Undergraduate Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences 2007 Book of Abstracts

The College of Arts and Sciences proudly presents our fifth Book of Abstracts that highlights the undergraduate scholarship conducted in the college by students with their faculty mentors. As the quote by James Russell Lowell implies, the pursuit of knowledge involves more than acquiring facts; it requires posing relevant questions, critically examining information, and clearly communicating conclusions. The high level of scholarship reflected in this book is a testament to the students’ development as scholars and the effective mentorship provided by the Winthrop faculty.

Undergraduate Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences 2005 Book of Abstracts

The College of Arts and Sciences proudly presents Undergraduate Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences, the third issue in our annual book of abstracts, containing the work conducted by students in collaboration with faculty mentors. As you will see by the depth and variety of the projects, these students successfully used their research, critical thinking, and writing skills to produce scholarship that has been recognized by the larger scholarly community. In fact, these collected works illustrate the students’ ability to communicate at a professional level; in many cases, these students have presented and defended their scholarship to the greater academic community at regional, national, and international meetings. We congratulate all the students and faculty mentors who are represented in this collection for their dedication to learning. This book is also the first designed and edited by Winthrop University undergraduate students. For their good work, we thank Kristen Jeffords for editing the abstracts, Paul Jones for creating the cover art, and Stephanie Sheldon for the book design and layout.

A Survey of Medical College Libraries in Andhra Pradesh, India

Data was collected from 22 selected medical college libraries and 526 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, using a survey. The article presents a list of findings and recommendations based on them to improve the services of medical college libraries in Andhra Pradesh.

Student Transition to College

In this action research study of recent graduates from my district, I investigated their level of readiness for college-level mathematics courses. I discovered that the students have a wide variety of experiences in college. There are many factors that determine success in college mathematics courses. These factors include size of college, private or public, university or community college. Other factors include students’ choice of major, maturity level, and work ethic. As a result of this research, I plan to raise the individual expectations in my classroom. It is our duty as high school educators to prepare the students for a wide variety of experiences in college. We cannot control where the students attend college or what they study. High schools need to prepare the students for all possibilities and ensure that they have a solid knowledge of the baseline mathematics skills.

Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Budget Hearing

Good afternoon Senator Wehrbein and members of the Appropriations Committee. I am John Owens, and I am University of Nebraska Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. I am here to speak with you about the impact of further budget cuts to the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture - NCTA - at Curtis, Nebraska.

Student and Faculty Perceptions of Technology’s Usefulness in Community College General Education Courses

Educational institutions of all levels invest large amounts of time and resources into instructional technology, with the goal of enhancing the educational effectiveness of the learning environment. The decisions made by instructors and institutions regarding the implementation of technology are guided by perceptions of usefulness held by those who are in control. The primary objective of this mixed methods study was to examine the student and faculty perceptions of technology being used in general education courses at a community college. This study builds upon and challenges the assertions of writers such as Prensky (2001a, 2001b) and Tapscott (1998) who claim that a vast difference in technology perception exists between generational groups, resulting in a diminished usefulness of technology in instruction. In this study, data were gathered through student surveys and interviews, and through faculty surveys and interviews. Analysis of the data used Kendall’s Tau test for correlation between various student and faculty variables in various groupings, and also typological analysis of the transcribed interview data. The analysis of the quantitative data revealed no relationship between age and perception of technology’s usefulness. A positive relationship was found to exist between the perception of the frequency of technology use and the perception of technology’s effectiveness, suggesting that both faculty members and students believed that the more technology is used, the more useful it is in instruction. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that both faculty and students perceive technology to be useful, and that the most significant barriers to technology’s usefulness include faulty hardware and software systems,lack of user support, and lack of training for faculty. The results of the study suggest that the differences in perception of technology between generations that are proposed by Prensky may not exist when comparing adults from the younger generation with adults from the older generation. Further, the study suggests that institutions continue to invest in instructional technology, with a focus on high levels of support and training for faculty, and more universal availability of specific technologies, including web access, in class video, and presentation software. Adviser: Ronald Joekel

Medical Students' Attitudes Toward The Medical College Admission Test

The following study analyzed the attitudes held by pre-clinical medical students about the Medical College Admission Test or MCAT. One hundred and eighty first-year and second-year medical students at a public Midwestern medical university participated in this study. Participants completed the “Medical Students Attitudes toward the Medical College Admission Test” survey during their morning lectures near the end of their spring semester. A composite scale score of the Likert items of the survey was computed and the proportion of students with attitudes ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was calculated. For six of the twelve Likert items the largest proportion of participants disagreed with the statements about the MCAT and its use in the admission process and its applicability to their current medical education. Other questions included how participants prepared for the MCAT and if they completed each of the subsections were addressed as well. Future research could determine if attitudes between students accepted into medical school and those not accepted are drastically different. Advisor: Kurt F. Geisinger

Rap Music and Hip Hop on Amerian College Campuses

My session will cover how many young African Americans believe that Rap music and Hip Hop is more important and relevant today on college campuses than the Civil Rights movement, or learning about the great works'. But one must seriously question whether Rap music and/or the Hip Hop culture is more significant than the movement that gave most Americans in the United States a modicum of equally in our institutionally racist society.

The Shaping of a New Identity: Continuation of the Transformation Process of People of Color on White University College Campuses Into "White" People of Color

“Our study will show how the pyramidal structure as a permanent feature of every aspect of American society continues to function in the same manner at institutions of higher learning.”

“MINORITY STUDENTS WITHIN A COLLEGE OF BUSINESS: HEARING THE VOICES”

"In recognition of the dynamic interplay among academic and social aspects of any student's campus experience, our institution has implemented an Innovative Community Initiative (ICI) which provides a panoply of support programs for students of color."

The association between low alcohol use and traffic risk behaviors among Brazilian college students

Although there are a large number of studies focused on binge drinking and traffic risk behaviors (TRB), little is known regarding low levels of alcohol consumption and its association to TRB. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the association of low to moderate alcohol intake pattern and TRB in college students in Brazil. 7037 students from a National representative sample were selected under rigorous inclusion criteria. All study participants voluntarily fulfilled a structured, anonymous, and self-questionnaire regarding alcohol and drug use, social-demographic data, and TRB. Alcohol was assessed according to the average number of alcoholic units consumed on standard occasions over the past 12 months. The associations between alcohol intake and TRB were summarized with odds ratio and their confidence interval obtained from logistic regression. Compared with abstainers students who consumed only one alcohol unit had the risk of being a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver increased by almost four times, students who reported using five or more units were increased by almost five times the risk of being involved in a car crash. Compared with students who consumed one alcohol unit, the risk of driving under the influence of alcohol increased four times in students using three alcohol units. Age group, use of illicit drugs, employment status, gender, and marital status significantly influenced occurrence of TRB among college students. Our study highlights the potential detrimental effects of low and moderate pattern of alcohol consumption and its relation to riding with an intoxicated driver and other TRB. These data suggest that targeted interventions should be implemented in order to prevent negative consequences due to alcohol use in this population. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved,

Prescribed use of methylphenidate hydrochloride and its correlates among Brazilian college students

Background: The prevalence of prescribed use of methylphenidate (MPH) and its correlates are not well-known in Brazil. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of prescribed use of MPH and its correlates in a sample of Brazilian college students. Methods: Twelve-thousand seven hundred and eleven college students filled out a drug use questionnaire. They were divided into two groups based on the lifetime use of MPH: MPH users (MPHU) and MPH non-users (MPHNU). Quasi-binomial regression models were carried out in order to evaluate the correlation among MPHU and other variables. Results: A lifetime use of MPH was reported from 0.9% of college students (MPHU). Being from the Midwest (PR = 4.8, p < 0.01) and South (PR = 5.2, p < 0.05), living in students housing (PR = 5.8, p < 0.001), prescribed use of amphetamines (PR = 8.9, p < 0.001) and benzodiazepines (< 3 weeks: PR = 4.4, p < 0.001; >= 3 weeks: PR = 6.7, p < 0.001), and harmful use of alcohol (PR = 4.0, p < 0.05) were correlated with MPHU. Discussion: The association of alcohol and drug use with prescribed use of MPH among college students suggests the importance of screening drinking patterns and use of other drugs among students with ADHD symptoms. Cesar ELR, et al. / Rev Psiq Clin. 2012; 39(6):183-8

Drug use in college students: a 13-year trend

OBJECTIVE: To analyze drug use trends among college students in 1996, 2001 and 2009. METHODS: A cross-sectional epidemiological study with a multistage stratified cluster sample with 9,974 college students was conducted in the city of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on drug use assessed in lifetime, the preceding 12 months and the preceding 30 days. The Bonferroni correction was used for multiple comparisons of drug use rates between surveys. RESULTS: There were changes in the lifetime use of tobacco and some other drugs (hallucinogens [6.1% to 8.8%], amphetamines [4.6% to 8.7%], and tranquilizers [5.7% to 8.2%]) from 1996 to 2009. Differences in the use of other drugs over the 12 months preceding the survey were also seen: reduced use of inhalants [9.0% to 4.8%] and increased use of amphetamines [2.4% to 4.8%]. There was a reduction in alcohol [72.9% to 62.1%], tobacco [21.3% to 17.2%] and marijuana [15.0% to 11.5%] use and an increase in amphetamine use [1.9% to 3.3%] in the preceeding 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Over the 13-year study period, there was an increase in lifetime use of tobacco, hallucinogens, amphetamines, and tranquilizers. There was an increase in amphetamine use and a reduction in alcohol use during the preceding 12 months. There was an increase in amphetamine use during the preceding 30 days.