University at Albany, State University of New York
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Curated Collections for First- and Second-Year Students: Bringing Virtual Browsing to the Discovery Experience
No full textStudies have found that chance information encounters while browsing help spark student research interests and curiosity (Foster & Ford, 2003; Nutefall & Ryder, 2010). Supporting browsable collections is important for engaging students in the research and knowledge-creation process (Cook, 2018). Unfortunately, there are several barriers in academic libraries that can stifle this organic browsing experience. Moving physical collections to offsite storage, reduced library hours due to staffing issues or closures related to the pandemic, the transition to online resources, and the traditional function and search capabilities of library online catalogs can obstruct this type of exploratory research. And while rows of tightly packed spine labels for related titles in the stacks create an efficient subject-area browsing experience, the way the library is organized is not conducive to creating a visually appealing browsing experience or to discovering genre-related materials that may be classified differently.
In an effort to stimulate intellectual curiosity and support early college students through the research process, the University at Albany Libraries has incorporated browsable, visually appealing, subject-based collections called Curated Collections into its discovery tool, Primo VE. These collections consist of resources on trending topics and current events, supportive resources for those new to college research and writing, and bespoke collections of genres that may not exist together physically in the stacks or be easily identifiable in the library catalog, such as graphic novels and popular fiction
The role of micro-business owners’ social networks : mutual aid in community-led economic eevelopment
Get PDFThis dissertation sought to fill gaps in our knowledge of the role that social networks play in fostering economic development in low-income, urban, highly distressed communities. It utilized both a quantitative methodology using social network analysis (SNA) and a qualitative methodology using NVivo v.12 software to identify themes emerging from interviews and observation. Although social networks have empirically been shown to support better success rates for small businesses in the United States, less is known about micro-business networks and the contributions they make to economic development efforts in a low-income setting. The study focuses on “micro-business owners,” which were the predominant form of small business owners located in the target community. Incorporating concepts from both social network theory and inclusive development theory, I examined how micro-business owners operate in a complex, under-resourced business environment. Findings show that networks do play a critical role in business success, sustainability, and innovation—but do so, however, not as predicted by traditional economic theory. Quantitatively, the SNA analysis predicted a network that would experience high rates of business failure, poor resource sharing, and weak structural attributes that would normally signal poor progress in economic development and sustainability. Despite the adverse prediction of SNA, however, the qualitative analysis revealed a different picture, more in keeping with findings from inclusive development research, of a resilient and cohesive network that has experienced high sustainability, fruitful collaboration, and resource sharing among its members. In this low-income community, the micro-business network was found to play a critical role in helping to build stronger than predicted findings in the areas of relational (e.g., quality of relationships) and cognitive (e.g., collective goals and values) attributes and outcomes. Findings gave rise to the identification of a new concept—business owner mutual aid—that was shown empirically in this study to be integral to the business success of network members
Ascriptive entrepreneurs and the rise of the illiberal tradition how Benjamin Tillman, George Wallace, and Donald Trump exploited ascriptive Americanism
Get PDFMy dissertation identifies a type of political actor, the ascriptive entrepreneur, who through innovative and creative methods advances the ascriptive tradition. I expand upon two branches of political science literature: political entrepreneurship and Rogers Smith’s multiple tradition thesis. Political entrepreneurs are able to recombine political alignments, causing endogenous shocks to a political system. The concept of the ascriptive entrepreneur augments Rogers Smith’s multiple tradition thesis to include those actors who use the ascriptive tradition to obtain power at the expense of Lockean liberalism and civic republicanism. These political actors, through their own individual efforts, restructure American politics in favor of the ascriptive tradition and help legitimize what was once considered at the fringes of American politics. Three figures, Benjamin Tillman, George Wallace, and Donald Trump, show the characteristics of an ascriptive entrepreneur: individualization, showmanship, creativity, innovation, and disruptive effects. Benjamin Tillman helped establish a new type of political figure: the Southern demagogue. Tillman’s appeal remained regional despite his efforts to find a national audience. George Wallace honed a message of ascriptive Americanism that blended both Northern and Southern elements and was central to developing racial dog whistles. While Wallace failed to win the presidency, the Republican Party adapted his message and coded language, specifically under Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. The ascriptive message developed by Wallace was modified over time, but it dominated Republican politics from the 1980s to the rise of Donald Trump. It was Trump, during his 2016 campaign, who uncoded the ascriptive message developed by Wallace. Trump was the most successful of the three ascriptive entrepreneurs as he remade the Republican Party in his image and intensified divisions with the country. Each of these figures had limits to their appeal because the ascriptive message is predicated on an “us versus them” mentality. All three figures pushed issues of racism, chauvinism, and general bigotry in a way that dehumanized those in the “outgroup” and weakened commitments to democratic principles. The ascriptive entrepreneur may be a rare individual, but recognizing this category of political actor will aid in understanding critical moments when governing authority is shifted in favor of the ascriptive tradition
Three-factor model of behavior intervention : psychometric properties of the behavior intervention self-efficacy (BISE) scale
Get PDFThe present study theorized the dimensions of classroom behavior intervention, hypothesizing that preparedness to handle perceived challenging behaviors would split into three factors: internalizing behaviors, attention-related behaviors, and social behaviors. Based on this theory, a psychological measurement, the Behavior Intervention Self-Efficacy (BISE) scale was developed. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the BISE, investigating the factor structure, validity evidence based on the relationship with a similar scale, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Furthermore, the variability of the BISE responses was analyzed based on demographic characteristics of the school environment, training background, work experience, and student populations. Results revealed a unidimensional structure of the BISE, assessing overall behavior intervention self-efficacy across various types of challenging behaviors. Some demographic characteristics were associated with the BISE ratings, including type of schools, training background, job title, type of services, work experience, and student racial characteristics. The utility of the BISE as well as clinical and research implication are discussed
Sibling Relationships: A Qualitative Analysis Of Typically Developing Siblings’ Feelings About Play Experiences With Their Sibling With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to investigate and describe the present and past experiences of sibling play for siblings of children with autism. Narrative inquiry will provide participants a place for their voices, emotions, and actions to be heard, in hopes that we may glean better insight into seemingly invisible features of daily play within the sibling relationships. Because daily play is such an integral part of shaping social interactions, behaviors, and perceptions, it is important to better understand how siblings experience these potentially non-typical play experiences
Mindful control vs. mindful acceptance : an experimental evaluation of the acute impact of intentions guiding mindfulness practice on psychological and emotional experiences
Get PDFMindfulness meditation (MM) has gained attention from the mainstream media and scientific communities due to its benefits in ameliorating psychological suffering, aiding in the treatment of physical conditions, and promoting well-being. However, a growing body of research suggests that MM may also produce unintended, adverse effects. Research in emotion regulation suggests that how people use MM may be critical in understanding both the benefits and iatrogenic effects of such practices. Emotion regulation science suggests that efforts to avoid, suppress, or otherwise control unwanted internal experiences are ineffective long-term strategies and can backfire, thus potentiating psychological distress. Conversely, acceptance of difficult internal experiences has been found to reduce psychological and emotional distress, promote engagement in meaningful life activities, and increase well-being. Bridging MM and emotional regulation science, the present research aimed to evaluate whether intentions guiding MM impact psychological and emotional outcomes in an undergraduate sample. Meditation-naïve undergraduates (N = 73) were randomized to one of two MM conditions (experiential control [n = 47] or acceptance [n = 26]) and then completed a 10-minute MM daily for two weeks. A battery of psychometrically-sound measures and idiographic items spanning psychological, emotional, and process domains was administered pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Results showed that regardless of condition, participants improved on numerous indices of distress and wellbeing from pre- to post-meditation. Results further suggest that participants in the acceptance condition had greater and more rapid reductions in anxiety, stress, and negative affect relative to their experiential control counterparts. Discussion expands on findings in terms of their relevance for the practice of meditation in psychotherapy and in daily life
Abandoned form : secularity & religion in the eighteenth-century British novel
Get PDFAbandoned Form rereads the theory of the novel from a post-secular perspective. Since the early 1980’s, theorists such as Nancy Armstrong, Michael McKeon, and Ian Watt have argued that the novel mimics Western civilization’s journey from irrationality to rationality by embracing secular ideologies and abandoning religious ones. Conversely, Abandoned Form contends that the eighteenth-century novel form depends on an inseparable relationship between the religious and the secular. Rather than being independent of religious influence, the eighteenth-century novel utilizes a dialectical engagement of secular and religious forces to create its formal structures. Focusing on the form of the novel, rather than its content, Abandoned Form, departs from other post-secular analyses which tend to search for religious motifs or themes. At the same time, my approach elevates the eighteenth-century novel, often read as a somewhat simplistic forerunner of a more sophisticated nineteenth-century form. I argue that, in fact, recognizing religion’s centrality to Enlightenment culture, allows us to re-imagine both the novel’s origins and the supposedly secular modernity to which it responds. Therefore, Abandoned Form address three important aspects of the secularization thesis as they correlate to definitive features of the novel form—time/plot, space/interiority, and belief/realism through a close reading of novels such as such as Henry Mackenzie’s The Man of Feeling, the anonymous novel, The Female American; or, The Adventures of Unca Eliza Winkfield, and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze among others
Accounting for student performance in online higher education
Get PDFThis paper uses a novel data on both students’ and teachers’ online participation with students’ administrative academic records and characteristics. The first chapter provides evidence that pre-pandemic lower-achieving students benefitted of the extra time they got during the Spring 2020 lockdown by doing more homework and completing the work assignments that counted towards the final grade, improving their academic performance relative to their pre-pandemic performance (relative to the change observed among higher-achieving students). Using difference-in-differences models and event-study analyses, both with individual fixed effects, we find that lower-achieving students’ Spring 2020 GPA improvement relative to their pre-pandemic academic performance (relative to the change in GPA observed among their higher-achieving peers) is driven by a relative increase in their time studying measured by student’s online logging, signing into the platform, mouse clicks, and homework postings.The second chapter examined the effects of experiencing unexpected lockdowns more often on students’ study performance and study effort. This chapter finds that students with more experience in lockdown while registering for classes can adjust to the shock better by performing better in course grades and investing more study time. Also, female students and younger students are the major forces driving such differences. The third chapter incorporates teacher value-added models (VAMs) and provides evidence for the effects of teaching assistants on students’ academic performance. This chapter finds that although teaching assistants are not directly teaching students, they still have high impact on their academic performance through communication. Value-added estimates for teaching assistants differ by their efforts and experience. High quality teaching assistants can help students to achieve a higher course grade and reduce the probability of failing courses. Our results indicate that teacher value-added can be partially explained by their efforts and attitudes toward students’ study, so policies should be implemented to incentivize teachers’ efforts to improve students’ academic performance
Mainstream radicalism : labor organizing in Schenectady 1886-1906
Get PDFThis dissertation examines the roots of radicalism among workers in Schenectady, New York, from 1886 to the 1906 sit-down strike organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). As early as the 1880s, the city’s workers embraced the inclusive industrial union methods of the Knights of Labor. After the decline of the Knights, Schenectady’s workers joined the more conservative American Federation of Labor (AFL) yet showed their support for radical direct action methods within the AFL. The roots of Schenectady’s active and militant labor community stretched back to the days before Thomas Edison established the foundations of General Electric in the city in the 1880s – and grew afterwards. This work contributes to existing accounts of labor history in two ways. First, the story of early skilled, semiskilled, and especially unskilled workers at General Electric has not been told. A register of workers dating to the 1890s, a recent donation from GE Power Systems to the Museum of Innovation and Science, now allows for an in-depth look at unskilled workers at General Electric in Schenectady during the 1890s – the interim between the Knights and the coming of the AFL, when unskilled workers, both male and female, relied only on quitting to control their lives. Once unskilled male and female workers had the opportunity to join AFL unions after 1900, they did so. This study also sheds light on Schenectady’s role in the founding of the IWW and the German American community’s early backing of both the Socialist Labor Party and the IWW. Additional support for the IWW came from Socialist Party members led locally by Henry Jackson, an important militant labor leader who employed radical direct action methods and attempted to bring the city’s workers into the IWW. In exploring the confluence of the city’s Socialist history, workers’ adoption of direct labor action practices at the point of production, and the commitment of local labor leaders to industrial unionism, this dissertation reveals how radicalism became mainstream among Schenectady’s workers from 1886-1906
Evaluating Spatial Relationships Between Environmental Factors And Contextual Sociodemographic Burden And Associations With Respiratory Morbidity Among Young Children: An Indicator-Based Approach
Get PDFThe body of public health literature related to air pollution epidemiology is extensive. Similarly, the body of literature related to social epidemiology has also expanded greatly in recent years. While studies in these sub-disciplines of epidemiology sometimes seek to control for variables more commonly studied in one or the other, fewer studies report on their combined effects. Studies which do attempt to summarize how the combined air pollution burden and contextual sociodemographic burden differentially effect health outcomes beyond their individual effects could be beneficial in understanding links between the environment and certain health outcomes such as childhood asthma. The proposed work is novel in that while many studies of asthma and the environment have focused on outdoor or sociodemographic exposure indicators, fewer studies have linked data from the indoor and outdoor environment with sociodemographic data to explore interrelationships between these factors. In the work that follows, Chapter 1 provides a more detailed background for the studies and analyses conducted in Chapters 2, 3, and 4. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings collectively and suggests additional analyses that could be done. In addition, the analyses in Chapters 3 and 4 study focus on areas of NYS excluding NYC, large parts of which are rural and which have been studied less frequently