A naturalistic inquiry of a distance learning university tesol program for in-service teachers

Summers-Rocha, Lonna University of Kansas 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

In this naturalistic inquiry, I explore a professional development program which provided Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) graduate coursework from a university in Northeast Kansas to in-service teachers in Southwest Kansas through distance learning. Data sources included interviews, participant observation, and document and records review. Interviews were conducted with 63 participants, including program directors, instructors, and evaluation team members at the university in Northeast Kansas and in-service teachers, project coordinators, school administrators, and English as a second language coordinators in Southwest Kansas. Data analysis conducted through the constant comparative method indicate five broad areas of interest; the context of the university, the context of Southwest Kansas, the Kansas context, KPD courses, and concepts of success. By providing a nuanced narrative of the complexities, contradictions, and constraints of the program I explore how the program is negotiated as the participants interact with each other, their educational contexts, and communities. The results of the study contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the professional development of teachers and the role of universities and districts in this effort.

Factors contributing to the University of Kansas School of Medicine graduates' choice of specialty and practice location

Nguyen, Emma H University of Kansas 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

A retrospective, single institution study using archival data that describes graduates from the medical school and investigates factors that predict specialty choice and practice location of graduates. Student subjects consisted of the 1997 through 2008 graduates at the University of Kansas Medical School. Logistic regression was conducted to determine which factors predict specialty choice and practice location. Results indicated graduates who had a preference for primary care at matriculation, more recent graduates and graduates who completed a residency in Kansas were more likely to practice primary care. Age at graduation, having a rural background, graduation year, location of residency and practice specialty were all significant in predicting practice in Kansas. Results indicated that location of residency, age at matriculation and practice specialty were all significant in predicting practice in a medically underserved area. Graduates who were older were less likely to practice in state but more likely to practice in medically underserved areas. The study is important because the state of Kansas is not only grappling with a shortage of physicians and primary care physicians, it is also grappling with a mal-distribution of physicians in the state. Being able to determine specific characteristics of students who have the propensity to specialize in primary care and practice in state in rural areas will benefit the overall health of its citizens by increasing access to care and keeping the workforce of Kansas healthy as well.

Virtual education in Kansas: 1998-2014

Adams, Christina University of Kansas 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

K-12 virtual education is a growing trend in American education. Virtual education is defined as K-12 online learning experiences led by district-affiliated teachers as part of a structured public school learning program that occur across a distance between the teacher and student in either synchronous or asynchronous modes. Since the first virtual program began in Kansas in 1998, program offerings have spread at a swift rate and now eighty-five districts, approximately thirty percent of all Kansas districts, currently operate virtual programs. As districts in Kansas continue to adopt or consider adopting virtual education as an alternative or supplement to traditional instruction, there is a need to understand the influencing factors surrounding adoption of this educational innovation as well as the pros and cons of this model. This case study exploration of virtual education in Kansas collected data from four sources. First, demographic data for districts utilizing virtual education were compiled from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) to examine district-level characteristics, such as urbanicity, socioeconomic status, and region in the state. Second, Kansas superintendents were surveyed to explore their perceptions about the educational quality of virtual education and the adoption or non-adoption in their districts. Third, virtual education program directors across the state were also surveyed to examine their perceptions of this model, and fourth, six follow-up interviews were carried out with program directors to understand their beliefs about the strengths and weaknesses of K-12 virtual education in Kansas. This study found that perceptions about the quality and merit of virtual education vary drastically by superintendents across the state of Kansas. Districts chose to adopt virtual education to access the perceived benefits of the model and other districts refrain from adopting virtual education in order to avoid the noted limitations of this model. Isomorphic mimicry is an underlying motivating factor influencing some districts to adopt virtual education in order to be like other districts and join the proverbial bandwagon of this growing trend. The major finding of this study is that virtual education is not a one-size-fits-all educational alternative for the majority of students; program directors clearly articulated that this is not the way in which most students will be successful. Thus, this study contributes to the overall understanding of K-12 virtual education nationwide and specifically articulates, through the voices of district leaders and program directors, the perceived challenges, limitations, and benefits of this model for students and districts in Kansas.

The value of water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek Sub-basin: A spatial-hedonic analysis (Kansas)

Golden, Billy Bradford Kansas State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Evidence suggests that advances in technology may be hastening the physical exhaustion of the Ogallala aquifer. This situation places the State of Kansas in a difficult situation. In administering water policy, State agencies are required to achieve an absolute reduction in water consumption, while at the same time maintaining the economic viability of irrigated agriculture in western Kansas. In order to maintain the profitability of irrigated agriculture, technological innovations need to continually be developed through research and adopted by the agricultural community. The question is how to allow this process to continue while at the same time reducing water consumption from the Ogallala aquifer. One potential policy alternative is the Voluntary Water Rights Transition Program (VWRTP) currently under consideration by the State of Kansas. In order to implement the VWETP, the State of Kansas, policy makers, and stakeholders need input from the economic community on both program structure as well as the market value of water rights. This research suggests that the value of water for agricultural purposes depends upon the spatially fixed, site-specific characteristics of the land on which the water is used. These factors include water source, soil type, crop type, depth to water, saturated thickness of the aquifer, the seniority level of the water right, average annual water usage, and local precipitation. Conventional as well as spatial econometric hedonic models were developed to estimate the value of water rights in the Rattlesnake Creek Sub-basin. The spatially unadjusted OLS hedonic models for irrigated and nonirrigated land are considered to be the superior models. Results indicate that there is significant variation in the value of water rights within a given county. The results of this research will be beneficial to the State in the administration of the VWRTP. This information can be used to set the maximum acceptable bids and/or assess the reasonableness of a particular bid. The data might also be useful in program budgeting and/or predicting program success. The regression analysis associated with this dissertation also suggests that the markets for nonirrigated land and irrigated land are separate and distinct and should be modeled separately. The analysis also suggests that the market for irrigated land may be neither competitive nor efficient.

What’s Right (Leaning) With Kansas Media: The Cultivation of Misinformation in Rural America

Vogts, Todd R Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

Misinformation and disinformation have shown the potential to fertilize distrust in the news (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2019; Karlsen & Aalberg, 2021; Swart & Broersma, 2022), which can allow democracy-damaging polarization to grow within the United States. This polarization often takes root due to the erosion of reliable information that can be exacerbated by confirmation bias that may cultivate filter bubbles and echo chambers (Flaxman et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2021; Nechushtai & Lewis, 2019; Pearson & Knobloch-Westerwick, 2019).In many cases, politically motivated individuals and media outlets plant these seeds of misinformation and disinformation intentionally, leaving members of society to graze on the subsequent silage of content. If it lacks nutrients, this information constructs a skewed perception of society. This weakens the social capital bonds that germinate a functioning democracy, which sprouts from reliable and public knowledge (Belair-Gagnon et al., 2019; Lewis et al., 2014; Putnam, 2001). In order to prune misinformation and disinformation from the fields of democracy that are irrigated by journalism’s flow of truth, the pathways to news that individuals take and lead them to the invasive species of information must be considered.This risk is particularly important as it relates to the news consumption habits of rural Americans, who largely live and work in agrarian communities and exist as an important voting block as was evident in the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and the controversy surrounding the outcome of the 2020 election. However, most current research does not examine this group in specific focus or simply largely ignores this swath of the United States population as just “fly-over” country.Thus, with the purpose of filling a crucial gap in the literature, this study investigated the pathways to news for individuals living and working in rural areas of the country, specifically rural Kansas. As the investigative focal point, rural Kansas provides a vital case study to explore how rural citizens come to believe in, and potentially further spread misinformation and disinformation, including conspiracy theories spread by partisan media outlets that include, but are not limited to, talk radio, cable television, and social media.Through the implementation of interviews and an online survey that collected data from these individuals, this dissertation reports how individuals in rural Kansas access and use news in ways that stimulate political division and set the stage for polarization to flourish (Bail et al., 2018; Darr et al., 2021; Gaultney et al., 2022; Talisse, 2021), which can lead to a bruised and battered democracy. This method of inquiry sprouts from the social constructionism perspective of reality. This dissertation thereby positions the media effects theories of Cultivation Theory (CT), Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G), and Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) as the optimal lenses through which to examine the pervasive problem of misinformation and disinformation by seeking the root cause of this noxious information’s spread.To that end, this study found that social media and news websites, television, and radio are the primary pathways to news for rural Kansans. The bulk of the content being consumed via these media comes from national and partisan sources, and, in many cases, it consists of opinion-based material. Driven by the state’s strong religious alignment (Wuthnow, 2012) and predominantly conservative political stance (Kansas Secretary of State, 2023), the media messages align with the previously held beliefs of the residents, even if the information is inaccurate. This leads to those beliefs becoming more entrenched, and the misinformation and disinformation spreads when individuals discuss the news with their peers. The fact that individuals do not recognize inaccurate or false information for what it is indicates a deficiency in terms of media literacy skills. Such a finding was made even more evident by several participants expressing their deeply held beliefs in various conspiracy theories. Compounding this issue is the pervasive lack of trust in the media reported by the respondents. In most cases, individuals said they have little to no trust that they are receiving accurate and complete information from news outlets. This was particularly true in terms of national outlets, and although confidence still wasn’t high, local news was found to be more trustworthy.Still, the overall results suggested that rural Kansans desire more reliable news and information, especially at the local level. Individuals indicated they believed journalism was important for society, and this was even more true locally because study participants suggested engaging socially and politically at that level proved to be more impactful than at the national level. Therefore, the implications of this study are multifaceted. First, misinformation and disinformation are being cultivated in rural Kansas because of the residents’ media consumption homogeneity. Also, media literacy skills need to be improved, which can be achieved through educational initiatives. Furthermore, rural Kansans need to be given better news options, and a primary way to achieve this is to improve local news and access to local news across modalities.

Comparing soil testing methods for soil organic matter, lime requirements, and developing a phosphorus soil test correlation

Florence, Robert J Kansas State University 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

The Kansas State University Soil Testing Laboratory currently uses the Walkley-Black (WB) method for soil organic matter (SOM) estimations, the Shoemaker-Mclean-Pratt (SMP) buffer for lime recommendations, and bases the soybean phosphorus (P) critical value for P fertilizer recommendations off other crops. Hazardous waste is produced from WB and SMP creating a health hazard for workers, and substantial cost for handling and disposal. The substantial increase in land area devoted to soybean creates the need to validate currently assumed soil test P critical value and check the current P recommendations for that crop. Overarching objectives of this dissertation are to find suitable non-hazardous replacements for WB and SMP, and to find the soybean P critical value in Kansas. Three common methods used to estimate SOM are WB, dry combustion (DC), and loss on ignition (LOI). An experiment was set up using 98 Kansas soils to compare WB, scooped and weighed, LOI scooped, and DC weighed. All methods correlated well to each other with LOI to weighed WB, LOI to DC, and WB weighed to DC, having correlation coefficients of 0.97, 0.98, and 0.98, respectively. The lowest variability was observed with DC, followed by WB weighed, LOI, and then WB scooped with average standard deviations of 0.04, 0.13, 0.17, and 0.24, respectively. Two non-hazardous alternatives to the SMP buffer to determine soil lime requirement are the Sikora buffer, and the modified-Mehlich buffer. Sikora's buffer is designed to mimic SMP. Buffer values alone or Mehlich's equation may be used to calculate lime requirements. Thirty seven soils with a pH less than 5.8 were incubated at lime rates 0, 2240, 4480, 8960, and 17920 kg ECC ha-1. Amount of lime required to reach pHs 6.0, 6.3, and 6.6 was calculated. Mehlich's equation better predicted lime requirements for all target pHs and buffers than buffer pH alone. The Sikora buffer with Mehlich's equation provided a better lime estimation than the Mehlich buffer using Mehlich's equation.. A P correlation and calibration study was conducted with soybeans at 23 sites in Eastern Kansas from 2011 to 2014. Soil Mehlich-3 P available P was compared to relative soybean yield at these sites.. Soybean P critical value was found to be between 10 and 15 or 11.6 mg kg-1 using Cate-Nelson, and linear-plateau models, respectively. A linear response to P and relative yield was observed on soils testing between 3 and 8 mg kg-1, but not on higher testing soils.

Interactive engagement in an introductory university physics course: Learning gains and perceptions

Churukian, Alice D Kansas State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

At Kansas State University we have altered our calculus-based introductory physics course to create the <italic>New Studio</italic> format for teaching fundamental physics to large undergraduate classes. This format retains the large lecture component but combines recitation and laboratory instruction into the <italic>New Studio</italic>. Studio is composed of 40 students working in groups of four at tables equipped with modern instructional technology and other apparatus. The group setting allows for peer instruction and development of group skills. Each sequence of the course begins with a traditional lecture to economically introduce students to new ideas, with an emphasis on physics concepts, followed the next day by Studio, an integration of simple experiments/demonstrations with corresponding problems from the previous night's homework set. This sequence occurs twice each week. In this way, problem solving and analysis activities are built into the context of the real, hands-on demonstrations. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of the students and instructors concerning the change from the traditional format to an interactive-engagement format as well as to determine the conceptual gains that the students may have made. To address these questions, open-ended and Lickert scale question surveys were developed and administered to all students enrolled in the courses in the new format. In addition, students volunteered to be interviewed, on an individual basis, throughout the semester, and all instructors involved in the teaching of the courses were interviewed. Finally, conceptual surveys were administered, pre- and post-instruction to evaluate learning gains. The results of this study show that the students find the interactive-engagement method of learning physics to be a positive experience. They liked the integration of homework and laboratory activities, working in groups, and having the opportunity to interact, individually, with instructors. The instructors also considered the new format to be a positive change for similar reasons. The comparison of the pre- and post-instruction surveys indicated that the students made significant conceptual gains in the new format. In light of these results, it is evident that Studio has made a positive impact on the introductory, calculus-based physics course at Kansas State University.

Essays on Leasing Kansas Agricultural Land

Arnold, Chelsea Jewel Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

Nearly half of all the farmland in the United States is farmed by a producer that does not own the land. This is especially true in midwestern states such as Kansas. Leasing, versus owning, farmland requires producers to have significantly less capital upfront, thereby reducing overall financial risk exposure. When deciding to lease, or who to lease to/from, both landowners and tenants face several decisions in contract specifics that benefit both parties.Contract choice in farmland leasing includes many factors outside of simply which contract is preferred as each contract choice brings its own set of costs and benefits for both the landowner and tenant. In Essay 1 of this dissertation, the role of risk in contract choice is studied. A unique dataset of landowners and tenants in Kansas is used to examine the role of risk in their contract choices. Results indicate that greater production risk and more risk-averse landowners lead to use of fixed cash rent contracts. As there can be potentially many relationship variables that affect contract choices, a penalized regression is used to examine whether the inclusion of relationship variables affect the finding and find that the results are robust. Understanding the role of risk in farmland contract choices is important to assess the welfare consequences of farm policies or environmental changes that affect production risk.When deciding who to lease their land to, landowners can face several choices in tenants with a wide variety of attributes such as experience level, age, and relationship to the landowner. Experience level, or years of farming experience, is an important factor that landowners utilize in determining who to lease to and at what rate. This can leave young producers, who typically have lower experience levels, at a greater disadvantage when trying to find access to farmland. Using a dataset built from responses of surveys sent to landowners across the state of Kansas, Essay 2 focuses on landowners’ willingness-to-lease to young producers under different condition. A discrete choice model is used to find Kansas landowners’ willingness-to-lease to tenants at three different experience levels and three different relationship levels with the landowner. Empirical results indicate that a young producer with no experience is less preferred than a tenant with more years of experience and may, therefore, need to offer the landowner a higher cash leasing amount before the landowner is willing to lease to them. For young producers with higher experience levels, landowners will accept a marginally discounted rate when compared to not leasing to anyone at all. Relationships such as family/friend and acquaintances between landowners and young producers are also given a discounted leasing rate when compared to the landowner leasing to a stranger. This study not only fills a literature gap of landowner-young producer relationships and willingness-to-pay, but it also lays the foundation for policies to be implemented. Young producers with no experience are at the greatest disadvantage with low access to capital and heavily reliant on access to leased farmland, yet Kansas landowners require a higher leasing rate to rent to young producers. The results of this essay are key in policy implications, but also in educating landowners that their stated belief and attitudes towards young producers do not hold when faced with a monetary-based decision.This dissertation is comprised of two unique studies that focus on farmland leasing in Kansas and the relationships and factors that can affect them. Both studies present results that benefit Kansas landowners and producers by offering insight and education about how leasing contracts and arrangements can be made that benefit both landowner and producer.

Genetic Diversity and Pathogenicity of Sorghum-Associated Fusarium Species

Bushula, Vuyiswa Sylvia Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

Understanding the genetic structure of fungal pathogens enables the prediction of evolutionary forces that drive pathogen evolution, which assists informed decision-making regarding disease management. The genetic structure of Fusarium thapsinum and F. andiyazi, two important pa-thogens that cause grain mold and stalk rot of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), are little understood. The genetic structure and pathogenicity of a F. thapsinum population from sorghum in Kansas were evaluated with amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs), sexual cross-fertility, and seedling pathogenicity. Two sympatric populations and a genetically intermediate "hybrid" group were identified in Kansas. Seedling pathogenicity of strains ranged from non-pathogenic to pathogenic, which may be partially attri-butable to genetic variability in the F. thapsinum populations. Genetic relatedness between populations of F. thapsinum from sorghum in Kansas, Aus-tralia, Thailand, and three African countries (Cameroon, Mali, and Uganda) were evaluated with AFLP markers and sexual crosses. Genetic diversity was high in all locations, but female fertility is very low. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction are important components of the life cycle of F. thapsinum in these populations. More strains from Kansas and Africa were available for analysis from Australia and Thailand, so the Kansas and African populations dominated the genetic structure observed. The two smaller populations from Australia and Thailand were more closely related to the Kansas population than they were to the African population. The three non-African populations contained information from the African population and from other, as yet unidentified, source population(s). Identifying the population(s) from which this genetic diversity originated is an important unanswered question. Stalk rot of sorghum was evaluated by inoculating stalk rot sensitive and stalk rot resis-tant sorghum lines with six genetically diverse F. thapsinum strains from Kansas under field and greenhouse conditions. One susceptible line (Tx7000) and two resistant lines (SC599 and BTx399) were evaluated in the field but only Tx7000 and SC599 were evaluated in the green-house. Disease severity was measured by major lesion length and the number of nodes crossed by the lesion. There were differences in aggressiveness amongst the F. thapsinum strains in both the greenhouse and field evaluations. This study provides the first evidence for differences in stalk rot aggressiveness amongst F. thapsinum strains and highlights the importance of challenging germplasm with well-characterized strains that represent the genetic spectrum of the entire population. The genetic diversity within F. andiyazi populations and some closely related strains was evaluated with AFLP markers. Phylogenetic and STRUCTURE analyses of the AFLP markers grouped the 81 F. andiyazi strains into three distinct clusters. The clusters were not based on the geographic origin of the strains. These results indicate the presence of at least one and possibly two undescribed sister taxa of F. andiyazi . More work is needed to further characterize these sis-ter species of F. andiyazi and to understand their role in sorghum pathogenicity. There is genetic variation in global populations of F. thapsinum and the observed varia-tion could be associated with variation in both seedling and adult plant pathogenicity. The study of F. andiyazi populations validated the need to properly identify and characterize Fusarium spp. associated with sorghum from different regions of the world.

Preparation of building and district level administrators: An investigation of family engagement content and practices in administrator preparation programs in Kansas

Groff, Jane University of Kansas 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

Although the requirements for family engagement in education are included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), teacher education and administrator preparation programs have offered limited educational opportunities for new teachers and administrators to gain knowledge, skills and practical experience related to family and community engagement. This descriptive study explores the inclusion of family engagement topics, resources, and field experiences in the twenty-one building (principal) and district (superintendent) leadership programs (BDLPs) in Kansas. In this study, faculty and instructors of these leadership programs also reflect on their own preparation to engage families in children's education and their current students' preparation to engage families. Limited professional literature is available that examines the incorporation of family engagement into administrator preparation programs. This descriptive study, as most descriptive studies addresses the "what" question. "What" are the characteristics of the inclusion of family engagement in administrator preparation programs in Kansas? This study does not answer the how/when/why questions regarding family engagement in administrator preparation programs, but rather describes the situation in terms of categories, such as, topics used, resources used, and field experiences utilized in programs. An online survey and two follow-up interviews provided the data to describe the inclusion of family engagement in administrator preparation programs for this research study. The purpose of the study was to describe the inclusion of family engagement in administrator preparation in Kansas programs as it exists. The survey (N=53) and interviews (two) revealed several themes. The first theme was that while Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) align administrator preparation programs in Kansas with the Interstate Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards, from this researcher's interview data it may be suggested that IHEs do not have a systematic approach to include topics on family engagement in courses even though two ISLLC standards focus on family engagement. The two IHE interviews conducted for this study suggest the inclusion of family engagement topics in courses was dependent upon the instructor of the courses. The second theme that developed from the interviews was that faculty and instructors of building and district leadership programs had limited knowledge of current articles or books on the topic of family engagement to use in courses. The two interviewees expressed a lack of awareness of current family engagement resources and a desire for knowledge and access to current resources. The third theme demonstrated that less than one fourth of instructors stated that their courses required a family engagement field experience and this experience may be as limited as attending one parent-student-teacher conference or another meeting on tardy or discipline issues. The two interviewees for this study stated that the quality of field experiences was dependent on the district level supervisor who was overseeing the student's field experience. Interviewees reported that field experiences with more exposure to families was important and should become a larger part of leadership programs. Finally, online survey data from this study revealed that instructors believed that their students were more than somewhat prepared to engage families in education, in comparison with reflections on their own preparation in family engagement, in which they reported they had less than some training in family engagement. The two interviewees reported the need for open and frequent conversation between administrator preparation program instructors and practitioners to create a closer connection between practice and theory.