Measuring the Effects of a Research-Based Field Experience on Undergraduates and K-12 Teachers

During the summer of 1999, a new type of field course was taught in five of eastern Utah's National Parks and Monuments. It targeted a combination of university undergraduates and K-12 teachers, emphasized development of participants' problem-solving skills, and assessed the effectiveness of several non-traditional teaching methods. The course's primary goal was to teach participants to develop and test their own ideas. The course was also designed to help participants learn to use tools and methods employed by research scientists. A mix of undergraduates and teachers was targeted so that the course could be used to introduce undergraduates to the concept of teaching as a career. Assessments of the course's effectiveness were made on the basis of the achievements of stated outcomes, and by pre-course and post-course testing. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

The development of foliations in low, medium and high grade Metamorphic Tectonites

Studies of foliation and associated microstructures are presented from a variety of rock types and localities in the metamorphic terrains of the northeastern United States. At Islesboro, Maine cleavage is well developed in lower greenschist grade siltstones and interbedded pelites of lower Paleozoic age. Cleavage in the siltstone units consists of two types of discrete mica films: short film segments and lengthened mica film. Thick secondary mica-rich layers are also exhibited in some siltstones. The short film segments appear to be basic elements through which cleavage development progresses by a linkage process that is poorly understood. The linkage of these segments results in the production of lengthened mica films. Further development of the larger mica films may result in the production of the thicker mica-rich secondary layers. Detailed statistical and microstructural studies of these mica films suggests that fracturing, solution transfer, mica and opaque mineral accumulation, and mica crystallization are important mechanisms involved in mica film formation. At New Paltz, New York, lower greenschist facies slates contain a number of soft-sediment clastic dikes. The author\u27s work suggests that these clastic dikes are pre-cleavage structures which have been redistributed during folding. Folded clastic dikes contain a cleavage as an axial surface foliation, and this cleavage is continuous with the slaty cleavage in the surrounding pelite. Bedding folds and dike folds have a common axial surface. Previous workers have suggested that clastic dikes might be made parallel to slaty cleavage by rotation during deformation instead of by injection during dewatering. The evidence presented here supports this view and countermands the hypothesis of tectonic dewatering as a mechanism for the production of slaty cleavage on a regional scale (Maxwell, 1962). In the Ludlow, Vermont vicinity, abundant tabular garnets and biotite cross-micas occur in epidote-amphibolite grade metasediments. Evidence is presented here that conclusively demonstrates that shear displacement of originally equant grains parallel to schistosity is responsible for the tabular grain shape. An additional example of sheared garnets is presented from granulite facies gneisses of the Overlook, New York vicinity in the Adirondacks. The cross-micas in these rocks have incurred shear displacements along (001) surfaces and the overall shape changes due to deformation closely approximate a simple shear model operating on a grain scale. Shear strain in each cross-mica is determined and plotted on a map of the rock surface being investigated. The distribution illustrates that higher shear strains are found in cross-micas that are close to the translation surfaces along which garnet porphyroblasts have been sliced. The study illustrated here could be extended to other types of cross-mica and may prove to be a useful method for the investigation of strain in foliated rocks.The final section of this thesis presents the author’s work concerning the problem of transposition in deformed metamorphic rocks. Much confusion presently exists in the application of the term transposition, primarily because of an erroneous translation of Sander’s (1911) original description of this structure. In an attempt to clarify this situation a new translation of Sander is presented along with a number of examples from the Central Vermont metasedimentary sequence

An analysis of Dwight Moody's Urban Social Vision

Dwight Moody was the dominant English-speaking evangelist of the late nineteenth century. Much of Moody's work focused on urban centers. This thesis is an analysis of the origins of Dwight Moody's urban social vision. Specifically it studies the role Moody's theology played in the formation of his approach to the various urban ills that emerged during the mid to late nineteenth century in the United States and the United Kingdom. The thesis seeks to show that theology drove Moody's approach to urban ills. Because of Moody's temperament and limited educational background, his personal experiences and personal relationships played an inordinately significant role in the formation of Moody's theology. The thesis explores these experiences and relationships demonstrating how they shaped Moody's theology. It concludes by outlining Moody's theological commitments that framed his social vision, and his resultant social activities. The thesis concludes Moody was an evangelical whose social vision was in significant ways contiguous with those of earlier revivalists like Finney. Specifically, Moody, like Finney, always made evangelism his first priority. Further, similar to Finney, Moody was active in the temperance movement and various educational endeavors. However, Moody's conception of human sinfulness and commitment to premillennialism created a different set of expectations. Moody was dubious about the future of human society. He believed sin was the cause of poverty and that conversion brought freedom from sin and a desire to love others, especially the poor. He also believed the Bible commanded charity to the poor. Consequently, while Moody never fully embraced the Calvinistic goal of a righteous republic, he was concerned about the moral state of the country and the lot of the poor. In fact, Moody was active in numerous charitable endeavors targeting the urban poor. However, Moody maintained the only way to improve public morality and the suffering of the poor was through personal conversion, because only conversion would solve the problem of sin and generate charity. Thus, from Moody's perspective political or structural reforms divorced from evangelism were ultimately doomed to fail

Structural Studies in the Moretown and Cram Hill Units near Ludlow, Vermont

The geology of the eastern limb of the Green Mountain Anticlinorium consists of a series of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks with lithologic boundaries arranged in a remarkably straight trend approximately parallel to the axis of the Green Mountains. Published reports of the area, consisting largely of reconnaissance mapping, have treated this complex series of polyphase deformed rocks as an essentially upright autocthonous sedimentary sequence. Boundaries between rock units have, for the most part, been assumed to be primary in origin, as have various structural elements within the rock units. More recent work in selected areas within the Ludlow Quadrangle has revealed problems in the application of stratigraphic techniques toward field mapping in these medium grade metamorphic rocks. One of the main problems is the consistent misidentification of demonstrably secondary mesostructures as primary sedimentary features by early workers. Many rocks in the area have been shown to contain secondary structures which mimic such primary features as bedding and conglomeratic pebbles (Gregg and Nisbet, in preparation) and which have in fact been mistaken for these structures in the past. In addition to problems arising from incorrect interpretation of mesostructures, other problems have resulted from the failure of some workers to distinguish various fold groups on the basis of overprinting relationships, This investigation deals with a subarea within the Ludlow quadrangle where detailed structural mapping was performed by the author from 1971 to 1974. The central feature of the area is the ultramafic zone consisting dominantly of serpentinized ultramafic rock masses up to 1 km long with minor zones of talc carbonate rocks around the boundaries, This ultramafic zone is situated along the boundary of two rock units, the Moretown member and: the Cram Hill member of the Missisquoi Formation. Although these units have been called members of the same formation by early workers, the author has found a number of striking contrasts in the deformational features of the units. For example, the Cram Hill phyllites have been involved in only two phases of deformation, while the Moretown gneisses contain structures from at least one earlier deformational phase. The Cram Hill phyllites contain layering which may be of sedimentary origin and which is moderately deformed in most cases. The Moretown member has been severely deformed, and all trace of initial layering is obliterated. In addition to these contrasts the author has shown a discordancy between early layering and the contact between the units which is probably of tectonic origin. Because. of these contrasts the author considers that there is little basis for classifying the various rock types by the Formational and Member designations, and that future structural work in the Central Vermont area will result in the abandonment of the stratigraphic nomenclature now being applied. During field work and thin section examination the author observed a number of tabular garnets in the rocks of the Moretown member. In most cases the garnets were formed during the earliest deformational event and were deformed into tabular shape by later deformation. The deformation, however, was not the typical flattening assumed by most workers, but a slicing process in which segments of garnets from an initially equidimensional crystal are sheared parallel to rock layering. A number of examples of partially sliced crystal sections were observed on mesoscopic and microscopic scales

Middle School Student Records as Dropout Indicators

Dropping out of school is associated with a wide array of negative outcomes and the extraordinarily high United States dropout rate has brought the issue to the forefront of American education. This study investigated normally collected middle school data from a suburban Colorado school district to determine the predictive value toward students dropping out or graduating from high school. Accessed was a longitudinal data set of first year in middle school records, 7th grade, from 1999-2003 for students that graduated or dropped out from a Colorado suburban high school from 2003-2007. Discriminate function analysis was utilized on 2,195 student school records, that included 106 dropout and 2,089 graduate student academic and demographic data, to determine the strength of the data to predict group membership. Middle school student\u27s metamorphosis from child to adolescent is a uniquely critical time in a student\u27s growth due to physical, social, psychological, and brain synaptic pruning. Dropping out of school is influenced by a wide array of external and internal school concerns but if clear set of red flags were available for easy identification of at risk students concerned school personal may best bring interventions to bear in the middle school setting. This study found that for this data set there was a slight correlation between grades in Language Arts and Math with a greater predictive power from Social Studies, Science, and Physical Education, subjects often overlooked in other studies. The conclusion stated that a clear set of warning signals was found with a strong enough probability of dropout identification to be considered as warning indicators and therefore all indicators need to be considered for every child on an individual level

Contemporary Investment Strategies and Comparison Applications of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is an effective component to any investor\u27s portfolio. The purpose of this research paper was to study the capabilities Bitcoin has to investors and anyone interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies. What are the strategic applications of Bitcoin and why should it be used over other types of assets? Bitcoin offers diversification capabilities to commodities, equities, bonds, the U.S. dollar, and most stock market indices. It can offer hedging capabilities against the U.S. dollar, Ethereum, stock market indices, and commodity uncertainty. The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE100) is an example of an index that Bitcoin can hedge against. Bitcoin, like gold, has potential as a safe haven asset during market downturns. While Bitcoin is a high risk and high return asset, it is not affected by the same price drivers as most stocks and investors have been able to make impressive returns in short periods of time. Bitcoin can also be useful in the foreign currency exchange market. Eleven formulas were created in this research paper to use Bitcoin as a medium of measurement and exchange between currencies and cryptocurrencies. While the value of Bitcoin will vary over time, the application of the formulas will always be useful. The results reveal that Bitcoin can be useful in many ways rather than just a form of currency

Bitcoin: A New Form of Investment or Another Traditional Asset?

Previous studies have compared Bitcoin to financial assets (bonds and stocks) or commodities (gold, crude oil, and silver) or fiat monies (USD, JPE, etc.) This might cause a problem because Bitcoin is different from those traditional assets due to it being extremely risky, illegal in many places, and not presenting any real cash flows like stocks or bonds. Our paper focuses on comparing Bitcoin with traditional assets of similar risk-return profile such as public small capitalization stocks, OTC stocks, IPO stocks, and junk bonds. We find that Bitcoin experienced the highest return and was not correlated to those assets. That means Bitcoin can offer substantial diversification benefits to investors. We further examine factors that determined Bitcoin’s returns and find that among the five common factors that have been shown as drivers of stock returns, only three factors played a role in Bitcoin’s returns. They were the market factor (MKTRF), the profitability factor (RMW) and the investment factor (CMA)

Assessment of Heart Failure Patients' Interest in Mobile Health Apps for Self-Care: Survey Study.

BackgroundHeart failure is a serious public health concern that afflicts millions of individuals in the United States. Development of behaviors that promote heart failure self-care may be imperative to reduce complications and avoid hospital re-admissions. Mobile health solutions, such as activity trackers and smartphone apps, could potentially help to promote self-care through remote tracking and issuing reminders.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to ascertain heart failure patients' interest in a smartphone app to assist them in managing their treatment and symptoms and to determine factors that influence their interest in such an app.MethodsIn the clinic waiting room on the day of their outpatient clinic appointments, 50 heart failure patients participated in a self-administered survey. The survey comprised 139 questions from previously published, institutional review board-approved questionnaires. The survey measured patients' interest in and experience using technology as well as their function, heart failure symptoms, and heart failure self-care behaviors. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was among the 11 questionnaires and was used to measure the heart failure patients' health-related quality of life through patient-reported outcomes.ResultsParticipants were aged 64.5 years on average, 32% (16/50) of the participants were women, and 91% (41/45) of the participants were determined to be New York Heart Association Class II or higher. More than 60% (30/50) of the survey participants expressed interest in several potential features of a smartphone app designed for heart failure patients. Participant age correlated negatively with interest in tracking, tips, and reminders in multivariate regression analysis (P<.05). In contrast, MLHFQ scores (worse health status) produced positive correlations with these interests (P<.05).ConclusionsThe majority of heart failure patients showed interest in activity tracking, heart failure symptom management tips, and reminder features of a smartphone app. Desirable features and an understanding of factors that influence patient interest in a smartphone app for heart failure self-care may allow researchers to address common concerns and to develop apps that demonstrate the potential benefits of mobile technology