Cultivating Inclusive Learning Communities with Careful and Caring Conjunctions

This essay was originally the invited lecture I shared at ICCTE 2016. I arrived there, prepared to share about inclusive learning communities and our responsibilities to both model and teach our emerging educators to plan, teach, and assess diverse learners with inclusive and responsive practices. But just as I had to listen to the Sabbath whisper, I could not ignore the and whisper. So I ask that as you finish reading this essay and we go our separate ways, remember that we are embodied conjunctions. We are an important part of our language system that communicates so much about our culture. We may not get the amounts or forms of attention that we think education warrants and we may grow weary of all of our stakeholders telling us how to improve our practices. But we matter. Our voices can make a difference. You matter. Your voice will make a difference

Gate protective device for insulated gate field-effect transistors

Device, which protects insulated gate field-effect transistors, improves reliability through utilization of layers of conductive material on top of each alternating semiconductor material region. Separation of layers is necessary to prevent shorting out junctions between alternating regions

Public confidence in policing: a neo-Durkheimian perspective

Public confidence in policing has received much attention in recent years, but few studies outside of the United States have examined the sociological and social–psychological processes that underpin trust and support. This study, conducted in a rural English location, finds that trust and confidence in the police are shaped not by sentiments about risk and crime, but by evaluations of the values and morals that underpin community life. Furthermore, to garner public confidence, the police must be seen first to typify group morals and values and second to treat the public with dignity and fairness. All these findings are consistent with the perspective that people are Durkheimian in their attitudes towards crime, policing and punishment—a perspective developed here in this paper

Does Tax Curriculum or VITA participation correlate with improved REG Section CPA Exam Scores?

Abstract Students who graduate with an accounting degree often take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam to increase their earning potential and gain prestige within the accounting profession. The Regulation (REG) section of this exam exemplifies a student\u27s knowledge in the United States’ tax filing system and makes up a quarter of the total exam. Accounting students often participate in Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs which may provide an avenue of preparation for the REG section of the CPA exam. This research aims to identify if there is a connection between universities that offer a VITA program and their respective students\u27 success on the REG section of the CPA exam. Tax course options are also analyzed to determine if the amount of tax courses taken also impacts the REG section score of the CPA exam. This was done using a combination of public data consisting of different universities’ first-time pass rates on the REG section and a survey that was distributed to professors regarding their accounting and VITA programs. No difference was found in REG pass rates between those universities that offered VITA and those that did not offer VITA. However, this research did find that when students attended a university that offered elective tax courses, they scored higher on the REG section of the CPA exam. This means that universities could begin offering additional tax courses if they wish to see an improvement in their students’ CPA exam scores. The results of this research can be used to communicate to universities what level of significance VITA programs have on their accounting students’ future success

Engineering block copolymers for advanced lithography

Block copolymer (BCP) nanoimprint lithography is an attractive possible solution for manufacturing hard disk drives with information densities greater than 1 Tbit/in². At these densities, individual bits must be smaller than 10 nm, and BCPs can be engineered to spontaneously self-segregate into features on this size scale. In addition to small feature sizes, industrially relevant BCPs should have simple orientation strategies and possess good etch contrast and resistance. Several silicon-containing BCPs were investigated due to the increased etch contrast and resistance imparted by silicon. The synthesis, characterization, and thin film studies of three silicon-containing BCPs are detailed. Due to the surface energy mismatch between the silicon-containing block and the organic block, solvent annealing and top coats were needed to perpendicularly orient these materials. While these materials possess many advantages, they each have shortcomings that prevent them from being ideal industrial materials. A derivative of poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) was engineered to take advantage of its simple orientation procedure while decreasing the smallest achievable feature size. The synthesis and characterization, including determination of the [chi] parameter, of this BCP are detailed. The thin film assembly of this BCP was also successfully demonstrated, and this dissertation concludes with several ideas for future studies.Chemical Engineerin