Word Study

My primary objective in undertaking this Honors project in word study was to increase my command and capabilities in utilizing words. Understandably, as one progress in his education and life, the need for words--more precise meanings, more vivid and appropriate words--are needed. It is an open-ended endeavor. In order to accomplish this objective, I undertook as my requirement for each week to study and fully comprehend the definition of one hundred words. This was efficiently accomplished through the book, Word Mastery Made Simple by Arthur Waldhorn, Ph.D. an Arthur zeiger, Ph.D. Each chapter has a core list of fifty words, plus supplementary information about the English language (i.e. prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, etc.). Included in each chapter are Word Mastery Tests that help the student to understand the words and their uses more fully. Two chapters were required per week along with a conference time each week was used as a time to discuss the words and their meanings, and clean up anything that might be confusing

Financial Aid Director: Educator, Leader, or Manager

The landscape of higher education is ever-evolving, and the financial aid office, in particular, has experienced drastic changes throughout the years in order to become the massive and complex system that is known today. Considering that financial aid can directly influence major institutional benchmarks such as enrollment and graduation rates, and the fact the position of financial aid director is not standardized across institutions of higher education, a further look into the primary role of a financial aid director is important and necessary. This study will allow for a better understanding of what behavioral characteristics are most closely associated with directors of financial aid who are members of the Coalition of State University Aid Administrators (COSUAA). More specifically, the primary purpose of this study is to better understand whether the COSUAA financial aid directors identify primarily as educators, leaders, or managers. The framework presented by Gregory Elkins during his research on student affairs officers served as the conceptual framework behind this study. Elkins (2006) pulled from the theoretical perspective of Winston et al. (2001), which outlined that student affairs administration focuses on three roles or domains: an educator, a leader, and a manager. The web-based survey adapted for this study was sent to COSUAA financial aid directors over a two week period in July 2019. The results yielded a 48.9% response rate, and the data collected was able to identify that directors of financial aid at COSUAA institutions primarily consider themselves to be leaders, most admire leaders, and perceive their overall responsibilities as those of a leader. However, the data also revealed that the manager domain best describes their time spent daily, as well as what is most essential for aspiring financial aid directors. Nine one-way ANOVAs were conducted using Bonferroni adjusted alpha levels of .05, and this analysis suggested a significant difference in how directors who self-identify as a leader and directors who self-identify as a manager view their overall responsibilities as a manager; the time spent daily as a manager; the time spent daily as a leader; and the essentialness of the manager domain to aspiring aid directors. Advisor: Brent Cejd

Role of underappreciated vectors in malaria transmission in an endemic region of Bangladesh-India border

Background Despite the efforts of the National Malaria Control Programme, malaria remains as an important public health problem in Bangladesh, particularly in the south-eastern region bordering India. Successful malaria control strategies rely on a detailed understanding of the underlying causes of malaria transmission. Here, an entomological survey was conducted in a malaria endemic area of Bangladesh bordering India to investigate the Anopheles mosquito community and assess their Plasmodium infection status. Methods Monthly entomological collections were undertaken from October 2010 to September 2011 in five villages in the Matiranga sub-district, Khagrachari district in Bangladesh, bordering the Indian State of Tripura. CDC miniature light traps were placed inside houses to collect adult Anopheles mosquitoes. Following morphological and molecular identification of the female Anopheles mosquitoes collected, they were screened for circumsporozoite proteins (CSP) of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), Plasmodium vivax-210 (Pv-210) and Plasmodium vivax-247 (Pv-247), by ELISA to determine natural infection rates. Variation in Anopheles species composition, relative abundance and Plasmodium infection rates were analysed between sampled villages. Results A total of 2,027 female Anopheles were collected, belonging to 20 species. Anopheles nivipes was the most abundant species in our test villages during the peak malaria transmission season, and was observed sympatrically with An. philippinensis in the studied area. However, in the dry off-peak season, An. jeyporiensis was the most abundant species. Shannon’s diversity index was highest in October (2.12) and evenness was highest in May (0.91). The CSP ELISA positive rate overall was 0.44%. Anopheles karwari (n = 2), An. barbirostris s.l. (n = 1) and An. vagus (n = 1) were recorded positive for Pf. Anopheles kochi (n = 1) was positive for Pv-210 while An. umbrosus (n = 1), An. nivipes (n = 1) and An. kochi (n = 1) were positive for Pv-247. A mixed infection of Pf and Pv-247 was detected in An. barbirostris s.l.. Conclusion High diversity of Anopheles species was observed in areas close to the international border where species that were underestimated for malaria transmission significantly outnumbered principal vector species and these may play a significantly heightened role in malaria transmission

Benefits of Patient-care simulations for Nurse Education

This presentation was created to inform first-semester nursing students about the importance of the simulation labs they will complete throughout their BSN schooling. The research conducted indicated that these mock experiences were substantially beneficial for how nursing students learned bedside manners and clinical skills. Simulations allow students to prepare themselves to interact with patients professionally and safely while working effectively to improve patient outcomes. Although the sim-lab is a controlled environment, the scenarios that students will graded on are very real scenarios they may encounter during their clinical rotations. Our project aimed to inform students about what they can expect during a simulation and how they can make the most of their experience. With the evidence we included in our presentation, we hope the students will apply our message to their academics and careers

Alexandra Leaving: An Exploration into Sherlock Holmes and the Writer, Reader, Character Relationship

My project explores the relationship between reader, writer, and character. More specifically, I am investigating the character of Sherlock Holmes. Many aficionados of the series entertain themselves by pretending that Holmes was a real historical figure and using Doyle’s suggestions to create theories for solving “problems” or mysteries left by the stories. Why did Watson’s wife call him ‘John’ when we all clearly know his name is James? Could Holmes really survive his fall off of Reichenbach Falls when his death seemed eminent? How did Holmes know so much about the swamp adder when it is not even a real snake? All of these questions are ones of authorial (un)intention, but other players take the game to the next level and try to infer facts about Holmes’ personal life that are out of the scope of Doyle’s writing. Readers want to know if Holmes was ever married or had children. Was Watson secretly the genius all along and Holmes merely took the credit? Did Holmes’ drug use have a deeper and darker side? Like others before me, I attempt to answer questions of this second nature through story and the writing of a novella. While I am writing about Holmes, I am also writing about all authors and their characters as well as comparisons between loving relationships and relationships readers have with books.No embarg