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The Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentives on Teacher Morale
No full textMany academic professionals have considered teacher morale and its influence on the school environment. Low teacher morale has been an issue for many years. As such, administrators have tried to find different means to help thwart this lull. Because the research suggests that low teacher morale negatively impacts student performance and teacher retention, it is important for educational leaders to consider ideas designed to bolster teacher morale. Hence, this qualitative study attempted to find out the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic incentives on teachers’ morale. The theoretical framework for this study was threefold. First, David McClelland’s Needs Theory of Achievement, Affiliation and Power provided a framework for consideration of how individuals are motivated in a work environment based on their different experiences. Next, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory highlighted the importance of researchers’ consideration of the five different types of [teacher] needs being met in a specific order. Third, Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation-Hygiene provided a framework to analyze the factors that cause satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace. For this study, purposive sampling techniques were used. All participants were certified classroom teachers with five or more years of experience in urban school districts located in Georgia and Tennessee. Individual interviews were conducted using an open-ended questionnaire via ZOOM over a period of three days. In an additional session via email, member checking was utilized for accuracy and validity purposes. Results revealed that motivation and morale were increased in 100% of teachers studied based on two research-based strategies designed to enhance and/or improve teacher morale. These included team-building activities and a plethora of creative incentives offered by administrators. Findings also indicated that many teachers favored intrinsic incentives such as verbal praise and recognition in addition to other non-tangible items. Teachers also enjoyed receiving extrinsic incentives. These included actual gifts and other tangible rewards from their administrators. These findings showed that the use of both intrinsic and extrinsic incentives are viable avenues to help increase the morale of teachers
Modeling and Analysis of Color in a Multiple Attribute Task Battery Simulation for Human-Machine Teaming
No full textARAM ABUBAKER, development of a Color Model Analyzer for Modeling and Analyzing Color in a Multiple Attribute Task Battery Simulation for Human-Machine Teaming (under the direction of Dr. Charles D. McCurry). In Human Machine Teaming (HMT), human and machine collaborate with one another to accomplish a common goal or task. In complex HMT applications, chances of stress, human error, and fatigue is very high when humans operate advanced machine which sometimes may cause financial loss or even the loss of human life. The purpose of this dissertation is controlling human cognitive state by developing a dynamic color scheme for human machine interfaces to increase human performance, productivity and decrease human errors. Studies have shown that color can influence human performance and mood. In this study, a color model is developed for the TSU-MATB simulator to investigate color correlation with human performance. An experiment is designed to collected human performance and color information. Results show that the experimental setup produced minor changes on color with respect to performance and such data was not conducive to machine learning. An alternative color selection method was developed to select a color for a performance range based on the majority of the votes for the colors of each task
Role Theory and Education Governance in Local Boards of Education in Tennessee
No full textThere are over 13,000 local school boards in the United States, yet there is little research on these institutions of local government—particularly from a qualitative perspective. This dissertation uses constructivist grounded theory methodology and data from 26 interviews with local school board members in Tennessee to develop three categories that encompass the board members’ perceptions of their roles. The interviews occurred during the 2020–21 school year and also shed light on board members’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The categories that emerged from the data suggest directions for further study as well as practical improvements in board member onboarding, training, and communications with their constituents
Cover Crops in Field-Grown Nurseries: Impacts on Tree Growth, Pest, and Beneficial Arthropods
No full textThe purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the performance of cover cropping in ornamental nursery production systems. The first experiment evaluated the growth of red maple trees at two different transplant timings into a crimson clover, Fall Transplant and Spring Transplant. The trees in the Spring Transplanted treatment grew more compared to the Fall Transplanted treatment.In the second experiment, the establishment of two winter cover crops, crimson clover and triticale, was evaluated using Broadcast or Drill planting methods. The triticale established better with Drill method while crimson clover established equally well when Drilled or Broadcast. No significant differences were observed in soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, or arthropod community composition indices between the treatments.The third experiment consisted of the final two years of a four-year study on red maple trees grown with or without cover crop during the first two years post-transplant. The initial two-year study established the success of the cover crop in protecting trees against flatheaded borer damage, but with a negative impact on tree growth. The total number of damaged trees during years 3 and 4 confirms that trees are more susceptible during the first two years after transplant. A total of 24 attacks on Herbicided trees, 2 attacks on Herbicide + insecticide trees, 6 attacks on Cover Crop trees and 0 attacks on Cover Crop + Insecticide trees were recorded. Trees in Herbicide rows remained one season ahead in growth compared to the trees under Cover Crop rows.A fourth experiment was conducted as a follow-up to the original cover crop study. Four treatments were evaluated: Cover Crop, Early Kill Cover Crop, Herbicide and Mulch Mat. The Early Kill treatment was evaluated to minimize competition between the cover crop and trees while still providing protection against borers. Unfortunately, the Early Kill treatment did not prevent borer attacks. Over the two-year evaluation period, the Early Kill treatment had more attacks than the Herbicide treatment (16 vs. 11 attacks). The Cover Crop and Mulch Mat treatments had 6 attacked trees each
Jordan\u27s Public Policy Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Insight and Policy Analysis
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how the Jordanian government has responded and continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilizes the interpretive policy analysis approach through document analysis. The analysis showed that Jordan created social protection policies to assist people who lost their jobs or whose work was suspended due to the coronavirus. The economic policies build solidarity and facilitate the private sector’s recovery. The health care measures firmly applied included lockdown, wearing masks, and restrictions on gatherings and public events. Jordan uses hard power and imposes sanctions on any violation that threatens the lives of others
Weed Control in Nursery Crop Cutting Propagation
No full textWeeds are a major problem in cutting propagation and compete with the main crop for water, sunlight, and nutrients and hence reduce the growth and marketable quality of the crops. Due to the high labor cost of hand weeding, pre-emergence herbicides and mulches can be alternative methods for weed control in the propagation environment. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of pre-emergence herbicides and mulches in stem cutting root development and weed control. Cuttings of ‘Nanho Blue’ butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii ‘Nanho Blue’), ‘Dwarf Burford’ holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Dwarf Burford’), and \u27Mariesii\u27 viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum \u27Mariesii\u27), ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica ‘Catawba’), ‘Phantom’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ’Phantom’) and the weed species oxalis (Oxalis corniculata), large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), bittercress (Cardamine hirsute), and mulberry weed (Fatoua villosa) were used in the study. Among all the pre-emergence herbicides, oxyfluorfen + oxadiazon was found to be safe in most of the crop species and also provided broad spectrum weed control. Furthermore, isoxaben, isoxaben+dithiopyr and flumioxazin are effective in controlling broadleaf weeds. Isoxaben and isoxaben+dithiopyr reduced rooting in butterfly bush, but they did not have any negative effects on other crop species used in the study. Among all the mulches used in the study we found that pine pellets can be a good option for controlling weeds invipropagation without affecting the rooting of the cuttings. Paper pellets also provided good results on suppressing weed populations without affecting the rooting of cuttings (except crape myrtle). The results from our study will provide growers with additional methods of controlling weeds in propagation while maintaining healthy and high-quality rooted cuttings
HST PanCET Program: A Complete Near-UV to Infrared Transmission Spectrum for the Hot Jupiter WASP-79b
Get PDFWe present a new optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-79b. We observed three transits with the STIS instrument mounted on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), spanning 0.3–1.0 μm. Combining these transits with previous observations, we construct a complete 0.3–5.0 μm transmission spectrum of WASP-79b. Both HST and ground-based observations show decreasing transit depths toward blue wavelengths, contrary to expectations from Rayleigh scattering or hazes. We infer atmospheric and stellar properties from the full near-UV to infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-79b using three independent retrieval codes, all of which yield consistent results. Our retrievals confirm previous detections of H2O (at 4.0σ confidence) while providing moderate evidence of H− bound–free opacity (3.3σ) and strong evidence of stellar contamination from unocculted faculae (4.7σ). The retrieved H2O abundance (∼1%) suggests a superstellar atmospheric metallicity, though stellar or substellar abundances remain consistent with present observations (O/H = 0.3–34× stellar). All three retrieval codes obtain a precise H− abundance constraint: log() ≈ −8.0 ± 0.7. The potential presence of H− suggests that James Webb Space Telescope observations may be sensitive to ionic chemistry in the atmosphere of WASP-79b. The inferred faculae are ∼500 K hotter than the stellar photosphere, covering ∼15% of the stellar surface. Our analysis underscores the importance of observing UV–optical transmission spectra in order to disentangle the influence of unocculted stellar heterogeneities from planetary transmission spectra
Soil C:N:P stoichiometry in tropical forests on Hainan Island of China: Spatial and vertical variations
Get PDFSoil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are three important elements. The study of stoichiometric relationships of soil C, N, and P in tropical forests on Hainan Island, China could improve our understanding of nutrient cycling and provide valuable information for forest management. Soil samples were collected at five different depths from 0 to 100 cm at 100 sites among four different forest types on Hainan Island, and total C, N, and P concentrations were measured. Soil C and N concentrations and soil C:P and N:P ratios declined from the surface soil layer to the deeper soil layers and soil P and C:N ratio had relatively small variations among different depths, due to that soil C and N were mostly controlled by biological processes such as photosynthesis and N2-fixation, while P was more influenced by bedrock. Large spatial variations were found for soil C, N, P concentrations and their ratios. Soil C and N concentrations were significantly influenced by longitude and vegetation cover, while soil P concentration and C:P and N:P ratios were significantly controlled by latitude. This study produced a comprehensive data set of soil C, N, and P stoichiometry, and their variation patterns and controls in the tropical forests. The information generated here could help improve ecosystem models for better understanding of forest element stoichiometry, ecosystem productivity, and plant-environment relationships
