Biological patterns: Novel indicators for pharmacological assays

Variable gravity testing using the KC-135 demonstrated clearly that biological pattern formation was definitely shown to result from gravity alone, and not from oxygen gradients in solution. Motile pattern formation of spermatozoa are driven by alternate mechanisms, and apparently not affected by short-term changes in gravity. The chemical effects found appear to be secondary to the primary effect of gravity. Cryopreservation may be the remedy to the problem of 'spare' or 'standing order' biological samples for testing of space lab investigations, but further studies are necessary

Levels of Feedback Observed in Kindergarten Classrooms: Perceptions and Reality

The most powerful influence on student achievement is the classroom teacher and the most effective instructional strategy teachers can use to increase student learning and achievement is effective feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). The research on teacher feedback in kindergarten classrooms is scarce therefore this study helps reduce the void in the literature on the importance of teacher feedback in kindergarten classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine effective teachers’ perceptions of the amount and kind of feedback they provide to their students and to determine if their perceptions match the feedback they actually provide. The participants in the study were four teachers from a public elementary school in middle Tennessee. Each teacher received the rating of effective teacher according to their 2015-2016 state-wide teacher evaluation. This study is based upon Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory which proclaims student learning can be increased when teachers provide the necessary support to complete a task at a level higher than their current level of functioning. Teacher feedback is an effective and efficient instructional strategy to bridge the gap between students’ actual level of understanding and the level required to become independently successful. It is important, therefore that teachers become knowledgeable of feedback that will encourage rather than discourage independent learning. The qualitative design of this study included observing and analyzing teacher feedback during whole group instruction in kindergarten classrooms. The researcher collected data on four observed levels of teacher feedback: feedback about the task, feedback about the process, feedback about self-regulation and personal feedback about the self. Teachers’ perceptions of the kinds of feedback they provide most frequently did not match observed levels of feedback. The participants perceived themselves to provide more feedback about the process and self-regulation which are the most effective levels of feedback to increase student achievement. Their perceptions did not match observed levels of feedback provided to their students. The results of this study may be used as a catalyst for districts to provide professional development to instruct teachers how to effectively use the four levels of teacher feedback to increase student academic progress

Student Perceptions in Conferring: A Phenomenographic Exploration of Student Perceptions on Teacher-Student Writing Conferences

This phenomenographic research explores how students perceive one-on-one (teacher-student) writing conferences. At least twice a year, I sit with my 9th-grade English students to discuss their writing. Together, we go over their last writing assignment. I coach them to make their writing better while pointing out positive elements of their writing. I check for understanding by having the students verbally repeat a summary of their conference. While I feel connected to the students and their writing by conferring, I have rarely considered what they thought about the conference. After our conference, do they feel like they truly learned something? I want to know their thoughts about how to make conferring about writing better for them. The research explores 9th-grade student perceptions of writing conferences in a rural Georgia high school. I used my own students for this research, which included 22 participants. My participants completed surveys after one writing conference. Participants answered a list of questions, both open-ended and closed-ended questions, about their conferring experience. By studying these participant surveys, I determined how students perceived teacher-student writing conferences. I interviewed five participants to seek further clarification of the overall survey answers. Questions I answered included: 1. What are students\u27 overall perceptions about writing conferences? 2. What elements (if any) of writing conferences do students find useful? 3. According to students, what can teachers do to make writing conferences more useful for students

A History of Health and Safety Conditions in the Omaha Public Schools from 1872 to 1908

The choice of this thesis topic is the result of special interests and experiences. I have been associated with the public schools of Omaha as both a student and as a teacher. In addition, my father has worked for the Board of Education as a teacher, principal, and administrator for twenty years. Thus, some of the aspects of public administration in Omaha particularly appeal to me as an area for special study. In deciding what area of school history to investigate, I was influenced by my husband, who was preparing to enter the field of medicine at the time I began research. A cursory examination of the subject soon indicated that health conditions in the schools were closely related to safety, the two topics were intrinsically linked

AN EXPLORATION OF A RESEARCHER-INSTRUCTOR PARTNERSHIP IN IMPLICIT RACIAL BIAS AWARENESS AND MITIGATION IN COLLEGE STEM CLASSROOMS

Seventy-six percent of all minority students who enter college with declared majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) do not graduate with STEM degrees. Black students represent 40% of minority attrition from STEM. Implicit racial bias was indicated as a contributor to the challenges faced by Black students. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a researcher-instructor partnership brought awareness to and the potential for mitigation of implicit racial bias in course delivery and instructor interactions with Black students in STEM classes. A case study design was used over three phases to gather survey, observational, and interview data. The survey was used to collect descriptive data, data on instructor knowledge of implicit racial bias, and to recruit instructors to Phase 2 of the study. Phase 2 data were gathered through classroom observations and weekly meetings with each instructor over a 6-week period. Phase 3 data were collected using a semistructured interview to gather instructors’ perceptions of the study and benefits of the partnership. Surveys were completed by 19 STEM instructors. Four of the 19 instructors participated in the researcher-instructor partnership. Instructors reported joining the study to learn more about implicit racial bias and ways to improve instruction. Instructors found the partnership offered a respectful and comfortable space to discuss implicit racial bias. The partnership was beneficial in bringing awareness to the impact of implicit racial bias and in improving instructor-student interaction. Keywords: implicit racial bias, mitigation, Black students, STEM, attrition, partnership, case stud

Leadership styles and behaviors of African American women executives from different economic centers

The leadership styles and behaviors of African American women executives across multiple economic sectors were studied using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. Senior leaders from six of the following sectors Academia, Business, Government, Law, Military, and Nonprofit were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to quantitatively assess their leadership styles and behaviors. A subset of survey respondents from each sector were interviewed one-on-one to provide contextual details regarding their MLQ results, and to elicit additional perspectives on leadership styles in general and the development of their individual style in particular. The preponderance of the relatively limited published studies on the leadership attributes of African American women have involved one or more of the following design methodologies: (a) use of qualitative methods, (b) focus on a single sector of the economy, (c) inclusion of a range of leadership positions from middle to senior management within their sample size, and (d) exploration of the obstacles and barriers encountered by the women during their journey to leadership. The purpose of the present research augmented the scope and results of the previous work. MLQ data from a numerically significant sample of executives, coupled with the interview narratives, potentially provided the necessary quantitative and qualitative underpinnings to support and/or reshape findings from the past studies. Expanding the scope to include leaders from different sectors furnished insight into potential sector-specific influences on leadership styles; and tightening of the sampling process to include only senior-level leaders in organizations reduced experimental variability and insured a pool of participants with extensive leadership experience. The obstacles and barriers facing African American women leaders received the most attention in prior studies and therefore is not a key focus of this work. However, salient information gleaned from interviews concerning their impact on leadership styles have been reported. It is expected that the data and information from this study has yielded a more comprehensive evaluation of the leadership styles and behaviors of these African American women executives in particular, and potentially enabled meaningful comparisons with previously published findings on such leadership characteristics in general

The long term effects of racial socialization of African American sons through communication patterns from their mothers

This study explored the long-term effects of racial socialization patterns from African American mothers to their sons to discover whether they are enhancing or impeding the wellbeing the African American males. While several distinct socialization types emerge throughout the literature with egalitarian, and barrier socialization messages predominating, the measures have focused primarily on the effects of racial socialization on academic performance. This qualitative study attempted to illuminate a gap in the literature: the long-term effects of mother to son racial socialization messages as evidenced by the limited research examining the later life experiences of adult African American men. The results of this study support the literature with the discovery of consistent examples of early racial socialization patterns from African American mothers to sons continuing to be a protective factor well into the middle stages of adulthood. These findings allow for the development of a more culturally sensitive and competent treatment modality for victims of racism, accessible through all stages of adulthood

Investigation of the performance of flexible pavement systems under moving loads using finite element analyses

The introduction of larger and heavier aircraft with more complex wheel configurations is making the current design methods inadequate for airfield pavements. In addition, airport pavements experience significant wander. However, the effect of wander on airport pavement performance has not been evaluated. In previous studies, the stress interactions between each tire of a triple-dual-tandem (TDT) axle used on B-777 and A380 aircraft cannot be captured using a two-dimensional model. In addition, many of these studies have assumed a linear-elastic material behavior of the pavement layers. The purpose of this study is to conduct a three-dimensional finite element analysis to quantify and evaluate the effects of wander and aircraft wheel configurations on the mechanical response of the pavement layers. The flexible pavement system that is modeled in this study is comprised of a medium and low strength subgrade. The stress-strain response of the base, subbase, and subgrade layers are simulated using an elasto-plastic model and the asphalt layer is modeled separately as a viscoelastic and elasto-plastic material. The entire pavement system is also modeled as layered linear elastic. The data collected from this study will show how flexible airport pavements are affected when wander is considered. Correlations between deformations from a single wheel and 4- and 6- wheel configurations are also studied