University of Southern Mississippi
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Development of Computational Thinking Tests on Genetic Concepts Using BEAR Assessment System
No full textThis study aims to develop and assess the feasibility of a computational thinking skills test instrument on genetic concepts for high school students. The method used is Research & Development (R&D) with the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Assessment System design, which includes construct maps, item design, outcome space, and measurement models. The study was conducted in seven public high schools in Banten and the Biology Education Department of Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in January-May 2024. The instrument’s feasibility was assessed using expert assessments (materials, evaluation, and practitioners), analysis of trial data, and student assessments via questionnaires. The average expert assessment was 98.66% (very feasible). Rasch analysis of 122 students showed item reliability of 0.5 (quite reliable) with an infit-outfit mean square in the range of 0.7-1.3, so that all questions were acceptable. Meanwhile, the average student assessment was 66.16% (practical). The results of the study show that this instrument is suitable for measuring students’ computational thinking skills in genetic concepts
The Factors that Affect USM Student Experience in the General Chemistry Classroom
Full text linkChemistry has a reputation for being a challenging discipline for many students. Enrollment in chemistry courses is much lower than that of other disciplines due to “chemophobia”, which can be caused by many aspects of chemistry.1-2To increase enrollment in chemistry, it is important to understand how to improve the student experience in the classroom. To determine the factors that affect a student’s experience in their current chemistry class, the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ) was adapted and given to students in General Chemistry I and II classes at The University of Southern Mississippi. Descriptive statistics, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and linear regression analysis were used to determine which factors have a statistically significant impact on current chemistry class experience. Two case studies were analyzed with one student that attended an advanced Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) high school and one student that transferred from a community college. Thematic analysis was done on case study transcriptions and provided additional information that supported the quantitative data. It was found that a student’s self-efficacy, previous lecture experience, and previous lab experience were the only factors that affected their experience in their current chemistry class. Findings from this study can be used to increase positive student experiences in the chemistry classroom, which will result in higher academic achievement in chemistry
Exploring Contributions of Partnerships Between Employers and Disability Organizations on Recruitment, Hiring, Training, Retention, and Accommodation of Individuals with Disabilities in Mississippi
Full text linkThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provides equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities (IWDs) by prohibiting discrimination in employment. However, one out of four IWDs face discrimination in employment in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Additionally, despite establishing the Office of Disability Employment Policy and enacting the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to help integrate IWDs into the workforce, IWDs face barriers to equal and equitable employment (NASEM, 2017). Previous studies recommend partnerships between employers and disability organizations (DOs) to provide employment opportunities and benefits for IWDs through recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and accommodation (Berre, 2023; Mahasneh et al., 2023). Partnerships between employers and DOs assist employers in utilizing the professionalism of DOs and help them combine resources to address the discrimination and other challenges IWDs face in employment (Evans & Davis, 2018). Nevertheless, limited data exists to explore the contributions of these partnerships to the recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and accommodation of IWDs, particularly in states with low labor participation rates, such as Mississippi (McCarron et al., 2022; Miller, 2023). With Mississippi ranked 49th in labor participation rates in the U.S., researchers recommend unlocking the potential of IWDs and utilizing them to increase labor participation in the state (Miller, 2023). The study utilized basic qualitative research design, purposive, and snowball sampling techniques to explore the contributions of the partnerships in Mississippi. Data was collected from employees in managerial positions in employers and DOs in Mississippi through semi-structured, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). The interviews consisted of 12 participants, while the FGDs comprised four participants. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The analysis yielded eight emergent themes. The study revealed that partnerships between employers and DOs contributed to the recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and accommodation of IWDs in Mississippi. The finding corroborated the existing literature that views the partnerships as contributing to the recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and accommodation of IWDs. There is a need to promote partnerships between employers and DOs to contribute to the recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and accommodation of IWDs in Mississippi
Investigating Job Embeddedness, Organizational Commitment, and Work Stress Through a Stress-Reducing Mobile App in the Professional Sports Industry
No full textInterns profoundly impact the workplace, including spaces like professional sports. Sports management internship programs are critical for interns’ academic and employability success but are also a source of skilled workers for the employer (Chang et al., 2019; Sattler & Achen, 2021). Interns bring attachments to specific teams, cultivating their work experiences through job embeddedness and organizational commitment (Hawzen et al., 2018; Mitchell et al., 2001). The interns battle role-related stressors specific to the industry, worksite, academic major, and position while finding a work-life balance (Chang et al., 2019). This study explored relationships between professional sports interns’ work stress, job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and a stress-reducing mobile app. The study measured interns\u27 job embeddedness, commitment, and stress before and after using the app, with focus group insights providing a deeper look into their experiences. The interns’ experiences suggest that the mobile app may positively influence sports management interns’ job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and self-awareness. The implications may benefit the interns, sports management, industry, and participating shareholders.
Keywords: internship, job embeddedness, organizational commitment, work stress, work-life balance, stress-reducing mobile app, mixed methods, professional sport
ASSESSING STEREOTYPE CONTENT AND ACCURACY OF THE UPPER ECONOMIC CLASS: INTERPERSONAL WARMTH AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE DIMENSION
No full textThe present research aimed to assess the stereotype content of interpersonal warmth and social competence of the upper economic class among the non-upper and upper economic class individuals. The study also aimed to assess whether these stereotypes mapped onto actual traits of upper economic-class individuals. I recruited N = 192 participants (n = 96 non-upper economic class and n = 96 upper-economic class) to complete the implicit (Single Category Implicit Association Task, SC-IAT) and explicit (stereotype ratings) measures. Participants were also asked to complete inventories to examine the stereotype accuracy. The results showed that both groups rated upper economic class individuals significantly lower on the implicit measures than on the explicit measures. Non-upper economic class participants rated upper economic class individuals lower than the upper economic class participants. Regardless of the measure type (implicit or explicit), participants rated upper economic class individuals significantly higher in the social competence than interpersonal warmth experiment. While individuals from upper economic backgrounds showed stronger bias on implicit than explicit measures, participants from non-upper economic backgrounds showed more consistency between implicit and explicit measures. Yet participants showed a larger implicit-explicit attitudinal discrepancy on social competence compared to interpersonal warmth. However, there was no significant relationship between implicit and explicit measures for both interpersonal warmth and social competence dimensions. The stereotype accuracy analysis revealed limited alignment between perceptions and self-reported traits, specifically for interpersonal warmth, where participants underestimated the levels of interpersonal warmth in upper economic-class individuals. However, upper-economic class participants accurately matched the perception of social competence on the explicit measure. In reality, both non-upper and upper economic class individuals did not differ on the interpersonal warmth inventory, but the upper economic class participants showed higher scores on the social competence inventory than the non-upper economic class participants. This study broadens our understanding of the stereotype content of interpersonal warmth and social competence attributed to upper-class individuals. This study has implications for addressing class-based biases through diversity and inclusion initiatives
The Drawing Effect: Evaluating Drawing Method and Strategic Implementation on Recall Accuracy
No full textDrawing images of to-be-remembered word’s reference often improves memory for the word relative to a control in which the word is written or read silently, a pattern dubbed the drawing effect. Drawing effects have been recorded in a variety of contexts and are generally more beneficial than other deep/elaborative encoding tasks. My dissertation compared recall for words that are drawn by copying a given image versus generating a drawn image without copying, and in study contexts in which the proportion of drawn items is disproportionally skewed. Experiment 1 gauged whether drawing effects differ relative to writing when participants draw an image by copying versus generating their own image of a study item. Experiment 2 evaluated whether the magnitude of the drawing effect is affected by the proportion of items drawn relative to written within a single list, in which drawing items are frequent or infrequent relative to writing words. Experiment 3 determined whether participant choice regarding which items are drawn versus written may affect recall. Drawing effects emerged across conditions, however these improvements were greater when drawings were generated. Separately, drawing effects were inflated when drawn items were less frequent (i.e., 20% of list items), and importantly, the drawing effect was eliminated when drawing was completed frequently (i.e., 80% of list items). Relatedly, when participants chose which items to draw vs. write, mixed-list writing costs were reduced. Collectively, the drawing effect is most potent when drawing images are self-generated versus copied, when drawing is completed infrequently, and when participants have autonomy in determining which study items to draw and write. These results are anticipated to inform educational practice regarding when drawing is most likely to improve retention
Synthetic Efforts Towards An Analog of LY426965
Full text linkThe 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor is a key target in the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions, and the development of selective antagonists offers promising therapeutic potential.24 This study aimed to develop a synthetic analog of LY426965, a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. The synthetic route was initiated from dimethyl-2-phenylmalonate, employing pig liver esterase (PLE) as an enantioselective biocatalyst to achieve regioselective hydrolysis of one ester moiety in the malonic diester intermediate.17 Through a series of stereochemically controlled transformations, a new intermediate was successfully synthesized. Although the target molecule was not obtained, a new compound was synthesized that allows for further research. The proposed structural analog involves the substitution of the phenyl ring with a cyclohexyl group. This work contributes to the foundation for the efficient and scalable synthesis of novel 5-HT1A antagonists and to the broader efforts of developing cost-effective central nervous system-active therapeutics
The Disinformation Age: Politics, Technology, and Disruptive Communication in the United States
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1042/thumbnail.jp
Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to Social Media
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1052/thumbnail.jp