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An inventory and mapping of cliffs within the South Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee
Get PDFThe high concentration of cliffs that permeate Tennessee’s South Cumberland Plateau (SCP) significantly influence the development, economy, and ecology of the region, yet little effort has been made to quantify these geophysical features. This study examined the use of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) to (1) create an exhaustive dataset of cliffs throughout a two-county study area within the SCP region and (2) better understand the implications of this quantification on conservation and rock climbing within the region. An impressive 428 km of total cliff line was modeled. Cliffs were GPS verified to an average error of ±13.9 m and a length RMSE = 91 m. The study determined 36% of cliffs in the study area lie on public lands, and 7% of cliffs are currently accessible for rock climbing. Results from this study clarify and reinforce the ecological and recreational significance of cliffs within the SCP region
Students’ Perspectives Regarding the Quality and Effectiveness of Nurse Practitioner Care in a University Health Center Setting
Get PDFNurse practitioners (NPs) have high patient satisfaction with various patient populations; however, there is a research gap regarding perceptions on NP care provided in university health centers. In a cross-sectional study, university students were surveyed using an anonymous, electronic survey with 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. Seventy percent of participants reported being extremely satisfied, very satisfied, or satisfied with their care (n = 62, mean of 3.11). Fifty-seven percent or more of subjects responded positively in terms of symptom management, provider education, and overall health improvement with plan of care. Themes observed in open-ended responses included medication delivery, patient expectations, factors out of provider control, confusion about type of the provider, and quality of care. The findings show that NP care is perceived positively by university students. Further research is needed to engage a more heterogeneous study sample and gain greater insight into perceptions on NP-driven care by this patient population
Personal ethnography as applied learning: a qualitative explorative ethnographic observational study of social comparison
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to discuss and evaluate the experience of studying abroad for college students as a participant observer as well as their perceptions of the experience. In Spring 2018, as a part of my studies and as an observational ethnography, I participated in the study abroad program through AIFS at Veritas University. In the study, I will provide my own transformative experience of studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica, as well as perspectives of other students who have studied abroad in different locations throughout Costa Rica, and an advisor with experience of assisting study abroad students. Four separate interviews were conducted in all with three students and one advisor. Throughout the interviews the common themes were addressed: the competitive culture of U.S. compared with “Pura Vida” concept, a difference of teaching styles abroad versus the U.S., and host families. The study seeks to connect the taxonomy of Benjamin Bloom of educational higher learning to the study abroad experience and concept of global learning and exposure. An ethnographic study was conducted to provide evidence for an individual’s progression through Bloom’s taxonomy, resulting in higher learning and evaluation of their culture. From the research, one can establish an acceleration of learning and accomplishment through connections to Bloom’s taxonomy when considering a study abroad experience
An investigation of creativity\u27s perceived impact on psychological well-being
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate creativity’s influence on psychological well-being, due to identified contradictions in predominantly quantitative previous research. For a greater understanding, a phenomenological qualitative design has been used. Reflecting Ryff’s (1989) Scale of Psychological Well-being within semi-structured interviews, data was collected from 11 art students from the University of Bedfordshire. Inductive thematic analysis revealed the following themes: Creative compass, Social Interactions, Volition, Perceived achievements and self-attitude, Self-efficacy and lifestyle. Positive implications have been found on all dimensions of psychological well-being, apart from autonomy. The qualitative method of enquiry has allowed for an exploration of this effect and of further observations. Finally, it’s been recommended that future research could use a more diverse sample when exploring the topic
Dysfunctional Retention: The Case of Abused Worker Syndrome
No full textExtending work from the realm of counseling psychology into the work environment, we examine the workplace complement of “battered person/spouse syndrome” in which workers stay with the organization despite experiencing abuse. We define this abused worker syndrome (AWS) as an association of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-type symptoms and other symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, low self-esteem), resulting from aversive incidents of psychological (i.e., non-physical) abuse at work. Our presentation will examine the contextual, relational, and individual antecedents of AWS, the psychological processes underlying targets staying, along with the associated workplace outcomes experienced by the targeted worker. We contribute a conceptual model and research propositions to explain why and when AWS occurs, and we identify implications for researchers to explore this line of inquiry and for organizations to prevent and mitigate AWS. Specifically related to the SHRM BoCK representation, we will discuss how various types of communication can lead to AWS, relationship management to avoid those types of communication, and the ethical practices leadership should follow to negate instances which may lead to AWS
Research on employee turnover: past, present & future, with recommendations for managers
No full textPredicting, understanding and controlling voluntary employee turnover have interested applied psychologists, management researchers and practicing managers for over a century. For example, Hom, Lee, Shaw and Hausknect (2017) review one hundred years of research on employee turnover and document its vibrant history. Most important, interest on employee turnover remains quite strong today to scholars and managers. In an article aimed at managers and executives, for instance, Lee, Hom, Eberly and Li (2018: 88-89) report that (1) “46% of HR managers deem employee turnover as their top concern,” (2) “replacing employees who quit can cost upwards of 200% of annual salary to recruit, hire and on-board new employees,” and (3) “51% of U.S. employees say that they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.” Thus, academic and managerial interest in turnover appears quite robust and likely to continue so into the foreseeable future. In this keynote address, Professor Tom Lee will review where the research on turnover has been, what today’s prevalent theories and research inform us on what we confidently know about turnover, offer his judgments on where the research should go in the future, and recommend managerial practices based on our current body of knowledge
Research design of job satisfaction in an East African medical research center
Get PDFFor years, I-O research has used surveys and scales to measure job satisfaction; however, a traditional survey may not always be the best option. Therefore, our research team utilized interviews as well as surveys to understand job satisfaction at the National Institute of Medical Research, Amani Centre (NIMR-AC). The Centre is in Muheza, Tanzania, a rural town one hour from the East African coast. We used a mixed methods approach with an aim to distinguish the key characteristics and variations of job satisfaction among the employees of NIMR-AC. The nature of the surveys, one-on-one interviews, and a focus group discussion were inductive. Due to the cultural context and the limited amount of I-O related research done in the region, we wanted to take a holistic approach in the search for significant themes. The current project discusses the influence that language and culture had on our research design. The end goal of the instrumentation design was for it to be culturally literate for the participants. We started the design process with a literature review of both job satisfaction and the few papers similar to the I-O psychology field that were in the East African context. This enabled us to better understand job satisfaction and how we could best investigate it for this site. Then, we gathered information regarding the interpersonal dynamics of the employees at NIMR-AC and the culture of the region’s workplaces to further direct our research. This gave us a better idea of what words and phrases would be best to use when translating to Swahili. Since we conducted the interviews and administered the surveys in Swahili, we had to pay careful attention to the translation of all the instrumentation. Lastly, and repeatedly throughout the design process, we sought the advice from experts in seemingly unrelated fields. The data will be analyzed using MAXQDA and SPSS in order to find themes. Analyses will provide the lab with real data pinpointing problems with job satisfaction and illuminating solutions. The current study aims to distinguish some of the differences of the design process when researching in a foreign context with the ultimate goal of encouraging other I-O researchers to investigate the workplace outside the Western world
An explicit formula for Dirichlet\u27s L-Function
Get PDFThe Riemann zeta function has a deep connection to the distribution of primes. In 1911 Landau proved that, an explicit formula where ρ = β + iγ denotes a complex zero of the zeta function and Λ(x) is an extension of the usual von Mangoldt function, so that Λ(x) = log p if x is a positive integral power of a prime p and Λ(x) = 0 for all other real values of x. Landau’s remarkable explicit formula lacks uniformity in x and therefore has limited applications to the theory of the zeta function. In 1993 Gonek proved a version of Landau’s explicit formula that is uniform in both variables x and T. This explicit formula was used to estimate various sums involving the zeros of the zeta function, such as the discrete mean value formula for the zeta function. The purpose of this thesis is to obtain a generalization of Landau’s and Gonek’s explicit formulas in terms of the zeros of the Dirichlet L-function. To accomplish this, we employ the argument principal, Cauchy’s residue theorem, and an inequality of Selberg
The Bystander Effect in Non-Emergency Situations: Influence of Gender and Group Size
Get PDFAlthough research on the bystander effect spans 50 years, the influence of some variables on prosocial behavior are still unclear. In a field experiment, I tried to replicate the basic bystander effect in three non-emergency situations, and studied the impact of bystander and “victim” gender on helping behavior. I successfully replicated the basic bystander effect; bystanders who were alone were significantly more likely to help than bystanders with one or more than one companion. In addition, when people noticed the need for help, a male and a female confederate were helped equally as often. Finally, women were more likely to help both confederates than men, but that men were more likely to help the female confederate than the male confederate
Anxiety and Depression in Family Members of People Struggling with Addiction
Get PDFWhile providing understanding and help for people struggling with addiction is essential, providing the same service for family members who have experienced distress in response to a loved one’s struggle with addiction is vital as well. Therefore, the current research aims to shed light on an important topic that currently has little emphasis, understanding, or prior research: how addiction affects immediate family members’ anxiety and depression levels. It was hypothesized that anxiety and depression would be significantly higher in students who had a family member addicted to drugs or alcohol than those without an addicted family member. These hypotheses were not supported by the data; there was no difference in levels of anxiety or depression based on having a family member with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. These results are not consistent with prior research, indicating that further examination of addiction’s effects on immediate family members is needed