48 research outputs found

    Investigation of factors related to performance and retention of engineering students.

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    This study was part of an ongoing effort to improve retention of engineering students at the J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to gain a better understanding of the relationship among interest in engineering, performance and first-year retention in engineering, and whether this relationship is different for males and females, and (2) to better understand the relationship among self-control, academic ability and first semester GPA for engineering students. To address the first research question investigating retention, survey responses and data from student records were analyzed using logistic regression. Results of these analyses showed students who indicated they had very high interest in engineering were 43 times more likely to be retained than students who indicated very low interest, and 6 times more likely than a student who indicated they had low to medium interest, given the same GPA. There was not a significant difference in the probability of being retained for students who indicated they had high or very high interest, given the same GPA. Results also showed that a one point increase in GPA increased the likelihood of a student being retained by 4.6 times, given the same level of interest. Based on these results, the Step-outs to Stars engineering retention framework was created. Students were separated into four quadrants based on their level of interest and first semester GPA. The framework can be used as a mechanism to allocate resources targeted to improve engineering retention and to frame future research on engineering retention. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze survey and student data to answer the second research question related to first semester performance of engineering students. In the study academic ability was measured by algebra readiness test scores and ACT math, science, English and reading scores. Self-control was measured by self-reported scores on the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004). Results confirmed prior research, which found a significant positive relationship between self-control and academic performance, and a lack of significance between self-control and standardized test scores. These results can be used to strengthen the argument for programs to help improve self-control in K-12 and post-secondary students. The results can also be used to help prospective and current engineering students understand that higher levels of self-control might improve their academic performance in engineering

    Cultural Pluralism: Language Proficiency

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    In response to the growing diversity of the U. S. society, many institutions of higher learning are making some adjustments in their programs. For instance, Levine and Cureton (1992) claim that 54% of all colleges and universities have introduced multiculturalism into their departmental course offerings (p. 26). They specifically identify English and history as leaders in this endeavor. As communication educators, we cannot afford to ignore the challenges of cultural pluralism in the basic course

    Self-Control And Academic Performance In Engineering

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    Self-control has been related to positive student outcomes including academic performance of college students.  Because of the critical nature of the first semester academic performance for engineering students in terms of retention and persistence in pursuing an engineering degree, this study investigated the relationship between freshmen engineering students’ scores on the Brief Self-Control Scale and first semester GPA. To identify the unique explanatory contribution of self-control beyond incoming academic performance differences, the effect of ACT Composite scores was statistically removed from the sample of three cohorts of freshmen engineering students (n=1295 total).  The results showed the measure of self-control explained on average 4.2% of the residual variability in first semester GPA, after accounting for the variability explained by ACT scores.  Based on results of this study, self-control predicted between 27%-42% as much of the variance in first semester GPA as did ACT scores, a much-used high stakes measure frequently used for decisions such as program admittance or mathematics course placement.  Thus self-control is a nontrivial predictor of academic performance.  Based on post hoc analysis, relevant self-control behaviors might manifest themselves in time and study management since there was a significant correlation between self-control scores and scores on the MSLQ time and study management measure.  These results have implications for both how much of an impact positive self-control may have on freshmen engineering academic performance, while also offering potential avenues to support students in bolstering aspects of this personality trait through a focus on strengthening time and study management skills

    Testing Poultry Dust Mitigation Practices

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    Cage-free chicken farms are prone to significant amounts of dust in the air due to the disturbance of the litter (bedding) on the ground. We needed to develop a physical test system and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that is able to capture and record dust samples. So the client is able to test different litter management practices, vegetable oil, for example, to minimize the amount of dust airborne in cage-free chicken farms. The ideal amount of litter management treatment is unknown. This must be solved to help lower the amount of dust that is airborne in cage-free chicken farms. A high amount of dust in the area from the disturbed bedding will cause the air quality in the barn to be very poor. High dust concentrations result in harmful effects on not only the health of chicken production employees but also the birds. Many poultry production companies over the United States are implementing different litter management practices to try and reduce the airborne dust due to the ban of battery cages for raising poultry in some states. Michigan, Ohio, Washington, and California have bans on battery cages. This results in many more poultry farms in the states listed above to turning to cage-free farms

    ‘Khoisan’ sibling terminologies in historical perspective:A combined anthropological, linguistic and phylogenetic comparative approach

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    Language endangerment and language documentation in Africa

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    The Kx'a Family : A New Khoisan Genealogy

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    Vocabulary matchings in !Xoo and Ju|'hoan

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    Honken H. Vocabulary matchings in !Xoo and Ju|'hoan [Электронный ресурс] / Henry Honken// Вопросы языкового родства. - 2013. - № 10. - С. 43-62. - (Вестник РГГУ. Серия "Филологические науки. Языкознание" ; № 16). - Библиогр.: с. 56

    A Review of the Historical Influences of the Rural Physician Shortage in the United States

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