11515 research outputs found
Sort by
St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 27, No. 1
Full text linkThe latest St. Cloud Quarterly Business Survey found local business leaders reporting mixed current business conditions with 27% seeing decreased activity while 23% saw increased activity, but future outlook is optimistic with 60% expecting growth by June 2025. The diffusion index for difficulty attracting qualified workers index turned negative for the first time since Q2 2020, which historically has coincided with recessions. Automation is increasing in local businesses, with 31% implementing it to boost productivity, 16% to improve product quality, and 13% through AI implementation. Interest rates are affecting business plans for 2025, with 37% expecting to reduce capital investments and 25% planning to decrease hiring, while 53% of businesses still expect improved profit margins in 2025 despite concerns about tariffs
Examining the Role of Economic Freedom in Women’s Financial Inclusion
Full text linkThis study investigates the impact of economic freedom on financial access across 113 countries using data from the World Bank Global Findex (2017 and 2021) and The Heritage Foundation\u27s economic freedom indexes. This research examines whether higher levels of economic freedom facilitate financial inclusion, specifically for women. By drawing comparisons between the proportion of male population and female population usage of financial services, the study aims to highlight gender disparities in financial inclusion which is often more pronounced in developing countries. The findings suggest that greater financial and business freedom are positively associated with women\u27s financial inclusion
Minnesota 11th Grade Students: Analysis of Belonging, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior using the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey
Full text linkThis quantitative study examined the relationship between sense of belonging and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among 11th-grade students in Minnesota through analysis of the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey dataset (N = 23,023). The research investigated three questions: how students report their experiences with belonging, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and the relationship between belonging and suicide risk. Findings revealed moderate overall levels of belonging (M = 22.6, SD = 4.1), with strongest connections to parents (M = 4.4, SD = 0.9) and peers (M = 3.9, SD = 1.0), but weaker connections to community adults (M = 2.8, SD = 1.1). Analysis showed 14.3% of students reported suicide ideation and 3.4% reported suicide attempts, with significantly higher rates among transgender students (40.4-43.5% ideation), LGBTQ+ students (31.6-38.5% ideation), and female students (18.7% ideation) compared to their peers. Point-biserial correlations demonstrated significant negative relationships between sense of belonging and both suicide ideation (r = -0.31, p \u3c 0.0001) and attempts (r = -0.17, p \u3c 0.0001), with large effect sizes (d = 0.88 and d = 0.96 respectively). Logistic regression analyses indicated that each unit increase in belonging score corresponded to a 19% decrease in odds of suicide ideation and a 20% decrease in odds of suicide attempts. The strength of these protective relationships varied across demographic groups, suggesting the need for targeted approaches to fostering belonging among vulnerable populations. These findings have important implications for suicide prevention efforts in educational settings and underscore the critical role of belonging in supporting adolescent mental health
Navigating the Educational Landscape: Examining the Knowledge and Attitudes of Mandatory Fees Amongst First-Generation College Students
Full text linkThe study was conducted to understand first-generation students’ knowledge and attitudes toward mandatory fees. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Winkler and Siriam’s academic capital framework and Yosso’s community cultural framework. Participants in the study were undergraduate students from the University at Buffalo. The study utilized a quantitative research design that used a survey to measure (a) how much students knew about the mandatory fees assessed at their institution; (b) attitudes surrounding the services provided by the fees; (c) to establish if there were any relationships between payment methods for school and the academic and cultural capitals; and (d) predicting payment methods based on a student’s knowledge, attitudes and capitals. Additionally, demographic information was collected and used for the study: (a) student classification; (b) gender; (c) race; (d) Pell recipient status; and (e) first-generation status. The study’s findings reveal that students are unaware of how much they pay in fees and cannot correctly identify the services provided by those fees. Additionally, the results showed attitudes are favorable for services provided by the fees along with significant correlations between the capital and predictions for payment in terms of grants, scholarships, and loans. Lastly, suggestions for institutional changes include transparency in fees and having services clearly listed for students
Perceptions of Leadership in Experiential Education: A Document Analysis of Undergraduate Student Experiences in Higher Education
Full text linkThis qualitative study examined students’ perceptions of leadership after they completed the leadership track of an experiential educational program. This study also examined the experiences that influenced students’ perceptions of leadership. This research followed a form of directed content analysis known as document analysis. Data were analyzed from reflections from 23 undergraduate students who completed the leadership track of the program. These reflections served as the data set for measuring both students’ perceptions of leadership and identifying the experiences that influenced their perception of leadership throughout the entire experience. These reflections were an organic way to capture their unfiltered thoughts and development journey. Widner and Werner’s (2024) approach to using Intentional Emergence in leadership education was the theoretical framework used to guide this research. The findings from this study demonstrate that undergraduate students develop complex, multidimensional leadership perspectives through their participation in an experiential leadership development program. Their understanding encompasses ethical considerations, interpersonal dynamics, strategic thinking, and personal growth. The various experiences that influenced these perceptions highlight the value of providing various leadership development opportunities, from formal academic instruction to practical application through jobs and organizational involvement. The findings indicate the students’ perceptions of leadership align with the learning outcomes from the program. The findings also indicate the students have both formal and informal experiences that influence their perceptions of leadership
Choice and Text Diversity: Impact on Reader Motivation
Full text linkThis starred paper provides an overview of known research relating to reader motivation and comprehension in the middle grades as well as detailing a mixed methods study done in a middle school seeking to understand how reader choice and motivation impacts comprehension
KVSC Trivia Poster [2025]
No full textThe theme was Trick or Trivia .https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/kvsc_trvposters/1031/thumbnail.jp
THE ACOUSTIC PHONETIC PROPERTIES OF SINGLETON AND GEMINATE BILABIAL AND ALVEOLAR NASAL MURMURS IN ANYI
Full text linkSingletons [m] and [n] and their geminate counterparts [mm] and [nn] occur in Anyi and possibly other African languages. However, to date, virtually nothing is known about the acoustic phonetic properties of these nasals and their murmurs. This paper seeks to remedy the situation by extracting F0, F1, F2, F3, F4, intensity, duration, and bandwidth correlates from them. It also ranks them in order to find out which of these correlate(s) is/are robust for signal intelligibility. The determination of robustness is anchored in Just Noticeable Difference (JND) thresholds that have accumulated over 60 years of groundbreaking psychoacoustic research. The findings to be discussed are based on 2304 tokens extracted from the nasal murmurs of 12 words produced by eight native speakers of Anyi, across three repetitions (8 speakers x 12 words x 3 repetitions x 8 correlates)
Jo Spence and the Reorganisation of the Medical Gaze: “Neither ‘Heroine’ or ‘Victim’, Merely a Person in Struggle”
Full text linkJo Spence (1934-1992), a British artist, photographer, writer, and educator, left an indelible mark on the world of art and medicine through her revolutionary approach to photography. Her commitment to art as a catalyst for political change leaves us with a catalogue of work which transcends traditional boundaries and interrogates cultural dynamics of gender, class, and health.
This article explores the intersection of Spence\u27s work with Michel Foucault\u27s theory of the medical gaze, focussing on Spence’s ‘autopathographical’ photographic documentation of her experience living with and dying from cancer. Two of Spence’s seminal photographic projects, The Picture of Health (1982-1984) and The Final Project (1991-1992), form the core of the analysis.
Drawing on the contents of the Jo Spence Memorial Library Archive, this article argues that Spence\u27s art functions as a profound critique of the medical gaze by centring her personal experience of disease through self-portraiture, challenging Western tendencies toward the medicalization of death, and using photography to amplify the expression of suffering as a rejection of the medical gaze\u27s passive patient positioning.
Through Spence\u27s lens, we witness a profound re-evaluation of the medical gaze, as she defies its conventions and invites us to reconsider how we perceive the diseased body, placing the entire individual at the forefront of our understanding. In a world where medicine often reduces patients to diagnostic data, Spence\u27s work serves as a powerful reminder of the human stories that underlie every illness