The mobility rates within the Kindergarten--Grade 12 teacher workforce are distressing, and the teaching profession has a relatively high turnover rate compared to other occupations. The Commonwealth of Virginia encounters many challenges when attempting to retain highly qualified teachers in schools. Despite the state's efforts to staff all schools, high teacher turnover rates persist. Novice teacher attrition is more prevalent in schools identified as hard-to-staff. Turnover affects not only the composition of faculties at individual schools and the stability of these schools but the quality of the teacher workforce as well. The factors that affect the retention of novice teachers in hard-to-staff high schools in Virginia were examined in this study. Similar to Giacometti's (2005) study, compensation, pre-service preparation, external forces, school culture, in-service training support, motivation to teach, and emotional factors were variables used in this investigation. Demographics, principal leadership actions, and economic conditions were added to Giacometti's original theory of novice teacher retention, and some of Giacometti's variables were refined to improve the theory and the quality of the measurements. Following descriptive and exploratory bivariate analyses, binary logistic regression was applied to predict teacher retention with two levels: planning to leave the school and planning to stay in the school. Results indicate that teachers who planned to leave were more likely to be minorities, to perceive less school cultural support, and to perceive less parental support than those who planned to stay. The results of the study have significant practical implications for school leaders, especially those who serve hard-to-staff high schools, in developing retention plans to keep their highly qualified novice teachers. / Ed. D.

Trends of obesity increased over the last 3 decades with the obesity rate doubling from 1980 to 2010. People with disability are more likely to experience health disparities including obesity compared to the general population. Yet research on the determinants of obesity such as self-efficacy, hearing levels, and deaf acculturation styles among those who are deaf or hard of hearing (HoH) is limited. This cross-sectional study, using the social cognitive theory framework, examined BMI and self-efficacy differences between deaf/HoH adults and hearing adults, aged 20 years and older. This study also examined the associations between BMI or self-efficacy and factors of hearing level or deaf acculturation style using the Health Belief and Deaf Acculturation Scale surveys, respectively. A total of 241 participants from Gallaudet University participated in this study. Independent sample t tests and multiple linear regressions were used. There were no differences in BMI (t = -0.285, p = 0.777) and nutritional and physical activity self-efficacy (t = -0.962, p = 0.338 and t =0.766, p = 0.446) between deaf/HoH adults and hearing adults. Among deaf/HoH adults, there were no associations between obesity as well as self-efficacy and factors of average hearing level and deaf acculturation style. This study offers evidence to the literature regarding the relationships between obesity or self-efficacy and factors of average hearing level or deaf acculturation styles among deaf/HoH adults. In addition, this study provided implications for social change as a basis for further research and reducing obesity through adopting current obesity programs while ensuring communication and information access for all deaf/HoH adults with varying levels of hearing and acculturation styles.

Recent data regarding social-emotional challenges indicate elevations in behavior problems (BPs) in deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children (Austen, 2010; Stevenson et al., 2010; van Eldik et al., 2004). Factors affecting this include family and social contexts, language development (LD), and cochlear implantation (CIs). The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze findings across studies for trends in BPs in DHH children. Specifically, a model of the effect of deafness, CI use, and LD on the emergence of BPs in DHH children as compared to hearing children was examined. Studies were collected through systematic searches of psychology databases supplemented by studies referenced in other sources therein discovered. Random-effects meta-analyses using the restricted maximum likelihood estimation method were non-significant (g = 0.31, SE = 0.20, CI [-0.09, 0.71]), as were subgroup analyses (g = 0.36, SE = 0.22, CI [-0.07, 0.80]). A metaregression using CIs as a predictor evidenced a nonsignificant reduction in BPs for deaf children with CIs and CIs did not significantly predict BPs in deaf children. Unexplained heterogeneity remained elevated in all cases (I2 above 96%). In sensitivity analyses, I2 decreased to 87%, suggesting that designs of included primary studies may have impacted those studies’ data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Unmeasured variables such as LD may explain much of the remaining heterogeneity. Collaborating with researchers worldwide, using more inclusive selection criteria, and enacting a longitudinal design could collect a greater variety of data, creating a more complete understanding of the effect of hearing loss on BPs.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a major concern in inverter motor drive systems. The sources of EMI have been commonly identified as high switching dv/dt and di/dt rates interacting with inverter parasitic components. The reduction of parasitic components relies on highly integrated circuit layout and packaging. This is the way to deal with noise path. On the other hand, switching dv/dt and di/dt can be potentially reduced by soft-switching techniques; thus the intensity of noise source is reduced. In this paper, the relation between the dv/dt di/dt and the EMI generation are discussed. The EMI sources of a hard-switching single-phase PWM inverter are identified and measured with separation of common-mode and differential-mode noises. The noise reduction in an auxiliary resonant snubber inverter (RSI) is presented. The observation of voltage ringing and current ringing and the methods to suppress these ringing in the implementation of RSI are also discussed. The test condition and circuit layout are described as the basis of the study. And the experimental EMI spectra of both hard- and soft-switching inverter are compared. The effectiveness and limitation of the EMI reduction of the ZVT-RSI are also discussed and concluded. The control interface circuit and gate driver design are described in the appendix. The implementation of variable charging time control of the resonant inductor current is also explained in the appendix. / Master of Science

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol) / Hard benthic reefs are increasingly known as highly diverse biodiversity ecosystems where sponges constitute a significant proportion of inhabitants. Nearly 60% of the seabed over the inner and outer shelf on the Agulhas Bank comprises hard substrata, and in combination with the convergence of the cold Benguela and the warm Agulhas Currents serves to create a nutrient rich zone supporting multiple fish nurseries. Here we provide the first information on hard benthic reef habitats on the subphotic zone of the Agulhas Bank complex marine protected area, which include Alphard Banks, 72 Mile Reef and 45 Mile Reef, as well as the shallow reefs which include 12 Mile Reef, 6 Mile Reef, 7 Mile Reef, Marthas Reef and inshore reefs within the Tsitsikamma marine protected area. The aim is to provide baseline data on the sponge fauna by identifying species and describing the biodiversity of these hard reefs between the depths 10–200 m on the south coast of South Africa. / 2024

This study was undertaken to explore and understand the attitudes and beliefs of audiology students about Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. The problem of practice was that some audiologists continue to advise parents not to sign with their Deaf or Hard of Hearing children. This problem was studied using the conceptual framework of General Systems Theory, looking at the problem through the lens of Critical Disability Theory, to determine if audiology students view Deaf and Hard of Hearing people from a medical model or from a social/cultural model. Using a qualitative case study methodology, I interviewed six first-year doctor of audiology (AuD) students at a university on the west coast of the United States to delve deeply into their attitudes and beliefs about Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. This study found that these audiology students had overall social/cultural attitudes about Deaf people on the Attitudes to Deafness Scale. Yet, in case-study interviews, which provided a more in-depth look at the views of the students, the terminology the students used demonstrated some institutionalized audist attitudes and beliefs. Every student showed a mixture of medical and social/cultural beliefs. The students made a distinction between the words “Deaf” and “Hard of Hearing.” All the students believed that parents of Deaf children should be offered “communication options” – (signed or spoken language). The four students who had studied American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture were more open to the use of ASL. The two students who had the lowest scores on the Attitudes to Deafness Scale had no experience or background in ASL and demonstrated a preference for amplification technology and spoken language. The students believed that Hard of Hearing children should be raised with spoken language only. The students had a positive attitude about ASL but demonstrated a preference for spoken language. The audiology students understood their role in the medical system, but did not yet understand their part in the Deaf education system. They believed that parent-to-parent support is important but did not understand how audiologists might collaborate with the Deaf community and with teachers of the Deaf as families journey through the process of raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第19758号 / 農博第2154号 / 新制||農||1039(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H28||N4974(農学部図書室) / 32794 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生物科学専攻 / (主査)教授 佐藤 健司, 教授 山下 洋, 准教授 豊原 治彦 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(農学) / 乙第13104号 / 論農博第2850号 / 新制||農||1051(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H29||N5036(農学部図書室) / (主査)教授 森 直樹, 教授 宮川 恒, 教授 三芳 秀人 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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Detonation waves in gases are very complex, involving a highly transient cellular structure and a turbulent reaction zone coupled with transverse shocks. The role of out-of-equilibrium phenomena in these waves remains unclear despite extensive research on the underlying physics. On the small scales, translational non-equilibrium associated with shocks, as postulated by Zel’dovich, may significantly affect the chemistry, and these effects are not yet fully understood. Similarly, very fast chemical processes may involve out-of-equilibrium effects due to local energy release that has been postulated by Prigogine. On larger scales, detonation waves display a cellular structure and are supported by turbulent combustion. The present thesis aims to quantify the importance of these three out-of-equilibrium effects on ignition, wave amplification, and diffraction limits of detonations. First, the role of translational non-equilibrium in reactive dynamics in the thermal explosion problem is investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and continuum models. Ignition delays are calculated and compared with rates from kinetic theory. MD results show agreement with the Prigogine and Mahieu corrections to the reaction rate evaluated from kinetic theory assuming a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Accounting for the departure from translational equilibrium was found to reduce the ignition delay by up to 30% specifically at high activation energies. However, at low activation energies, the standard equilibrium rate shows a longer delay by up to 60%. The molecular dynamics simulations reveal that translational non-equilibrium effects accelerate activated exothermic reactions, referred to as “molecular hotspots”. The second part of the study focuses on the impact of thermal non-equilibrium and its coupling with reactive kinetics in shock-to-detonation transitions in gases. Results suggest that shock-induced ignition and transition to detonation involve non-equilibrium reactions that overlap with the shock structure, showing strong translational non-equilibrium with reactive fingers. Comparison with continuum simulations using different approximations reveals that shock amplification rate and transition to detonation are approximately twice as fast as predicted by conventional Euler hydrodynamic models, despite evidence of non-equilibrium. A Navier-Stokes model with hard sphere transport properties effectively captures the acceleration process, indicating significant implications for modeling gaseous detonations with fast reactions and strongly coupled pressure wave dynamics and reactivity in the detonation structure. In the last part of the thesis, the 3D hydrodynamic structure of cellular detonations is modeled by a global 1D mean hydrodynamic average model. Transport properties are artificially increased to account for the high-speed behavior resulting from fast turbulent diffusion. The existence of steady state Navier-Stokes detonation structure, as studied by Wood, is critically reviewed for this purpose and compared with transient calculations. Observations reveal that in the hyper-diffuse model, the shock and reaction zone overlap, resulting in a thickened reaction zone. The 1D model is used to study diffraction dynamics, with critical diffraction occurring when the tube diameter approaches the hydrodynamic reaction zone thickness. After diffraction, the complex viscous detonation structure separates, resulting in a rapid flame transitioning into a weak detonation. The conclusion of the present survey on the role of out-of-equilibrium effects on detonation dynamics suggests that non-equilibrium ignition due to molecular hotspots may give rise to corrections on the reaction rates by at most a factor of two. The coupling of exothermic reactions with the non-equilibrium structure of shock waves also predicts rates of shock amplification different by a factor of two from the standard Euler model for ignition, but accounting for the diffusive effects brings the MD and continuum predictions into closer agreement. Similarities with the out-of-equilibrium hydrodynamic structure of detonations are discussed.