Georgia College & State University

About: Georgia College & State University is a education organization based out in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Higher education. The organization has 950 authors who have published 1591 publications receiving 37027 citations.

Testing the three- and four-factor models of the Korean version PCL-R as predictors of two antisocial outcomes – recidivism and risk

Abstract: Psychopathy has consistently been associated with antisocial outcomes. The three- and four-factor models have been best fitted to data relating to Korean serious offenders (N = 451), offering construct validity of the Korean Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). However, no study has yet tested the predictive power of the Korean PCL-R to explain two different types of antisocial outcomes: (1) risk of inmates measured by correctional officers during incarceration and (2) recidivism after release. By exploring these two forms of antisociality, here we sought to establish the predictive and construct validities of the Korean version of PCL-R. We found that the deviant lifestyle (Factor 3) performed best for predicting both antisocial forms (risk and recidivism) and that the deficits in interpersonal (Factor 1) and affective (Factor 2) abilities also uniquely predicted one subtype of risk, which suggests the three-factor model is better than the four-factor model in predictions. These findings will b...

Tracking human faecal contamination in tropical reservoirs in Puerto Rico

Abstract: Using a combination of chemical and microbiological (culture-dependent and -independent) approaches, sources of human faecal contamination were identified in two water reservoirs in Puerto Rico ‐ Guajataca and La Plata. Fluorescence from optical brighteners (OB) ‐ commonly found in laundry detergents ‐ was used as an indicator of contamination from septic systems and other household discharges. Traditional indicators of faecal contamination (e.g. Escherichia coli; faecal enterococci) were enumerated, and human faecal contamination was confirmed through detection of Bifidobacterium adolescentis utilizing polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analyses. For Guajataca Reservoir, four of 19 sampling sites (21%) were positive for the presence of B. adolescentis under baseflow conditions. The OB fluorescence data suggested that the most likely source for three of these sites was residential, whereas the source of contamination at the remaining site, although of human origin, was probably non-residential. B. adolescentis was present in 83% (19 of 23) of the sampling sites in La Plata. The La Plata sources were more difficult to identify because samples were taken under stormflow conditions, although the presence of OB fluorescence suggested a residential origin in a number of instances. OB fluorescence and traditional bacterial indicators of faecal contamination produced a number of false positive and negative findings for both reservoirs, pointing to the importance of understanding the limitations of these tools for tropical freshwater systems. The results of this study should be useful in developing a weight-of-evidence approach for the identification of potential sources and extent of human faecal contamination in similar tropical reservoirs, a necessary step in the development of management plans to reduce or eliminate these sources.

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors: Including Children with Special Needs in Ministry:

Abstract: Families with children who have special needs often roam from church to church, never finding a true “home.” Parents are typically more interested in locating a supportive group that accepts their ...

Blow-Up Results for Space-Time Fractional Stochastic Partial Differential Equations

Abstract: Consider non-linear time-fractional stochastic reaction-diffusion equations of the following type, $$ \partial^{\beta}_{t}u_{t}(x)=- u(-{\Delta})^{\alpha/2} u_{t}(x)+I^{1-\beta}[b(u)+ \sigma(u)\stackrel{\cdot}{F}(t,x)] $$ in (d + 1) dimensions, where ν > 0,β ∈ (0, 1), α ∈ (0, 2]. The operator $\partial ^{\beta }_{t}$ is the Caputo fractional derivative while − (−Δ)α/2 is the generator of an isotropic α-stable Levy process and I1−β is the Riesz fractional integral operator. The forcing noise denoted by $\stackrel {\cdot }{F}(t,x)$ is a Gaussian noise. These equations might be used as a model for materials with random thermal memory. We derive non-existence (blow-up) of global random field solutions under some additional conditions, most notably on b, σ and the initial condition. Our results complement those of P. Chow in (Commun. Stoch. Anal. 3(2):211–222, 2009), Chow (J. Differential Equations 250(5):2567–2580, 2011), and Foondun et al. in (2016), Foondun and Parshad (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 143(9):4085–4094, 2015) among others.

When does teacher licensure make sense

Abstract: Teacher licensure is a regime where schools are forbidden from hiring teachers who have not completed a program of study in a teacher education program and/or other preparation requirements. This paper specifies a theoretical model of a school hiring teachers who are either traditionalcompleted a program of study in a teacher education program or alternativeentered teaching through an alternative path. We combine the implications of the theoretical model with the empirical literature on teacher labor markets to reach conclusions about how labor market policies would impact teacher quality. Perhaps the most important conclusion is that it is very likely that a regime of teacher licensure would lower teacher quality and student achievement. The key reason why licensure would lower teacher quality is that licensure fails to make the important distinction between marginal and average quality in hiring decisions.