the Academic Decathlon was examined. The literature reviewed suggested a positive correlation between religiosity and academic achievement. The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) instrument was administered to students on both teams to determine religiosity levels. Statistical analysis was applied to the data to test for significant difference. No significant difference between overall competition scores was found in relation to reported student religiosity; neither the public nor private school scored significantly higher or lower in the competition. Significant difference in scores was found for specific subject areas. Further, no significant difference was found between student religiosity in relation to grade point average. The conclusion that student religiosity was not found to have a significant influence on competition scores in the Academic Decathlon suggests that religiosity and academic achievement may not always positively correlate. The implications for Christian education suggest that faith-learning integration should be critically examined across disciplines in Christian school settings, particularly in the subjects of mathematics and science

Vibration Alert Bracelet for Notification of the Visually and Hearing Impaired

This paper presents the prototype of an electronic vibration bracelet designed to help the visually and hearing impaired to receive and send emergency alerts. The bracelet has two basic functions. The first function is to receive a wireless signal and respond with a vibration to alert the user. The second function is implemented by pushing one button of the bracelet to send an emergency signal. We report testing on a prototype system formed by a mobile application and two bracelets. The bracelets and the application form a complete system intended to be used in retirement apartment communities. However, the system is flexible and could be expanded to add new features or to serve as a research platform for gait analysis and location services. The medical and professional potential of the proposed system is that it offers a simple, modular, and cost-effective alternative to all the existing medical devices with similar functionality currently on the market. The proposed system has an educational potential as well: it can be used as a starting point for capstone projects and demonstration purposes in schools to attract students to STEM disciplines

Women’s Leader Development Programs: Current Landscape and Recommendations for Future Programs

The gender gap in leadership positions is unjust and unproductive. In this paper, we focus on one solution – leader development. We leverage a content analysis of the top U.S. women’s leader development programs (WLDPs) and literature on women’s leadership and leader development. We provide seven evidence-based recommendations for WLDPs including: identify measurable objectives, increase access for emerging leaders, cultivate a paradox mindset around leader and gender identity, leverage experiential learning, expand networks, educate about second-generation gender bias, and align evaluations. We urge administrators to adopt our recommendations as one piece of a systematic effort to pursue gender parity in leadership

The Lopsidedness of Present-Day Galaxies: Results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Large-scale asymmetries in the stellar mass distribution in galaxies are believed to trace non-equilibrium situations in the luminous and/or dark matter component. These may arise in the aftermath of events like mergers, accretion, and tidal interactions. These events are key in the evolution of galaxies. In this paper we quantify the large-scale lopsidedness of light distributions in 25155 galaxies at z < 0.06 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 using the m = 1 azimuthal Fourier mode. We show that the lopsided distribution of light is primarily due to a corresponding lopsidedness in the stellar mass distribution. Observational effects, such as seeing, Poisson noise, and inclination, introduce only small errors in lopsidedness for the majority of this sample. We find that lopsidedness correlates strongly with other basic galaxy structural parameters: galaxies with low concentration, stellar mass, and stellar surface mass density tend to be lopsided, while galaxies with high concentration, mass, and density are not. We find that the strongest and most fundamental relationship between lopsidedness and the other structural parameters is with the surface mass density. We also find, in agreement with previous studies, that lopsidedness tends to increase with radius. Both these results may be understood as a consequence of several factors. The outer regions of galaxies and low-density galaxies are more susceptible to tidal perturbations, and they also have longer dynamical times (so lopsidedness will last longer). They are also more likely to be affected by any underlying asymmetries in the dark matter halo.Comment: 42 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted to Ap