The effect of participation in a ``Greening the BCC Curriculum'' workshop series on the environmental literacy of a community college faculty

The purpose of this study was to develop a series of workshops designed to raise the environmental literacy of a community college faculty and facilitate infusion of an environmental perspective into the courses they teach. Data was gathered on the effect of the workshops on the level of environmental literacy of the participants as well as the persistence of any observed effect. How faculty infused an environmental perspective into their courses was also explored.^ The workshop model was developed by reviewing adult learning and change theories, case studies of workshops at other colleges, environmental education research, and results of a pilot study. Content, organization, and delivery methods from these sources were selected and integrated to create the 14 components of the model employed by the workshops in this study.^ Forty-two faculty from the North Campus of Broward Community College participated in the study. The 20 workshop participants from seven academic departments attended seven two hour workshops during the fall term of 1996, and implemented projects to infuse environmental topics into their courses the following term. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest nonequivalent control group design was employed in which the 22 members of the control group who did not attend the workshops were administered the Wisconsin Environmental Survey at the same time as the workshop participants (immediately before the first workshop, immediately following the last workshop, and four months following the completion of the workshop series). This instrument, an adaption of the Wisconsin High School Student Environmental Survey, yielded three measures of environmental literacy: Affective, Behavior, and Cognitive Subscale scores.^ The repeated measures MANOVA performed using the scores of the two groups on the three administrations of WES revealed a significant interaction for group by time, so repeated measures ANOVA were performed for each of the three subscales to investigate the interaction. Tukey-HSD post hoc comparisons indicated that for all three subscale scores, the two groups were not significantly different on the pretest, but on the posttest and the delayed posttest, the workshop participants demonstrated significantly higher levels of environmental literacy. All statistical tests were performed at $\alpha$ =.05. ^

Intercollegiate athletics and college rankings: An analysis of the relationship between athletic success and the U.S. News and World Report college rankings

The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between athletic success of football and men's basketball and the U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) college rankings. There has been consistent debate among researchers who study institutional quality about whether intercollegiate athletics enhances reputation. This study is similar to other studies attempting to measure the relationship between athletic success and possible indirect benefits to the university from athletics, such as increased admissions applications and increased alumni donations and giving. This study offered a more nuanced model for measuring athletic success, a concept that has been difficult to measure quantitatively. The method used here also measured change over time (in this case, from year-to-year over an eleven year period). The research questions for this study were (a) is there a correlation between athletic success and the USNWR college ranking; and (b) is there a correlation in the change from year-to-year in athletic success with the change from year-to-year in the USNWR college rankings? Spearman Rho correlation and ANOVA tests were used to answer these research questions. The results from the statistical tests demonstrated little correlation between athletic success, whether in football or men's basketball, with the USNWR college rankings. Although the relationships were weak, men's basketball success consistently demonstrated a stronger relationship than football success. This finding differed from what is most often found in the literature, which often favors football success. The ANOVA test results did reveal some results that suggest athletic participation is a factor in the USNWR college rankings. As the debate continues about whether intercollegiate athletics enhances reputation, and as colleges and universities continue spending enormously on athletics, a keener understanding about the possible indirect benefits to the university from athletic programs is needed. The "advertising" provided by spectator sports such as football and men's basketball is often assumed by university leaders to present substantial indirect benefits for the university. However, the existing research along with this study provides little evidence of such opportunities.

A research platform for artificial neural networks with applications in pediatric epilepsy

This dissertation established a state-of-the-art programming tool for designing and training artificial neural networks (ANNs) and showed its applicability to brain research. The developed tool, called NeuralStudio, allows users without programming skills to conduct studies based on ANNs in a powerful and very user friendly interface. A series of unique features has been implemented in NeuralStudio, such as ROC analysis, cross-validation, network averaging, topology optimization, and optimization of the activation function’s slopes. It also included a Support Vector Machines module for comparison purposes. Once the tool was fully developed, it was applied to two studies in brain research. In the first study, the goal was to create and train an ANN to detect epileptic seizures from subdural EEG. This analysis involved extracting features from the spectral power in the gamma frequencies. In the second application, a unique method was devised to link EEG recordings to epileptic and nonepileptic subjects. The contribution of this method consisted of developing a descriptor matrix that can be used to represent any EEG file regarding its duration and the number of electrodes. The first study showed that the inter-electrode mean of the spectral power in the gamma frequencies and its duration above a specific threshold performs better than the other frequencies in seizure detection, exhibiting an accuracy of 95.90%, a sensitivity of 92.59%, and a specificity of 96.84%. The second study yielded that Hjorth’s parameter activity is sufficient to accurately relate EEG to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. After testing, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were all above 0.9667. Statistical tests measured the superiority of activity at over 99.99 % certainty. It was demonstrated that (1) the spectral power in the gamma frequencies is highly effective in locating seizures from EEG and (2) activity can be used to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. These two studies required high computational load and could be addressed thanks to NeuralStudio. From a medical perspective, both methods proved the merits of NeuralStudio in brain research applications. For its outstanding features, NeuralStudio has been recently awarded a patent (US patent No. 7502763).

Predictors of adolescent sexual intentions and behavior: Attitudes, parenting, and neighborhood risk

The current study was a cross-sectional examination of data collected during an HIV risk reduction intervention in south Florida. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between neighborhood stress, parenting, attitudes, and adolescent sexual intentions and behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a model to guide variable selection and propose an interaction pathway between predictors and outcomes. Potential predictor variables measured for adolescents ages 13–18 (n=196) included communication about sex, parent-family connectedness, parental presence, parent-adolescent activity participation, attitudes about sex and condom use, neighborhood disorder, and exposure to violence. Outcomes were behavioral intentions and sexual behavior for the previous eight months. Neighborhood data was supplemented with ZIP Code level data from regional sources and included median household income, percentage of minority and Hispanic residents, and number of foreclosures. Statistical tests included t-tests, Pearson's correlations, and hierarchical linear regressions. Results showed that males and older adolescents reported less positive behavioral intentions than females and adolescents younger than 16. Intentions were associated with condom attitudes, sexual attitudes, and parental presence; unprotected sexual behavior was associated with parental presence. The best fit model for intentions included gender, sexual attitudes, condom attitudes, parental presence, and neighborhood disorder. The unsafe sexual behavior model included whether the participant lived with both natural parents in the previous year, and the percent of Hispanic residents in the neighborhood. Study findings indicate that more research on adolescent sexual behavior is warranted, specifically examining the differentials between variables that affect intentions and those that affect behavior. A focus on gender and age differences during intervention development may allow for better targeting and more efficacious interventions. Adding peer and media influences to the framework of attitudes, parenting, and neighborhood may offer more insight into patterns of adolescent sexual behavior risk.

A Research Platform for Artificial Neural Networks with Applications in Pediatric Epilepsy

This dissertation established a state-of-the-art programming tool for designing and training artificial neural networks (ANNs) and showed its applicability to brain research. The developed tool, called NeuralStudio, allows users without programming skills to conduct studies based on ANNs in a powerful and very user friendly interface. A series of unique features has been implemented in NeuralStudio, such as ROC analysis, cross-validation, network averaging, topology optimization, and optimization of the activation function’s slopes. It also included a Support Vector Machines module for comparison purposes. Once the tool was fully developed, it was applied to two studies in brain research. In the first study, the goal was to create and train an ANN to detect epileptic seizures from subdural EEG. This analysis involved extracting features from the spectral power in the gamma frequencies. In the second application, a unique method was devised to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. The contribution of this method consisted of developing a descriptor matrix that can be used to represent any EEG file regarding its duration and the number of electrodes. The first study showed that the inter-electrode mean of the spectral power in the gamma frequencies and its duration above a specific threshold performs better than the other frequencies in seizure detection, exhibiting an accuracy of 95.90%, a sensitivity of 92.59%, and a specificity of 96.84%. The second study yielded that Hjorth’s parameter activity is sufficient to accurately relate EEG to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. After testing, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were all above 0.9667. Statistical tests measured the superiority of activity at over 99.99 % certainty. It was demonstrated that 1) the spectral power in the gamma frequencies is highly effective in locating seizures from EEG and 2) activity can be used to link EEG recordings to epileptic and non-epileptic subjects. These two studies required high computational load and could be addressed thanks to NeuralStudio. From a medical perspective, both methods proved the merits of NeuralStudio in brain research applications. For its outstanding features, NeuralStudio has been recently awarded a patent (US patent No. 7502763).

Predictors of Adolescent Sexual Intentions and Behavior: Attitudes, Parenting, and Neighborhood Risk

The current study was a cross-sectional examination of data collected during an HIV risk reduction intervention in south Florida. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between neighborhood stress, parenting, attitudes, and adolescent sexual intentions and behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used as a model to guide variable selection and propose an interaction pathway between predictors and outcomes. Potential predictor variables measured for adolescents ages 13-18 (n=196) included communication about sex, parent-family connectedness, parental presence, parent-adolescent activity participation, attitudes about sex and condom use, neighborhood disorder, and exposure to violence. Outcomes were behavioral intentions and sexual behavior for the previous eight months. Neighborhood data was supplemented with ZIP Code level data from regional sources and included median household income, percentage of minority and Hispanic residents, and number of foreclosures. Statistical tests included t-tests, Pearson’s correlations, and hierarchical linear regressions. Results showed that males and older adolescents reported less positive behavioral intentions than females and adolescents younger than 16. Intentions were associated with condom attitudes, sexual attitudes, and parental presence; unprotected sexual behavior was associated with parental presence. The best fit model for intentions included gender, sexual attitudes, condom attitudes, parental presence, and neighborhood disorder. The unsafe sexual behavior model included whether the participant lived with both natural parents in the previous year, and the percent of Hispanic residents in the neighborhood. Study findings indicate that more research on adolescent sexual behavior is warranted, specifically examining the differentials between variables that affect intentions and those that affect behavior. A focus on gender and age differences during intervention development may allow for better targeting and more efficacious interventions. Adding peer and media influences to the framework of attitudes, parenting, and neighborhood may offer more insight into patterns of adolescent sexual behavior risk.

Adolescent readers' self-perceptions of affective factors related to performance on standardized tests

The purpose of this study was to investigate which affective factors of adolescent high school readers were related to high-level readers, middle-level readers and low-level readers. The research problem was to determine the relationship between adolescent high school students' self-perceived reading self-efficacy factors and the students' reading performance on a standardized reading assessment considering demographic factors of age, gender and socio-economic status as covariates. The research design was ex post facto making inferences without direct intervention. The sample was obtained from one large, diverse, urban high school, consisting of 9th and 10th grade adolescent students (N = 176). Students voluntarily completed a self-report, reading self-efficacy survey. School records were used to obtain standardized reading level scores, age, gender, and socio-economic status data. An exploratory factor analysis of the self-efficacy survey responses resulted in the identification of 7 underlying factors. The striving (low-level) readers had significantly lower self-perceptions on 5 of the 7 affective factors than the middle-level readers, and strong (high-level) readers, p < .05. The 5 affective factors on which the striving readers had significantly lower self-perceptions were: (a) Observational Comparison, (b) Progress, (c) Lack of Progress, (d) Lack of Anxiety, and (e) Positive Social Feedback. The 2 affective factors which were not significantly different for reader level were Anxiety and Negative Social Feedback. Girls had significantly less anxiety than boys for both of the factors in the Anxiety category. Statistical results showed that none of the demographic covariates tested; age, gender, or socio-economic status, moderated the relationship between affective reader self-efficacy factors and reader level. This study concluded that there were distinguishable differences for striving, middle, and strong readers' self-efficacy factors. Determining affective factors related to reading can be used to create better instructional environments and instruction for adolescent students.

Assessing Methods for Assigning SNPs to Genes in Gene-Based Tests of Association Using Common Variants

Gene-based tests of association are frequently applied to common SNPs (MAF>5%) as an alternative to single-marker tests. In this analysis we conduct a variety of simulation studies applied to five popular gene-based tests investigating general trends related to their performance in realistic situations. In particular, we focus on the impact of non-causal SNPs and a variety of LD structures on the behavior of these tests. Ultimately, we find that non-causal SNPs can significantly impact the power of all gene-based tests. On average, we find that the “noise” from 6–12 non-causal SNPs will cancel out the “signal” of one causal SNP across five popular gene-based tests. Furthermore, we find complex and differing behavior of the methods in the presence of LD within and between non-causal and causal SNPs. Ultimately, better approaches for a priori prioritization of potentially causal SNPs (e.g., predicting functionality of non-synonymous SNPs), application of these methods to sequenced or fully imputed datasets, and limited use of window-based methods for assigning inter-genic SNPs to genes will improve power. However, significant power loss from non-causal SNPs may remain unless alternative statistical approaches robust to the inclusion of non-causal SNPs are developed.

An Assessment of the Performances of Several Univariate Tests of Normality

The importance of checking the normality assumption in most statistical procedures especially parametric tests cannot be over emphasized as the validity of the inferences drawn from such procedures usually depend on the validity of this assumption. Numerous methods have been proposed by different authors over the years, some popular and frequently used, others, not so much. This study addresses the performance of eighteen of the available tests for different sample sizes, significance levels, and for a number of symmetric and asymmetric distributions by conducting a Monte-Carlo simulation. The results showed that considerable power is not achieved for symmetric distributions when sample size is less than one hundred and for such distributions, the kurtosis test is most powerful provided the distribution is leptokurtic or platykurtic. The Shapiro-Wilk test remains the most powerful test for asymmetric distributions. We conclude that different tests are suitable under different characteristics of alternative distributions.

Evaluation of Some Statistical Methods for the Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes

Microarray platforms have been around for many years and while there is a rise of new technologies in laboratories, microarrays are still prevalent. When it comes to the analysis of microarray data to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes, many methods have been proposed and modified for improvement. However, the most popular methods such as Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM), samroc, fold change, and rank product are far from perfect. When it comes down to choosing which method is most powerful, it comes down to the characteristics of the sample and distribution of the gene expressions. The most practiced method is usually SAM or samroc but when the data tends to be skewed, the power of these methods decrease. With the concept that the median becomes a better measure of central tendency than the mean when the data is skewed, the tests statistics of the SAM and fold change methods are modified in this thesis. This study shows that the median modified fold change method improves the power for many cases when identifying DE genes if the data follows a lognormal distribution.