State Liability Under CERCLA for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal: Preparing for the Inevitable

In this article the author examines the special role of the states in the low-level radioactive waste disposal crisis presently plaguing the United States and the resulting potential for state liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). In doing so, the author will suggest some possible ways by which states may limit their CERCLA liability while satisfying their waste disposal responsibilities to their citizens and the environment

Scopophilia and Spectacle: Fashion and Femininity in the Novels of Frances Burney

My dissertation investigates how the relationship between looking and being seen, or the interaction between scopophilia and spectacle, intersects with the rise of consumer culture and the ascendance of eighteenth-century fashion and fashionable places. By using Frances Burney’s novels as a lens through which to examine the eighteenth century’s fascination with looking, I consider the ways in which attracting “the look” or gaining attention through the visibility of stylish apparel and goods becomes a pathway to social agency in Burney’s novels. Fashion for Burney, I argue, emerges as a multifaceted system that manifests as a means of as social power that becomes essential in shaping ideas of eighteenth-century femininity and in challenging the existing power structure of the aristocracy. Through successive chapters my project traces how the shopkeeper, the dressmaker, the milliner, the hairdresser, the carriage maker, and the entrepreneurs of pleasure resorts, all help to transform a young woman into a “custom-designed” fashionable lady. The “being seen” object, or the lady of fashion, emerges as an empowered spectacle who not only finds social status through her fashionable displays, but who also becomes a subversive agent in the social realm

Mentor / mentee: a 360 degree look at the relationships

One mentor, Kristy Widdicombe, and two mentees, Cheryl Clark and Hannah Bennett, share experiences of their professional development journey

Anger Management Program Participants Gain Behavioral Changes in Interpersonal Relationships

RELAX: Alternatives to Anger is an educational anger management program that helps adults understand and manage anger, develop communication skills, manage stress, and make positive behavioral changes in their interpersonal relationships. A sample of 1,168 evaluation surveys were collected from RELAX: Alternatives to Anger participants over 3 program years (2013–2015). A dependent t-test on the mean composite scores for the group and calculation of individual preprogram-to-postprogram change scores showed that the program was effective overall. The RELAX: Alternatives to Anger curriculum is appropriate for workplace wellness programs, Extension programming for audiences such as farm families and 4-H volunteers, and Extension staff professional development

Bias and Trends in Student Evaluations in Online Higher Education Settings

End-of course evaluations have been frequently used to assess teaching effectiveness and influence critical decisions about faculty contract renewal, future course assignment, tenure and promotion in higher education. This quantitative study sought to determine whether there are differences in student perceptions of faculty performance based on gender or faculty status (full-time vs. adjunct) in an online higher education environment. It also sought to answer these questions: 1) Do adjunct faculty tend to grade more leniently than full time faculty, and as such, do adjunct faculty receive higher evaluation ratings than full time faculty, who may be more stringent in grading? 2) Do student evaluation scores differ depending on the course being evaluated? 3) Does gender or faculty status impact student response rates? Survey responses from a total of 683 sections associated with 24 courses were analyzed from the March 2018 to January 2019 timeframe. Due to the broad range of class sizes and differences between faculty characteristics, the variances for each comparison sample were observed to be significantly different using Levene’s test for equal variances. Thus, the Mann-Whitney test for two variables and the Kruskal-Wallis test for evaluation of significant difference between more than two variables were used on the data. While other literature and personal anecdotes may indicate that gender bias exists, this study did not indicate that gender bias is occurring in online higher education courses taught for the time period studied, suggesting gender neutrality

Relationship of in-college personality with after-college employment orientation

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1968 B76Master of Scienc

My first few months at Kingston : a qualitative study of new first year students and how they navigate academic and library support

The first term at university is crucial in the student’s journey. People settle in, meet new friends, visit new places, study, and prepare for their assignments. The ‘My first few months at Kingston’ project was about understanding how students negotiate those early experiences. Building on previous qualitative research undertaken by library staff at Kingston University and informed by Priestner and Marshall (2016) at Cambridge University and Phillips and Brzozowksa-Szczecina (2019) at Royal Holloway, library staff set about recruiting up to 20 first year students to take part in a cultural probe to explore how they had navigated the support on offer from the library and the wider university. Having a large pool of volunteers, the 20 students were selected to include a mix across all faculties, a mix between students in halls and commuting students, between home and international, and between 18-21 and mature students. During a two-week period after enrichment week in November 2021, the students reflected on their journey at Kingston by completing a series of daily tasks including writing diary entries, taking pictures and creating a storyboard. The tasks were designed to encourage reflection but also to be fun and engaging and to allow the participants to freely express themselves. All their work gave unique insight into their lives at this important period. The students were able to keep their diaries but shared scanned images with the research team. It was heartening to learn that by this stage students had identified their favourite place to study, whether on campus or not; knew the name of their subject librarian and the help available and many had also used the academic skills centre. They also had identified places on campus and in the local town centre that they loved and loathed. The students reflected on their first assignment and were grateful for the support they received but wished they had started earlier and contacted central services earlier. As well as allowing a reflection on how well students have settled and the academic services they had found, the findings also allowed library staff to reflect on services offered to new students and adapt some new services that were implemented in response to these findings. Phillips, D. and Brzozowska-Szczecina, E. (2019) ‘Love at first sight: consolidating first impressions’ In: Priestner, A. (ed.) User Experience in Libraries: Yearbook 2019. Cambridge: UX in Libraries, pp123-128. Priestner, A. and Marshall, D. (2016) Snapshot: A cultural probe study exploring the research and information behaviour of postdocs and PhD students at the University of Cambridge. Available at: https://futurelib.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/the-snapshot- project.pdf (Accessed: 10 February 2023)