Tarleton State University

About: Tarleton State University is a education organization based out in Stephenville, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Educational leadership. The organization has 718 authors who have published 1118 publications receiving 23420 citations. The organization is also known as: Tarleton & Texans.

What 21st Century Students Want: Factors that Influence Student Selection of Educational Leadership Graduate Programs

Abstract: Enrollment numbers in graduate Educational Leadership programs are dwindling in many public higher education institutions across the United States. At the same time, for-profit institutions and institutions with private marketing partnerships have experienced increasingly greater enrollments. In this article, the authors present survey results of graduate students in Educational Leadership programs (N=100) to determine the factors that motivate students to select a particular graduate Educational Leadership program. Results suggest that Master's and doctoral-level students primarily select an Educational Leadership program based on the course delivery methods (with hybrid courses most preferred) and the convenience that the program offers in terms of scheduling and location.

A Study of Topic Sentence Use in Scientific Writing

Abstract: This study examines three dimensions of paragraph topic sentence use in a corpus of scientific writing made up of research articles in biochemistry, geology, psychology, and sociology: 1. frequency of topic sentence use; 2. variation of topic sentence frequency in five rhetorical divisions; 3. variation of topic sentence types in these rhetorical divisions. Although the scientific writers used topic sentences in 55 percent of their paragraphs, differences existed among rhetorical divisions as to topic sentence frequency: writers used topic sentences quite often in results, results/discussion, and discussion, but quite seldom in methodology. Furthermore, topic sentence types differed across the divisions. In methodology, the topic announcement predominated; in discussion and introduction, the propositional occurred most often; in results and results/discussion, there was a balance of the two types. All these variations are thought to be related to differences in function (reporting facts versus interpretin...

Age and secular effects on muscular strength of indigenous rural adults in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico: 1978-2000

Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate age and secular changes in strength of rural Zapotec adults in Oaxaca between 1978 and 2000.Methods: Grip strength, height and weight were measured in 1978 (n = 247, 19–82 years) and 2000 (n = 407, 19–89 years); 35 males and 52 females were measured in both years. MANCOVA was used for comparisons by age and year.Results: Grip strength and strength/height decline with age; the slope is greater after 40–49 years. Both are significantly greater in 2000 compared to 1978 only in males 19–29 and 30–39 years and in females 30–39 years. Strength and strength/height decline at a slightly faster rate in females than males during young adulthood, but at similar rates in both sexes during middle age. Strength/mass is greater in 1978 than 2000, but differences are not significant in most age groups. Strength/mass declines linearly with age and rates do not differ between young and older adults of both sexes. Left grip strength/left mid-arm muscle circumference shows a pattern across age similar to...

Modification of a Crop-Specific Drought Index for Simulating Corn Yield in Wet Years

Abstract: Drought occurs when there is a deficit in soil water supply to the plant. Severe drought limits crop yield by causing the plant's water use to be limited compared with a well-watered crop. Too much water (flooded soils) also causes stress to the plant whose roots are in saturated soil for long periods. Both situations lead to crop water stress, ultimately resulting in reduced crop yield. Since flood and drought can occur intermittently in cropping, an effective yield predictor should contain both flood and drought stress components for better representation of the range of natural conditions the plant might encounter during its growth period. This paper details the modification of the Crop-Specific Drought Index (CSDI) model by introducing a soil saturation factor, resulting in a Crop-Specific Stress Index (CSSI) model. The study was conducted in eastern Nebraska and southeastern Minnesota. The coefficients used in the CSSI model were estimated by a jackknifing procedure based on 1971–2002 climate data, nonirrigated yield data of corn (Zea mays L.), and soil information retrieved from the STATSGO database in the crop districts. Results show that all indicators of agreement between the estimated and actual yields show improvement of the new CSSI model over the old CSDI model in all districts. Results also show that the CSSI model outperforms the CSDI model in years characterized by soil saturation. For instance, the CSDI for 1993 overestimates the relative yield in northeastern Nebraska by about 28% while the CSSI underestimates the 1993 yield by 3%.