The Effects of Class Size on Student Achievement in Higher Education: Applying an Earnings Function

This paper uses an earnings function to model how class size affects the grade students earn. We test the model using an ordinal logit with and without fixed effects on 363,023 undergraduate observations. We find that class size negatively affects grades. Average grade point declines as class size increases, precipitously up to class sizes of ten, and more gradually but monotonically through class sizes of 400 plus. The probability of getting a B plus or better declines from 0.9 for class sizes 20 to about 0.5 for class sizes of 120 and almost 0.4 for class sizes of 400

A comparison of the Fitting Surface Trueness and Precision of Traditionally Constructed Complete Dentures and 3D Printed Dentures

Introduction: Complete denture construction was revolutionised in the 1930’s when (Polymethyl Methacrylate) PMMA was developed. But it does have its drawbacks. This research compared the fitting surface trueness and precision of complete dentures against the fitting surface trueness and precision of new 3D printed dentures using additive manufacturing techniques. Method: 10 sets of both traditional and 3-D printed dentures were constructed and assessed. Virtual digital dentures were created using scans of the master casts and try-ins from the traditional workflow. The teeth on the virtual dentures were digitally removed to produce printable denture blanks with tooth sockets. The blanks were printed. Commercially available teeth were re-inserted into the blanks. Post-print curing was completed in a light box. Scans of traditional and printed dentures were taken at each stage of production and measured for trueness and precision against the model scans. Results: Paired t-tests (p≤0.05) were conducted on traditional dentures and compared against printed baseplates without and with teeth. Means and signed standard deviations distances were calculated. Mean deviations were 0.055 +/- 0.008mm for upper traditional dentures and 0.061 +/- 0.075 mm for lowers. Printed mean deviations for upper and lower dentures measured 0.109 +/- 0.007 mm and 0.076 +/- 0.013mm. P values for upper trueness was calculated at (p= 0.000) and precision p value measured (p= 0.000). For lowers trueness p value was measured at (p= 0.006) and precision p value measured (p=0.006). Conclusion: Traditionally constructed dentures were significantly more accurate than printed dentures. The results for printing were promising. When printed, lowers were more accurate than traditionally constructed dentures until teeth were added. Light curing and storage of baseplates prior to adding teeth may be a factor in determining trueness and precision. Further work investigating storage of light cured dentures is needed as this may affect denture trueness and precision

On Self‐Affine and Self‐Similar Graphs of Fractal Interpolation Functions Generated from Iterated Function Systems

This chapter provides a brief and coarse discussion on the theory of fractal interpolation functions and their recent developments including some of the research made by the authors. It focuses on fractal interpolation as well as on recurrent fractal interpolation in one and two dimensions. The resulting self‐affine or self‐similar graphs, which usually have non‐integral dimension, were generated through a family of (discrete) dynamic systems, the iterated function system, by using affine transformations. Specifically, the fractal interpolation surfaces presented here were constructed over triangular as well as over polygonal lattices with triangular subdomains. A further purpose of this chapter is the exploration of the existent breakthroughs and their application to a flexible and integrated software that constructs and visualises the above‐mentioned models. We intent to supply both a panoramic view of interpolating functions and a useful source of links to assist a novice as well as an expert in fractals. The ideas or findings contained in this paper are not claimed to be exhaustive, but are intended to be read before, or in parallel with, technical papers available in the literature on this subject

Green Spaces as Healthy Places: Correlates of Urban Green Space Use in Singapore

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when stress levels were heightened and social connections were threatened, a spike in green space visits was observed. Drawing upon the value–belief–norm (VBN) theory, which explains the influence of personal values and world view on perceived obligations to the environment and to action, relevant correlates were examined in relation to people’s psychological wellbeing in a bid to better elucidate this phenomenon. We aimed to explore the associations amongst a number of protective factors for psychological wellbeing and to examine the applicability of the VBN theory to wellbeing rather than environmental behaviour. Our research aim was to understand some of the correlates of the use of urban green spaces in Singapore during COVID-19. In total, 268 adult residents of Singapore completed an online survey measuring proximity/frequency of visits to green space, value orientations, nature connectedness, social connectedness, religious belief, spirituality and psychological wellbeing, along with sociodemographic variables such as age and gender. As predicted by the VBN theory, biospheric value orientation and spirituality were positively associated with nature connectedness. The nature connectedness association with psychological wellbeing was completely mediated by spirituality. Frequency of visits to nature was also positively associated with nature connectedness. Neither proximity to nature nor social connectedness were associated with nature connectedness. An altruistic value orientation was associated only with religious belief. Our results indicate that during uncertain times, people are drawing on either social or nature connections as coping mechanisms to fulfil psychological needs and enhance psychological wellbeing. Spirituality mediates this pathway for nature connectedness but not for social connectedness

The Physical & Mental Effects of Solitary Confinement

Introduction and Background: Solitary confinement has been a controversial topic in recent years among jail and prison systems. Solitary Confinement is the act of isolating a person in a prison or jail for up to 23 hours a day. These long periods of isolation can cause serious mental and physical damages to a human. Purpose Statement: The purpose of this research is to understand the effects, both mental and physical, that solitary confinement has on a person. How does solitary confinement effect a person’s body and mind, and what interventions can be used to help prevent these changes? Literature Review: Key terms used in research involved “nursing” and “solitary confinement effects.” 15 studies were used in the research. Data bases searched involved Findings: Our findings tell us that both physical and mental damages are done to people in confinement, and the damages get worse the longer they are confined. Anger towards the legal systems and loss of empathy are some damages that occurred even for years after solitary time was finished. Conclusions: The take home message is that solitary confinement does more harm than good for almost anyone that spends time in confinement. There needs to be better interventions in helping these people such as promoting exercise and behavior cognitive therapy. There are better ways to handle people in prisons than to isolate them and cause massive damage to their health

Concerning the Constitutionality of Hydro-Fracking the Marcellus Shale

The entire Marcellus Shale, from the Catskills of New York down to the northwestern border of West Virginia, is estimated to contain as little as 168 to as much as 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, resulting in major “shale play” in the region. If calculations are accurate, the Marcellus Shale may be one of the largest potential sources of any type of energy in this country. But the prospect of mining the Marcellus Shale is not without its downfalls. The extraction method to be used in these operations - a technique called hydraulic fracturing, also known as “hydro-fracking” - may have dire environmental consequences to the constitutionally protected Forest Preserve of the Catskills, the New York City Watershed and other sensitive ecosystems. Due to the potential environmental fallout associated with hydro-fracking operations, query as to whether Article XIV of the New York State Constitution would, or even should permit hydro-fracking operations thus far has been inadequately addressed. The paper seek to address these questions by a careful examination of the Forever Wild Clause, impacts of hydro-fracking, current legislative safeguards and implications of a possible amendment to Article XIV

Third Coast Percussion presents Points of Contact

KSU School of Music presents Third Coast Percussion, Points of Contact.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1096/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Class Size on Student Grades at a Public University

We model how class size affects the grade higher education students earn and we test the model using an ordinal logit with and without fixed effects on over 760,000 undergraduate observations from a northeastern public university. We find that class size negatively affects grades for a variety of specifications and subsets of the data, as well as for the whole data set from this school. The specifications tested hold constant for academic department, peer effects (relative ability in class), student ability, level of student, gender, minority status, and other factors. Average grade point declines as class size increases, precipitously up to class sizes of twenty, and more gradually but monotonically through larger class sizes. JEL Classification; I2

A New Metric for Quantifying Burn Severity: The Relativized Burn Ratio

Satellite-inferred burn severity data have become increasingly popular over the last decade for management and research purposes. These data typically quantify spectral change between pre-and post-fire satellite images (usually Landsat). There is an active debate regarding which of the two main equations, the delta normalized burn ratio (dNBR) and its relativized form (RdNBR), is most suitable for quantifying burn severity; each has its critics. In this study, we propose and evaluate a new Landsat-based burn severity metric, the relativized burn ratio (RBR), that provides an alternative to dNBR and RdNBR. For 18 fires in the western US, we compared the performance of RBR to both dNBR and RdNBR by evaluating the agreement of these metrics with field-based burn severity measurements. Specifically, we evaluated (1) the correspondence between each metric and a continuous measure of burn severity (the composite burn index) and (2) the overall accuracy of each metric when classifying into discrete burn severity classes (i.e., unchanged, low, moderate, and high). Results indicate that RBR corresponds better to field-based measurements (average R2 among 18 fires = 0.786) than both dNBR (R2 = 0.761) and RdNBR (R2 = 0.766). Furthermore, the overall classification accuracy achieved with RBR (average among 18 fires = 70.5%) was higher than both dNBR (68.4%) and RdNBR (69.2%). Consequently, we recommend RBR as a robust alternative to both dNBR and RdNBR for measuring and classifying burn severity