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Youth Tobacco Surveys have been conducted in several states in the U.S. in recent years, in order to design policies with the goal of reducing tobacco use among young people. Some primary analysis of those surveys has been done, but few analyses include modeling, and the study of independence has been addressed, mainly, in the bivariate context. In this work contemporary methods, which are of relative recent appearance in categorical data analysis, will be examined, including logistic and log-linear modeling as well as graphical displays and correspondence analysis. These methods will be applied to data from the 2000 Tennessee Youth Tobacco Survey. The objective is to demonstrate that methods of multivariate categorical data analysis can provide fresh insight about the behavior of adolescents with respect to tobacco use. The ultimate purpose of this work is to recommend methodology that goes beyond that which is currently published.

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has replaced its predecessors, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) as the new sole accreditor for educator preparation in the United States. As the new accreditor, CAEP has established a new set of accreditation standards and cross-cutting themes by which it intends to measure educator preparation programs (EPPs) worthiness to received accredited status. These new standards and cross-cutting themes are untested and need to be researched in order to determine the degree to which they constitute valid and reliable measures of an EPP's potential to produce quality teachers. To evaluate one aspect of CAEP's new standards and cross-cutting themes (i.e., diversity), this study used hierarchical liner modeling to regress elementary candidates' student teaching performance assessment scores on school- and classroom-level diversity variables to evaluate the impact that being placed in a diverse field experience might have had on candidates' performance during student teaching. The analysis found that the levels of diversity in the student teaching placements had little to no impact on the elementary candidates' performance on diversity items on their teacher performance assessments completed by university supervisors and mentor teachers during student teaching. A confirmatory factor analysis also determined that the diversity related contextual factors of the schools used in the study could not be reduced to a single diversity score. Diversity is clearly a complex multidimensional construct comprised of a variety of interdependent yet distinct constructs. Developing competency in diversity and multiculturalism clearly requires more than simply being placed in a diverse student teaching placement. This does not discredit the practice of providing candidates a variety of field experiences; however the findings from this study call into question CAEP's assumptions regarding diversity and multicultural education embedded in its standards and cross-cutting themes.

Researchers have studied professional learning communities for over two decades. Educators have utilized the elements of professional learning communities in their schools to improve instruction and student learning. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence that establishes, describes, and confirms this relationship. This study was completed to better understand the nature, strength, and types of relationships between the individual elements of professional learning communities and student achievement. The sample for this study was 26 elementary schools, 439 teachers, and nearly 11,000 students. An analysis of professional learning communities and student achievement data through hierarchical linear modeling indicated that each of the eight clearly defined elements of professional learning communities have a significant relationship with student achievement.

Using measures of student growth has become more popular in recent years—especially in the context of high stakes testing and accountability. While these methods have advantages over historical status measures, there is still much evidence to be gathered on patterns of growth generally and in student subgroups. To date, most research studies dealing with student growth focus on the effectiveness of specific interventions or examine growth in a few urban areas. This project explored math, reading, and English language arts (ELA) growth in the students of two rural school districts in Utah. The study incorporated hierarchical and latent growth methods to describe and compare these students’ growth in third, fourth and fifth grades. Additionally, student characteristics were tested as predictors of growth. Results showed student growth as complex and patterns varied across grade levels, subjects and student subgroups. Growth generally declined after third grade and students experienced summer loss in the second summer more than the first. Females began third grade ahead of their male peers in ELA and reading and began at a similar level in math. Male students narrowed the gap in reading and ELA in fourth and fifth grade and pulled ahead of their female peers in math in third grade. Low SES students were the most similar to their peers in math and ELA growth but were ahead of their peers in reading. Hispanic and Native American students started consistently behind white students in all subjects. Hispanic students tended to grow faster during the school year but lost more over the summer months. Native American students had more shallow growth than white students with a gradual decline in growth in fourth and fifth grades. ELA and reading growth were more closely related to each other than with math growth. Initial achievement estimates were more highly correlated with subsequent growth than previous years’ growth. A cross-classified model for teacher-level effects was attempted to account for students changing class groupings each school year but computational limits were reached. After estimating subjects and grade levels separately, results showed variance in test scores was primarily due to student differences. In ELA and reading, school differences accounted for a larger portion of the overall variance than teacher differences.

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) has largely focused on individual and dyadic-level risk factors, but recently studies have explored how the surrounding environment is associated with IPV/IPSV. Studies that have explored community-level variables typically only use IPV/IPSV samples and do not first compare indicators of IPV/IPSV to those of general crime in those same communities. To address these gaps, this study was conducted in two parts. Data were retrieved from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Reporting System, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps System, the US Census Bureau, and other sources. Study 1 first determined that aspects of gender inequality, specific socioeconomic variables, and health-related factors differentiated IPV/IPSV from community crime. Study 2 utilized multilevel modeling to further investigate the nested effects of IPV/IPSV on individuals within the larger community. Significant individual level variables included younger age, differences among relationship type, and drug use. At the community level, factors related to socioeconomics and children, firearm prevalence, and certain health-related factors (e.g., lack of health insurance) were important when comparing IPV/IPSV. Prevention and intervention efforts should improve healthcare access and medical IPV screening, target younger age groups, provide specific resources to improve socioeconomic status, and reduce excessive drug/alcohol use and firearm use in IPV/IPSV.

The ankle joint complex is a common source of injury for various demographics and is often observed during gait analysis. I investigate using soft robotic sensors as a means for collecting kinematic data at the ankle joint complex. I validate the linearity of these sensors by measuring stretch against extension and against stretch from frontal and sagittal planar foot movements using a wooden ankle mockup. I then conduct a study involving ten participants who perform repetitive trials of four foot movements (plantarflexion, dorsiflexion, inversion and eversion) using ten different locations. Four optimal locations were identified for these movements based on linearity, accuracy, robustness, and consistency. Lastly, I validated soft robotic sensors against the human gait cycle. Twenty participants were recruited and performed twelve trials, walking across a flat surface and a cross-sloped surface while motion capture data and soft robotic sensor data was collected.

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No description available.