George W. Norris\u27s Persuasion in the Campaign for the Unicameral Legislature

The people of forty-seven states in this country are governed by bicameral or two-house legislatures. The people of the forty-eighth, Nebraskans, are governed by a unicameral or one-house legislature. On November 6, 1934, the people of Nebraska provided by amendment to their state constitution, a one-house legislature to be composed of between thirty and fifty members to be elected on a non-partisan ballot. The number of solons was later set at forty-three, and 1957 marked the twentieth anniversary of the first unicameral session in Nebraska. Senator George W. Norris is generally regarded by all as the father of the unicameral legislature and he is generally given credit for slnglehandedly inducing the people of Nebraska to adopt the unicameral. The aged senator took to the stump in the fall of 1934, speaking in all parts of the state in support of the amendment. By what means did Senator George W. Norris persuade the people of Nebraska to adopt the unicameral legislature? From the perspective of public address, the present study is confined to Norris\u27s speaking, although he did circulate much printed material during the campaign. Since Norris spoke extemporaneously during the campaign, there are no manuscripts to analyze. Therefore, the methods were both historical and critical in that the only available materials on the speeches are in the state\u27s newspapers of the period. The accounts are fragmentary, the speeches were many, therefore a composite of his persuasive appeals was formed. The composite appeals were analyzed in terms of the classical tripartite division of proof: logical, emotional, and ethical appeals. The senator\u27s speeches and their sources are critiqued, as well. Many of the newspaper accounts were poorly written, and often biased. Included are the history of the movement in Nebraska, as well as the public opinion toward the amendment in 1934, Norris\u27s itinerary, each speech situation, and the results of the campaign. Advisor: Dr. Leroy T. Laas

Assessment as a Scholarship of Teaching

This article examines the position of academic institutions on the need for continued commitment to assessment and at the same time deals with strong faculty sentiment on the subject. The article proposes to re-conceptualize assessment activity as a scholarly process whose products make a contribution to the broader conversation about teaching and learning in higher education. In making a case for this rightful elevation of assessment activity by members of the academy, it will first show that assessment is not service, but scholarship. Second, it will discuss assessment as a legitimate form of research that meets both the definition and spirit of the term. Third, the extension of its value as scholarship to both scholarly and non-scholarly audiences. Finally, the movement of assessment into the realm of creative and scholarly endeavor and beyond mere service

“If You Are Old Enough to Die for Your Country, You Should Be Able to Get a Pinch of Snuff”: Views of Tobacco 21 Among Appalachian Youth

Background: Multiple strategies have been utilized in attempts to decrease the prevalence of youth tobacco use. One strategy, raising the minimum legal sale age (MLSA) of tobacco products to 21, known as Tobacco 21, has recently gained popularity. Tobacco 21 legislation targets youth tobacco use by obstructing two main sources of youth tobacco products: stores and older friends. Although these sources are the most common for youth across the nation, regional differences have not been explored. Further, youth perspectives about raising the tobacco MLSA have not been considered. Youth may help identify potential challenges to implementing tobacco control measures, as well as suggest alternatives for intervention, thus helping to shape successful tobacco control policies. Study Aim: This study aimed to 1) examine youth perspectives on raising the tobacco minimum legal sale age to 21 and 2) identify common sources of tobacco products among middle and high school students living in rural, low-income Appalachian communities. Methods: A cross-sectional survey about perceptions and use of tobacco products was conducted with students in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky and North Carolina (N=426). Questions were asked concerning perspectives on the effect of Tobacco 21 implementation. Descriptive statistics characterized participants by Tobacco 21 perspectives. Participants were given the opportunity to further expand upon their opinions in an open-ended format. Results: The majority (58.7%) of participants responded that the same number of youth would use tobacco if the legal purchase age were raised, followed by responses that fewer would use (28.9%) and more would use (12.4%). Significant differences emerged based on tobacco use status (p\u3c.05), friends’ tobacco use (p\u3c.001), and whether participants identified family members as sources of youth tobacco products (p=.047). When given the opportunity to expand upon their views concerning the implementation of Tobacco 21 laws in their communities, many respondents cited poor enforcement of tobacco MLSAs at stores, continued access to tobacco products from family members and friends, and the overall abundance of tobacco in their communities as potential barriers to the successful implementation. Conclusion: Fewer than one-third of participants believed that Tobacco 21 legislation would succeed in reducing the prevalence of youth tobacco use. Perspectives on the effect of Tobacco 21 legislation were related to personal tobacco use, exposure to tobacco users, and beliefs that family members provide tobacco products to youth. Open-ended responses identify potential obstacles in implementing Tobacco 21 legislation in Appalachia. Future research should attempt to include youth perspectives when designing and implementing tobacco control policies and examine family members as sources of tobacco products for youth

Randomized Extended Kaczmarz for Solving Least-Squares

We present a randomized iterative algorithm that exponentially converges in expectation to the minimum Euclidean norm least squares solution of a given linear system of equations. The expected number of arithmetic operations required to obtain an estimate of given accuracy is proportional to the square condition number of the system multiplied by the number of non-zeros entries of the input matrix. The proposed algorithm is an extension of the randomized Kaczmarz method that was analyzed by Strohmer and Vershynin.Comment: 19 Pages, 5 figures; code is available at https://github.com/zouzias/RE

Follow-up of patients with Hodgkin's disease following curative treatment: the routine CT scan is of little value

A total of 10-40% of patients with Hodgkin's disease relapse following initial curative therapy. Intensive follow-up is resource intensive and may identify false relapses. We performed a retrospective review of all patients with Hodgkin's disease treated at our centre between 1990 and 1999 to evaluate the utility of the components of follow-up. A total of 107 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The median age was 33 years and the median duration of follow-up 38 months. The total number of follow-up visits was 1209 and total number of CT scans 283. There were 109 suspected relapses of which 22 proved to be true relapses. Of the latter, 14 were identified clinically, six radiologically and two via lab testing. The routine CT scan detected only two relapses (9%), yet accounted for 29% of the total follow-up costs. Based on data from our centre, the cost per true relapse was $6000 US, 49% incurred by radiological tests. The majority of the cost of follow-up was incurred by routine follow-up (84%) as opposed to the investigation of suspected relapses (16%). We conclude that most true relapses are clinically symptomatic and that the routine CT is an expensive and inefficient mode of routine follow-up

What's in a name? An experimental examination of investment behavior

A fundamental unresolved issue is whether information asymmetries underlie investors' predisposition to invest close to home (i.e., domestically or locally). The authors conduct experiments in the United States and Canada to investigate agents' portfolio allocation decisions, controlling for the availability of information. Providing participants with information about a firm's home base, without disclosing its specific identity, is not sufficient to change investment behavior. Rather, participants need to know a firm's name and home base. Additional evidence indicates that participants are more familiar with securities in which they chose to invest than other securities. Familiarity is a key determinant of investment behavior

Application of Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CA) to Library Instruction

The cognitive apprenticeship model, which links apprenticeship-learning techniques and classroom practices, offers a flexible framework for planning and implementing library sessions. Originally developed by educators Collins, Brown, and Newman, cognitive apprenticeship illuminates the thought process of teachers and other experts while they deliver instruction in problem solving, close reading, critical thinking, or other higher order reasoning. This paper discusses how librarians can employ the cognitive apprenticeship model to collapse the thought process associated with library research into components that are comprehensible to all levels of students

A Reflective Teaching Journal: An Instructional Improvement Tool for Academic Librarians

This paper explores the practice of keeping a reflective teaching journal to improve classroom instruction. Reflective practice and journaling have a rich tradition in the teacher education field. Accordingly, the teacher education literature provides the starting point for this case study of keeping a reflective teaching journal for library sessions given to first semester freshmen enrolled in a learning community. The journaling process proved useful by helping to improve instruction while also providing a mechanism to link theory with practice