Developing Parental Leadership through Biblical Love as Expressed in Presence, Communication, and Discipline in the Homes at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Shelby, North Carolina

A Christian education curriculum was established at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, to develop parental leadership centered on biblical love. The goal was to train parents to model biblical love in their homes. Relying upon scripture affirming parental leadership in the home, parents were enlisted and participated in a six-week study. Surveys measured experience, involvement, practice, and understanding of biblical knowledge. There was no significant statistical difference between the control group and focus group quantitatively; however, the focus group was also assessed qualitatively by means of theological reflection, presence, communication, and discipline application activities. Final reviews indicated that biblical love is a crucial component in developing parental leadership when understood and practiced. Participants in both groups recommend this curriculum be expanded and integrated as a part of the Christian education ministry of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church

Invisible: A Phenomenological Study of Perseverance in Black Student-Fathers in Community Colleges

This transcendental phenomenological study examined how Black fathers’ perception of their own and their father’s fatherhood impacts persistence in community college. This study interviewed six Black male community college students with children in New York State. The study posed three research questions: (1) How do Black male college students experience fatherhood (from a son’s perspective) facilitating or impeding community college completion? (2) How do Black male college students experience their fatherhood (from a father’s perspective) facilitating or impeding community college completion? and (3) In the experience of Black male college students, how do community colleges support Black students who are fathers? Findings show that fatherhood acts as a catalyst to community college completion for Black student-fathers, that children are a central motivation for persistence for Black student-fathers, and support systems in community colleges are lacking for Black student-fathers. The six emergent themes included parenting matters, impenetrable lifelong connections, resilience and progression, desire to be living proof, typical unnecessary obstacles, and true knowledge and acceptance. Recommendations for practice include recognizing Black student-fathers, implementing support programs specific to Black student-fathers, and actively recruiting Black male faculty and support staff. Recommendations for future research include broadening research nationally, including 4-year institutions, and examining student-fathers of different races

If you build it, will they come? The effect providing recreation and parks has on attracting new businesses

This study investigates recreation and park\u27s influence on the Rio Grande Valley\u27s ability to attract businesses. Input was solicited from companies that initially located or relocated in the Rio Grande Valley within the last ten years. Quality of life is compared to six possible influences on the location/relocation decision. Recreation and parks is scored relative to five other indicators of the quality of life. Relative importance is determined through a Likert scale. Company types are broken down into manufacturing/distribution and technical/headquarters companies plus small and large companies. Company types and sizes are be compared against each other and the overall sample. Results indicate that the Rio Grande Valley tends to follow national trends

Accounting Program Assessment: Exit Interviews of Graduating Seniors

Exit interviews of university graduating seniors have been used to a very limited extent when evaluating academic programs.  It is our belief that developing and implementing an exit interview plan stimulates faculty dialog and improves ongoing feedback for department program assessment.  From 2001 to 2007, the Accounting Department at Towson University has conducted exit interviews with all graduating seniors as part of the annual internal department assessment activities.  The exit interviews have served to assist the Department of Accounting in evaluating its performance as judged by the students served.  The positive comments assist to reinforce the quality activities of the department, while the negative comments permit the department to become aware of areas of perceived weakness that are in need of improvement.   By receiving annual feedback from a valuable, relevant source, the department is able to continuously monitor, adjust, and improve its performance

Force-Strain Characteristics and Rupture-Load Capability of Viking-Type Suspension-Line Material Under Dynamic Loading Conditions

A series of tests has been conducted to investigate the elastic behavior of Viking-type suspension-line material under dynamic loading conditions. Results indicate that there is a decrease in both rupture-load capability and elongation at rupture as the test strain rate is increased. Preliminary examination of force-strain characteristics indicates that, on the average, the material exhibits some type of viscous effect which results in a greater force being produced, for a particular value of strain, under dynamic loading conditions than that produced under quasi-static loading conditions. A great deal of uncertainty exists in defining a priori the tensile properties of viscoelastic materials, such as nylon or dacron, under dynamic loading conditions. Additional uncertainty enters the picture when woven configurations such as suspension,line material are considered. To eliminate these uncertainties, with respect to the Viking parachute configuration, a test program has been conducted to obtain data on the tensile properties of Viking-type suspension-line material over a wide range of strain rates. Based on preliminary examination of these data, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. Material rupture-load capability decreases as strain-rate is increased. At strain rates above 75 percent/sec, no rupture loads were observed which would meet the minimum tensile strength specification of 880 pounds. 2. The material, on the average, exhibits some type of viscous effect which, for a particular value of strain, produces a greater load under dynamic loading conditions than that produced under quasi-static loading conditions

Glycogen Synthase Kinase (GSK) 3β phosphorylates and protects nuclear myosin 1c from proteasome-mediated degradation to activate rDNA transcription in early G1 cells

Nuclear myosin 1c (NM1) mediates RNA polymerase I (pol I) transcription activation and cell cycle progression by facilitating PCAF-mediated H3K9 acetylation, but the molecular mechanism by which NM1 is regulated remains unclear. Here, we report that at early G1 the glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β phosphorylates and stabilizes NM1, allowing for NM1 association with the chromatin. Genomic analysis by ChIP-Seq showed that this mechanism occurs on the rDNA as active GSK3β selectively occupies the gene. ChIP assays and transmission electron microscopy in GSK3β-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts indicated that at G1 rRNA synthesis is suppressed due to decreased H3K9 acetylation leading to a chromatin state incompatible with transcription. We found that GSK3β directly phosphorylates the endogenous NM1 on a single serine residue (Ser-1020) located within the NM1 C-terminus. In G1 this phosphorylation event stabilizes NM1 and prevents NM1 polyubiquitination by the E3 ligase UBR5 and proteasome-mediated degradation. We conclude that GSK3β-mediated phosphorylation of NM1 is required for pol I transcription activation