Digital Commons Network^™

Human Trafficking: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Labor Trafficking In The Us, Anthony A. Mottola

Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon where traffickers prey upon their victims without discriminating against age, gender, ethnic background, or nationality. The United States (US) is not immune to the human rights violations of human trafficking. The victims of human trafficking are coerced into a life of exploitation through forced labor or sexual exploitation. Many victims are migrants from disadvantaged countries that travel to the US seeking employment but end up the victims of abuse, both physically and mentally, at the hands of traffickers. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the global economy, forcing quarantines, travel bans, and social distancing. …

Evaluating Higher Education In Prison Effectiveness By Modality Through Student Success And Retention Rates In California Community Colleges, Peter Michael Fulks

Theses and Dissertations

There is a strident body of empirical research evidence that Higher Education in Prison (HEP) has a direct impact on reducing recidivism. Additionally for participants, it also increases the economic mobility and employability post-release. However, the ability to conduct randomly controlled trials with a distal measurement of recidivism is hindered due to the inconsistent industry definitions of recidivism. Considering the implementation of credit bearing college programs from California Community Colleges since Senate Bill 1391 in 2014, the study conducts statistical analysis through independent and paired t tests to determine which modality of delivery, face-to-face (F2F) or correspondence (COR), to provide …

Review; Cooking Danish: A Taste Of Denmark, David Hendee, Polly Hendee

The Bridge

More than three decades after arriving in America, Danish immigrant and chef Stig Hansen published his first and only cookbook. Cooking Danish: A Taste of Denmark was the self-proclaimed Viking Chef’s gift to his family, his adopted countrymen, and all who love cooking and eating Danish foods. Although out of print since its 2007 publication, after selling out an initial print run of 10,000 copies, the award-winning, English-language cookbook is a staple of many Danish American kitchens. It remains available through the secondhand market.

Exploring Faculty Perspectives On Open Access At A Medium-Sized, American Doctoral University, Rachel E. Scott, Julie Murphy, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Chad E. Buckley, Anne Shelley

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Faculty hold widely varying perspectives on the benefits and challenges afforded by open access (OA) publishing. In the United States, conversations on OA models and strategy have been dominated by scholars affiliated with Carnegie R1 institutions. This article reports findings from interviews conducted with faculty at a Carnegie R2 institution, highlighting disciplinary and individual perspectives on the high costs and rich rewards afforded by OA. The results reiterate the persistence of a high degree of skepticism regarding the quality of peer review and business models associated with OA publishing. By exploring scholars’ perceptions of and experiences with OA publishing and …

The Impact Of Artisanal Fishers On Food Security And Socio-Ecological Systems In Rhode Island, Jami Marie Miller

Open Access Master's Theses

While on-shore fishers in Rhode Island fish recreationally, a large portion also fish for food, and many are fishers from marginalized racial and ethnic backgrounds. However, communities of color are significantly underrepresented in environmental studies in Rhode Island, particularly in coastal and marine research, so there is little known about these groups’ uses, behaviors, and perceptions towards coastal and marine resources. Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and photography, this ethnographic study investigated the impact of artisanal fishers on food security and socio-ecological systems in Rhode Island. The findings show that the top three reasons to fish are to relax, to …

Assessing Well-Being Impacts Of Sargassum Events In Puerto Rico, Patricia Valentin

Open Access Master's Theses

Since 2011, Sargassum events have become larger and more recurrent in Puerto Rico and appear to have come to stay. While some studies have described economic and ecological impacts on the archipelago, studies of Sargassum impact on human well-being are lacking. However, in the context of Puerto Rico, only a few studies have been conducted in terms of general impacts of sargassum events and its management. Puerto Rico, like most territories of the region, lacks an efficient strategy for sargassum management. Currently, only one set of protocols or guidelines has been produced since sargassum accumulations have become an issue for …

An Analysis Of The Iranian Post-Earthquake Management And Structural Assessment System, Nirvan Razaghi-Kashani

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis investigated the theory and practice of structural assessment, as a component in a more extensive post-earthquake disaster management system. The research focused on Iran as a case study, and in particular the capital city of Iran (Tehran). This study aimed overview of the system used for post-earthquake disaster management and structural assessment in Tehran. This thesis examined three specific sub-components of the system, namely: The Earthquake Information Management System (EIMS), seismic hazard education programs, and initiatives to engage communities in the disaster management process. A blended phenomenological and ethnographic approach provided the basis for the analysis of collected …

Quantifying Farm-To-Fork Greenhouse Gas Emissions For Five Dietary Patterns Across Europe And North America: A Pooled Analysis From 2009 To 2020, Daniel Burke, Paul Hynds, Anushree Priyadarshini

Articles

Dietary patterns are inherently related to greenhouse (GHG) emissions via agricultural practices and food production systems. As the global population is predicted to increase from 8 billion (current) to 9.6 billion by 2050 added pressure will be placed on existing agricultural systems, resulting in increased GHG emissions thus exacerbating climate change. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand present-day dietary patterns to shift to sustainable and healthy diets to mitigate GHG emissions and meet future climate targets. However, no review or pooled analyses of dietary pattern emissions from a farm-to-fork perspective has been undertaken to date. The current study …

Behavioral Pathways To Private Well Risk Mitigation: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Simon Mooney, Martin Boudou, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds

Articles

Complex, multi hazard risks such as private groundwater contamination necessitate multiannual risk reduction actions including seasonal, weather-based hazard evaluations. In the Republic of Ireland (ROI), high rural reliance on unregulated private wells renders behavior promotion a vital instrument toward safeguarding household health from waterborne infection. However, to date, pathways between behavioral predictors remain unknown while latent constructs such as extreme weather event (EWE) risk perception and self-efficacy (perceived behavioral competency) have yet to be sufficiently explored. Accordingly, a nationwide survey of 560 Irish private well owners was conducted, with structural equation modeling (SEM) employed to identify underlying relationships determining key …

An Ecological Study Of The Spatiotemporal Dynamics And Drivers Of Domestically Acquired Campylobacteriosis In Ireland, 2011–2018, Martin Boudou, Coilín Ó Haiseadha, Patricia Garvey, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds

Articles

In 2021, Campylobacteriosis was the main gastrointestinal disease in the European Union since 2007 according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. In the Republic of Ireland, the incidence of the disease is particularly high with approximately 3,000 cases per annum, raising significant concerns for national health authorities with an expected increase in the number of cases in the light of climate change. The current study sought to assess the spatio-temporal patterns of campylobacteriosis in the Republic of Ireland using 20,391 cases from January 2011 to December 2018. An ensemble of spatial statistics techniques including seasonal decomposition, spatial …

Embodying Arts Festivals As Infrastructural Transformation Of Places, Bernadette Quinn

Books/Book chapters

Arts festivals are important forms of cultural production and consumption (Négrier 2015). Irrespective of genre (e.g., visual arts, music or film) and whether single or multidisciplinary, their primary endeavour is to engage people in the making, showcasing and performance of art. Yet arts festivals do not necessarily receive recognition or attention based on their cultural attributes alone. Festivals and events have become “central to entrepreneurial cities’ efforts to generate commerce, regenerate place and stand out on the highly competitive global stage” (Quinn et al. 2020, 1875). Along with arts and cultural activities more generally, recent decades have seen cities use …

Playing From The Edge: Music Festivals And Broadcasting Practices In The West Cork Region Of Ireland, Enya Moore Dr., Bernadette Quinn, Brian Vaughan Dr

Presentations

A study of arts festivals' experiences of adopting digital practices in the period 2020-2022. The context is rural and the qualitative data were gathered in West Cork in the south west of Ireland.

Mega-Reservoir Regulation: A Comparative Study On Downstream Responses Of The Yangtze And Yellow Rivers, Xiao Wu, Yao Yue, Alistair G.L. Borthwick, Louise J. Slater, Jaia Syvitski, Naishuang Bi, Zuosheng Yang, Houjie Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Large reservoirs can considerably alter the water-sediment dynamics and morphology of alluvial rivers. Here we review the effects of two mega reservoirs operated with different regulation modes. The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) on the Yangtze River has a typical anti-seasonal regulation mode, while the Xiaolangdi Reservoir (XLDR) on the Yellow River undergoes a swift drawdown process shortly before the flood season through the Water and Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS). We examine the influence of these regulation schemes on downstream water-sediment dynamics and find that vast sedimentation occurred in both the TGR (128.4 Mt./yr) and XLDR (210.2 Mt./yr). The two rivers …

The Propagation And Emplacement Mechanisms Of The Tenteniguada Volcanic Debris Avalanche (Gran Canaria): Field Evidence For Brittle Fault-Accommodated Spreading, Symeon Makris, Matteo Roverato, Alejandro Lomoschitz, Paul Cole, Irene Manzella

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Tenteniguada volcanic debris avalanche deposit is located on the east of the island of Gran Canaria, Spain. Its internal structure is composed of a complex assemblage of extensional features and shearing structures including normal faults, horst and graben, brittle/ductile boudinage and clastic dike injections. Examination of these features in the field and evaluation of their distribution have allowed the generation of a new conceptual model for the transport and emplacement of this debris avalanche, and potentially others. In the majority of the deposit, the degree of disaggregation is low, with large portions of the original edifice preserved, although displaced …

Agricultural Systems Regulate Plant And Insect (Beetle) Diversity And Induce Ecosystem Novelty, Jessie Woodbridge, Ralph Fyfe

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Land-use change plays an important role in shaping plant and insect diversity over long time timescales. Great Britain provides an ideal case study to investigate patterns of long-term vegetation and insect diversity change owing to the existence of spatially and temporally extensive environmental archives (lake sediments, peatlands, and archaeological sites) and a long history of landscape transformation through agrarian change. The trends identified in past environmental datasets allow the impacts of land-use change on plant and insect diversity trends to be investigated alongside exploration of the emergence of ecological novelty. Using fossil pollen, insect (beetle), archaeodemographic, archaeobotanical and modern landscape …

Trading Spaces: Space As Metaphor For Contingency In Writing Centers, Genie N. Giaimo

The Writing Center Journal

This article offers a critical reading of writing center workplace space. Weaving together counterstorying with semiotic, geographic, and rhetorical analysis of space, the author provides an alternative way of understanding the connections between our physical and metaphorical workspaces. Precarity and contingency, the article posits, are made more palpable through connection to physical space because writing center labor (and workers) are often identified mostly through their space and availability. Ultimately, this article argues for a new way forward that decouples writing center workers and labor from inhabited workplace space. Arguing that these spaces are gendered, classed, and raced (among other things), …

Contingency As A Barrier To Decolonial Engagement: Listening To Multilingual Writers, Grace Lee-Amuzie

The Writing Center Journal

Based on the concept of transformative listening by García (2017) that views listening as a form of decolonial work that must take place in writing centers, the article examines colonial thinking and contingency as toxic preexisting conditions of writing center ecology that hinder our ability to listen to marginalized multilingual voices. Recognizing the commonality between multilingualism and contingency, both as ignored marginalized intersecting identities in the hierarchy of the racialized and corporatized university system, the article describes the complexity of engaging contingent workers in decolonial work and listening. Further, it argues that contingency creates significant barriers to the type of …

Lead In Painted Surfaces And Dusts From Rented Urban Properties (Plymouth, Uk), Sarah Tooms, Alison Stokes, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry has been used to measure lead (Pb) in painted surfaces and indoor dusts from 14 rented properties in the city of Plymouth, UK. Lead was detected in 78 out of 164 surfaces measured (and in 69 out of 150 interior surfaces) with an overall median concentration of 7100 mg kg−1 (range from 157 to 139,000 mg kg−1), and was detected in all but two properties that included one building constructed within the last 25 years. Selected measurements on an area basis (n = 48) returned Pb concentrations ranging from below 0.01 to 16.1 mg cm−2 that …

Physical And Biogeochemical Controls On Seasonal Iron, Manganese, And Cobalt Distributions In Northeast Atlantic Shelf Seas, Xue Gang Chen, Dagmara Rusiecka, Martha Gledhill, Angela Milne, Amber L. Annett, Aaron Joseph Beck, Antony J. Birchill, Maeve C. Lohan, Simon Ussher, Eric P. Achterberg

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Developing Entrepreneurial Skillsets Amongst Rural Women In Uganda, Sylvia Gavigan, Thomas M. Cooney, Klavs Ciprikis

Articles

Purpose: Rural women in Africa have less entrepreneurship opportunities than men. This is mainly due to societal expectations of women, but it may also be caused by a lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills due to their work in agriculture-related activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial skillsets of rural women working in Uganda and how such training influences their entrepreneurial activity.

Design/methodology/approach: The primary data set for this study comes from surveys of rural women working in agriculture who participated in a specific entrepreneurship training programme in Uganda. A …

Racialization Of Muslim Students In Australia, Ireland, And The United States: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Melanie C. Brooks, Miriam D. Ezzani Miriam D. Ezzani, Youcef Sai, Fida Sanjakdar

Journal Articles

The purpose of this qualitative cross-cultural case study was to better understand how Muslim students living in Australia, Ireland, and the United States navigated racism to identify ways in which school leaders and teachers can better address the structural, historical, and socioeconomic roots of racial injustice, discrimination, and ongoing oppression. Data collection was guided by a shared interview protocol that asked questions regarding family background, personal interests, identity, and friendships with a focus on their experiences of anti-Muslim racism in secondary schools. Findings suggested that Muslim students navigated racialization by (de)constructing their Muslimness, seeking voice, navigating between inclusion and exclusion, …

Improving Teaching Quality In Higher Education: A Practitioner's Guide To Using Formative Teaching Analysis Poll, Thies Johannsen, Henning Meyer

Practice Papers

Teaching Analysis Poll (TAP) has become an increasingly popular tool for evaluating teaching quality and enhancing student learning outcomes in higher education. It requires, however, additional human resources. This paper presents a modified version for easy implementation: Formative Teaching Analysis Poll (FTAP). It can be used by an individual educator and is nonetheless an effective practical method for practitioners in higher education to improve their teaching quality and enhance the learning experience of their students.

Based on a review of literature and personal experience using FTAP, in this paper we provide an overview of the underlying methodology of FTAP, its …

Lessons From Redefining Traditional Work Placements For University Students In Tu Dublin, Kevin Dominic Delaney, Norah Cussen, Deirdre Ryan

Practice Papers

There is strong support for ensuring all university students have an option to undertake relevant work placement. Work-placements enable students to engage with enterprise and develop experiential learning while linking their academic study and theory to real industrial practice. Such placements, or internships, offer students an opportunity to build their self-confidence while refining their transversal skills such as creativity, innovation, communication, team-working and problem solving. Furthermore, placements broaden students’ knowledge base and improve their employability upon graduation.

While student cohorts benefit from engaging with enterprise the enterprise also benefits, such as from the energy, new perspectives and ideas interns can …

Identifying The Characteristics, Constraints, And Enablers To Creating Value In Applied Performance Analysis, Denise Martin, Peter G. O'Donoghue, Jonathan Bradley, Sam Robertson, Denise Mcgrath

Articles

While applied performance analysts (PAs) are a well-established applied sports science practitioner group, there is no clear definition of the purpose of an analyst, their key relationships, or the expertise required to execute the role successfully. This research sought to understand how PA practitioners and educators perceive their role as applied PA practitioners. Twenty-seven applied PAs and educators with applied PA experience participated in six online focus groups, completing an online survey in advance. Reflexive thematic analysis of transcripts and survey data generated an overarching theme: embedded applied PA practitioners have a value co-creation role within performance ecosystems which is …

Capturing The Behaviour Of Volunteer Pedestrians In A Newly-Developed University Campus Using A Distributed Array Of Bluetooth Low Energy Devices, Ahlam Al Anbouri, Mayank Parmar, David Powell, Paula Kelly, Niall Holmes Dr., Damon Berry, Lorraine D'Arcy

Conference papers

Contemporary public infrastructure projects emphasise sustainable options that integrate pedestrian routes, leisure facilities and convenient access to public transport systems. It is important to understand the effectiveness of these contemporary designs. In the age of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), there is a need to develop technologybased solutions that collect information about the behaviour of pedestrians in public spaces as they commute and engage in leisure pursuits while simultaneously preserving the privacy of these citizens. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), has privacypreserving features that make it worth considering as part of a technology solution for studies of this type. This …

Editorial: Investigating The Effect Of The Physical Context On Customer Experience, Helen L. Bruce, Ewa Krolikowska, Tara Rooney

Articles

This editorial introduces a special issue of the Journal of Services Marketing, dedicated to articles discussing the effect of the physical context on customer experience. The editorial identifies diverse areas of extant knowledge which researchers might draw upon when investigating the effect of the physical context on customer experience. to inform future research agendas.

Judging Better Together: Understanding The Psychology Of Group Decision-Making On Panel Courts And Tribunals, Brian M. Barry Dr

Articles

While the psychological phenomena that affect group decisionmaking have been thoroughly investigated for decades, how these phenomena apply to decision-making by judges on panel courts is under-examined. This article examines the main psychological phenomena of group decision-making, both positive and negative, and considers their implications for panel courts and other groups of professional legal decision-makers such as adjudicators serving on tribunals. This article argues that experimental studies on judges and adjudicators testing the effects of these phenomena would improve understanding of legal decision-making by these groups and could help to devise ways to improve their decision-making processes to reach higher …

How It Course Improves Digital Competencies: An Experimental Study In Science Education, Mustafa Tevfik Hebebci, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The rising significance of technology in society has caused a surge in the requirement of individuals possessing digital competencies. In the current era, digital skills are progressively vital for both personal and occupational growth. Governments have acknowledged the value of digital competencies and have incorporated them as part of fundamental proficiencies in numerous countries. Pre-service teachers have a paramount role in molding forthcoming generations, highlighting their necessity to possess robust digital competencies. This research centers on how an "Information Technologies in Science Education" course influences the digital competency progression in pre-service teachers. The study deployed a pre-test post-test experimental design …

A Contribution To The Critique Of Irish Sociology., Chris O'Ralaigh

Articles

Irish society is situated within a period of epoch-defining social change. We are facing in to a short number of decades, which promise the significant re-shaping of the political and social contours of our nation. Irish sociology's disciplinary mandate is to analyse that change, yet a historical debate has found new expression – heightened by the 30th anniversary of the Irish Journal of Sociology (IJS) and the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI) – as to whether the discipline is utilising the appropriate means to achieve its ends. The current sociological division of labour …

Walkable Neighborhoods: Linkages Between Place, Health, And Happiness In Younger And Older Adults, Kevin M. Leyden, Michael J. Hogan, Lorraine D'Arcy, Brendan Bunting, Sebastiaan Bierema

Articles

Problem, research strategy, and findings: We examined whether living in a walkable neighborhood influenced the happiness of younger and older city residents. The data for this study came from a comprehensive household population survey of 1,064 adults living in 16 neighborhoods in Dublin City (Ireland) and its suburbs. We used multigroup structural equation modeling to analyze the direct and indirect effects of walkability on happiness, mediated by health, trust, and satisfaction with neighborhood appearance. We found living in a walkable neighborhood was directly linked to the happiness of people aged 36 to 45 (p¼.001) and, to a lesser extent, those …