89th and Pine.

89th and Pine is a creative project that challenges the conventions of genre. While this work is labeled as a collection of poetry, the ultimate goal of the project is to subvert the norms of the genre, appropriately honor the grand tradition of poetry, and to enter into discourse with the current themes of 21st century poets. The work is a direct communication between the forms of prose and poetry. The pieces very deliberately shift from prose to poetry with every other entry in the collection, all while maintaining a unilateral narrative from beginning to end. The structure of the collection follows the traditional three-act format of a novel, mimicking the escalation of plot and the addition of characters, but also retains the thematic divides found in poetry collections with multiple sections. Poetry today is well-saturated with poets embarking on various forms of mixed genre experimentation. The forms found in Iteration Nets by Karla Kelsey is directly referenced in the closing three-piece unit of 89th and Pine. The Most of It by Mary Ruefle assisted in the argument of what is prose and what is poetry, which is found here in such pieces as "The Barista," "Family Circus," and "Gallon Jugs of Water." However, this creative project found much inspiration from Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman, as well, favoring the usage of many long lines. Citizen by Claudia Rankine is another collection that features mixed genre material; her pairing of verse and prose with numerous photographs and artistic visual cues, assails the reader into pondering what exactly is poetry or prose. Cultural icon and prolific rapper Post Malone said, "What I'm not into is boxes. I don't put people in boxes. There are no genres anymore." He is, of course, speaking of the music industry, but a similar trend is arising in the written word, too. Writers such as Rupi Kaur and r.h. sin are forsaking traditional form altogether and have created works aimed to just make readers feel something. The objective of 89th and Pine is to further progress the argument of whether genre distinction is at all necessary, or if today's readers just want to feel connected to what they're reading. Here lies the great challenge of this work: removing genre stigma. Readers are often resistant to poetry because it is seen as hard to grasp, and often are more drawn to the familiar world of fantastical fiction. 89th and Pine seeks to entertain the reader with a novelistic experience, but provide enough poetic dynamic to challenge the reader to seek further meaning from each piece. The key to the success of the project was to develop a convincing narrator to become the vehicle for the work. Without Oscar's sight, or lack thereof, the project would fall flat. While each poem, and each section of prose, is meant to stand alone, when compiled together they create a fluid narrative from beginning to end. It was necessary to divide the poetic elements into thematic sections, but also group them separately by form themselves; several shorter, prose-like poems are grouped together early on, and the later sections contain many image-driven organic poems. The evolution of the narrative coincides with the destruction of genre-lines, while maintaining a strong sense of story and plot. 89th and Pine, while not revolutionary in its mixed-genre conception, does present a fresh challenge to the current market of poetry collections. By the end of a reading, the debate should still exist whether this is a collection of short prose scenes enjambed with poetic pauses, or whether this is a poetry collection framed by a deliberate narrative arc. With this project, the hope is to imply that today's reader does not care whether this book is found in the poetry section or in the fiction section of the local bookstore. Genre is not just changing, it is vanishing

THE EFFECT OF INTERMITTENT THETA BURST STIMULATION ON BICEPS CORTICOMOTOR EXCITABILITY IN NON-IMPAIRED INDIVIDUALS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH TETRAPLEGIA

Neuromodulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) in pair with physical therapy may be a promising method for improving motor outcomes after spinal cord injury (SCI). Increased excitability of the corticospinal motor pathways (i.e. corticomotor excitability) has shown to be associated with improved motor learning and skill acquisition. Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation which can increase corticomotor excitability, as measured by an increase in the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs). However, the ability for iTBS to increase the corticomotor excitability of proximal muscles such as the biceps, and muscles affected by spinal cord injury is currently unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the present studies was to determine the effect of iTBS on the corticomotor excitability of the biceps, as measured by MEP amplitudes, in non-impaired individuals and individuals with tetraplegia. Participants completed three sessions of the protocol, each including sham and active iTBS. Sessions were separated by a minimum of three days to prevent the potential for carry over effects. Results showed no change in nMEP amplitude after either sham or active iTBS in the non-impaired group. However, the SCI group showed an increase in nMEP amplitude after active iTBS relative to sham, suggesting an increase in corticomotor excitability. While further research is needed before combinatorial therapies can be achieved, this study suggests that iTBS may be a promising method for improving motor function in those with tetraplegia

Seeing the Good: Rehumanizing Moral Conflict in a Dehumanizing Age

This dissertation integrates insights from metaethical constructivism and enactive cognitive science to rehumanize both “religiously” and “secularly” grounded moral conflict and its dehumanizing side effects. Specifically, my motivating problem centers around the way in which moral conflict can be used to “justify” dehumanization in the form of what I term moral exclusion-qua-subject; exclusion from collective moral deliberation for one reason or another. Moral exclusion-qua-subject can in turn enable a slide into what we more typically think of as the dangers of dehumanization, and what I circumscribe as moral exclusion-qua-object: traditional human rights violations up to and including violence and death. At stake in this project is thus both the relative health and cohesion of our moral communities as well as the possibility of avoiding the darker threats of violence on an individual or mass scale. My critical diagnosis is that by overcoming what I refer to as the metaethical divide (dealt with in Chapters 2 and 3)—and even more importantly, by reconceptualizing our understandings of perception, rationality, objectivity, and identity (Chapters 4 and 5)—we can disrupt the pathway from existence-of-moral-conflict → the dehumanizing belief that the person with whom we disagree “must” be either unable or unwilling to engage in proper moral deliberation (and thus is unworthy of inclusion in collective moral deliberation). My constructive proposal makes both an explanatory (metaethical and moral epistemic) contribution (Chapter 6) in the form of what I term enactive constructivism, as well as a practical, action-guiding one (Chapter 7) by advocating for the cultivation of specific rehumanizing epistemic virtues

Designing the IT Course Within an Executive MBA Program

By combining knowledge management concepts with standard MBA course elements (technology, applications, systems development, and IT management), explicit and tacit knowledge can be created and diffused within the Management of Information Technology course designed for executive MBA students. The article, based on lessons learned over a ten-year period, discusses the course and presents a set of pedagogical principles. The paper includes a discussion of the appropriate role of technology in executive MBA courses and a detailed generic course syllabus

A study of Dukes v. Wal-Mart and its implications on sex discrimination : an honors thesis [(HONRS 499)]

During the past five years, the largest employer in the world has been repeatedly accused of sex discrimination against its female employees. Wal-Mart Stores operate discount stores, supercenters, membership-only stores, and neighborhood markets, selling goods and services at boasted "always low prices." Plaintiffs in the case, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, claim that discriminatory policies and practices are consistent throughout Wal-Mart stores across the nation. All women who work or have worked in Wal-Mart stores have been subjected to discriminatory pay and promotions policies, said plaintiffs, who seek class-wide injunctive and declaratory relief, lost pay, and punitive damages. All women in the United States should have the opportunity for equal employment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and equalpay under the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The analysis of this case and its implications for women in the workforce should be fully understood by employers and the female population.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.

Entry Level Jobs for MIS Graduates: Implications for Academic Programs

This paper reports on a set of research studies conducted to identify the size and composition of the entry-level IS job market, including job types, job vacancies, and skills and attributes required of applicants. Three types of data were collected from the metropolitan area of Vancouver, Canada: mail survey data, phone survey data, and job advertisements. Analysis reveals four generic entry-level job types: programmer, analyst, user support, and technical support. To a varying degree, these jobs are available in both IS and user departments. Programmer and technical support positions are more prevalent in IS departments; user support and analyst jobs are more prevalent in user departments. Employers reported strong interest in an applicant\u27s potential ( ability to grow and develop ) and communication skills when hiring for entry-level positions. However, there was a gap between IS managers\u27 stated preference for soft skills and the job advertisements\u27 requirement for experience with specific programming languages and platforms. Implications for curriculum and for future research are discussed. Skills and attribute requirements differ between job types, and this information is presented as prescriptive advice to guide student preparation and MIS program content

IT Service Climate: A Definition and Research Model

Information technology departments are increasingly viewed as service providers to business users (Kettinger and Lee 1994), and service quality has been proposed as a measure of IT effectiveness (Pitt et al. 1995). Previous research (Kettinger and Lee 1994; Pitt et al. 1995) has adapted the SERVQUAL scale (Parasuraman et al. 1988) from service marketing literature, using it to gauge business users’ expected and perceived levels of IT service quality. In this research, we investigate the other half of the IT-user relationship and look inside the IT function to identify variables that affect IT service quality. By focusing on IT professionals and the IT department, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of service quality and to assist managers in pinpointing the causes of service shortfalls. This study offers a theory-based extension to IT service quality research. We look to the organizational psychology literature, with its stream of theory-based research on organizational climate to connect management practices with organizational outcomes through employees’ shared cognition of their work environment (Campbell et al. 1970; Kopelman et al. 1990). Much of that literature has focused on one type of climate, that is, service climate (or climate for service), which has been established as a predictor of the quality of service provided to customers (Schneider, Ashworth et al. 1996; Schneider and Bowen 1985; Schneider, Parkington, and Buxton 1980; Schneider, White, and Paul 1998). Building on these studies, we apply service climate theories to the IT context and introduce a new construct, IT service climate. We propose a conceptual model that links IT professionals’ climate perceptions with antecedent and outcome variables, including IT service quality. This study represents an effort to comprehensively introduce organizational climate as a useful theoretical lens for researchers interested in many IT-related phenomena