Powder preform forging : an analytical and experimental approach to process design

Downey, Charles Lawrence UMI 1973 국내박사

The Relationship between Grade Level of Test Administration and Student Achievement on the Virginia Standards of Learning Assessment in United States History to 1877

Downey, Patricia L University of Virginia 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the grade level (5 or 6) for testing a Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) history assessment (USI) explained variability in the pass rate on that assessment, over and above what was explained by socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, learning disabilities, limited English proficiency, reading ability, teacher quality, and the effect of test years on student achievement. With the school division as the unit of analysis, three stepwise regression models were utilized for each year, for all years pooled, and for all years pooled with test year indicator variables added to the equation. None of the three models indicated that the grade level at which the assessment was administered contributed to statistically significant variability on the USI pass rate. Reading ability explained the greatest amount of the variability in all models, ranging from 15.2% to 38.2%. The three models explained between 19.2% and 53.3% of USI pass rate variability. Over time, variability in the USI pass rate explained by reading ability decreased, and overall variability explained by the combination of predictor variables decreased. The findings suggest that in making course grade sequencing decisions, Virginia school divisions should be cautious about placing the USI course at grade 6 on the assumption that students will perform better than if it were placed at grade 5. Instead, by emphasizing reading achievement, the USI pass rate is likely to improve, regardless of the grade level at which the subject is taught.

The influence of emotion on perceptions of job satisfaction among community college administrators in Virginia

Downey, John A University of Virginia 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Despite the anticipated decline in the number of qualified community college administrative leaders (Machanic, 2003; Patton, 2004), there has been little research examining the factors that promote job satisfaction among the nation's community college presidents, vice presidents, deans and directors (Dunn, 1983; Gillett-Karem, Smith & Simpson, 1997, Murray & Murray, 1996, 1998; Murray, Murray & Summar, 2001). A theoretical model for administrative job satisfaction among four year college and university administrators was developed by Volkwein and Zhou (2002, 2003), and they identified intrinsic and interpersonal factors as providing the most significant impact on overall job satisfaction. The current study extended their model by examining job satisfaction among community college administrators in Virginia, and by exploring whether emotion is associated with administrative job satisfaction. The study's purpose was to explore how specific elements of emotion influence self-perceptions of job satisfaction among community college administrators in Virginia. Results indicated that administrators who work in higher administrative ranks reported greater job satisfaction, that satisfaction was significantly associated with age, administrative department and institutional size, and that higher levels of emotional intelligence and more positive emotional temperaments were associated with greater levels of administrative job satisfaction. Implications of the findings for future research are presented.

Lay theories of health: Multidimensional conceptualizations of what comprises health in young and middle-aged adults

Downey, Christina A University of Michigan 2008 해외박사(DDOD)

The present research sought to identify the content, structure, and conceptual and behavioral correlates of lay theories of health in young and middle-aged adults. Lay theories of health are the unarticulated beliefs of laypeople about what it is to be healthy. These theories were assessed in a Prestudy through open-ended survey questioning of 262 adults at four community sites, as well as nationally over the Internet. After an initial coding and judgment process by trained research assistants, 325 distinct responses to the item asking participants to describe a "very healthy person" were identified. Further judgment resulted in an item pool of 259 items to be studied in the next stage of the research. These responses were then rated on their importance to health by laypeople and by experts in separate studies (Studies 1 and 1 b). Lay and expert theories about dimensions of health were compared, and some differences were revealed. Items which were rated as most important to health by laypeople (95 items) were administered to a third sample of adult laypeople over the Internet (Study 2), along with some other reliable and valid wellness measures. Participants also rated a set of five empirically-derived profiles of fictional individuals on their healthiness and unhealthiness. These profiles were comprised of items which had been rated as important to health in Study 1 (e.g., by laypeople). Ratings of these profiles showed the hypothesized pattern of increasing with higher correspondence to an "ideal" health profile. Responses to the 95 layperson-generated items were analyzed through exploratory factor analytic procedures, and five dimensions of health were identified. These were labeled Social-Emotional Health, Positive Health Practices, Absence of Illness, Absence of Stress and Anxiety, and Adequate Rest. A new measure of lay theories of health was created measuring these dimensions, as well as a summary score called Multidimensional Health. Initial validation of this measure was conducted through comparing it to the other measures of well-being administered in Study 2, and through its associations with self-reports of selected health behaviors. Findings were discussed in relation to clinical practice, research in other disciplines, and various theories of health behavior.

Bringing Health to Life: An Institutional Ethnography of the Social Determinants of Health Framework in a Maternal and Child Health Setting

Downey, Margaret Mary ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Cali 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Understanding Infants' Ocular Motor Responses to a Random Walk

Downey, Colin ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Indiana University 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Building the Nation, Binding the State: Nationalism, Insecurity, and Ethnic Tolerance in Kyrgyzstan

Downey, Kara M ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Stanford Universit 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

Following an outbreak of ethnic violence in 2010, the Kyrgyz Republic embarked on an ambitious program of promoting a Kyrgyz-centric form of national identity. The international community reacted with alarm, worried that the "Kyrgyz-i cation" of the country would lead alienate minorities and encourage more violence from the Kyrgyz, while the Kyrgyzstani government argued that Kyrgyz culture was itself under threat, and that solidifying its position within Kyrgyzstan would ultimately reduce tensions. These arguments reflect a wider and more abstract debate within the political science literature about the dangers and benefits of nationalism, the challenges of building national identity in a multi-ethnic context, and the relationship between nationalism and ethnic violence. Using a combination of interviews, ethnography, and survey experiments, I find that exposure to nationalist propaganda reduces feelings of insecurity on the part of ethnic Kyrgyz, which in turn reduces their propensity to view members of minority groups as threats. This, in turn, makes ethnic violence less likely. Minority group members, in turn, are willing to tolerate Kyrgyz culture, language, and history receiving a certain amount of privilege within the Kyrgyz Republic. However, the content of nationalist propaganda can vary considerably, and in cases in which it advocates hostility towards minorities it can do great harm.

School Principals’ Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leadership Values and Well-Being Supports that Guided Principals Through the Crisis

Downey, Jessica R Boston University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

School principals experience an emotional toll as they respond to crises for individuals, groups, schools, and communities. Little research and guidance exist on how to support building principals as they shoulder the pain and trauma of the school communities they serve. Dr. Mark Greenberg of Penn State University shared during an EdWeek webinar in October, 2020, “Being a principal is a highly stressful profession...Their ability to manage this stress is the best predictor about how well their teachers feel, the trust that develops in the school, and as a result we know that the principal actually affects student achievement outcomes.” The greater the stress a school principal experiences without attending to their personal well-being can negatively impact the health and success of the schools they lead.However, research does indicate that principals’ increased state of well-being can positively impact the school communities and educational experiences for children. The Wallace Foundation published the report, How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research, and notes previous findings that school principals are only second to classroom teachers in impacting student achievement may have understated the importance of a quality school principal. While the teacher can directly impact that one student, the building principal has the power and influence to establish equitable schools and student outcomes for an entire community.In order for principals to be the best leaders they can, for as long as they can, this phenomenological study will examine the experience of school principals through the COVID-19 Pandemic, and what leadership values and well-being supports guided them through the crisis.As the need for quality leadership continues to grow, articulating the experiences and lessons learned from experienced leaders can support the training, mentoring, and growth of new and aspiring leaders. Results of this study may be applied to developing professional networks, addressing gaps in leadership preparation programs, examining the scope and job responsibilities of the school principal, and recommending practices for district leaders to examine.

Postsecondary educational transitions for at-risk youth: Exploration of the College Transition Support Program

Downey-McCarthy, Rosemarie R University of Oregon 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

Working within a Social Cognitive Career Theory framework, the study explored outcomes associated with participation in a dual-enrollment (high school and community college) College Transition Support Program (CTSP). The study used three data points over a nine month period to explore whether participation in the CTSP was associated with changes in college self-efficacy, education-related future aspirations and goals, perceived barriers, perceived support, locus of control, depression, anxiety, academic achievement-related expectations, academic achievement-related fears, and academic achievement-related expectation-fear balance, as well as college persistence and cumulative college GPA. Repeated measure responses of a group of 34 CTSP students were contrasted with a group of 34 students in a non-equivalent comparison group. Baseline data for a group of 207 non-CTSP alternative high school students were also used to test for selection bias for both of the longitudinal groups. Doubly multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (DMRM-ANOVA) procedures were conducted. Multivariate results suggested that participation in the CTSP was associated with positive, statistically significant growth in the weighted linear combination of outcome variables. Repeated measures univariate analyses were also conducted to provide more detail. CTSP participation was associated with growth over time on several positive student outcomes, including college self-efficacy, education-related future aspirations and goals, academic achievement-related expectation-fear balance, academic locus of control, and college persistence/retention. In addition, CTSP students earned significantly higher cumulative college GPAs over their first year at the community college.

Prevention and control of enteric protozoan infections: Public health applications of environmental surveillance and drug treatment studies

Downey, Autumn Sara The Johns Hopkins University 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

The protozoan parasites Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia intestinalis, and Cryptosporidium contribute significantly to the global burden of diarrheal disease. The relative contribution of waterborne, foodborne and person-person transmission is unclear. Further information is needed on sources of infection and vehicles of transmission. In this dissertation, we assessed the potential of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, to act as a mechanical vector for foodborne transmission of Cryptosporidium in the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States. After optimizing methods to maximize recovery of oocysts from experimentally contaminated oysters, Cryptosporidium contamination of oysters from eight commercial harvesting sites was evaluated. Nearly 35% of the 400 pools of oyster samples collected were contaminated with Cryptosporidium parvum. Seasonal, but no spatial variation was observed in contamination prevalence. Significant risk factors included precipitation, specific conductivity of water at the collection site and proximity to either cattle farms or a sewage outfall. This research provided important data on the risks of human Cryptosporidium infection from consumption of contaminated Chesapeake Bay oysters. When prevention efforts are unsuccessful, drug treatment must be relied on to reduce the burden of these protozoan diseases. In this dissertation, we assessed the efficacy of an FDA approved anti-helminthic drug, pyrvinium pamoate, against Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica. We found that pyrvinium was a potent inhibitor of C. parvum in vitro and in vivo. In cell culture, a 350 nM dose was sufficient to reduce Cryptosporidium infection by 50%. In a neonatal mouse model, pyrvinium treatment reduced oocyst shedding to 4% of that seen in controls, and reduced intestinal trophozoite stages by more than 80%. Pyrvinium was less effective at inhibiting in vitro growth of G. intestinalis and E. histolytica, for which 50% inhibitory concentrations of ∼4 muM and ∼12 muM were calculated, respectively. Based on these studies, we concluded that pyrvinium was a potential drug candidate for treatment of cryptosporidiosis and intestinal amebiasis, but not giardiasis. As there is no effective treatment for cryptosporidiosis in immune compromised patients and few drugs are available to treat amebiasis, the identification of this novel activity of pyrvinium has significant public health impact.