Behavior Incentives in Public Schools

The purpose of this project is to see if behavior incentives will work to increase student attention and productivity in the classroom. By improving these two skills, teachers should also see an improvement in the academic performance of their students. In this project, an honors class of 20 students and a general education class of 24 students was compared. Many of these students would show up late to class, spend large periods of time on their cell phones, constantly get out of their seats, and mess around rather than taking advantage of class time to complete assignments. Student grades, and overall behavior and attentiveness did improve over the three month period

Investigation of influential factors on selecting an engineering major.

This thesis evaluates the factors that freshman engineering students at the University of Louisville are taking into consideration when deciding on their major within engineering. The outcome of the research is expected to help to shape the syllabus of the ENGR 110 course, which is a mandatory class for all freshman engineering students. ENGR 110 is comprised of course lectures, department presentations, and company presentations. Currently, both the department and company presentations are held outside of course times. The influential factors identified by this research may help shape the course so that these factors are discussed thoroughly about each major as an aid to the decision-making process. The researcher distributed a survey and conducted interviews to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher then analyzed the quantitative data using non-parametric tests and the qualitative data using a constant comparative method. Based on this analysis, the researcher concluded that there was a low level of confidence in major selection exemplifying the need for ENGR 110 to discuss the different majors within engineering and spend time discussing the differences between them. The researcher also concluded that the most influential factors in deciding upon a major are job opportunities, potential for societal contributions, and personal interests. From these conclusions, the researcher recommends that the presentations be held during class time, that the presentations continue to be posted on Blackboard to refer back to, and that the course place emphasis on the job opportunities and potential for societal contributions in each major

Women and science in development: a longitudinal analysis of gender, networks, and information technology in Ghana, Kenya, and India

This dissertation examines the gendered nature of the scientific career for researchers in universities and national research institutes in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala India. Employing panel data, I analyze three issues related to the diffusion of ICTs in the scientific communities of less developed areas: 1) access; 2) interaction; 3) and involvement. More specifically, I examine the way in which human capital, family structure, travel experiences, contextual factors, and technological antecedents interact with gender to influence access to and use of personal computers, email, and the Web. From there, I incorporate technological behavioral changes to predict interaction within professional networks. In the last step, I incorporate professional network measures to examine the gendered nature of research outcomes in the form of scientific productivity. The results suggest that over time ICTs have rapidly diffused within the three locations. At the same time, women continue to report less long-term access to email and the web. Furthermore, men and women are distinctly different in terms of intensity and extent of email and web use with women emerging as less technologically oriented. In spite of the differences on these measures, men are not earlier adopters of the technologies than women. It does not appear, however, that there is a consistent relationship between greater email use and integration within professional networks. Gender, on the other hand, emerges as one of the most consistent predictors of network outcomes, particularly in terms of absolute network size, geographic and gender diversity, and the proportion of male contacts reported. Finally, men and women are equally productive in domestic venues, but women are less productive in foreign venues. Furthermore, network structure is not as strongly related to productivity as are changes in technological use behavior. Respondents using email for a wider variety of reasons over time produce more in foreign and domestic venues, but intensity of email use is actually negatively related to productivity, suggesting that it is not technology use in general that matters when predicting outcomes, but the type of technology use. Network structure on the other hand, is only a significant predictor of domestic productivity

Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Aetalionidae and Membracidae) from Madre de Dios region, Peru

A list of treehoppers (Aetalionidae and Membracidae) is presented from Madre de Dios region at the southeastern Amazon basin in Peru. The treehopper specimens were collected as by-catch in a survey of the beetles in the Villa Carmen Biological Station and Los Amigos Biological Station. The list comprises 44 species, 31 genera, 16 tribes and 9 subfamilies. Ten genera are new records to Peru. The images of representative specimens of each identified species and genera are provided to facilitate the identification of the local treehopper fauna. Resumen: Se presenta una lista de los membrácidos (Aetalionidae y Membracidae) de la región Madre de Dios, en el sureste de la cuenca Amazónica, en Perú. La lista está basada en especímenes recolectados como captura fortuita en un inventario de escarabajos en las estaciones biológicas Villa Carmen y Los Amigos. La lista incluye 44 especies, 31 géneros, 16 tribus y 9 subfamilias. Diez géneros son nuevos registros para Perú. Se presentan las imágenes de especímenes representativos de cada especie y género para facilitar la identifición de la fauna local de los membrácidos

Accounting Information Systems: A View from the Public Eye

In order to fully appreciate the potential impact accounting information systems have on the accounting profession, an understanding of what accounting encompasses is necessary. Over the years, accounting has evolved from what many would call a “checks and balance” system to a much more complex system involving complicated activities such as calculating taxes and garnishments, auditing financial statements and processing payroll to name a few. It would be reasonable to think that advanced technology such as accounting information systems would only enhance the production of these activities. However, like with any “game changers,” there are always potential threats involved. The objective of this paper is to determine if accounting information systems have become so helpful, they in fact have begun to hinder business and decrease productivity. This paper demonstrates that although a majority population of those surveyed felt accounting information systems have added credibility to the accounting profession, there is still a large population that remain neutral on the subject leaving doubt as to the advantages and purpose of accounting information systems

Accounting Information Systems: A View from the Public Eye

In order to fully appreciate the potential impact accounting information systems have on the accounting profession, an understanding of what accounting encompasses is necessary.  Over the years, accounting has evolved from what many would call a “checks and balance” system to a much more complex system involving complicated activities such as calculating taxes and garnishments, auditing financial statements and processing payroll to name a few.  It would be reasonable to think that advanced technology such as accounting information systems would only enhance the production of these activities.  However, like with any “game changers,” there are always potential threats involved.  The objective of this paper is to determine if accounting information systems have become so helpful, they in fact have begun to hinder business and decrease productivity.  This paper demonstrates that although a majority population of those surveyed felt accounting information systems have added credibility to the accounting profession, there is still a large population that remain neutral on the subject leaving doubt as to the advantages and purpose of accounting information systems

DEM Development from Ground-Based LiDAR Data: A Method to Remove Non-Surface Objects

Topography and land cover characteristics can have significant effects on infiltration, runoff, and erosion processes on watersheds. The ability to model the timing and routing of surface water and erosion is affected by the resolution of the digital elevation model (DEM). High resolution ground-based Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) technology can be used to collect detailed topographic and land cover characteristic data. In this study, a method was developed to remove vegetation from ground-based LiDAR data to create high resolution DEMs. Research was conducted on intensively studied rainfall–runoff plots on the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in Southeast Arizona. LiDAR data were used to generate 1 cm resolution digital surface models (DSM) for 5 plots. DSMs created directly from LiDAR data contain non-surface objects such as vegetation cover. A vegetation removal method was developed which used a slope threshold and a focal mean filter method to remove vegetation and create bare earth DEMs. The method was validated on a synthetic plot, where rocks and vegetation were added incrementally. Results of the validation showed a vertical error of ±7.5 mm in the final DEM

Microcredit in Uganda: Fundamental Reform or Just another Neoliberal Policy?

Widespread global initiatives aimed at improving conditions for the world’s poor  have frequently begun with the vision of just a few people. Examples are numerous  but in this paper we focus on micro-enterprise credit (microcredit). In the case of  microcredit, a widespread movement has placed projects in many countries  throughout the developing world. Microcredit is typically made available to women  who would otherwise not have access to loans on reasonable terms. While some  view microcredit as a revolutionary means of improving both the lives of women and the poor more generally, others argue it is a band aid approach to development,  rooted in a neoliberal logic that does very little in terms of enacting real, long-term change. These arguments, however, are often based on evidence from Asian or  other non-African countries and so don’t account for different models of microcredit or cultural context in shaping outcomes for women and their families. We address  these issues through a qualitative study of three microcredit groups in the east  African country of Uganda. Based on qualitative interviews, we argue that  microcredit holds a number of possibilities for women and their communities  including healthier families and educated children as well as more intangible  benefits such as feelings of solidarity and self-confidence. While our interviews  suggest a number of benefits of micro-enterprise credit, we recognize that such  programs are not the single solution to poverty. Ultimately, though, we argue that the negatives do not dispel the benefits that can result for many women.Keywords: Gender, Microcredit, Africa, Development, Neoliberalism, Povert