Critical issues in library management : organizing for leadership and decision-making

Papers from the thirty-fifth Allerton Institute. [October 24-26, 1993]Includes bibliographical references

Introduction to Occasional Paper no. 198/199

published or submitted for publicatio

NON-PARAMETRIC AND SEMI-PARAMETRIC TECHNIQUES FOR MODELING AND SIMULATING CORRELATED, NON-NORMAL PRICE AND YIELD DISTRIBUTIONS: APPLICATIONS TO RISK ANALYSIS IN KANSAS AGRICULTURE

Parametric, non-parametric, and semi-parametric approaches are commonly used for modeling correlated distributions. Semi-parametric and non-parametric approaches are used to examine the risk situation for Kansas agriculture. Results from the model indicate that 2000 will be another difficult year for Kansas farmers, although crop income will increase slightly from 1999. However, unless another supplemental infusion of government payments occurs, crop income is expected to be the lowest since 1992.correlated distributions, non-parametric modeling, semi-parametric modeling, Kansas agriculture, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

It’s Not Brain Science… Or Is It? How Early Second Language Learning Can Impact Future Achievement

Capstone paper from 2015 spring MPA program. Instructed by Allen Zagoren.We live in a global economy, yet U.S. citizens lag far behind in the knowledge of other countries’ languages, cultures, customs, geographies and peoples. Equipping the next generation with foreign language skills as well as knowledge of other cultures and customs will not only provide increased career opportunities for individuals but also aid in the future success of the U.S. economy. The U.S. educational system does not stress the learning of language beyond English: K-12 curriculum is rigidly mandated, budgets are tight, class time and teacher training is limited, and language programs are often among the first to be cut during budget crises. There is a time period when a child’s brain is developing and most receptive to learning, and that is early childhood. If the seed were planted in a child before he/she enters kindergarten to learn the basics of a foreign language and culture, perhaps that knowledge could be nourished throughout the rest of their lives, preparing those children to embrace cultural differences, live and compete more successfully in an evolving and diverse world, and be better equipped for later education. Besides examining the current state of foreign language education in the U.S. and how learning occurs, the benefits of foreign language learning in relation to business and human relations are examined in this paper. Multiple solutions to solving the foreign language deficit are mentioned including a proposal for an early-learning language program

The Effects Of A Responsibility-based Character Education Program On Middle School Academic Achievement And School Climate At An International School In East Africa

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a character education program on middle school student academic performance, effort and attitude about their school located in an international setting. Middle school students at the participating international school were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those students in the experimental group classes received a series of 12 lessons focusing on the character trait of responsibility. Those students in the control group classes did not receive these lessons. Twelve responsibility-based lessons were presented to students in the experimental group. Student academic grades in six different academic subjects, effort scores in six different academic courses, and student attitude concerning school climate constituted the dependent variable. The literature review and the general results of this study indicate that there are many factors that may influence student academic performance, effort or attitude. Various character education programs which have been designed to be integrated into school curricula as part of pre-existing courses or as stand alone programs have had varying levels of success. There is limited quantitative data available to support the claims that many existing programs make related to their effectiveness. The data collected from this study were also inconclusive making it difficult to generalize the findings beyond the scope of this study. While certain middle school grade levels showed statistically significant improvement in some academic disciplines or effort improvement in some subjects it would not be appropriate to generalize the findings based on this investigation. Implications of this study and suggestions for future investigations are discussed

Exploring The Attitudes Of Criminal Justice And Homeland Security Students Regarding Assessment Techniques In Online Courses

Substantial increases in online education since the start of the 21st century requires investigation in to how online courses differ from traditional face-to-face courses. It is particularly important to discover how online students learn and which assessment methods they prefer and see as most beneficial to online learning. Using online assessment techniques that correspond with those rated highly my online students can lead to better student experiences in online courses and improved persistence rates in online courses, which have traditionally be lower compared to face-to-face courses. The participants for the study sample included online students majoring in Bachelor of Science degree programs of Criminal Justice, Police Studies, Homeland Security, and Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies within the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University This quantitative study examined these online students\u27 attitudes toward fifteen assessment techniques commonly used in online courses. The study participants were asked to complete an online survey where they rated each assessment technique from 1 to 6 based on their personal preference for the technique. They were then asked to rate each assessment technique from 1 to 6 based on the learning value of each technique. The mean ratings were order ranked with the top five rated assessment techniques for personal preference being were Multiple Choice Questions, Matching Questions, Reflections/Issue Papers, True-False Questions, and Short Answer Questions. The top five rated assessment techniques for learning value were Reflection/Issue Papers, Multiple Choice Questions, Short Answer Questions, Matching Questions, and Discussion Boards. A series of pair-samples t-test were conducted comparing the mean ratings of each assessment technique\u27s personal preference mean rating to its corresponding learning value mean rating. Significant differences were found between the personal preference and learning value mean ratings of Journals, Research Papers, Group Papers/Portfolios, Journal Article Reviews, Wikis, Multiple Choice Questions, Fill-in-the-Blanks Questions, and Essay/Discussion Questions. The data collected was finally tested to compare each assessment technique\u27s mean personal preference rating to its corresponding learning value mean rating to determine a significant correlation relation existed between them. Tests revealed positive correlations between the personal preference mean rating and the learning value mean rating of each assessment technique

Quality and Quanity of Surface Runoff from a Cropland Area in South Dakota During 1970

In the past, pollution from agricultural sources has received far less attention than pollution from industrial and municipal sources. Point sources of agricultural pollution such as livestock confinement feeding operations have received more attention by researchers than the runoff from cultivated cropland. The 1967 Conservation Needs Inventory performed by the United States Government reported 1,438 million acres of non-federal rural land, including 437.6 million acres of cultivated cropland. Every year 500,000 acres of cropland are lost from productive use as cropland due to soil erosion. An average of one million acres of urban land and other built-up areas such as highways are developed each year. Most of this land must come from agricultural areas. Because the population of the United States is approximately doubling every forty years, it is obvious that more food will have to be produced on less land. In order to produce sufficient food on less land, it appears that existing cropland will have to be farmed more intensively with greater use of fertilizers and pesticides. However, the general public fears that the use of these substances will have extremely harmful effect on the overall environment. The problems of pollution from cropland runoff are indeed complex because the runoff comes from such a large land area. Furthermore, it cannot be readily collected and treated in the same manner as domestic sewage or industrial wastes. Research to more fully evaluate the characteristics of runoff from agricultural areas would appear to be the first step in approaching the problem. The general objective of this investigation was to determine the characteristics of runoff from an agricultural drainage basin located in eastern South Dakota. The specific objectives of this investigation were: 1. To determine the average concentrations and total loads of polluting materials in runoff from a small agricultural drainage basin located near Brookings, South Dakota, during 1970. 2. To investigate the variations in concentrations of various polluting materials with such factors as rainfall intensity, runoff volume and soil cover conditions