Mathematical structures for decoding projective geometry codes

Imperial Users onl

Building Local Knowledge for Developing Health Policy Through Key Informant Interviews

Key informant surveys offer Extension educators a way to build knowledge about their local health systems and provide a catalyst for developing health policies. Key informant surveys of 138 leaders in 14 rural counties revealed the top 10 health goals across these counties. These goals are a starting point for public dialogues to develop a local health agenda and engage Extension in strengthening local partnerships around health education, intervention, and policy development

Building Local Knowledge for Developing Health Policy Through Key Informant Interviews

Key informant surveys offer Extension educators a way to build knowledge about their local health systems and provide a catalyst for developing health policies. Key informant surveys of 138 leaders in 14 rural counties revealed the top 10 health goals across these counties. These goals are a starting point for public dialogues to develop a local health agenda and engage Extension in strengthening local partnerships around health education, intervention, and policy development

Peer Tutoring in Middle School: How it Changes Student Achievement and Attitudes

Research literature shows that mathematics is a gatekeeper to success. Providing alternative opportunities for students to strengthen mathematical reasoning over algorithmic computations while problem-solving in a collaborative environment helps to prepare students to compete locally and globally. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how an afterschool Peer Tutoring Club (PTC) affected academic performances and attitudes of Grade 6, at-risk or “at-promise,” (Samuels, 2020), middle school mathematics students. The gap found in literature revealed a need for additional research involving rigorous multistep problem-solving within peer tutoring programs. This study collected data from 46, 1-hour, afterschool peer tutoring sessions between December 2017 and May 2018. Six PTC tutees were selected as participants. The participants received cross-age and same age peer tutoring while utilizing a district aligned curriculum that consisted of multistep problem-solving. This dissertation addressed the gap found in literature by collecting qualitative and quantitative data from four instruments: (a) district’s math pre/posttest, (b) Attitudes Toward Math Inventory (ATMI), (c) participants’ work, and (d) participants’ exit interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. The data was triangulated to answer the two research questions. The findings from the PTC study supported theory and empirical study evidence that peer tutoring improved academic achievement and attitudes toward math

Accessing Food in Rural Food Deserts in Iowa and Minnesota

The purpose of this research is to examine the food infrastructure (grocery stores and food safety net services) available to meet the food needs of people living in high poverty rural places. Random mail surveys (n=1,516), purposeful in-person surveys (n=665), and market basket food price surveys of 130 USDA Thrifty Food Plan items in 16 grocery stores in six rural counties in Iowa and Minnesota provide data for this analysis. We find that Iowa rural users of food safety net services are more likely to depend on others to get to the grocery store (5.6-6.2%) compared to similar population in Minnesota (3.1-3.5%). The general rural population is more likely to perceive local institutions are working together to solve food access problems than users of food safety net services. Minnesota average rural food prices are significantly higher than in rural Iowa grocery stores during similar time periods. Minnesota stores have significantly more costly fresh fruits and vegetables, canned fruits and vegetables, breads and cereal, milk and dairy products and meat and meat alternatives. We conclude that rural residents may share similar food infrastructure but experience it differently depending on income, food insecurity, food prices, transportation and how local government and church leadership engage in solving community food problems

Farmer beliefs and concerns about climate change and attitudes toward adaptation and mitigation: Evidence from Iowa

Agriculture is both vulnerable to climate change impacts and a significant source of greenhouse gases. Increasing agriculture’s resilience and reducing its contribution to climate change are societal priorities. Survey data collected from Iowa farmers are analyzed to answer the related research questions: (1) do farmers support adaptation and mitigation actions, and (2) do beliefs and concerns about climate change influence those attitudes. Results indicate that farmers who were concerned about the impacts of climate change on agriculture and attributed it to human activities had more positive attitudes toward both adaptive and mitigative management strategies. Farmers who believed that climate change is not a problem because human ingenuity will enable adaptations and who did not believe climate change is occurring or believed it is a natural phenomenon—a substantial percentage of farmers—tended not to support mitigation

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: The Roles of Trust in Sources of Climate Information, Climate Change Beliefs, and Perceived Risk

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers’ trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management)