High-pressure phases of FeTiO3 from first principles

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Detecting Bee Hive Behavioral Changes Through Frequency And Signal Analysis Of Audio Files

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are among the most important organisms in the world. The pollination they provide is crucial to the survival of many economically-significant plants, but since the late 1990s, beekeepers around the world have reported significant declines in domestic honey bee populations. In response, researchers have developed new methods of analysis to track the health of their hives, and one such method involves analyzing the sounds produced by a colony. Honey bees communicate through sound signals that occur within specific frequency ranges and signify different behaviors, and by determining the signals that are being produced, the behavior of a colony can be better understood. As a part of this research, software was developed to plot the spectra of audio recordings from domestic hives. For each individual audio recording analyzed, the software computed the average magnitude throughout multiple frequency ranges along with the change in average magnitude between specific frequency ranges and exported this data to a spreadsheet for further analysis. These values were used individually and together to quickly identify audio recordings that stood out from a quantitative perspective, and these recordings were then individually analyzed in order to locate instances of strange honey bee behavior

CALM CARPE Diem Gatekeeper Training For Resident Assistants

Suicide prevention has become a focal point on college campuses as the concept of suicide prevention is more widely understood and epidemiological findings suggest that the rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among this population are increasing. The implementation of suicide prevention training including practices to reduce access to lethal means, “means reduction,” gives individuals, called gatekeepers, the skills to intervene during a suicidal crisis. CALM CARPE Diem is a suicide prevention gatekeeper training that includes information intended to inform participants about why suicide prevention is necessary, give them the skills to implement suicide prevention, and teach about means reduction methods. The effectiveness of the CALM CARPE Diem Gatekeeper Training was assessed in this study by measuring Resident Assistants’ (RAs) perceptions of confidence when learning of students living in the residence halls who might be experiencing a suicidal crisis. CALM CARPE Diem gatekeeper training was delivered to 17 RAs at a medium sized comprehensive university in the southeastern U.S. Confidence in suicide prevention and means reduction strategies was assessed at pre-training, post-training, and after a four week follow-up via Qualtrics. Results revealed a significant increase in knowledge and confidence in means reduction principles from baseline to post-training, gains that were sustained at follow-up. These results suggest that CALM CARPE Diem may have comparable effects to other suicide prevention trainings, and may indicate a benefit to using this training for RAs and other gatekeeper populations

Displacement reactions and fluorescence studies of boroxine amine complexes

The Boron atom has seen an increase in usefulness over the last half century due in part to the unique properties of boron that allow for dative binding. Aspects of the boron-nitrogen bond were examined through both displacement reactions, which were monitored by NMR, and photoluminescence studies done with a Fluorometer. Through the NMR study it was discovered that the dative bond is affected by both the electronic configuration of the boroxine and the pKa of the Lewis base being used for complexation. It appears that the displacement of pyridine from the original complex is dictated by the pKa of the displacing base; a stronger base leading to more complete displacement of pyridine from the complex. Using fluorimetry, several Lewis base-boroxine complexes were studied in order to observe possible differences in the ?max emission between the uncomplexed boroxine and the coupled base-boroxine pair, a behavior believed to be dependent on the shifting of electron density from the Lewis base towards the boroxine

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Recent Electronic Data Breaches And Enacted Data Security And Privacy Legislation In The United States

The widescale adoption of electronic records in businesses and organizations has been a boon to entities throughout the world by simplifying the process of collecting, retrieving, and analyzing data. As some of the most prevalent industries in the United States, the industries of healthcare, finance, government, and education in particular make frequent use of electronic data system to increase operational efficiency. The impacts of this digitalization of organizations are not all beneficial, however, as data breaches represent a major threat to information security. Incidents of cyberattacks targeting healthcare, financial, governmental, and educational data are well- documented, and it is clear that the danger remains. Indeed, state and federal agencies regularly enact laws and legislation seeking to combat the rise of data breaches. Research was conducted in order to compare the occurrences of data breaches with the enactment of state data security and privacy legislation. The methodology used to perform the research largely consisted of collecting press releases and news reports ranging from 2010 to 2019 that announced a data breach incident. All relevant records were then categorized by industry. Likewise, state bills from the same time period were consulted to analyze enacted legislation that pertain to electronic data privacy and security. The findings of this study indicate that the healthcare industry has been the largest target of data breaches of the past decade, followed by the financial, governmental, and educational industries, respectively. Interestingly, the number of cyberattack trends impacting healthcare and government is shown to have decreased over time while those affecting finance and education has no clear pattern. A comprehensive view of data breaches across the four industries, however, suggest an inverse relationship with the enactment of relevant legislation. Indeed, with some variation, as the number of passed legislation increased over the decade, the number of breaches decreased

Using Internet Technologies in the Composition Classroom

This thesis explores ways to use common internet technologies to augment first and second year college composition courses. While many essays and books have been published regarding the implications of such technologies on composition classrooms, most of these publications have focused on creating online and hybrid courses. However, courses that rely on the internet to provide the primary context in which we interact with our students can require fundamental shifts in the philosophies by which we teach composition. Because of this, some of the theoretical and practical framework of the scholarship that focuses on fully online or hybrid courses may not suit teachers who simply want to augment existing face-to-face classrooms with internet technology. Therefore, this thesis will explore ways to augment face-to-face classrooms that rely heavily on process writing, social constructivist, and social expressivist philosophies of composition pedagogy. By attempting to find practical ways to apply these teaching philosophies in an online environment in ways that directly correlate with classroom practice, I hope to provide practical information for teachers wishing to explore ways that technology can help their normal teaching practices

Constructing The Role Of The Secondary Special Educator

The purpose of this research is to understand the perceived roles of secondary special educators, how they developed their role perceptions, and how their role perceptions determine their job functions. This study examines how secondary special educators, who primarily serve students with high incidence or mild disabilities, perceive their professional role across six public high schools in a southeastern state. Individual perspectives regarding their professional duties, job descriptions, schedules, and other artifacts were reviewed to examine how this group of teachers constructed their professional roles.The theoretical framework guiding this research is social constructionism. Exploring the influence of the social dynamics within the educational institution and the impact of these dynamic on how this group of teachers defined and performed their professional work was paramount to this study.A qualitative multiple case study approach was used to explore the meaning secondary special educators serving students with high incidence disabilities in public schools in three geographic areas of one state in the southeastern part of the United States placed on their roles and ensuing work. These cases were bounded by similar work assignments, time, and governing policies within one state. The resulting data suggests these teachers’ daily duties may vary, yet they share common role perceptions that manifested in four themes: (1) thinking about inclusion as a service, not a philosophy; (2) recognizing a disconnect between instructional practices and Individual Education Program (IEP) goals; (3) performing the job as if they are a “Jack of all trades, but master of none”; and (4) feeling subordinate to general education colleagues. Several implications for practice were identified

An Examination Of Differences Between Low- And Average-Achieving Middle Readers On A Set Of Informal Reading Measures

This study examined reading-related differences between 82 low- and average-performing middle school students across a battery of informal reading measures. The study also explored reading-related differences within the low-performing group of students (n = 52). Lastly, the study sought to develop a shortened informal reading assessment that would yield diagnostic information to inform placement and instructional decisions for older struggling readers. Results showed that there were clear reading-related differences between the two groups of students, specifically in the area of print processing. In addition, an analysis of the low-performing group revealed that they were a heterogeneous lot with various reading strengths and weaknesses. The most remarkable differences in the low group were found to be in the area of reading rate. Finally, a shortened informal reading inventory was developed in order to aid middle school teachers in efficiently collecting information about the needs of their struggling readers. The major findings in the study validated past research showing that many older readers still struggle with poor print-processing skills that can inhibit their ability to read and comprehend grade-level materials. The shortened passage-reading assessment may prove helpful to teachers in assessing and intervening on behalf of older struggling readers

The Relationships of Selected Curriculum Program Areas on Credential Attainment of African American Males Enrolled in the North Carolina Community College System

This study explores the differences in credential attainment for African American male students enrolled in selected programs of study in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). In addition, this study describes the relationship between the credential attainment rates of African American males and students not identified as African American males. The results of this study indicate that African American males who began their enrollment in fall 2005 are most likely to earn a credential in a CIP code areas in Business and least likely to earn a credential in a program of study from the Arts/Sciences CIP code area. When compared to other students in the sample, African American males are less likely to earn a credential from North Carolina community colleges than African American females, white males, or white females. The study also identifies implications for academic advisors, faculty, and college policy, and suggests that colleges develop customized programs and encourage faculty from CIP code areas to share practices and to work collaboratively to increase credential attainment for African American males. The study ends with suggestions for future research that further explores African American male credential attainment by CIP code area