The LAIR at East Texas A&M
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Exploring Principal Leadership Practices that Influence School Improvement Outcomes: A Descriptive Qualitative Study
No full textThis qualitative study explored the perceptions and leadership practices of middle school principals in Texas who led sustained improvement efforts on campuses previously rated as low performing. The purpose of the study was to understand how principals implemented strategic planning, monitored the implementation of those plans, utilized data to inform decisions, and overcame barriers to achieving academic growth. Grounded in the Effective Schools Framework and supported by distributed and transformational leadership theories, the study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of how leadership practices contribute to school improvement within high-accountability contexts. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative design with a two-phase data collection approach. Phase I involved an electronic questionnaire completed by twelve principals, while Phase II included in-depth virtual interviews with five principals who volunteered for further participation. Participants shared their strategic planning approaches, campus leadership structures, data use practices, and methods for overcoming resistance to change and promoting stakeholder ownership. The findings offer insight into how principals used vision alignment, stakeholder engagement, structured monitoring systems, data-informed interventions, and collaborative leadership to support sustained academic improvement. This study contributes to the existing body of research by highlighting the practical strategies and leadership dispositions necessary to lead turnaround efforts. The implications support leadership development efforts and policy recommendations that prioritize strategic thinking, shared accountability, and adaptive leadership practices across school systems
Effect of Thickness on Oxidation of Titanium at the Ti/Co\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e Interface
No full textUsing the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Ti/Co3O4 interface was inves tigated. Cobalt was oxidized ex-situ and a thin layer of Titanium deposited by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) on the Co3O4 substrate. The Ti/Co3O4 sample was annealed for several thickness of Titanium with varied annealing Temperatures. The interface of Ti/Co3O4 was characterized by XPS. Titanium gets oxidized into titanium TiO2and other suboxides), whilst Co3O4 gets reduced to CoO and elemental Cobalt. This study probed deeper into the threshold thickness for Ti beyond which it gets no more oxidized while closely examining the temperature effect of physical and chemical change at the interface. We will also look into details the effect of annealing and Titanium thickness on the Physi cal and structural changes at the interfac
Super Shoes Do Not Alter Jump Kinetics
No full textMarathon run times have been dropping rapidly in recent years and many believe that “super” shoes are the reason. “Super” shoes are made with light-weight, highly compliant and resilient midsole foam and a rigid carbon fiber plate. The material used for the foam can store mechanical energy, i.e., compliance, and return the energy, i.e., resilience (Worobets et al, 2014). The carbon fiber plates increase bending stiffness and changes the leverage of the ankle and metatarsophalangeal point, such that the body is propelled upward and forward (Roy & Stefanyshyn, 2006). Indeed, there is evidence that “super” shoes can improve running economy and thus performance in endurance running events, at least for those running at faster pace (Hoogkamer et al, 2018; Joubert & Jones, 2022). However, it is unknown if “super” shoes can improve jump performance. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine if “super” shoes affect jump performance, balance, and kinematics in NCAA Division 1 athletes. METHODS: Twenty-seven varsity athletes (10W: 175.0 ± 7.2 cm, 66.5 ± 8.3 kg & 17M: 180.4 ± 5.5 cm, 78.2 ± 10.7 kg) performed six movements within the DARI Motion system: 1) Vertical jump; 2) Unilateral vertical jump, left and right (L and R); 3) Drop jump; 4) Five hop, L and R; 5) Lateral bound, L and R; and 6) Stork balance with eyes open, L and R. Four racing shoes (three “super” shoes and one traditional control shoe) were tested. Following a familiarization trial in the participant’s own shoe, participants completed four more trials, one in each shoe in randomized order. Data was analyzed using a mixed general linear model, p \u3c 0.05. Significant differences were observed between the “super” shoes during the countermovement vertical jump, particularly in concentric right knee flexion at peak torque (p \u3c 0.001). While the “super” shoes altered knee flexion angle during peak torque, they did not significantly affect kinetics. Therefore, “super” shoes may not be advantageous for athletes looking to increase jump performance by manipulating peak torque and flexion angles of the knees and ankles
Fuel Adulteration Detection Using Open-Ended Coaxial Line and Circular Waveguide Techniques
No full textFuel adulteration, the practice of blending lower-quality substances like kerosene with gasoline, poses significant challenges for ensuring fuel quality and safety. This study investigates two electromagnetic-based methods for detecting such adulteration: the open-ended coaxial line method and the circular waveguide method. The results reveal that the open-ended coaxial line technique is particularly effective in detecting kerosene contamination, identifying levels as low as 10% by measuring changes in the dielectric constant of the gasoline-kerosene mixture. Operating in the frequency range of 0.25–1.25 GHz, this method captures subtle changes in permittivity. In contrast, the circular waveguide method evaluates contamination by monitoring shifts in the resonance frequency of the mixture within the 10.5–11.25 GHz band, effectively identifying higher levels of contamination exceeding 10%. The resonance frequency data from this method were analyzed using linear polynomial regression, achieving a high level of accuracy with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9883. These findings highlight the effectiveness of both methods in detecting fuel adulteration, with the open-ended coaxial line method showing higher accuracy in detecting lower contamination levels
Student Perceptions of Dual Credit in Relation to College Preparedness and Success in First-year College Students
No full textDual credit is a program that allows high school students to earn high school and college credit simultaneously during their high school academic careers. Dual credit has grown exponentially across the country over the years. It allows students to progress to a college credential quicker and with less cost while also providing a transitional foundation to students. Previous research has addressed many components of dual credit, but what is lacking is a look at dual credit influence through the student lens. Based on student perception, the purpose of the following quantitative study will be to determine the relationship between dual credit participation and preparedness and success during the traditional first year of college. The study began with the collection of data. A survey will be disseminated to all first-year college students at a 2-year institution who previously enrolled in dual-credit coursework. For the study, a student qualified as a dual-credit student if they had accumulated any number of dual-credit hours while in high school. The study correlated data using a multivariate statistical analysis based on responses to a survey administered to first-year students at a large community college in Texas. The survey focused on student perceptions and preparedness regarding components of dual-credit courses related to available resources, self-efficacy, and college readiness. Quantitative data collection involved existing measurements such as age, gender, high school grade point average, type of high school attended, and students’ views on the influence of dual credit on their college preparedness and success. These covariates were essential to provide data regarding any pre-existing affects on student success, self-efficacy, and perceptions. The data collected also examined students’ perceptions of their writing, math, and reading pre- and post-college readiness skills. The data and subsequent analysis from this study have the potential to enhance the current dual-credit programs significantly. By identifying potential changes, we can further strengthen the already robust dual-credit offerings across the state, providing even more benefits to students
The Impact of Singing and Purposeful Movement on Music Listening Skills in Fourth-grade Students
No full textOver the past 70 years, elementary music educators have increasingly used singing and purposeful movement to develop students’ listening skills. Research supports the benefits of both strategies, yet no study has directly compared their effectiveness. Additionally, no study has solely examined students’ ability to recognize and analyze the musical form of masterworks using these strategies. This quantitative, pretest-posttest experimental study aimed to determine the impact of singing and purposeful gross motor movement on elementary students’ critical listening abilities and to assess which method was more effective. Three instructional strategies were compared: listening only (control group), listening with singing, and listening with purposeful gross motor movement. To do this, three fourth-grade classes from a single school were tested on their ability to recall the titles of four masterworks and analyze their form after eight weeks of music lessons. Pretest and posttest data were analyzed to determine if a significant difference existed between the groups. Although students showed growth from pretest to posttest, the small sample is not likely to be representative of a larger population. The impact of the strategies cannot be precisely measured, and the most effective strategy cannot be concluded with certainty
Chemical Reactivity at the Ti/CoO Interface as Investigated by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
No full textThe chemical reactivity at the Ti/CoO interface has been investigated. Thin films of cobalt deposited on silicon substrate were oxidized in vacuum. Such an oxidation yields the formation of the CoO phase. Thin films of titanium were then deposited on the CoO substrates kept at room temperature. The technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used for the characterization of the constituents present at the interface. The 2p core levels of cobalt and titanium has been investigated. Chemical reactivity has been found to occur at the interface. The cobalt oxide was observed to get reduced to elemental cobalt, while the titanium overlayer was observed to get oxidized. A mixture of titanium dioxide and titanium sub-oxides was found to be present at the interface. An increasing amount of unreacted titanium was observed as the thickness of the overlayer was increased. The chemical reactivity of as a function of the thickness of the titanium overlayer and the substrate temperature was also studied. The interface width is observed to depend on the annealing temperature
Tea Party in Period Costume
No full textA black and white negative of people in period costume to celebrate the centennial of East Texas State University. Linda King is pictured on the left.https://lair.etamu.edu/scua-univ-photos-browse-all/2694/thumbnail.jp
Couple in Period Costume
No full textA black and white negative of people in period costume to celebrate the centennial of East Texas State University.https://lair.etamu.edu/scua-univ-photos-browse-all/2695/thumbnail.jp
Group in Period Costume Standing in Front of William Mayo Portrait
No full textA black and white negative of a person in period costume to celebrate the centennial of East Texas State University.https://lair.etamu.edu/scua-univ-photos-browse-all/2699/thumbnail.jp