Edamame's (Glycine max L. Merrill) consumption in the US has also been growing due to purported health benefits. Edamame grows well around the US, but few have measured the growth and yield in the mid-Atlantic region. The objective of these studies were to determine the potential yield of edamame, determine how yield components change with planting date and cultivar, and to measure total protein, lipids, antioxidant activity and isoflavone concentrations at harvest.. The five cultivars (BeSweet 292, BeSweet 2015, BeSweet 2001, Midori Giant and Sunrise) used in the cultivar evaluation trial and for nutritional constituents analysis were grown in Painter, Virginia in 2008 and 2009. The cultivar evaluation trial yielded between 5,600 and 8,400 kg per ha. Percent marketable pods ranged from 74.3 and 85.6% in the cultivar evaluation trial. There were significant differences in average seed size across cultivars in both years. Cultivar lipid content followed the same patterns in both years with 2009 having lower overall concentrations than 2008. Protein contents were similar in 2008 and 2009. Both years, "BeSweet 2015" and "BeSweet 2001" had high radical scavenging ability and Midori Giant had the lowest. In 2008, there were no significant differences in the ORAC assay. "BeSweet 292" had significantly more reducing activity in the DPPH assay than Sunrise in 2009. Isoflavones were measured in 2008 and 2009 at harvest and temporally in 2009. Of all isoflavones, Malonyl genistin had the highest concentration. Edamame is a suitable crop for cultivation in Virginia, and is high in nutritional quality. / Master of Science

The impact of forest roads and skid trails on stream health is being increasingly scrutinized. Forest roads and skid trails have repeatedly been identified as forest operations having the greatest potential to produce sediment by way of non-point source pollution. The stream crossing portion of a skid trail is where sediment delivery is most likely to occur. Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been developed by most states to reduce both erosion and sedimentation. In general, BMPs have been proven to be effective. Few studies have quantified the impact of various levels of BMPs on sedimentation. In this study, three replications of three skid trail stream crossing BMP treatments were monitored following skidder bridge removal to determine their efficacy in reducing sedimentation: slash, mulch, and mulch plus silt fence. Water samples were collected upstream and downstream of each crossing daily for one year following timber harvesting. Samples were evaluated for total suspended solids. Results indicate that both slash and mulch treatments applied to the stream crossing approach after skidder bridge removal are effective at reducing stream sedimentation after harvest. The mulch plus silt fence treatment allowed the most sediment to enter the stream at the approach, perhaps due to silt fence installation disturbances. We do not recommend using silt fences directly adjacent to a stream bank, if other alternatives exist. / Master of Science

This is a study of the democratic practices in ten fifth grade groups of Denison, Texas, in administration, methods, and curriculum. The purpose of this study is three-fold: 1. To make criteria to be used in evaluating democratic action in the elementary schools. 2. To evaluate the democratic practices in ten fifth grade groups of Denison, Texas. 3. To offer recommendations for changes that could be made for the improvement of these groups.

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, principals are often ill prepared for the demands of the job. According to Baxter (2012), every year in the Archdiocese approximately 30 principal vacancies are filled. Many of the Pastors who hire for these vacancies do not have an educational background, nor do they have much experience in hiring practices. With the increase of lay educators leading Catholic schools, not only are competent principals needed, but principals who can be Pastoral, educational, and managerial leaders (Manno, 1985). To increase the probability of hiring strong candidates for the principal vacancies in schools across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a hiring protocol is needed to standardize the process, while encouraging collaboration and input from multiple stakeholders. This case study implemented and evaluated a hiring protocol at one school site within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The protocol was designed to help Catholic schools hire qualified principals, and its development was guided by previous research on effective hiring procedures for such positions. The case-study data collected provides insight into the benefits and of using this specialized hiring protocol while also identifying potential changes to further strengthen the protocol. The results of the case study will be shared with the Department of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to provide a framework for a principal hiring protocol that can be used at all school sites.

Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / Many district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we need further research examining how leaders bridge instructional and social justice leadership practices to disrupt educational inequities. Our study examines how educational leaders weave instructional and social justice leadership skills to cultivate others' social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill. Employing a collective case study framework, this study explores how a mid-sized urban district’s superintendent and school leaders cultivated and promoted the social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill of others. Data was collected through interviews, surveys, and document reviews. The primary research participants included one superintendent, two assistant superintendents, three central office leaders, five school leaders, and six teachers. Our findings highlight four themes: the importance of leaders’ critical self-reflection perceptions of district-level infrastructure and strategic planning, school-level instructional infrastructure and capacity building, and gaps in social justice pedagogical skill. This research has implications for practice, policy, and existing literature related to cultivating and enacting social justice pedagogical knowledge and skill across diverse contexts. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This study is an analysis of the current practices pertaining to electricity as taught in industrial arts programs in the secondary schools of Texas.

This study investigated the effect of cost-of-escape on helping among children. Forty-four children between the approximate ages of six and twelve served as subjects. The experiment was performed in a natural setting using an ice cream truck. The driver (experimenter) manipulated the cost-of-escape and then had an "accident." The easy-to-escape group received their ice cream before the driver spilled 300 spoons on the ground. The difficult-to-escape group had paid for their ice cream but had not received it before the "accident" occurred. The number of spoons picked up by each condition and the lapse time before a member of each group began to help was recorded. No differences were found between the groups (all ps > .05). Implications for cost-of-escape were discussed.

Although behavioral inhibition has been found to be relatively stable, such stability has not always been shown. Moreover, although an association between parental shyness and child behavioral inhibition has been reported, this relationship is imperfect and indirect. The present study proposed that one factor that may impact these relationships is the attitudes parents hold toward having a shy, inhibited child. Although shyness is typically regarded as a negative and maladaptive trait, it is not necessarily viewed as problematic by all parents. The present study investigated a series of ten specific hypotheses that centered around the notion that variations in parental attitudes toward shyness may lead some parents to encourage and other parents to discourage behaviors typically associated with shyness in their young children. Using a longitudinal design, the present study examined the relations among the constructs of parental attitudes toward shyness, child behavioral inhibition, childrearing strategies, and parental shyness over a span of two years in a sample of 3 to 6 year-old children and their parents. Results revealed several interesting and valuable findings. Maternal attitudes toward shyness emerged as a moderator of the relationship between behavioral inhibition at Time 1 and Time 2. Maternal attitudes toward shyness also emerged as a significant moderator of the relationship between maternal shyness and child behavioral inhibition. However, childrearing strategies did not mediate the relationship between maternal attitudes toward shyness and behavioral inhibition in children as predicted. / Ph. D.

This mixed-method study explored the culturally responsive practices of a midsized, Southern California school district that used Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) state funding to implement a voluntary summer program accessible to TK–6 grade students district-wide. Qualitative data gathered from semistructured interviews with the principal on special assignment (POSA), three upper-grade summer school teachers, and three school outreach liaisons (SOLs) highlighted the culturally responsive practices of the school district to address student and family needs, focusing specifically on English learners (ELs). Quantitative data from the school district examined included the summative test scores for EL students in Grades 4–6. Although EL summer school students did not score significantly higher than EL students who did not attend summer school, the findings demonstrated EL students increased their scaled scores in English language arts (ELA), math, and English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). A promising finding was the significant change in scores from before to after the summer school program for EL students. Although the study demonstrated funding alone did not address educational inequity as seen in test scores, the qualitative data highlighted powerful educational practices to help address the needs of students and families. Thus, the culturally responsive design features and practices of the summer school program are an initial start to supporting EL students and shifting the education system toward equity.

The purpose of this study was to describe nutritional screening practices in hospital settings in Virginia. A questionnaire was mailed to each of the chief clinical dietitians employed at 123 Virginia hospitals listed in the 1994 American Hospital Guide (22). Ninety-one (74%) responses were received. Twenty-five (27.5 %) of the hospitals included in the survey were considered large hospitals with more than 300 licensed beds and 66 (72.5 %) were small hospitals with 300 or fewer licensed beds. Re-screening of patients occurred in 40 (60.6 %) of the small hospitals while 8 (32 %) of the large hospitals had re-screening policies. Computers were used for nutritional screening in 17 (68 %) of the large hospitals and 13 (19.7 %) of the small hospitals. Dietetic technicians participated in screening in 10 (40 %) of the large hospitals and in 11 (16.9 %) of the small hospitals. Dietetic students participated in screening in 8 (32 %) of the large hospitals and they participated in 3 (4.5 %) of the small hospitals. Hemoglobin was used in 6 (24 %) of the large hospitals to determine a patients nutritional risk. It was used in 34 (51.5 %) of the small hospitals. Hematocrit was used in 36 (54.5 %) of the small hospitals and in 5 (20 %) of the large hospitals. All of these associations between large and small hospitals were significantly different (p < .05 ) as determined by Chi square analysis. Since there were no other significant associations between large and small hospitals, the reminder of the results were treated as one group of hospitals. Seventy-five (82.4 %) of the hospitals represented in the survey had written screening policies and a standard form was used in 59 (64.8 0/0) of them. Fifteen (16.50/0) of the hospitals surveyed had written screening policies for specialty units; 8 (8.8 %) also had specific forms. The three most common items included in the routine nutritional screening were weight, height, and lab results. Weight and height also were the items most often missing or not available when a routine screening was performed. Albumin was used as an abnormal finding to determine nutritional risk in 79 (86.8 %) of the hospitals; while weight loss was used in 82 (90.1 %) of the hospitals and weight for height was used in 69 (75.8 010) hospitals. / Master of Science