What is the relationship between students who drop out and their environment

This research examines the school dropout rate, including the impact of low academic achievement and social implications upon those who dropout. Interviews from school professionals and parents highlight the correlation these individuals may see between low academic achievement and social experiences with the dropout rate. In addition to discussing the implications of dropout rates, the research discusses potential solutions to the problem, including ways school professionals may improve the learning environment. The findings indicate that an engaging and motivating environment will improve the outcome for high risk students to stay on track for graduation. Withdrawal from academic engagement as well as lack of involvement in the school setting are both indicators of school dropout. The research suggests that moving away from a ‘one size fits all’ mentality into a personalized education system will have a positive impact on student success. Excellent schools foster the developmentally responsive environment that high-risk students need in order to continue a trajectory toward excellence.https://openriver.winona.edu/urc2018/1058/thumbnail.jp

Rism-based pressure-dependent computational spectroscopy

Spectroscopic measurements are an indispensable tool in chemical analysis; even under extreme conditions such as high hydrostatic pressures, they can provide valuable insights. Theoretical methods that can reliably reproduce observables in solution can be used to validate the obtained results. A common theoretical model is the Reference Interaction Site Model (RISM), which was used in this work. In the first part, a previously developed method for calculating IR frequencies with the embedded cluster(EC)-RISM under equilibrium conditions was extended to non-equilibrium thermodynamics for IR spectroscopy. The pressure-dependent IR frequency shifts of TMAO and the cyanide anion were investigated as model systems. Furthermore, EC-RISM was used here for the first time to calculate EPR observables at ambient conditions. First, experiments with the geometrically optimized structure showed that EC-RISM gives significantly better results than a standard continuum calculation despite a large deviation from the experiment. A significant improvement in the direction of the experimental values was achieved by using a large number of snapshots from an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation (AIMD) instead of a single geometry. In general, in the context of the theoretical description of high-pressure effects on proteins, the critical question can be raised whether using force fields parameterized for ambient conditions is appropriate for high-pressure conditions. To answer this question, the pressure dependence of the peptide backbone was investigated in the third part, and the small molecules N-methyl acetamide (NMA) and Ac-Gly/Ala-NHMe were used as model systems. In this work, it was shown that EC-RISM is a suitable method of choice for the calculation of spectroscopic observables in solution. Especially when non-ambient conditions are to be examined, EC-RISM shows its strength since it is relatively easily extensible, e.g., high-pressure environments

Place-making from the urban palimpsest

Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft