THE EFFECT OF ACADEMIC ADVISOR TYPE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RETENTION

This study was designed to examine the effect of academic advisor type on retention of first-year, full-time, four-year degree-seeking students at a mid-size research university in the western U.S., while controlling for several predictor variables identified in contemporary and seminal literature as having a potential impact on student retention. Predictor variables are: socioeconomic status, first generation in family to attend college, high school grade point average, first semester grade point average, and enrollment in developmental coursework. In the study, a binary logistic regression model was employed to determine whether academic advisor type had a statistically significant effect on the probability of students being retained for their second year of study, controlling for the aforementioned predictor variables. The alternative hypothesis of the study stated that there is a statistically significant effect of advisor type on the retention of first-year, full-time, four-year degree-seeking students at the study\u27s institution (n = 1,117) when controlling for the additional predictor variables, with professional advisors having a more positive effect on student retention than faculty advisors. Results from the logistic regression analysis indicated that academic advisor type was not a statistically significant predictor of the probability of students being retained at the study\u27s institution from the fall 2015 semester to the fall 2016 semester (= 0.88). Thus, the null hypothesis of the study stating that there is no statistically significant effect of advisor type on student retention was not rejected. The odds ratio value in the model for advisor type (OR = 1.03) indicated that students with a professional advisor assigned had 1.03 higher odds or 3% higher likelihood of being retained at the institution for their second year than students with a faculty advisor assigned

Estimating the relative rate of recombination to mutation in bacteria from single-locus variants using composite likelihood methods

A number of studies have suggested using comparisons between DNA sequences of closely related bacterial isolates to estimate the relative rate of recombination to mutation for that bacterial species. We consider such an approach which uses single-locus variants: pairs of isolates whose DNA differ at a single gene locus. One way of deriving point estimates for the relative rate of recombination to mutation from such data is to use composite likelihood methods. We extend recent work in this area so as to be able to construct confidence intervals for our estimates, without needing to resort to computationally-intensive bootstrap procedures, and to develop a test for whether the relative rate varies across loci. Both our test and method for constructing confidence intervals are obtained by modeling the dependence structure in the data, and then applying asymptotic theory regarding the distribution of estimators obtained using a composite likelihood. We applied these methods to multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) data from eight bacteria, finding strong evidence for considerable rate variation in three of these: Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecium and Klebsiella pneumoniae.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-AOAS795 in the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

The Ghost in the Machine: Frances Perkins’ Refusal to Accept Marginalization

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on June 15, 2015Thesis advisor: Dennis MerrillVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 29-34)Thesis (M.A.)--Department of History. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2014Frances Perkins was the United States Secretary of Labor from 1933-1945, yet she has received little attention from historians. There are countless works that study President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s years in office, but Perkins’ achievements have yet to enter the mainstream debate of New Deal scholarship. Perkins did not “assist” with the New Deal; she became one of the chief architects of its legislation and a champion of organized labor. Ever mindful of her progressive mentor, Florence Kelley, Perkins stared her reform work at Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago. By the end of FDR’s tenure as president, the forty-hour workweek became standard, child labor was abolished, and she was instrumental in the work-relief programs under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the popular Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and most notably Section 7a of the National Industrial Recovery Administration that allowed for collective bargaining for organized labor. FDR’s controversial appointment marked the first time a female had attained such a powerful position in government, and she wrestled with cross-sections of class, gender, and ethnicity during her tenure as FDR’s Labor Secretary.Humble beginnings -- Cabinet appointment -- New Deal architecture -- Conclusio

Improved Understanding of Fiber Digestibility in Ryegrasses

Dairy nutritionists have long known that forages with the same laboratory analysis could produce significantly different performance in lactating cows. Neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) may explain much of this variation. The objectives of the study described here were to demonstrate NDFD variation between varieties of ryegrass and season of harvest and to use this information as the basis for an educational Extension program. Large differences in NDFD were found among 11 varieties of ryegrass. This information was used to change the way livestock rations are balanced and it is hoped will convince grass seeds companies to focus more on fiber digestibility

Semi-automatic selection of summary statistics for ABC model choice

A central statistical goal is to choose between alternative explanatory models of data. In many modern applications, such as population genetics, it is not possible to apply standard methods based on evaluating the likelihood functions of the models, as these are numerically intractable. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) is a commonly used alternative for such situations. ABC simulates data x for many parameter values under each model, which is compared to the observed data xobs. More weight is placed on models under which S(x) is close to S(xobs), where S maps data to a vector of summary statistics. Previous work has shown the choice of S is crucial to the efficiency and accuracy of ABC. This paper provides a method to select good summary statistics for model choice. It uses a preliminary step, simulating many x values from all models and fitting regressions to this with the model as response. The resulting model weight estimators are used as S in an ABC analysis. Theoretical results are given to justify this as approximating low dimensional sufficient statistics. A substantive application is presented: choosing between competing coalescent models of demographic growth for Campylobacter jejuni in New Zealand using multi-locus sequence typing data

Comparative Genomics Of Transposable Elements In The Grasses

Transposable elements (TE’s) are the most abundant genetic loci found in eukaryotic genomes and often occupy more than 70% of the genome landscape. These genetic elements were first described in maize (Zea mays) and have been found in all eukaryotic genomes investigated. The grass family (Poaceae), has long been used as a model system to study transposable elements. Transposable element content has been analyzed in many grass species including, Maize, Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), Rice (Oryza sativa), and many others. This project aims to explore and characterize the repetitive elements in six grass genomes that are closely related within the grass tribe Andropogoneae, with the ultimate goal of better understanding the mechanisms that have driven the diversification of this important grass clade. Bioinformatic software Galaxy was used to identify and characterize the abundance of TE’s in six grass species that have not been investigated to date. The presence/absences of specific TE’s were then mapped onto a phylogeny of the Andropogoneae to better understand the dynamics of TE evolution. An improved understanding of repetitive elements across the grass phylogeny may uncover the mechanism behind the explosive evolutionary radiation of the grasses

Convincing Oregon\u27s Dairy Industry They Have a Problem with Phosphorus

Dairy nutritionists historically balanced milk cow rations for phosphorus at .45 to .5 % DM of the total ration. New studies have shown a high producing milk cow only requires a diet at .38% DM. Thirty-seven farms were studied to determine and compare P feeding levels in Oregon. The results of the project were then incorporated into educational programs. The average farm studied was over feeding by 18%. Eighty-nine percent of producers surveyed indicated this project increased their understanding of the problem we face as an industry. Approximately 50% of producers participating reduced P feeding on their farm

Critical review of two books by Patrick French, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul and India: A Portrait

This submission for the PhD by Research Publications consists of two published books by Patrick French, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul (2008) and India: A Portrait (2011). The portfolio is accompanied by a critical review summarising the aims, objectives, methodology, results and conclusions of the books, and showing how they form a coherent body of work and contribute significantly to the expansion of knowledge. The World Is What It Is (2008) is a biography of Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul, positioning him within a Caribbean and early postcolonial literary lineage, despite his ancestral connections to India and his “stateless” claims as a world novelist. India: A Portrait (2011) is a study of Indian politics, economics and society since 1947, told mainly through the stories of individuals from different sections of society, and using historical background to analyse rapid recent social change in the period after economic “liberalization”. The trajectory of the two publications is built around a conviction that individual experience can illuminate a larger period or civilization, and that our ideas of the unfamiliar, whether in the past or in different societies, can often be poorly grounded in the way people perceive themselves. In each case, the books challenge existing notions and use evidence based on detailed research and interviews in the field. In the case of The World Is What It Is, almost none of the archival material used had previously been studied, and in India: A Portrait, subjective one-to-one interviews were supplemented by new original data. For example, a survey was undertaken to determine what proportion of MPs in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, were hereditary: this involved double-sourcing information on the family background of all 545 Indian MPs – and revealed that nepotism was more deeply embedded than had previously been realised. Both books come out of a vision developed during two-and-a-half decades of research into colonial and postcolonial history. The guiding motivation has been to communicate a distinct historical view of the period before and after the end of the global British empire, in particular in South Asia and among its diaspora

Effective prolonged suppression of HIV-1 viral load using tenofovir alafenamide, emtricitabine and efavirenz in an adult with BMI >59 kg/m2

Limited information is available regarding the efficacy of antiretrovirals in people with HIV-1 and high or very high Body Mass Index (BMI). This is especially the case for the alafenamide salt of tenofovir as clinical trials have only enrolled patients with BMI ≤30 kg/m2. Lower concentrations of some antiretrovirals are expected in patients with BMI >30 kg/m2 due to potential changes in clearance and distribution of medication. This report describes an individual taking tenofovir alafenamide, emtricitabine and efavirenz in whom HIV-1 viral load was consistently undetectable (<50 copies/ml) over a 2.5 year period. During this period the patient's BMI ranged between 59.8 and 68.1 kg/m2. Further data is required to support the efficacy of antiretrovirals in individuals with high and very high BMI

The internal rate of return (IRR): projections, benchmarks and pitfalls

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of the internal rate of return (IRR) as a principal measure of performance of investments and to highlight some of the weaknesses of the IRR in evaluating investments in this way. Design/methodology/approach This Education Briefing is an overview of the limitations of the IRR in making capital budgeting decisions. It is illustrated with a number of counter-intuitive examples. Findings The advantage of the IRR is that it is, on the surface, a wonderfully simple benchmark. One figure that tells a story. But, the disadvantage is that if used in isolation the IRR can give misleading results when used to assess investment proposals. Practical implications The IRR should be used in conjunction with other analyses to appraise projects, so that the user can determine its veracity in the context of other benchmarks. This context is particularly important when assessing investments with unusual cash flows. Originality/value This is a review of existing models