Social Learning and Course Choice

We use a broad sample of students to examine the course selection process and find evidence of social learning from peers. We also find that as the number of times students solve the course selection problem increases, they rely less on social learning and more on their own experience, limiting the potential for herd behaviour. Our results give insight to instructors about the reasons why students may be in their classes and suggest that information about courses and help in evaluating this information is especially important for students early in their college careers.

Patent Examination Decisions and Strategic Trade Behavior

This paper examines whether strategic trade behavior can explain the fact that the US, Japanese and European Patent Offices – the USPTO, the JPO and the EPO – often make different decisions about whether to grant (or reject) a given patent application. We analyse this issue by considering whether examination decisions across the patent offices vary systematically by inventor nationality, patent quality and technology area using a matched sample of 33,305 non-PCT patent applications granted by the USPTO and subjected to examination decisions at the EPO and the JPO.

Designing an educational curriculum plan as part of a standardization plan for dementia special care units in a multi-facility long-term care organization & evaluating transfer of knowledge to licensed nurses in a unit of instruction entitled Philosophy of supportive dementia care in a long-term care facility

This project was initiated as a response to a request from an organization that manages multiple long-term care facilities in the state of Florida. The organization\u27s goal was to develop a standardized approach to providing licensed nursing staff with education and training to care for residents with Alzheimer\u27s disease and related disorders in the long-term care environment. Due to the size of this project and the time involved for development, a portion of it was selected to present for this master\u27s project. Three parts of the project were selected for presentation as follows: one, to describe the parameters to consider when implementing clinical education in an organization with multiple long term care facilities; two, to _design a curriculum plan for licensed nursing staff that fits the established parameters; and three, select one portion of the curriculum to implement and evaluate transfer of knowledge with licensed nurses working in a long-term care environment. The curriculum plan was developed based on literature review, and guided by the theory of the Caring Curriculum by Bevis and Watson (1989) . The theory components of modeling, dialogue, practice and confirmation, were utilized throughout the development of the curriculum plan. Unit one of the curriculum, Philosophy of Supportive Dementia Care , was taught to a volunteer group of 11 licensed nurses currently working in long-term care. Learning measures for each objective demonstrated a transfer of knowledge in all participants. The theory and components of the Caring Curriculum were observed and experienced through the use of a pre-test, lecture, case studies and reflective questions. A matrix was utilized to demonstrate this process. The results of this project, thus far, have met the needs of the organization. Future plans include further development of curriculum materials and implementation in multiple long-term care facilities

The roles of seed banks and soil moisture in recruitment of semi-arid floodplain plants: the River Murray, Australia.

The decline of floodplain vegetation along the Lower River Murray, South Australia, has evoked recommendations for ‘environmental flows’ to restore and maintain the health of the ecosystem. To assist managers to maximize benefits from environmental flows, this thesis considers the significance of water for germination and recruitment in key floodplain plant species. Three dominant species are considered, including two trees, river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and black box (E. largiflorens), and an understorey shrub, tangled lignum (Muehlenbeckia florulenta). The soil seed bank was dominated by terrestrial annual native plants. Among 1400 seedlings, a single river red gum was found, and no black box or lignum, suggesting that these species do not contribute to the persistent soil seed bank and rely instead on aerial seed banks (serotiny). Sampling of the soil seed bank was continued to determine when seed fall might coincide with appropriate soil moisture conditions. Responses of the soil seed bank to varied water regimes were compared to determine requirements for seedling survival. The results indicated that species richness, rapidity of response and survival time were all promoted by sustained soil moisture. Stands of eucalypts in various states of health (from very stressed to very healthy) were monitored to identify seasonal patterns in bud crops, flowering, fresh leaves and volumes of seed released from the aerial seed bank. Distinct seasonal phenological patterns were apparent, and suggested alternating flowering among individual trees (biennial for red gum, bi-annual for black box), producing an annual peak in summer. Peak seed rain occurred in summer (December–March) in healthy trees for both red gum and black box, with light seed rain continuing throughout the year. Seed fall from stressed trees was much reduced. Stressed trees responded after a second watering event, with much more varied and extended annual seed fall patterns. Lignum showed a spring peak in flowering and seed production. There was a prolific response of flowering and seeding to rainfall, but few seedlings survived. Vigorous vegetative growth occurred in existing plants in response to rainfall and watering but no new cloned plants were found during the study. An investigation of chromosomes as a potential tool to appraise the balance between sexual and asexual reproduction in lignum proved inconclusive, although a previous report of octoploidy in lignum was confirmed. Seeds from all three species and lignum cuttings were tested for their responses to varied watering regimes, based on combinations of simulated rain and flood conditions. The optimal soil moisture for continued growth and survival in all seeds and cuttings was 10 25%, with moisture values <10% causing wilting and death. The results also suggested that red gum and black box seeds which germinate in water under flooded conditions need to be stranded onto moist soil at the water’s edge within 10 days, for the seedling to continue to grow. It was also concluded that germination on rain-moistened soil is a key supplementary mechanism for recruitment, particularly between irregular flood events. For greatest benefit, the timing of environmental flows should complement any seasonal rainfall and irregular flooding that may occur. Extension of suitable soil moisture conditions (10-25%) for as long as possible after >5 mm rainfall, or after over-bank flows, would increase chances for survival of seedlings. December is the most likely month for maximal benefit from watering in the Lower Murray Valley, for germination and recruitment, based on regional rainfall and flooding patterns.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 200

Three billion reasons to rethink the economic system. An analysis of the IMF and World Bank PRSP-approach

Masteroppgave i bedriftsledelse (MBA) - Universitetet i Nordland, 201

How Does Young Adult Literature Foster Reading Growth in the Striving Secondary Reader?

The research question addressed in this curriculum development projects was, how does young adult literature foster reading growth in the striving secondary reader? The author researched issues surrounding current literacy intervention practices, motivation and engagement of secondary readers, and the issues surrounding striving secondary readers. The author focuses on the research of Gallagher, Ivey, and Guthrie as a basis for the curriculum developed. The curriculum project also focuses on the use of Young Adult Literature as a means of intervention for striving secondary readers. The author created an annotated text set of Young Adult Literature that focuses on texts from a variety of genres. In addition, the author created lesson plans that can be used with the texts presented in the annotated text set and with alternate texts that teachers may be using in their classrooms

Substitution chemistry in the rhombohedral R7X12Z-type structure

A series of quaternary lanthanide halide cluster compounds AR6I 12Z (R = La, Pr) with transition metal interstitials (Z) and alkali or alkaline earth metal cations (A) have been synthesized by high temperature solid state techniques. The compounds were structurally characterized by single crystal and powder x-ray diffraction methods, as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy on selected examples. The LiLa6I12Os compound was further studied by neutron powder diffraction and 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance in order to locate the lithium cations more confidently.;Like many other lanthanide and early transition metal halides, the new phases, which are isostructural with rhombohedral R7X12Z (R = Sc, Y, La-Lu; X = Cl, Br, I; Z = transition metal or main group element), are constituted of nominally octahedral R6X12 units. Electronic requirements of the relatively electron-poor lanthanide clusters demand the incorporation of an interstitial atom (Z) at the center of each octahedron. In addition to the six R atoms in the octahedral cluster, a seventh R cation occupies an isolated position between clusters, surrounded only by halides. In the present work, alkali and alkaline earth metals (Li, Na, Mg, Ca, Sr) preferentially substitute for this isolated R atom such that the position is fractionally occupied as (AxR 1--x) with x ≤ 1; the balance of the structure remains essentially unchanged.;The electrical and magnetic properties of several ALa6I 12Z compounds were investigated through bulk resistivity and susceptibility measurements. All were semiconductors and exhibited Curie-Weiss paramagnetism at low temperatures but had more complicated mixed-state magnetic characters at room temperature.;This research was supported by the National Science Foundation - Solid State Chemistry - Grants DMR -9809850, -9510278, -0129785, and was carried out in the facilities of the Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of energy

Ecological and genetic aspects of the population biology of the littoral rotifer Euchlanis dilatata

Littoral rotifers are associated with vegetation and thus live in highly structured habitats. This structural complexity increases the possibilities of forming local subpopulations differing in (a) plant substrate used, (b) biotic interactions, and (c) genetic structure. I explore some of these topics in populations of the littoral rotifer Euchlanis dilatata; I investigated several aspects of egg-laying behavior in 3 clones of E. dilatata. Individuals lay their eggs randomly within culture dishes in the absence of substrate, while eggs laid in the presence of an artificial substrate are deposited in clumps by 2 of the 3 clones. When given a choice among artificial substrates with or without eggs and eggshells of conspecifics, rotifers lay most eggs on those substrates containing eggs followed by those with eggshells; I found E. dilatata most often associated with the macrophyte Myriophyllum exalbescens at 3 sites in Devils Lake (Lincoln Co., OR). In general, rotifers laid most of their eggs on this macrophyte species in laboratory preference experiments. I also assessed habitat-specific predation susceptibilities for rotifers cultured in the presence of aquatic macrophytes (M. exalbescens, Elodea canadensis, or Ceratophyllum demersum) and two invertebrate predators (damselfly nymphs Hydra). Rotifer survival was greatest on Myriophyllum. This population consisted of individuals of two distinct size classes. Females of the larger size class are up to 1.5 times longer than those of the smaller size class. I determined chromosome numbers for individuals of each morphotype. Large morphotype females average 21 chromosomes, small morphotype females 14. Individuals of both ploidy levels were most often associated with Myriophyllum. While there was no evidence of spatial habitat segregation, their temporal distributions varied. Diploid individuals were present only in late spring and summer collections, while triploids were present throughout the year. These distribution patterns were reflected in life history characteristics under various temperature treatments. Diploid clones produced significantly more young and lived longer under high temperature regimes (25{dollar}\sp\circ{dollar}C) whereas triploid individuals survived longer at low temperatures (12{dollar}\sp\circ{dollar}C). In addition, diploid and triploid also differed in their relative susceptibilities to invertebrate predators. Both damselfly nymphs and Hydra were more effective in reducing the survival of the larger triploid rotifers

Fixed Effects Bias in Panel Data Estimators

Since little is known about the degree of bias in estimated fixed effects in panel data models, we run Monte Carlo simulations on a range of different estimators. We find that Anderson-Hsiao IV, Kivietâs bias-corrected LSDV and GMM estimators all perform well in both short and long panels. However, OLS outperforms the other estimators when the following holds: the cross-section is small (N = 20), the time dimension is short (T = 5) and the coefficient on the lagged dependent variable is large (γ = 0.8).fixed effects, panel data, LSDV, dynamic model

Senior Recital

List of performers and performances