An analysis of undergraduate student satisfaction, retention, and graduation by instructional modality and racial/ethnic groups

This study investigated whether instructional modality in an undergraduate degree program, either traditional on-campus or asynchronous online, and racial/ethnic group could predict students’ reports of satisfaction with the institution, retention year-over-year, and graduation within an eight-year award rate. Data from surveys and enrollment status were collected on undergraduate students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program by instructional modality over a timespan of eight academic years at a single institution. The researcher analyzed categorical predictor variables of instructional modality and racial/ethnic groups with the dichotomous outcome variables of low or high satisfaction, did not or did retain, and did not or did graduate through six research questions and multiple binomial logistic regression tests. This study identified statistically significant results by instructional modality for students’ reports of satisfaction with the institution (i.e., online students were more likely to report high satisfaction), retention year-over-year (i.e., on-campus students were more likely to retain), and graduation rate (on-campus students were more likely to graduate). It further identified statistically significant results by instructional modality and racial/ethnic groups for students’ reports of satisfaction with the institution (i.e., on-campus White students were more likely to report high satisfaction than other on-campus racial/ethnic groups and online Black or African American students were more likely to report high satisfaction than other online racial/ethnic groups), retention year-over-year (i.e., on-campus White students were more likely to retain than other on-campus racial/ethnic groups and online White students were more likely to retain than other online racial/ethnic groups), and graduation rate (i.e., on-campus White students were more likely to graduate than other on-campus racial/ethnic groups and online White students were more likely to graduate than other online racial/ethnic groups)

Efficacy of Hybrid Coursework on Retention Rate in Online Higher Education

Recent developments and technological advances in online education have provided the adult learner with new opportunities to obtain a college education. However, online coursework offers new challenges particularly for online student retention, as these rates are lower than traditional students on a college or university campus. The following research outlines a quantitative study for the perceived effect of social learning for adult online learners through hybrid coursework on undergraduate retention rates through two research questions using a causal-comparative design for research question one and a correlational design for research question two. This study examined retention theory in regards to social learning by comparing the participation of adult online learners who enrolled in a blended online and on-campus hybrid course to those who solely took online courses. It also studied the relationship between number of hybrid courses taken by online students and retention. It was found through a chi-square test of independence for research question one that there was a statistically significant difference between fully online and hybrid course students with retention rates, as hybrid students retained at a higher percentage. In addition, a bivariate correlation was conducted for the second research question and found there was no statistically significant relationship between the increased number of hybrid courses taken and student retention. The results of this study provided a better understanding of the effect that hybrid courses had on retention rates of adult online learners in higher education

Burnout in Virginia’s Community College Adjuncts With Relation to Gender, Age, and Number of Jobs

Burnout is a psychological condition that affects individuals in high stress careers; including higher education faculty are prone. Research suggests women experience burnout at different ages than males. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to apply existing theory to determine if a predictive relationship exists between burnout, emotional exhaustion, and the linear combination of age, gender, and the number of additional jobs held for community college adjunct faculty. Part-time faculty (247) from the Virginia Community College System provided data anonymously. Based on a multiple regression models, age was the primary predictor of emotional exhaustion, but data analysis indicated additional variables need to be considered. A small sample size hindered the generalizability of the results, but it was discovered that males and females between the ages of 26 and 50 were more likely to experience emotional exhaustion

A New Algorithm for the Detection of Inter-cluster Galaxy Filaments using Galaxy Orientation Alignments

We present a new algorithm to detect inter-cluster galaxy filaments based upon the assumption that the orientations of constituent galaxies along such filaments are non-isotropic. We apply the algorithm to the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey catalogue and find that it readily detects many straight filaments between close cluster pairs. At large inter-cluster separations (>15 Mpc), we find that the detection efficiency falls quickly, as it also does with more complex filament morphologies. We explore the underlying assumptions and suggest that it is only in the case of close cluster pairs that we can expect galaxy orientations to be significantly correlated with filament direction.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The architecture of Abell 1386 and its relationship to the Sloan Great Wall

We present new radial velocities from AAOmega on the Anglo-Australian Telescope for 307 galaxies (b_J < 19.5) in the region of the rich cluster Abell 1386. Consistent with other studies of galaxy clusters that constitute sub-units of superstructures, we find that the velocity distribution of A1386 is very broad (21,000--42,000 kms^-1, or z=0.08--0.14) and complex. The mean redshift of the cluster that Abell designated as number 1386 is found to be ~0.104. However, we find that it consists of various superpositions of line-of-sight components. We investigate the reality of each component by testing for substructure and searching for giant elliptical galaxies in each and show that A1386 is made up of at least four significant clusters or groups along the line of sight whose global parameters we detail. Peculiar velocities of brightest galaxies for each of the groups are computed and found to be different from previous works, largely due to the complexity of the sky area and the depth of analysis performed in the present work. We also analyse A1386 in the context of its parent superclusters: Leo A, and especially the Sloan Great Wall. Although the new clusters may be moving toward mass concentrations in the Sloan Great Wall or beyond, many are most likely not yet physically bound to it.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, includes the full appendix table. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Age-Related Intraneuronal Elevation of αII-Spectrin Breakdown Product SBDP120 in Rodent Forebrain Accelerates in 3×Tg-AD Mice

Spectrins line the intracellular surface of plasmalemma and play a critical role in supporting cytoskeletal stability and flexibility. Spectrins can be proteolytically degraded by calpains and caspases, yielding breakdown products (SBDPs) of various molecular sizes, with SBDP120 being largely derived from caspase-3 cleavage. SBDPs are putative biomarkers for traumatic brain injury. The levels of SBDPs also elevate in the brain during aging and perhaps in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), although the cellular basis for this change is currently unclear. Here we examined age-related SBDP120 alteration in forebrain neurons in rats and in the triple transgenic model of AD (3×Tg-AD) relative to non-transgenic controls. SBDP120 immunoreactivity (IR) was found in cortical neuronal somata in aged rats, and was prominent in the proximal dendrites of the olfactory bulb mitral cells. Western blot and densitometric analyses in wild-type mice revealed an age-related elevation of intraneuronal SBDP120 in the forebrain which was more robust in their 3×Tg-AD counterparts. The intraneuronal SBDP120 occurrence was not spatiotemporally correlated with transgenic amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression, β-amyloid plaque development, or phosphorylated tau expression over various forebrain regions or lamina. No microscopically detectable in situ activated caspase-3 was found in the nuclei of SBDP120-containing neurons. The present study demonstrates the age-dependent intraneuronal presence of an αII-spectrin cleavage fragment in mammalian forebrain which is exacerbated in a transgenic model of AD. This novel neuronal alteration indicates that impairments in membrane protein metabolism, possibly due to neuronal calcium mishandling and/or enhancement of calcium sensitive proteolysis, occur during aging and in transgenic AD mice

Exposure to the Environmental Endocrine Disruptor TCDD and Human Reproductive Dysfunction: Translating Lessons from Murine Models

Humans and other animals are exposed to a wide array of man-made toxicants, many of which act as endocrine disruptors that exhibit differential effects across the lifespan. In humans, while the impact of adult exposure is known for some compounds, the potential consequences of developmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is more difficult to ascertain. Animal studies have revealed that exposure to EDCs prior to puberty can lead to adult reproductive disease and dysfunction. Specifically, in adult female mice with an early life exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), we demonstrated a transgenerational occurrence of several reproductive diseases that have been linked to endometriosis in women. Herein, we review the evidence for TCDD-associated development of adult reproductive disease as well as known epigenetic alterations associated with TCDD and/or endometriosis. We will also introduce new "Organ-on-Chip" models which, combined with our established murine model, are expected to further enhance our ability to examine alterations in gene-environment interactions that lead to heritable disease

Educators on the Move: An Applied Study of Literature-based Solutions for Teacher Migration within an Exclusive Urban School

Graduate Applie

Understanding linearity in wireless communication amplifiers

This paper investigates the linearity of active devices and amplifiers that have modulated input signals. We describe an implementation of a mathematical technique for calculating spectral regrowth due to the nonlinear amplification of modulated signals typically used in wireless communication systems. This technique only requires knowledge of the single-tone gain and phase data as a function of input power and can be applied to any modulated signal given a) the device or amplifier characteristics do not change significantly over the bandwidth of the input signal and b) the modulation frequencies are much less than the carrier frequency. Verification of the mathematical technique is presented using examples of measured and calculated spectra for π/4-differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) personal handy phone system (PHS) and code division multiple access (CDMA) Offset-QPSK personal communication system (PCS) modulation schemes. This calculation technique is essential in determining fundamental tradeoffs between device performance (linearity, output power, gain, and power-added efficiency) and device bias conditions and load impedance