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Lyrasis Grant White Paper
No full textCarlson, Douglas and Deborah Davis. “Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership: Catalyst Fund Final Report.” August 2024. Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections
Thomasville History Center - Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0106-1978.32.0113
No full text1 electronic records (PDF), 22 scans, 23 pages. 3202927 bytes.Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0106-1978.32-0113. Community Archives: Thomasville History Center – Merrill Papers. Series 2, Box 1978-32. Folder 12. Items 106-113. Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections
Thomasville History Center - Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0338-1978.32.0345
No full text1 electronic record (PDF), 29 scans (JP2), 31 pages. 4512690 bytes.Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0338-1978.32-0345. Community Archives: Thomasville History Center – Merrill Papers. Series 2, Box 1978-32. Folder 34. Items 338-345. Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections
Thomasville History Center - Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0071-1978.32-0085
No full text1 electronic record (PDF), 35 scans, 36 pages. 10023019 bytes.1. ca003_001_f008_1978.32.0072_notice-note_1921 - Brief Description: A small piece of paper indicating of a 30 days notice to W. H. Platt and Gaudy Realty Co. The note was written on the back of form to Dr. Jaes W. Groover, clerk of the Thomas County Superior Court. 2. ca003_001_f008_1978.32.0073_lot-notes_c1860-1880 - Brief Description: Some miscellaneous lot notes on the inside of a ripped envelope. There are names, locations, and land sizes. These may be notes of a transaction. 3. ca003_1978_32_p006-007_lot-notes_c1840 - Brief Description: Some handwritten lot details, names, dates, and some transactions between parties. On the back there seems to be some typewriting testing with many different keys being pressed. 4. ca003_1978_32_p008-009_lot-transaction_1894 - Brief Description: Very short notes of a lot transaction between R. W. D. to S. A. M. There is a location and date listed. 5. ca003_1978_32_p010-012_transaction-notes_c1880 - Brief Description: Many small slips of paper with details of multiple transactions. The final page has a long description, one can assume describing the lots in question. All of the notes are written on the back of mercantile forms. 6. ca003_1978_32_p013-014_legal-letter_1898 - Brief Description: A letter to Honor Chas. P. Hansell talking about an enclosed paper. The letter was from Muras Zuley and M. A. Herdin. - Notes: The handwriting makes the paperwork difficult to fully understand. 7. ca003_1978_32_p015-016_loan-follow-up_1916 - Brief Description: A typewritten letter to Mr. J. M. Ricketson asking if he would like to continue talking about a loan he had mentioned. President Earl S. Hurst invites him to Thomasville to talk about said loan. There are handwritten notes about lots on the back. 8. ca003_1978_32_p017_transaction-notes_c1926 - Brief Description: A slip of paper with handwritten notes of lot transactions. They are on the back of an old newspaper clipping that talks about The Childs Welfare and Acts. 9. ca003_1978_32_p018-019_insurance-notes_c1880 - Brief Description: On a couple of fire insurance forms from the Factors & Traders Insurance Company of New Orleans, Louisiana are handwritten notes. - Notes: It is unclear if the written notes are related to the insurance form. 10. ca003_1978_32_p020-023_lot-details_c1800-1900 - Brief Description: Three pages of handwritten notes of specific details of lot transactions. There are names, locations, and size details written out. - Notes: There are no specific dates written, so a very general window was put down. 11. ca003_1978_32_p024_lot-transaction_c1916 - Brief Description: A page of handwritten notes that look to describe transaction details. There are amounts, names, parties, and calculations on the page. 12. ca003_1978_32_p025-026_lot-transaction-notes_c1918 - Brief Description: On the backs of Vernon Law Book Company's Any Law Book Published forms, are details of what look to be lot transaction notes. 13. ca003_1978_32_p027_miscellaneous-notes_c1831-1847 - Brief Description: Miscellaneous notes containing names and dates. There are also parties mentioned, like the State of Georgia. - Notes: The notes are so shorthand that it is difficult to know what was intended with the notes. May have been a transaction. 14. ca003_1978_32_p028-035_lot-notes_c1864-1891 - Brief Description: On multiple long slips of paper, there are details of multiple parties' lots, some more with more description than others. Each one has a name and most have a date. Some pages have calculations and drawings. 15. ca003_001_f009_1978.32.0086_abstract-deed-return_1927 - Brief Description: Louis S. Moore writes back to Mr. Horace A. Field explaining he has looked over the abstract and is returning it along with four deeds and a bill for recording three of them. There are pages following that are handwritten details of the transactions
Thomasville History Center - Merrill Papers, Documents 1978.32.0051-1978.32-0060
No full text1 electronic record (PDF), 27 scans, 28 pages. 3032894
bytes.1. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0051_insurance-notes_c1850-1900 - Brief Description: Slips of paper with headers of the Home Insurance Company in New York. There are locations and amounts listed along with some names. - Notes: There are no specified dates, so a general window was put.
2. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0052_insurance-notes_c1850-1900 - Brief Description: A slip of paper with the header of the North British & Mercantile Insurance Company of London and Edinburgh. There are very simple notes written out.
3. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0053_notes_c1850-1900 - Brief Description: A slip of paper with notes on the back of a ripped insurance form. There are a couple names and details. - Notes: It is unclear if the written notes are related to the insurance form.
4. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0054_miscellaneous-notes_c1890 - Brief Description: Notes written on the back of multiple Correct Returns of Property for Taxation forms. Many names and details are recorded. - Notes: Due to the structure of the notes, it is difficult to decipher what the purpose of the notes are. Unsure if the contents of the notes deal with the forms on the front.
5. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0055_lot-location_c1900 - Brief Description: A typewritten paper describing a certain lot in the town of Boston, GA within Thomas County. The lot is a part of the transaction described and there are exact details specifying where it begins and ends.
6. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0056_transfer-deed_1916 - Brief Description: A typewritten page of details around the transfer of a security deed between three parties. Due to damage in the paper, there is no guarantee who is the original holder of the deed.
7. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0057_abstract-of-title_1826-1873 - Brief Description: A series of transactions for a lot involving numerous parties. All have their own details and names involved.
8. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0058_lot-transactions_c1880 - Brief Description: Two pages of lot transaction notes and details. There are names, acre sizes, and limited dates.
9. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0059_names-list_c1877-1884 - Brief Description: A long list of names with handwritten details on the back of each page. It seems some pages are missing as these are pages 13 and 14.
10. ca003_001_f006_1978.32.0060_returning-deed_1921 - Brief Description: A letter to Mr. C. W. Kirby about the returning deed to John Tripp and Fanny Evans. The letter is from Louis S. Moore
Superintendents in the South: An Examination of Grit, Commitment, and Retention
Full text linkThe United States has long struggled with retaining superintendents in public school districts, with a retention rate of only 32% to 43% over the past decade. The low retention rate is concerning as it can negatively impact the quality of education offered to students and staff morale. The twofold purpose of this research was to identify factors predicting superintendent retention and examine the relationship between grit, organizational commitment, and retention. A survey was distributed to 462 active superintendents during the 2022-23 school year using revised instruments for the Grit Short Scale and the Three-Component Model revised, as well as demographic questions and retention information. I used two quantitative approaches, Pearson correlation (RQ1) and binary logistic regression (RQ2), to analyze the relationships and predictability of grit and organizational commitment to superintendent retention. According to the study findings, continuance and organizational commitment were identified as predictors of retention. The findings indicated the combination of gender and district description as significant predictors of retention. The results of the study did not find any significant evidence to suggest grit played a role in predicting retention. The findings indicated strong positive correlations between grit and grit subscales (passion and perseverance) and organizational commitment and its subscales (affective and normative commitment). There was a positive association between grit and affective commitment. These findings can provide valuable insights for school boards, higher education leaders, and superintendent preparation program leaders in developing policies to enhance superintendents’ recruitment, selection, training, and leadership development.CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 Background1 Statement of the Problem 2 Purpose of the Study 4 Research Questions and Hypotheses 5 Theoretical Framework 6 Methodological Approach 8 Significance of the Study 8 Assumptions of the Study 10 Limitations of the Study 10 Definition of Terms 11 Organization of the Study 12 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 14 Superintendency History 14 Superintendency Role Evolution 15 Superintendent as School Board Clerk 16 Superintendent as Teacher-Scholar 17 Superintendent as Business Manager 18 Superintendent as Democratic Leader 18 Superintendent as Applied Social Scientist 19 Superintendent as Communicator 20 Gender Historical Perspective of the Superintendency 21 Superintendent Gender Gap 23 Gender Barriers in the Superintendency 25 Conceptualizing Superintendent Retention 26 Female Superintendent Retention 31 Superintendent Retention in Urban Schools 32 Superintendent Retention and Skill Set 33 Grit and the Current Study 34 Historical Conceptualization of Grit 34 Passion 36 Perseverance 37 Four Stages of Grit 38 Grit Scale 39 Grit and Superintendents 40 Grit and Retention 41 Organizational Commitment and the Current Study 46 Organizational Commitment History 46 Side-Bet Period 47 Affective-Dependence Period47 Multi-dimensional Period 48 Concept of Organizational Commitment 49 TCM of Employee Commitment 50 Affective Commitment 50 Continuance Commitment 51 Normative Commitment 51 TCM of Employee Commitment Scale 52 Organizational Commitment and Superintendents 52 Organizational Commitment and Retention 53 Grit and Organizational Commitment 58 Summary 59 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 61 Purpose of the Study 61 Research Questions and Hypotheses 61 Research Design 62 Population and Sample 64 Variables65 Data Collection 66 Instrumentation68 Grit-S Structure68 Grit-S Validity and Reliability 69 TCM of Employee Commitment Survey Structure 70 TCM of Employee Commitment Survey Validity and Reliability 71 Data Analysis 72 Missing Data 72 Confirmatory Factor Analysis 73 Correlation and Binary Logistic Regression Analysis 74 Statistical Considerations and Assumptions 76 Limitations of Research Design 76 Summary 77 CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 78 Introduction 78 Purpose and Questions78 Descriptive Statistics 79 Missing Data and Outliers 79 Frequency, Summary Statistics, and Normality 80 Validity 83 CFA for Grit-S 83 CFA for TCM Revised 84 Research Question 1 86 Research Question 2 87 H1: Passion and perseverance will predict retention 88 H2: Grit will predict retention 88 H3: Affective, normative, and continuance commitment will predict retention89 H4: Organizational commitment will predict retention 90 H5: Gender and district description will predict retention 91 Summary 92 CHAPTER V: FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 93 Summary of the Study 93 Background Information93 Purpose of the Study 94 Research Questions and Hypotheses 95 Findings and Conclusions 96 Descriptive Statistics 96 Research Question 1 98 Research Question 2 100 H1: Passion and perseverance will predict retention 100 H2: Grit will predict retention101 H3: Affective, normative, and continuance commitment will predict retention 102 H4: Organizational commitment will predict retention 104 H5: Gender and district description will predict retention105 Implications for Policy and Practice 108 Retention Practices 108 Recruitment and Selection Practices 109 Superintendent Development 109 School Board and Superintendent Association Policies 110 Limitations 111 Recommendations 111 Summary 112 REFERENCES 116.Hill, D.Bochenko, MichaelNobles, KathyEd.D.Educational leadershi
Assessing Secondary Curriculums' Impact on Postsecondary First Year Academic Performance Using Data Science Techniques
Full text linkRegional comprehensive universities offer accessible and diverse undergraduate educational programs, while grappling with funding cuts and affordability. The study’s first research question underscores the enduring importance of factors such as student characteristics, pre-college characteristics, and financial situations. The findings highlight high school GPA's (HS GPA) pivotal role in academic performance. Higher HS GPAs correlate with successful academic performance resulting in higher retaining likelihoods; conversely, lower HS GPAs are associated with academic struggles and increased departure likelihoods. HS curriculum variables also impact academic performance, notably in extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) models. The second research question centers on the algorithms’ predictive power. XGBoost and random forest models consistently outperform the other models in predicting GPAs. Prioritizing area under the curve values for retention, both XGBoost and random forest models are statistically comparable for developing predictive algorithms, despite facing challenges with low specificity rates. Only slight enhancements in predictions were detected in the upsample ensemble learning models.
Implications for practice underscore the importance of targeted interventions through leveraging data science techniques and machine learning algorithms to identify and allocate support resources for at-risk students. This research significantly contributes to the discussion on student success in higher education by providing practical insights and guiding evidence-based practices. As education evolves, integrating data science into strategic planning becomes pivotal for shaping the trajectory of student success initiatives.Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1 -- Statement of Problem 6 -- Purpose of the Study 7 -- Research Questions 8 -- Research Methodology 10 -- Significant of the Study 16 -- Theoretical Framework of the Study 17 -- Limitations of the Study 18 -- Definitions of Terms 20 -- Organization of the Study 24 -- Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 25 -- Regional Comprehensive Universities 25 -- Growing concerns for regional comprehensive universities. 27 -- Decline in traditional-age student population. 27 -- Changing demographics 29 -- Public’s perception of postsecondary education 29 -- Development of Attrition Theories 30 -- Spady’s undergraduate dropout process model. 31 -- Tinto’s institutional departure model. 31 -- Bean’s student attrition model. 32 -- Astin’s student involvement theory. 33 -- Characteristics Impacting Academic Performance 33 -- Student characteristics. 34 -- Gender. 34 -- Race and ethnicity. 38 -- Family educational background. 43 -- Locale 45 -- Education in rural areas. 48 -- Precollege characteristics. 52 -- High school curriculum quality. 52 -- High school GPA 56 -- Grade inflation concerns 59 -- Admission test scores 62 -- Financial situations. 65 -- Family financial income or situations 65 -- Financial aid 69 -- HOPE scholarship 76 -- Major declaration and grouping. 78 -- Institutional financial expenditures. 82 -- Data Science 85 -- Data mining and its application in higher education 87 -- Cross-validation methods 89 -- Model evaluation methods 90 -- Summary 93 -- Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 95 -- Research Design 97 -- Independent variables 97 -- Dependent variables 100 -- Participants 100 -- Instrumentation 101 -- USG institutional data 102 -- High schools’ CCRPI data 102 -- High schools’ EOC data 103 -- Institutions’ financial expenditures 105 -- Data collection 106 -- Data Analysis 107 -- Data preparation. 107 -- Descriptive statistics 108 -- Inferential statistics 108 -- Linear regression 109 -- Logistic regression 112 -- Support vector machine for regression and classification 114 -- Random forest 16 -- Extreme gradient boosting 117 -- Ensemble learning 18 -- Data science approach 118 -- Statistical Considerations and Assumptions 120 -- Considerations 121 -- Assumptions 122 -- Data imbalance 126 -- Data leakage 127 -- Data preparation 127 -- Summary 129 -- Chapter IV: RESULTS 131 -- Population Characteristics 134 -- GA public high school represented. 134 -- Institutional expenditures per FTE 135 -- Demographic characteristics 136 -- Descriptive statistics 139 -- Data Splitting and Imbalance 141 -- Preliminary Considerations and Assumptions 142 -- Considerations 142 -- Missing data. 142 -- Outliers. 148 -- Assumptions 152 -- Observation independence. 152 -- Linearity. 153 -- Normality. 160 -- Homogeneity of variance. 165 -- First Research Question 167 -- First-fall GPA 168 -- Linear regression 169 -- Assumptions for linear regression 172 -- Support vector machine with linear kernel. 177 -- Support vector machine with polynomial kernel. 179 -- Support vector machine with radial basis function kernel. 181 -- Random forest. 182 -- Extreme gradient boosting. 184 -- Variable importance comparison for first-fall GPA. 186 -- First-year GPA. 189 -- Linear regression. 189 -- Assumptions for linear regression 192 -- Support vector machine with linear kernel. 197 -- Support vector machine with polynomial kernel. 199 -- Support vector machine with radial basis function kernel. 201 -- Random forest. 203 -- Extreme gradient boosting. 205 -- Variable importance comparison for first-year GPA. 207 -- One-year retention. 209 -- Logistic regression 210 -- Assumptions for logistic regression. 214 -- Sampling modifications. 215 -- Testing data set. 222 -- Support vector machine with linear kernel. 226 -- Support vector machine with polynomial kernel. 227 -- Support vector machine with radial basis function kernel. 231 -- Random forest. 233 -- Extreme gradient boosting. 236 -- Variable importance comparison for one-year retention status. 239 -- Second Research Question 243 -- First-fall GPA 244 -- First-year GPA 249 -- One-year retention status 254 -- Original model 255 -- Downsample model. 260 -- Upsample model. 266 -- Summary 271 -- Chapter V: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, AND CONCLUSIONS 280 -- Overview of the Study 281 -- Related Literature 281 -- Data science. 282 -- Predictive factors. 283 -- Methodology 283 -- Participants 284 -- Variables Studied 284 -- Student characteristics. 285 -- Pre-college characteristics. 285 -- Financial situations. 286 -- Program of study. 287 -- Institutional expenditures. 287 -- Procedures 287 -- Summary of Findings 288 -- First research question. 289 -- First-fall GPA. 289 -- First-year GPA. 291 -- One-year retention status. 292 -- Second research question. 294 -- First-fall GPA. 294 -- First-year GPA. 296 -- One-year retention status. 299 -- Discussions of Findings 307 -- First research question. 307 -- Second research question. 309 -- Limitations of the Study 11 -- Implications for Future Research 315 -- Recommendations for Practice 316 -- Conclusions 318 -- REFERENCES 320.Nobles, KathyPate, JamesBrockmeier, LantryEd.D.Education in Curriculum and Instructio
Readiness Programs in Title 1 High Schools: School Counselors’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Access
No full textCollege and career readiness programs are critical for vulnerable student populations, including low-income, economically disadvantaged students, and students of color, because these students have been historically and consistently identified as not college and career ready. Many factors contribute to the culmination of readiness that goes beyond academic skill and ability. Under-served student populations face increased barriers to readiness that influence their engagement with college and career programs, and their overall degree of preparedness for postsecondary transition. This qualitative study captured the perspective of five counselors in Duval County Public Title 1 high schools to understand the level of access students have to college and career readiness programs, student holistic preparedness, and the barriers students face in postsecondary transition. This study adds to the literature by offering a viewpoint of day-to-day realities from educators tasked with preparing students for college and careers. The findings from this study resulted in seven themes: (a) students have more access to college and career counseling than programs; (b) fewer students are prepared for college; more are prepared for a career; (c) academic rigor, cognitive, and non-cognitive ability impact overall preparedness; (d) barriers to college enrollment play a leading role in students’ perception of preparedness; (e) parent engagement and involvement are pivotal in postsecondary transition planning; (f) district awareness of program outcomes and resource needs is a necessity, and (g) college and career readiness programs ought to start earlier. This study has significant implications for public school districts, including school administrators; higher education partners; parents; and city and community stakeholders.Johnson, ElizabethDowning, OdessaKanno, HanaeD.P.A.Political Scienc
Outsourcing Economic Development: Exploring the Efficacy of Economic Development Corporations in Rural North Carolina
No full textShrinking local government budgets created an economic development environment in which local governments find it more cost effective to outsource development activities than assume the burden of development activities in-house. This research was conducted to quantitatively assess the performance of economic development corporations with the aim to provide an understanding about the efficacy of economic development corporations by analyzing quantitative data to find if rural counties in North Carolina with economic development corporations experience greater economic growth than rural counties without economic development corporations. There is little academic or practitioner research that addresses the performance of economic development corporations. Consequently, little is known about how effective these private non-profit organizations are at increasing economic development at the local level. The results of this study are mixed. Rural municipalities without an economic development corporation have a higher, positive correlation with population and gross domestic product (GDP) variables. Conversely, the correlation for labor, wage and the housing variable shows higher correlation (negative and positive depending on the variable) in rural municipalities that have an economic development corporation. The statistical findings of this research show only a positive effect in labor/wages and housing. The existence of an economic development corporation did not have a positive effect on theKellner, KellnerYehl, RobertMerwin, GeraldD.P.A.Political Scienc
A Qualitative Study Investigating the Onboarding Experience in Higher Education and the Effect that It Has on Employment Retention, Satisfaction, and Success
No full textOrientation programs have traditionally been implemented to share information about the institution and typically involve consistent goals that connect new faculty to other colleagues, clarify and establish expectations, expose new faculty to the culture of the institution, and introduce each to the available services at the institution. Historically, new faculty orientation programs have struggled to clarify their role and purpose and develop programs that meet each person’s specific needs. This study investigates the effectiveness and significance of new faculty orientation programs at Georgia College & State University and Valdosta State University, focusing on the perceptions and experiences of each of the 13 new faculty who participated in the study during the 2022-2023 academic year. The study explores activities, challenges, and insights related to onboarding, aiming to understand its impact on new faculty. Specifically, this study examines how onboarding and orientation practices impact newly hired faculty members' integration, sense of belonging, long-term engagement, and uncertainty reduction within their institution. The study highlights the importance of tailored orientation practices in clarifying expectations and connecting faculty with campus resources. Key factors contributing to successful onboarding include personalized experiences, valuable connections, and clear communication of institutional values. Findings from the interviews reveal the significance of orientation programs in fostering community integration and readiness for academic roles and suggest that effective onboarding facilitates and enhances immediate engagement, a sense of belonging, and long-term retention and presents the significance and role of orientation programs in an important introduction to the academic community.Smith, MatthewWorkman, JamieLandau, JamieEd.D.Curriculum, Leadership & Technolog