General and special education teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward students with HIV/AIDS

AIDS education is mandated in schools throughout the United States to educate students about the disease. Teachers are expected to assume the major role of disseminating this information; therefore it is reasonable to question how knowledgeable teachers are about HIV/AIDS and where their information is coming from. This study explored the knowledge and attitudes of general and special education teachers toward students with HIV/AIDS and investigated whether a relationship between knowledge and attitudes existed. Information was collected using the AIDS Knowledge and Attitude Survey (AKAS). The sample was limited to certified teachers resulting in 318 participants.^ Research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequencies, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Scheffe post hoc analysis, and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. Results indicated that general and special education teachers did not have complete knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Participants were knowledgeable regarding modes of transmission which may be the area of greatest concern for teachers, however, deficiencies were present within teachers' knowledge of general statements and facts and pathology. Among the ten demographic variables analyzed, six (gender, race/ethnicity, level of education, certification, instructional level taught, and classroom AIDS instruction) contained statistical significance.^ Analysis of attitudes indicated that general and special education teachers' overall attitudes toward students with HIV/AIDS were generally positive within clusters of Instruction and Fear, but not within Sensitivity and Communication. Among the ten demographic variables used for analysis only three (age, graduate enrollment status, and classroom AIDS instruction) produced statistical significance. Results found statistically significant relationships between Total Knowledge, all knowledge subtests, Fear, and Overall Attitudes. Statistical significance was also located on Total Knowledge, Pathology and Transmission knowledge subtests, and Sensitivity, as well as between Pathology and Instruction, and General Statements and Facts and Communication.^ The only variable determined to have statistical significance on both knowledge and attitudes was classroom AIDS instruction. Participants with previous AIDS instruction showed greater knowledge and possessed more positive attitudes. A review of previous research indicated training to be effective in increasing knowledge and fostering more favorable behavior toward persons with AIDS. Therefore, this study finds AIDS training to be beneficial for all teachers and is recommended during preservice education or through inservices for teachers already in the field. ^

Causal attributions for success or failure by passing and failing students in College Algebra

Success in mathematics has been identified as a predictor of baccalaureate degree completion. Within the coursework of college mathematics, College Algebra has been identified as a high-risk course due to its low success rates. ^ Research in the field of attribution theory and academic achievement suggests a relationship between a student's attributional style and achievement. Theorists and researchers contend that attributions influence individual reactions to success and failure. They also report that individuals use attributions to explain and justify their performance. Studies in mathematics education identify attribution theory as the theoretical orientation most suited to explain academic performance in mathematics. This study focused on the relationship among a high risk course, low success rates, and attribution by examining the difference in the attributions passing and failing students gave for their performance in College Algebra. ^ The methods for the study included a pilot administration of the Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII) which was used to conduct reliability and principal component analyses. Then, students (n = 410) self-reported their performance on an in-class test and attributed their performance along the dimensions of locus of causality, stability, personal controllability, and external controllability. They also provided open-ended attribution statements to explain the cause of their performance. The quantitative data compared the passing and failing groups and their attributions for performance on a test using One-Way ANOVA and Pearson chi square procedures. The open-ended attribution statements were coded in relation to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck and compared using a Pearson chi square procedure. ^ The results of the quantitative data comparing passing and failing groups and their attributions along the dimensions measured by the CDSII indicated statistical significance in locus of causality, stability, and personal controllability. The results comparing the open-ended attribution statements indicated statistical significance in the categories of effort and task difficulty. ^

Development of safety performance functions for empirical Bayes estimation of crash reduction factors

Crash reduction factors (CRFs) are used to estimate the potential number of traffic crashes expected to be prevented from investment in safety improvement projects. The method used to develop CRFs in Florida has been based on the commonly used before-and-after approach. This approach suffers from a widely recognized problem known as regression-to-the-mean (RTM). The Empirical Bayes (EB) method has been introduced as a means to addressing the RTM problem. This method requires the information from both the treatment and reference sites in order to predict the expected number of crashes had the safety improvement projects at the treatment sites not been implemented. The information from the reference sites is estimated from a safety performance function (SPF), which is a mathematical relationship that links crashes to traffic exposure. The objective of this dissertation was to develop the SPFs for different functional classes of the Florida State Highway System. Crash data from years 2001 through 2003 along with traffic and geometric data were used in the SPF model development. SPFs for both rural and urban roadway categories were developed. The modeling data used were based on one-mile segments that contain homogeneous traffic and geometric conditions within each segment. Segments involving intersections were excluded. The scatter plots of data show that the relationships between crashes and traffic exposure are nonlinear, that crashes increase with traffic exposure in an increasing rate. Four regression models, namely, Poisson (PRM), Negative Binomial (NBRM), zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP), and zero-inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB), were fitted to the one-mile segment records for individual roadway categories. The best model was selected for each category based on a combination of the Likelihood Ratio test, the Vuong statistical test, and the Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). The NBRM model was found to be appropriate for only one category and the ZINB model was found to be more appropriate for six other categories. The overall results show that the Negative Binomial distribution model generally provides a better fit for the data than the Poisson distribution model. In addition, the ZINB model was found to give the best fit when the count data exhibit excess zeros and over-dispersion for most of the roadway categories. While model validation shows that most data points fall within the 95% prediction intervals of the models developed, the Pearson goodness-of-fit measure does not show statistical significance. This is expected as traffic volume is only one of the many factors contributing to the overall crash experience, and that the SPFs are to be applied in conjunction with Accident Modification Factors (AMFs) to further account for the safety impacts of major geometric features before arriving at the final crash prediction. However, with improved traffic and crash data quality, the crash prediction power of SPF models may be further improved.

Self-determination theory and student motivation in social studies in an urban Broward County public high school

This study investigated how students perceived their motivation in high school social studies classes in school and to determine if a correlation exists between students’ grade level, race, gender, and their motivation. The sample included 337 high school students in Broward County, Florida. To assess students’ perceptions on their motivation the academic self-regulation questionnaire was utilized. Results indicate that social studies students show high levels of external regulation, with a mean score at 22.31 on a scale of 36 points. The results show a mean score of 24 on a scale of 28 points for identified regulation among social studies students. Findings revealed that student motivation could be gauged. No statistical significance was found between high school students’ grade level, race, gender, and their motivation in social studies classes. The findings of this study have shown that students at Boyd H. Anderson High School want to learn social studies.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices affecting health behaviors in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command population of Rangers

Malaria is a threat to United States military personnel operating in endemic areas, from which there have been hundreds of cases reported over the past decade. Each of these cases might have been avoided with proper adherence to malaria chemoprophylaxis medications. Military operations may detract from the strict 100% adherence required of these preventive medications. However, the reasons for non-adherence in military populations are not well understood. This behavior was investigated using a cross sectional study design on a convenience sample of U.S. Army Ranger volunteers (n=150) located at three military instillations. Theoretical support was based on components of the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Social Cognitive Theory. ^ Data on knowledge, attitudes, and practices, as well as multiple environmental domains was collected using an original yet unvalidated questionnaire. The data was analyzed using bivariate Pearson correlations, binary logistic regression, and moderated logistic regressions employing a 0.05 criterion of statistical significance. Power analyses predicted 96-98% power for this analysis. ^ Multiple significant medium strength Pearson correlation coefficients were identified relative to the two dependent variables Take medications as directed and Intend to take the medications as directed the next time. Binary logistic regression analyses identified multiple variables that may predict behavioral intentions to adhere to these preventive medications, as a proxy for behavioral change. Moderated logistic regression analyses identified Command Support for adherence to these medications as a potential significant moderator that interacts with independent variables within three domains of the survey questionnaire. ^ The findings indicate that there may be potential significant beneficial effects, which may improve this behavior in this population of Rangers through 1) promoting affirmative interpersonal communications that emphasize adherence to these medications, 2) including malaria chemoprophylaxis medications in the mission planning process, and 3) military command support, in the form of including the importance of proper adherence to these medications in the unit safety briefings.^

Monitoring the Accuracy of Multiple Occupancy Forecasts

Corporate executives closely monitor the accuracy of their hotels' occupancy fore- casts since important decisions are based upon these predictions. This study lists the criteria for selecting an appropriate error measure. It discusses several evaluation methods focusing on statistical significance tests and demonstrates the use of two adequate evaluation methods: Mincer- Zamowitz's efficiency test and Wilcoxon's Non-Parametric Matched-Pairs Signed- Ranks test.

Personality and job performance: The mediating roles of leader -member exchange quality and action control

The present investigation examined the relationships among personality (as conceptualized by the Big Five Factors), leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, action control, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and overall job performance (OJP). Two mediator variables were proposed and tested in this study: LMX and Action Control. Two-hundred and seven currently employed regular elementary school classroom teachers provided data during the 2000–2001 academic school year. Teachers provided personality, LMX quality (member or subordinate perspective), action control, job tenure, and demographic data. Nine school administrators (i.e., Principals, Assistant Principals) were the source for supervisor ratings of OCB, OJP, and LMX quality (leader or supervisor perspective). In eight of the nine total schools, teachers completed questionnaires during an after-school teacher gathering; in the remaining school location questionnaires were dropped off, distributed to teachers, and re-collected two weeks later. Results indicated a significant relationship between the OCB scale and overall supervisory ratings of OJP. The relationship among the big five factors of personality and OJP did not reach statistical significance, nor did the relationships among personality and OCB. The data indicated that none of the teacher tenure variables (i.e., teacher, school, or time worked with principal tenure) moderated the personality-OCB relationship nor the personality-OJP relationship. Finally, a review of the correlations among the variables of interest precluded conducting a mediation between personality-performance by OCB, mediation of personality-OCB by action control, and mediation of personality-OCB by LMX. In conclusion, the data reveal that personality was not significantly correlated with supervisory ratings of OJP or significantly related to supervisory ratings of overall OCB. Moreover, LMX quality and action control did not mediate the relationships between Personality-OJP nor the Personality-OCB relationship. Significant relationships were found between disengagement and overall LMX quality and between Initiative and overall LMX quality (both LMX-Teacher perspectives) as well as between personality variables and both Disengagement and Initiative action control variables. Despite the limitations inherent in this study, these latter findings suggest “lessons” for teachers and school administrators alike. ^

The contribution of higher education to economic *development in a globalized environment

Amidst concerns about achieving high levels of technology to remain competitive in the global market without compromising economic development, national economies are experiencing a high demand for human capital. As higher education is assumed to be the main source of human capital, this analysis focused on a more specific and less explored area of the generally accepted idea that higher education contributes to economic growth. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find whether higher education also contributes to economic development, and whether that contribution is more substantial in a globalized context. ^ Consequently, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to support with statistical significance the answer to the research question: Does higher education contributes to economic development in the context of globalization? The information analyzed was obtained from historical data of 91 selected countries, and the period of time of the study was 10 years (1990–2000). Some variables, however, were lagged back 5, 10 or 15 years along a 15-year timeframe (1975–1990). The resulting comparative static model was based on the Cobb-Douglas production function and the Solow model to specify economic growth as a function of physical capital, labor, technology, and productivity. Then, formal education, economic development, and globalization were added to the equation. ^ The findings of this study supported the assumption that the independent contribution of the changes in higher education completion and globalization to changes in economic growth is more substantial than the contribution of their interaction. The results also suggested that changes in higher and secondary education completion contribute much more to changes in economic growth in less developed countries than in their more developed counterparts. ^ As a conclusion, based on the results of this study, I proposed the implementation of public policy in less developed countries to promote and expand adequate secondary and higher education systems with the purpose of helping in the achievement of economic development. I also recommended further research efforts on this topic to emphasize the contribution of education to the economy, mainly in less developed countries. ^

Recent Changes in Central and Eastern Pacific El Niño

Recent research indicates that characteristics of El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have changed over the past several decades. Here, I examined different flavors of El Niño in the observational record and the recent changes in the character of El Niño events. The fundamental physical processes that drive ENSO were described and the Eastern Pacific (EP) and Central Pacific (CP) types or flavors of El Niño were defined. Using metrics from the peer-reviewed literature, I examined several historical data sets to interpret El Niño behavior from 1950-2010. A Monte Carlo Simulation was then applied to output from coupled model simulations to test the statistical significance of recent observations surrounding EP and CP El Niño. Results suggested that EP and CP El Niño had been occurring in a similar fashion over the past 60 years with natural variability, but no significant increase in CP El Niño behavior.

Long-term Trends in Magnitude and Frequency of Extreme Rainfall Events in Florida

This study computed trends in extreme precipitation events of Florida for 1950-2010. Hourly aggregated rainfall data from 24 stations of the National Climatic Data Centre were analyzed to derive time-series of extreme rainfalls for 12 durations, ranging from 1 hour to 7 day. Non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen Approach were applied to detect the significance of trends in annual maximum rainfalls, number of above threshold events and average magnitude of above threshold events for four common analysis periods. Trend Free Pre-Whitening (TFPW) approach was applied to remove the serial correlations and bootstrap resampling approach was used to detect the field significance of trends. The results for annual maximum rainfall revealed dominant increasing trends at the statistical significance level of 0.10, especially for hourly events in longer period and daily events in recent period. The number of above threshold events exhibited strong decreasing trends for hourly durations in all time periods.