El presente trabajo promueve un nuevo modelo de negocio orientado a una industria nacional que empieza a ganar fuerza en el mercado. El proyecto presentado hace referencia a una plataforma web que fomenta la conectividad entre gamers, y ayuda a fortalecer el desarrollo de una comunidad por medio de una red de contacto. Esta plataforma web ofrece diferentes funciones, entre las cuales resaltan, actualización de noticias y eventos importantes publicados por los usuarios pertenecientes a la comunidad, ofrecer disponibilidad de acceso a torneos publicados por academias de e-Sports para captar competidores y espectadores. Por otro lado, también ofrece un canal de coaching siendo un vínculo entre gamer aficionados en búsqueda de capacitación y gamer con mejores destrezas de juego que necesitan o desean monetizar sus habilidades. Para poder validar todas las hipótesis previamente mencionadas se realizaron una serie de experimentos que nos ayudarán a entender mejor el mercado objetivo y poder adaptar nuestro modelo de negocio. Posteriormente a la validación, se realizaron ventas concretando con éxito el desarrollo de la plataforma y de tal manera poder evaluar si nuestro proyecto será sostenible en el tiempo. / The present work promotes a new business model oriented to a national industry that is beginning to gain strength in the market. The project presented refers to a web platform that encourages connectivity between gamers, and helps to strengthen the development of a community through a contact network. This web platform offers different functions, among which they stand out, updating important news and events published by users belonging to the community, offering availability of access to tournaments published by e-Sports academies to attract competitors and spectators. On the other hand, it also offers a coaching channel being a link between amateur gamer in search of training and gamer with better gaming skills who need or want to monetize them. In order to validate all the previously mentioned hypotheses, a series of experiments were carried out that will help us better understand the target market and be able to adapt our business model. After validation, sales were made, successfully specifying the development of the platform and in such a way being able to assess whether our project will be sustainable over time. / Trabajo de investigación

No description available.

This study attempted to find if there were a significant difference in the academic achievement in B.Y.U. religion courses between L.D.S. seminary graduates and students who had not attended L.D.S. seminaries.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

<p dir="ltr">In 2011, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) published a report titled “Vision & Change: A Call to Action” that called for reform in undergraduate biology education. The report proposed core competencies that educators should target so students are graduating ready to tackle 21st-century challenges. Of these core competencies is the ability to reason quantitatively, which includes graphing. However, undergraduate biology students struggle with applying essential graph knowledge. The following dissertation project addresses these challenges by exploring two graphing tasks: constructing versus evaluating graphs. We primarily focused on introductory biology students' reasoning practices in applying graph knowledge between these two tasks. As such, we used a digital performance-based assessment tool, <i>GraphSmarts</i>, to analyze students' graphing choices and their justifications in an ecology-based scenario. Chapter 2 discusses the findings of these analyses (n=301), which revealed a disconnect in graph knowledge application between students' graph construction and evaluation skills. While students tend to create basic bar graphs when constructing graphs, they prefer more sophisticated representations, such as bar graphs with averages and error bars, during evaluation tasks—suggesting that the framing of a task influences students' application of graph knowledge between their recognition of effective data representation and their ability to produce such graphs independently. While insightful, we needed to explore ‘why’ this variation exists. Chapter 3 explores the root of this variation through student interviews (n=12). Students would complete the two tasks, followed by questions that help clarify their thought processes. Through the lens of the Conceptual Dynamics framework and the Dynamic Mental Construct model, the study identified two critical cognitive patterns, ‘mode-switching’ and ‘mode-stability.’ Results reaffirm the context-dependent nature of students' graphing knowledge and the influence of task framing on their reasoning processes, as seen in Chapter 2. Results from this project can inform recommendations that biology educators can consider, including 1) having students conduct multiple types of graphing tasks beyond construction, 2) teaching statistical features more explicitly by integrating them into course content, and 3) encouraging students to reflect on their graphing practices. That would be expected to address these instructional needs and foster characteristics of quantitative reasoning and graphing that transfer out of biology. Future directions on this work include exploring other standard graphing tools (Excel, R studio) on graph knowledge, examining the transferability of graphing skills across biological sub-disciplines, and developing targeted interventions for gaps in students' graphing competencies across various graphing tasks. Overall, the work contributes toward developing evidence-based instructional strategies that will be supportive in cultivating competent, robust quantitative reasoning and graphing skills among undergraduate biology students.</p>

Spring dead spot (SDS), a monocyclic, soil-borne disease caused by Ophiosphaerella spp., affects the rhizomes and stolons of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers), and is particularly severe in regions with extended dormancy, such as the transition zone. This research evaluates three aspects of SDS management: environmental influences, disease mapping, and the economic feasibility of precision treatments. To measure the relationship between local topography and SDS localization, UAV imagery was collected from 16 golf course fairways across three locations in Virginia and SDS coordinates were recorded. Using state lidar data, environmental factors such as slope, aspect, annual sunlight, and landform type were quantified. Generalized linear mixed-effects models revealed increased odds of SDS occurrence on north-facing slopes and landforms such as peaks and shoulders (p ≤ 0.001), while pits, valleys, and south-facing slopes were associated with decreased odds (p < 0.001). However, topographic features accounted for only 4.2% of the variance in disease distribution, indicating that other factors also play significant roles in SDS development. In parallel, precision treatment strategies (spot and zonal applications) were evaluated in a randomized complete-block design. Compared to full-coverage and untreated controls, precision treatments achieved similar disease control (p ≤ 0.001) while reducing the treated area by 48–52% (p ≤ 0.001), demonstrating a previously described Python script for spring dead spot detections efficacy in generating actionable disease maps. Finally, the economic viability of precision SDS management was assessed at the Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, VA. Cost analyses comparing precision and conventional treatments showed that a GNSS-equipped sprayer, used for precision applications, provided cost savings over a 10-year horizon when applying isofetamid or a combination product of pydiflumetofen + azoxystrobin + propiconazole. Conversely, this strategy was not cost-effective with annual applications of tebuconazole due to its low cost per application. These findings suggest that adopting precision treatment methods with appropriate fungicides can reduce costs and improve sustainability in SDS management. Together, these studies highlight the potential for integrating disease mapping, environmental analysis, and economic modeling to optimize SDS management strategies in turfgrass systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / Spring dead spot (SDS) is the most economically important disease of bermudagrass in the United States. It is caused by Ophiosphaerella spp. of fungi, which infect the horizontal growth structures of the plants causing damage in the fall leaving plants more susceptible to damage over the winter, these areas then fail to emerge from winter dormancy. Damage from SDS is often severe and long lasting making it important to avoid. While SDS has been well-studied, many important questions remain, including ways to improve management efficiency with fungicides and the reasons the disease develops where it does. To address questions on precision management we used a previously described Python script to build custom disease maps of SDS on golf course fairways. We looked at 16 fairways across 3 different locations in Virginia and treated them with either full-coverage applications, precision spot or zonal treatments based on the script, or left them untreated. Fairways treated with the spot and zonal treatments showed similar SDS suppression to full-coverage treatments the following year while using an average of 49% less fungicide. Next, we targeted concerns held by golf course superintendents. The first of these projects looked at the economic viability of these precision treatments over an entire golf course. To answer this, we recorded the amount of labor and money associated with precision treatments over an entire 18-hole course and found that the net present value over 10 years of purchasing a new GNSS sprayer for precision applications could be less than purchasing a new conventional sprayer for traditional applications. Finally, many golf course superintendents will say that SDS occurs more often on north-facing slopes. We looked at SDS locations in fairways that received little to no treatment previously and compared that to topography data. We found that while north-facing slopes and several other factors including the shape of the land itself were more likely to have SDS, the degree to which this is the case is not biologically relevant. These projects together highlight the complex nature of SDS and show that while its biology is complex, it is possible to control using precision turfgrass management techniques.