BACCALAUREATE TIME-TO-DEGREE FOR MONTANA UNIVERSITY SYSTEM TWO-YEAR COLLEGE TRANSFER STUDENTS

Two-year college transfer education has been promoted as a cost-effective path for achieving the baccalaureate, but increased time-to-degree could nullify this assumption. The Montana University System (MUS) recently expanded the mission for its two-year college system by adding the transfer function. This non-experimental quantitative research study examined whether a difference existed in baccalaureate time-to-degree for transfer students from MUS two-year colleges. Three years of MUS graduate data (2014 – 2016) was examined in comparing baccalaureate time-to-degree of non-transfer students (n = 5,953) with transfer students (n = 730). Credit accumulation, GPA, associate degree completion, nontraditional student status, and two-year college organization were also examined. Baccalaureate time-to-degree took longer for transfer students (Mdn = 6 years) than non-transfer students (Mdn = 4 years, 1 semester) with a statistically significant difference (U = 1,137,872, p \u3c 0.001, r = 0.26). Transfer students had larger credit accumulation (Mdn = 140 – 149 credits) than non-transfer students (Mdn = 130 – 139 credits), but experienced similar academic achievement as measured by grade point average (Mdn = 3.00 – 3.49). Students completing the AA/AS transfer degree in route to the baccalaureate did not experience longer time-to-degree than other transfer students, but AAS degree recipients did take longer. All associate degree completers had greater credit accumulations than other transfer students. No statistically significant differences were observed in baccalaureate time-to-degree or credit accumulation, for transfer students from embedded or independently organized college, or students of nontraditional age. Further observation into the effects of the two-year college transfer function is recommended

The Look of Fiction: A Visual Analysis of the Front Covers of The New York Times Fiction Bestsellers

In spite of the common saying don\u27t judge a book by its cover, studies show that actual books are overwhelmingly judged on the appearances of their covers. While studies have been conducted on what style or form of cover art is most attractive, most interesting, or most likely to sell, the current research conducts a visual analysis of the conventions contained in the covers of the best selling fiction books in the US, using the methods and ideas found in the theories of semiotics and visual culture, to offer a new perspective on the visual imagery of the covers. This study finds that the predominant trend among successful book covers is to forgo narrative in favor of recreating experiences tied to the content

Evolution of duplicated pathways and networks in polyploid cotton

Polyploidy is an evolutionary phenomenon resulting in the duplication of the whole genome. The merger of two diverged genomes, in the case of allopolyploidy, had multiple effects on the evolution of genes, gene expression, and the structure of the newly doubled genome. Gene pathways and gene co-expression networks are also duplicated as a whole and must be reconciled in the nascent polyploid. A considerable body of work addresses how pathways and gene co-expression networks evolve in diploids. Here I extend this approach to address how duplicated pathways and networks evolve in polyploids. The effects of polyploidy on gene pathways and gene co-expression network duplication are investigated in the natural cotton allopolyploids Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense. I used targeted sequence capture to look at evolutionary rates in the genes of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway across in over 40 different polyploid accessions. The evolutionary rates of these genes do not correlate with position or branching as would be expected. I further investigated the expression of the genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, and of the whole genome, by generating RNA-seq libraries across several tissues in the polyploid cotton species and their diploid progenitors. Evolutionary rates were correlated with expression levels, module assignment, and connectivity. More generally, the gene co-expression network as a whole generally is preserved between diploids and polyploids, but certain modules exhibit specific homoeolog biases and non-additive expression. I also studied expression in fibers from wild and domesticated G. hirsutum, adding a layer of complexity, in the form of the strong selective pressure of domestication, to the gene coexpression analyses. While I still find general preservation of the gene co-expression network, some modules show extreme homoeolog bias in the fiber as well. Comparisons between the wild and domesticated fiber co-expression networks show that there are drastic alterations in topology of the network due to strong, human-mediated selection. In addition, gene co-expression relationships have been strongly rewired as a consequence of the process of domestication