Effect of Knowledge Retention From the First Principles Course on Performance in the Second Principles Course

We explore the impact retention of specific concepts from the first course in accounting principles has on student performance in the subsequent course. There has been worthwhile research on the effect of general factors such as prior performance and knowledge. We extend this work by considering how gaps in students’ understanding alter their success in a subsequent course. In these analyses we find a student’s inability to demonstrate understanding of key concepts from the financial accounting course are significantly related to important learning objectives in the second course. These findings suggest potential areas to re-enforce early in the managerial course

Congressional Representation of Black Interests: Recognizing the Importance of Stability

The relationship between black constituency size and congressional support for black interests has two important attributes: magnitude and stability. Although previous research has examined the first characteristic, scant attention has been directed at the second. This article examines the relationship between district racial composition and congressional voting patterns with a particular emphasis on the stability of support across different types of votes and different types of districts. We hypothesize that, among white Democrats, the influence of black constituency size will be less stable in the South, owing in part to this region’s more racially divided constituencies. Examining LCCR scores from the 101st through 103rd Congress, we find that this expectation is largely confirmed. We also find that, among Republicans, the impact of black constituency size is most stable—albeit negligible in size— in the South. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the relative merits of “influence districts” and “majority minority” districts

Robert Owen: Social reformer

https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/1213/thumbnail.jp

The Creative Economy in Small Places: Eight Cases and a Developmental Model

Eight case studies across New England offer understanding of the role of the creative economy in the community and economic development of rural towns and small cities. The cases include Providence and Pawtucket, RI; Burlington, VT; and Portland, Bangor, Norway, Dover-Foxcroft, and the St. John Valley, ME. Ten elements or “building blocks” are observed to be important, leading to an explanatory model for the development of the creative economy in small communities. These elements include creative people, education centers, cultural and natural amenities, business engagement, infrastructure, leadership, networks, strategies, time, and money. The creative economy in the eight communities has different dimensions and configurations depending on the diversity of resources and stage of development. Sustainability appears to be a challenge no matter what the population size or level of development. Further research to define elements further and to assess relative strength would improve the potential of the model’s application as a self-assessment tool

Functional preservation of vascular smooth muscle tissue

The ionic and cellular feedback relationships operating to effect the vascular decompensatory modifications were examined to reveal procedures for implementing protective measures guarding against vascular collapse when returning from a weightless environment to that of the earth's gravity. The surgical procedures for preparing the rat cremaster, and the fixation methods are described. Abstracts of publications resulting from this research are included

Examining college science teachers' belief systems about inquiry-based teaching in the context of a professional development program

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 26, 2011).Thesis advisor: Dr. Patricia M. Friedrichsen.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009.The purpose of this study was to examine how college science teachers' belief systems about inquiry-based teaching changed through their learning experience in a faculty development program. The program was designed to support college science teachers in learning about inquiry and incorporating an inquiry-based approach to teaching laboratories in their courses. Using a constructivist approach, I used a case study method for data analysis and constructed individual profiles for the five science faculty participants, then developed cross-case assertions based on the individual cases. My data sources were semi-structured interviews, field observations, artifacts, and a researcher's journal. Based on the findings, I made four cross-case assertions: 1) Participants developed more reform-oriented beliefs and knowledge about inquiry-based teaching and learning in which they placed more value on student-directedness and classroom inquiry; 2) Participants' attitudes towards the mini-journal format, attitudes towards implementing it, and motivations for participating in the program were the most influential components of their belief systems as they decided whether or not to incorporate the CUES approach into their future practice; 3) Student responses to the participants' implementation of the CUES approach influenced their attitude towards the mini-journal instructional format and their plans for incorporating it into their future practice; and 4) Participants gained knowledge about the mini-journal format during the summer institute; however, implementation within their own context led to a change in their beliefs about inquiry-based teaching.Includes bibliographical reference

Developments in Phased Retirement

Phased retirement may be defined as a transition path whereby an older employee shifts from full-time to part-time work without changing employers. An interesting aspect of phased retirement is that it sometimes occurs after the older employee officially “retires”. Then the recently retired employee is rehired, and the two events are sometimes separated by less than a week. This chapter makes use of a national survey of 950 establishments to address the question of why an employer might make use of such an arrangement. We find that most employers might be willing to informally-arranged reductions in hours both before and after official retirement, and few impose a formal “waiting-time” between official retirement and subsequent rehire. We test several hypotheses about why employers might prefer that phased retirement occur before and/or after official retirement. Our results suggest that pensions, existing employment arrangements, and organizational size play a role. It is likely that such individually-negotiated arrangements will become an ever-more important element of the evolving retirement paradigm

Will I Teach Evolution? A Multiple Case Study of Prospective Biology Teachers

This conference paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching in San Francisco, CA in April 2006.The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the impact of a biology-focused science methods course on prospective teachers' preparedness to teach evolution and to explore factors that influence their intentions to teach evolution. The researchers sought to understand the interplay between prospective teachers' personal and contextual issues (including acceptance of evolution and views of the nature of science) on their anticipated plans for teaching evolution. Participants included 3 female and 2 male students. Data collection utilized VNOS-C questionnaire, Measure of Acceptance of Evolution instrument, semi-structured interviews, and instructor and student journals. Profiles were created for each participant, and analyzed to identify cross-case themes. Findings indicate the development of prospective teachers' instructional plans for teaching evolution was mediated by their views of the nature of science and their understanding of evolution. As a result of course activities, there was a shift in the nature of prospective teachers' concerns about teaching evolution; however, although each of the prospective teachers personally accepted the theory of evolution, concerns about their future students', parents', and colleagues' acceptance of evolution played a significant role in their decision whether to teach evolution in their future classrooms

Reception of laser generated ultrasound from a CFRP plate by an air matched piezoelectric composite transducer

Laser generated ultrasound is being investigated [1,2] for testing structures made of both conventional metals and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). Laser interferometers are widely used in such work to detect the normal surface motion caused by ultrasonic pulses. Interferometers offer non-contact, remote and high-fidelity detection, together with a potential to cover large areas rapidly by optical scanning. However their cost is high and only in testing large and/or expensive structures may the cost be justified. A lower cost alternative, but with some compromise on the virtues of an interferometer, would be to use an air transducer as a receiver