Questionnaires routinely measure unipolar and bipolar constructs using rating scales. Such rating scales can offer odd numbers of points, meaning that they have explicit middle alternatives, or they can offer even numbers of points, omitting the middle alternative. By examining four types of questions in six national or regional telephone surveys,…

Behavioral threat assessment is a widely used violence prevention strategy in schools, but there is little research on how frequently a student attempts to carry out a threat of violence after a threat assessment and whether schools accurately recognize and classify these cases. This study investigated: 1) how often students attempted violence and…

Qualitative researchers often turn to focus groups as an efficient and effective way to gather data in a collective context. A common critique is that they play into power dynamics present at the site, privileging dominant, high status, and more vocal participants. Traditional focus group structures also rely on participants to trust the…

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to better understand community college students' engagement in global learning. The study, supported by the Florida Consortium for International Education, was conducted during the 2015-2016 academic year in Florida across nine community colleges drawing from a 55-question survey with an 11%…

Digital badging research is gaining momentum as instructors and administrators consider new models for assessing learning in nontraditional contexts (e.g., informal science learning programs, flexible online courses, adaptive learning systems). While many studies are examining the effectiveness of digital badges for pedagogical functions, such as…

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe current sexual violence screening practices of student health centers located on universities in Florida. Participants: Institutional level data was collected from 33 student health centers from November 2015 through January 2016. The student health centers were located on public or private…

This appendix augments a report that updates 2013 guidance to school district leaders and their partners across the country who are interested in launching summer learning programs or improving established ones. In that report, the authors present recommendations based on evaluations, conducted between 2011 and 2016, of summer programs in five…

English language learners (ELLs) are a diverse student group that continues to grow within schools all throughout the United States and those students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) continue to lag behind their peers in academic achievement, particularly in literacy. Although there have been several studies to explore this…

State and national surveys of adult family care homes identified a strong need for education on texture-modified food preparation and the nutritional needs of older adults. An Extension curriculum, Food Modification for Special Needs, was developed to provide an overview of chewing and swallowing problems, food texture, pureed food preparation,…

Sustainability in operations, production, and consumption continues to gain relevance for engineers. This trend will accelerate as demand for goods and services grows, straining resources and requiring ingenuity to replace boundless supply in meeting the needs of a more crowded, more prosperous world. Industrial engineers are uniquely positioned…

This paper examines two IMLS-funded scholarship programs that targeted non-traditional LIS students, documenting non-academic aspects of the programs that participating students identified as most important to the successful completion of their academic programs and to their establishment as contributing members of the professional library…

The goals of the study were to identify the barriers and motivators for physical activity (PA) and to assess whether these factors vary by weight status. A self-administered survey was completed by 413 African American women. Each woman provided verbal informed consent and was weighed and measured by a research team member. The participants' mean…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…

In this article we report on our exploration of academic advising practices at 19 community colleges in the Florida College System after the implementation of Senate Bill 1720. This bill made developmental education optional for many students and mandated that colleges provide academic advising for all new students. Descriptive statistics of…

Blended, flipped, and semi-flipped instructional approaches were used in various sections of a numerical methods course for undergraduate mechanical engineers. During the spring of 2014, a blended approach was used; in the summer of 2014, a combination of blended and flipped instruction was used to deliver a semi-flipped course; and in the fall of…