1925 research outputs found
Sort by
“Don’t be in your own head too much”: how autistic first-year students build academic and social support
Full text linkAn increasing number of autistic students attend U.S. universities, and higher education must meet their support needs. Existing literature frames research using a medical model of autism and is limited surrounding how autistic students form academic and social bonds during their first-year transition. This qualitative study examines 13 autistic students’ transition to the university and takes a strengths-based look at how they build academic and social support. I center autistic students’ lived experiences using a disability studies and neurodivergent paradigm conceptual framework and a grounded theory methodological approach. I collect and analyze data using constructivist grounded theory methods, including intensive interviews and iterative strategies. The result is a core process model of Autistic Self-Judging and Adapting that describes students’ experience of stress during social situations and the mediators to that process. I also describe how autistic first-year students build academic and social support and identify support facilitators and barriers. I recommend that administrators, staff, and faculty understand and study the effects of the core process of Autistic Self-Judging and Adapting as it can have far-reaching effects beyond any specific program or policy. I additionally recommend that universities consider specific adaptations to address the facilitators and barriers to support
Shining a light on hospitality education: the presence of ethics
Full text linkThis research study analyzed the presence of ethics education by using content analysis in the major, core curriculum of the 37 United States based four-year Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA) accredited hospitality education institutions and their Vision, Mission, and Core Values statements. The census of 37 programs' major core curriculum course titles and course descriptions was analyzed using content analysis to interpret the presence of ethics curriculum content. Using content analysis and NVivo 12+ software, the data were examined using word frequency and text search queries. By understanding the relationship between a certified associated ethics term word list for hospitality education, information was used to determine the presence of ethics related content and the location of that content (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior classes). By examining the ethics related key curricular elements in the newly revised ACPHA Program Learning Outcomes (PLO’s), a sense of alignment was attained and informed future curriculum improvement efforts for this topic. Keywords: ethics, education, hospitality, content analysis, curriculu
Investigations of ecoacoustic biodiversity characterized with remote sensing data using machine and deep learning approaches
Full text linkAnimal biodiversity assessment provides key measurements on the health and dynamics of animals in relation to habitat setting, human presence, and disturbances. As these factors continue to change due to climate change, introducing more intense and frequent wildfires, for example, assessing animal dynamics allows for proper protection and scientific understanding of the indicators and influences leading to animal community change. Ecoacoustic recording of the landscape is a rapidly evolving new approach in capturing the dynamics of animals and human impact. Recording passive soundscapes, the collection of noises emanating from the landscape, amounts to large quantities of acoustic data that require informed methods for summarizing underlying patterns so methods are generalizable and reliable. Many of these efforts over the previous decade and a half focused on a suite of metrics called acoustic indices that summarize dimensions of the acoustic signals such as frequency and amplitude. However, acoustic indices lack generalizability when compared among study regions particularly in relation to biotic noise sources (Biophony) and anthropogenic noise sources (Anthropophony). These gaps in understanding and lack of confidence in applying acoustic indices to our dataset of over 700,000 minutes of recordings from Sonoma County, California and the Soundscapes to Landscapes project led to the creation of the first research project in this dissertation where I classified soundscapes into informative types of sound called soundscape components using convolutional neural networks (Chapter 2). The second project then analyzed the patterns in classified soundscapes with a set of fifteen acoustic indices to investigate in what sonic conditions indices may be more reliable and how Biophony along with indices can model bird species richness (Chapter 3). From these two chapters I provided a classification approach to distill sounds types in 700,000 minutes of acoustic data and related these sounds to acoustic indices to assess their ability to reflect signals of biodiversity and robustness in the presence of confounding sound sources. The final project combined the above work to analyze spatio-temporal patterns of acoustic indices and soundscape components across Sonoma County (Chapter 4). This included modeling the ecoacoustic metrics with a suite of remote sensing variables in a species distribution modeling framework. Products from these models were used to understand the most important metrics, structural and climate metrics, in predicting ecoacoustic metrics. Maps were used to investigate increased Biophony levels following wildlife activity across increasing burn severities and patterns related to human impact. Combined, this work demonstrates the ability to leverage machine learning approaches to understand the complex nature of soundscape dynamics using large datasets in a regional-scale analysis
A matter of trust: a study about beliefs surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine
Full text linkThis thesis examines how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (Mormons) perception of medical discourse influences their understanding of diseases and their adoption of potential solutions surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic. By exploring how individuals weigh various ideas when making medical decisions, especially those who belong to religious communities, the thesis aims to help medical professionals, public health officials, and social scientists understand how religion can influence medical choices.
Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to investigate their vaccination decisions regarding COVID-19, what information they heard about the vaccine, and what factors influenced their decision-making process. Common words and phrases were given to 34 different participants to pile sort and identify themes. Using qualitative coding and content analysis on President Nelson’s, the prophet of the church, social media post about his COVID-19 vaccination, and the ensuing comments solidified themes about politics, church concepts, and past vaccination experiences.
The results revealed that personal experiences and what constitutes a reputable source played a crucial role in participants' decision-making processes. Most participants were cautious about the information they received from social media and news outlets that they considered insufficient or biased. However, personally knowing someone and their experiences were significant factors for participants when making medical decisions. The wording of President Nelson's post served as confirmation of their decision surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants who had already been vaccinated re-evaluated their beliefs surrounding vaccinations because of the conversations around the COVID-19 vaccine. The definition of a vaccine and how it affects the body also determined whether participants viewed the vaccine as successful. Overall, this study provides insights into the influence of religion on medical decision-making and how individuals view ideas when making these decisions
Disconnected youth in rural communities: a case study
No full textThe purpose of this study is to investigate the negative effects and impact disconnected youth have on the rural communities they live in. The study was conducted in small rural communities in Arizona, and only youth ages 16 to 24 who were not in school and not working were invited to participate. The study aimed to examine the thought processes and behaviors of disconnected youth, and pair those findings with various struggles in rural communities to find correlations of the information obtained. Both surveys and interviews of disconnected youth were the basis of the research, and this information was compiled and analyzed to provide a more accurate picture of their impact of these small rural communities. The findings of the study are reported in the final chapters
The other side of the wall
Full text linkMy project’s titular essay describes the day of and the months after I was present at the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. This essay uses the form of Progressive Counting therapy: lengthening, reaching the ’center’ of the posttraumatic conflict, then progressively shortening again. Such a form demands that: (1) the reader sit with the ‘most uncomfortable content’ for the longest time; (2) the reader recognize that the traumatic event is not the part of my story they should be most interested. I sought to curate that unpredictable, fluctuating experience across my book, which outlines other traumas I’ve experienced since the Marathon Bombing — and describes how I survive in spite of mental illness. I use my focus on ‘posttraumatic periphery’ to highlight how mental illness affects my engagement with work, school, and relationships. In addition to the standard fragmented forms utilized by poets who influenced this book through their own ‘trauma writing’ — such as jody chan, Danez Smith, and C. Russell Price — the book also takes after Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Sarah Manguso’s fragmented memoir structures. The slashes throughout the book further segment the narrative, depicting posttraumatic memory and identity, as well as invoking the re-assembly of self that was central to my writing process. I see this book as an exploration of (self-) knowledge that — both a defining of my own personal knowledge via pieces like the “PTSD Diagnostic Criterion” series, and an acknowledgment of the varied personal and readerly relationships that have helped me develop the self-awareness to survive PTSD. Beyond just actual acquaintances, the book includes quotes from trauma psychologists; other writers interested in trauma and mental illness; and Kendrick Lamar, whose music frequently examines posttraumatic shame/guilt, (hyper-)masculinity, mental illness, and drug abuse. How do video games and television imbue me with self-knowledge? How does someone with PTSD care for themselves/others, and allow themselves to be cared for? What does a severely-mentally-ill person need in a country that fundamentally misunderstands them? What do their loved ones need? These concerns take after the poet Kayleb Rae Candrilli, who often centers love/community as means of navigating crises
Perspective and experiences of special education alternative route teachers working in culturally linguistically diverse classrooms
Full text linkThis research investigated the teaching experiences of alternative route special education teachers working in urban Title I schools with a high population of students from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. Five alternative route special education teachers along with five school-based administrators who supervise ARL special education teachers who work in Title I schools within a large urban school district located in the southwestern portion of the United States were interviewed. Data were collected in the form of a semi-structured, six-question interview. Phenomenology was used, along with narrative analysis and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to analyze the data collected from the responses given during the interviews. Answers from the interviews were coded and categorized based on themes that emerged from the responses, which showed that ARL special education teachers felt supported by their school-based administrators, however they did not feel like they were prepared to teach when starting their career. School-based administrators reported that ARL teachers lacked pedagogy, however they did not feel that the route taken made on impact on student achievement. Common themes between participant groups showed that there was a need for more support and more hands-on experience
Provider perspectives on cultural adaptation of oral health interventions and the impact of COVID-19 on oral care among American Indian children
Full text linkEarly childhood caries (ECC) is a chronic childhood disease that is most prevalent among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. Despite recent declines in ECC rates nationally and among other high-risk groups, the rates of ECC among AI/AN populations persist at greater levels. The implications of ECC are far-reaching, affecting the overall physical and mental wellbeing, social and functional development of the individual, as well as contributing to economic loss. Interventions utilizing a variety of approaches to address ECC among AI/AN populations have shown mixed results, but few have explored the possibility of creative cultural adaptation of oral health education materials to improve the oral health of AI/AN children. The use of Entertainment Education (E-E) and specific cultural adaptation of intervention materials have shown success in improving health behaviors of marginalized and disadvantaged populations and may be successfully utilized to reduce ECC in AI/AN populations. Access to oral care has been a longstanding barrier for AI/AN populations which has recently worsened due to the effects of COVID-19. This dissertation had three Specific Aims: 1. Develop an entertaining and culturally and contextually adapted children’s book with infused oral health education that is perceived by Tribal members and local oral health care providers as acceptable, understandable, and culturally relevant. 2. Assess the differences of access to and quality of dental care for young AI children before and during COVID-19. 3. Determine perceived barriers to oral healthcare for young AI children and the strategies dental professionals recommend to overcome them
Embodying earth: dance culture, ecology, and the entanglement of wellbeing
Full text linkThe Anthropocene geological epoch, where lasting impacts made by humans on the environment negatively affect the health and survival of all species, prompts artists, scientists, and educators to address the most complex problems facing Earth. Global spread of the COVID-19 virus, officially declared a pandemic in 2020, further reaffirms the delicate balance among life forms on the planet. From my dance perspective, the primacy of motion to unite the human body with its terrestrial home is key to coexistence. These ideas motivated research in which I investigated human-nonhuman experience through the lens of dance culture. By understanding the anthropological concept of culture as a social phenomenon, this study explored how dancers socially relate with nonhuman ways of being and what that experience looks like. To unpack those questions, I conducted case studies involving in-depth interviews with twelve contemporary movement-based artists recognized by the dance community for their work relating to the natural world. Analyses of pedagogical, performative, and creative processes revealed the capacity of movement to open possibilities for encountering different points of view in which nonhierarchical alliances could form, potentially disrupting anthropocentric discourse. Data also demonstrated the function of dance culture as a relational strategy to practice navigating precariousness. My inquiry contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship that strengthens the anthropology of dance. It also advances phenomenological ecochoreology—a uniquely envisioned methodology focused on researching human-nonhuman experience innate to dance culture, which may inspire environmental awareness initiatives as well as models for wellbeing that support a more sustainable future
Cloud pleaser
Full text link“Sometimes I think it’s all one big affectation.”
— John Ashbery, “Involuntary Description”
If I have anything like a fundamental theory about poetry, it might be that poetry is a dubious business. What is it, anyway? Where’s the line between poetry and prose? Between poetry and scuba diving, for that matter? Just what is the point of putting together a series of words like “orange buggy smoker blimp Aristotle soup”? I don’t really know, and not knowing is the state from which my poems proceed and return to in a constantly evolving flux. Bad poetry is very sure of itself. My poems are anything but sure of themselves. They’re always teetering on the edge of something, never settling down except temporarily, when the end of the poem and the white space that follows enforce a pause while the voice of the poem stops to collect itself before starting the next one. In my poems I take apart the English language and don’t quite put it together again. I’m trying to explore the nooks and crannies of consciousness that can’t be reached through the conventional meaning-making that language is generally used for.
The best poets have always pushed the language into new areas of discovery, but Gertrude Stein really got the ball rolling when it came to dismantling English in a truly profound way. Tender Buttons is a book I return to frequently before I sit down to write poetry. The tumbling energy and brazenness of it feels newer and more refreshing than a lot of today’s poetry. It was surely the punk rock of its day.
The pure pleasure of music is something else I aim for in poetry. Music (especially instrumental music) doesn’t have to worry about being about anything. The pleasures of sound and the bodily energy of music are qualities I try to keep close to me as I write, because I think there’s no reason a highly literary poem can’t be as thrilling as a Pixies song. And like a Pixies song, a poem of mine often contains phrases and images that delight in being weird for weirdness’s sake, and whose meanings are happily obscure. Indeed, it’s interesting how nonsense is accepted much more readily in pop music and pop culture than it is in contemporary American poetry. “Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna / Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe” John Lennon sings in a song beloved by millions. By contrast, the suspicion of nonsense in poetry, the view of it as sophomoric child’s play, means that the kind of poetry we could for lack of better terms call experimental or avant-garde—but which I just like to call weird—is still relegated to a tiny niche audience, even within the already niche realm of poetry. Weird poetry that does find a wider audience often consists of a tamed, watered-down weirdness that many readers find more digestible.
John Ashbery is a rare exception to this rule. Ashbery, who should have won the Nobel Prize instead of Bob Dylan, found a way to reach mainstream (by poetry-world standards) success through the utter originality, depthless richness, and sheer genius of what he wrote. It’s supposed to be uncool to be an Ashbery imitator, since there are supposedly so many (though are there, really?), but to read him as deeply as I have and then not to want to at least try to do what he did is impossible for me to fathom. It’s a temptation that’s useless for me to resist, and no one
ever achieved anything worthwhile in the arts by resisting temptation. (Is that true? I don’t know, but it sounds good, which is a key component of my poetics.) Ashbery’s poetry evolved considerably over his seven-decade career, so if you’re going to imitate him, at least there are a lot of different modes to imitate. In this collection, poems like “Lucky Lacunae,” “What Matters in College?” and “Works and Despair” are heavily influenced by the work he produced in his nineteen-seventies heyday. Poems like this feature longer sentences and more abstraction, where the appeal lies chiefly in the tingling complexities created by pile-ups of clauses that threaten to go on forever. The influence of his later, nineties-to-aughts period can be found in poems like “Code of Silence,” “Onward, Christian Golfers,” “Tourist Trap,” and the title poem, “Cloud Pleaser.” These poems are less philosophical, more jokey and colorful, often using shorter sentences and more images. My hope, in any case, is that my inevitable failure to write a poem with exactly the same sort of brilliance that Ashbery could bring to his work will result in poems that do after all sound like me rather than him.
But Ashbery is by no means the only poet in whose work I find inspiration. Some of the poems in this collection are directly influenced by younger poets, some of whom are still with us. Poems with more of a narrative, like “Cake vs. Beer,” “Supine Trilogy,” and “Epiphany,” can be compared to the humorous surrealism of James Tate and Michael Earl Craig (who was also influenced by Tate). Poems like “On the Lookout,” “The Fever,” and “By the Way” show the influence of poets like Graham Foust and Julie Doxsee, whose work warps syntax with a playful precision that imbues the lines with a high degree of tension and torque. Some of the more extreme disruptions of language, in poems like “The Widening Gyre,” “Flashing Scents,” and “The Last Resort,” can be traced partly to Clark Coolidge, Michael Gizzi, and other poets affiliated directly or tangentially with the Language poets. Poems like these have an even more defiantly avant-garde “punk” spirit than the others in this collection. Still other poems like “Pittsburgh Haibun,” “Career Development,” and “Pop Quiz” owe something to the friendly and accessible but offbeat humor of Ron Padgett. Finally, “Barbie’s Alien Baby’s First Botox Debacle” is a straight-up homage to the reigning queen of Flarf, Sharon Mesmer. I could name other poets who have probably influenced my work in small ways, but it would be a very long list indeed. No doubt I’m influenced by anyone I happen to be reading at the moment. Poetry, more than life itself, is what inspires me to write poetry.
Such a variety of influences makes for a highly eclectic collection, but I would defend this grab-bag approach on the grounds that the main thing I aim for in my poetry is surprise. I never know what the next line will be as I’m writing a poem, and I like the idea of taking this same unexpectedness to the overall structure of the book. The reader doesn’t know quite what to expect when they turn the page, and I wish more poetry books were written that way. Because to me, the appeal of surprise is its relation to curiosity, to looking outward. These poems are in a continual process of opening outward, away from the stale confines of my interior self. I’m barely present in these poems, even the ones with a first-person speaker, who isn’t even a persona so much as a multiplicity of shifting selves, bizarre imagined versions of my “self,” if there is such a thing. (OK, I really did piss on a building in Pittsburgh, but other than that….)
A word on grammar: Above I said that my poetry takes apart the English language, but I admit that I work largely within the limits of standard grammar and punctuation, rarely using sentence fragments, and no typographic experimentation to speak of. Nevertheless, I still find endless room to explore within standard grammar restrictions. In fact I don’t think of them as restrictions at all. There are some examples of fragment-based poetry that I enjoy, but generally I’m drawn more to sentences, whether they’re conventionally punctuated or not.
Some may find the kind of poetry I write to be forbiddingly opaque or “inaccessible.” Without letting this degenerate into a prolonged diatribe about my views on the accessibility
debate, let me just say that I consider my poems to be just as readable as anything by Billy Collins (and a lot less cringeworthy). If you can read English, you can read my poems. They’re not hiding anything. They’re irreducible to any neat and definitive interpretation. This is good news for the reader, who can take from the poems whatever they choose to read into them. And if the poems succeed in sparking surprise and delight, they may cause certain reluctant readers to rethink the whole notion of accessibility. The last thing I want to do is pander to popular ideas of poetry that people are already comfortable with. What I want to do is to stand a little off to the side, like a furtive peddler of illicit goods on a city street, and beckon readers to come to me, saying, “Psst, come listen to this. I don’t know if you’re ready for it, but it’s the good stuff, trust me…