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Modelling and performance analysis of a cloud computing system using an open queueing network with multi-server queues
Get PDFA queueing model of an open queueing network with multi-server queues is developed for a cloud computing system and the performance is analysed based on different system parameters such as the arrival and service rates, the number of servers in each node, the routing probability and the number of service types. By using the Laplace-Stieltjes transform (LST) technique, the close-form expression of the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of the total response time is derived. On this basis, some interesting application scenarios are discussed. Detailed numerical evaluations of the developed performance metrics are conducted and simulation results are provided for the application scenario verification. The proposed system modelling and performance analysis method is expected to provide a useful reference for the design and evaluation of cloud computing systems
On Pop-Up Poetry, Old School Typewriters and Feeling Valued
Get PDFThis piece is a creative reflection on my experience with pop-up poetry at the 2022 Mokakiiks SoTL Symposium in Banff
Managing Change from the Middle: An Exploration of How Midlevel Managers Make Sense of Their Roles in the Context of Organizational Change
Get PDFDuring institutional change processes, unstructured sensemaking could result in inconsistent outputs across the organization, causing organizations the inability to achieve their intended outcomes. Because of their hierarchical and relational positions within colleges and universities, midlevel managers could be instrumental in stabilizing and aligning the sensemaking of others, which is a prerequisite for transformational change. Historically, midlevel managers have been considered change resistors or change saboteurs. However, what could be perceived as obstructionist behaviors might actually be the result of role ambiguity.
The purpose of my research was to illuminate how midlevel managers made sense of and subsequently enacted their roles within the context of organizational change. Using sensemaking as my theoretical framework, I conducted a single case study to explore how midlevel managers at a two-year postsecondary institution identified cues about their roles, assigned meaning to them, and acted upon them in the context of institutional change. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with midlevel managers, document review, and direct observation, I uncovered information critical to understanding how midlevel managers understand what is expected of them from various stakeholder groups and how they reconcile these messages to inform action throughout the lifecycle of organizational changes.
The results of this study help college and university executives better position their midlevel managers to serve as effective change agents by designing an environment and providing the resources that support their role sensemaking needs. Promising practices that structure and support midlevel managers’ role sensemaking and enactment and, thus, enhance the outcomes of institutional change are offered
St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 25, No. 1 - Podcast
No full textThe St. Cloud economy is still poised for recession, as predicted last December in the Quarterly Business Report. The recession has not yet started, but one fourth of firms surveyed indicate their business activity will drop through summer. Employment of persons living in the St. Cloud MSA fell 1.5% between January 2022 and January 2023. The six leading economic indicators for the St. Cloud area were evenly divided, with 3 up and 3 down. Local business leaders reported tighter credit conditions, with greater reliance on financing investments out of their own firms’ revenues.https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/scqbr_video/1013/thumbnail.jp
Exploring Black Women Student Affairs Professionals and Identity-Conscious Supervision
Get PDFThe purpose of my study is to understand Black women entry-level student affairs professionals’ experiences with their supervisors through an identity-conscious framework. I used Critical Authentic Leadership (Brown et al., 2019) and Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), as the framework of my study to highlight the impact of identity on supervisory relationships. To provide a consistent analysis I interviewed Black women who work at predominately white institutions (PWIs).
PWIs can be a challenging environment for Black women to thrive in given their historical background. Today Black women can still expect to experience gendered racism and discrimination at PWIs, (Gardner et al., 2014; marbley et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2020; Winkle-Wagner et al., 2019). They also have the additional challenge of navigating PWIs as places of work where professionalism is defined by white supremacist ideals (Davis, 2016; Gray, 2019). This white washing of professional spaces can make identities, emotions, and personal values secondary or non-existent in comparison to the daily work associated with their positions.
To focus more attention on the people who make up professional positions, I considered the identities of both supervisors and supervisees. Identity is essential given the dynamics of power and privilege that exist with supervisory relationships. Ultimately, a supervisor holds more power and positional authority than a supervisee. Relationships with supervisors can also impact how new professionals feel about their personal and professional experiences at their current institutions
Ready Pupil One: Online Learning Experiences of Undergraduate STEM Majors at a Midwest Regional Comprehensive University
Get PDFMany institutions of higher education in the United States, and, indeed, around the world, are feeling multi-faceted pressures to offer course content through online delivery modes. Administrators of institutions of higher education often view such delivery as a way to raise revenue and reduce costs for the institution while also often offering students flexibility to learn at their own pace. Still, many students and faculty alike often also encounter challenges with online delivery. In this phenomenological qualitative study, I explored the positive and negative experiences of undergraduate STEM majors who had taken at least one major-required, STEM-focused, class delivered entirely online. Using a semi-structured interview format, I interviewed twenty-three undergraduate STEM majors at a mid-sized, public, four-year Regional Comprehensive University. Students described their learning experiences, which I then analyzed for emergent themes. The majority of participants reported feelings of isolation and loneliness in their classes, owing, primarily, to a lack of opportunity to interact with their peers in substantial ways. This study’s findings align with previous research suggesting that best practices for online synchronous and asynchronous instruction include giving students opportunities to learn collaboratively with peers and interact regularly with their professors
Pure Pints and Preservative Pyres: Archaeobotanical Investigations at the Brainerd Brewery Site (21CW0337)
Get PDFThe Brainerd Brewery, located in Brainerd, MN, was first opened in 1872 and was shut down in 1914. The numerous owners of this brewery were all first- or second-generation German immigrants who brought the German tradition of brewing beer to the City of Brainerd. The goal of the research at this brewery was to determine if the German American brewery owners were following traditional German brewing practices that followed the German Purity Law of 1516, or Reinheitsgebot, which states only water, barley and hops shall be used to make beer. To make this determination a combined methodology of using archaeological excavations and historical research was implemented. The excavations focused on the recovery of barley grains, and/or any adjuncts used to make beer and consisted of eight shovel tests and two excavation units. The historical research involved accessing historical newspapers, census records, County Recorder’s Office property owner records, and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. The archaeological investigation at the brewery recovered 65 charred grain kernels and one charred rachis as well as numerous artifacts associated with the brewery such as glass, nails, dishware, building materials, and a clay pipestem. The historical documents were used for the historical background of the brewery owners and the brewery as well as to determine what the German American brewery owner’s experience was in America, and to identify how beer was being made in the late 1800s. The archaeological evidence combined with the historical research indicates the Brainerd Brewery owners were likely not brewing beer according to Reinheitsgebot but were still practicing the German tradition of brewing beer
Technology as a Tool to Address Educational Inequities: Practices Implemented During the COVID-19 Pandemic That Have Been Sustained
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a dramatic shift to online learning for K-12 public schools, requiring school districts to address inequities that surfaced in the remote learning model. This paper includes the findings of the second study of a multi-year research project exploring the intersection of technology and educational inequities through the pandemic. As the pandemic waned, practitioners evaluated which practices developed during remote learning should be sustained. Five Minnesota technology directors participated in a focus group to discuss how inequities are being addressed in their schools post-pandemic. Technology directors explained that the pandemic was an opportunity to reimagine schools for the success of all students through an infrastructure that includes actions relative to three domains: effective instruction, school-home partnerships, and law and policy. Further research is recommended, such as broadening the geographical location of participants outside of Minnesota, expanding participants beyond the role of technology director (i.e., students, teachers, parents), and analyzing student enrollment in K-12 online schools through a longitudinal study
Coda: An interview with Terrance Griep (Tommy “Spider-Baby” Saturday)
Get PDFAn interview with Terrance Grie
3 Education Wins Sustained by District Technology Directors Post-pandemic
Get PDFTechnology directors express optimism about the opportunity to reimagine school as a consequence of the pandemic. They describe three important wins post-pandemic: marked increases in teachers’ technology proficiency and improved digital pedagogy, addressing educational equity barriers through online learning models, and reimagining schools vs. long-held traditional educational models