Evaluating UVM\u27s Career Interest Group Model: A Study Of Engagement, Self-Efficacy, And Benefits

Career services practitioners at the University of Vermont (UVM) – and manyinstitutions across the country – are no longer acting as gatekeepers (filtering access to opportunities/employers) but rather serving as professional networkers (facilitating access to opportunities/employers/alums). Working from the premise that universities need to do better at helping their graduates successfully navigate today’s complex and rapidly changing world of work, the UVM Career Center advanced its service delivery model in the fall of 2019 with the launch of Career Interest Groups. Four years later, it was time to assess if Interest Group members were benefiting from the new model. Specifically, as the Director of the Career Center, I wanted to know how much members were engaging in the networking activities of their IGs (e.g., connecting with people, opportunities, and resources), how confident they felt networking (e.g., their level of networking self-efficacy), and what short-term (proximal) benefits they were realizing. As the IG model was specifically designed to promote equitable access to connections and experiences for all students, regardless of background or social capital (through bridging networks rooted in shared interests), I also wanted to know if their engagement, self-efficacy, or benefits were moderated by their social identities (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, first-generation status), or if any relationship existed between identity, engagement, and self-efficacy on benefits. Lastly, I asked members how they would describe the purpose of an IG to a classmate to understand what sense they were making of the IGs. Backed by Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, I hypothesized that those who reported higher levels of confidence and engagement would also report greater benefits. I further hypothesized that social identities would moderate these benefits and that members whose understanding of the IG purpose aligned with the intended design would engage more. This study thus provides a thorough program evaluation of the Interest Group (IG)model. In the spring of 2024, I surveyed 307 Interest Group (IG) members (undergraduates and 2023 graduates). I found, in short, that 1) IG members have a fairly solid understanding of the purpose of these networks, 2) IG members were neither highly engaged nor very confident, 3) IGs members with higher engagement levels did report greater benefits, 4) gender had a moderate effect on networking self-efficacy, 5) race had a medium effect on networking benefits, and 6) that there was indeed a relationship between social identity, IG engagement, and networking self-efficacy that accounted for 41% of the variance in proximal networking benefits. This research provides foundational information to help the university understandhow IG members are making sense of the IGs, how confident they feel, and how they are (or are not) engaging with their groups and benefiting from the IG model. This empowers Career Center staff – and colleagues across campus – to make data-informed decisions regarding how to adjust and evolve the IG model (and career offerings more generally) to realize increasing success

Examining Urban Watershed Resilience In Cities And Gardens: A Spatial Analysis Of Equity Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Distribution And A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Soil Properties And Sub-Surface Nutrient Leaching From Urban Gardens, In Light Of Gardener Perceptions And Management Practices

Due to the expansion of urban development and land use, impervious surface area coverage has steadily increased across the United States. As urbanization occurs, the expansion of impervious area reduces watershed infiltration capacity, and increases flood events and water pollution via runoff. The heightened intensity of storm events due to climate change exacerbates this urban flood risk, particularly in vulnerable communities that lack adequate infrastructure to manage these challenges. The first chapter of this thesis introduces issues of urbanization, stormwater management, green stormwater infrastructure and connections between watersheds and urban agroecosystems. It also examines how systemic racism, both past and present, has led to Black people living in urban areas that are disproportionately vulnerable to flooding, deprived of climate resiliency measures, and often lacking in access to crucial food system components such as grocery stores. The second chapter explores the equitability of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) distribution in the US cities of Washington D.C. and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through spatial and statistical analyses, the relationship between GSI implementation and the sociodemographic variables of percent Black population and median household income are examined in both cities. This research provides additional context to the existing body of literature addressing sociodemographic equity in green infrastructure distribution across US cities and considers “green gentrification” as a factor related to GSI implementation. The third chapter considers aspects of urban agroecosystems that relate to water quality using both natural science and social science methods. Urban gardens provide myriad benefits in social sustainability, particularly bolstering food sovereignty, but the extent to which they contribute to water pollution via nutrient leaching is underexplored. In this study, soil and water samples were collected from residential and community gardeners across urban and peri-urban sites in Chittenden County (Vermont, USA), to investigate the degree to which urban gardens leach soluble reactive phosphorus and nitrate into groundwater. Interviews were conducted with the gardeners to gain insight into their garden management practices and environmental awareness, revealing potential relationships between soil amendment usage and the extent of nutrient leaching within each garden. Through this analysis we gain insight into the potential of urban gardens as not just a means of food production, but as green infrastructure in a hydrological context

Combinative Strategy To Advance Target-Based Anticryptosporidial Drug Discovery.

Cryptosporidiosis is a prevalent diarrheal disease characterized by infection of the small intestine by apicomplexan Cryptosporidium parasites. These intestinal parasites effectuate life-threatening diarrhea in young children and immunocompromised patients such as those on long-term immunosuppressants, or people living with HIV/AIDS. There are presently no vaccines to prevent cryptosporidiosis in humans. Unfortunately, the only FDA-approved treatment, nitazoxanide, lacks efficacy in immunocompromised patients but shows moderate efficacy in children, populations in which cryptosporidiosis is most severe and persistent. To engage the obvious paucity in the availability of novel anti-Cryptosporidium therapeutics, large-scale phenotypic screenings of compounds made available by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, led to the identification of pyrazolopyrimidine human phosphodiesterase (PDE)-V (hsPDE-V) and 1,5-naphthyridine phosphatidylinositol-4 kinase (PI4K) inhibitors with potent in vitro anticryptosporidial characteristics and in vivo efficacy following oral administration in C. parvum-infected immunocompromised mouse models of cryptosporidiosis. The lead phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDEi) and phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase inhibitor (PI4Ki) series showed comparable anti-C. parvum and C. hominis potency, are fast-acting in tissue culture, and have minimal off-target effects in a preliminary safety screening assay panel. Our main objective was to validate the molecular targets of the novel PDEis and PI4Kis lead series in Cryptosporidium. By extension, we sought to uncover the mode-of-action of these novel lead series in C. parvum and highlight important target-based strategies that can be exploited for drug target identification in anticryptosporidial drug discovery. We demonstrated the mode-of-action of the lead series by employing life-cycle phenotypic assays which identified the parasite egress stage as the key life stage blocked by the PDEi and PI4Ki series. Subsequently, we utilized in vitro enzyme assays to confirm on-target engagement of our lead PDEis and PI4Kis against recombinant CpPDE1/CpPDE3 and CpPI4K enzymes, respectively. Guided by in silico analyses, we identified two residues (Val900 and His884) in the CpPDE1 active site predicted to be important for pyrazolopyrimidine PDEi binding. We produced a CRISPR-engineered C. parvum CpPDE1-V900A transgenic strain which exhibited altered susceptibility to our lead PDEi series, providing genetic support for CpPDE1-pyrazolopyrimidine PDEi interaction. Our findings suggest that CpPDE1, a validated pyrazolopyrimidine molecular target, can be exploited for target-based lead optimization in our anticryptosporidial drug development scheme. Furthermore, to genetically validate CpPI4K as a molecular target of the novel naphthyridine PI4Ki lead series, we overexpressed the wild-type CpPI4K gene in wild-type C. parvum to confirm the development of a resistance phenotype in the CpPI4K over-expressing transgenic strain. The expression of an additional copy of the wild-type CpPI4K gene conferred a moderate resistance phenotype in the presence of a naphthyridine PI4Ki and a separate imidazopyrazine PI4Ki by about 3-fold. These results provide compelling evidence that CpPI4K is a molecular target of the imidazopyrazine and novel naphthyridine PI4Ki lead series. In summary, we have identified and validated CpPI4K and CpPDE1 as molecular targets of our PI4Ki and PDEi lead series, respectively. Our target identification efforts on CpPDE1 marks the first characterization of the CpPDE1 as a druggable target in C. parvum. Meanwhile, our genetic validation of CpPI4K druggability will build on existing research in the anti-Cryptosporidium drug discovery field. Collectively, the results from this work will inform medicinal chemistry lead optimization efforts to advance anticryptosporidial drug development

Mounded Growth of Organic Semiconductor Thin Films: Desorption and Next-Layer Nucleation

The mechanisms governing thin film growth play a crucial role in determining the final properties of thin films. Advanced techniques, such as in situ coherent x-ray scattering, offer valuable insights into the surface dynamics associated with these growth mechanisms. A well-ordered, smooth thin film is highly desirable due to its superior physical properties. However, molecular diffusion on the film\u27s surface is hindered by the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier, which inhibits the downward movement of molecules across step edges. This leads to the formation of mounds that steepen as the film grows due to restricted inter-layer transport. This dissertation presents in situ x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) measurements of diindenoperylene (DIP) vapor deposition on thermally oxidized silicon surfaces across a temperature range of 40 $^{\circ}$C to 120 $^{\circ}$C. Our observations indicate that DIP forms a nearly complete two-dimensional first layer before transitioning into mounded growth during subsequent deposition stages. Within these mounds, local step flow was observed, revealing terrace-length-dependent behavior in the step edge dynamics. This terrace-length dependence led to unstable growth, characterized by rapid roughening ($\beta$ \u3e 0.5) and a deviation from a symmetric error-function-like height profile. At higher temperatures, we observed that grooves between the mounds tended to heal , resulting in nearly flat, poly-crystalline films. A numerical analysis using a (1 + 1) - dimensional model suggests that terrace-length-dependent desorption of ad-molecules plays a key role in influencing step dynamics and morphology evolution. Desorption, the process in which surface atoms (adatoms) gain enough energy to escape into the vacuum, is found to suppress growth rates during thin film formation. Additionally, desorption time scales, when shorter than the time required for diffusion to defect sites, step edges, or kinks, significantly influence surface morphology during crystal growth. New layer nucleation, a critical process in mounded thin film growth, is examined using a lab-developed Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) growth simulation program. Our results suggest that larger nucleation critical sizes at higher temperatures contribute to the transition from mounded to flat films. By comparing experimental data with KMC simulation results and theoretical models, we estimate key parameters such as the additional Ehrlich-Schwoebel energy barrier ($\Delta E_{s}$) and the molecular thermal attempt rate ($v_{0}$). These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying mounded growth and offer potential insights for improving thin film growth in materials beyond DIP, paving the way for more controlled and high-quality film production

Growing Alternatives: An Exploration Of Veganic Agriculture In The United States And Opportunities For Future Synergies

Veganic farming is a growing agricultural approach rooted in the exclusion of farmed animal inputs and promotion of diverse, plant-based ecologies. It offers a range of direct and indirect benefits, spanning from farm soil health to climate resiliency to improved human/non-human animal welfare (e.g., farmer/worker livelihood; consumer food safety; animal rights). Veganic farmers\u27 experiences, worldviews, and motivations vary, however many include dimensions of social and environmental justice akin to that of the agroecology movement. This dissertation examines veganic agriculture and complementary approaches through three distinct discussions. First, veganic agriculture is explored in relation to soil health and fertility strategies reported through a sample of 25 veganic farmers in the United States (U.S.). Subsequently, it is proposed that there is value in Agricultural Outreach Professionals (AOPs) (e.g., University Extension personnel) gaining a greater familiarity to veganic approaches, not only to serve veganic farmers, but the greater agricultural community that could benefit from an expanded toolbox of resiliency strategies. Next, veganic agriculture is considered in context to agroecology with exploration of future synergies between the two approaches. This paper provides a foundational contribution of veganic agricultural principles as identified through the aforementioned field work with veganic farmers in the U.S.. These are then discussed in comparison with agroecological principles, using the thirteen principles outlined by Wezel et al. (2020) as a guide. Findings suggest that despite the misalignment on the integration of farmed animals (and the associated animal inputs), there is high compatibility and opportunity for transdisciplinary engagement across the two respective sciences/practices/movements going forward. Lastly, the co-creation of knowledge is examined with specific emphasis on agriculture and the application to agroecology. The intersection between ‘traditional’ and ‘scientific’ knowledge highlights potential for integration of farmer-centered perspective for improved process and outcomes. While the focus is on agroecology, it extends the same potential benefits to veganic agriculture. Given the expanding veganic farming community, participatory co-creation of knowledge may become an increasingly important tool for learning and knowledge development within and outside of the U.S.. As a whole, this dissertation is guided with the concept of a sustainable transition framework, specifically through the multi-level perspective (MLP). The concepts explored illuminate the plethora of ways veganic farming offers alternatives to the prevailing agrifood paradigm, especially when paired with other approaches, such as agroecology

Advancing Quantitative Research Of Smoker Stigmatization

The ongoing tobacco epidemic has wrought devastation on the health and prosperity of United States citizens for decades. Though tobacco denormalization efforts successfully reduced population-level smoking rates in recent decades, these declines are not uniform across some minoritized segments of the population. Tobacco denormalization strategies themselves often emulate facets of stigmatization, and thus unsurprisingly are associated with increases in perceived and perpetrated smoker stigma. The consequences of this stigma are largely unknown, and the available research relies on scales of dubious theoretical and psychometric merit, or on purely qualitative methods with small sample sizes. This dissertation presents a series of studies introducing quantitative measures of both implicit and explicit stigma. The first two studies validate self-report measures of public stigma and self-stigma toward smokers in large samples. Both measures demonstrated excellent fit through confirmatory factor analysis and expected relationships with hypothetically related constructs. The second two studies introduced and validated a novel web-based task measuring implicit stigma, and then applied that task to measuring implicit smoker stigma. The results indicated an overall pro-nonsmoker bias and some group differences based on smoking status and endorsement of explicit smoker stigma. Overall, the four studies substantively advance the field and together they constitute the most comprehensive investigation of smoking stigma to date

A Self-Affirmation Intervention For Responsible Parties in Restorative Justice

Background and purpose: Restorative justice is a response to crime in which the offender, or the “responsible party,” engages in a process with community stakeholders in which they learn about the harm caused by the crime and complete a “contract” in which they take action to make amends and participate in community engagement and personal development activities (Zehr, 2002). Research demonstrates that responsible parties who can adopt the difficult mindset of responsibility taking, perspective taking, and motivated engagement accrue the most benefits from restorative justice (Hipple et al., 2015). The purpose of this study is to test the effect of a values-affirmation intervention (Steele, 1988) on psychological processes and contract completion among responsible parties. Method: I recruited 116 responsible parties undergoing a restorative justice process from nine restorative justice centers to complete a Qualtrics study. Qualtrics randomly assigned participants to write for ten minutes about either their values (self-affirmation condition) or a neutral control topic. Next, participants completed measures of two mediator variables: self-integrity and existential connection, and measures of three dependent variables: responsibility taking, cognitive empathy, and contract readiness. Four months later, I documented whether or not the participant had completed their contract. Results: Compared to the control condition, those in the values-affirmation condition reported higher contract readiness and cognitive empathy, but did not report greater responsibility taking or contract completion. The effect of self-affirmation on contract readiness was mediated by self-integrity but not by existential connection. The effect of self-affirmation on cognitive empathy was mediated by existential connection but not by self-integrity. Conclusion: Restorative justice practitioners might incorporate values-affirmation into the process to help prepare responsible parties for the difficult tasks of empathy and motivation

Anxiety Screening in a Rural Primary Care Setting

Anxiety disorders are one of the most commonly occurring mental health condition. It is recommended to screen for anxiety in adults under the age of 65, but there is insufficient research to make this recommendation for older adults. Caledonia County in northeastern Vermont is a rural area with a large proportion of older adults, and this unique population could benefit from anxiety screening.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/2209/thumbnail.jp

Concurrent Associations Between Sweet And Cooling E-Cigarette Use And Combustible Cigarette Use And Quit Attempts Among Adult Dual Users

Combustible cigarette (CC) smoking is a leading cause of premature death in the United States. Federal regulators have signaled their intention to position electronic cigarettes (ECs) as a widely available, appealing, and well-regulated alternative nicotine product in the context of an overarching reduced nicotine content mandate in CCs. Prior research supports the efficacy of ECs as a smoking cessation tool in clinical contexts through the complete substitution of ECs for CCs. However, little data exists regarding the day-to-day naturalistic patterns of flavored EC use, or the role of non-tobacco flavored ECs in facilitating CC reduction and cessation. The current study examined the fine-grained naturalistic patterns of CC and flavored EC use among fifty-nine participants who used both products and desired to quit smoking CCs. Participants reported their daily use of both CCs and ECs over eight weeks. Study aims were to characterize flavored EC use patterns and investigate associations between the use of specific flavors of ECs and brief CC abstinence, CC reduction, and CC quit attempts. Sweet flavors were most commonly used by participants, followed by cooling- and tobacco-flavored ECs. Participants were statistically significantly more likely to be non-abstinent from CCs on days that they had used ECs, though this relationship was cross-sectional. Associations between the use of specific flavors of EC and CC cessation-related outcomes were not significant, suggesting that models were underpowered. Sensitivity analyses suggested that hybrid sweet/cooling flavors may be associated with different CC-related behavioral correlates than cooling-only flavors. Overall, findings suggest that participants who use ECs concurrently with CCs without external guidance may not intuit how to use ECs as complete substitutes for CCs. Research and policy related to flavored ECs must also grapple with issues of consistency in defining and categorizing different types of EC flavors

Management of Low Back Pain in the Outpatient Setting

https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/2213/thumbnail.jp