The Internal Odyssey of Identity: James Baldwin, \u3cem\u3eGo Tell It on the Mountain\u3c/em\u3e, and History.

This study investigates how James Baldwin thought about history and treats his first novel as an important document in extricating his construct of the past. A close reading of the work reveals that it is an examination rather than a symptom of two powerful forces that dominate Baldwin\u27s psychology, his father and his history. James Baldwin felt the individual interpretation of one\u27s experience is just as important as the experience itself. The novel is an informative exposition of how people interpret their experience and how that interpretation affects their psychology. Through Go Tell It on the Mountain Baldwin recreates the personal history he knows little about and is afforded a psychological freedom he would have never known without its completion. This study illuminates how useful fiction is to one\u27s historical conscience and perception. The research exposes how important a sense of history is to the formation of identity

Household behavior and attitudes regarding diversion of organic material from the municipal solid waste stream : a case study of Knox County, Tennessee

Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become increasingly important in recent decades. Solid waste officials are often forced to take progressive steps in the areas of waste diversion and source reduction in order to offset the increasing amount of MSW currently being generated. While much research has focused on recycling programs, composting programs have the potential to increase diversion rates drastically. Composting has long been underutilized as a relatively cost effective strategy for diverting organic wastes. Estimates show that up to 60 percent of the residential waste stream is potentially compostable. Aggressive composting programs can thus divert a substantial fraction of MSW from landfills. Yard waste alone has been estimated to account for 17.6 percent of the weight of municipal solid waste nationally (Franklin Associates, 1990). The overall objective of this research project was to analyze the current situation in Knox County, Tennessee with respect to solid waste management in general, and diversion of organic matter in particular. Specific objectives were: (1) to identify and describe the current behavior and attitudes of households living in single-family residences in Knox County with respect to generation, diversion, and disposal of waste materials, especially organic matter (2) to measure attitudes toward, familiarity with, and expected behavioral responses to the following policy options for increasing the diversion of organic matter: (a) educational programs (e.g., to encourage backyard composting) (b) regulatory actions (e.g., landfill ban of yard wastes) (c) incentive strategies (e.g., unit-pricing systems of solid waste disposal) (3) to identify factors associated with residents\u27 backyard composting behavior The information used in this study was gained through a telephone survey of Knox County residents living in single-family detached dwellings. The total sample size was 865, including 400 City of Knoxville households and 465 households residing outside the city limits. Valuable information was gained about Knox County residents\u27 solid waste disposal patterns, as well as their attitudes and perceptions toward solid waste issues. A conceptual model was developed in an attempt to identify factors influencing the probability that residents participate in composting behavior. A logit regression procedure was used to estimate the models for composting tree and shrub trimmings, grass, food, leaves, and composting in general

An Analysis of Data Collected from the 2007-2008 Tennessee State Report Card and the Variables Related to Science Test Results.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement reading scores, school district per-pupil expenditures, school size, percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals, and attendance were related to science TCAP test scores from the 2007-2008 school year. The data were gathered from an analysis of mean standardized test scores in reading and science of 8th graders in 67 school systems comprising 181 schools located throughout Tennessee. One hundred eighty-one schools configured grades 6 through 8 were used in this study. Only 177 schools had reported attendance available on the Tennessee Department of Education website. Pearson correlations were performed between the 8th mean grade science TCAP scores and 8th grade mean reading scores, per-pupil expenditure, school size, attendance, and the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-priced meals. Independent-samples t tests were conducted to evaluate whether 8th grade mean science TCAP scores and 8th grade mean reading scores varied depending on whether the school per-pupil expenditure was above or below the state average of $8,345. Independent-samples t test were also conducted to evaluate whether 8th grade mean science TCAP scores and 8th grade mean reading scores varied depending on whether the school attendance percentage was above or below the state goal of 93%. The school characteristic with the strongest association with the mean 8th grade science TCAP scores as computed by Pearson\u27s correlation is the mean 8th grade reading TCAP scores. The values can be ranked as follows: mean 8th grade reading scores (.92) \u3e percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced meals (-.84) \u3e per-pupil expenditure (-.62) \u3e attendance (.60) \u3e school size (.23)

AN ANALYSIS OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH COMPOSTING BEHAVIOR AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

Drawing upon telephone survey data, a logit probability analysis was conducted to identify household characteristics as well as social and institutional factors associated with backyard composting of yard and food wastes. Highly significant predictors included household gardening, perception of effort required, peer influence, and a compost bin sale program.Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Factors Associated with Backyard Composting Behavior at the Household Level

Communities in most states are under pressure to reduce the amount of solid waste going into landfills. Many are making efforts to encourage their citizens to practice backyard composting. A logit regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with backyard composting of yard and food wastes in a case study area. Sample data were obtained through a September 1997 telephone survey of 865 households residing in single-family dwellings in Knox County, Tennessee. Findings indicate that a number of variables reflecting complementary behavior, attitudes, knowledge, and peer influence were significantly related to composting behavior. Policy implications of these findings are outlined.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Hidden walls: STEM course barriers identified by students with disabilities

Historically, non-disabled individuals have viewed disability as a personal deficit requiring change to the disabled individual. However, models have emerged from disability activists and disabled intellectuals that emphasize the role of disabling social structures in preventing or hindering equal access across the ability continuum. We used the social relational proposition, which situates disability within the interaction of impairments and particular social structures, to identify disabling structures in introductory STEM courses. We conducted interviews with nine students who identified with a range of impairments about their experiences in introductory STEM courses. We assembled a diverse research team and analyzed the interviews through phenomenological analysis. Participants reported course barriers that prevented effective engagement with course content. These barriers resulted in challenges with time management as well as feelings of stress and anxiety. We discuss recommendations for supporting students to more effectively engage with introductory STEM courses

Habit, Education, and the Democratic Way of Life: The Vital Role of Habit in John Dewey\u27s Philosophy of Education

Some have claimed that John Dewey was one of few thinkers that developed an educational theory that is comparable to Plato.1 Dewey did something that William James and Charles Sanders Peirce did not do; he applied Pragmatism and the Pragmatic method to the study of education. The main tasks of this dissertation are as follows: (1) Argues that habit is the most important and unifying element in John Dewey\u27s philosophy of education, (2) Critically investigates habit\u27s fundamental role in his democratic project of reconstructing culture toward establishing and sustaining the democratic way of life. In addition to the latter points, this project shows how and why the critique of habits and cultural values is central to Dewey\u27s philosophy of education and reveals how important the process of unlearning is to the continual development of human possibilities. The latter tasks will be carried out by first reviewing the historical influences on Dewey\u27s thinking with regard to habit and surveying secondary literature that has dealt with his position on habit. Second, the Deweyan conception of the nature of habit and the formation of habit in immediate experience will be explored. Third, Dewey\u27s educational philosophy will be examined. Education, which Dewey asserts to be Democracy\u27s midwife, should produce growth that is characterized by perpetual reconstruction of habits of thought and practical conduct. Fourth, in investigating habit, individuality, and community, a close reading of Dewey\u27s position on habit highlights that the political enterprise of education and the transactional process of learning are cultural projects that demand ongoing re-evaluation and refinement community values. The conclusion will argue how important the ongoing improvement of a cultural instrumentalism, through schooling, is to sustaining a steady path of cultural self-correction. For Dewey, schooling, in cultivating the requisite habits, serves the crucial social function of developing and recasting new forms of the Democratic way of life toward creating a Great Community. Dewey had a persistent concern for the ethos of the Democratic way of life but feared that the stultification of an individual\u27s plasticity of habit will inevitably bring on the social arterial sclerosis of the public. Like his pragmatism, experimentalism, and instrumentalism, the Democratic way of life, for Dewey, is an attitude. This attitude, like any attitude, is shaped and channeled by a force as powerful as gravity, habit