LEARNED BEHAVIOR: RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND THE EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN 19TH CENTURY BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 1825 - 1872

This thesis examines the complex relationship between religion and racial/ethnic identity through the perspective of the evolving systems of public and private education in 19th century Baltimore. In doing so, this thesis argues that public education was constructed as a means of shaping a unified American identity, and that this purpose was understood by all relevant stakeholders. These stakeholders, regardless or their religious, racial or ethnic affiliation all fought to shape the public schools into something that validated their affiliations and included them in the definition of American citizenship

Energy Storage in the Golden State: An Analysis of the Regulatory and Economic Landscape.

On October 1st, 2013, a mandate was adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requiring that 1.325 GW of energy storage capability be installed on the California electricity grid by 2024, through the actions of the state’s three investor-owned utilities. While this is a bold first step towards mandated energy storage in the United States, it may be only the beginning for an energy storage industry in this state. It has been well established that energy storage would prove to be a useful asset on the California electrical grid, but the development of storage capacity past the requirements of the mandate will depend upon whether storage can be made cost-effective. Much of the value that storage creates is a public good: many storage applications allow the grid to operate more efficiently as a whole, but not necessarily in a way that can be monetized by any particular party. As a public good, these systemic benefits of storage capacity will be supplied sub-optimally in the absence of government intervention. The energy storage industry will accordingly be one that is strongly affected by the tides of change in technology, regulation and economics in the California energy market. This report will focus primarily on the intersection of the second two of these factors, largely leaving the technological questions to more well-informed parties while seeking to establish what regulatory and economic considerations might be undertaken to ensure that the road to deployment of appropriate energy storage systems is made as clear as possible so that this technology can reach the socially efficient level on the California electricity grid. It is the aim of this report not to promote a specific technology or even an energy storage industry, but rather to shed some light on the effects that the development of such an industry could have on the California electricity market and the energy use paradigm that governs modern electricity grids worldwide. With the adoption of AB 2514, a grand experiment was set in motion that will benefit the entire world as California tests the uncharted technological, regulatory and economic territories of grid-scale energy storage capacity. It is a time of change in the electricity industry, and energy storage is a potentially transformative technology that could very well enable the shattering of an energy use paradigm that has held the world captive to fossil fuels for over a century

Examining alignment : national and local assessments and the common core state standards in mathematics.

In support of the national movement to improve mathematics instruction and assessment, states and districts are looking for the best tools to measure student progress toward proficiency. There is a national dialogue about how to use 8th-grade measurements like ACT EXPLORE and NAEP as predictors of student success and school accountability. This dissertation shares research that examined alignment of district and national assessments to the 8th-grade Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM). Three research questions were examined in this study to determine the extent of content validity and mathematical practice representation in three 8th-grade assessments compared to the CCSSM. The three assessments were: the ACT EXPLORE, the 2009 NAEP released mathematics items, and the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) district interim assessments. The study utilized a mixed methods research design to answer the three research questions. To determine the extent of content validity in application to the 8th-grade CCSSM content standards, a quantitative principal component analysis to determine domains represented by assessment items was performed on the JCPS interim assessments and the ACT EXPLORE. Qualitative alignment data were gathered from the three assessments utilizing the Webb Alignment Tool (WAT), which also resulted in quantified data. To analyze the representation of the mathematical practices in the three assessments, the researcher used a method similar to that identified in the WAT to determine which practices each assessment item included. Thus, the mathematical practices were analyzed utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data and also included a meeting with content experts to discuss results of the data gathered. Findings of the study indicated that the JCPS interim assessments were considered well aligned to the 8th-grade CCSSM content standards. However, the ACT EXPLORE and 2009 NAEP released items did not align with the 8th-grade CCSSM. Further analyses of the two national exams revealed a higher level of alignment with the 7th-grade CCSSM content but warrant further analysis. Due to a lack of methodological support for identifying the mathematical practices, no results were reported regarding the level of representation of the practices in each of the assessments

Imaging of intestinal fibrosis: current challenges and future methods

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166213/1/ueg2bf00613.pd

Photoreceptor Inner Segment Morphology in Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy

PURPOSE To characterize outer retina structure in best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD) and to determine the effect of macular lesions on overlying and adjacent photoreceptors. METHODS Five individuals with BVMD were followed prospectively with spectral domain optical coherence tomography and confocal and nonconfocal split-detector adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO). The AOSLO cone photoreceptor mosaic images were obtained within and around retinal lesions. Cone density was measured inside and outside lesions. In 2 subjects, densities were compared with published measurements acquired ∼2.5 years before. One subject was imaged 3 times over a 5-month period. RESULTS The AOSLO imaging demonstrated that photoreceptor morphology within BVMD retinal lesions was highly variable depending on the disease stage, with photoreceptor structure present even in advanced disease. The AOSLO imaging was repeatable even in severe disease over short-time and long-time intervals. Photoreceptor density was normal in retinal areas immediately adjacent to lesions and stable over ∼2.5 years. Mobile disk-like structures possibly representing subretinal macrophages were also observed. CONCLUSION Combined confocal and nonconfocal split-detector AOSLO imaging reveals substantial variability within clinical lesions in all stages of BVMD. Longitudinal cellular photoreceptor imaging could prove a powerful tool for understanding disease progression and monitoring emerging therapeutic treatment response in inherited degenerations such as BVMD

A Study of First Year Undergraduate Computing Students\u27 Experience of Learning Software Development in the Absence of a Software Development Process

Despite the ever-growing demand for software development graduates, it is recognised that a significant barrier for increasing graduate numbers lies in the inherent difficulty in learning how to develop software. This paper presents a study that is part of a larger research project aimed at addressing the gap in the provision of educational software development processes for freshman, novice undergraduate learners, to improve proficiency levels. As a means of understanding how such learners problem solve in software development in the absence of a formal process, this study examines the experiences and depth of learning acquired by a sample set of novice, freshman university learners. The study finds that without the scaffolding of an appropriate structured development process tailored to novices, students are in danger of failing to engage with the problem solving skills necessary for software development, particularly the skill of designing solutions prior to coding

Increasing ultraviolet light exposure is associated with reduced mortality from Clostridium difficile infection

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166256/1/ueg2bf00112.pd