Reliance on and Reliability of the Engineer’s Estimate in Heavy Civil Projects

To the contractor, the engineer’s estimate is the target number to aim for, and the basis for a contractor to evaluate the accuracy of their estimate. To the owner, the engineer’s estimate is the basis for funding, evaluation of bids, and for predicting project costs. As such the engineer’s estimate is the benchmark. This research sought to investigate the reliance on, and the reliability of the engineer’s estimate in heavy civil cost estimate. The research objective was to characterize the engineer’s estimate and allow owners and contractors re-evaluate or affirm their reliance on the engineer’s estimate. A literature review was conducted to understand the reliance on the engineer’s estimate, and secondary data from Washington State Department of Transportation was used to investigate the reliability of the engineer’s estimate. The findings show the need for practitioners to re-evaluate their reliance on the engineer’s estimate. The empirical data showed that, within various contexts, the engineer’s estimate fell outside the expected accuracy range of the low bids or the cost to complete projects. The study recommends direct tracking of costs by project owners while projects are under construction, the use of a second estimate to improve the accuracy of their estimates, and use of the cost estimating practices found in highly reputable construction companies

Professional Development For K--12 Charter School Teachers in Jersey City: Effects on Student Achievement

Continuous workforce training programs are important for business productivity. Traditional professional development practices (those that make teachers passive consumers of knowledge) may no longer satisfy the need for teachers\u27 professional growth and for student achievement as measured by test scores. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to consider the importance of professional development and collegiality (teacher collaboration) on student achievement. This study was based on Piaget\u27s constructivism. The research question asked whether teachers thought collegial professional development and management\u27s support helped teachers improve student achievement based upon the type of professional development (PD) employed at their schools. The Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) was used to gather data from a convenience sample of 68 charter school teachers in metropolitan New Jersey. A t test used to analyze SAI differences across groups that either received generic PD delivered by an external service or those who received PD that was internally designed to the specific needs of their schools. Results were used to document that charter school teachers reported frequent use of all 11 SAI criteria at their schools, and the internally designed PD group reported significantly more types, diversity and research-based PD than those receiving generic programs. The recommendation is that administrators allow teachers to practice peer coaching and observe colleagues who implement effective teaching strategies in their classrooms rather than endorsing specific professional development methods. Implications for social change include improving student achievement through the collaborative practice of teachers, and assisting students to realize their full potential

FACTORS AFFECTING LIBRARIANS’ USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTs) IN FEDERAL COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

The study investigated factors affecting librarians’ use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in federal colleges of education, Southwestern Nigeria. The participants included librarians and library officers and in terms of geographical scope, the study was limited to Federal College of Education (Sp), Oyo and Federal College of Education Osiele, Abeokuta all in Southwestern Nigeria. Descriptive survey design of a correlational type was employed. The study population comprised 43 library personnel in two selected colleges. Total enumeration technique was employed and self-constructed questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit data from the respondents. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation for the research questions while research hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation method. Findings of the study showed that various ICT facilities such as computers, printers, CD-ROM, the Internets, multi-media projectors, scanner sand among others were the most frequently used ICT facilities for research (( = 3.11), information sharing (( = 3.06), Accessing e-resources and databases (( = 2.84), e-mails ( = 2.69) and answering user queries (( = 2.61) while advertisement (( = 1.76), Marketing of library information products and services (( = 1.93), Selective dissemination of information (( = 2.11), among others were rated low. There was a weak, positive and significant relationship between availability of ICTs and effective service delivery by the library personnel in two federal colleges of education in Southwestern Nigeria (r = 0.116, N = 42, p \u3c 0.05). The need for realization and adoption of ICT facilities relevant to the two colleges for service delivery was suggested among others. Provision of alternative power supply such as Inverter and Solar energy, high Internet bandwidth, continuous periodic training as ways of sustaining and supporting ICTs for library service delivery were recommended

Echoes from Post-Civil War Development in Nigeria: Igboland and Infrastructure Development in a Millennium Development Goals Epoch

This paper examines trends in infrastructure development in Nigeria with specific emphasis on the Southeast geopolitical zone. Using the case of infrastructure development provided in sectors of health, water and sanitation, and education under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme, it posits that the region has recorded positive gains. As a result, this paper contends that despite the effects of the Civil War on Igboland, infrastructure development efforts of successive governments within the region together with years of self-supported infrastructure projects initiated by Ndi Igbo (both at home and in diaspora), have ensured that this once known commercial hub moves towards her pre-civil war status. The paper further argues that it is not yet eureka for Ndi Igbo since there is also the need to sustain this and other efforts amidst contemporary challenges of corruption, good governance, calls for reforms in revenue sharing formula, insecurity, return to true federalism, and political and socio-economic 'social justice in Nigeria. Using a qualitative case narrative methodology, the paper concludes that these contemporary issues have the potential to distract Ndi Igbo from the real focus, which is a continued and sustained effort towards accelerated infrastructure development of this once war-torn area in Nigeria

Every month the moon swallows itself

This thesis consists of two parts, a complete poetry manuscript and three pieces of professional writing. With a double concentration in Creative Writing and Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication, this two part thesis fulfills the thesis requirements for each area of concentration. The poems in this manuscript combine two different traditions, the lyrical poem with the seeing poem. Heavily influenced by translations of Japanese women court poets, these poems are written in a spare style and with attention to the objective aspects of intensely subjective feelings. Many of these poems are also nature poems that center on moon imagery. These poems have some of the attributes of the seeing poem. Objects in nature are treated with honor and accorded a consciousness of their own. A careful attention to sound, characteristic of nature poetry, is also present in these poems. Themes within these poems include: the importance of nature, transformation, descent, silence, waiting, and erotic love. Three pieces of professional writing follow the poetry manuscript. These include the narrative portion of an arts related grant written to the Iowa Arts Council for a dance concert, Tribes. A HipOpera, produced by Valerie Williams Co\u27Motion Dance Theater, a press release about Tribes, and an interview with Valerie Williams and Janice Baker describes and reflects on the process of writing each piece. In addition, each narrative contains an analysis of the rhetorical context of the piece in terms audience, purpose, context, arrangement, and ethos. Each narrative further includes a discussion of the significant ways in which RCPC class work influenced the preparation of these pieces. A complete copy of the final grant is included in the appendix

The Effects of a Diabetes Education Program among African American Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Title: The Effects of a Diabetes Education Program among African American (AA) adults to Improve Medication Adherence and Decrease Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a diabetes education program to decrease HbA1c and improve medication adherence in AA with diabetes in a Primary Care setting. Method: This a quality improvement study and a descriptive quantitative design with a convenience sampling of 21 participants. Eligibility includes AA, ages 18 to 65, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and who attended routine care at project site. The results of pretest and posttest, and pre and post HbA1c were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics and Paired Sample T-test. The HbA1c was analyzed at baseline and three months after intervention. Five research engines were used to locate articles dated 2007-2017, with key articles obtained from CINAHL, PsycINFO, Nursing & Allied Health, Medline, and PubMed Clinical Queries. Results: A total of 21 participants enrolled in the study. Out of 21 participants, 11 returned for post HbA1c recheck. The analysis revealed statistical significant difference between the pre and post test scores, (M =66.43, SD = 11.634) from the post test score (M = 93.81, SD = 9.862), t (21) = -9.580, p \u3c .0005 (two tailed). The mean increase in post test scores was -27.136 with 95% confidence interval ranging from -33.343 to -21.419. Whereas the difference between the pre-HbA1c and post HbA1c mean was statistically insignificant, there was an observable clinical significance in patients’ outcome. Conclusion: The findings revealed significant improvement in diabetes knowledge and no statistical significance in the HbA1c results. Future research is needed with a large sample size over a longer period before a strong conclusion is reached

A School to Probation Pipeline: Examining the Perceptions of Juvenile Justice Personnel with Youth in Harris County

The school-to-prison pipeline represents a perspective in the administration of justice, where youths in an educational environment are funneled out of the public school system into the correctional institutions. There is a dearth of knowledge in the literature regarding the net-widening effects on youths brought into the juvenile and the criminal justice system that otherwise would have remained in their educational institutions without the criminal justice intervention. The expansion of the justice system\u27s reach to the youths has become so prevalent, raising concerns that research has yet to illustrate what happens before a youth goes from school disciplinary measures and into the prison system. This dissertation endeavors to close this vital gap in the literature by narrowly examining the school to probation pipeline to illustrate how youths are removed from the public school system and subsequently placed on probation through the juvenile justice system\u27s surveillance. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of individuals who work directly with youth involved in the school-to-probation pipeline using Harris County in Houston, Texas, as the study site. Fundamentally, the current dissertation employs a qualitative methodology that relies on the perceptions of the juvenile justice personnel, including juvenile counselors, teachers, juvenile probation officers, juvenile case workers, and juvenile detention officers’ interviews in Harris County. Purposive sampling technique is used for the interviews. The interviews helped the study to address the research questions in this dissertation and apply positive behavioral intervention and support as a way of addressing the issue of school suspensions that become a gateway to school-to-probation pipeline; utilizing social control and critical race theories found in criminology as the models of explanation. The findings from this research will bring awareness to the existence of the school-to-probation pipeline. It is anticipated that the data generated from this study would highlight the over-criminalization of minority youths within the public-school settings. The justification for this research appropriately would articulate cogent juvenile justice policy-making parameters for the criminal justice administrators and the society