Financial Literacy: The Impact of Financial Training in High School on the Credit Behavior of College Students

Managing credit is increasingly important not only for adults, but for college students. In recent years with sky rocketing tuition and easily available credit, college students find themselves with increasing debt burdens that result in serious and lasting financial problems. In response, financial literacy programs are emerging in hopes that better educated people will make healthy financial decisions, as well as responsibly manage credit. Research suggests that financial education should begin in high school so that young adults can effectively manage credit during the college years. This study assesses both college students’ financial knowledge and their credit management practices. Specifically, it examines whether Bryant University students retain and use the financial training from high school when making financial decisions and managing credit. The findings from this study illustrate that almost 75% of the 345 students that manage their own credit in college received financial training in high school and that although this training is negatively correlated with poor credit management behavior in college, the association is weak. This study further suggests that even with additional financial literacy training available in college, almost 60% of these students demonstrate poor credit management behavior. As a result, this study suggests that young people need to improve their credit management skills by setting budgets and employing good credit management techniques

A ranking of the value of patents granted by legal protection

This paper aims at ranking the value of legal patent protection among countries, using the real options approach. In particular, we manage to overcome the problem of the lack of data for those countries that do not collect patent renewal data. The econometric technique we propose is well grounded in economic theory, specifically in the real options literature. Following this estimation strategy, we rank the value of legal patent protection for seventeen countries, closely reproducing other rankings based on surveys, for instance the PatVal survey by the EU Commission (2006), but relying on macro data publicly available and easy to access.Legal protection, intellectual property, real option, value of patent.

Chandler v. County Commissioners of Nantucket County: Why the Massachusetts Statute Authorizing Takings by Eminent Domain for Highway Purposes Should Not Serve as a Mechanism for Conservation

This casenote examines the tension between a local authority\u27s attempt to exercise its right of eminent domain and the private property owners resisting the action in the context of a Nantucket County, Massachusetts case in which the county commissioners sought to take land in order to preserve public access to the beach

STEAM Curriculum: Arts Education As An Integral Part Of Interdisciplinary Learning

This research project contains an extensive exploration of a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) approach to curriculum and instruction. STEAM is continually growing as an educational model in transition from the STEM educational (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) model. The research is a response to a two-fold problem in education: a lack of preparation for future leaders in careers that require innovative-thinking and a need for advocacy for the arts in public education. The literature review provides an expansive look at the present information available on STEAM frameworks, programs, curricula design, and teaching practices. Four emergent themes are illustrated within the research: problem solving practices, inquiry-based thinking, collaboration, and student choice. Currently there is not an official STEAM framework or a comprehensive STEAM curriculum plan for secondary educators. The product that evolved from the STEAM research is a secondary education curriculum plan that includes a semester-at-a-glance, Know-Understand-Do (KUD) charts, learning maps, and unit plans. This interdisciplinary curriculum provides a solution to the research problem as it is intended to promote innovative solutions and the value of arts education. In the discussion, the researcher explains how to utilize the curriculum components to foster interdisciplinary thinking and avoid superficial integrated or cross-curricular lesson plans by implementing the unit objectives

EFFECTIVENESS AND MECHANISMS OF CHANGE OF MINDFULNESS AND RELAXATION TRAINING DELIVERED IN A HIGH SCHOOL

This study addresses the lack of research on the effectiveness of two major treatments for an adolescent sample. Both mindfulness and relaxation training are two major interventions that can be utilized to improve symptomology for aggression, disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, as well as for the improvement of self-concept and academic performance. The focus of this study is to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness and relaxation training in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. It was hypothesized that the participants in the mindfulness group would have greater decreased levels in all facets assigned with the exception of self-concept and academic performance which would increase than the relaxation training and control groups. The participants in the relaxation training group were hypothesized to have a greater change than the control group. The present study also aimed to assess whether the underlying mechanisms of mindfulness and relaxation training were cognitive and physiological, respectively. Participants were student volunteers from general education classes at a public high school. They were randomly assigned to a mindfulness treatment, relaxation training, or inactive control group. Participants were given outcome measurements pre- and post-treatment to evaluate the impact of these interventions on anxiety, disruptive behavior, depression, stress, and self-concept. The participants in the treatment groups were also given measures to assess the underlying mechanisms of both mindfulness and relaxation training. At two-month follow-up they were asked if their academic performance had improved since beginning the study, but the follow-up was ultimately dropped due to low sample size. The results yielded no significant difference between relaxation training, mindfulness, and theinactive control for depression, anxiety, anger, disruptive behavior, stress, and self-concept. Further, the results yielded no significant difference in the underlying mechanisms of mindfulness of relaxation training. Although the current study yielded no significant results, this study emphasizes the importance of utilizing effective treatments and the implementation of brief treatments for adolescents

Regulating Armed Private Militia Gatherings: a Constitutional State-Level Proposal to Promote Public Safety in a Post-Heller World

“Yesterday, in my view, was one of the darkest days in the history of our nation.” President Joseph R. Biden spoke these words following the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol Building that left five people, including a police officer, dead. The mob that stormed the Capitol sought to prevent Congress from certifying then-President-elect Biden’s Electoral College victory. In the weeks following the riot, investigators began arresting rioters associated with extremist right-wing militia groups, such as the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters. While January 6, 2021, can accurately be labeled a dark day in American history, the events that unfolded did not necessarily surprise those familiar with the activity of extremist private militia groups in the preceding months. On October 8, 2020, federal agents arrested seven members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia who plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. One week earlier, in front of a national audience, then-President Donald Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, to “stand back and stand by.” In August 2020, seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse killed two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where armed militia groups sought to assume security functions during protests for racial justice. Although these incidents differ, they all highlight a troubling reality: the increased presence of armed private militia groups in public spaces. While elements of private militias have existed since America’s colonial period, the modern militia movement traces its roots to the 1990s. The movement, which is generally “anti-government and radically pro-Second Amendment,” quieted in the early 2000s, but has undergone a resurgence in recent years. Groups vary greatly in ideology and activity, but three recent trends have emerged. First, many groups have shifted from a strict anti-government stance to open support for right-wing politicians. Second, militia members have been emboldened by tacit support from politicians and law enforcement, as demonstrated by the Proud Boys’ positive reaction to then-President Trump’s comments. Third, armed groups recently have appeared more regularly at peaceful protests, particularly those dedicated to racial justice. As one analyst noted, the militia movement has “normaliz[ed] the idea that vigilante justice is not just justifiable but is necessary.” As demonstrated in Kenosha, as well as in Charlottesville, Virginia, three years earlier, the presence of armed private militias in public spaces can have deadly consequences. Of course, those who go so far as to enact violence, fire a weapon, or take a life can be prosecuted under various laws. However, all fifty states have at least one additional statutory or constitutional provision that they could use to regulate armed private militias. For example, some states criminalize paramilitary activity, such as instructing others to use firearms or explosives knowing the weapons “will be unlawfully used in furtherance of a civil disorder.” Other laws regulate gatherings of armed militia groups. States have failed to effectively use these provisions, likely due in part to a lack of precedent, a lack of political will, and the limited penalties associated with a conviction. Private militias have contested that these anti-militia laws are unconstitutional. It is likely not merely coincidental that the resurgence of the private militia movement has overlapped with the recent increase in Second Amendment jurisprudence. In 2008, in the foundational case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes, such as protection in the home. Two years later, the Court incorporated the Second Amendment right to bear arms to apply its protection to the states. Nevertheless, over the past decade, lower courts have repeatedly upheld gun safety restrictions as constitutional public safety measures. In fact, Virginia utilized its anti-militia laws in a successful suit that banned some groups from armed public gatherings in Charlottesville following 2017’s violent “Unite the Right” rally. While laws preventing private militias from carrying firearms in public may raise Second Amendment concerns, their application is consistent with the courts’ understanding of the Amendment’s outer limits. This Note argues that state laws that regulate private militia groups are constitutional and not violative of the Second Amendment. To supplement this argument, this Note proposes that all states should adopt the same standard to consistently regulate armed militia gatherings in public spaces. This standard, modeled on Alabama’s statute regulating unauthorized military organizations, would cover a variety of armed groups gathering at protests, rallies, and public events. Additionally, this proposed law would increase penalties for those convicted to enhance deterrence and give the law more bite. The application of this standard across all fifty states could de-escalate tensions, prevent violence, and save lives. To begin its analysis of laws regulating armed groups, this Note must first define what constitutes a “private militia,” a term that has taken on new meaning in recent years. Part I defines the term and examines key differences between unofficial private militias and state-sanctioned forces. Part I also traces the origins of militia groups in America, from their colonial roots through the present day, exploring some of the key features animating the modern movement. Part II examines recent Second Amendment jurisprudence to analyze some of the theories that private militias draw on in arguing for their right to gather in public while armed. Part III describes the existing provisions used to regulate armed groups and examines their constitutionality under the Second Amendment. Part IV then details this Note’s proposed standard, addressing practical challenges of implementation and responding to anticipated counterarguments. Finally, a brief conclusion summarizes this Note’s argument and reexamines the current landscape for private militia groups. States have the tools at their disposal to limit the negative influence of armed private militias. These laws are constitutional, and states can, and should, use them to protect communities

Study of multiplicity dependence of J/psi and psi(2S) yields and production ratios in p-p collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the CMS experiment at LHC

La teoria dell’interazione forte, la Cromodinamica Quantistica, non è tuttora risolvibile completamente. Le sue proprietà emergenti in sistemi interagenti sono dunque il soggetto della maggior parte degli studi nella fisica degli ioni pesanti. Le collisioni protone-protone possono fornire un punto di vista alternativo su questo argomento, con differenti limitazioni ma anche dfferenti possibilità. Questa tesi si propone di investigare su possibili indizi di fenomeni collettivi, come la formazione di plasma di quark e gluoni, in collisioni protone-protone. Per questo scopo, è stato effettuato uno studio sulla dipendenza dalla molteplicità delle produzioni di J/ψ and ψ(2S) e dei loro rapporti, all’energia di √s = 7 TeV nell’ambito dell’esperimento CMS al Large Hadron Collider. I risultati sono stati poi discussi e messi in relazione con altri recenti dati sperimentali. La tesi è organizzata nel seguente modo: • nel Capitolo 1 vengono presentate un’introduzione alla teoria della Cromodinamica Quantistica e una panoramica sulla fenomenologia del plasma di quark e gluoni; • nel Capitolo 2 vengono introdotte le principali caratteristiche dell’esperimento CMS al Large Hadron Collider; • nel Capitolo 3 viene descritta la valutazione dei valori di produzione di J/ψ and ψ(2S), e successivamente la separazione delle loro frazioni dirette e indirette; • nel Capitolo 4 viene discusso il calcolo della molteplicità di tracce cariche, ovvero il numero di particelle cariche primarie prodotte nella collisione, che deve essere associato ad ogni coppia di muoni; • nel Capitolo 5 si studia l’andamento in funzione della molteplicità carica dei valori di produzione di J/ψ and ψ(2S) e dei loro rapporti. Inoltre si studia l’andamento, sempre in funzione della moltpelicità carica, dell’impulso trasverso medio di J/ψ and ψ(2S); • nel Capitolo 6 i risultati sono discussi e confrontati con altri recenti studi sperimentali

A study of the availability of readable and interesting books in areas of greatest interest to eighth grade pupils in a selected school

Since both good and poor readers often select similar book titles and reading topics, there is a need to provide books based on the pupils\u27 interests which vary significantly to accommodate pupils\u27 differing abilities. Because of this existing need, the writer was motivated to examine more closely the reading interests and abilities of adolescents in order to provide criteria for aiding teachers in guiding pupil-selection of free reading materials. The purpose of this study is to determine the availability and attractiveness of books of varied difficulty in the most prominent areas of interest to eighth-grade pupils. The specific objectives forming the basis of the study are: 1) What are the areas of interest to eighth-grade pupils? 2) Which five areas are the most common? 3) Is there a difference between the interests of boys and girls? 4) Are there books in the most common interest areas in a range of difficulty from third to tenth grade? 5) Are these books readable according to formula; are they attractive according to pupil-rating? 6) Does pupil-evaluation reflect a similarity between the reading level of pupils and the difficulty of the book

Are truncated stellar disks linked to the molecular gas density?

We know that the slope of the radial, stellar light distribution in galaxies is well described by an exponential decline and this distribution is often truncated at a break radius ($R_{br}$). We don't have a clear understanding for the origin of these outer truncations and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain them. We want to test the various theories with direct observations of the cold molecular gas for a few truncated galaxies in comparison with the non-truncated ones. The answer to the existence of a possible link between truncated stellar disks and the molecular gas density cannot be obtained from CO maps in the literature, because so far there are no galaxies with a clear truncation observed in CO at high resolution.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Science (Apss), special issue of "Science with ALMA: a new era for Astrophysics" conference, ed. Dr. Bachille