Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Best Practices For The Virtual Onboarding Of New Hires In The Technology Industry, Kaitlyn Pavlina

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the recent virtual onboarding experiences of new hires at companies in the technology industry. The present study sought to answer two research questions: to identify the current practices of technology companies for virtually onboarding new hires and to understanding the self-identified needs of recent new hires in this industry around virtual onboarding. The study found that tech companies focus most heavily on formal orientation sessions, one-on-one meetings, and group meetings when virtually onboarding new hires. Additionally, four key themes emerged when exploring what new hires find most important during virtual onboarding. This study details each of …

Developing Ei: Leadership Journeys In Emotional Intelligence, Erin Bric

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been deemed a critical competency for leaders in today's world. However, there is little information to help OD practitioners, leaders, and organizations understand how leaders can develop these skills in ways that meaningfully and positively impact their teams and organizations. This study examined the journeys of senior leaders as they developed their emotional intelligence. The study addressed two research questions: how leaders perceive they have developed their emotional intelligence throughout their lifetimes and how leaders are continuing to develop their emotional intelligence in their lives and careers. Key themes emerged out of leader interviews and were …

Harry Potter And The Shy College Classroom Student: A Perceived Sense Of Belonging Through Social Identity And A Hogwarts House, Mickey D. Harrison Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines self-identifying shy college classroom students. Using social identity theory, identified shy students are studied based on their inclusion in a Hogwarts House from the Harry Potter book series. The purpose of this research is to examine how group identity can cultivate and create a sense of belonging for these students and lead them to academic and personal success. The stories shared by these shy learners reinforce the need and importance of belonging to a social identity group to strengthen an individual's sense of self and personal growth. This study encourages the use of a fictional social group—like …

Examining The Influences Of University Image And Campus Visits On Students’ College Choices, Jennifer Lea Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study provides qualitative data in the areas of university image, campus visits, and college choice. The purpose of the study was to examine the value of university image and campus visits in students’ college choices. Twenty matriculated freshmen at the University of Mississippi who participated in campus visits as prospective students and who applied for admission in the months of October through April were selected via purposeful sampling to participate in open-ended interviews about the images that they hold of the university, their campus visit experiences, and their college choice processes. The data collected show that students place …

The Summer Melt Of Rural First-Year Students, Deidre F. Ruffin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many rural students, the future seems limited, and immediate dreams of college attendance appear to be just out of reach. Rural college-bound students are often faced with parental figures with lower educational attainment than the national average, geographic isolation, declining community infrastructure, and negative social dynamics tied to race, class, and income inequality. In this qualitative case study, I will examine the perceived barriers which contribute to summer melt of rural students. Summer melt is a term applied to students that apply to college, are accepted to college, but melt away from the enrollment cycle in the summer months …

Bioinformatic Extraction Of Functional Genetic Diversity From Heterogeneous Germplasm Collections For Crop Improvement, Patrick A. Reeves, Hannah M. Tetreault, Christopher M. Richards

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Efficient utilization of genetic variation in plant germplasm collections is impeded by large collection size, uneven characterization of traits, and unpredictable apportionment of allelic diversity among heterogeneous accessions. Distributing compact subsets of the complete collection that contain maximum allelic diversity at functional loci of interest could streamline conventional and precision breeding. Using heterogeneous population samples from Arabidopsis, Populus and sorghum, we show that genomewide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data permits the capture of 3–78 fold more haplotypic diversity in subsets than geographic or environmental data, which are commonly used surrogate predictors of genetic diversity. Using a large genomewide SNP data …

Assessment Of Self-Reported Mental Health And Acculturation Stress Among Foreign-Born And U.S.-Born Latinos In Immokalee, Florida: A Pilot Study, Payal Kahar, Lirio K. Negroni

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The population of Immokalee in Southwest Florida is 75% Latinos, with nearly half being foreign-born. Several documented stressors contribute to poor mental health among Latinos. However, little is known about Latinos’ mental health in this region. This study sought to assess self-rated mental health (SRMH) and acculturation stress (AS) and predict SRMH based on stress from life events, AS, sociodemographic characteristics, and social support among U.S.-born and foreign-born Latinos. Face-to-face interviews and assisted self-administered surveys were used to collect information among 158 Latinos on sociodemographic characteristics, AS, major life events that caused stress, social support, and SRMH. AS was elicited …

Rocks For The Homeless: The Health Conditions Of Spokane Homeless People, Brandon T. Poepping

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Over the past four decades, the United States has seen an increase in the numbers of homeless. Upward of half a million people in the United States experience homelessness per night. This thesis discusses causes and conditions of homelessness in Spokane, Washington. Specifically, the thesis focuses on the causes of homelessness, the homeless people’s lived experiences on the street, their encounters with the medical establishments, and the public perception about them. Data was collected beginning in the summer of 2018. A total of twenty homeless individuals were interviewed. I also attended public events and forums where the issue of homelessness …

Why The Policy Failures Of Mass Incarceration Are Really Political Failures, John F. Pfaff

Faculty Scholarship

In his forthcoming book, The Insidious Momentum of Mass Incarceration, Franklin Zimring argues that the most effective way to end mass incarceration is to target the policy failures that drive it. He focuses in particular on the “prosecutorial free lunch”: prosecutors are county-funded officials who can send as many people as they like to state-funded prisons, which is a classic moral hazard problem. While Zimring is correct to focus on how relatively technocratic issues have posed outsized and underappreciated problems, his analysis suffers from some important shortcomings. In particular, he gives too little attention to the politics that have …

Using Social Media As A Platform For Increasing Knowledge Of Lung Cancer Screening In High-Risk Patients, Aimee Strong, Michelle Renaud

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods: Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and …

Does Revlon Matter? A Empirical And Theoretical Study, Matthew D. Cain Ph. D., Sean J. Griffith, Robert J. Jackson Jr., Steven D. Solomon

Faculty Scholarship

We empirically examine whether and how the doctrine of enhanced judicial scrutiny that emerged from Revlon and its progeny actually affects M&A transactions. Combining hand-coding and machine-learning techniques, we assemble data from the proxy statements of publicly announced mergers between 2003 and 2017 into a dataset of 1,913 unique transactions. Of these, 1,167 transactions were subject to the Revlon standard, and 553 were not. After subjecting this sample to empirical analysis, our results show that Revlon does indeed matter for companies incorporated in Delaware. We find that in Delaware, Revlon deals are more intensely negotiated, involve more bidders, and result …

Special Education Disparities Are Social Determinants Of Health: A Role For Medical-Legal Partnerships, Karen Bonuck, Leah Hill

Faculty Scholarship

Problem: Education is a key social determinant of health. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) purportedly affords children the right to a free and appropriate education. Yet, racial, ethnic, and economic disparities exist regarding appropriate identification and classification of children with needs for special education, and access to services.

Purpose: This article first highlights gaps and disparities in special educational services, and their structural linkage to poverty. The second section describe the first years of a medical–legal collaboration between a University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) and Fordham University, focused on special education.

Key Points: The …

Volume 10, Number 1, Volume 10 Number 1

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

No abstract provided.

Sintang Dalisay: Reminiscing From The Technical Perspective, D Villanueva Cortezano

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

No abstract provided.

Death In The Land Of Flowers: Environment As Enemy In The Second Seminole War, Nicholas Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis argues that Florida's natural environment was one of the United States Army's most formidable enemies during the Second Seminole War (1835–42), and that environmental factors, more than hostilities from Native peoples themselves, led the United States to abandon the War. Many White soldiers from the North were unprepared to cope with the environmental challenges posed by Florida. In order to build a foundation for this argument, the thesis examines how previous newcomers to Florida dealt with the environment, from the original First Peoples who arrived several thousand years ago, to European explorer/colonizers, to White Americans in the decades …

Emotional Support And Mental Health Among Somali Men In A Rural Midwestern Town, Julie A. Tippens, Gilbert R. Parra, Patrick Habecker, Kimberly Gocchi Carrasco, Arthur R. Andrews Iii, Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, Virginia Chaidez, Jordan Soliz, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Perceived social support has been correlated with refugees’ positive mental health outcomes; yet, little is known about the perceived sources of support after secondary migration to new-destination rural towns. Somali refugee men (n _ 49) residing in a rural Midwest United States community were recruited using respondent-driven sampling to complete a self-administered structured survey in English or Somali using audio computer-assisted self-interview software. Questions assessed perceived sources of support, psychological distress, and happiness. Somali participants reported low utilization of both informal (30.4%) and formal (24.4%) supports when sad, stressed, or worried. Two thirds of participants reported low levels of …

Comparison Of Urban And Rural Physical Activity And Outdoor Play Environments Of Childcare Centers And Family Childcare Homes, Danae Dinkel, Dipti Dev, Yage Guo, Ami Sedani, Emily Hulse, Zainab Rida, Kayla Abel

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity environment in childcare programs across type (childcare centers [CCCs] and family childcare homes [FCCHs]) and geographic location (urban and rural) as assessed by physical activity best practices according to the Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-assessment in Child Care. Results showed CCCs compared with FCCHs reported higher achievement of best practices. Further, urban childcare programs (CCCs and FCCHs) reported higher achievement of best practices in comparison to rural childcare programs. There is a need to deliver targeted interventions that promote children’s physical activity in FCCHs and CCCs in rural …

A Chip Off The Old Rock: An Investigation Of Hunter-Gatherer Lithic Behavior At Site 48pa551 Using The Field Processing Model, Emma Lydia Vance

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research examines the lithic and raw material assemblage at site 48PA551, a McKean complex hunter-gatherer site in northwest Wyoming, through a lens of human behavioral ecology, central place foraging theory, and the field processing model. The identification of lithic technological patterns through this theoretical framework results in understanding the relationship between the landscape, hunter-gatherer behavior, and raw material procurement strategies in the region 4500 BP. The goal of this research is to identify economic decision making in reference to management of toolstone within the lithic assemblage uncovered at site 48PA551 during the 2018 field season. The expectation put forth …

Ethical Eating: Overcoming Alienation In The Industrial Food System By Aligning Our Practices With Our Principles, André Kushnir

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis arose out of a moment of discord, while an environmental philosopher was eating blackberries in the middle of a blizzard in Missoula, Montana. What follows is an attempt to bridge the gap between our principles and our practices, by asking the questions: What does ethical eating look like? Is it possible within our current industrial food system? and If not, what needs to change? Responding to the publication of the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, this essay moves beyond thinking of ethical eating as “healthy” and “sustainable” and challenges the networks of suffering and labour that we take for …

Characterizing Burn Severity Of Beetle-Killed Forest Stands Leveraging Google Earth Engine-Derived Normalized Burn Ratios, Sofronio Catalino Propios Iii

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Following numerous studies, a general consensus on burn severity in forests affected by bark beetle outbreaks has not yet been achieved. The purpose of this study is to characterize burn severities in forest stands affected by mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks, especially in relation to “time since outbreak”, vegetation cover, and topographic factors. This study focuses on wildfires that occurred in the northern Rocky Mountains of Idaho and Montana during the 2012 fire season within forested areas that had previously experienced prior MPB outbreaks. Remote sensing techniques were used to quantify and compare the burn severities of MPB-outbreak stands with …

Alas, Poor Yorick: A Dna Analysis Of Ancestry Using Crania, Claire Hanson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Current methods for estimating ancestry in biological profiles provided to law enforcement and forensic collections rely heavily on the use of metric and non metric methods such as FORDISC 3.1 and “trait lists.” The reliance on these methods has led to inaccurate and ambiguous ancestry estimations, as many metric and non metric methods are subjective and cannot be statistically tested for error rates. As a result, forensic collections, such as the University of Montana Forensic Collection, could potentially house remains that have been inaccurately curated. In order to test the accuracy of curation in the UMFC, DNA samples were extracted …

Prioritizing Parcels For Conservation Easements Using Least-Cost Path Analyses Of Land Ownership: Case Study Within Theorized Grizzly Bear Migration Corridors Of Western Montana, Joseph H. Offer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the world’s human population has grown and converted large natural habitats to human dominated landscapes, the planet’s biodiversity has decreased. To combat the loss of biodiversity from human development, many conservation professionals champion the concept of conservation corridors between intact habitats. Conservation corridors, made up of protected land, serve as a connection for wildlife populations to intermix genetics and, subsequently, help reduce the risk of extinction. The ideal geographic location of corridors is generally determined through geographic information system modeling using biophysical conditions and theorized animal movement. However, the resulting corridors are often expansive and protecting entire corridors is …

Social Science Teachers' Comfort Teaching A Variety Of Controversial Issues, Bonnie Bittman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Inclusion of discussion concerning controversial issues has been a part of education in the United States since the advent of public education. Using an online, social media platform, the researcher investigated demographic, environmental, and personal characteristics of social science teachers to determine their willingness and comfort levels in discussing controversial issues in a social science classroom. This study of 91 participants included teachers' age, gender, race, educational history, religious and political beliefs, and the developed environment of each school to determine how teacher and school demographics influenced teachers' willingness and comfort levels discussing controversial issues in classrooms. The independent variables …

Dispositional, Place Perceptions, And Imagination: The Interactive Network Of Authenticity, Ying Chao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purposes of this dissertation are threefold: to define and operationalize different types of authenticity, to test the interactive network of different types of authenticity, and to test the relationships between authenticity and tourist outcome variables including transformation, place attachment, and loyalty. In psychology, authenticity is typically conceptualized to be subject-based in nature, referring to a person's state of being true to oneself across contexts and against external influences. This type of authenticity has been termed "dispositional authenticity" and operationalized in this study in dimensions of authentic living, accepting external influence, and self-alienation. In tourism, authenticity is usually considered to …

The Uniqueness Of A Kingdom: The Frontier Kingdom Of Norman Sicily In Comparative Perspective, Onyx De La Osa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The frontier was once described as lands on the periphery of a culture. I argue that frontier spaces are a third space where hybridity can occur. Several of these areas existed in the medieval world with many centering around the Mediterranean and its surrounding lands. The Norman kingdom of Sicily is one such place. Utilizing three chronicles of the time, while looking through the lens of the frontier, something not done by other modern historical texts, a distinctiveness begins to become apparent. The geographic location, the island's past, and the eventual conquest by the Normans provide a base for hybridity …

Syncretic Immersion: Tolkien’S Languages As History, Artifacts, And Meta-Narratives, Stewart Raymond Zdrojowy

Online Theses and Dissertations

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth has been dissected and researched by philologists, medievalists, and literary theorists for decades. Though his work with languages (both historical and invented) has garnered attention over the past few decades, few scholars have looked at his languages in terms of their rhetorical functions within the narrative (as history), with the narrative (as artifacts), and without (as cultural participation). Mark Wolf’s theories on immersion is applied to Tolkien’s legendarium and illuminates his works as uniquely fixated in several modes of immersion at once. Narrative immersion is utilized to understand Tolkien’s works as a furthering of cultural values, languages, …

Creating A Place For Monstrosity: The Forced Liminality And Limited Mobility Of Codified Monstrosity In Leigh Bardugo's King Of Scars, Kaylee Brooke Lambert

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) outlines the purpose of young adult (YA) literature as addressing the unique needs of adolescents, which are “distinguished by unique needs that are – at minimum — physical, intellectual, emotional, and societal in nature” (Cart “Value” para. 8). This unique period in life is liminal, a time between childhood and adulthood. Adolescents search for meaning in the world around them, with literature as one avenue for self-discovery and affirmation. Mental health is one area teenagers seek answers, and YA literature has attempted to provide spaces to navigate those questions in popular contemporary works …

Student Success And Geography: An Analysis Of Contributing Factors That Determine College Academic Achievement And Persistence Of Black Males, Lamarcus D. Howard

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to analyze the relationship between academic and nonacademic determinants of academic achievement and persistence and to identify how university geographic location influences the likelihood of Black male persistence. Quantitative data was drawn from the 2012/14 Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) Longitudinal Study (BPS: 12/14) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) to explore third-year academic achievement and persistence for Black males. This study identified two research questions, guided by the theoretical frameworks of Tinto’s student institutional departure model and Astin’s Input-Environment-Output model to assess Black male decisions to stay …

Paleoethnobotanical Analysis Of Starch Grains And Phytoliths From Pre-Columbian Ceramic Residues In The Bolivian Amazon, Danielle Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Llanos de Mojos of the southwestern Amazon region of Bolivia once supported large Pre-Columbian indigenous populations who were regarded as skilled farmers, and whose agricultural pursuits are still documented on the landscape through tens of thousands of raised fields. Nevertheless, the plants that were cultivated on these fields that contributed to a large part of the local cuisine are not well understood. Microbotanical analyses using starch grains and phytoliths of food residues were conducted on 55 archaeological ceramic fragments from four forest islands in Mojos where people resided recurrently from cal BCE 1200 to cal CE ~1430. The results …

Transforming English As A Second Language Story Readers Into Storytellers: Examining Learners' Experiences In A Video Book Trailer Project, Shizhong Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Reading is a challenging task for English as a Second Language (ESL) students (Pang, 2008; Nassaji, 2011). Instructors and researchers have explored various ways to promote ESL students' reading development. Since research on story-based pedagogy has shown benefits in the area of language development, stories can be used to promote ESL reading development. Furthermore, research on Digital Booktalk shows that when students engaged in after-reading video production activities they found a new purpose in reading (Gunter & Kenny, 2012). Additionally, digital storytelling (DST) research has revealed that DST can foster learner motivation and autonomy (Hafner & Miller, 2011; Kim, 2014). …