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Stress-sensing in flexible epoxy adhesives
Get PDFIn mechanochemistry, mechanical force causes a chemical change using small molecules, called mechanophores, by covalently connecting them into polymer materials. Stress-sensing mechanophores give a visual signal of mechanical force on the molecular level within a material. To our knowledge, stress-sensing mechanophores have never been incorporated into a commercially available epoxy kit. In this work, the characterization of two 3MTM Scotch-Weld TM Epoxy Adhesive kits: DP100 Plus Clear and DP190 Translucent have been completed through FT-IR Spectroscopy. The addition of the mechanophore spiropyran to the 3M kits will be discussed; as well as preparation and characterization of three dimerized anthracene derivatives. Our strategy is to synthesize a mechanophore crosslinker and add it into a two-part epoxy adhesive material, taking advantage of the existing cross-linking reaction to covalently incorporate it into the material; with the goal of using it to characterize the relationship between external strain and molecular-level force
Women, populism, democracy: a comparative study of democracy and populism in Turkey and the United States
Get PDFThe rise of populism is a global phenomenon, and its impact on democracy is a significant concern. Populist leaders typically portray themselves as outsiders and champions of the working class, often using emotive and divisive language to resonate with their supporters. These leaders frequently scapegoat marginalized groups and institutions, categorizing them as distant from the people. Right-wing populism, in particular, emphasizes nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and a rejection of globalism. Leaders often target the perceived threats posed by globalization and the loss of jobs to foreign countries while emphasizing traditional values and gender roles. In Turkey and the United States, religion plays a significant role in developing right-wing populism. In Turkey, the conservative ruling party, the AKP, uses Islamism and right-wing populist strategies to maintain power. The party appeals to the religiosity of the Turkish people and portrays itself as the protector of traditional values and conservative gender roles. The erosion of democratic institutions and electoral integrity is a significant concern in both Turkey and the United States. The case studies of Turkey and the United States highlight the similarities and differences in the ways these countries\u27 populist leaders use rhetoric and policy to appeal to women. Despite both leaders’ attempts to diminish the rights of women, Erdoğan and Trump found a large support group of women
Algorithms and the alphabet mafia: how TikTok influenced gender, sexuality, and the LGBTQ+ community during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFA massive surge in popularity of the social media app TikTok coincided with the first major surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States. As U.S. Americans began leaving their houses again and the U.S. approaches a semblance of a “post-pandemic” era, many LGBTQ+ social media users, particularly TikTok users, have mentioned the influence social media had on understanding their queer identity. This study seeks to contribute to a larger field of research into how social media is affecting identity development in adolescents and young adults. This study employs an anonymous online survey to ask undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: (1) if the TikTok platform provided a noticeable sense of connection to a community—queer or not, (2) if users questioned or understood their identity differently during the pandemic, and (3) if the content they viewed and interacted with on TikTok influenced their understanding of their gender or sexual identity. Both heterosexual and queer respondents used TikTok frequently during the pandemic and felt more connected to the LGBTQ+ community by using TikTok. This study’s respondents tend to notice the influence of TikTok content on their understanding of their sexuality but less so on their understanding of their gender identity. Even if their identity did not change during the pandemic, many respondents developed more nuanced understandings of their own gender and/or sexuality
Secondary teachers\u27 perceptions on their competency and self-efficacy levels associated with an integrated professional development approach to teaching United States history
Get PDFThe study assessed a multifaceted professional development approach and its impact on teacher competency and self-efficacy. The professional development approach considered in this study reflected an integration of Content Immersion Mini-institutes, Public History Field Experiences, and Collaborative Pedagogical workshops offered to middle school and high school United States history teachers. The major focus of the study was scaled exit surveys and free response questions completed by teachers in six school districts in northeastern Tennessee, who were part of a Teaching American History Grant program sponsored by Tennessee’s First Frontier Consortium. These extant exit surveys were used to determine the relationship between each type of professional development activity and their corresponding teacher reported levels of competency and self-efficacy
Expectations in Film Relationships: The Suffocation Model in Motion Pictures
Get PDFThe suffocation model states that marriage expectations in American culture have changed across time (Finkel et al., 2014). To test whether or not the tenets of this model appear in popular media, we examined the representation of love, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs in romantic relationships of films from the companionate era (1850-1965) and the self-expressive era (1965-present). Participants (N = 56) rated need fulfillment and expectations within the main romantic relationship in an assigned film. The results suggest that the shift in needs posited by the suffocation model was reflected in high-grossing romance films from the past 100 years. Research limitations and future directions are discussed along with the implications for the bidirectional influence of culture and film
Cyber incivility and spillover effects: A proposed mediation model
Get PDFBackground Incivility is pervasive in the workplace, affecting upwards of 96% of employees across their work lives, with approximately 50% of employees indicating they experience incivility regularly, on a weekly basis. Recent research indicates that given the massive shift to virtual work, the incidence and impact of cyber incivility associated with work is an increasing issue. Although the individual and organizational effects of cyber incivility on work outcomes are well researched, less is known about how this low-intensity, deviant behavior affects the target of cyber incivility in other domains, such as the home domain. The present study will examine the association of cyber incivility on target angry and withdrawn behaviors at home, through the spillover mechanism of affective rumination via affective events theory. It is hypothesized that daily experienced cyber incivility will be positively associated with both angry behavior (H1) and withdrawal behavior (H2) at home. Additionally, work-related affective rumination is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between daily experienced cyber incivility and both aggression (H3a) and withdrawal (H3b) at home. Proposed Method Approximately 100 participants who work full-time will be enrolled in the study via Prolific Academic, an online participant crowdsourcing site. To date, the sample size consists of 63 participants who have completed 10-day daily surveys. Participants will be pre-screened to ensure they are 18 or older, work full-time, and interact with coworkers and supervisors daily. Proposed Analyses Hypotheses H1-H3b will be assessed using multilevel path analysis because of the hierarchical nature of the data (daily observations will be nested within individuals). Daily variables (level 1) will be person-mean centered, while between-person variables (e.g., aggregate means of constructs of interest, demographics, and trait characteristics) will be grand-mean centered and controlled for at the between-person level (level 2). Because mediation is hypothesized, indirect effects will be examined using bootstrapped estimates and confidence interval coverage. Expected Results & Implications Results from this study are expected to provide support for the episodic occurrence of work-related cyber incivility and its effects on at-home behavior, providing support for spillover effects between work and home. This is significant because work-related cyber incivility is on the rise with the shift to virtual work and is an understudied phenomenon. Understanding how experienced work-related cyber incivility impacts employees at home behavior will allow for the development of targeted interventions
Reactions to Automated Selection Decisions: Moderation by Job Type
Get PDFThe civilian unemployment rate in the United States is currently 3.8% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). This low level of unemployment has caused an increase in competition for talent across many industries and organizations. Talent also has a higher mobility, with an overall of 2.5% of workers, or around four million people, switching jobs each month on average (Kochhar et al., 2022). This means that in addition to attracting talent, it is crucial for organizations to be able to keep individuals in the applicant pool and ensure that they will accept a job offer when the time comes. Due to many organizations wanting to ensure recruitment and retention of potential employees, applicant reactions are an important factor to help achieve these goals. Automated decision making is now being used by many organizations to evaluate applicants for open positions. The extant literature on reactions to these hiring tools suggests that applicants prefer, as described by Mirowska & Mesnet (2022), ‘the devil they know’. Mirowska & Mesnet (2022) elaborate stating applicants seem to prefer human biases and intuition over that of artificial intelligence even when stating a belief that artificial intelligence evaluations are more objective. For example, Langer and colleagues (2020) found that participants included in an automatic evaluation condition felt that through the automation process of their interview, they had fewer opportunities to perform. However, there is no research on whether this is a uniform effect or if there are differences in how applicants react to automated decision making based on job type. In fact, applicant reactions literature largely ignores that the type of job individuals are applying to may make a difference in reactions by applicants. Accordingly, utilizing an experimental design with hypothetical job descriptions, and a sample of Prolific users living in the U.S., this study will examine the following hypotheses: H1: Reactions to automated decision-making will be more positive for a white-collar office job compared to a blue-collar job for a) interviews and b) resume screening. H2: Reactions to automated decision-making will be more positive for remote vs. in-person jobs for a) interviews and b) resume screening. H3: Reactions to automated resume screening will be more positive than reactions to automated interviews
Why Dirty Work? An investigation of factors impacting stigmatized worker job satisfaction.
Get PDFUnderstanding dirty work and its workers is an emerging area of study related to all elements of society. Dirty work is defined as occupations that society views as physically, socially, and/or morally tainted. Dirty workers (e.g., sanitation workers, morticians, social workers) perform services that fulfill societal needs, yet these occupations are stigmatized by society and considered by many to be undesirable jobs. Many varieties of dirty work exist and can be understood by the degree of associated occupational prestige, public perception of an individual’s social standing based on their professional position (lower and higher occupational prestige). Regardless of the prestige associated with dirty work the presence of dirt or “taint” exists. Taint can be categorized into three stigmatized groups: physically, socially, and morally. “Dirty” occupations have attached stigma that becomes a central part of the stigmatized group members\u27 image and identity, which can lead to a significant part of their life being engaged in creating an identity separate from their beneficial yet dirty work. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of occupation prestige, financial insecurity, stigmatized perceptions, and employee engagement on job satisfaction in stigmatized workers. Hypotheses include 1) Positive relationship will exist between occupational prestige and job satisfaction and employee engagement and job satisfaction, 2) Negative relationships will exist between financial insecurity and job satisfaction and stigmatized perceptions and job satisfaction, and 3) Occupational prestige and employee engagement will have a greater impact on job satisfaction than stigmatized perceptions and financial insecurity. Participants will include employees from 6 dirty work occupations. Occupations will consist of two occupations per type of taint, one that is considered to have a higher occupational prestige, and another that is considered to have lower occupational prestige. Participants will complete a combination of assessments including a job satisfaction survey, financial insecurity survey, measure of stigmatized perceptions, and employee engagement. Results of this research will inform and further expand the current body of research for dirty work professions by identifying factors influencing the satisfaction employees experience in dirty work occupations. This study will be the first to assess relationships across all three taints, while using occupational prestige as a factor impacting job satisfaction in dirty work occupations
Factors influencing intercollegiate athletics fundraising structure: a survey and theory development
Get PDFIntercollegiate athletics and fundraising expectations, at institutions of higher education, continue to increase and the pressure on athletic fundraisers has never been greater. There has been little study on the effects of organization structure and design and its effect on fundraisers that work to raise funds for the athletic department. This study sought to explore the factors that contribute to athletic fundraising organization structure at NCAA Division I institutions. Using a survey and a semi-structured qualitative interview, with NCAA Division I head athletic fundraisers, research questions were crafted to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to organization structure. The researcher found that most athletic fundraising organizations in this study are organized in a hybrid organizational structure, are typically smaller than three employees, and are organized with the athletic director being the most influential leader in the organization design. As this paper was exploratory in nature, there are significant opportunities for additional research including a deeper understanding of the relationship between the university president, the athletic director, and the leader of university fundraising
Examining the microbial diversity of a generalist ant along an urban-rural gradient
Get PDFAfter sampling the exoskeleton microbiomes of 225 ants from 3 different locations along a rural-urban gradient in the Chattanooga area, a photo library was collected and microbial diversity and morphospecies evenness of each location was determined. It was determined that there was no significant difference in either microbial diversity or morphospecies evenness between sites along the rural-urban gradient, even after adjusting data to be between only rural and urban areas. Urbanization was quantified using % impervious surface; however, a future study could quantify urbanization by other means, such as soil nutrient composition. Additionally, it was determined that there was no difference between sites in the number of Gram-negative rods, Gram-positive rods, and Gram-negative cocci found in samples from ants (p = 0.151, p = 0.419, and p = 0.571 respectively). There was also no significant difference in the number of fungi observed in samples from ants (p = 0.172). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of Gram-negative rods between sites when categorized into Urban and Rural (p = 0.0469)