Showing papers by "Southern Illinois University Carbondale published in 1996"

Teacher beliefs and intentions regarding the implementation of science education reform strands

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing teachers' intentions to implement the four strands (inquiry, knowledge, conditions, and applications) of the State of Ohio's (U.S.) Competency Based Science Model. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior was used to examine the influence of three primary constructs (attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) on teachers' intentions to engage in the targeted behaviors. The teachers' salient beliefs for each of the primary constructs were further examined to determine their degree of contribution. Differences between various teacher populations for both intent and the three primary constructs were also investigated. The data were obtained using survey research (N = 800 Ohio teachers, randomly selected and stratified by grade level and state region). Backward solution multiple regression and analysis of variance techniques were used for statistical analyses. Results indicated that the attitude toward the behavior construct held the greatest influence of Ohio teachers' intent to implement all four strands of the science model; several salient beliefs for each of the three constructs significantly contribute to the constructs; and significant differences exist between various teacher populations for both intent and the three constructs. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Transgene silencing of the al-1 gene in vegetative cells of Neurospora is mediated by a cytoplasmic effector and does not depend on DNA-DNA interactions or DNA methylation.

Abstract: The molecular mechanisms involved in transgene-induced gene silencing ('quelling') in Neurospora crassa were investigated using the carotenoid biosynthetic gene albino-1 (al-1) as a visual marker. Deletion derivatives of the al-1 gene showed that a transgene must contain at least approximately 132 bp of sequences homologous to the transcribed region of the native gene in order to induce quelling. Transgenes containing only al-1 promoter sequences do not cause quelling. Specific sequences are not required for gene silencing, as different regions of the al-1 gene produced quelling. A mutant defective in cytosine methylation (dim-2) exhibited normal frequencies and degrees of silencing, indicating that cytosine methylation is not responsible for quelling, despite the fact that methylation of transgene sequences frequently is correlated with silencing. Silencing was shown to be a dominant trait, operative in heterokaryotic strains containing a mixture of transgenic and non-transgenic nuclei. This result indicates that a diffusable, trans-acting molecule is involved in quelling. A transgene-derived, sense RNA was detected in quelled strains and was found to be absent in their revertants. These data are consistent with a model in which an RNA-DNA or RNA-RNA interaction is involved in transgene-induced gene silencing in Neurospora.

Productivity growth in apec countries

Abstract: . This paper introduces a new technique for measuring productivity growth and applies it to a sample of APEC countries. The technique is based on a version of Luenberger's shortage function which generalizes Shephard's input and output distance functions.

A survey and taxonomy of strategy‐related performance measures for manufacturing

Abstract: Although the topic of manufacturing performance measurement has recently attracted considerable interest, little has been done to enumerate or classify the measures that exist. Lists 125 different strategy‐related measures that were found through a survey of accounting, manufacturing and managerial literature. Develops a taxonomy which categorizes those measures according to competitive priority (cost, quality, flexibility, delivery reliability, or speed), data source (internal or external), data type (objective or subjective), measure reference (self‐referenced or benchmark), and process orientation (process input or process outcome). Finds that the largest number of measures have been proposed for the competitive priority of flexibility and the fewest for delivery reliability. Most measures have focused only on process outcomes using self‐referenced objective data from internal sources. Based on these results, suggests that companies and academic researchers utilize new or different measures to assess adequately strategy‐related manufacturing performance.

Statistical Inference and Nonparametric Efficiency: A Selective Survey

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief and selective survey of statistical inference in nonparametric, deterministic, linear programming-based frontier models. The survey starts with nonparametric regularity tests, sensitivity analysis, two-stage analysis with regression, and nonparametric statistical tests. It then turns to the more recent literature which shows that DEA-type estimators are maximum likelihood, and, more importantly the results concerning the asymptotic properties of these estimators. Also included is a discussion of recent attempts to employ resampling methods to derive empirical distributions for hypothesis testing.

An Asymmetric Model for the Nucleosome: A Binding Site for Linker Histones Inside the DNA Gyres

Abstract: Histone-DNA contacts within a nucleosome influence the function of trans-acting factors and the molecular machines required to activate the transcription process. The internal architecture of a positioned nucleosome has now been probed with the use of photoactivatable cross-linking reagents to determine the placement of histones along the DNA molecule. A model for the nucleosome is proposed in which the winged-helix domain of the linker histone is asymmetrically located inside the gyres of DNA that also wrap around the core histones. This domain extends the path of the protein superhelix to one side of the core particle.

Assessing Perceptions of Career-Related Barriers: The Career Barriers Inventory:

Abstract: The number and type of barriers that one perceives can be a limiting factor in career choice and implementation, and the construct of perceived career barriers has been increasingly recognized as a...

Relative Stability of Hydrogen and Deuterium Bonds

Abstract: The relative energies of H and D bonds are due to differences in zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE). Ab initio calculations are used to assess the changes in this quantity that accompany all possible substitutions of protium by deuterium in a number of complexes. The ZPVE of the D bond is lower than that of the H bond in the neutral dimer and trimer of water. This difference can be traced to one particular vibrational mode, the one which displaces the bridging atom away from the O···O axis. The heavier mass of D lowers the frequency, and hence the ZPVE associated with it. The situation reverses itself in ionic H bonds. The total ZPVE of the (H2O··H··OH2)+ complex is higher when a D occupies the bridging position, as compared to a terminal site. This difference is attributed to the intramolecular modes. Although replacement of the central H by D reduces the intermolecular ZPVE, the reduction of the intramolecular ZPVE is even larger when the substitution is made at a peripheral atom, so a D would tend to...

Relationship between Teacher Beliefs and Science Education Reform.

Abstract: (1996). Relationship between teacher beliefs and science education reform. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 247-266.

Role of NAD in regulating the adhE gene of Escherichia coli.

Abstract: The fermentative alcohol dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli is encoded by the adhE gene, which is induced under anaerobic conditions but repressed in air. Previous work suggested that induction of adhE might depend on NADH levels. We therefore directly measured the NAD+ and NADH levels for cultures growing aerobically and anaerobically on a series of carbon sources whose metabolism generates different relative amounts of NADH. Expression of adhE was monitored both by assay of alcohol dehydrogenase activity and by expression of phi(adhE'-lacZ) gene fusions. The expression of the adhE gene correlated with the ratio of NADH to NAD+. The role of NADH in eliciting adhE induction was supported by a variety of treatments known to change the ratio of NADH to NAD+ or alter the total NAD+-plus-NADH pool. Blocking the electron transport chain, either by mutation or by chemical inhibitors, resulted in the artificial induction of the adhE gene under aerobic conditions. Conversely, limiting NAD synthesis, by introducing mutational blocks into the biosynthetic pathway for nicotinic acid, decreased the expression of adhE under anaerobic conditions. This, in turn, was reversed by supplementation with exogenous NAD or nicotinic acid. In merodiploid strains carrying deletion or insertion mutations abolishing the synthesis of AdhE protein, an adhE-lacZ fusion was expressed at nearly 10-fold the level observed in an adhE+ background. Introduction of mutant adhE alleles producing high levels of inactive AdhE protein gave results equivalent to those seen in absence of the AdhE protein. This finding implies that it is the buildup of NADH due to lack of enzyme activity, rather than the absence of the AdhE protein per se, which causes increased induction of the phi(adhE'-lacZ) fusion. Moreover, mutations giving elevated levels of active AdhE protein decreased the induction of the phi(adhE'-lacZ) fusion. This finding suggests that the enzymatic activity of the AdhE protein modulates the level of NADH under anaerobic conditions, thus indirectly regulating its own expression.

Nonlinear alignment and averaging for estimating the evoked potential

Abstract: Addresses the problems associated with averaging brain responses evoked through a repetitive application of an external stimulus. In order to improve the estimate of the evoked potential (EP) through signal averaging, a method which incorporates nonlinear alignment of the EPs into the averaging operation is developed. The method makes no prior assumptions about the properties of the EP or which response in the set best characterizes the EP to be estimated. The nonlinear alignment procedure is designed to pairwise generate optimally aligned EPs by backtracking along the optimal alignment path. The nonlinear alignment and averaging operations are systematically combined to develop methods to estimate the EP. Results from a series of experiments conducted on simulated and real sets of responses show that, through nonlinear alignment and averaging, the events in the EPs are preserved and the estimates of the EP are quite robust.

Cost structures in multinational and domestic banking

Abstract: Prior research on international banking has proposed many reasons for the multinationalization of U.S. banks but provided little empirical support for its propositions. Using a pooled-time series data set from 1987 to 1990, this study analyzes the ray and expansion path scale economies and expansion path subadditivity of U.S. based multinational banks (MNBs), both at the firm and the plant levels. It also measures and analyzes inefficiencies for these banks. Inefficiencies are measured relative to a ‘thick frontier’ cost function. A similar analysis is conducted for domestic banks (DBs) for comparison purposes. No support is found for the prior belief that similar cost structures exist for MNBs and DBs. In general, we find that MNBs are able to fully exploit economies of scale, and face lesser diseconomies from joint production and lower inefficiencies than DBs.

Testing a Model of Cognitive Budgetary Participation Processes in a Latent Variable Structural Equations Framework

Abstract: Previous accounting research has suggested that subordinate participation in the budgetary process has two cognitive aspects: (1) participation enhances budget quality, and hence the utility of budgets, by allowing subordinates to introduce private knowledge into the budgetary process, and (2) participation enables subordinates to obtain information that is relevant to performing their jobs. This study tests a model that encompasses both cognitive aspects of budgetary participation. Data were gathered with a questionnaire distributed to managers from a variety of different national origins who were working in many different global locations. The data were analysed with latent variable structural equation modelling, which provides several advantages over more conventional analytic methods generally used in budgetary participation and other behavioural accounting research. The results indicated that participation enhances budget quality and that budget quality, in turn, has a positive effect on bud...

Separation orthogonality in temperature-programmed comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography.

Abstract: In a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph, a thermal modulator serially couples two columns containing dissimilar stationary phases. The secondary column generates a series of high-speed secondary chromatograms from the sample stream formed by the chromatogram eluting from the primary column. This series of secondary chromatograms forms a two-dimensional gas chromatogram with peaks dispersed over a retention plane rather than along a line. The method is comprehensive because the entire primary column chromatogram is transmitted through the secondary column with fidelity. One might expect that a two-dimensional separation in which both dimensions are basically the same technique, gas chromatography, would be inefficient because the two dimensions would behave similarly, generating peaks whose retentions correlate across dimensions. Applying a temperature program to the two columns, however, can tune the separation to eliminate this inefficiency. The temperature program reduces the retentive powe...

Accurate universal parameterization of absorption cross sections.

Abstract: We present a simple universal parameterization of total reaction cross sections for any system of colliding nuclei valid for the entire energy range from a few A MeV to a few A GeV. The universal picture presented here treats the proton-nucleus collision as a special case of the nucleus-nucleus collision, where the projectile has charge and mass number one. The parameters are associated with the physics of the collision system. In general terms Coulomb interaction modifies cross sections at lower energies and the effects of Pauli blocking are important at higher energies. The agreement between the calculated and experimental data is better than all earlier published results.

Religion as Political Resource: Culture or Ideology?

Abstract: While empirical studies of religion's involvement in political life abound, there remains a great deal of fuzziness about the concepts that best capture it. Two often-used approaches are "religion as culture" and "religion as ideology." In some perspectives culture and ideology are treated as mutually exclusive modes of religio-political phenomena; in other perspectives the two concepts are conflated. This article argues for an analytic distinction between culture and ideology that still preserves their interactive and often complementary natures. Examples from empirical studies of religion in politics demonstrate the different ways in which religion acts as a political resource, and the usefulness of the proposed analytic distinction.

Critical Success Factors for Strategic Alliances in the Information Technology Industry: An Empirical Study*

Abstract: Intense competition in the marketplace is forcing organizations to examine different ways by which they could enhance or retain their competitive edge. Strategic alliance is one such option through which an organization can leverage its resources to emerge as an effective competitor. Such alliances are burgeoning in the information technology industry, which is characterized by rapid change and short innovation cycles. Successful management of alliances has proved to be very elusive for the most part, and there is a lack of theoretical and empirical work in this area. Literature on critical factors was synthesized, and then a parsimonious set of critical factors was identified using a combination of interview and survey methodologies. Our study has implications for both practice and future research.

Bearing Capacity of Strip Foundation On Geogrid-Reinforced Sand-Scale Effects In Model Tests

Abstract: Results of small-scale laboratory model tests to determine the ultimate bearing capacity of a strip foundation supported by sand with multiple layers of geogrid reinforcement are presented. Tests were conducted with only one type of geogrid and a sand compacted to one relative density. The embedment ratio of the foundation was varied from zero to 0.6. It is found that, for the given reinforcement-depth ratio, the bearing capacity ratio with respect to ultimate load increases with embedment. The relationship between the bearing capacity ratio at ultimate load and at limited levels of settlement (less than or equal to 5% of foundation width) is also presented. The bearing capacity ratio at limited levels of settlement is smaller than the value at ultimate load.

Followling the Developmental Process of Reflection in Novice Teachers: Three Years of Investigation:

Abstract: Pour etudier le processus de developpement de la reflexion, necessaire a tout enseignant novice dans la pratique pedagogique quotidienne, l'A. utilise deux sortes de donnees: les productions ecrites des enseignants sur des sujets de reflexion donnees et des entretiens portant sur leurs idees et conceptions de la pratique pedagogique. Cette etude a abouti a trois conclusions: a) la reflexion est un processus qui se developpe avec l'experience; b) le caractere de la reflexion varie selon l'activite proposee; c) le developpement de la reflexion apparait mieux a l'aide des entretiens que des productions ecrites

Micrometer resolution silane-based patterning of hippocampal neurons: critical variables in photoresist and laser ablation processes for substrate fabrication

Abstract: Toward the goal of creating patterns of primary hippocampal neurons in low density culture, the authors investigated techniques to fabricate microminiature grids of organofunctional silanes on glassy surfaces. A new photoresist (PR) process, Selective Silane Removal (SSR), was developed and compared to two previously developed techniques which use PR and laser patterning. The grid patterns consisted of 27 combinations of path width, length, and intersection (node diameter). The background consisted of squares bounded for the paths. The best neuron patterning was observed on substrates produced by the SSR process where cytophilic aminosilane is uniformly deposited and selectively removed from the background. Controlling water during aminosilane deposition was critical to good neuronal growth and patterning. Oxygen plasma etching of background regions prior to cytophobic phenylsilane binding significantly reduced off-pattern cell growth. Up to 90% of somata grown on these substrates complied to the pattern, and an average of 77% of background regions were free of neurites or cells connected to the pattern. The highest laser energy density, 120 mJ/cm/sup 2/, produced the best compliance on lased substrates, with an average of 35% of background regions free of connected cells and neurites, but considerable variation across the surface. On substrates with excellent patterning, compliance to nodes was found to be dependent on pattern dimensions, with 20-/spl mu/m node diameters and 80-/spl mu/m internodal path lengths increasing compliance.

Influences on Reinvention During the Diffusion of Innovations

Abstract: This study considers how states change policy innovations as they diffuse. This process, known as reinvention, has been the subject of recent innova tion diffusion research (Mooney and Lee 1995; Gl...