Digital Commons Network^™

(In)Dependent Contractors: Combatting Employee Misclassification In Title 26, Kyle T. Macdonald

FIU Law Review

This comment addresses the use of 26 U.S.C. § 7434 as an alternative remedy for individuals who are misclassified by their employers as independent contractors for federal tax purposes. Historically, misclassified employees have used more well-known employment laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act to sue employers who engage in employee misclassification. 26 U.S.C. § 7434 provides an underutilized, alternative means for misclassified employees to recover damages for wrongful misclassification. Originally enacted in 1996 as part of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, 26 U.S.C. § 7434 is a tax fraud statute that allows a taxpayer to seek civil damages …

Section 230 Is Not Broken: Why Most Proposed Section 230 Reforms Will Do More Harm Than Good, And How The Ninth Circuit Got It Right, Christian Sarceño Robles

FIU Law Review

In 1996, Congress enacted 47 U.S.C. § 230 (“Section 230”) as part of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”), essentially protecting online services from any liability for content produced by third parties. With the hope to encourage internet service providers (“ISPs”) to moderate the content on their platforms so that minors would be less often exposed to indecent material online, the CDA authorized ISPs and users of interactive computer services to restrict access to inappropriate materials without risking liability from being classified as publishers. Section 230 quickly grew to become so central to US internet law that it has been cited …

Reasoning About Faith: On The Religious Lawyer, Rakesh K. Anand

FIU Law Review

The religious lawyer is an individual who understands his or her religious practice to be a way of life and who, within the context of a commitment to his or her religious practice as such, takes up the professional practice of law. Unquestionably, this individual is worthy of our respect, given the seriousness with which the individual approaches his or her faith. At the same time, it is precisely this seriousness that points us in a direction that is perhaps difficult for many to go. Specifically, because a way of life represents a total activity of the self from which …

Unraveling Microplastic Fate And Transport In Aerobic And Anaerobic Sediment Conditions, Tasnuva Farnaz

Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering & Computing Student Research Symposium (2022)

• To replicate oxidized and reduced circumstances, the MP-sediment interaction will be studied in three sediment environments: aerobic (oxidized environment), anaerobic (reduced conditions), and cyclic aerobic-anaerobic environments.

• As part of the experimental setup, five continuously stirred tank (CSTR) batch reactors (2000 mL flaks) operated for 60 days will be used. Two will act as controls while the remaining ones will have different environments.

• The aerobic condition will be achieved through the use of an air diffuser, while the anaerobic reactors will be sealed to the environment and purged with nitrogen gas.

• Dissolved oxygen (DO), Temperature, pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), nutrient …

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Modeling Iot Solutions: A Lack Of Iot Device Security, And User Education, Benjamin Newlin

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The Internet of Things, more commonly known as IoT devices, is an ever growing topic, both in the marketplace and in cyber security. While new devices are released into the public every year, a lack of standardized security concepts is also growing ever so clear. By having a model or standard for IoT devices and manufacturers to follow, the customer-base of these devices will have an easier time identifying trustworthy devices as well as how to secure their own devices.

Cybersecurity In Fintech Companies, Efstratios Zouros

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Have you recently accessed your bank account online? Have you accessed any financial instrument through your computer or your mobile device? If you are reading this, chances are you have. Every time you utilize those services, you ultimately put your trust in the financial institutions that offer them. You trust that they can securely keep your private information, while also keeping your savings safe. Ultimately, there is a certain dependability and trust in financial institutions that have been present on earth before most of us.

Deepfakes: Ai Technology Of The Future, Hosanna Root

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Deepfakes technology’s danger stems from its ability to create realistic but fake synthesized media that people often identify as something that is real. With this powerful technology in the wrong hands, deepfakes can cause devastating havoc through information warfare, election campaign disruptions, and more, creating distrust in society. Disinformation is already rampant today, even without wide deployments of deepfakes, which is concerning given the fact that deepfakes’ nefarious full potentials are yet to be reached.

Writing Towards Radicalism: On Biased Reporting & Its Effects On U.S. Extremism, Martha Tyler

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Perceived influxes in biased reporting, disparities in reporting versus reality, and other factors have led many Americans to question the legitimacy of their most-frequented sources. These sentiments have encouraged migration from traditional sources to alternative ones, exposing many Americans to polarizing media. This report argues that unaddressed inadequacies in reporting force Americans to contend with a distorted reality or try their luck on the path toward alternative media.

The Path From Paramilitary To Politics: Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin, And The Good Friday Agreement: 1986-1998, Brenann Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Although the Troubles often have been written about by historians through a nationalistic or cultural context, pitting the Irish Catholic Nationalists against the Protestant British loyalists, much of the action took place within the political sphere, as the Nationalists’ and Unionists’ representatives fought for concessions and control. Rather than focusing on the religious differences or the ethnographic backgrounds of the people living in Northern Ireland, this thesis examines through a political context how the leaders of Sinn Féin shaped popular opinion and gained support through nonviolent means. While the national identity and cultural differences between the Nationalists and Unionists inform …

The Association Between Parent And Adult Child Severe Mental Illness Stigma: The Effects Of Gender, Relationship Quality, And Contact, Taylor Joyce Courier

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Extensive research exists on individuals’ stigma toward mental illnesses and factors that influence the stigmatizing beliefs a person holds. One area included in this examination is an exploration of the impact that parents have on the stigmatizing beliefs held by their children. These studies have found varying levels of similarity in beliefs between parents and children. The present study attempted to elucidate the association between parents’ stigmatizing beliefs and adult children’s stigmatizing beliefs about severe mental illness. Based on survey data collected from 244 participants, this study showed a strong association between adult children and perceived parents’ beliefs. Moderators revealed …

Cas Honors Symposium Program, Spring 2022, College Of Arts & Sciences Honors Program

College of Arts & Sciences Honors in the Major Symposium

No abstract provided.

Cas Honors Symposium Program, Spring 2023, College Of Arts & Sciences Honors Program

College of Arts & Sciences Honors in the Major Symposium

No abstract provided.

In Re The Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation Rewritten, Hillary A. Sale

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In re The Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation is notable for upholding the broad latitude courts afford to boards through the business judgment rule. The case addressed a $130 million termination package delivered to former Disney CEO, Michael Ovitz, after fourteen months of underperformance at the company. This rewritten opinion, to be published in “Feminist Judgements: Rewritten Corporate Law,” (Kelli Alces Williams, Anne Choike, & Usha R. Rodrigues, eds.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, forthcoming 2022), follows the style of the Delaware Supreme Court and reaches the same outcome with a different approach. The opinion expounds on the corporate governance practices in …

Georgia Southern Libraries Annual Report 2022 - 2023, Georgia Southern University Libraries

Library Annual Reports

The University Libraries use a yearly scorecard to plan and coordinate strategic initiatives from the University Libraries’ 5-year Strategic Plan. The goals listed in the scorecard are also aligned with the University’s Strategic Plan and specifically address how we support those goals. As a team, we develop a yearly scorecard to itemize and track select activities, by strategic planning goal, within our departments and as a Libraries. These combined activities represent our commitment to strategic planning initiatives for this fiscal year. We have three parts in our annual report this year. First, the Libraries’ strategic planning initiatives. Second, graphics with …

Jim Crow In Savannah's Parks, Jeffrey M. Ofgang

History: Graduate Internship Reports (2018-2022)

Savannah, Georgia maintained separate and unequal public park systems for Black and white people from the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Black Savannahians were barred by custom from entering the largest parks, including Forsyth Park, a landmark for residents and visitors, and were allowed only in the historic Savannah squares situated in Black neighborhoods. The “Black” neighborhood parks were inferior in size, equipment, and greenery. Black swimmers could not use Daffin Park Lake or play without restriction on the only city-owned golf course. They played on basketball courts made of dirt while white …

Celebrating 15 Years Of The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning At Georgia Southern University, Delores D. Liston, Nikki Digregorio, Delena Bell Gatch, Joe Pellegrino

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This letter from the editors of IJ-SoTL introduces our 15th Anniversary Special Issue, celebrating 15 years of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Georgia Southern University.

Sotl At Georgia Southern: Perceptions, Engagement And Impact, Diana Botnaru, Trent W. Maurer, Jody Langdon

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at our institution, including SoTL perceptions, engagement and impact. A link to an online anonymous survey (31 questions) in Qualtrics was distributed to all academic units. The final sample consisted of 90 faculty and administrators from a population of 1,327, reflecting a response rate of almost 7%. Over half of the participants engaged in SoTL research. More often they presented their work at conferences than in publications. Perceptions of support at departmental and Faculty Center levels were positive, but negative at the …

Going With The Flow: Shifting Face-To-Face Pd To Fully Online In The Era Of Covid-19, Heather Scott, Lacey Huffling

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Immersive professional development is often used to provide teachers first-hand experience in developing placebased curricula. Knowing this, we had carefully crafted such a professional development for our participants to learn how to engage their students in local watershed research and ecology. However, following year one of a two-year grant-funded weeklong summer professional development opportunity for teachers in the Okefenokee Swamp, a shift to online instruction occurred due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Although the first summer in the swamp and the successive year of follow-up with teacher participants proved successful, the shift to online asynchronous instruction proved surprisingly successful as …

Introducing The Remote Mentoring Of Undergraduate Research Students (Rementurs) Workshop Series: Initial Evaluation And Plans For Wider Implementation, Elizabeth Sargent, Abid Shaikh, Karla Sue Marriott, Taysia Porter, Dawn N. Cannon-Rech, Shainaz M. Landge

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The primary objective of the Remote Mentoring of Undergraduate Research Students (ReMentURS) workshop series is to design a remotely available professional development training that will provide rigorous research concept and skills introduction to incoming undergraduate research students. This pilot run eight-week remote learning workshop series includes digital presentations, informational videos, virtual demonstrations, and aligned comprehension checks to foster student mindsets towards becoming independent research scientists. Preliminary assessment of the of ReMentURS program reveals that participants self-report gaining a variety of skills through the series and are likely to use the content in their future course and research laboratories. ReMentURS material …

Are We Dialogical Or Sociomaterial In Our Written Corrective Feedback? A Reflection By Two Academic Writing Instructors, Daron B. Loo, Rowland Anthony Imperial

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Despite the growing movement to embrace sociomaterial approaches to feedback practices (e.g. Gravett, 2020), dialogicity remains the prominent and dominant approach, especially in the teaching of introductory or compulsory writing courses at the tertiary level. To examine this in our own practice, we reflected on and compared our written corrective feedback (WCF) provided to our students. Based on our WCF practices, we contend that feedback practices may range from dialogic to sociomaterial. The former aims to ensure students’ learning of expected academic skills or objectives of a module, while the latter promotes students’ pursuit of content knowledge. These observations are …

Active Learning In Flipped Classroom And Tutorials: Complementary Or Redundant?, Matthew J. Mason, Angela M. Gayton

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Cambridge undergraduates have regular active-learning opportunities in small-group tutorials, in which they solve problems and discuss ideas based on course material. Would they see any value in performing similar tasks in flipped-classroom settings, or would they regard the introduction of a second active-learning modality as redundant? Following the replacement of traditional lectures with flipped teaching within three physiology courses, with tutorials ongoing, questionnaire responses showed that students felt that they learned and understood more, and felt better-prepared for exams. Although similarities were recognised, the context of the active learning evidently made flipped classroom and tutorial teaching feel very different, probably …

Co-Teaching Two Interdisciplinary Courses In Higher Education, Ronica N. Rooks, Jean Scandlyn, Krysta Pelowich, Sabrina Lor

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Academics are challenged to shift from traditional lecture models to accommodate rising student expectations, digital delivery platforms, and inclusive evidence-based classroom practices. As a solution, co-teaching can add value to undergraduate students’ and faculty’s learning and problem-solving skills. We investigated effective co-teaching practices in higher education and its impact on students’ learning outcomes. We analyzed co-teachers’, teaching assistants’, and students’ interview and focus group data and an external evaluator’s assessment of co-teaching classroom dynamics using thematic analysis; surveys on what co-teachers learned from teaching together; and students’ self-reported learning assessments with co-teaching using descriptive analysis in two undergraduate Introduction to …

Construction Of Teaching And Learning Cultures In Transnational Pedagogical Development: Discourses Among Palestinian University Instructors, Vesna Holubek, Pauliina Alenius, Vesa Korhonen, Nazmi Al-Masri

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This qualitative study explores teaching and learning cultures in the context of a community-oriented pedagogical development process initiated during Finnish–Palestinian transnational cooperation. Research data include focus group interviews and texts produced during a pedagogical training program with Palestinian university instructors. The study examines teaching and learning cultures as constructed by discourses in and around the Palestinian university. A poststructuralist discourse analysis identified five discourses of teaching and learning: disciplinary differences, traditional and modern education, improving education, sociocultural and religious context, and political and economic circumstances. The study shows that teaching and learning cultures are dynamic and fragmented as they are …

Building Teaching Competencies Through Video Recorded Discourse, Denise Shaw

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The objective of this article is to present the findings of video recorded communication between candidates in a graduate initial teaching licensure (GITL) program and peers during simulated micro-teaching across three consecutive seminar quarter. The micro-teaching activity combines conventional face-to-face interaction, video micro-teaching, peer and instructor feedback, alongside self-reflection to undergird the complex process of planning and teaching. This research aims to gauge 1) whether the micro-teaching assignment is a graduate candidate- centered activity that promotes accomplished teaching skills through higher-order thinking; and 2) how GITL candidates demonstrate the synergistic professional practice of teaching.

Tpack Tried And Tested: Experiences Of Post-Secondary Educators During Covid-19 Pandemic, Viola Manokore, Jeff Kuntz

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article explores educators’ experiences during the rapid shift from face-to-face to emergency virtual remote teaching and learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and forty educators from a Canadian province completed a survey with Likert scale and open-ended questions designed to capture their application of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) during the pandemic. Data was collected during fall of 2020. More than 50% of the study participants reported that the quality of their practice declined as they shifted from face-to-face to remote teaching as a result of the pandemic. Educators’ descriptions of their virtual remote experiences …

Empathy In Education: A Critical Review, Ziqian Zhou Dr

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This paper offers a systematic review of the literature on the nature of empathy in educational research. This synthesis of the literature will reveal four salient themes that SoTL authors have used to understand the concept of empathy. The value of empathy, according to SoTL researchers, will also receive a summarized treatment in this paper. Findings from this first part of the paper promote more accurate interpretations and comparisons of publications about empathy. Relatedly, a less ambiguous definition of empathy allows researchers and practitioners to design more precise studies that attempt to measure empathy in tutors or students, and to …

The Effects Of A Syllabus On Students’ Perceptions Of The Motivational Climate In A Course, Brett D. Jones, Xiao Zhu

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

A course syllabus can affect students’ perceptions of the motivational climate within a course. Yet, few researchers have conducted experimental studies of students’ perceptions of syllabi in courses in which they were currently enrolled. The purpose of the present studies was to assess the extent to which syllabi language and organization affected students’ motivation-related perceptions in hypothetical and real courses. In Study 1, undergraduate students reported their motivation-related perceptions for hypothetical syllabi statements about the course overview, late submissions, attendance, and use of electronics. Statistically significant differences in perceptions were documented between different types of syllabi statements. Study 2 was …

Students´ Experiences Of Participation In A Research Team: Evaluation Of A Research-Based Teaching Activity In Higher Education, Elisabeth Carlson, Martin Stigmar, Maria Engberg, Magnus Falk, Maria M. Stollenwerk, Petri Gudmundsson, Karin Enskär

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

In Sweden as well as internationally the teaching and research nexus has been described as the defining charac-teristics of higher education promoting generic skills such as information analysis and critical reflection. Vertically Integrated Projects has been proposed as one educational strategy where research and teaching are linked by in-viting students to take active part in actual research projects. The strategy is well aligned to Scholarship of teaching and learning enabling the transition from a teacher-centred accepted knowledge to a student-centred perspective where students are invited as producers of knowledge. The aim of the current study was to explore students’ experiences …

The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Critical Thinking: Finding A Way Forward With Evidence From A Medical Teaching Context, Althea Jane Gamble Blakey Dr, Clinton Golding Professor, Tim J. Wilkinson Professor

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in higher education has a deep- seated concern with developing critical thinking, now a common learning outcome and desired graduate attribute. The prolific inquiry into what critical thinking might be has, however, resulted in a complex literature, with multiple definitions used both explicitly, and implicitly, in practice. Unfortunately, this lack of shared meaning creates barriers for those who need to develop thinking in the classroom. In a year-long action research project, six teacher participants developed a three-part strategy to overcome these barriers in undergraduate small group medical teaching. Iterative thematic data analysis revealed …

Influence Of Discussion Prompts On Fostering Student Teachers’ Competence In Knowledge Of English Instruction, Chin-Wen Chien

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This study analyzed questionnaire, pre-test, post-test, and online posts to explore influence of discussion prompts on the competence in English instruction of seven student teachers of elementary school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) in a practicum in Taiwan. This study reached the following conclusions. First, student teachers had good perceptions of the discussion prompts, particularly their effects on reflection on and relevance of English instruction. Secondly, student teachers had good perceptions of discussion prompts because of their clarity; however, they were not satisfied with inactive discussions among participants. Finally, participants’ education background and teaching experience affected their perceptions and …