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Academy Based Learning: The High School Education You Wish You Had
Get PDFThis Capstone Project focuses on the impact of high school academies on student success. This is important because high school academies provide students with cross-curricular experiences related to a specific pathway or field they are interested in. An evidence-based argument is offered that high school academies provide specialized programs catering to students\u27 interests and career aspirations. These academies provide students with a comprehensive and challenging curriculum that enhances their academic performance and prepares them for college and career readiness. By focusing on a particular subject or field, students receive a high-quality education that fosters their skills and knowledge in a specific area. Additionally, these academies allow students to gain hands-on experiences to succeed after high school. The primary stakeholder perspective chosen were four high school principals and two academic counselors because they are the ones who foresee their respective institutions and how to give their students the best education possible. Three theme options emerged from an analysis of the data and were explored as ways to address the issue presented
Identification of Lacking Support Systems Relevant to the Job Performance of School Counselors
Get PDFThis capstone report displays a comprehensive report about the struggles and demands of school counselors and how various factors such as: the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) code of ethics and standards, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and school counselor advocacy and support, all play a part in school counselors daily lives. This report also describes the use of intersectionality theory with all of the previously stated factors, allowing researchers to better understand the complexity of the role of school counselor. Knowing these factors, this report asks: What support systems most impact the job performance of school counselors? In order to answer this question, the report describes a systematized review method that identified eight sources that described multiple support systems that impact school counselors\u27 job performance. After analysis of the results of these sources, it is concluded that wellness opportunities, caseload size and appropriate/inappropriate roles, are key to positively impacting a school counselor’s job performances. Future research should focus on how implicating more positive aspects of these characteristics can alter the overall well being of school counselors, and the entirety of the students they take charge of
Diversification of refugia types needed to secure the future of coral reefs subject to climate change
Get PDFIdentifying locations of refugia from the thermal stresses of climate change for coral reefs and better managing them is one of the key recommendations for climate change adaptation. We review and summarize approximately 30 years of applied research focused on identifying climate refugia to prioritize the conservation actions for coral reefs under rapid climate change. We found that currently proposed climate refugia and the locations predicted to avoid future coral losses are highly reliant on excess heat metrics, such as degree heating weeks. However, many existing alternative environmental, ecological, and life-history variables could be used to identify other types of refugia that lead to the desired diversified portfolio for coral reef conservation. To improve conservation priorities for coral reefs, there is a need to evaluate and validate the predictions of climate refugia with long-term field data on coral abundance, diversity, and functioning. There is also the need to identify and safeguard locations displaying resistance toprolonged exposure to heat waves and the ability to recover quickly after thermal exposure. We recommend using more metrics to identify a portfolio of potential refugia sites for coral reefs that can avoid, resist, and recover from exposure to high ocean temperatures and the consequences of climate change, thereby shifting past efforts focused on avoidance to a diversified risk-spreading portfolio that can be used to improve strategic coral reef conservation in a rapidly warming climate
Know Before You Go: A Community-Derived Approach to Planning for and Preventing Sexual Harassment at Oceanographic Field Sites
Get PDFSexual harassment is a pervasive problem on oceanographic research vessels and while conducting fieldwork in general. A variety of factors contribute to inadequate protection against sexual harassment, such as poor training in prevention, support, and response; remoteness of field sites; academic hierarchies that reinforce uneven power dynamics that extend to fieldwork; and multi-institutional teams with distinct policies or reporting structures that can lead to confusion in reporting and responding to incidents in the field. In compromising individuals’ physical and mental health, sexual harassment can negatively affect research expeditions. For example, harassed individuals may decide to refrain from working on complicated team-based tasks, which can be a safety issue. A broader concern is that sexual harassment deters talented people from pursing or maintaining employment in ocean science. Harassment must be treated with the same gravity as research misconduct and safety policy infringements. When planning a research expedition, science team leaders are responsible for the safety of their team and other colleagues aboard and would benefit from resources aimed at helping team leadership create a plan to ensure safety and inclusivity. To address this resource gap, 18 participants in the Workshop to Promote Field Safety in Ocean Sciences, convened by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and held May 17–18, 2022, in Washington, DC, developed a checklist for use by scientific leaders and others to assist in planning for participant safety and to prevent harassment the field. The checklist specifies the timing of, and who is responsible for, specific actions that should be taken to improve safety while conducting fieldwork, whether on a research vessel or on land. It also provides additional resources and suggestions for leaders on how to amend the checklist to address their specific fieldwork situations
Influence of Intrinsic Factors on At-Sea Behavior of Late Chick-Rearing Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes Forsteri) at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica
Get PDFIn this study, I described the at-sea behavior of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) during late chick-rearing at Cape Crozier. By analyzing data from nine penguins, I investigated how intrinsic factors, including sex, size, and body condition influenced their behaviors. Penguins exhibited mean trip durations of 10.6±3.4 days, covering a daily distance of 55.7±8.0 km. Penguins predominantly performed dives within the upper 200 meters of the water column (90.7±26.5%), with a smaller proportion of dives (9.3±2.0%) reaching greater depths. Deeper dives were typically associated with shallow bathymetry. Penguins conducted an average of 1,860±681 dives with maximum depths of 455.8±32.6 m and durations of 12.9±2.4 minutes. Penguins spent 66.4±14.8% and 43.9±4.4% of their time at sea resting and diving.
Penguins with similar behaviors were categorized into groups: Group I and Group II traveled west, north, and northeast, and many traveled to the Ross Bank. I found significant differences in diving behaviors between the groups and sexes. The composition of these groups was influenced by sex. Group I mostly comprised males, while Group II were females and one unknown sex. Females displayed higher dive frequencies per day (Females (F): 186±17, Males (Males (M): 151±4), shallower maximum depths (F: 432.2±29.4 m, M: 476.8±12.8 m), and shorter durations (F: 3.2±0.7, M: 3.9±0.3). Possible explanations for the observed differences between male and female penguins include energetic requirements, prey preference, physical characteristics, and niche differentiation, which can shape their distinct foraging behaviors.
Furthermore, results from this study indicate that penguin behaviors were also influenced by the physical characteristics and condition of their bodies. This finding suggests that there may be an optimal body condition for achieving greater diving depths. Penguins with intermediate body conditions may possess a more efficient physiological adaptation for sustained deep diving, enabling them to access resources inaccessible to individuals with lower or higher body compositions.
This study advances our understanding of late-chick-rearing penguins and the influence of intrinsic factors on their behavior. The findings indicate that emperor penguins exhibit divergent strategies influenced by sex and physical condition, leading to variations in dive behavior and bathymetry use. These sex-based disparities in penguin behavior highlight distinct ecological roles for each sex within the species. These findings provide a novel description that underscores the remarkable adaptations of emperor penguins in successfully navigating dynamic environments at Cape Crozier
Developing Healthy Relationships
Get PDFThe youth population in the public school system in San Benito County are involved in an increasing number of unhealthy relationships. The Youth Alliance is a non-profit organization located in Hollister, CA. Their mission is to provide innovative and culturally relevant services that strengthen and enrich youth, families and the community. This agency is working together with the elementary, middle and high schools within San Benito County to help support young men and women to create and maintain healthy relationships. The Healthy Relationships Workshop is a workshop-based group held for youth 12 and older at Rancho San Justo Middle School and the Youth Alliance agency that aims to support these efforts. Once the need was identified, the curriculum and existing groups were studied. From there the relationship workshop agenda and goal were created. Pre and post surveys were also created to measure the success of the workshop. It was expected that at least ten students would attend each workshop and at least half of the students would have an increased knowledge of being able to tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. The results of the workshop were, the number of attendees exceeded the expectation, as did the percent of students with an increased knowledge, with 88 percent of students finding the workshop very helpful. It is recommended that the Youth Alliance Agency provide a continuing relationship group on a weekly basis, both at the agency and within the schools. It is also important that they have a professional, such as a therapist, on site, that is available and accessible to these students, to help support them in their relationship needs
Enhancing Recovery with the Use of Animals
Get PDFAvenues is a program designed to help adults lead happier and more productive lives by overcoming mental health and chemical dependency challenges. The problem is, participants are not fully prepared for independent living following these programs. The plan was to provide participants a therapeutic approach to gaining hands-on experience while combating symptoms of mental illness with the use of animals, with hopes that participants would be better prepared for life after leaving the program. If the project met the expected outcome, the agency would see a lower rate of participants returning to the program and a higher success rate of employment and life management skills among participants. Lack of time, unmeasurable data, and self-discharging patients made it impossible to complete all tasks for this project to be successful. Additional time is needed to move forward and see if the project will be successful in reaching the expected outcomes
Quantifying impacts of competition and demand on the risk for fertilizer plant locations
Get PDFFertilizer is an essential commodity traded in international and domestic markets and spatial competition is important feature impacting interfirm rivalry. In the case of North American fertilizer, numerous plants have been announced to either expand or open new plants (nitrogenbased fertilizer plants), exerting competitive pressures on an industry with surplus capacity but highly competitive in terms of production costs and technology. Proposed new plants and expansions are being induced by changes in the composition of crops, changes in the price of natural gas which affects the cost of producing domestic anhydrous ammonia. Developments in the fertilizer industry have become more volatile in the post-COVID period, and concurrent with the escalation in fuel prices, the Ukraine invasion, related embargoes on Russian trade, the world’s largest exporter, and operations of the Grain Corridor. The purpose of this study is to quantify risks for plant expansion (brownfield and greenfield) of nitrogen fertilizer plants in North America, given the spatial competition and the corresponding dynamic market boundaries. Specifically, we quantify risks associated with fertilizer plant expansions, identify the optimal locations of new plants, and characterize spatial competition as a result of new entrants. A model is specified that integrates Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data into a stochastic mixedinteger network spatial optimization model using Monte Carlo simulations to account for risk in the random variables. The results are reprocessed into GIS for interpretation. The impact of risk in these variables results in market boundaries that are random. Specifically, competition for these new plants has embedded risks for new entrants on the probability of production and market penetration
The Benefits of Using the Bible as a Historical Reference to Teach History and Literature
Get PDFThe purpose of this capstone is to examine the benefits of teaching by using the Bible as a reference in both the primary grades in and the public schools. Given the factual evidence about correlations with academic success and Biblical pedagogy, this senior capstone research project brings awareness to educators about the benefits of that the Bible can be a valuable historical reference to teach history and literature to students in the classroom. Through the use of literature review and a case study, the findings revealed that using the Bible to teach history and literature, purely is a great source not only for religious purposes, but also increases academic success considered constitutionally acceptable
Mental Health on Hispanic High School Students
No full textThis capstone project focuses on the mental health of Hispanic high school students. Mental health is an essential aspect of overall health and well-being. “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices” (SAMHSA 2023 ). I created a workshop for high school students in Salinas focusing on the Hispanic community since the population in Salinas is around 80% Hispanic. I delivered information about mental health and how important it is to be aware of it and their symptoms in order to receive help from professionals or speak to an adult. It is important for them to see how COVID-19 caused mental health to spike a lot during and after the pandemic and time of isolation. I also highlighted how mental health can be a challenge for the Hispanic community since they have many struggles like financial instability, lack of opportunities, and language barriers. I provided the students with information that will help and support those around them by giving them examples and information about where they can get mental health help if needed. I conducted my workshop at the High School Rancho San Juan in Salinas with a Spanish-speaking class that has a high number of Hispanic student