Assessing learning outcomes in college introductory economics courses: A case study

Many issues affecting economic education remain unresolved within the profession. Much scholarly attention in recent years relates to the teaching of college introductory economics principles in courses. This thesis analyzes the learning outcomes of students taking introductory college economics principles courses. Little basic research has been performed on the assessment of how students actually learn the concepts of economics. This thesis takes a unique approach to the assessment of learning outcomes. Following a pre- and post-test survey, students were scored on the basis of both their economic attitude sophistication, and their knowledge of content. The results were regressed against a set of demographic characteristics that may predict positive learning outcomes. The results indicate that there are factors that contribute to successful learning outcomes. The conclusion identifies recommendations that can assist in helping students more readily grasp principles of economics

The failure of altruism: Alternatives to improve the donor rate in organ transplantation

Ethical and moral issues facing potential organ donors, their families or agents, and the medical community are created and driven by the rapidly expanding demand for the life-giving resource (ever more successfully utilized)--a factor coupled with the persistently scarce and relatively constant low level of supply. The serious nature of the shortage of compatible organs has prompted medical, ethical, and legal scholars to consider alternatives to altruistic donation. This approach has never been able to keep up with the demand--indeed, it falls further behind each year. One set of alternatives involves (currently banned) financial incentives for organ donors. I will argue that some form of incentive, or other policy-type recommendation is the only possible method of catching up with the technological innovations, that while incredible, serve to exacerbate the demand/supply dis-equilibrium. The thesis will examine the ethical and moral issues that pertain to this dilemma and recommend policies targeted at alternatives for resolving the supply problems

New college formation: A case study comparing five recently opened state colleges

This policy analysis reviewed the needs assessment process for the formation of five recently opened and publicly-supported state colleges. The analysis revealed how public policy, higher education goals and objectives, and statewide resources and politics become engaged and intertwined in the creation of a new public middle-tier state college. This comparative case study examined the needs assessment process used in the creation of five recently opened colleges for effectiveness: CSU Monterrey Bay, CSU Channel Islands, Central Oregon University, Florida Gulf Coast University and Nevada State College HenderSon The analysis focused on four principal dimensions taken from the extant literature relevant to the determination of need. The four dimensions were: (1) the calculation and analysis of academic demand for a new institution; (2) the availability of state financial resources; (3) the consideration of alternatives, and (4) the role of politics in the decision making process; The analysis of the four critical dimensions of need for each of the state colleges included the construction of a rubric to depict how each college fared in a comparison of the effectiveness of their planning process. Finally, based on the findings of the cross case analysis, a best practices model was developed and recommended as a potential needs assessment process for states to consider when deliberating whether or not to bring a new college on line

Disseminating Crop Variety Trial Results Via Agricultural Newspaper Supplements

This study evaluated disseminating annual crop variety trial results through supplements in agricultural newspapers

Economic lot sizes in a multi-stage production-inventory system

A simulation model was programmed to investigate the behaviour of the system cost function for a simple 2-stage system with four raw material inventories; static, deterministic demand, and various production rates

Strategic Re-Envisioning Initiative Update

On May 9 and 10, a group of approximately 60 faculty, staff, and administrators came together to provide input concerning the process and expectations for the SRE initiative. The SRE assumes wide involvement in our effort to envision UMaine’s future and find actions and approaches as we develop the fiscal year 2026 budget. This initiative will help determine areas for lasting strategic savings or reliable revenue streams

Functional Associations by Response Overlap (FARO), a Functional Genomics Approach Matching Gene Expression Phenotypes

The systematic comparison of transcriptional responses of organisms is a powerful tool in functional genomics. For example, mutants may be characterized by comparing their transcript profiles to those obtained in other experiments querying the effects on gene expression of many experimental factors including treatments, mutations and pathogen infections. Similarly, drugs may be discovered by the relationship between the transcript profiles effectuated or impacted by a candidate drug and by the target disease. The integration of such data enables systems biology to predict the interplay between experimental factors affecting a biological system. Unfortunately, direct comparisons of gene expression profiles obtained in independent, publicly available microarray experiments are typically compromised by substantial, experiment-specific biases. Here we suggest a novel yet conceptually simple approach for deriving ‘Functional Association(s) by Response Overlap’ (FARO) between microarray gene expression studies. The transcriptional response is defined by the set of differentially expressed genes independent from the magnitude or direction of the change. This approach overcomes the limited comparability between studies that is typical for methods that rely on correlation in gene expression. We apply FARO to a compendium of 242 diverse Arabidopsis microarray experimental factors, including phyto-hormones, stresses and pathogens, growth conditions/stages, tissue types and mutants. We also use FARO to confirm and further delineate the functions of Arabidopsis MAP kinase 4 in disease and stress responses. Furthermore, we find that a large, well-defined set of genes responds in opposing directions to different stress conditions and predict the effects of different stress combinations. This demonstrates the usefulness of our approach for exploiting public microarray data to derive biologically meaningful associations between experimental factors. Finally, our results indicate that FARO is more powerful in associating mutants in common pathways than existing methods such as co-expression analysis

An analysis of the Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

BACKGROUND: The Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England commenced in 1993 with the aim of exposing selected surgical trainees to research techniques and methodology, with the hope of having an impact on surgical research and increasing the cadre of young surgeons who might decide to pursue an academic career in surgery. Over 11 million pounds sterling (approximately US 20 million dollars) has been invested in 264 fellowships. The College wished to evaluate the impact of the Scheme on the careers of research fellows, surgical research, and patient care. As the 10th anniversary of the Scheme approached. STUDY DESIGN: Two-hundred and sixty research fellows whose current addresses were available were sent a questionnaire. Two-hundred and thirty-eight (91.5%) responded. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the research fellows conducted laboratory-based research, with most of the remainder conducting patient-based clinical research. One-third of the fellows who have reached consultant status have an academic component to their post. The total number of publications based on fellowship projects was 531, with a median impact factor of 3.5. Almost all fellows had been awarded a higher degree or were working toward this. Half of the fellows received subsequent funding for research, mostly awarded by national or international funding bodies. CONCLUSIONS: The Research Fellowship Scheme of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has successfully supported many trainee surgeons in the initial phase of their research career. It has helped surgical research by increasing the pool of surgeons willing to embark on an academic career. Indirectly, patient care has benefited by promoting an evidence-based culture among young surgeons. Such schemes are relevant to surgical training programs elsewhere if more young surgeons are to be attracted into academic surgery

Reflections on belonging and a law student pledge

In 2017, the School of Law at the University of Wollongong commenced an experimental initiative through the introduction of a Law Student Pledge. It was designed as a symbolic statement to students that from the day they begin their law studies they become a member of the legal professional community. In this way, it invited First Year Students to commit to core values, attitudes and practices seen as important to developing a positive professional identity. This article reports on learnings following the implementation of the Pledge over 3 iterations and reflects upon its impact on shaping students’ sense of belonging. As an empirical project, this research incorporates both the student voice as well as the academic perspective, via the methodology of reflective practice. The research will consider whether the Pledge provided an opportunity for students to engage in a community of shared identity or became a perceived ‘imposed’ requirement to belong

MAP kinase cascades in <em>Arabidopsis</em> innate immunity

Plant mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades generally transduce extracellular stimuli into cellular responses. These stimuli include the perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by host transmembrane pattern recognition receptors which trigger MAPK-dependent innate immune responses. In the model Arabidopsis, molecular genetic evidence implicates a number of MAPK cascade components in PAMP signaling, and in responses to immunity-related phytohormones such as ethylene, jasmonate, and salicylate. In a few cases, cascade components have been directly linked to the transcription of target genes or to the regulation of phytohormone synthesis. Thus MAPKs are obvious targets for bacterial effector proteins and are likely guardees of resistance proteins, which mediate defense signaling in response to the action of effectors, or effector-triggered immunity. This mini-review discusses recent progress in this field with a focus on the Arabidopsis MAPKs MPK3, MPK4, MPK6, and MPK11 in their apparent pathways