Digital Commons Network^™

A Phenomenological Study On Liberal Arts Graduate Employability: The Relationship Between Baccalaureate Internships And Graduate Underemployment, Ebonie N. Jackson

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to examine liberal arts graduate employability specifically as it relates to baccalaureate internships and underemployment. This qualitative phenomenological study examined experiences from 19 recent liberal arts college graduates from an urban college setting 1 to 3 years postgraduation. A focus group and in-depth interviews were used to ascertain the graduates’ perceptions of the effect that internships, interactions with faculty advisors, and the Office of Career Services had on postgraduate employment. The results of this study produced four major findings that provide new information about how the use of internships can affect liberal arts graduates’ …

Job Satisfaction And Turnover Rates Of Women Assertive Community Treatment (Act) Team Leaders In Nyc Nonprofit Organizations., Sasha-Marie Robinson

Education Doctoral

Job satisfaction and turnover of five former female assertive community treatment (ACT) team leaders and five current female ACT team leaders heading ACT teams within NYC was examined. Female ACT team leaders, as a specific subgroup, are often excluded from research within the general behavioral health cohort of providers. This study used a qualitative method and an exploratory case study design to gain greater insight into these phenomena. The researcher formulated an in-depth, rich description of the ACT team leaders’ roles, responsibilities, and work experiences using a demographic questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and field notes. Participants were employed in the role …

Combining Bert With Contextual Linguistic Features For Identification Of Propaganda Spans In News Articles, Arjumand Younus, Muhammad Atif Qureshi

Conference papers

Recent endeavours at detection of propaganda in news articles treat this as a fine-grained problem of detecting it within fragments; and hence, transformer based embeddings perform decently in such detection. We build our propaganda detection framework on top of a transformer model simultaneously enriching it with contextual linguistic information of surrounding part-of-speech tags and LIWC categories the word itself belongs to. The evaluation outcomes being encouraging indicate a huge potential for this line of reasoning in natural language processing of news text.

Humanizing The Hero: Patrick Pearse’S Reimagination Of The Epic Hero For Modern Ireland, Chelsea Armstrong

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Clarity On Cronbach’S Alpha Use, Jack Barbera, Nicole Naibert, Regis Komperda, Thomas C. Pentecost

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Cronbach’s alpha (α) statistic is regularly reported in science education studies. However, recent reviews have noted that it is not well-understood. Therefore, this commentary provides additional clarity regarding the language used when describing and interpreting alpha and other estimates of reliability.

An Appeal For The Physical Book, Amanda C.R. Clark

The Christian Librarian

Librarians are confronting a shift in media that is changing the structure and the collections of libraries as well as the meaning of librarianship itself. The heart of this essay suggests that the physical book maybe considered an enduring communication vessel. If the goal of the library is to offer access to the cultural record, then physical books as a social record embodying “bookness” hold a place within the library institution as a material expression of the intimate and enduring relationship between human and book.

Nason's "The Autism Discussion Page: On Stress, Anxiety, Shutdowns, And Meltdowns" (Book Review), Jaclyn Lee Parrott

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Dundon's "The Parents' Guide To Managing Anxiety In Children With Autism" (Book Review), Elizabeth A. Nolan

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

The World On Pause: A Children's Book About Living During A Pandemic, Amanda Desmarais

Senior Honors Projects

Life as we now know it has drastically changed since March 2020. Over 60 million people throughout the world have been infected with COVID-19. Unfortunately, over a million have died from the virus in a short period of time. The last pandemic occurred in 1918, many years before most of us were born. Since the pandemic is a health crisis most generations have never experienced, adults and children alike are learning to cope simultaneously. It is difficult to teach children coping mechanisms during these chaotic and unfamiliar times. Family members can’t set positive examples if their coping techniques are inconsistent. …

The Nicu Experience: Supporting Families & Providing Resources, Annie Zitelli

Senior Honors Projects

ANNIE ZITELLI (Nursing)

The NICU Experience: Supporting Families & Providing Resources

Sponsors: Colleen Kenny (Nursing)

This project aims to explore and understand the needs of family members who have an infant in the NICU to identify any gaps in resources and/or support hospitals provide to these families. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides optimal care for infants who are not fully developed or have serious health conditions. When an infant is brought to the NICU, parents and family members experience a flood of emotions. While families are trying to process the reality of having an infant in such a …

Let's Talk About Death: An Open Forum For Challenging And Changing Uri’S Response To Student Bereavement, Molly Beluk

Senior Honors Projects

When my father passed away in March 2020, I felt discord and inconsistency in how the faculty responded to my grief. This project is designed to understand how the University of Rhode Island currently supports students after they have experienced a death loss and determine ways we can improve student support moving forward. This project’s praxes include a faculty survey on current supports; study of other universities’ student bereavement policies; and facilitation of a forum with faculty, staff, and administrators. Students who experience a loss in their college years “are at risk for decreased academic performance and dropout” (DeSpelder and …

Can We Make It? Coming-Of-Age In A Covid Kitchen, Maila Erickson

Senior Honors Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted how we interact with our communities and how we carry out our daily lives. If stories in the news and in social media are any indication, food seems to be a surprising focus of the pandemic for young and old. Personally speaking, I delved into cooking. I experienced the tensions at the grocery. I adjusted my food shopping habits. I felt like I grew up. I began to wonder how other people my age might have modified their food preparation habits and what the experience of cooking in quarantine meant to them. In this honors …

'Gangstas' And Preachers: A Deeper Look Into The Code Of The Street And Hip-Hop And Rap Music, Alise Greco

Senior Honors Projects

Music’s depth is easy to overlook during casual listening. We often listen to a song without fully considering its meaning, implications, purpose, or the effect that it may have on its listeners. Hip-hop and rap have been and continue to be hotly contested for what critics proclaim to be a “promotion” or portrayal of a message and lifestyle that is harmful to a peaceful and orderly society. Elijah Anderson’s (1999) “Code of the Street” can be used to make sense of this deviant, oppositional subculture prevalent in hip-hop, characterized by toxic masculinity, a street form of justice, and violence. Much …

“Mortality’S Wilting Flower:” Terror Management Theory And Music In Animated Films, Lauren Bertsch

Senior Honors Projects

There’s something about animated films - so full of light and wonder - that invokes this “warm and fuzzy” feeling when you sit down to watch it. Yet an entire spectrum of human emotion is demanded from us as an audience. Buried in the heart of animated films are these dark themes, problems that lie in the bedrock of humanity. And it leaves us pondering: why? The answer may actually stretch back to when our species developed thought and reason. In 1973, American anthropologist Ernest Becker uncovered the mental foundation that allows us to live, function, and thrive in a …

Comparative Views On Age Discrimination Within Appellate Court Decisions: Utilizing Werner And Bolino’S Framework, Daniel Trinkle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The manner by which courts view performance appraisals in relation to the outcome of case is certainly a topic worthy of discussion. Utilizing the framework used within the work of Werner and Bolino (1997), the following study was able to accomplish two main goals: (1) update the information of Werner and Bolino (1997) by evaluating modern cases, and (2) to evaluate new data regarding age discrimination utilizing the same framework as Werner and Bolino (1997). Utilizing chi-square analysis to test all of the hypotheses, it was demonstrated that there was statistical significance in performance appraisals with the presence of a …

Effect Of A Self-Care And Self-Awareness Education Program On Resilience To Burnout And Depression In Clinically Experienced Nursing Students, Andrew Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose was to examine the effect of a self-care educational intervention on nursing student resilience and thus the potential for compassion fatigue, depersonalization, burnout, depression, and inadequate self-care. A one-group pretest-posttest research design was applied to a convenience sample of 104 nursing students near the end of their last semester in a baccalaureate nursing program. The measurements were demographics, a psychometric resilience scale, program evaluation, and reflection question. The intervention was a standardized, intensive 30 min training program on the high degree of stress and burnout nurses face and the core self-care methods that can promote resilience to these …

Young Adults Experience Lingering Covid Symptoms Too, University Of Dayton

News Releases

A new preliminary study contradicts the perception that lingering COVID-19 symptoms mostly affect middle-aged adults, with evidence that a majority of young adults also experience chest pain, breathing difficulty, headaches, diarrhea, loss of smell or taste and other complications for weeks after diagnosis.

Covid-19 Investigated In Terms Of Disparities: An Analysis Of The Past, Present, And Future Of Public Health In Illinois, Hannah Deblock

University Honors College

As a relatively new topic, previous literature fails to address the relation of social determinants of health to COVID-19. By combining existing knowledge on previous epidemics, information on the role of social determinants of health, and data on COVID-19, conclusions can be made about the path going forward. Historically, nonpharmacologic interventions such as quarantine periods, face coverings, and social distancing have been used in epidemics such as the Spanish Influenza of 1918-19. In terms of social determinants of health, geographical location, educational level, and income level all play a part in the health of an individual. Rather than emphasizing personal …

A Restorative Resource: Dance-Based Non-Profits That Operate To Benefit Sex Trafficked Victims, Jessica Coleman

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to bring awareness to dance-based non-profits which operate for the purpose of being a restorative resource for victims of sex trafficking. The goal of the researcher was to answer these five essential questions: Q1 What is the structure of the program? Q2 What are the outreach strategies being used to bring in participants? Q3 What kind of curriculum is being used in the program? Q4 What are the benefits that dance-based non-profits provide for victims of sex trafficking? Q5 How are the benefits of these programs being measured? This research was significant because with …

Dignity And Respect In The Salsa Dance Classroom: Fostering Healthy Self-Esteem To Promote Compassion, Diana Sanchez

Master's Theses

Many students that have attempted to take salsa dance classes often express their disillusionment in the way in which they are treated by salsa dance instructors. Salsa dance classes have the possibility to function to awaken in the student greater integration with the society in which people live, while stimulating actions, improving self-esteem, and self-confidence, improving vocabulary, awakening sensitivity, attenuating shyness, as well as increasing communicative and social skills. If the content of a course is well designed and delivered with an intentional student-centered approach, it can positively contribute to greater and more sincere learning. In this sense, the objective …

With A Little Help From My Friends: Determining The Role Of Physical Activity And Belonging In Retention Of First-Year University Students, Bryson Kelly

Master's Theses

There exists an issue facing colleges and universities across the United States. Roughly 29% of first-year students do not return for their second year of school. Previous research has shown a significant relationship between a student’s sense of belonging or fit within the university and their decision to continue enrollment (retention). Physical activity has also been shown to have a significant relationship with a sense of belonging. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if physical activity and sense of belonging predict retention of university students from their first year to their second year using a Relationships …

Rethinking Classical Ballet Pedagogy: Examining Advancements That Integrate A Modern Approach, Erika Lindblom

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore how recent advancements in technology and medical science have or have not pushed ballet pedagogy to evolve. Also examined were the principles of classical ballet that continue to be included despite current knowledge that these practices are outdated and may be unsafe. The 180-degree turn-out, dancing en pointe, and the grand plié were the specific areas of interest for this study. The following essential questions guided the research: Q1 What impact have advancements in anatomy and physiology had on ballet and ballet training? Q2 What are the origins of ballet principles such …

Strictly Ballroom: Examining How The Culture Of Collegiate Ballroom Dance Influences Body Image Perceptions, Rachel Neil

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence that collegiate ballroom dance programs have on participants’ body image perception and self-esteem and to identify what sort of effect those perceptions have on performance satisfaction. In this project the researcher surveyed twenty-four students, ten males and fourteen females, who were presently involved in a collegiate ballroom dance program with a goal of identifying what sort of influence the culture of their ballroom dance programs had on each participant’s body image and self-esteem. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included yes or no questions, …

Facilitating The Acculturation Of Children Among Russian Immigrant Mothers, Anna Goncharova

Master's Theses

While biculturalism is considered the preferred strategy of acculturation for most, the existing research does not address the degree to which immigrant mothers support bicultural acculturation of their children and how these mothers enact biculturalism. Although existing research demonstrates that parental involvement and social capital of immigrant parents are important for the success of their children, studies do not delineate the personal meanings and the process of maternal involvement in the acculturation of their children into American society. This research addresses these questions and describes maternal goals towards acculturation and depicts how Russian immigrant mothers facilitate acculturation of their children …

Desire And The Power Of Practice: Queer Sexual Perspectives, Philip W. Kemp

Master's Theses

This research provides a theoretical analysis of the lived experiences of 17 queer individuals, ages 19 to 66, regarding their sexual desires and practices. Queer Theory is incorporated to inform on sex, gender performance and sexuality as social constructs, to inform grounded theoretical concepts, and to identify expressed social behavior by each participant. Social Exchange Theory is used to analyze participant responses. Modified grounded theory is incorporated to posit a particular social exchange that I refer to as the queer exchange; in which particular costs/benefits are considered before queer individuals engage in social exchanges due to their potentially (un)perceived queerness. …

Educational Leadership Can Dance: A Deeper Look Into The Efficiency Behind Evaluations Of Dance Educators, Helen Brown

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to provide information on the issue of dance educator evaluation’s level of integrity, potential biases, and efficiency. Further, this study also acts as a review of current evaluation systems within public schools across the United States. The researcher received information about the evaluation systems from eleven dance educators in addition to how nine educational leaders evaluate their dance educators, along with one educational leader’s personal insight into their respective evaluation process. The research instruments utilized were online surveys and interviews. Both the surveys and interview responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, depending on …

Service And Citizenship: Examining The Historical Relationship Between Immigration And Military Service In The United States, Claudia Lynn Zibanejadrad

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

The purpose of this project is to examine the many different groups of people who used military service in order to gain the political and civil rights of citizenship. I begin with a history of immigration and military service, throughout American history. I particularly concentrate on World War II, a pivotal moment for immigration and the military. I will then cover the historiography that informed my research. I include some research on immigrants who used military service to become naturalized citizens, such as those from Ireland, Germany, and the Philippines. I also include those who were born on American soil, …

Perceived Authenticity Of Traditional Branded Restaurants (China): Impacts On Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, And Behavioural Intentions, Qian Chen, Rong Huang, Bin Hou

Plymouth Business School

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name? An Assessment Of Degradation Of Women In The Name Of Climbing Routes, Raiza Barahona

Honors Theses

Gendered behavior is reinforced at an early age. In media, women are usually portrayed following gender stereotypical behaviors and are often sexualized, meaning that their worth is often determined by their body shape and clothing type and as such women are often wearing revealing clothing, following gender stereotypical behaviors, and portraying unrealistic body proportions (e.g., Gentlemen’s Quarterly Magazine; Collins, 2011). The representation of women in climbing media is similar to that of the general media. The present study focused on route names within the climbing community and presents a qualitative analysis on the sexism and other derogatory (i.e., overtly sexual) …

Envisioning Success: A Naturalistic Investigation Into Prospective Memory Performance, Reminder Use, And Memory Strategies In An Academic Context, John Whittemore

Honors Theses

Prospective memory encompasses the ability to remember to carry out future intentions. Prospective memory performance is essential for students. College students are expected to remember and complete a variety of assignments on a daily basis. In these naturalistic experiments taking place before and after COVID-19, college students were required to set academic goals for themselves for three consecutive days following specific guidelines. Each day, the participant identified a time specific academic goal and a non-time specific academic goal. Participants were randomizing assigned experimental or control condition. The experimental group performed an episodic future thinking exercise during encoding. Additionally, each time …