RSS 1.0University Colleges
University Colleges are leaders in undergraduate instruction and provide bachelor's and master's degrees in liberal arts and sciences and professional disciplines. These campuses are mostly situated in small cities and towns. Student success is the primary focus as evidenced by faculty and staff interactions through honors programs, independent study opportunities, research and study abroad.
Sub-communities within this community
Recent Submissions
-
An Inch Becomes a Mile: Donald Trump’s Escalation of Victimhood RhetoricOn November 15th, 2022, Donald Trump formally announced that he was running for President in the 2024 election cycle. However, the nation he was addressing had significantly changed compared to the one he addressed on June 16th, 2015, when he came down Trump Tower’s escalator to announce his 2016 candidacy. Much of this change can come down to his words and the actions they inspired and enabled, as seen by the January 6th Insurrection and numerous other examples of far-right domestic terrorism. While there is a large body of established research that fully described the methods Trump used in winning the 2016 election, current research has been focusing on how his words caused the rise of political extremism during and after his presidency. This paper seeks to contribute to this ongoing discussion by using established methodologies of rhetorical analysis to posit that Donald Trump radicalized his supporters by leveraging ongoing social pressure to create a shared identity of hate and violence.
-
Modeling Trade Wars: Applying Systems of Ordinary Differential EquationsSystems of differential equations have been used to model a variety of situations including population dynamics, reactions between several chemicals, and even the outcome of warfare between two nations. These types of systems are well equipped to model both simple and relatively complex situations involving several interacting parties; however, they seem to have never been used to model the interactions between nations engaged in a trade war. This text was primarily developed to showcase the ability of such systems to broadly model the key features of such a trade conflict. We begin by summarizing the main inputs and outputs of several historical trade wars and proceed forward by developing two models utilizing systems of differential equations that incorporate these inputs and outputs into their terms. Following this, we analyze both systems by finding specific solutions to each, by developing a general formula for each system’s equilibria, and by confirming the stability of these equilibria. After the model’s development and analysis, we apply these systems in the controlled environment of a hypothetical trade war. Finally, we conclude with a brief list of limitations that discuss several factors that hinder the accuracy of the proposed models.
-
Influences of seasonality and habitat quality on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish community composition and dietsGreat Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activity over the last several decades despite their critical role in fish production. Many Great Lakes fish species use coastal wetland habitats for spawning, feeding, shelter, and nurseries throughout the year. The goal of our study was to compare GLCW fsh community composition in the spring, summer, and fall months and investigate how water quality relates to fish diversity, the presence of functional groups, and juvenile fsh diets. We summarized fsh data collected from GLCW across the basin and used the coastal wetland monitoring program’s water quality-land use indicator to quantify water quality. Basin-wide, we found taxonomic and functional group diferences in community composition among three sampling seasons, as well as across the range of water quality. Water quality was positively associated with the abundance of small cyprinids and the relative abundance of some habitat and reproductive specialists. Seasonal differences were also observed for many of these functional groups, with more temperature- and pollution-sensitive fishes captured in the spring and more nest-spawning fishes captured in the summer and fall. In our diet study, we found that age-0 fish primarily consumed zooplankton in the fall, whereas age-1 fish primarily consumed macroinvertebrates in the spring. Moreover, wetland quality was positively associated with trichopteran prey abundance. We concluded that taxonomic and functional composition of fish communities in GLCW vary markedly with respect to water quality and season. Thus, a full understanding of communities across a gradient of quality requires multi-season sampling.
-
Evaluating the use of hyperspectral imagery to calculate raster-based wetland vegetation condition indicatorField observations and measurements of wetland plants have traditionally been used to monitor and evaluate wetland condition; however, there has been increasing use of remote sensing applications for rapid evaluations of wetland productivity and change. Combining key aspects of field- and remote sensing-based wetland evaluation methods can provide more efficient or improved biological indices. This exploratory study set out to develop a raster-based Wetland Vegetation Condition Indicator system that used airborne hyperspectral imagery-derived data to estimate plant-community quality (via wetland classification and Coefficient of Conservatism) and vegetation biomass (estimated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). The Wetland Vegetation Condition Indicator system was developed for three Lake Ontario wetland areas and compared to a field-based floristic quality index and a dominant-plant based Floristic quality indexdom. The indicator system serves as a proof-of-concept that capitalized on the spatial and spectral attributes of high-resolution imagery to quantify and characterize the quality and quantity of wetland vegetation. A Pearson correlation analysis showed moderate r values of 0.59 and 0.62 for floristic quality index and floristic quality indexdom, respectively, compared to the indicator method. The differences are potentially due to the spatial resolution of the imagery and the indicator method only accounting for the dominant plants within each assessment unit (pixel), therefore disregarding understory plants or those with low abundance. However, the multi-metric Wetland Vegetation Condition Indicator approach shows promise as an indicator of wetland condition by using remotely sensed data, which could be useful for more efficient landscape-scale assessments of wetland health, resilience, and recovery.
-
A Theory of Brand WW2Myths about the Second World War, grounded within stores of knowledge, often act as narrative templates to be drawn upon by collective memory. These myths and memories are transformed and commodified in a reductive manner into a brand encompassing simplistic narratives, easily recognized visual signifiers (including logo, colors, and associated symbols), and emotional cues that connect with the audience. This posits a theory that what most individuals today interact with is not a fragment of memory related to World War Two but rather a reductive representation sold as BrandWW2.
-
Reframing Social Work Education Using OERSocial work is, by definition, a profession devoted to the pursuit of social justice and the eradication of oppression, inequity, disparities, and other forms of injustice. Social workers are focused on the empowerment of marginalized people and communities and are expected to adhere to clear standards of ethical and competent practice. Additionally, the title of “social worker” is earned through the successful completion of social work education, either on the undergraduate or graduate levels. These social work programs are, in the United States of America, accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), which periodically revises and updates its Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS)1 and monitors the adherence of each accredited program to these standards. Essentially, CSWE determines the learning of every social worker in the United States.
-
Failure of Walleye Recruitment in a Lake with Little Suitable Spawning Habitat Is Probably Exacerbated by Restricted Home RangesOver eight million walleye (Sander vitreus) fry are stocked annually in Honeoye Lake, a small lake in the Finger Lakes Region of west-central New York. The objectives of our study were to find and describe the spawning locations and habitats of walleye and describe the spawning locations and habitats of walleye and to assess natural production of fry. Twenty-thee adult walleye were radio-tagged and tracked for up to 2.5 years. They established relatively small home ranges (24-188 ha) and moved more during the three-week spawning season (149 m/d)than the rest of the year (37 m/d) No naturally produced walleye eggs were collected in the Honeoye inlet channel where adults congregated during the 2002 and 2003 spawning season, nor were fry collected in the lake until after 8.7 million were stocked in 2003. Radio-tagged walleye exhibited homing and site fidelity in Honeoye Lake but not in the few known areas with suitable spawning substrates (no eggs were collected at these locations.
-
Two Congener‑specifc Models Estimate PCB TEQ Hazard to American Mink (Neovison vison) Living near a Western New York CreekWe present two models to monitor the health of ecosystems by assessing hazard from a persistent organic compound to a top predator species. Our diet model predicts the dietary exposure of American Mink (Neovison vison) to PCB toxic equivalents (TEQ) by combining concentrations in their prey using weighted average proportions consistent with literature-based mink diets. Our bioaccumulation model predicts the dietary exposure of mink to PCB TEQ based on each congener’s total concentration in water (dissolved plus particulate fractions), the octanal/water partition coefcient (log Kow) of the compound, and the trophic levels of prey taxa. Both models predict mink dietary concentrations which can be directly compared with each other and with lowest observable adverse efects concentrations (LOAECs) to assess chronic and acute hazards of PCB TEQ to mink. By our choice of certain parameters in the bioaccumulation model, we forced it to match the diet model within less than 5% for Eighteenmile Creek in western New York State. When the two models were used for a similar creek about 25 km away, the diferences in their predictions were of the same magnitude.
-
Marvel tells / sells its own history: figureheads, promotion, curation, and application, 1982-1987This research explores Marvel Comics Group’s (MCG) efforts to actively construct and sell its own history during the early-to-mid 1980s. This active historicization was achieved through persistent promotion by company figurehead Stan Lee and fans-turned-professionals actively curating the history in an official capacity. The historical reference products focused on the growing direct market-based older fan types of cultists, enthusiasts, and petty producers and younger, newer consumers and fans attracted to the authority of both history and official releases. These reference materials included encyclopaedias (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe), a promotional arm (Marvel Age), an official history (The Marvel Saga), commemorative ceremony (1986ʹs 25th Anniversary), and New Universe that in contrast reaffirmed the specialness of the original Marvel Universe. MCG’s efforts from 1982 to 1987 provide a rare instance to watch history actively be constructed, curated, sold, and applied and to illustrate to us the power inherent within such actions.
-
Experiential Branding and Curating the Social SpaceThe branding of experience, which works to strengthen consumption practices by tying them into social and group behavior, is an extension of previous efforts that likewise attempt to brand traditionally non-commodified societal institutions including education (Twitchell, 2004), religion (Banet-Weiser, 2012; Twitchell, 2004), and our everyday lives (Moor, 2007). The logic of branding has crept into areas of our lives that previously were not branded – into large institutions like schools and museums and into micro-level everyday experiences and social relationships. This is possible today, in part, due to the rise of networked, social-media-based, smart phone technology that transforms our communication and looking into labor. This communication is increasingly visual; photos, gifs, video, and emoticons, for example, mirror the basic components of a brand.
-
The Doctorate: The Next Educational Step in Librarianshipdegree in librarianship, that does not have to be the case. As a mid-career library professional, you may feel like you have reached a point at which you don’t know where to go. If you have decided that management is not for you right now, yet you still want to grow, a doctorate can stretch you and help you to gain more knowledge, research expertise, and leadership skills. Pursuing and accomplishing this goal will open career possibilities, including promotion, administration, and teaching positions in library schools where you could help effect change in librarianship by educating future librarians. S
-
Levels of Bioaccumulative Chemicals of Concern in Air, Water, Sediment and Sentinel Species of the Rochester Embayment of Lake OntarioIn the 1980s, the International Joint Commission (IJC) began the process of creating and implementing remedial action plans (RAPs) in 43 areas of concern (AOCs) throughout the Great Lakes Basin of Canada and the United States. An area identified as an AOC violated one or more of 14 “use impairments” listed by the IJC. For example, “fish and wildlife consumption advisories” due to the presence of bioaccumulative chemicals of concern (BCCs) is a use impairment identified for the Rochester, NY Embayment of Lake Ontario AOC.
-
Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategies of American and Canadian Restaurants in a PandemicThis paper examines the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on restaurant marketing practices and outlines a two-pronged approach of analyzing digital marketing and social media platforms that restaurants use to market their product. The presence of COVID-19 information and practices in these marketing platforms is explored in a comparison model of restaurants between the United States and Canada. Understanding the marketing impact of these practices during a global pandemic can provide actionable insights to promote development and sustainability in the restaurant industry. Since very little research has examined the marketing strategies of restaurants during a pandemic as well as exploring a country comparison model to shed light on the global aspects of it, this paper is one of the frontier studies looking critically at the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry.
-
Manipulating Chladni Patterns of Ferromagnetic Materials by an External Magnetic FieldErnst Chladni is called the father of acoustics for his work, which includes investigating patterns formed by vibrating plates. Understanding these patterns helps research involving standing waves and other harmonic behaviors, including studies of single electron orbits in atoms. Our experiment vibrates circular plates which result in well-known patterns. Alternatively to traditional experiments that used sand or salt, we use magnetic materials, namely iron filings and nickel powder. We then manipulate the patterns by applying a localized external magnetic field to one of the rings that moves a segment of the magnetic material in that ring to the next inner ring. The results show a significant decrease in magnetic field necessary to move the magnetic material at higher frequencies as well as a significant decrease in the magnetic field required to move the magnetic material as nickel powder is substituted for iron filings while keeping the mass constant.
-
Encouraging Guardian Involvement Among ELLsGuardian involvement is important in student’s academic achievements however that involvement is not consistent across populations. Therefore, this capstone aims to examine the overarching research question: How can teachers foster positive relationships with students that promote parent involvement in the ENL classroom? To answer this question, it is important that teachers and school administration know the struggles families face. Some of these struggles may include language and cultural barriers, education levels of guardians, and the family’s socioeconomic status. The professional development for middle school teachers and school staff will provide strategies and programs that will help increase guardian involvement. As a result of this professional development teachers will have strategies they can implement into their classrooms and in school to increase academic involvement with ELL families. In the future it is important that researchers continue to study the effects that programs such as community programs have on guardian involvement a how it impacts student academics.
-
Challenges with Effectively Assessing English Language LearnersThis capstone project examines the problem of effective ways to assess English Language Learners (ELLs). Though, assessing students is an essential part of education there are many problems with the lack of effective assessment practices ELL students face. The research shows that when assessed ELLs face cultural bias, testing anxiety, and testing of language rather than content knowledge. Therefore, this capstone examines how to effectively and accurately assess ELL students in a mainstream classroom. Including items such as accommodations, differentiation, alternate assessment, and alternate strategies to collect data. To mitigate the challenges of assessment ELLs face, this capstone will include a Professional Development (PD) for educators. The PD contains tools such as hand-outs, scenarios, and hands-on collaborative work to dive into the strategies to accurately and effectively assess ELL students. The capstone aims to identify and minimize the ramifications of assessment of student success through modifications, accommodations and alternative assessments. Alongside, implications for teaching such as alternate ways to provide accommodations and collect data. Finally, the capstone supplies recommendations for future research such as case studies on the differences between standardized testing and alternative assessment.
-
Improving Reading Strategies in the General Education ClassroomThis capstone project aims to support the development and use of new strategies that can be used to support English language learners also known as ELLs in the general education classroom. The strategies discovered and explained throughout this paper will be applied to real classrooms and data will be collected to show evidence of successful implementation of the strategies discussed. For the growing population of English language learners attending United States public schools, it is important that we support them academically and in their language development process. Implementing strategies into the classroom is an effective way to support English language learners in the classroom. There are many different strategies that can be used to support students academically and in their language development. The use of Spanish-English cognates is one vocabulary strategy that can be used in the classroom to support language development. Students are taught to look for familiar words as they read in the target language. They are also taught to use other words on the page to help them in determining the meaning of the unknown word, determining if the cognates are in fact true. Another effective strategy is the use of conversations in the classroom. Students can learn language through interaction with classmates. Finding ways to build a language learning and supportive community in the classroom and teaching students how to have meaningful interactions about books leads to support in reading comprehension. Lastly, we will discuss how parent engagement can be included into existing lessons. How parents can teach their children at home and bring a rich learning environment to the home and classroom workspace.
-
From Isolation to Inclusion: How to Become a Successful ESL Co-TeacherThis capstone project aims to support classroom teachers and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in co-teaching models. In co-teaching, two teachers (in this case an ESL teacher and a classroom teacher) work together to teach and evaluate a group of students. Traditionally, many English Language Learners (ELLs) have been serviced in a pull-out model where they leave the classroom to work with an ESL teacher with other ELLs. However, as the population of ELLs continues to grow, co-teaching is becoming a more popular tool to service students, as it allows them to receive necessary accommodations and scaffolds without having to leave the classroom. With the introduction of co-teaching, both classroom and ESL teachers need training on what is co-teaching and how to execute a co-taught lesson. A successful co-taught lesson first begins in the co-planning stage, and it is imperative that both teachers work together to know what each person’s role is and that the lesson is truly collaborative. As there is no one model for co-teaching, teachers have the autonomy to choose which model works best for their particular students, lesson, or style. Through the use of collaborative documents and lesson plan templates, classroom teachers and ESL teachers can work together to produce lessons that support students’ academic and linguistic needs.
-
The Effects of Sports Related Concussions on Retired Professional Football PlayersConcussions in the NFL have become extremely important over the last decade. As new information regarding these brain injuries is discovered, there is an increase in awareness on and off the field. Former athletes Junior Seau and Percy Harvin suffered from concussions during their playing careers and there have been lasting impacts when they retired from the NFL. Seau committed suicide while being diagnosed with CTE and Harvin was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Researchers on the topic have found there are significant signs of future mental illness and impairments associated with concussions for retired professional football athletes. For example, there’s an increased risk of depression. It has been suggested by researchers to further the investigation on these brain injuries and come up with new innovative ways to report concussions to help these athletes ease their symptoms. The purpose of this synthesis was to review the literature on the effects of sports-related concussions on the cognitive and mental health of retired professional football athletes.
-
Overtraining in Sports and its Impact on AthletesAthletic participation has increased across the country for individuals of all ages. There are more opportunities to join organizations competitively, which can consist of intercollegiate or travel teams. There is pressure in society to be the best at the individual’s selected sport, which can cause some concerns. To perform at a higher level than their teammates, athletes may feel obligated to train and practice excessively. Several hours of training and practice can result in injuries or illness. These conditions could result in physical impacts, which can affect an individual’s body functions. In addition, a significant number of hours engaged in sport participation is linked to influencing one’s mental well-being. If the necessary steps aren’t taken when an athlete is overtrained, this may result in long-term or chronic damage.
