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Career Readiness Competencies Among First-Generation Undecided Students And Their Parents In The United States, Nicole M. Kotlan, Evan W. Faidley

Journal of Global Education and Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between first-generation status and the value of career readiness competencies of first-generation undecided students (n = 106) and their parents (n = 178), explored through social cognitive career theory and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and social and cultural capital. A non-experimental design using a non-random sample revealed, through an independent t-test, statistically significant differences in global/intercultural competency among students based on their first-generation status. The results of a multiple linear regression analysis suggest that parents’ values are associated with students’ values and professionalism/work ethic; however, no relationship was …

First Report Of A Bat Guano Fire From A Cave In Southeast Asia, Sopark Jantarit, Martin Ellis, Pruet Kalasuwan, Neeranuch Phusunti, Pimonsri Mittraparp-Arthorn, Jiranan Pattano, Arnon Chukamnerd, Turdtun Tong-In, Natthawut Khrueaaunruean

International Journal of Speleology

Fires occurring in cave guano are a rare and unusual phenomenon and the occurrence of such events in Southeast Asia is particularly novel. In this study, we document the first recorded instance of a bat guano fire in a tropical cave at Tham Chao Ram in Sukhothai province, northern Thailand. A bacteriological analysis was made of the guano at the fire site and from a control site within the cave. We give a comprehensive review of global reports on bat guano fires in caves, conduct an initial investigation of the physical factors at the fire site and discuss the potential …

The Relationship Between Lineaments And Cave Passages In Unfaulted Gently-Folded Strata, Snail Shell Cave, Central Tennessee, Usa, Mark Abolins, Joseph Firkaly-Paciera, Blake King, Cris Ocasio-Valentin, Jackson Slighter, Teagan Sullivan, Justin Whited

International Journal of Speleology

Near Snail Shell Cave in central Tennessee, USA, seven image interpreters independently mapped lineaments using a 3DEP LiDAR DTM, revealing geomorphic and structural differences in and near different parts of the cave. MANOVA comparison of lineament and cave passage trend for Western, Central, and Eastern Snail Shell caves reveals statistically significant differences (p <0.05). The Western cave (mean depth 44 m) is in the gently-dipping limb of the Snail Shell anticline, and the Central cave (mean depth 31 m) is in the anticline hinge. In contrast, many Eastern cave passages (mean depth 40 m) cut across the anticline hinge and part of the limb of the Overall syncline. For both the Western and Central caves, a post-hoc Tukey’s HSD test fails to show that lineament trend within 235 m of the cave differs significantly from passage trend, and the test fails to show that the two differ significantly within 235 and 433 m of the Eastern cave. Additional statistical testing fails to show a difference between Western passage trend and bed strike, indicating the likelihood that lineaments and passages developed within strike-joints. However, testing shows a statistically significant difference between passage trend and bed strike for the Central and Eastern caves. The strike of joints inside the Eastern cave shows that it is within a joint zone which penetrates to depths of at least 80 m and is expressed at the surface as an ~4.2 km-long belt of elevated lineament line density. The lack of a statistically significant difference between Eastern passage trend and the trend of a nearby topographic escarpment suggests that many joints are stress release fractures formed during relatively recent erosion. For the Eastern cave, intersections between lineaments and structures would be attractive targets for groundwater exploration at depths typical of wells in carbonates.

When Shame Leads To Silence: Leadership Style Moderates Shame, Silence, And Job Satisfaction, Andrew M. Lyman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT Shame is a fundamental self-conscious emotion that shapes behavior and communication in the workplace. This study examined how shame interacts with leadership styles to influence employee silence and job satisfaction. Survey data were collected from 1,500 professionals across diverse industries, and statistical analyses were conducted to test nine hypotheses. Three hypotheses were assessed through direct linear regression while six moderation hypotheses were evaluated using moderated multiple linear regression models to capture leadership style as a contextual influence.

Findings indicated that shame significantly predicted higher levels of silence and lower levels of job satisfaction. Silence was also negatively associated with …

Evaluating Student Proficiency In Quantitative Reasoning, Gabriel Chavez, Jennifer Clinkenbeard, Tolga Tezcan, Celine Pinet, Jennifer Duggan, George Beckham, Sumadhur Shakya, Christina Zhang

Numeracy

Quantitative Reasoning (QR) competencies are increasingly vital for academic and professional success across disciplines. This study examines the QR proficiency of over 400 undergraduates through a mixed-methods approach, integrating survey-based self-assessments (n = 469) with direct evaluations of final exams (n = 80). This study took place at a public, primarily undergraduate, four-year state university in Northern California with approximate enrollment of 7,500 students. Although students reported frequent engagement in foundational QR tasks— such as calculation and interpretation—rubric-based scoring revealed inconsistent levels of mastery, particularly on higher-order skills like evaluation and coherence. Regression analyses linked confidence to calculation …

Does The National Benchmark Quantitative Literacy Test Predict Performance In Stem Programmes In Commerce, Engineering And Science?, Robert N. Prince

Numeracy

In South Africa, university completion rates remain low, with only 23% of students finishing within the regulation time (three or four years). These completion rates continue to reflect racial inequalities, with ‘White’ students significantly more likely to complete degrees in professional fields such as engineering and commerce compared to their ‘African’ counterparts. To address these challenges, the South African higher education institutions, through their umbrella body, introduced the National Benchmark (NB) tests to assess students’ academic literacy skills—including quantitative literacy, academic literacy, and mathematics—to identify those most at risk of struggling with the curriculum. The NB tests aim to evaluate …

“For Haitian Culture, Being Older [Is] A Blessing”: Perceptions Of Aging, Elderhood, And Dementia In A Haitian Born Sample, Melissa K. Eustache

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how first-generation Haitian immigrants in the United States understand and interpret dementia within the intersecting contexts of culture, migration, and biomedicine. While dementia is constructed as a pathological “loss of self” and a public health epidemic, in American biomedical and popular discourse, this study examines how Haitian-born individuals—socialized within a non-Western cultural and spiritual framework—make sense of cognitive decline and impairment in ways that diverge from Western biomedical narratives. Guided by theoretical orientations from medical anthropology, including Mark Nichter’s idioms of distress, Margaret Lock’s local biologies, and neuroanthropology, this research explores how cultural models of illness, aging, …

Joint Action (In)Action: A Communicatively Constituted Examination Of Shared Governance, Organizational Sustainability, And The Future Of Liberal Arts In Institutions Of Higher Education, Rebecca R. Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are at least two versions of higher education today. One is that universities and curriculum need to be reformed to suit contemporary exigencies, particularly market-driven logics and direct paths to desirable job and career outcomes. The other is the story in this dissertation, namely, that the liberal arts hold value for the creation of new knowledge, critical thinking, and empowerment. With this admittedly one-sided corrective to the dominant narrative of higher education, this abstract and dissertation begin.

In the contemporary landscape of American higher education, the liberal arts are under siege. Once heralded as the cornerstone of democratic citizenship …

Reducing Data Requirements In Polymer Science: Deep Neural Networks For Predicting Surface Tension Of Copolymer Compatibilizers, Md Mushfiqul Islam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In polymer chemistry, compatibilization involves adding a substance often a block or graft copolymerto stabilize polymer blends that would otherwise not mix well, leading to rough structures and weak me- chanical properties. Compatibilizers improve miscibility and reduce interfacial tension, which is critical for applications such as mixed-waste polymer recycling. Sequence-controlled polymers offer unique potential by combining the tunable chemistry of synthetic polymers with the precise, function-driven design of biological macromolecules, but unlike proteins, they lack large, evolution-shaped datasets to guide discovery. This research develops a deep learning framework to predict the surface tension of sequence-controlled copolymer compatibilizers across varying concentrations. …

An Unusual Northern Mockingbird Nest In York Region, Ontario, Roy B.H. Smith

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Ontario Bird Records Committee Report For 2023, N. Anthony Kaduck, Nicole M. Richardson, Alvan D. Buckley, Amanda C. Guercio, Kiah R. Jasper, Dan J. Macneal, Michelle A. Martin, David E. Szmyr

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Changes In Agricultural Land Use And The Effectiveness Of Protected Areas: Impacts On The Occurrence Of Three Grassland Bird Species In The Carden Plain Of Ontario, Alice L. Merondun, Ginny Moore, Ron Reid, Erica Nol

Ontario Birds

We measure changes in occurrence (i.e., presence/absence) of three grassland bird species in the Carden Plain, between 2001 to 2005 and 2015 to 2016, by comparing point count results of the 2001–2005 Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (OBBA) to repeated point counts at the same sites in the more recent period. We examine associations between changes of occurrence and habitat change and protection status of the survey locations for the three most commonly occurring species of Ontario grassland birds (Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus; Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna; and Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis), all of which have experienced population declines in Ontario of …

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Ontario Bird Records Committee Report For 2022, N. Anthony Kaduck, Nicole M. Richardson, Alvan D. Buckley, Amanda C. Guercio, Dan J. Macneal, Michelle A. Martin, Mark D. Read, Adam P. Timpf, Mike V.A. Burrell

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Macgillivray's Warbler At Tommy Thompson Park: New To Ontario, Connor S. Smith

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Ontario Bird Records Committee Report For 2021, Mike V.A. Burrell, Mark D. Read, Lvan D. Buckley, Kenneth G.D. Burrell, Dan J. Macneal, Reuven D. Martin, Nicole M. Richardson, Adam P. Timpf

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

The University Of Guelph’S Arboretum Winter Bird Count, 1980-2022, Brandon P.M. Edwards, Alan P. Watson, Chris G. Earley

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Loafing And Sleeping Behaviour Of Trumpeter Swans, Harry G. Lumsden, Gerry Markhoff, Gary Lane, Allan Scott

Ontario Birds

An observational study of loafing and sleeping behaviour of Trumpeter Swans was conducted in southern Ontario throughout the year in 2018 and 2019. Like other birds, these swans have the ability to close down one brain hemisphere at a time during rest, which is indicated by eye closure. We quantified rates of closure of eyes during sleeping bouts for both breeding and non-breeding swans. Single eye closure varied in frequency, duration and in terms of which hemisphere was shut down. Increasing duration of eye closure over time indicated an increased sense of security with surrounding in one mated pair. Proportion …

Evaluation Of Functional Communication Training With Sign Mands For Non-Vocal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hayley Margaret Mcmanus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often experience difficulties in both vocal and non-vocal communication, which can lead to problem behavior as a means of expressing needs and wants. Functional communication training (FCT) has been shown to be effective in teaching functional communicative responses (FCRs) and decreasing problem behavior. However, studies on the use of sign language as a communicative response or modality in FCT have been limited, despite its benefits, including feasibility and low response effort, compared to other modalities, such as picture cards and augmentative and alternative communication devices. This study evaluated FCT using sign language mands for …

New Evidence Of Mid-Pleistocene Glaciations In The French Jura Mountains Using Debris Flow Deposits And U/Th Dating Of Speleothems (Verneau Karst Network), Margot Vivier, Stéphane Jaillet, Eglantine Husson, Edwige Pons Branchu, Jean-Baptiste Charlier

International Journal of Speleology

We redefine the extent of former glaciers in the northern Jura Mountains through the study of endokarst deposits. Sedimentary deposits (pebbly debris flows, laminated clays, and allochthonous limestone blocks) and chemical deposits (speleothems) were identified and studied using three complementary approaches: (i) detailed geomorphological mapping, (ii) petrographic analysis, and (iii) U/Th-dating. In addition, a surface geomorphological analysis made it possible to calculate the minimum erosion time required for the formation of the sinkhole linked to the underground study site. The study site is the Dolois Chamber, an underground site upstream of the Verneau karst network (Doubs Department, France). The combined …

Seasonal And Spatial Patterns Of Avian Assemblages In The Eastern Taiwan Strait: Implications For Offshore Wind Farm Development, Mei-Ling Bai, Chia-Hsiang Huang, Yu-Yi Lien

Marine Ornithology

The eastern Taiwan Strait, a region situated along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and currently undergoing rapid offshore wind energy development, remains poorly studied with respect to its seabird assemblages. Through intensive vessel-based transect surveys conducted between 2014 and 2021, this study documented 22,187 birds from 105 species across 10 orders and 29 families. Migratory non-seabirds accounted for 55.2% of individuals and dominated the species richness, highlighting the region's importance for migratory pathways. Seabird density was relatively low, however, consistent with trends in other tropical regions, and this pattern may also reflect both environmental degradation and methodological differences in density estimation. …

Population Survey Of Southern Buller’S Albatross Thalassarche Bulleri Bulleri On The Solander Islands / Hautere, March 2024, Peter G. H. Frost, Barry G. Baker, Johannes H. Fischer, Paul M. Sagar

Marine Ornithology

An aerial photographic survey of the Southern Buller's Albatross Thalassarche bulleri bulleri population breeding on the Solander Islands / Hautere was undertaken on 09 March 2024, mid-way through the birds' incubation period. Overall, 6,761 individuals were counted: 6,215 (92%) on Great Solander and 546 (8%) on Little Solander. Of these, 4,213 were sitting on nests, 368 were partners to sitting birds, 573 were standing near empty nests, and 145 were apparently loafing. The status of the remaining 1,462 individuals (22% of the total) was uncertain. Assuming that their status was in the same proportions to those of the clearly observed …

California Brown Pelican Pelecanus Occidentalis Community Science Project: Potential For Population Monitoring, Deborah L. Jaques, Tamara M. Russell, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Anna Weinstein, Richard R. Veit, Daniel Orr, Michael W. Parker, Jim A. Howard, David M. Mazurkiewicz, Daniel W. Anderson, Yuliana Bedolla-Guzmán

Marine Ornithology

From 2016 to 2019, we monitored the distribution, abundance, and age structure of California Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis californicus at nearshore communal roosts along the U.S. West Coast. This effort used “snapshot” surveys during spring and fall, simultaneously engaging up to 111 “community science” participants, i.e., volunteers, on single dates. Volunteers surveyed up to 89 sites and found as many as 22,000 Brown Pelicans. We derived abundance and population structure indices from these data and sought relationships to annual breeding season metrics and large-scale oceanographic indices in the California Current System (CCS). The proportion of immature birds increased during the …

Seabird Abundance Patterns Along A Sydney–Los Angeles Transect, Christopher D. Mcquaid

Marine Ornithology

Our understanding of seabird occurrence patterns is influenced by the fact that some parts of the ocean are less travelled than others, particularly in the centres of oceanic gyres. During the Transglobe Expedition, the M/V Benjamin Bowring undertook a 34-day crossing of the Pacific Ocean from Sydney to Los Angeles. During the crossing, three one-hour watches were conducted daily (morning, noon, and evening), during which all birds visible from the ship were counted and identified (when possible). Bird counts were extremely low in the central regions of the South and North Pacific gyres, in stark contrast to the elevated counts—by …

Movements By An Adult Male Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata Magnificens Connect Protected Areas In Waters Off Northeastern South America, Lucas Penna Soares Santos, Cecília Licarião, Heideger Lima Do Nascimento, Ricardo Krul, Juliana Kleinsorge, Larissa Schmauder Teixeira Cunha, Patricia Pereira Serafini, Fábio Olmos

Marine Ornithology

No abstract provided.