A.C. Reynolds Letter to Mary Woods Reynolds Cowan

This edition is created from the manuscript of a letter written by Alonzo Carlton Reynolds to his daughter Mary Woods Cowan Reynolds on June 20, 1950. He thanks her for a box of items that have been sent that may have contained clothing. He talks of Nell, a possible friend of Mary’s, and taking care of her father. He discusses moving to a new residence with his wife, Nannie. He describes his day-to-day activities of holding church services, working in his garden, eating, sleeping, and reading. He speaks of the importance of prayer in his life and makes references to his religious convictions. He closes with an entreaty to his daughter and grandchildren to visit so that he can show them how much he appreciates them

A.C. Reynolds Letter to the “Reynolds Clan”

This edition is created from the manuscript of a letter written by Alonzo Carlton Reynolds to twenty-seven of his family members on August 14, 1948. He describes a residence that he has acquired as a final resting place for him and his wife, Nannie. He provides details of the landscape and the work that has been done to prepare it for his family. He also lists some of the various wildlife found on his property. He closes with an invitation to his family to join him and Nannie for a celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary

BASED ON A TRUE STORY: JESSE JAMES AND THE REINTERPRETATION OF HISTORY IN POPULAR MEDIA

This thesis examines the ways in which the story of Jesse James continues to be portrayed in popular and scholarly media. First, it explores the media’s effect on the creation of his legend and much of the American knowledge of his life. Then it looks into the efforts of William A. Settle, Jr. and other scholars to dispel many of the myths about James and establish his real history. Finally it shows the how the modern reinterpretations of James in popular media reflect more of the legend than history despite the fact that these productions are often advertised as being truthful to the past

A Study Of The Reasons Why Freshmen Drop Out Of Appalachian State Teachers College

It was the purpose of this study (1) to determine the causes of drop-outs in the freshman classes of 1946-1947 through 1951-1952 at Appalachian State Teachers College in Boone, North Carolina; (2) to make an analysis of certain factors believed to cause them to drop out of college; and (3) to make certain suggestions for improving the offerings of the college

Learning outcomes of a narrative exchange program for high school students : empathy and related constructs

Narrative 4 is an organization of writers, artists, teachers, and other community leaders, which isprimarily focused on promoting empathy and prosocial behavior among high school students.Narrative 4 uses a unique narrative exchange process and curriculum as their method foraccomplishing this goal. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to systematicallyinvestigate the effectiveness of this unique program in promoting participant empathy andprosocial behavior. Analysis was limited due to low participation (N=13) and incomplete data.Pretest and posttest measures of empathy and related constructs were taken before and afterparticipation in the program. It was predicted that posttest measures of emotional contagion,cognitive empathy, empathic concern, perspective-taking, and prosocial behavior would besignificantly higher than pretest measures. Paired-sample t-tests were used to examine the datafor significant differences. Contrary to prediction, the only significant change was a decrease incognitive empathy. However, this change was seen only after eliminating a participant’s pair ofoutlier scores to meet normal distribution assumptions for analysis, and caution is recommendedin interpreting the result. It was also hypothesized that changes in prosocial behavior would bemediated by changes in affective empathy (emotional contagion). Because no significantdifference was found between pretest and posttest measures, mediation analysis was not performed. Relationships of changes in empathy measures were also examined using Pearson’sproduct-moment correlation values. It was hypothesized that changes in cognitive empathy andperspective-taking would negatively correlate with changes in emotional disconnection andpersonal distress. Results were unable to provide support for this hypothesis, as the statedrelationships between difference scores were not found to be significant. Lastly, it was predictedthat students’ written reflections on the N4 program would reveal mostly positive viewsregarding the experience, as well as themes of community bonding. Only one participant forwhom consent and assent was obtained provided a reflection. Therefore, this prediction was notevaluated. Discussion follows, including that of the challenges of conducting research withinschools, limitations of the study, and suggested future directions for research

An Examination and Analysis of Middle School Transition Plans: A Study of Local Education Agencies and Middle Schools in North Carolina

This study explored if North Carolina school systems had a research based, targeted, formalized, written transitional plan for students traveling from elementary to middle school. All 115 LEAs were initially scanned to discover if such district wide transitional plan existed. Eighty-nine LEAs responded and three had such a plan. Once respondents were determined, 15 faculty were interviewed using a structured interview format: six from a school system in the Piedmont in North Carolina, five from a suburban community outside of a University, and four from a coastal school district. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: existence, elements, and communication. This research study found that there is a shortage of formal, purposeful implementation of transitional best practice research within North Carolina middle schools and LEAs. This study also explored how systems theory was carried out within LEAs and middle schools to accomplish the task of creating, implementing, and sustaining their plan. This research used systems theory in an attempt to examine the actual and perceived communication styles that each LEA and middle school used. The systems theory models of system-wide thinking, open-systems thinking, and process-systems thinking were not uniform within a LEA or middle school involved in this research

A Program For The Improvement Of Instruction In Spelling In The High Schools Of Rutherford County

The underlying problem dealt with in this study is whether spelling instruction and levels of spelling achievement in the high school might be measurably improved through deliberate emphasis on spelling and teaching procedures consistently aimed at overcoming spelling faults. The problem relates specifically to the nine high schools of Rutherford County, since the writer is a teacher in that school system

An Energy Analysis and Characterization of Safou (Dacryodes edulis) as Biofuel Feedstock

Safou (Dacryodes edulis) is a fruit indigenous to West Africa with considerable potential as an oil crop. Safou fruit experiences as much as 40-50% post-harvest losses. The need to recover value lost due to fruit spoilage and Safou’s potential as a biodiesel feedstock has been combined in this work. Oil extracted from the spoiled crop could offset fuel production costs or even produce the fuel to transport the crop to market. In this work, the embodied energy of Safou pulp, seed, press-cake, and the oil generated from pressing pulp was quantified. Energy required for processing was also quantified, and preparing and pressing spoiled pulp were investigated in terms of both oil yield and character of the oil. Both fresh and spoiled pulp oil were investigated in terms of fuel characteristics and found to be similar. Fuel was produced from the pulp oil and compared to conventional petro-diesel and soy biodiesel in terms of emissions when combusted in a 2006 Jetta TDI. According to the findings of this research, Safou has potential as a biofuel feedstock. Although the energy balance assessment conducted did not represent a comprehensive life cycle analysis, the potential energy balance of Safou as biodiesel feedstock was found to be favorable

Terrestrial habitat selection by the dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa)

The endangered dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa) inhabits underground refuges created by fire and burrowing animals in longleaf pine forests. Prescribed fire can result in a mosaic of habitat patches having different characteristics. Fire suppression may lead to fewer underground refuges due to decreased disturbance and a reduction in vegetation required by burrow-making animals. I examined terrestrial refuge and prey availability as well as habitat choice of dusky gopher frogs (Rana sevosa) in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest (Harrison County, MS) managed with winter and early spring fires. In the first study I hypothesized that gopher frogs selected terrestrial home sites characteristic of well burned habitat. I tracked 13 adult and 4 juvenile gopher frogs from a breeding/metamorphosing site to terrestrial burrows using radio telemetry. I then characterized habitat at home sites and at randomly-chosen sites. In the second study I hypothesized that newly- metamorphosed gopher frogs would not be able to find appropriate underground refuges as quickly in fire-suppressed habitat as in well-burned habitat. I tested this by releasing captive-reared newly-metamorphosed gopher frogs into 15 x 15m terrestrial field enclosures in fire-suppressed or well-burned longleaf pine habitat. I used fluorescent powder to track the distance traveled by individual frogs before passing within 1 cm of an appropriate underground refuge, defined as any ground depression at least 2 cm deep and 1 cm wide. In the third study I hypothesized that fewer prey are available to gopher frogs in fire-suppressed habitats. I tested this by allowing newly- metamorphosed gopher frogs to forage in small cages in fire-suppressed and well-burned habitats, and then collecting their feces. I then sampled arthropods using fly paper at the same locations. Vegetation characteristics and soil moisture levels were measured at each release site. In the first study, average distance traveled, measured from the center of the pond, was 158.22m (std. dev. = 52.02, min = 94.3m, max = 239.6m). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling of habitat variables revealed that the gopher frog home sites grouped together when plotted. Compared to random sites, gopher frog home sites had a higher percent cover of grass and bare ground and a lower percent cover of shrubs and leaf litter, more underground refuges (mostly stump holes and small mammal burrows), and a more open canopy . In the second study, mean distance to a refuge was significantly lower in well-burned habitat (well-burned mean = 4.34 m ± 0.18 SE, fire-suppressed mean = 7.6 m ± 1.08 SE). The proportion of frogs tracked at least 6.05 m that found a refuge was significantly higher in well-burned habitat (well-burned = 0.88 ± 0.065 SE, fire-suppressed = 0.32 ± 0.091 SE). Foraging success as measured by mean feces weight did not vary significantly between habitat types in the third study (Exp. 1: p = 0.53, Exp. 2: p = 0.83). The mean number of arthropods captured was significantly higher in well-burned habitat than fire-suppressed habitat for experiment 1 (p < 0.0001), but not for experiment 2 (p = 0.39). Total vegetation cover, herbaceous cover and soil moisture were significantly higher in well-burned habitat. Shrub cover was significantly higher in fire-suppressed habitat. I conclude that animals that have a small home range may select patches with particular characteristics within a fire-maintained area because the animals require a specific microhabitat The habitat characteristics found at gopher frog home sites are associated with the effects of fire. Reduced availability of refuges in fire-suppressed habitat may decrease the survival of newly-metamorphosed gopher frogs emigrating from ponds. I found little evidence of differences in prey availability between well-burned and fire-suppressed sites that would influence habitat selection, but sampling was limited. The selection of characteristics by and benefits to gopher frogs influenced by fire suggests that more frequent or intense fires, or applying fire during the growing season, may increase the availability of preferred microhabitats

The how of blended instruction : current practices of North Carolina teachers in one-to-one schools

With an increasing number of students experiencing blended instruction, understanding how instructors blend their face-to-face and online teaching is important. This study explores current practice in blending instruction through a researcher-developed survey, which was administered to educators who work in North Carolina’s public pre-kindergarten to grade 13 schools with a one-to-one student to-instructional computer ratio. Descriptive statistics, such as frequency and proportion, and a category system of common responses for open-ended questions were used to analyze the data. Participants’ ratings and comments are shared, providing a better picture of who in North Carolina’s public pre-kindergarten to grade 13 schools is blending instruction, which hardware and online tools are being used, with what frequency, by whom (instructors and/or students), and what barriers are encountered when implementing this model. This study establishes a starting point for additional research on blended instruction. Recommendations for further study, including the investigation of how the hardware and online tools are being used in context to assess best practices, are presented. Administrators in schools and school systems, the Regional Education Service Alliances, the Department of Public Instruction, professional associations, and teacher education programs could benefit from the data collected