Development of a Cohesive Theory of Leadership

Previous assessments of leadership have failed to fully take into account what leadership is. Therefore, the goal for this study was to combine existing theories into one cohesive theory. In this study, undergraduate psychology students (N = 21), were placed in groups of 3 and recorded during a modified game of "20 Questions." During the game, participants were observed and exhibited "leadership behaviors" were documented. Participants identified as leaders exhibited more leadership behaviors, but only as the experiment went on and no additional "power" was given to followers. Implications of results and possible means of improvement are discussed.Lawrence, James - Faculty Mentor ; Corso, Gregory - Committee Member/Second Reade

Creating Intrinsic Motivation To Read In Middle School Students

Research has shown that there is a decline in intrinsic motivation to read as students transition from elementary school to secondary school. As students make this transition their reasons for reading change from enjoyment-based to academic. This leads to the question: What are effective strategies for building middle school students’ intrinsic desire to read? Based on Wiggins and McTighe’s (2011) The Understanding by Design - Module: D, the curriculum designed in this project is focused on returning the reason for reading to enjoyment so middle school students can once again become intrinsically motivated to read, and to also realize the short- and long-term benefits of becoming lifelong readers. This curriculum is designed to create a year-long reading routine in the classroom focused on student voice, choice, and authenticity. The curriculum also makes the argument against certain classroom practices that, although well intentioned, could be detrimental to students’ intrinsic desire to read

Exploring the underpinnings that attribute to low performance on standardized tests by first year university freshmen at a Historically Black College and University

The primary purpose of this study was to examine and determine what factors contribute to the prevention of first semester freshmen students not succeeding on high stakes tests based on their opinions, and what variables are important to their performance at the university. The Personal Educational Academic Survey (PEAS), a 65 item Likert-type scale was designed to measure the students’ opinions regarding their academic knowledge acquired during their first semester in college in Academic Achievement and other courses at Langston University. The final response count was 216 representing a 35.47% response rate. The target population in this research study was first year college students who attend Langston University, and who were conditionally admitted and enrolled in Academic Achievement as a required preparatory course because they are considered at-risk for college studies. These students’ composite scores ranged from seventeen or lower on the ACT (American College Test). Students were administered the PEAS to measure the factors that they think impeded or enhanced their knowledge base and determined their academic levels in addition to some identifiable markers that they considered to be motivational factors as they matriculate throughout the semester. The statistical procedures that were used to help answer the research questions were Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), step-wise regression, Pearson’s r Correlation, and exploratory factor analysis. Majority of respondents identified themselves as Black or African American (n = 202, 93.5%). The second largest group identified themselves as American Indiana or Alaska Native (n = 7, 3.2%). A total of 144 respondents (67.0%) indicated that they did not find an individual who is mentoring them during this college experience. This item question was proven to be statistically significant of all the other variables. Many of the respondents also stated that they would like more collaborative learning and hands-on classwork in the classroom. They also wanted the course to be offered more than one time a week. Another major finding was that the majority of the respondents indicated that their grade-point average in high school was not a 3.0 and above (n = 154, 71.3%)

Mutlifunctional platforms for gene and drug delivery for cancer therapy

The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society estimate that 1.6 million new cancer incidences and over half a million cancer related deaths occur annually [1][2]. Cancer the second most common cause of death in the United States [1], [2]. Although the causes of cancer can vary depending on cell type, all or almost all instances of cancer arise from a mutation or from an abnormal activation of the cellular genes that control cell growth and mitosis [3]. Treatment of a given cancer type depends on the subtype, stage and progression of the cancer. Varieties of cancer therapy include surgery, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, gene therapy and stem cell transplant [4]. Some treatments help patients achieve remission, and with additional treatment, can cure the illness. Many of the available therapies have drawbacks that can negatively affect patients. Some of these drawbacks include systemic, as opposed to local, delivery of chemotherapeutic agents, pain, hair loss, reoccurrence and metastasis post-surgery. A major goal of current research in cancer medicine is to develop novel strategies and materials to halt the advance of cancer and its potential metastasis. This goal can be achieved by employing strategies that can localize treatments to affected areas, sustaining drug release to these areas, and destabilizing cellular processes that affect cell-drug interaction. The focus of this dissertation was to design and develop novel injectable and implantable applications for gene and chemotherapeutic cancer treatment. The use of naturally occurring materials can improve gene and drug delivery characteristics in vivo. The research aimed to establish halloysite nanotubes as a novel delivery system for drugs and/or genes. The first stage of this goal was to analyze the drug and gene release by establish a release profile from halloysite nanotubes. The next stage was in vitro assay to determine the transfection efficiency of pIRES2-EGFP loaded Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs), and the and in vitro cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assay of methotrexateloaded HNTs. Results indicate that methotrexate-or pIRES2-EGFP loaded nanotubes, and composite films can boost transfection efficiency and reduce cancer cell growth and proliferation. Nanotubes showed promise in gene delivery as they enhanced the transfection efficiency of commonly used transfection reagents. Nanotubes and nanotubeimbedded films show promise as novel chemotherapeutic treatments as the provided a platform for sustained and localized drug delivery in vitro

Impact of Serving as an Extension Camping Instructor on Life Skills Development.

The purpose of this study was to determine if West Virginia University Extension Camping Instructors were influencing the life skill development of 4-H youth while also developing life skills of their own. This study utilized the unique perceptions of Extension Camping Instructors who were employed from the summer of 2007 to October of 2015 by examining their current level of life skills, how they felt being employed as an Extension Camping Instructor influenced the development of each skill, and how they felt their role impacted the life skill development of 4-H youth with whom they had worked. A descriptive survey was sent to each member of the target population who were employed during the designated time. The Extension Camping Instructor experience was perceived to have the greatest influence on leadership, community service/volunteering, problem solving, and communication among the target population while the Extension Camping Instructors perceive that their role has the greatest influence on teamwork, self-esteem, and community service/volunteer life skill development among 4-H youth. Adaptability, communication, and working with others who are different were rated as the most valued life skills learned through being an Extension Camping Instructor

Sex differences in science achievement in grades five and seven

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SEDIMENT BASIN DESIGNS FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION SITES IN TENNESSEE

Performance of three sediment basin designs were tested; they were: 1) the TDEC standard design with a forebay, 2) the TDOT design with an inlet check dam, and 3) the TDOT standard design that does not include an inlet check dam. An 1/17 of an acre scaled physical model sediment basin, was constructed next to an elevated outdoor open flume used to mix known water volumes and sediment mass routed by gravity-flow into the basin. The measurement for performance was simply the percent sediment mass retained in the basin from the total input per experimental run (percent sediment removal). Three experimental replicates per design were completed. Sediment was analyzed by concentrations, loads, and particle size distributions (PSDs). All designs were above the 80% removal regulatory requirement for Tennessee: with TDOT, TDEC, and TDOT with check dam design achieving a total percent sediment removal of 95.4 %, 98.2 %, and 97.9 %, respectively. PSD data from the experiments provided key information for developing a sediment-basin design model to account for differential particle size settling. In addition, these experimental results were compared with sediment basin performance data collected at active highway construction sites, as well as from other published experimental studies

Mathematical Formulas for Calculating Net Returns from Participation in Government Farm Programs: Provisions of the Food, Agricultural, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990

Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance,