Parenting levels and Adolescent self-esteem

Parental skills and interaction is a significant factor to a child’s self-esteem and social development with peers. Self-esteem among children and adolescents is a topic that has harvested an abundance of research attention over the past 30 years (Searcy, 2007). The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the relations between parenting skills and adolescent self-esteem. Based on previous research (e.g., Nyarko, 2012), it was hypothesized that a positive correlation between the child\u27s self-esteem and the perceived competency of parenting skills would exist. The current study utilized a correlational design. Participants were 35 parent/child dyads. Children participants were between 11 – 17 years of age. Data was collected by the parent completing the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale and the child completing the Adolescent Self-esteem Scale. Although the hypothesis was not supported, results displayed parents with more education had a higher income. In addition, lower income individuals reported feeling more competent as a parent. There was also a correlation between parent competency and education. Individuals with lower education reported feeling more competent as a parent. Finally, it is hoped that more information on the connection between parent competency and adolescent children will bring awareness about parental influence and self-concept development of the child

University Commitment: Test of a Three-Component Model

University commitment is critical to university success, as it positively impacts retention, as well as many other student attitudes and behaviors (Beil, Reisen, Zea, & Caplan, 1999; Tinto, 1987; Tinto, 2006; Woosley & Miller, 2009). Therefore, psychometrically sound measures of university commitment are of great importance to universities. The present study seeks to test the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale of university commitment. This study measured the internal consistency reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the newly created measure. Divergent validity was evaluated by comparing the new measure to the Perceived Academic Achievement Scale (Meagher, 2012) and student grade point averages (GPA); there were no significant relationships between university commitment, its components, and perceived academic ability or GPA. Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing the new measure to the University Attachment Scale (France, Finney, & Swerdzewski, 2010). Positive, significant relationships were found between this scale and university commitment, as well as its three components. Additionally, because student engagement (Schaufelil, Martinez, Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002) is a commonly measured and conceptually related construct, it was measured to examine the degree of relationship and conceptual overlap between the two constructs; a positive, significant relationship was found

A Study of Asymmetric Supersonic Wind Tunnel Nozzle Design

Achieving higher Mach numbers for private and commercial flight is a growing interest in the aerospace community. To qualify vehicles prior to flight, tests must be run in wind tunnels. Asymmetric wind tunnel nozzles are of continuing interest to the aerospace community due to their ability to change throat geometry, allowing for a range of Mach numbers to be achieved that encompasses all of the supersonic regime. The sliding block wind tunnel at Old Dominion University (ODU) is designed for a range of Mach numbers from about 1.8 to 3.5 but is limited to an upper limit of 2.8 by available supply pressure. This project explores whether improved nozzle designs might be possible, using computational fluid dynamic capabilities, not available at the time the original designs were developed

Evaluating the effectiveness of varying doses of supplemental tryptophan as a calmative in horses

2016 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Tryptophan (Trp), the amino acid precursor to serotonin, is a common ingredient in many commercial equine calming supplements. However, there is little scientific research to support the efficacy of tryptophan at modifying horse behavior. The objective of this study was to examine how various doses of tryptophan supplementation impacted reactive behavior and physiological stress measurements in the horse. Eleven horses (9 geldings, 2 mares) were given four treatments—0 mg Trp/kg bodyweight (CON), 20 mg Trp/kg bodyweight (LOW), 40 mg Trp/kg bodyweight (MED), and 60 mg Trp/kg bodyweight (HIGH)—in a randomized crossover design. Each treatment lasted three days. On Days 1 and 3 of each treatment, horses underwent a behavior test to measure startle response. Heart rate measurements and the speed at which the horses fled from startling stimuli were recorded. In addition, serum glucose, lactate, and cortisol levels were analyzed both immediately before the startle test and again 15 minutes after the test. Significant sedative effects were seen at LOW Day 1 on heart rate increase during the startle test (P = 0.05) and on change in serum lactate levels (P = 0.03). At MED Day 1, sedative effects were seen on change in serum cortisol levels (P = 0.01). Some excitatory effects were seen at MED Day 3 on the time for heart rate to return to baseline after the startle test (P = 0.03). No significant effects were seen at HIGH Day 1 or Day 3. A subset of blood samples was analyzed for serum free Trp and the ratio of Trp to other large neutral amino acids, which verified treatment effect

IMPACT OF STARCH SOURCE ON EQUINE HINDGUT MICROBIAL ECOLOGY

Grain inclusion in equine diets can allow starch to reach the hindgut where bacteria compete for the substrate. The hypothesis was that starch introduction would cause a source-dependent press disturbance in equine fecal microflora. Fecal cell suspensions were prepared by differential centrifugation and re-suspension in media with ground corn, oats or wheat. At 24 h, corn had more amylolytics and Group D Gram-positive cocci (GPC), and fewer lactate-utilizing (LU) bacteria and lactobacilli than oats, with wheat being intermediate. Predominant amylolytics were identified by their 16S RNA gene sequence as Enterococcus faecalis (corn, wheat) and Streptococcus bovis (oats). In an in vivo experiment, 30 horses were assigned to 1 of 6 treatments: CO (hay only), HC (high corn), HO (high oats), LC (low corn), LO (low oats), and LW (low wheat middlings). The study consisted of a 2 wk adaptation (forage only diet) followed by a 2 wk treatment period, during which horses were adapted to their final starch intake (high, 2 g kg BW-1; low, 1 g kg BW-1). Both HC and LC had fewer lactobacilli and LU and more GPC than CO. In contrast, LO and HO had more lactobacilli and LU, and fewer GPC. LW had higher lactobacilli and GPC than CO. The highest number of amylolytics was observed in HC, followed by LC and LW. The predominant amylolytic isolates from corn and wheat horses were E. faecalis. Both experiments identified a negative correlation between lactobacilli and amylolytics, indicating a potential competitive relationship (r = -0.89, in vitro; r = -0.95, in vivo). The next experiment was conducted to determine if a Lactobacillus addition would mitigate amylolytic proliferation, specifically GPC, with corn fermentation. This experiment was conducted as described above with ground corn ± live or dead (autoclaved) L. reuteri. The addition of L. reuteri, regardless of viability, decreased amylolytics and GPC. To identify the mechanism of action, an E. faecalis isolate was co-incubated with dead L. reuteri cells or supernatant. The supernatant depleted the intracellular K+ of E. faecalis. This result demonstrates that one aspect of competition between lactobacilli and enterococci could be a membrane active antimicrobial

The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Interventions for Students with Mental Illness Transitioning to Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Objective: To examine the available evidence for interventions within the scope of occupational therapy for students with mental illness during the transition process to postsecondary education. Method: This systematic review yielded seven articles including two systematic reviews, three one group pretest/posttest design, one naturalistic pre/posttest design, and one scoping review related to the transition process to post secondary education. Results: Occupation-based interventions emphasized the occupation of education instead of focusing on co-occurring occupations a student may frequently participate in when enrolled in postsecondary education. Programs emphasized environmental approaches including using the students\u27 past experiences, building self-advocacy skills, accessing supportive education services, and learning how to access environmental supports, such as welfare and food stamps. Performance skills were addressed to prepare students for academic participation and included: motor, process, social interaction skills, skills related to writing, reading, public speaking, social participation, and stress management. Performance patterns included the roles and routines of the student. Findings have limited generalizability due to lower level research designs and limited number of studies. Conclusions: Higher-level research designs need to be completed to develop best practices in transition services, to further expand occupational therapy\u27s role in helping students with any mental illness transition to postsecondary education

The Rage, Fall 2022

The Rage zine is published in collaboration with Students Advocating Gender Equality and CCU Women\u27s and Gender Studies.https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/the-rage-zine/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Rage, Spring 2023

The Rage zine is published in collaboration with Students Advocating Gender Equality and CCU Women\u27s and Gender Studies.https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/the-rage-zine/1001/thumbnail.jp

The Rage, Fall 2023

The Rage zine is published in collaboration with Students Advocating Gender Equality and CCU Women\u27s and Gender Studies.https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/the-rage-zine/1002/thumbnail.jp