Predicting Success in a Counselor Education Graduate Program

This dissertation examines the predictive value of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) upon students’ success in a counselor education graduate program. Graduate programs must weigh the benefits of various entrance criteria to predict successful completion. Data for the study consisted of 233 students who had been admitted to a graduate program, and had either successfully completed the program through graduation or had been unable to graduate through personal attrition or removal by the faculty. The relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable of program graduation were analyzed using correlations and models of logistic regression. There were no statistically significant correlations or predictive relationships between GRE scores and UGPA upon a student in this specific population graduating from the graduate program

Automated Retrieval of Non-Engineering Domain Solutions to Engineering Problems

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityBiological inspiration for engineering design has occurred through a variety of techniques such as creation and use of databases, keyword searches of biological information in natural-language format, prior knowledge of biology, and chance observations of nature. This research focuses on utilizing the reconciled Functional Basis function and flow terms to identify suitable biological inspiration for function based design. The organized search provides two levels of results: (1) associated with verb function only and (2) narrowed results associated with verb-noun (function-flow). A set of heuristics has been complied to promote efficient searching using this technique. An example for creating smart flooring is also presented and discussed.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Themes of Self‐Regulation and Self‐Exploration in the Life Stories of Religious American Conservatives and Liberals

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97151/1/pops933.pd

A Product Architecture-Based Conceptual DFA Technique

A conceptual design for assembly (DFA) method is introduced in this paper. The method incorporates DFA analysis into the conceptual design phase. Current DFA methods, essentially all of which are post-design DFA analyses, are reviewed with emphasis on the popular Boothroyd and Dewhurst method. The product architecture-based conceptual DFA method developed and presented in this article uses two relatively new concepts: the functional basis and the method of module heuristics. The functional basis is used to derive a functional model of a product in a standard language and the module heuristics are applied to the functional model to identify a modular product architecture. The embodiment or form definition phase then attempts to solve each module with one part (or as few as possible). The critical advantage of the conceptual DFA method is that it does not require a physical prototype or completed design geometry, thus reducing the number of design iterations before seeing DFA benefits. One case study compares the conceptual DFA method with the Boothroyd and Dewhurst DFA method and shows their equivalence in part count reduction. A second case study examines the evolution of products over the years. This study reveals the evolution of products into designs with smaller part counts, closely matching the modules identified by the conceptual DFA method. This lends credence to the method proposed in this paper as a useful tool for reducing the design cycle time

Developmental change in the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and the home environment: results from a longitudinal, genetically informative investigation

Background: Depression is already highly prevalent by late adolescence, indicating that research into its developmental emergence should consider earlier risk factors and environmental contexts. The home environment is a key context for children and adolescents throughout development. However, the nature of relationships that exist between aspects of the home environment and the development of depressive symptoms cannot be assumed. Genetically informative studies have been used to provide insights about the aetiology of such relationships, often finding them to be partly confounded by the influence of children's genes. Here, we investigate developmental change in the aetiology of the association between aspects of the home environment and depressive symptoms at the onset of adolescence. Methods: We used longitudinal child‐ and parent‐report data from >5,000 twin pairs enrolled in the UK‐representative Twins Early Development Study. Multivariate, genetically sensitive structural equation models were used to decompose latent variance and covariance in depressive symptoms (measured at 12 and 16 years) and aspects of the home environment (at 9 and 14 years) into genetic and environmental influences. Results: Going from childhood to adolescence, genetic influences accounted for an increasing proportion of the association [30% (16–42) of r = .44 in childhood; 40% (25–61) of r = .43 in adolescence], at the expense of shared environmental influences, which decreased from 70% (58–83) to 48% (29–62). Unique environmental influences accounted for a significant proportion of the association in adolescence only [12% (06–18)]. Developmental changes could largely be attributed to subtle shifts in the relative importance of stable aetiological factors, rather than the emergence of influences unique to adolescence. Conclusions: These findings emphasise the importance of developmental and aetiological context in interpreting associations between aspects of the home environment and child emotional outcomes

Explaining trends in alcohol-related harms in Scotland 1991–2011 (II): policy, social norms, the alcohol market, clinical changes and a synthesis

Objective: To provide a basis for evaluating post-2007 alcohol policy in Scotland, this paper tests the extent to which pre-2007 policy, the alcohol market, culture or clinical changes might explain differences in the magnitude and trends in alcohol-related mortality outcomes in Scotland compared to England & Wales (E&W). Study design: Rapid literature reviews, descriptive analysis of routine data and narrative synthesis. Methods: We assessed the impact of pre-2007 Scottish policy and policy in the comparison areas in relation to the literature on effective alcohol policy. Rapid literature reviews were conducted to assess cultural changes and the potential role of substitution effects between alcohol and illicit drugs. The availability of alcohol was assessed by examining the trends in the number of alcohol outlets over time. The impact of clinical changes was assessed in consultation with key informants. The impact of all the identified factors were then summarised and synthesised narratively. Results: The companion paper showed that part of the rise and fall in alcohol-related mortality in Scotland, and part of the differing trend to E&W, were predicted by a model linking income trends and alcohol-related mortality. Lagged effects from historical deindustrialisation and socio-economic changes exposures also remain plausible from the available data. This paper shows that policy differences or changes prior to 2007 are unlikely to have been important in explaining the trends. There is some evidence that aspects of alcohol culture in Scotland may be different (more concentrated and home drinking) but it seems unlikely that this has been an important driver of the trends or the differences with E&W other than through interaction with changing incomes and lagged socio-economic effects. Substitution effects with illicit drugs and clinical changes are unlikely to have substantially changed alcohol-related harms: however, the increase in alcohol availability across the UK is likely to partly explain the rise in alcohol-related mortality during the 1990s. Conclusions: Future policy should ensure that alcohol affordability and availability, as well as socio-economic inequality, are reduced, in order to maintain downward trends in alcohol-related mortality in Scotland