The Impact of Racial-Ethnic Identity on Academic Motivation of African American High School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between racial-ethnic identity and academic motivation of African American high school students. African Americans have had a tumultuous history that has affected access to education. This study represents a significant contribution to educational research by extending the understanding of policy makers and curriculum developers to create meaningful curricula that support all students’ educational growth. A bivariate regression analysis was used to determine whether there is a significant relationship between African American students’ sense of connectedness, embedded achievement, awareness of racism, and academic motivation. The sample included 84 high school students enrolled in a southeastern Virginia high school; each participant completed the Racial/Ethnic Identity Scale and the Academic Motivation Scale. A bivariate correlation found a weak significant correlation between a sense of connectedness and academic motivation. There was no significant relationship between embedded achievement or awareness of racism and academic achievement. Recommendations for future research include examining participants’ socioeconomic status and conducting a qualitative study to examine racial/ethnic identity and academic motivation of different demographic populations. This study will help curriculum developers and policy makers support academic achievement of African American high school students

Oak Foundation Environment Programme Evaluation: Executive Summary

This is an Executive Summary of a full evaluation conducted for the Oak Foundation in 2015. The evaluation provided an external assessment of the impact of the Oak Foundation's climate and marine philanthropy from 2009 to 2014, and the effectiveness of the strategies, internal structures, and approaches deployed. The lessons learned are also intended to guide the formation of a new strategic framework to guide grant-making to 2020. Thus, this review was intended to not only reflect on past programming and the Oak Foundation's role in environmental philanthropy, but also to update the understanding of baseline conditions, highlight important trends, needs, and opportunities, and identify ways to increase impact. The evaluation method was centered on interviews, desktop research, and a document review. The scope was not comprehensive; it focused on grants and initiatives that were of most interest to Oak leadership, and that had not been subject to a recent in-depth project evaluation. This Executive Summary is intended for external audiences, and does not include the sections covering the Foundation's internal processes and operations

Levels of noise in a public hospital laundry

PURPOSE: to measure the noise levels in different shifts of Hospital São Paulo's (HSP) laundry and provide information on health and hearing conservation to the employees and supervisors of the sector. METHODS: this is a descriptive transversal study. The noise levels were checked using a Sound Pressure Meter in the Clean Area of the laundry, in three periods of the day: morning (between 7am and 8am), afternoon (between 12pm and 1pm) and night (between 5pm and 6pm), in three different days and each measurement lasted five minutes. The examiners also checked the use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) by the employees. RESULTS: we observed 11 machines (skylarks, dryers and washers) in the sector, which contribute to an important variation of noise levels in the laundry (70 to 101 dB) in the checked periods. The use of PPE by employees was rare, observing the use by only six employees (12.76%). CONCLUSIONS: regardless of the shift, Hospital São Paulo laundry's employees, who do not effectively use PPEs, are daily exposed to high levels of sound pressure and as the number of machines in operation increased, the noise levels were also higher.OBJETIVO: mensurar os níveis de ruído em diferentes turnos da lavanderia do Hospital São Paulo (HSP) e prestar esclarecimentos sobre a saúde e a conservação auditivas aos funcionários e supervisores do setor. MÉTODOS: trata-se de um estudo transversal descritivo. O ruído foi aferido por meio do medidor de pressão sonora na Área Limpa da lavanderia do HSP, em três períodos do dia: manhã (entre 7h e 8h), tarde (entre 12h e 13h) e noite (entre 17h e 18h), por três dias e cada medição durou cinco minutos. Observou-se o uso de Equipamento de Proteção Individual (EPI) pelos funcionários em cada ambiente do hospital. RESULTADOS: observou-se 11 máquinas (calandras, secadoras e lavadoras) no setor, que contribuiu para uma variação importante dos níveis de ruído na lavanderia (70 a 101 dB) nos períodos aferidos. O uso de EPI pelos funcionários foi raro, tendo sido observada sua utilização por seis funcionários (12,76%). CONCLUSÃO: independente do turno, os funcionários da lavanderia do Hospital São Paulo, os quais não fazem uso efetivo de EPIs, estão expostos diariamente a elevados níveis de pressão sonora, e que quanto maior o número de máquinas em funcionamento, maior foi o nível de ruído aferido.FESPUNIFESPUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Applied time series analysis for forecasting process cycle times and process yields in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits (ICs) are the dominant technology in the semiconductor industry. Meeting delivery date is important to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain momentum between manufacturing divisions. Two major concerns are to produce the right quantity of ICs in the expected period of time. Yield and cycle time are two critical parameters used to assess process performance. The main objectives of this work were to obtain reliable forecasts of yields and cycle times and to monitor the process for detection of upsets. We explored the use of time series models such as ARIMA, transfer function and intervention models. A simultaneous outlier treatment and forecasting strategy was developed which combined the joint estimation of model parameters and outlier effects procedure with some new control charts. This method is particularly suited for highly correlated processes that are frequently subjected to large outliers. Choice of time basis was an important issue in this work (i.e., week of emergence from or entrance to the process). For ARIMA modeling, cycle time series were found to follow a highly correlated AR(1) process whereas yield series were just white noise. Five-step ahead ARIMA forecasts were often inaccurate due to the presence of frequent and large outliers. One step-ahead ARIMA forecasts were quite satisfactory. Transfer function models relating yield data to the process capacity data were built. Transfer function models for overall process cycle times were constructed using as inputs cycle times for various stages in the process. Five step-ahead forecasts were highly improved using these transfer functions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.

Benefits and challenges of MPA strategies

During the 1950s and early 1960s, as coastal and marine ecosystems became increasingly degraded by human activities and heavily exploited by fishing, the calls for management and protection of the marine environments and resources became more stressing. The iinternational community started to develop a response to the need for effective conservation and management of coastal and marine systems. National and global policies were developed around concepts of integrated marine resources and environmental management, and were fostered by several international initiatives, including the United Naitons Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. (United Nations 1972), the protracted negotiations leading to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS; United Nations 1982) and the creation of the UNEP Regional Seas Programme in 1972. Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been considered and promoted as an important and interactive tool to achieve effective ocean conservation when nested in a broader framework of integrated management

North American M-Commerce adoption Impact of the technological environment: A comparative analysis to Western Europe and Japan

This work focuses on the technological environment of M-Commerce, and highlights some technological reasons slowing the penetration of this technology in North America1. The purpose is to provide some closure and present a potential solution that would improve the North American M-Commerce adoption level. The determined research hypotheses are: (1) Lack of adequate government regulations; (2) Lack of adequate spectrum; (3) Lack of adequate technologies; (4) Lack of adequate standardization process. An analysis and a comparison of these variables in the respective poles---Western Europe, Japan, North America---using their respective technology---GSM, I-Mode, CDMA is conducted. More specifically this in-depth comparative analysis helps determine if and how these variables impact the QoS2 and therefore the M-Commerce adoption outcome. The lack of adequate spectrum and the lack of adequate standardization process, in North America show to be the primary reasons for the slow adoption of M-Commerce. Hence, the conclusion of this work proposes an alternative solution. This proposal provides a new revised model of the North American M-Commerce value chain. This model would eliminate the identified issues and increase the Quality of Service, as well as the customer's satisfaction, resulting in higher adoption level. Furthermore, this potential new strategy gives North America the opportunity to reposition itself. 1North America: We define North America by Canada and The United States. However throughout this work we often used cases and examples related to the United States. The reason being, that the United States is leading the wireless telecommunication in North America. 2QoS: Quality of Servic