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Preparing the College Student Inside the High School Athlete: The Secondary Teachers' Perspective of how Identity Influences Academic Engagement of Male Student-athletes of Revenue Producing Sports in Core Academic Classes
Get PDFAcademic performance of male student-athletes who participate in revenue-producing sports is typically lower than that of other athletes and non-athletes at the collegiate level. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of high school teachers in core academic classes who educate these students. The goal of this descriptive phenomenological study was to determine how identity, specifically athletic identity, influenced academic engagement in core academic classes.
This study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with five educator participants from a Houston area suburban school district. Five emergent themes were revealed through the experiences of the educator participants: Connections, On the Campus, In the Classroom, Outliers, and Undercurrents. Within the revealed themes, educator participants of on-level core academic classes discussed the presence of strong athletic identities, while educators of advanced academic classes felt there was a mix of more balanced student-athlete identities and stronger academic identities. Also shared was the sentiment that due to the high expectations of athletic program, particularly football, the majority of male student-athletes in that sport are not getting the necessary academic preparation to be successful at the postsecondary level. Also, educator participants mentioned feelings of frustration and pressure to help athletes remain eligible for competition while also getting inconsistent support at times from coaches.
In addition to providing topics for future research, results from this study may provide stakeholders with a framework for improving academic success rates for male student-athletes participating in revenue-producing sports. Educator participants offered suggestions to address expressed concerns. These suggestions include educator workshops for teachers of student-athletes, campus and district personnel assigned solely to student-athletes, and the combination of summer workouts with academic camps
Lowering the State Illegal per se Limit for Alcohol from 0.08 to 0.05
Get PDFAlcohol-impaired driving is a significant problem in the United States, particularly Texas. Every day someone is killed on a Texas roadway, many of which are fatalities involving alcohol-impaired drivers. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 24 percent of the motor vehicle fatalities in Texas in 2021 were related to alcohol-impaired driving (Texas Department of Transportation, 2022). Since 1999, the illegal per se limit for blood alcohol concentration in Texas has been 0.08g/dL. The state of Utah is the only state in the United States to lower its illegal per se limit to 0.05g/dL, but there are approximately 100 other countries around the world that have a per se limit of 0.05g/dL or lower (Fell & Voas, 2017). There is significant research to show there is clear impairment at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05g/dL. Several important driving tasks are affected by the time a person reaches a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05g/dL. As a result of this impairment, the risk of being involved in a crash increases dramatically as the blood alcohol concentration increases. In addition to the loss of life, there is also an economic impact resulting from these entirely preventable crashes. Alcohol-impaired driving crashes cost the United States billions of dollars each year. Lowering the illegal per se limit in Texas from 0.08g/dL to 0.05g/dL would act as a general deterrent to alcohol-impaired driving and, as such, would cause a notable decrease in alcohol-impaired driving crashes and fatalities. The significant economic cost and societal harm can be mitigated by reducing the number of alcohol related crashes. Texas needs to be more aggressive in addressing this dangerous and preventable behavior. The State of Texas should lower the illegal per se limit for alcohol from 0.08g/dL to 0.05g/dL to deter alcohol-impaired driving and ultimately save lives.LEMI
African American Women and the College Presidency: Leadership Pedagogy Through a Social Justice Lens
Get PDFAfrican American women college presidential leadership is more than bureaucratic or technical leadership styles, or a set of skills or traits. African American women college president’s leadership is pedagogical, meaning it is rooted in teaching and learning. The purpose of this research investigation is to amplify the role that African American women educators have played historically and contemporaneously as social activists and pedagogues on college campuses and how these historical experiences influence the social justice leadership approaches and resiliency of present-day African American women college presidents. Eight African American women college presidents participated in this qualitative case study and data was collected through pre-interview surveys, semi-structured interviews, and reviewing one multimedia source from each participant where they made written or verbal statements addressing social justice, equity, or inclusion. The data collected from this study were analyzed and interpreted through the theoretical frameworks of Black womanist pedagogy and endarkened feminist epistemology. Combined, these two theoretical frameworks provided evidence of the conceptual framework of Black Womanist Leadership Pedagogy. Results of this study revealed that African American women college presidents employ a social justice and equity framework to their leadership approaches by keeping a daily commitment to social justice work, leading and designing programs with a social justice and equity mindset, providing consistent communication and messaging about social justice and equity to university constituents, and by being intentional with incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging into their campus culture. Through learning about the social justice leadership practices of African American women college presidents, this study fills a gap in educational leadership literature by providing research on the social justice leadership practices specifically enacted in higher education
GRIT AS A PREDICTOR OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND PERSISTENCE AMONG GED STUDENTS ENROLLED IN AN ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM
Get PDFAdult learners seeking to earn a high school equivalency (HSE), like the general
education development (GED), must often overcome major difficulties to persist
(Comings, 2007) and succeed academically (Hansman & Mott, 2010). Adult learners
might require hundreds of hours of training in GED programs to make up for early
departure in high school (Comings et al., 1999). Students who complete 100 or more
hours of instruction are more likely to earn an HSE certification (Reder, 2014). However,
50% of individuals who enroll in GED programs exit before engaging in 35 hours of
instruction (McDonnell & Soricone, 2014). Only 11% of adult learners in GED programs
attended classes continuously for a year (Comings et al., 1999). Researchers have
asserted persistence, a noncognitive skill, is critical to adult learners reaching their longterm goals (Credé et al., 2017) and academic achievement (Abuhassàn & Bates, 2015).
Grit is a noncognitive skill associated with overcoming barriers, persistence, and goal
commitment over an extended period of time (Duckworth, 2006). Studies have examined
grit in the context of primary (Sutter et al., 2022), middle (Sturman & Zappala-Piemme,
2017), and secondary schools (Eskreis-Winkler et al., 2014). However, examining grit
and its relationship to various outcomes of GED students is almost nonexistent in adult
education literature (Pemberton & McCadden, 2019).
The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between
the eight-item Short Grit (Grit-S) Survey scores, persistence, and academic achievement,
of adult learners enrolled in a GED program at a large urban nonprofit. The data were
v
examined using a series of chi-square tests to explore the relationship between grit
(independent variable) and academic achievement and persistence (dependent variables).
Grit was collapsed into three ordinal categories for comparison. The results revealed that
the association between grit, academic achievement, and persistence was not statistically
significant
DOC AS A DRIVER OF MICROBIAL DIVERSITY IN AN EAST TEXAS FLUVIAL NETWORK
No full textFreshwater stream ecosystems are rich in microbial life and various environmental factors may influence the diversity of these microbial communities. By virtue of the continuous flow of water from upstream to downstream, rivers form a metacommunity that is linked by downstream dispersal of organic materials and microorganisms. River ecosystems are further complexed with microhabitats such as the benthic zone and the water column. Drawing from ten months of sample data collected from a forested headwater site, this study analyzed correlations between microbial diversity and nine potential drivers: dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and composition, centimeters of rainfall, river kilometers, and water chemistry (total nitrogen, nitrate, and phosphorous). It was found that the diversity of benthic samples was positively correlated with spectral slope ratio and no other variable, while water column diversity was correlated with SUVA254, DOC, rainfall, and negatively correlated with phosphorous in the temporal study. Microbial diversity patterns were also analyzed along a longitudinal continuum (upstream to downstream). The diversity of water samples was found to be positively correlated with Sr, DOC, and river kilometers in the longitudinal study. A clear pattern emerged in which there was higher diversity at the unimpacted large river site than in the headwater sites, but that diversity began decreasing once the river flowed into an artificial reservoir, and especially so downstream of the dam itself
Drosophila melanogaster Larval Tumors Activate Jak/STAT Facilitating Fat Body Changes and Tumor Growth
No full textGenetically induced invasive tumors in Drosophila melanogaster larvae release large amounts of cytokine-like ligands known as Unpaired 1, 2, and 3. The Unpaireds are the only known canonical activators of the Jak/STAT pathway in Drosophila. Jak/STAT is a highly conserved signaling mechanism that is known to be activated in many types of cancers. We have found that the invasive scribRNAi/RasG12V tumor model we use causes changes in the fat body, namely a progressive decrease in cell number, a decrease in glycogen storage, and activation of Jak/STAT signaling. We hypothesized that the tumor-released Unpaireds are contributing to these observed phenotypes. Through the use of RNAi, we reduced the expression of each of the Upd ligands independently in the tumor and determined that they had differential effects in the larvae. Upd1 knockdown increased cell loss but had unchanged tumor size and STAT activation. Upd2 knockdowns resulted in a decrease in tumor size with unchanged cell number or STAT activity. Upd3 knockdown rescued fat body cell loss, reduced tumor-induced STAT activation, and decreased tumor size. Interestingly, none of the knockdowns resulted in a change in glycogen storage. To address the depleted glycogen stores, tumor-bearing larvae were treated with the diabetes medication, Metformin, which has recently become of interest to researchers for use in cancer treatments. Although, what anti-cancer properties Metformin might possess are not yet clear. Surprisingly, Metformin did not affect glycogen stores although tumor size was reduced in larvae treated with Metformin prior to the initiation of tumor growth. What’s more, established tumors treated with the same concentrations resulted in increased tumor size. These results suggest that tumor growth is independent of glycogen level and that there needs to be more research to determine what mechanisms Metformin could be interacting with to affect tumor size. Furthermore, even with a decrease in tumor size, animals still exhibited all the characteristics of the control tumors, suggesting that the systemic effects in the larvae may not be wholly dependent on tumor growth
Nest Box Microclimates and Parental Care Behavior: A Suburban and Rural Comparison
No full textNest boxes are often used to supplement or replace lost natural cavities. Although nest boxes are a common tool in conservation, their microclimates can be different from natural tree cavities, and they may be less insulative than natural cavities. Potentially hotter and drier artificial cavities may influence incubation, feeding behavior, and fitness of birds using them. This effect can be further exacerbated in habitats with less canopy cover such as urban and suburban areas. By comparing nest boxes used by Thryothorus ludovicianus (Carolina Wren) nesting in a suburban and a rural habitat, I hoped to better understand how nest-box microclimates can affect incubation behavior. I monitored internal and external temperature and humidity of the nest boxes with active wren nests. Video recordings of incubation behavior and feeding behaviors were taken during morning and afternoon sessions for two-hour periods. Despite differences found in temperature and humidity, I did not find significant differences between incubation and feeding behavior correlated with the differences between the rural and suburban habitats. Clutch size was found to be correlated with temperature while percentage of eggs hatched, and fledgling success were not strongly correlated with temperature, humidity, or habitat. With expanding urbanization and rising temperatures, understanding how to manage nest boxes to better aid the animals that use them is essential
A Tale of Two Markets: Analyzing Differences in Legal and Black Market Marijuana Consumers
No full textThis study investigates the characteristics of marijuana dispensary purchasers to clarify the demographic and potential behaviors associated with this particular group. Upon analyzation, there do appear to be two distinct group of marijuana users; Those who purchase from the black market, and those who purchase from a legal dispensary. Specifically, males are less likely than females to buy from a dispensary, while higher income and education levels correlate with increased dispensary purchases. Moreover, factors such as ag of first marijuana use and levels of risky behavior influence dispensary
purchasing behavior. Furthermore, dispensary purchasers appear to exhibit lower rates of certain drug use compared to non-dispensary purchasers, specifically the use of cigarettes, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Criminal activity engagement also appears to be influenced by dispensary purchasing, specifically that of selling drugs, assaulting others, and driving under the influence. This study underscores the importance of understanding consumer characteristics within legal marijuana markets with the attempt to help better inform policy-making decision and strategies to bring black market users to a legal market
"John Buffett’s Diary Entries While “Visiting” Pitcairn 1868 to 1872"; Abstract
No full textDescription of a session presented by Donald Albert at the 2024 International Conference on Social Science, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies.Environmental & GeosciencesPitcairn Islands Research Statio
Mastering ECGs: An ECG Learning Library and Atlas for Medical Students
Get PDFUnlock ECG Mastery: Free Medical Student Library & Atlas. Say goodbye to ECG struggles! Developed by medical students at Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (SHSU-COM), this free library and atlas equip you with all you need for expert ECG interpretation. The library comprises two PDF files: one featuring individual traces with annotated measures of waves, segments, intervals, and interpretations, and another providing a comprehensive guide to using the atlas effectively, mastering ECG reading and interpretation methods, and a glossary defining observed variances. Hyperlinks on how to take 6-eads and 12-leads ECGs are provided. Start mastering ECGs like a pro today! 2024 CC-BY-NC-ND.Mastering ECGs: An ECG Learning Library for Medical Students, this interactive ECG atlas empowers medical students to excel in ECG interpretation. Crafted by medical students at Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (SHSU-COM), this robust resource addresses the complexities of interpreting ECGs, a vital skill for diagnosing cardiac conditions and informing treatment decisions, using simplified and systematic approaches. Medical students often struggle with time constraints in mastering ECG concepts, and finding standardized approaches and quality resources for practice. Our resource features numerous real-life case scenarios with both 6-lead and 12-lead ECG tracings, offering in-depth analysis of waveforms, segments, and intervals. Each ECG trace is accompanied by detailed interpretation, supported by supplemental text material outlining eight essential steps for mastering ECG interpretation and a glossary explaining identified variations. Consistent use of a systematic approach for ECG interpretation is crucial for developing clinical knowledge and preparing for board exams.SHSU-College of Osteopathic Medicin