Making Our Marks: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Teaching Art as a Relational Process

This thesis is an autoethnographic investigation of interactions I have had with my students as a first-year art educator and the ways in which these interactions have led me to recall memories of my own experience as a student in art. Employing a metaphor of teaching as mutual mark making, I present these interactions as sketches, which refer to and reflect the ongoing and unfinished nature of memory and experience. My exploration of memory as it relates to teaching and learning has led me to advocate for art education based on relationships between teacher and student, as well as the relationship between the educator and his or her own learning experiences

A Replication Study of Personality Types of Students in a Professional Pilot Baccalaureate Degree Program

The personality types and learning styles of students have been studied in several populations, yet the research analyzing aviation students is lacking. A replication study assessed the distribution of personality types of students enrolled in the aeronautical science baccalaureate degree program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). In addition, this study assessed aviation student learning styles. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Form M and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) were used to analyze the personality types and learning styles, respectively. Selection ratio type tables compared the distribution of personality types of aviation students to the traditional college student sample and to a sample collected by Wiggins at ERAU in 1998. In the sample data, the personality type of ISTJ was found to be significantly different from both baselines (I = 4.36, p \u3c .001 and I = 1.96, p \u3c .01). The distribution of learning styles of the aviation students were compared to the traditional college student sample using Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests revealed an overrepresentation of divergent learners, χ2 (3) = 7.40, p = .002, in the sample. A Pearson Chi-square test for independence examined if personality type is a predictive factor of aviation student learning preference and found no evidence support a relationship in the sample

Determinants of Aviation Students’ Intentions to Use Virtual Reality for Flight Training

Immersive simulation technology has been incorporated into numerous training environments, including medicine, engineering, and marketing. The aviation industry, in particular, has a history of embracing technology to enhance training and has especially regulated the requirements of devices for flight training. Virtual reality (VR) is the newest technology being adapted for training purposes. Many educational institutions training providers are incorporating virtual environments (VE) and VR systems into curricula and training programs to expand educational opportunities, enhance learning, promote deep cognitive learning, and leverage the abilities of a generation of students who have adopted technology from an early age. As VR is adopted for educational purposes, researchers are conducting experiments to learning with the VE occurs at an equal or greater level than in the real world. However, research surrounding students’ perceptions of the technology and intentions to use it for training has been neglected. This is especially true in the realm of aviation and flight training. The goal of this research was to determine the factors that influence aviation students’ intention to use VR for flight training. An extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was developed that incorporates elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB); factors derived from relevant, validated extended TAMs; and new factors that are theorized to impact use intention. These factors are related to aviation education, the use of VR technology in training environments, and using VR for flight training. The new model may explain flight students’ acceptance of VR for flight training as well as their intent to use the technology. A quantitative research method with a cross-sectional survey design was utilized. Descriptive statistical analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a structural equation modeling (SEM) process were employed. Data were collected from aviation students enrolled in FAA-approved Part 141 pilot schools in early 2020 using a survey design. Results indicated a good model fit to answer the three research questions of the study. There were 14 hypotheses in the original model. Although one was removed, an additional relationship was discovered, validated, and added to the model. Nine of the hypotheses were supported. Eight of the nine predictor factors of the model were determined to directly or indirectly impact behavioral intention (BI). The original TAM factors had the strongest relationships. Relationships between factors particularly relevant to VR technology and aviation training were also supported. The results of the study fill a gap in the research surrounding the use of VR for flight training and the influencing factors of behavioral intention. The model may also be modified for other educational and training environments as well as other forms of immersive simulation technology

Effects of individualized health coaching in patients with type 2 diabetes

Objective: To conduct an analysis of literature that examined the effects of individualized health coaching on hemoglobin A1c in adults with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A literature search of the PubMed database using the terms “goal setting” AND type 2 diabetes OR “individual counseling” was performed. Only randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis were included. Results: All three studies reported a statistically significant difference in lowering hemoglobin A1c levels with individualized health coaching interventions compared to the standard diabetes interventions. Conclusion: Health coaching should be further studied for longer amounts of time to determine the true clinical significance of lowering hemoglobin A1c. Current research shows that health coaching successfully lowers hemoglobin A1c more than standard diabetic care

How the Cellular Environment Influences Hybrid Duplex Conformation

Although biochemical studies often utilize dilute solution environments, actual cellular conditions are very crowded with nearly 40% of the cellular volume occupied by macromolecular crowding agents while smaller osmolytes accumulate in response to environmental stresses. The effects of these cosolutes were observed on the helical conformation of nucleic acids, primarily DNA/RNA hybrid duplexes which play important roles in biological processes such as replication, transcription, reverse transcription, and mRNA degradation. Circular dichroism (CD) analyses revealed that the helical conformation of the hybrid duplexes ranged from A-form like to B-form like, depending on the base composition of each strand. In the presence of macromolecular crowding agents, the conformations shifted to more A-form like while in the presence of osmolytes the conformations shifted to more B-form like. These results suggest that the accessibility of the helical grooves for a given hybrid sequence may be modulated by the cellular environment

Risk Perceptions After a Coal Waste Impoundment Failure: A Survey Assessment

In mid October of 2000, a rupture occurred at the bottom of a coal waste reservoir owned by Martin County Coal Corporation (MCCC-Massey). Impounded slurry and sludge materials from the reservoir traveled through underground mine works and burst through two mine portals on opposite sides of the mountain releasing more than 300 million gallons of coal waste into creeks and waterways of Martin County, KY. This paper examines people’s reactions to the Martin County coal waste disaster by examining levels of reported concern and perceptions of risk across the impacted community of Martin County in comparison to similar coal mining communities in the same watershed as well as elsewhere in Kentucky and West Virginia. Door-to-door, drop-off/ pick-up methods were used to survey people’s perceptions. As predicted, findings show a significant difference in public opinion over the risks associated with coal waste impoundments between the impacted county in comparison to other counties. The other robust predictors of perceived risks were quality of life and trust measures. Other factors found to be significant in some previous studies of risk perceptions, such as home ownership and occupation could also account for some differences in risk perceptions within and across counties. Overall, we conclude that our survey findings on trust are consistent with others who have theorized about the institutional interconnection between public trust and risk concerns regarding technological hazards. In our discussion, we address the need for government agencies, that are responsible for responding to and mitigating environmental hazards, to act in ways that merit public trust, restore public confidence, and alleviate public anxiety

Synthetic and biological surfactant effects on freshwater biofilm community composition and metabolic activity

Publication history: Accepted - 8 September 2022; Published - 19 September 2022.Surfactants are used to control microbial biofilms in industrial and medical settings. Their known toxicity on aquatic biota, and their longevity in the environment, has encouraged research on biodegradable alternatives such as rhamnolipids. While previous research has investigated the effects of biological surfactants on single species biofilms, there remains a lack of information regarding the effects of synthetic and biological surfactants in freshwater ecosystems. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to test how the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the biological surfactant rhamnolipid altered community composition and metabolic activity of freshwater biofilms. Biofilms were cultured in the flumes using lake water from Lake Lunz in Austria, under high (300 ppm) and low (150 ppm) concentrations of either surfactant over a four-week period. Our results show that both surfactants significantly affected microbial diversity. Up to 36% of microbial operational taxonomic units were lost after surfactant exposure. Rhamnolipid exposure also increased the production of the extracellular enzymes, leucine aminopeptidase, and glucosidase, while SDS exposure reduced leucine aminopeptidase and glucosidase. This study demonstrates that exposure of freshwater biofilms to chemical and biological surfactants caused a reduction of microbial diversity and changes in biofilm metabolism, exemplified by shifts in extracellular enzyme activities.SG is funded by an Ulster University Vice Chancellors Doctoral Research Fellowship, and received additional support through an Ulster University Broadening Horizons Travel Bursary. Analytical costs were partly supported by the HYDRO-DIVERSITY project funded by the Environmental Systems Sciences Program of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) to JS, and core funding of the AFBI Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory (WH)