What works? Supporting students from urban school districts at a Midwestern university

Postsecondary administrators across the nation are in search for effective policies and practices that lead to higher rates of student academic performance, persistence, and completion rates. In a time of increased accountability and diminished resources, the empirical findings of this study help administrators by demonstrating that resources invested in retention yield long-term benefits to the institution. At a large, public, 4-year university in the Midwest, the average 6-year graduation rate of students from urban school districts was 24% compared to the overall 40% graduation rate for the institution. Historically, students from urban school districts enter postsecondary institutions after persevering through school districts and communities that encompass a unique set of challenges, which warrants the need for administrators’ attention. For the purposes of this research, urban school districts are districts that are composed of both a high percentage of minority students and students from low income backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which first-year programs impact academic performance of students from urban school districts. This quantitative study used secondary data to analyze the academic performance of 624 students from four urban school districts that were first time in any college students admitted at Midwestern University from years 2015-2017. An ANCOVA and a linear regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between demographical characteristics, precollege academic attributes, and student support services and first-semester GPA. The findings revealed that first-year programs were influential to student’s academic performance. Students from urban school districts that participated in the required first-year program and the voluntary first-year program earned higher first-year GPAs (2.81 and 2.41, respectively) than students from the same school districts who were not enrolled in a first-year program (2.24). Several variables were found to be predictors of academic performance for the student population as well: (a) high school GPA, (b) familial income, (c) number of attempted credits, and (d) number of study hours

Where Law Meets Equity: Evidentiary Hearings Under California Business and Professions Code Section 7031

California’ s contractor licensing statutes severely penalize unlicensed contractors. Even a brief license disruption may result in a contractor being unable to collect unpaid invoices or having to disgorge money received for past work. Courts began developing a “substantial compliance” exception to these statutes shortly after the legislature enacted them. This institutional tug-of-war prompted the legislature to codify the exception in section 7031(e) of the California Business and Professions Code, and, later, to create a unique stand-alone procedure for adjudicating substantial compliance. Section 7031(e) refers to this procedure as an “evidentiary hearing” but gives little guidance about how to conduct such a hearing. This Article first explores the evidentiary hearing’s equitable roots in the judicial substantial compliance doctrine. Next, it discusses how counsel and judicial officers can use substantial compliance hearings to confront and resolve disputes involving contractors with licensing problems. Lastly, the Article concludes by proposing minor revisions to section 7031(e) that will clarify existing ambiguities, and, ideally, ensure the long-term viability of the statute and the unique procedure it created

Financial Deregulation, Income Inequality, and Partisan Politics from the Great War to the Great Recession

This study examines how financial deregulation and partisan politics shaped American market-based income distribution from 1914 to 2012 through a process called market conditioning. By using time-series data analysis, I access the effect of legislative and bureaucratic financial deregulation on market-based income concentration for the very wealthy. Then, I use process-tracing to determine why both political parties converged in the 1980s to support financial deregulation. I find financial deregulation does increase market-based income for top income earners, especially the top .01 percent. In addition, I determine that both parties were captured by neoliberal economic ideology and through the bureaucracy, shaped the financial free market in favor of the top income earners

Synthesis of a directionally-conductive polyaniline hydrogel composite by vapor deposition.

Electroactive polymers (EAPs), including conducting polymers (CPs) such as polyaniline (PAn), and hydrogels are exciting areas of research in disciplines such as biomedical engineering, with the goal of creating low-cost, lightweight, non-toxic artificial muscles with characteristics similar to natural muscle. Such a material could be used to create more natural prosthetic limbs or artificial heart muscle, which could be implanted in the left ventricle to assist patients with congestive heart failure. Currently, however, electroactive polymers are not a viable replacement for natural muscles for a variety of reasons, including insufficient applied force and lack of robustness [1]. Hydrogels suffer from many of the same limitations [2]. Electroactive polymers include conducting polymers (CPs) such as polyaniline (PAn), which has the general structure [(-B-NH-B-NH)y(-B-N=Q=N)1-y]x, where B is a C6H4 ring in the benzene-like arrangement and Q is the same ring in the quinone-like arrangement. The 50% oxidized form, which is the most conductive, is termed emeraldine (y=0.5). Polyaniline is currently used in anti-corrosive coating and static-dissipating compounds, and has been proposed for use in electrochromic windows, flexible circuit boards, and conductive fabrics. Many research groups have developed methods for creating novel polyaniline structures and composites. However, the processibility of polyaniline is currently poor, and further work needs to be done before polyaniline or its composites can be considered viable artificial muscles [3]. This thesis describes a novel and exciting method for the creation of a patterned polyaniline-hydrogel composite which shows directional conductivity, a material which has not been reported in the literature as far as we are aware. This material could provide the foundation for a micro- or nano-patterned composite which would further the goals of developing a viable artificial muscle with a directed pattern of contraction

The 3 P\u27s: Pewdiepie, Popularity, and Profitability

This article takes an in-depth look at the most subscribed individual YouTube channel, Pewdiepie, as of 2019. Using the theoretical framework of Parasocial Interactions Theory, Hegemonic Masculinities Theory (HMT), and Inclusive Masculinities Theory (IMT), it is possible to better understand the factors of Pewdiepie’s popularity that have led to profitability. By surveying 50 Pewdiepie experts (via Instagram and YouTube), data about this particular relationship between popularity and profitability was obtained. This article puts forth the argument that factors such as Pewdiepie’s consistent uploading and sense of humor contribute to his immense popularity which only makes him more profitable. The more viewers that watch Pewdiepie’s videos, the more money he can make based on ad revenue and merchandise sales. This research contributes to a greater understanding of YouTube, consumer behavior, and Parasocial relationships. Pewdiepie’s ability to grow with the gaming industry and overcome controversy makes him a character of resilience