1025 research outputs found
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Play from an Undergraduate Perspective
No full textAs future educators, we know first hand how important play is for our students. During our student teaching experience, we have conducted research in a variety of areas that looks into how different factors affect our teaching practices. Throughout our research, we have reflected on these factors in order to improve our overall teaching. Along with conducting research, the four of us had the privilege of presenting at the The Association for the Study of Play, an annual international play conference, which was held at James Madison University
Portfolio Management: Finding Portfolio Weightings
No full textThis presentation takes a dive in the wealth management field and develops a portfolio based on the amount of risk a customer is willing to take. To create the proper weightings, the presentation will use a Vanguard questionnaire that will lead to the optimal weightings of stocks and bonds. This is an example of passive investing and this technique has ruled the investment industry recently
Effects of Increased Contraceptive Access in the MENA Region
No full textAbstract This paper studies the effects of contraceptive access on economic growth in developing nations. More specifically, it analyzes how increasing the number of women living in Middle Eastern and North African countries with access to contraceptives would influence the overall economic growth of the region. The hypothesis states that increasing the number of women using contraceptives from the years 1976-2016 would positively affect the economic growth from the years 1977-2017 in these nations. At the conclusion of the study, the paper finds that, after controlling for a one-year lag, contraceptive access significantly increases the economic growth in the MENA region
SUPeR Feature Article: Fueling the Fire: The Causes of Terrorism in Weak States
Get PDFTerrorism is a phenomenon that affects many countries around the world, disproportionately those classified as weak and failing states. It is important to understand why terrorism continues to occur, due to the threat it poses to the international community. Once the triggers of terrorism are identified, they can be used to aid in the creation of counterterrorism policy to make it more effective and less strenuous. In this study, I sought to explain what led to groups’ choice to resort to terrorism within weak states. To answer this question, I used a case study approach, examining four terrorist groups each from India and Burma in order to test my hypotheses. I hypothesized that when governments impose repressive policies that restrict a group from engaging in political privileges awarded to other citizens outside the group, terrorism will be more likely to occur. I also hypothesized that when governments lack the capacity to enforce their laws, groups will be more likely to resort to terrorism. To test my hypotheses, I examined the policy and capacity of the government just prior to the first terrorist attack conducted by each group. While there was government repression in the case of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, it was not present prior to attacks by any of the other groups examined. In terms of capacity, no evidence was presented that showed any relationship between the capacity of the state and the decision of groups to engage in terrorism. Therefore, I concluded that neither repression nor capacity are necessary, preexisting conditions for terrorism to occur and do not have an effect on groups’ decision to engage in terrorist activity
Attention Gaining Strategies
No full textThis poster focuses on teachers use of attention gaining strategies in the classroom and how students on task behavior and participation affect the teachers choice of strategies. Attention gaining strategies are well-known tools in education, but many teachers do not know how to use these strategies most effectively. The focus of this poster relates to which attention gaining strategies work best. It discusses the benefits of keeping strategies positive, what strategies work best for students with special needs, how strategies affect classroom management and the differences between verbal and non-verbal strategies
Prevalence of Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Relation to Soil Temperature in Centralia, Pennsylvania
No full textExtreme environmental conditions, especially elevated temperatures, have been thought to have an influence on the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in soil environments. The Pennsylvanian town of Centralia, located in Columbia county, was once the location for a lucrative coal mining business that has been abandoned due to the fire that continues to burn in the underground coal mines. The primary focus of this research is to determine how soil bacterial competition has been affected by the increase in soil temperature caused by this fire, specifically by determining how antibiotic producing and antibiotic resistance gene prevalence and expression have been impacted by the fire’s progress. We have used shotgun metagenomic data from 2014 Centralia soil samples to establish that the abundances of two multi-drug transport system genes (COG0842 and COG1132), a beta-lactamase superfamily II gene (COG2333), and a Na+/H+ antiporter or related arsenate permease gene (COG1055) are each correlated to soil temperature. We have developed PCR primers for these 4 genes and will use real time PCR to analyze their expression in 2018 soil samples. Ultimately, these analyses will shed insight into how bacterial competition is impacted by increasing soil temperatures, which may have relevance as soil temperatures increase globally
Evaluating the Effects of Thujone Esters on Drosophila Canton S.
No full textModern day synthetic insecticides/pesticides are widely used throughout farming practices and around the common household. Most insecticides/pesticides are non-discriminatory killers, killing both harmful and harmless insects. The effects of some of these chemicals can be long lasting and are harmful to beneficial insects involved with natural agricultural events, such as pollination. Discovering more selective insecticides may attenuate this issue. We propose that evaluating mortality differences between Drosophila melanogaster and arthropods when exposed to thujone esters may identify novel insecticides that show more selective lethality. Thujone is a ketone and a monoterpene that occurs naturally in two diastereomeric forms: α-thujone and-β-thujone. Adult male and female flies were exposed to thujone and 14 ester derivatives. Several Thujol esters such as T. Nicotinate (100%), T. Iso-butyrate (100%), T. Propionate (100%), T. Butyrate (100%) and T. Acetate (70%) suggest a high toxicity when compared to a-thujone (100%), while Thujol ester T. Benzoate suggest potential sex differences between mortality in Drosophila Canton S, with male flies having the most lethal effect. To determine the LD50, adult flies will be exposed to different concentrations of selected Thujol esters may reveal sub-lethal effects and toxicity threshold for Drosophila Canton S
Two Peas in a Pod: How the confluence of politics and the economy shape development
No full textDirectly following World War II, Latin America experienced higher growth rates than other parts of the developing world (Asia, the Iberian Peninsula, and the United States). By the turn of the century, Latin America had one of the slowest growth rates out of those same regions. Which government responses to economic instability in Latin America were most successful in catalyzing development? The focus of this question is how the issues of confluence between politics and the economy effect the growth of Latin American countries. Throughout Latin America’s history, the economies have been reliant on exporting raw materials and natural resources. Different policies have been introduced by different governments to control for fluctuations in the prices of the natural resources
“Legal Activism: The Early Civil Rights Movement in Southeast Pennsylvania, 1809s-1940s
No full textEach culture and “race” has different was to determine their identity. For many cultures and races their identity is formed in traditions, religion and the socio-economic practices they grew up in. For African Americans, this is far from true. The African American communities have been plagued with a series of trials and questions on what their identity is. During the times of slavery, they were dehumanized and not even seen as anything other than a means of production. By the Post-Civil war and Reconstruction Era those in power allowed for a legal form of alienation and slavery by enforcing the Black Codes followed by Jim Crow laws finally broken by the Civil Rights Acts. Through time African Americans identity has relied heavily on their “legal status”. In this paper, I am focused on the Southeastern Region of Pennsylvania, focusing on the key players and local cases affecting African-Americans
Investigating the Effectiveness of long hairpin and short hairpin EGFR RNAi in the Drosophila Melanogaster
No full textNormal development of Drosophila wing, eye, and midline glia depend on proper function of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). EGFR is a highly conserved receptor tyrosine kinase that functions widely in drosophila and mammals. We are systematically investigating the effectiveness of four RNAi lines in how well they knock down the expression of egfr in the study tissues. Our results show that we do not consistently see short hairpin RNAi being more effective than long hairpin RNAi, as we hypothesized. In the eyes and wings, VDRC (long hairpin) was the most severe, and valium 10 (long hairpin) was the least severe, with the two short hairpin RNAi lines being in the middle. The midline glia knockdowns are ongoing, and conclusive results are in progress. Based on current observations, we cannot say that short hairpin RNAi is more effective than long hairpin RNAi, in the tissue environments studied