The Importance of Leadership Motivational Activities In Encouraging International Students To Return To Their Tier 1 Universities

Abstract The problem is international students are not returning to their undergraduate Tier 1 institutions during a period when quality student enrollment is essential, and there is scant research on academic advising strategies that can be used to combat international student attrition at these universities (O’Keefe, 2013). Studies have often lumped all international students together and made efforts to attract more international students, but the reasons why international students chose research universities, and returned, were not being investigated in this manner (Hegarty, 2014). The purpose of this proposed study was to gain an understanding of the decision-making and reasoning processes international students use in choosing to return to a Tier 1 research university. An additional goal was to evaluate why there is a vast amount of attrition among international students in not returning to their Tier 1 institutions and what activities leaders and advisors might be able to implement to motivate more of these students to return to these institutions. Hence, the theoretical framework for this exploratory qualitative case study was Expectancy Theory (Vroom, 1964) as the underpinning goal is to gain an understanding of the motivational factors and decision-making processes used by international students when choosing to attend and return to a Tier 1 research university in the United States. Major findings were that Personal Communication with Leader, Cost, and Seminars on Various Topics motivated international students to return to their Tier-I research university. Additionally, Job Opportunities and Social Clubs/Organizations were also motivating factors in international students returning to their Tier-I research universities. Conclusions made were that most international students expected that they would be able to pay for college and expected good work opportunities while a student, and expected better job opportunities once they graduated from their Tier I university. From collection and analyzing interview data, the researcher concluded that there were seven (7) motivational activities that lead to international students deciding to return to their Tier-I Research University. The seven motivational activities were: 1) Personal Communication with Leader, 2) Cost, 3) Paperwork, 4) Seminars on Various Topics, 5) Job Opportunities, 6) Social Clubs/Organizations, and 7) Honors College

A strong constitutive ethylene-response phenotype conferred on Arabidopsis plants containing null mutations in the ethylene receptors ETR1 and ERS1

Background: The ethylene receptor family of Arabidopsis consists of five members, falling into two subfamilies. Subfamily 1 is composed of ETR1 and ERS1, and subfamily 2 is composed of ETR2, ERS2, and EIN4. Although mutations have been isolated in the genes encoding all five family members, the only previous insertion allele of ERS1 (ers1-2) is a partial loss-of-function mutation based on our analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of signaling mediated by subfamily-1 ethylene receptors through isolation and characterization of null mutations. Results: We isolated new T-DNA insertion alleles of subfamily 1 members ERS1 and ETR1 (ers1-3 and etr1-9, respectively), both of which are null mutations based on molecular, biochemical, and genetic analyses. Single mutants show an ethylene response similar to wild type, although both mutants are slightly hypersensitive to ethylene. Double mutants of ers1-3 with etr1-9, as well as with the previously isolated etr1-7, display a constitutive ethylene-response phenotype more pronounced than that observed with any previously characterized combination of ethylene receptor mutations. Dark-grown etr1-9;ers1-3 and etr1-7;ers1-3 seedlings display a constitutive triple-response phenotype. Light-grown etr1-9;ers1-3 and etr1-7;ers1-3 plants are dwarfed, largely sterile, exhibit premature leaf senescence, and develop novel filamentous structures at the base of the flower. A reduced level of ethylene response was still uncovered in the double mutants, indicating that subfamily 2 receptors can independently contribute to signaling, with evidence suggesting that this is due to their interaction with the Raf-like kinase CTR1. Conclusion: Our results are consistent with the ethylene receptors acting as redundant negative regulators of ethylene signaling, but with subfamily 1 receptors playing the predominant role. Loss of a single member of subfamily 1 is largely compensated for by the activity of the other member, but loss of both subfamily members results in a strong constitutive ethylene-response phenotype. The role of subfamily 1 members is greater than previously suspected and analysis of the double mutant null for both ETR1 and ERS1 uncovers novel roles for the receptors not previously characterized

Synthetic Turf Surface Temperature Reduction and Performance Characteristics as Affected by Calcined Clay Modified Infill

Synthetic turf research plots containing crumb rubber (CR) infill were established in Knoxville, TN in 2012 and 2013. Calcined clay (CC) was amended to CR in several ratios: a 50:50 (vol vol-1) blend; a 50:50 blend with a polymer coating on CC (50 CR:50 CCC); a 15 mm layer of CC under 15 mm of CR (CR over CC); and a 15 mm layer of CC over 15 mm of CR (CC over CR). A 100% CR and a 70:30 blend of CR to sand (70 CR:30 S) were included for comparison. Surface temperature was measured in the summer of 2012 and 2013 at -10, 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes following 2.8 cm of irrigation. Irrigation reduced surface temperature 60 to 85% regardless of treatment. By 30 minutes after irrigation, surface temperature increased to 74 to 102% of the temperature recorded 10 minutes prior to irrigation. Temperature on the 50 CR:50 CC and CC over CR treatments 150 minutes after irrigation were 10 to 24% and 20 to 21% lower than the hottest surfaces, which ranged from 95 to 137% of the pre-irrigation temperature. Simulated traffic was applied using the Cady Traffic Simulator for a total of 180 traffic events each year. Trends in surface hardness among treatments were inconsistent over years with values ranging from 70 to 160. CC modified infill treatments resulted in a faster increase of surface hardness with traffic compared to 100% CR and 70:30 S. Traffic affected particle size diameter of infill materials. Infill particles ranging in size from 3.35 to 1.0 mm decreased in diameter an average of 1.0 to 12.0%. Particles ranging from 1.0 to \u3c0.002 mm increased in diameter an average of 0.3 to 3.8%. This increase in size was least pronounced for the 100% and 70 CR:30 S treatments and most pronounced for treatment CC over CR. Significant temperature differences were not consistent among treatments and surface hardness with CC tended to measure higher than 100% CR and 70 CR:30 S. The results of this experiment indicate the use of CC in synthetic turf may be limited

Accelerated spatial approximations for time discretized stochastic partial differential equations

The present article investigates the convergence of a class of space-time discretization schemes for the Cauchy problem for linear parabolic stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) defined on the whole space. Sufficient conditions are given for accelerating the convergence of the scheme with respect to the spatial approximation to higher order accuracy by an application of Richardson's method. This work extends the results of Gy\"ongy and Krylov [SIAM J. Math. Anal., 42 (2010), pp. 2275--2296] to schemes that discretize in time as well as space.Comment: 29 page

Co-Learners and Core: Education Reform at Saint Joseph\u27s College

This essay examines the development, implementation, and assessment of a revolutionary Core Curriculum adopted by Saint Joseph’s College (Indiana) in 1969. It argues that a group of dedicated and pioneering faculty and administrators, led by President Charles Banet, responded to reform movements in higher education and the Catholic Church by replacing the college’s general education curriculum with a Core Program that emphasized collegiality, humanism, and faculty-led discussions in which professors acted as “co-learners” rather than experts. The college’s pragmatic interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, which convened from 1962-1965, combined with innovative new literature on curriculum reform allowed the college to put in place a bold general education model that clearly distinguished Saint Joseph’s from the state’s other colleges and universities. Over the next two decades, the Core Program not only shaped the campus culture but also served as model for other schools looking to revise their curriculums. The Core Program at Saint Joseph’s College marks an example of how external forces in education and the Catholic Church met with local forces for change to usher in a progressive educational model