Implementationof Monte Carlo and Numerical Integration Techniques within an Online Physics Laboratory Environment

A robust and sophisticated online physics laboratory environment has been developed. This environment can handle large data sets and generate realistic experimental results by applying Monte Carlo and numerical integration techniques. The advantages and limitations of both the Flash 5 and Java development environments were explored. Java was chosen for it’s ability to handle large data sets and consequently used to create the Java Laboratory (JLab) environment. Within the online environment two JLabs were created, the ”Online Virtual Nuclear Decay Laboratory” and the ”Online Virtual Stern-Gerlach Laboratory”. These laboratories teach students how to manipulate experimental parameters, take data, and use various analysis tools. These JLabs generate realistic data sets for students to analyze and prove that online laboratories can play a significant role in enhancing physics education

Flower People

It is my hope that the pandemic allowed people to reconnect with nature. The flowers from the garden around my house. I photoshopped them onto pedestrians and put them in a cityscape to symbolize how we need to keep the environment on our mind when we go.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/hcom434_spring2021/1047/thumbnail.jp

A Path Forward

I discovered this path in the hills of the Bay Area. The cityscape is added in the background to symbolize the future of humanity and the potential for us to get there. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel and we can get there if we take the climate change challenge seriously. It’s up to us to make our future a reality.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/hcom434_spring2021/1049/thumbnail.jp

Measuring Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition in a Dutch-Speaking Sample

Background: Individual differences in sexual excitation and sexual inhibition are important predictors of sexual functioning. Psychometric instruments for these aspects of sexual response were originally developed separately for men (Sexual Inhibition /Sexual Excitation Scales [SIS/SES]) and women (Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women [SESII-W]). These measures were then adapted to function similarly in samples comprising both men and women (Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales-Short Form [SIS/SES-SF] and Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women and Men [SESII-W/M], respectively). No published study to our knowledge has administered the SIS/SES and SESII-W/M questionnaires to a sample of both women and men. In the present study, we sought to validate Dutch versions of these measures of sexual excitation and sexual inhibition as well as evaluate tests of measurement invariance across gender. Methodology: Several researchers fluent in both English and Dutch translated the English versions of the SIS/SES, SIS/SES-SF, and SESII-W/M to Dutch. Using a secondary dataset in which these items had been administered to Dutch-speaking women (n = 688) and men (n = 340), we conducted tests of measurement invariance using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The 3-factor structure of the 45-item SIS/SES did not fit the data well in a Flemish sample. However, results from the present study supported the original factor structures for the 3-factor 14-item SIS/SES-SF and 6-factor 30-item SESII-W/M. Further, both the SIS/SES-SF and SESII-W/M exhibited configural invariance, metric invariance, partial scalar invariance, and partial residual invariance across gender. Conclusion: While the SESII-W has been successfully translated to Dutch, there have not been any published studies using Dutch versions of the SIS/SES, SIS/SES-SF, or SESII-W/M. In a Dutch-speaking sample of women and men, our analyses suggested that the SIS/SES-SF may be the most efficient available tool for directly comparing sexual excitation and sexual inhibition across women and men; however, the SESII-W/M also demonstrated positive qualities. Researchers interested in making comparisons across gender might consider developing a new scale that combines items from these measures or one that comprises an entirely new set of items created with the intention of functioning similarly for women and men

Colophoned Hebrew Manuscripts produced in Spain and the Distribution of the lacalised Codices

El escaso número de manuscritos hebreos datados y dotados de colofón –unos 4.000- ha permitido estudiar y recoger las características codicológicas de casi todos ellos, inclusive de sus colofones. El Proyecto de Paleografía Hebrea (HPP) de Jerusalén elaboró una detallada base de datos computerizada de todas las variables codicológicas cuantitativas - características físicas, técnicas, textuales y de los escribas. La base de datos, denominada SFAR-DATA, tiene un sofisticado sistema de búsquedas de un gran número de atributos codicológicos mensurables, lo cual permite la recuperación de datos y realizar rápidos ordenamientos, infinitas preguntas, enlaces, clasificaciones, agrupamientos y presentaciones estadísticas. SFAR-DATA nos provee de herramientas sofisticadas para la caracterización tipológica, estudio histórico e identificación paleográfica de manuscritos no datados sobre la base de componentes codicológicos compartidos. En consecuencia, me es posible presentar información exhaustiva relativa a copistas y colofones de manuscritos hebreos elaborados en la Península IbéricaThe small number of dated and colophoned Hebrew manuscripts — some 4000 — has made it possible to study and record the codicological features of almost all of them, including their colophons. The Hebrew Palaeography Project (HPP) in Jerusalem constructed a very detailed computerised data base of all the recorded quantitative codicological variables - physical, technical, scribal and textual features. The data base, named SFAR-DATA, has a sophisticated retrieval system of a large number of measurable codicological attributes, which allows elabórate data retrieving, quick sorting, endless querying, linking, classification, clustering and statistical presentations. SFAR-DATA provides us with precise tools for typological characterisation, historical study and palaeographical Identification of undated manuscripts on the basis of shared codicological features. Consequently I am able to present exhaustive Information relating to scribes and colophons of Hebrew manuscripts produced in the Iberian PeninsulaLe petit nombre de manuscrits hébraïques datés et imprimés-environ 4000-a rendu possible l'étude et l'enregistrement des particularités codiciologiques de la plupart d'entre eux, en incluant leurs imprimés. Le projet de paléographie hébraïque (HPP) de Jérusalem a établi une base de données très détaillée prenant en compte toutes les variables codiciologiques, physiques, techniques, ainsi que les particularités du scribe ou textuelles. La base de données, nommée SFAR-DATA, a un système de recherche sophistiqué doté d'un grand nombre d'attributs codiciologiques, lequel permet d'élaborer des recherches de données, rapidement triées, interrogeables à l'infini, établissant des liens, des classifications, des regroupements, et des presentations statistiques. SFAR-DATA nous fournit des outils précis pour une caractérisation typologique, l'étude historique et I'identification paléographiques de manuscrits non dates sur la base de particularités codiciologiques partagées. En conséquence, il m 'est possible de présenter une information exhaustives concernant les manuscrits et colophons des manuscrits produits dans la Péninsule Ibériqu

Mindset, Mentor, and Money: How Each Influences College Success

Across society, the consistent influx of students enrolling in higher education institutions without a comparable increase in degree attainment has produced a heightened awareness and a desire to identify the factors related to influencing college success. This dissertation aims to develop a greater understanding of three potentially relevant factors and their respective influences in facilitating college success at the University of Arkansas. First, I evaluate the Student Talent Enrichment Program (STEP) Grant program, designed to fulfill low-income first-year students’ financial needs and encourage their persistence on to their second year of college. Second, I study the effectiveness of the BounceBack Mentoring program; it paired peer-mentors with first-year students on academic probation with the goal of changing each student’s academic trajectory. Third, I examine the role of non-cognitive skills, such as conscientiousness, and students’ subjective expectations about their future performance in helping themselves reach their desired goals and in turn, perform beyond their expectations. In general, my findings suggest that access to the STEP grant program neither harms nor promotes short-run outcomes. I also find that the BounceBack Mentoring program show promise in helping undergraduates who are on academic probation improve their academic performance. In addition, I find that students who possess non-cognitive skills, such as conscientiousness and grit, are actively performing beyond expectations. Such findings are important because they highlight the complications, failures, and rewards of building support systems intended to promote, encourage and facilitate student success in a heavily diverse college student population. Overall, this dissertation and its findings lends itself to the fact that facilitating college success does not come from a single source, but likely is a combination of support programs, additional resources, and internal mindsets