Middle Tennessee State University

This research examined the ball-handling errors that referees called against historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Division I women’s college volleyball. A ball-handling error is an impermissible nonverbal communicative act such as a ball being lifted, a ball being thrown, or a ball being double hit. Previous research on referee bias was reviewed. Expectancy violations theory served as the theoretical frame because it focuses on nonverbal behaviors and how a message receiver responds to violations. Using publicly available data, this research sought to draw points of comparison between HBCUs and predominantly White institutions. The uncovered data revealed that referees called more ball-handling errors per set against HBCUs relative to predominantly White institutions. Furthermore, only HBCU conferences were penalized at a statistically significant level, while no predominantly White institution conferences were penalized at a statistically significant level. Theoretical implications for expectancy violations theory and practical implications for HBCUs were the focus of the study discussion.

A major challenge for clinical management of melanoma is the prevention and treatment of metastatic disease. Drug discovery efforts over the last 10 years have resulted in several drugs that improve the prognosis of metastatic melanoma; however, most patients develop early resistance to these treatments. We designed and synthesized, through a concise synthetic strategy, a series of hybrid olefin‐pyridinone compounds that consist of structural motifs from tamoxifen and ilicicolin H. These compounds were tested against a human melanoma cell line and patient‐derived melanoma cells that had metastasized to the brain. Three compounds 7b, 7c, and 7g demonstrated promising activity (IC50 = 0.4 – 4.3 µM). Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that 7b and 7c induce cell cycle arrest predominantly in the G1 phase. Both 7b and 7c significantly inhibited migration of A375 melanoma cells; greater effects were demonstrated by 7b. Molecular modelling analysis provides insight into a plausible mechanism of action.

In the context of burn injury, growth factors (GFs) play a significant role in mediating the complex local and systematic processes that occur. Among the many systemic complications that arise following a burn injury, peripheral neuropathy remains one of the most common. Despite the broad understanding of the effects GFs have on multiple tissues, their potential implications in both wound healing and neuropathy remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the expression patterns of GFs prominent during the burn wound healing process and explore the potential contributions these GFs have on the development of burn-related peripheral neuropathy.

A major problem retarding the commercialization of biodiesel is the derivation of catalysts and feedstocks from high‐cost materials. Hence, the following proposal is being put forward to mitigate this challenge: Extract and characterize castor oil, synthesize and characterize cocoa pod ash as the base catalyst, and apply the base catalyst for biodiesel production. Cocoa pods were heated at 600 °C for 35 min in a muffle furnace and the product sieved to obtain ash with uniform size distribution. The yield of castor oil extracted was 42 %, and the synthesized catalyst was capable of transesterifying the extracted oil. Castor oil was converted to biodiesel with cocoa pod ash as catalyst. A biodiesel yield of 88 % was obtained. The catalyst was characterized by various methods to confirm the presence of active sites. The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel product are consistent with literature values.

Lesson study (LS), a teacher-oriented, student-focused professional development approach that originated in Asia, has spread globally. However, findings related to the effect of LS on teacher learning and growth have varied widely. This suggests a need to review current research on LS in the field of mathematics education. This paper focuses on mathematics teachers’ learning and professional growth through LS using Clarke and Hollingworth’s interconnected model of professional growth (IMPG) that contains three components: domains of change, mediating mechanisms, and change environment. With regard to domains of change, we found that although previous LS studies—often small scaled, qualitative studies—attended to all domains of change, they have more frequently reported changes in the personal (or collective) domain (e.g., teacher knowledge) but have relatively less frequently reported changes in other domains. In fact, there is a lack of research on systematic changes across domains in the IMPG. Regarding the mediating mechanisms, research has well explored both enactment (planning and teaching) and reflection (debriefing). For enactment, the planning process is less appreciated, and there is an inconsistent understanding of the role of the knowledgeable others. For reflection, there is a lack of focus on student thinking and constructive feedback during this process. Finally, research has suggested that LS has received support from the change environment but that tensions (e.g., time limits) have remained. These challenges call for systemic support and cross-cultural collaborations to develop sustainable and large-scale LS. We suggest future directions for continued research and practice.

Previous research has consistently shown that juvenile violent victimization is associated with an increased risk of future criminal involvement, a phenomenon commonly known as victim-offender overlap. Despite a growing interest in the factors underlying this overlap, potential roles of major life transitions and turning points that may interrupt and reshape the nature of this developmental association have garnered less academic attention. Analyzing nationally representative data from waves I, IV, and V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; n = 10,205), this study investigates the association between juvenile violent victimization and adult criminal outcomes (i.e., violent offending, non-violent offending, arrest, and incarceration) and whether this association is moderated by military service with and without combat experience in young adulthood. Employing a series of logistic regression analyses and adjusting for a host of covariates, measures of selection, and criminogenic traits, we found that juvenile violent victimization was significantly associated with greater odds of violent offending, arrest, and incarceration in adulthood. Among individuals with violent victimization histories, military service with no combat experience was associated with a 16% decrease in the odds of incarceration in adulthood. Combat experience, however, was associated with over seven times greater odds of violent offending in adulthood for these individuals. These findings have important implications for theory, research, and practice, and highlight the relevance of life transitions and turning points in general, and military service in particular, in mitigating or perpetuating the criminogenic impacts of violent victimization in the life course.

Background The delivery of effective, evidence‐based early reading instruction depends partially on teachers' knowledge about reading acquisition, development and pedagogy. Research shows that teachers often perform poorly on measures of reading‐related knowledge, often cited as one explanation for a gap between reading research and classroom practice. Studies on whether teacher knowledge improves student learning by leading to higher quality reading instruction, however, have produced mixed results. It is theorised that teachers' beliefs also influence the enactment of knowledge in the classroom. Yet, in comparison with investigations into teachers' knowledge, less research has explored their beliefs, including self‐efficacy expectancy beliefs. Finally, although conceptually both knowledge and beliefs shape teachers' instruction, researchers often have limited information about what actually occurs in the classroom. Methods We examined the knowledge, self‐efficacy expectancy beliefs, self‐reported literacy practices and literacy lesson plans of 34 teachers of reading working in four neighbouring rural schools to identify both strengths and areas for growth as potential targets for professional learning efforts. Results On average, teachers demonstrated low levels of knowledge, reported implementation of both evidence‐based and nonevidence‐based practices and planned lessons that included only some essential components of a comprehensive early reading programme, with limited evidence of differentiation. Teachers overwhelmingly reported strong self‐efficacy expectancy beliefs for teaching beginning readers. Conclusions Addressing the reading research‐to‐practice gap requires deeper understanding of not only teachers' knowledge but also their perceived self‐efficacy and instructional practices. Such information is critical for designing and delivering targeted, effective professional development.

Consistent construct definitions are critical for growing research knowledge. Unfortunately, the demands for unique publications often lead us, as researchers, to create definitions reflecting our unique perspectives. A lack of definition clarity and consistency makes research replication and theory development more difficult. For instance, while the phrase “leader credibility” is commonly used in business research, we found no consistent or commonly used definition in the literature. This is ironic given leader credibility research is extensive and appears in many academic fields. To address this issue, we applied a literature review to clarify the “leader credibility” definition. Through a systematic literature review of 296 potential articles and subsequent coding of definitions from 88 relevant articles, we developed and validated a leader credibility definitional model through a six-step process. We present this detailed process including the use of a thorough literature review and inter-judge coding to consolidate a leader credibility definition. Furthermore, we offer our process as a method for researchers to clarify other constructs lacking consistently stated definitions across significant bodies of research. As a result, we define leader credibility as the “the perception of a leader’s competence and character.”

In the present study we report the relationship among MRI-based skull and cervical spine morphometric measures as well as symptom severity (disability—as measured by Oswestry Head and Neck Pain Scale and social isolation—as measured by the UCLA Loneliness scale) on biomarkers of allostatic load using estrogen, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and cortisol in a sample of 46 CMI patients. Correlational analyses showed that McRae line length was negatively associated with interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed joint effects of morphometric measures (McRae line length, anterior CSF space) and symptom severity (disability and loneliness) on estrogen and intereukin-6 levels. These results are consistent with allostatic load. That is, when the combination of CSF crowding and self-report symptom (disability and loneliness) severity exceed the capacity of biological resilience factors, then biomarkers such as neuroprotective estrogen levels drop, rather than rise, with increasing symptom severity.

The American option pricing problem is examined in this work using a regime switching finite moment log-stable model. The option prices under this model are governed by a coupled system of fractional partial differential equations. Combination of the coupled system and the spatial-fractional derivative makes it extremely difficult to find an analytic solution. We have constructed a numerical algorithm to numerically solve such problems. The developed predictor-corrector type method is highly efficient and reliable in solving coupled system in each regime having different volatility and interest rates. Two-sided Riesz space fractional diffusion term is approximated using fractional finite difference scheme whereas the classical space derivative term is approximated using central difference formula. Splitting technique is utilized to construct a highly efficient scheme which can also be implemented on parallel processors. Stability and error analysis of the scheme is proved analytically and demonstrated through numerical experiments. Effect of the order of the fractional derivative (also called tail index) on the option prices is shown through graphs by performing numerical experiments for different values of the tail index.

Napoléon Bonaparte revolutionized the practice of war with his reliance on a mass national army and large-scale conscription. This system faced one major obstacle: draft evasion. This article discusses Napoléon’s response to widespread draft evasion. First, we show that draft dodging rates across France varied with geographic characteristics. Second, we provide evidence that the regime adopted a strategy of discriminatory conscription enforcement by setting a lower (higher) conscription rate for those regions where the enforcement of conscription was more (less) costly. Finally, we show that this strategy resulted in a rapid fall in draft dodging rates across France.

Purpose Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have little to no functional speech require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Research on AAC intervention with individuals with ASD consistently indicates that teaching requesting skills has been the primary focus, with limited guidance on teaching social communication skills, despite the critical impact of these skills on language development. Furthermore, receptive language is typically not considered when measuring responsiveness to intervention. Thus, it is unclear how individuals with severely affected receptive language respond to current intervention techniques and whether these techniques support generalization of skills. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if clinical practice follows the patterns observed in the research literature and to learn more about how intervention techniques are impacting individuals in this population. Method Thirteen practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were interviewed to describe AAC intervention with this population. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to analyze qualitative data and identify unique themes. Results Seven primary themes emerged related to intervention targets, requesting, social communication, motivation, receptive language, perceived efficacy and challenges, and communication partners. Subthemes for each primary theme are described. Conclusions Clinical practice resembles the research literature, as SLPs emphasize requesting and report the use of evidence-based strategies. However, SLPs reported a lack of guidance for teaching social communication, limited generalization of skills, and lack of AAC uptake by communication partners. Finally, SLPs may not consider individual receptive language abilities when making clinical decisions related to AAC. This article indicates a robust need to identify more effective AAC intervention methods that promote social communication, meet the needs of children with severely affected receptive language, and include families to improve outcomes.

The practice of teacher noticing students' mathematical thinking often includes three interrelated components: attending to students' strategies, interpreting students' understandings, and deciding how to respond on the basis of students' understanding. This practice gains complexity in technology‐mediated environments (i.e., using technology‐enhanced math tasks) because it requires attending to and interpreting students' engagement with technology. Current frameworks implicitly assume the practice includes noticing the ways students use tools (including technology tools) in their work, but do not explicitly highlight the role of the tool. While research has shown that using these frameworks supports preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSTs) developing noticing practices, it has also shown that PSTs largely overlook students' technology engagement when they are working on technology‐enhanced tasks ( Journal for Research in Mathematics Education , 2010; 41(2):169–202). In this article, we describe our adaptation of Jacobs et al.'s framework for teacher noticing student mathematical thinking to include a focus on making students' technology‐tool engagement explicit when noticing in technology‐mediated environments, the Noticing in Technology‐Mediated Environments (NITE) framework. We describe the theoretical foundations of the framework, provide a video case example, and then illustrate how the framework can be used by mathematics teacher educators to support PSTs' noticing when students are working in technology‐mediated environments.

Middle school students ( n = 144) worked with an applet specially designed to introduce the concept of function without using algebraic representations. The purpose of the study was to examine whether the applet would help students understand function as a relationship between a set of inputs and a set of outputs and to begin to develop a definition of function based on that relationship. Results indicate that, by focusing on consistency of the outputs, the students, at a rate of approximately 80%, are able to distinguish functions from nonfunctions. Also, students showed some promise in recognizing constant functions as functions, a known area of common misconceptions. Students' main conceptual difficulty, likely caused by the context, was accepting nonintuitive outputs even if those outputs were consistent.