A study of the relationship between parental self-efficacy and indicators of school involvement exhibited by Hispanic parents of elementary school children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Hispanic parents' sense of self-efficacy at various degrees of acculturation to the United States and specific indicators of school involvement in their elementary school children's education. It assessed the effects of acculturation on the level of parental self-efficacy and their degree of school involvement. The theoretical framework guiding this investigation was Bandura's theory of self-efficacy which advocates that the amount of effort a person devotes to the accomplishment of a specific outcome is related to a person's beliefs in their capabilities regardless of actual competencies.^ The research method involved a correlational design measuring levels of parental self-efficacy, acculturation, degree of school involvement and related demographic characteristics. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the degree of relationships existing between the predictor variables of self-efficacy and level of acculturation, and level of school involvement. The data was subjected to a path analysis to test the validity of the causal model advanced in this study specifying a positive relationship between the constructs of acculturation, parental self-efficacy and level of school involvement.^ A total of 109 Hispanic parents of students enrolled in five elementary public schools in Dade County, Florida, were selected for participation in the study. Results revealed a significant positive correlation r =.23, p $<$.05 between level of parental self-efficacy and number of hours parents spent helping their children with homework. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between acculturation and level of self-efficacy r =.21, p $<$.05. Statistically significant positive correlations were also found between acculturation and such indicators of parental school involvement as participation in parent-teacher conferences r =.20, p $<$.05, volunteering at school, r =.22, p $<$.05, attendance at school sponsored sports activities r =.26, p $<$.01, and volunteering in field-trips r =.28, p $<$.01.^ The multiple regression analysis equation predicting level of homework assistance provided by parents and self-efficacy was statistically significant, F(2,106) = 3.59, p $<$.03. The beta weights revealed that self-efficacy contributed the most to the prediction of homework assistance by parents, B =.258, p $<$.009. In turn, the variable of acculturation was the most significant predictor of number of school based parent involvement activities, B =.281, p $<$.05 level. The path analysis confirmed the results obtained in the multiple regression analyses, establishing self-efficacy as having a direct effect on the level of homework assistance provided by parents. Conversely, the variable of acculturation had a direct effect on the number of school based parent involvement activities. ^

Estimation of global systematic risk for securities listed in multiple markets

The market model is the most frequently estimated model in financial economics and has proven extremely useful in the estimation of systematic risk. In this era of rapid globalization of financial markets there has been a substantial increase in cross listings of stocks in foreign and regional capital markets. As many as a third to a half of the stocks in some major exchanges are foreign listed. The multiple listings of stocks has major implications for the estimation of systematic risk. The traditiona1 method of estimating the market model by using data from only one market will lead to misleading estimates of beta. This study demonstrates that the estimator for systematic risk and the methodology itself changes when stocks are listed in multiple markets. General expressions are developed to obtain the estimator of global beta under a variety of assumptions about the error terms of the market models for different capital markets. The assumptions pertain both to the volatilities of the abnormal returns in each market, and to the relationship between the markets. ^ Explicit expressions are derived for the estimation of global systematic risk beta when the returns are homoscedastic and also under different heteroscedastic conditions both within and/or between markets. These results for the estimation of global beta are further extended when return generating process follows an autoregressive scheme.^

Teachers' knowledge, awareness, and pedagogy of global education in secondary schools

In 1979, the Florida State Board of Education approved the teaching of global education in the state of Florida. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contributed to teachers' global knowledge, global mindedness, and pedagogy in global education. The Hanvey model of teaching from a global perspective was the theoretical framework for the study. ^ A total of 90 secondary teachers from Miami-Dade County Public Schools were randomly selected and placed in three groups: Globally Oriented Social Studies Program (GOSSE), Non-Globally Oriented Social Studies Program (non-GOSSE), and Teachers Who Teach Other Subjects (TWTOS). Seven teachers, two of whom team-taught a class, were selected for classroom observations and interviews. A mixed methods design that combined quantitative and qualitative data was used. ANOVA and Chi square techniques were used to determine whether the factors that contributed to teachers' global knowledge and global mindedness differ among groups. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted to determine whether the instructional strategies differ among the seven selected teachers. ^ The findings of the study show that teachers who were trained in teaching from a global perspective differed in their global knowledge and used more appropriate instructional strategies than teachers who were not trained in teaching global perspectives. There was no significant difference in the combined global knowledge of the non-GOSSE and TWTOS groups when compared with the GOSSE group. There was no significant difference in the combined global knowledge of the GOSSE and non-GOSSE groups when compared with the TWTOS group. There was no significant difference among the teachers in their global mindedness. Observation and interview data indicate that current events, role-playing, simulations, open-ended discussion, debates, and projects were the predominant instructional strategies used by globally trained teachers. Cable networks, Internet, magazines, and newspapers were found to be the dominant tools for teaching global education. ^ This study concluded that teachers who were trained in globally oriented programs had more global knowledge than teachers who were not. It is recommended that teacher education programs should incorporate a global perspective in the preparation of social studies teachers, with particular attention to developing their global attitudes. ^

Estimation of global beta and tests of capital asset pricing models

With the rapid globalization and integration of world capital markets, more and more stocks are listed in multiple markets. With multi-listed stocks, the traditional measurement of systematic risk, the domestic beta, is not appropriate since it only contain information from one market. ^ Prakash et al. (1993) developed a technique, the global beta, to capture information from multiple markets wherein the stocks are listed. In this study, the global betas are obtained as well as domestic betas for 704 multi-listed stocks from 59 world equity markets. Welch tests show that domestic betas are not equal across markets, therefore, global beta is more appropriate in a global investment setting. ^ The traditional Capital Asset Pricing Models (CAPM) is also tested with regards to both domestic beta and global beta. The results generally support the positive relationship between stocks returns and global beta while tend to reject this relationship between stocks returns and domestic beta. Further tests of International CAPM with domestic beta and global beta strengthen the conclusion.^

Fatty acids and stable isotopes as indicators of early-life feeding and potential maternal resource dependency in the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas

The degree of reliance of newborn sharks on energy reserves from maternal resource allocation and the timescales over which these animals develop foraging skills are critical factors towards understanding the ecological role of top predators in marine ecosystems. We used muscle tissue stable carbon isotopic composition and fatty acid analysis of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas to investigate early-life feeding ecology in conjunction with maternal resource dependency. Values of δ13C of some young-of-the-year sharks were highly enriched, reflecting inputs from the marine-based diet and foraging locations of their mothers. This group of sharks also contained high levels of the 20:3ω9 fatty acid, which accumulates during periods of essential fatty acid deficiency, suggesting inadequate or undeveloped foraging skills and possible reliance on maternal provisioning. A loss of maternal signal in δ13C values occurred at a length of approximately 100 cm, with muscle tissue δ13C values reflecting a transition from more freshwater/estuarine-based diets to marine-based diets with increasing length. Similarly, fatty acids from sharks >100 cm indicated no signs of essential fatty acid deficiency, implying adequate foraging. By combining stable carbon isotopes and fatty acids, our results provided important constraints on the timing of the loss of maternal isotopic signal and the development of foraging skills in relation to shark size and imply that molecular markers such as fatty acids are useful for the determination of maternal resource dependency.

Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates

Mangrove forests are highly productive but globally threatened coastal ecosystems, whose role in the carbon budget of the coastal zone has long been debated. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available data on carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems. A reassessment of global mangrove primary production from the literature results in a conservative estimate of ∼218 ± 72 Tg C a−1. When using the best available estimates of various carbon sinks (organic carbon export, sediment burial, and mineralization), it appears that >50% of the carbon fixed by mangrove vegetation is unaccounted for. This unaccounted carbon sink is conservatively estimated at ∼112 ± 85 Tg C a−1, equivalent in magnitude to ∼30–40% of the global riverine organic carbon input to the coastal zone. Our analysis suggests that mineralization is severely underestimated, and that the majority of carbon export from mangroves to adjacent waters occurs as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). CO2 efflux from sediments and creek waters and tidal export of DIC appear to be the major sinks. These processes are quantitatively comparable in magnitude to the unaccounted carbon sink in current budgets, but are not yet adequately constrained with the limited published data available so far.

Epiphyte loads on seagrasses and microphytobenthos abundance are not reliable indicators of nutrient availability in oligotrophic coastal ecosystems

Despite marked gradients in nutrient availability that control the abundance and species composition of seagrasses in south Florida, and the importance of nutrient availability in controlling abundance and composition of epiphytes on seagrasses in other locations, we did not find that epiphyte load on the dominant seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, or that the relative contribution of algal epiphytes to the epiphyte community, was positively correlated with nutrient availability in the water column or the sediment in oligotrophic seagrass beds. Further, the abundance of microphytobenthos, as indicated by Chlorophyll-aconcentration in the sediments, was not directly correlated with concentrations of nutrients in the sediments. Our results suggest that epiphyte and microphytobenthos abundance are not unambiguous indicators of nutrient availability in relatively pristine seagrass environments, and therefore would make poor candidates for indicators of the status and trends of seagrass ecosystems in relatively low-nutrient environments like the Florida Keys.

Submerged aquatic vegetation and bulrush in Lake Okeechobee as indicators of greater Everglades ecosystem restoration

Lake Okeechobee, Florida, located in the middle of the larger Kissimmee River-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem in South Florida, serves a variety of ecosystem and water management functions including fish and wildlife habitat, flood control, water supply, and source water for environmental restoration. As a result, the ecological status of Lake Okeechobee plays a significant role in defining the overall success of the greater Everglades ecosystem restoration initiative. One of the major ecological indicators of Lake Okeechobee condition focuses on the near-shore and littoral zone regions as characterized by the distribution and abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and giant bulrush (Scirpus californicus(C.A. Mey.) Steud.). The objective of this study is to present a stoplight restoration report card communication system, common to all 11 indicators noted in this special journal issue, as a means to convey the status of SAV and bulrush in Lake Okeechobee. The report card could be used by managers, policy makers, scientists and the public to effectively evaluate and distill information about the ecological status in South Florida. Our assessment of the areal distribution of SAV in Lake Okeechobee is based on a combination of empirical SAV monitoring and output from a SAV habitat suitability model. Bulrush status in the lake is related to a suitability index linked to adult survival and seedling establishment metrics. Overall, presentation of these performance metrics in a stoplight format enables an evaluation of how the status of two major components of Lake Okeechobee relates to the South Florida restoration program, and how the status of the lake influences restoration efforts in South Florida.

Teachers’ Knowledge, Awareness and Pedagogy of Global Education in Secondary Schools

For the last fifty years, social studies teachers have been prepared to teach from a global perspective, but since September 11, 2001 have faced a difficult challenge teaching from a global perspective. This study examines ninety secondary school teachers’ global knowledge and their disposition toward teaching from a global perspective.

Benthic diatom assemblages as indicators of water quality in the Everglades and three tropical karstic wetlands

Limestone-based (karstic) freshwater wetlands of the Everglades, Belize, Mexico, and Jamaica are distinctive in having a high biomass of CaCO3-rich periphyton mats. Diatoms are common components of these mats and show predictable responses to environmental variation, making them good candidates for assessing nutrient enrichment in these naturally ultraoligotrophic wetlands. However, aside from in the Everglades of southern Florida, very little research has been done to document the diatoms and their environmental preferences in karstic Caribbean wetlands, which are increasingly threatened by eutrophication. We identified diatoms in periphyton mats collected during wet and dry periods from the Everglades and similar freshwater karstic wetlands in Belize, Mexico, and Jamaica. We compared diatom assemblage composition and diversity among locations and periods, and the effect of the limiting nutrient, P, on species composition among locations. We used periphyton-mat total P (TP) as a metric of availability. A total of 176 diatom species in 45 genera were recorded from the 4 locations. Twenty-three of these species, including 9 that are considered indicative of Everglades diatom flora, were found in all 4 locations. In Everglades and Caribbean sites, we identified assemblages and indicator species associated with low and high periphyton-mat TP and calculated TP optima and tolerances for each indicator species. TP optima and tolerances of indicator species differed between the Everglades and the Caribbean, but weighted averaging models predicted periphyton-mat TP concentrations from diatom assemblages at Everglades (R2  =  0.56) and Caribbean (R2  =  0.85) locations. These results show that diatoms can be effective indicators of water quality in karstic wetlands of the Caribbean, but application of regionally generated transfer functions to distant sites provides less reliable estimates than locally developed functions.

Transnational Capital and the Politics of Global Supply Chains

In the latest phase of globalization, transnational corporations based in the U.S. have worked closely with U.S. foreign policymakers to secure favorable foreign direct investment provisions within U.S. domestic legislation and within U.S. trade agreements. These interactions between transnational firms and the U.S. state have provided many of the preconditions for an expansion of foreign direct investment connected to capital liberalization and the growth of global supply chains from the 1980s to the present. This relationship is best conceptualized as representing a “transnational interest bloc,” whose policy objectives are incorporated within investment provisions in US-backed trade and investment agreements.

Content Analysis of Outcome Assessment of Global Learning Foundations Courses: A Case Study

This study used content analysis to interpret and evaluate outcome evaluation matrices of undergraduate Global Learning foundations courses. The findings revealed a lack of uniformity in the faculty members’ interpretation and implementation of global learning components in the coursework. Successful teaching practices and challenges were identified and classified.

The effects of participation in an Internet -based project on the development of global knowledge, global mindedness, and global pedagogy among preservice social studies teachers

In order to prepare younger generations to live in a world characterized by interconnectedness, developing global and international perspectives for future teachers has been recommended by the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that participation in the International Communication and Negotiation Simulation (ICONS), an Internet-based communication project has on preservice social studies teachers' global knowledge, global mindedness, and global teaching strategies. ^ The study was conducted at a public university in South Florida. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. Two groups of preservice social studies teachers were chosen as participants: a control group composed of 14 preservice teachers who enrolled in a global education class in the summer semester of 1998 and an experimental group that included nine preservice teachers who took the same class in the fall semester of 1998. The summer class was conducted in a traditional format, which included lectures, classroom discussions, and student presentations. The fall class incorporated a five-week Internet-based communication project. The Global Mindedness Scale (Hett, 1993) and an adapted Test of Global Knowledge (ETS, 1981) were administered upon the completion of the class. ^ Contrasting case studies were utilized to investigate the impact of participation in the ICONS on the development of preservice teachers' global pedagogy. Four preservice teachers, two selected from each group were observed and interviewed to explore how they were infusing global perspectives into social studies curriculum and instruction during a 10-week student teaching internship in the spring semester of 1999. ^ This study had three major findings. First, preservice social studies teachers from the experimental group on average scored significantly higher than those from the control group on the global knowledge test. Second, no significant difference was found between the two groups in their mean scores on the Global Mindedness Scale. Third, all four selected preservice social studies teachers were infusing global perspectives into United States and world history curriculum and instruction during their student teaching internship. Using multiple resources was the common pedagogy. The two who participated in the ICONS were more aware of using the communication feature of the Internet and the web sites that reflect more international perspectives to facilitate teaching about the world. ^ Recommendations were made for further research and for preservice studies teacher education program development. ^

Analysis of global compliance and implementation of the goals of international environmental treaties: A case study of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was created in 1992 to coordinate global governments to protect biological resources. The CBD has three goals: protection of biodiversity, achievement of sustainable use of biodiversity and facilitation of equitable sharing of the benefits of biological resources. The goal of protecting biological resources has remained both controversial and difficult to implement. This study focused more on the goal of biodiversity protection. The research was designed to examine how globally constructed environmental policies get adapted by national governments and then passed down to local levels where actual implementation takes place. Effectiveness of such policies depends on the extent of actual implementation at local levels. Therefore, compliance was divided and examined at three levels: global, national and local. The study then developed various criteria to measure compliance at these levels. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze compliance and implementation. The study was guided by three questions broadly examining critical factors that most influence the implementation of biodiversity protection policies at the global, national and local levels. Findings show that despite an overall biodiversity deficit of 0.9 hectares per person, global compliance with the CBD goals is currently at 35%. Compliance is lowest at local levels at 14%, it is slightly better at national level at 50%, and much better at the international level 64%. Compliance appears higher at both national and international levels because compliance here is paper work based and policy formulation. If implementation at local levels continues to produce this low compliance, overall conservation outcomes can only get worse than what it is at present. There are numerous weaknesses and capacity challenges countries are yet to address in their plans. In order to increase local level compliance, the study recommends a set of robust policies that build local capacity, incentivize local resource owners, and implement biodiversity protection programs that are akin to local needs and aspirations.^

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Study Abroad and Their Level of Achievement of Global Learning Outcomes

This study expanded on current research on study abroad and global learning, using the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), and conducted at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, FL. The GPI assesses the holistic development of a global perspective in higher education within three domains and their respective FIU-determined equivalents: cognitive (global awareness), intrapersonal (global perspective), and interpersonal (global engagement). The main purpose of this study was to assess FIU’s undergraduate students’ perceptions of study abroad on their level of achievement of global awareness, global perspective, and global engagement. The secondary purpose was to determine how the students described their study abroad experience and achievement of global learning. The research design for this study consisted of parallel mixed methods. The quantitative component was an ex post facto with hypothesis design, using a pretest/posttest nonequivalent group methodology. FIU undergraduates (N=147) who studied abroad for one semester or more completed the GPI pre- and post-tests. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were conducted to compare the means. The interviews included 10 students, and were analyzed through Structural coding, Saldaña’s In Vivo coding, and Value coding. Quantitative analyses indicated positive changes in the students’ global awareness and global perspective. These analyses also showed that the FIU students achieved higher post-test means on all the domains of the GPI compared to other studies. Qualitative analyses showed that the students’ experiences incorporated all three global learning outcomes, most notably global awareness and perspective.