Spillovers from the Gridiron: Evidence from Women’s Collegiate Basketball

This paper empirically investigates whether schools with an intercollegiate football team experience greater attendance at women’s basketball games. The empirical question is important because if football increases attendance and hence revenue to other sports then these benefits should be included when considering the net benefits of football. Using a cross-section of 329 Division IA women’s basketball programs from 2005-2006, we find that having a football program corresponds with an increase in per-game attendance of approximately 500 people. This spill-over benefit of having a football team should be credited against the costs of starting and maintaining a football team.NCAA, college sports, positive externalities

Explanatory Case Study: Transitions of Highly Mobile Students From Military Families to Public Non-Military Elementary Schools

The purpose of this explanatory case study is to review the supports provided by public elementary schools for highly mobile students from military families. When military families are uprooted and move to new locations, the children are forced to form new social ties as well as adapt to a new curriculum and learning objectives. The research questions that were addressed in the research for this study included: (a) How are issues of military mobility addressed at the study school sites so students are academically and socially successful? (b) What problems are noted by school staff when working with highly mobile students and how are these problems handled? (c) What training initiatives are implemented at the school study sites to help staff successfully support the transition of military dependent children? There were three schools from a school district in the southwestern part of the United States that has military population of almost 50% that were utilized as for the study site. The student achievement data for 3rd through 5th grade students was examined to confirm the overall performance of the study site schools. Data was collected in the form of interviews with school staff members and the parents of military children. The interviews provided data on the current strategies utilized with military students when they transfer into the district. The data revealed that although strategies are being implemented at the study site schools, there is no consistency across the district with the strategies that are utilized and there has been very limited training for staff members in the district for working with military families

Fight Blight Right: Using Code Lien Foreclosure Auctions to Rehabilitate New Orleans\u27 Deteriorating Housing Stock

This thesis explores how code lien foreclosure auctions can be an effective alternative to demolition in fighting urban blight, by providing excellent investment opportunities for individuals interested in rehabilitating blighted properties. By analyzing the system as it is being implemented in New Orleans under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, its major benefits and weaknesses are identified. Property data collection and analysis demonstrates that this is a market-driven strategy, whose implementation will work best in strong or strengthening real estate markets. Further, existing structures (as opposed to vacant lots) near historic commercial corridors are most likely to sell. Recommendations for future improvements are suggested based on identified weaknesses. This research contributes to a better understanding of a preservation-minded blight fighting strategy, which has the potential to become a major method of property disposition nationwide

American Culture’s Shifting Perspective on Female Homosexuality From the 1970’s to the Present

Homosexuality has been a subject of controversy since before it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1973 as a mental disease. Female homosexuality holds special significance because women have generally been victims of sexism, both subtle and blatant, which has led to harmful effects, whether through individual or interpersonal discrimination (Angela R. Gillem et al, 2000). These issues began to be recognized when the second wave of feminism came into play, also known as the Women’s Movement (Biaggio, 2000). There have been few investigative studies focusing on attitudes toward homosexual individuals, and fewer that look into gender differences in terms of how people perceive homosexuals. There are extremely few studies focused specifically on Lesbianism. This literature review will look at published research that focuses on female homosexuality and will examine shifts in perspectives that have occurred over the past thirty years. It will also provide suggestions for the next steps needed to increase acceptance of female homosexuality in American culture

Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Project

Offshore wind is a developing industry in the Central Coast with the advent of the future offshore wind project planned off the north coast of San Luis Obispo County. This senior design project aligns with the recently leased wind energy project as a detailed study on the structural design, geotechnical design, and construction of a single 14 MW floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) located 40 km NW of Morro Bay (NOAA buoy 46028). A preliminary design of a spar FOWT is presented in this project as a solution to the rapidly increasing water depth off the coast of Morro Bay, anchored to the seafloor by a single suction caisson. Key design parameters and methodologies are identified based on research projects and operating wind turbines to form the conceptual design that is in compliance with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) codes. The turbine tower and spar floating platform are designed against the ultimate limit states (buckling and yielding) per DNV. Mass estimations and worst-case environmental loading have been calculated to analyze the floatability and determine the required ballast to satisfy the intact stability in the hydrostatic analysis of the structure. Worst-case loading and upscaled scenarios were considered in the suction caisson design conservatively. Construction operations at the staging location of Port Hueneme also including a project execution schedule and cost estimate are outlined in the report to analyze the feasibility of the project

GM1 Ganglioside Modifies α-Synuclein Toxicity and is Neuroprotective in a Rat α-Synuclein Model of Parkinson\u27s Disease.

While GM1 may interact with α-synuclein in vitro to inhibit aggregation, the ability of GM1 to protect against α-synuclein toxicity in vivo has not been investigated. We used targeted adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) overexpression of human mutant α-synuclein (A53T) in the rat substantia nigra (SN) to produce degeneration of SN dopamine neurons, loss of striatal dopamine levels, and behavioral impairment. Some animals received daily GM1 ganglioside administration for 6 weeks, beginning 24 hours after AAV-A53T administration or delayed start GM1 administration for 5 weeks beginning 3 weeks after AAV-A53T administration. Both types of GM1 administration protected against loss of SN dopamine neurons and striatal dopamine levels, reduced α-synuclein aggregation, and delayed start administration of GM1 reversed early appearing behavioral deficits. These results extend prior positive results in MPTP models, are consistent with the results of a small clinical study of GM1 in PD patients that showed slowing of symptom progression with chronic use, and argue for the continued refinement and development of GM1 as a potential disease modifying therapy for PD