Profile Likelihood Biclustering

Biclustering, the process of simultaneously clustering the rows and columns of a data matrix, is a popular and effective tool for finding structure in a high-dimensional dataset. Many biclustering procedures appear to work well in practice, but most do not have associated consistency guarantees. To address this shortcoming, we propose a new biclustering procedure based on profile likelihood. The procedure applies to a broad range of data modalities, including binary, count, and continuous observations. We prove that the procedure recovers the true row and column classes when the dimensions of the data matrix tend to infinity, even if the functional form of the data distribution is misspecified. The procedure requires computing a combinatorial search, which can be expensive in practice. Rather than performing this search directly, we propose a new heuristic optimization procedure based on the Kernighan-Lin heuristic, which has nice computational properties and performs well in simulations. We demonstrate our procedure with applications to congressional voting records, and microarray analysis.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures; R package in development at https://github.com/patperry/biclustp

Understanding the First-Year Experience of Traditional-Aged, College-Ready Students at a Private, New England Liberal Arts College

The current study’s research problem concerns the forty-year trend of college-ready, traditional-aged students stopping out of undergraduate programs across the United States. While literature concerning gender theory, the college transition, emerging adulthood, and college student development provide a foundation for considering the problem, there have been very few studies conducted concerning the FYE of this study’s participants, a set of five white cisgender males. Understanding their FYE at a substantive level will lead to further research and hopefully open pathways to increasing retention. The present study collected significant data concerning the daily experience of five students with the hope of answering three research questions: 1) How do college-ready, traditional-aged male students experience the first year of postsecondary education at a small liberal arts college in Maine? 2) How can we understand the first-year experience of college-ready, traditional-aged male students at a small liberal arts college in Maine through the lens of Tanner’s theory of recentering? and 3) What is the impact of campus support services on the experience of college-ready, traditional-aged male students in their first year at a small liberal arts college in Maine? The analysis was conducted using grounded theory and case study. The study’s conclusion is that students in transition to college who exhibit social resilience; a capacity for self-reflection; a willingness to reset priorities; and who set a tangible goal that extends beyond the first-year experience are more likely to persist beyond the first year

“Circumstantially Volatile”: A narrative study of the lived first-year experience at a New England liberal arts college

College-ready, traditional-aged undergraduate students in the United States have been stopping out at an increasingly higher rate over the last forty years. Many students stop out after the first year, which has led researchers to focus on the first-year experience (FYE) as a way of understanding the trend. While the FYE literature, complemented by research in gender theory, the college transition, emerging adulthood, and college student development provide a foundation for considering the problem, there have been very few studies concerning the FYE of white males. Understanding the FYE at a substantive level for this population will lead to further research and hopefully open pathways to increasing retention. The study at the center of this paper addressed the research question, “How do college-ready, traditional-aged male students experience the first year of postsecondary education at a small liberal arts college in Maine?” Over the course of nine months, from September 2017 to May 2018, participants responded to over forty researcher-generated text messages and engaged in three semi-structured qualitative interviews and one brief survey. Data were collected, organized through NVivo, and then expressed in narrative form. Analysis was conducted using grounded theory and case study. One participant withdrew from the college; another participant struggled significantly but persisted; and three other participants developed throughout the FYE and entered their second year confident in their ability to succeed. The study suggests that students in transition to college are more likely to persist beyond the first year if they 1) exhibit social resilience; 2) possess a capacity for self-reflection; 3) demonstrate a willingness to reset priorities; and 4) set a tangible goal that extends beyond the first year

Critting The Crit

[EN] This paper critically examines the role of the standard method of assessment for architectural students internationally, known as the ‘crit’. It examines the pedagogical theory underlying this approach whereby students pin up their work and make a presentation on it, and receive verbal feedback on it, in front of a room of their peers and academic staff. Recent critiques of this hundred-year old approach are also discussed, and the reality of the ‘crit’ is examined through analysis of practice. This leads into a discussion of a semester-long piece of action research in this academic year in which academic staff have piloted new methods of formative and summative student-centred assessment without a ‘crit’. Feedback from students and academic staff has been extremely positive, and is discussed along with the lessons learned from this pilot semester. The next steps in this ongoing piece of action research are also briefly outlined.http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/HEAD/HEAD18Flynn, P. (2018). Critting The Crit. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1307-1315. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD18.2018.8195OCS1307131

The Market At Work

I believe my project will be the best project for me using both of my majors. It is a great way for me to take some of the knowledge I learned here at BGSU and apply it to a real life scenario I could pursue in future years. Investing at a young age is very important to help raise a lot of money for my retirement, something that I am learning right now in class. People coming out of college usually aren’t very concerned with investing at such a young age. I want to take advantage of this opportunity that is in front of me and make sure that I don’t wait to long to invest. In order to invest, I have to be knowledgeable so I don’t lose a lot of the money. Obviously for this project, I will not have a retirement plan, but this will definitely be a portion of my investments when I am older. I want to be able to learn about the stock market so I can become a “master” when I am older. This simulation will show if I should invest in the stock market or not when I graduate. If I have success or feel comfortable doing it, which I plan on executing, then I fully anticipate doing this when I am older. This project will be great practice for me and will be a great project to show a lot of information that I learned here while at BGSU

Nike Marketing Strategy: A Company to Imitate

This paper takes an in depth look at how Nike became the largest company in its industry and how other companies across various industries have tried to model Nike’s plan for success. At the heart of Nike’s business plan are the company’s unique marketing strategy and culture that significantly helps foster innovation and creativity. First I will go into a brief history of the company and its most popular brand. Then an in-depth analysis will be provided of these two important pillars of success. The next part of the paper will focus on how other companies in the same industry and different industries have used similar strategies to try and improve their own profits and products

St. Brigid\u27s Nursery- Second Year Architecture

Poster with details of students\u27 project on locating a nursery school in inner city Dublin. St Brigid’s Nursery school is currently located in Mountjoy Square. The second year architecture students explored the possibility of designing a new custom built nursery school on the existing site and a number of new locations in the North East inner city. The sites were chosen in conjunction with Dublin City Councilhttps://arrow.tudublin.ie/civpostbk/1043/thumbnail.jp