Teaching them all: An exploratory mixed methods study of African American students\u27 perceptions of their middle school\u27s culture

Research indicates school culture impacts student achievement. At Teach Them All Middle School (TTA), an achievement gap exists between African American and White students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of African American students concerning the school culture at TTA. The research questions explored the perceptions of these students regarding the role of school leaders in shaping a school culture that is academically supportive, as well as their perceptions of the actual academic support, academic rigor, and encouragement they received from administrators and faculty. A sequential exploratory mixed methods strategy was used to quantify and describe the perceptions of 8th-grade African American students at TTA. Participants (36 students) completed a school culture survey and individual in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistical analysis of survey results revealed students have an overall positive perception of the school culture at TTA. Triangulation of results showed a strong view by students of the school administrators\u27 influence in establishing the school culture present at TTA. Constant comparison analysis of coded interview data revealed two themes: (a) the willingness and availability of teachers to help students even after school, and (b) the students\u27 belief that problems can be brought to the attention of administrators and/or teachers for resolution. The study\u27s key recommendation is for TTA to ensure its school culture exhibits high academic expectations for every student, especially African American males. The study contributes to positive social change by giving voice to a stakeholder group, African American students, who research shows have had a limited one in school improvement efforts. The study also guides schools in utilizing insight from these stakeholders to establish school cultures with high quality teaching and learning

Facies Analysis of Terrebonne Basin Using Vibracores and CHIRP Seismic Data

This study was conducted in upper and lower Madison Bay as well as Lake Boudreaux in Terrebonne basin located in southcentral Louisiana. This region is part of the recently abandoned Lafourche delta complex (0.6-0.8 kyr). Much of coastal Louisiana is comprised of formerly active delta complexes of the Mississippi River that have undergone subsequent reworking. As more restoration actions are being considered to combat land loss in coastal Louisiana, exploring the framework of a recently abandoned delta complex could aid in these plans. Utilizing core descriptions and CHIRP seismic data, facies analysis was performed to produce cross sections that display the recent depositional history within the region. The facies described construct the profile of a regionally transgressive abandoned delta complex. Growth fault interaction with the shallow stratigraphy was not noted within these three study areas, however, the morphological effects of an abandoned delta complex were observed in each study area

Black Voices Matter

This article examines the role of voice in the writing of African American students from the African American Language (AAL)-speaking culture. Drawing on data from a qualitative study, this article presents empirical evidence that is likely to inform existing and new initiatives to support the voice and writing practices of AAL-speaking students, and by extension, all culturally and linguistically diverse students. This rarely considered insight, I argue, is important as in recent decades there have been a growing number of calls for instructional material that meets the language and literacy development needs of second language speakers and writers. By generating implications that offer rich insight into the nature of teaching voice in writing to African American Language (AAL)-speaking students, and by extension all culturally and linguistically diverse students, this article addresses this call

Athletic Participation: A Test of Learning and Neutralization Theories.

Athletics has been regarded as a means of encouraging youth to build character, discipline, and develop healthy habits. However, literature has emerged that asserts athletics do not prevent deviant behaviors, but instead, influence one to commit deviant acts. As such, this research examined effects of athletics on the commission of deviant behaviors via learning and techniques of neutralization theories. Subjects for this project included 325 college students from a southern regional university. Data were generated through the use of a self-report questionnaire, which measured variables pertaining to self-reported deviant behaviors including perceptions of peer deviance, neutralizing indicators, and sports participation. The findings suggest some support for each theoretical model, differential association and techniques of neutralization. Both theoretical models were supported, in general, with learning theory having the most support. When participation in sporting activity was considered, however, the results consistently showed no effect on various types of self-reported deviant behavior

Towards a Taxonomy of Aspect-Oriented Programming.

As programs continue to increase in size, it has become increasingly difficult to separate concerns into well localized modules, which leads to code tangling- crosscutting code spread throughout several modules. Thus, Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) offers a solution to creating modules with little or no crosscutting concerns. AOP presents the notion of aspects, and demonstrates how crosscutting concerns can be taken out of modules and placed into a centralized location. In this paper, a taxonomy of aspect-oriented programming, as well as a basic overview and introduction of AOP, will be presented in order to assist future researchers in getting started on additional research on the topic. To form the taxonomy, over four-hundred research articles were organized into fifteen different primary categories coupled with sub-categories, which shows where some of the past research has been focused. In addition, trends of the research were evaluated and paths for future exploration are suggested

Positive solutions and J-focal points for two-point boundary value problems

Cone theory is applied to a class of two-point boundary value problems for ordinary differential equations. Criteria for the existence of extremal points are obtained. These criteria are in terms of the existence of nontrivial solutions that lie in a cone, and in terms of the spectral radius of an associated compact linear operator