The Unbreakable Spirit

These poems aim to explore the mental struggles that come with navigating life, and what it’s like to deal with unexpected obstacles along the way. The poems delve into the depths of human resilience and the ability to overcome hardships. I’m hoping that these poems can provide comfort and inspiration to those who are currently facing adversity, mainly to remind them that they are never alone, no matter what. Additionally, these poems could remind readers to always treat people with kindness, because you never know what someone is going through

Success of First-Time Students in Associate Degree Programs at the University of Maine at Augusta

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the new admissions model implemented by the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) in spring 2001 improved the academic success of first-time students. In this study first-time associate degree seeking students at the Augusta campus of UMA were examined to assess the academic success for each of the 5 student cohorts (fall 1999 - fall 2003). Each cohort was segmented to separately identify those needing (1) adult education level remediation, (2) developmental remediation and (3) those not requiring remedial course work. The academic success of each group was measured by retention rates after 1 semester and after 1 year and by graduation rates after 3 years. The academic success of each group was evaluated using a Chi Square test for Independence to determine if there were any statistically significant differences in group retention rates and graduation rates. The results indicate no differences among the groups for retention rates or graduation rates. They also indicate the retention rates after 1 year ranged from 42.0% to 47.6% and that the first-time, full-time graduation rates for the first three student cohorts ranged from 6.2% to 1 1.2%. The mean grade point averages (GPA) for the fall term, the spring term and the first academic year of each cohort were compared using an Oneway Analyses of Variance (with Scheffe post hoc tests) to identify any statistically significant differences among the placement groups. Analysis of the results indicated that there only appeared to be statistically significant differences between the adult education group and the no placement group in three of five cohorts for the spring term GPA and in one of five cohorts for both the fall term GPA and the first academic year accumulative GPA. These findings seem to indicate that there was very little difference in the mean dependent GPAs of the three placement groups. Independent variables (gender, age, arithmetic and reading comprehension) were analyzed in an ordered entry multiple regression for each cohort to assess the extent to which these independent variables could be used to predict the dependent GPA variable (fall term GPA, spring term GPA and first academic year accumulative GPA). The results indicated that these independent variables, both individually and collectively were weak predictors of the dependent GPA variable as they only accounted for 12.9% to 28.8% of the variance. The Betas showed that age and gender were slightly stronger predictors than the test scores: arithmetic and reading comprehension. The study concluded that UMA\u27s new admissions model did not improve the academic success of first-time associate degree seeking students at the Augusta campus. The study did show that UMA needs to identify ways to improve its retention and graduation rates for first-time students

Orphans’ Hope: An Evaluation of Residential Orphan Care in Malawi Africa

It is estimated that over 7 million orphans are institutionalized worldwide (sos-usa.org). Research has shown that while orphanages are often able to meet physical needs better than alternative forms of care, orphanage life can be harmful for the wellbeing of a child. This study evaluated orphan care at one institution in Malawi, Africa, to determine the effectiveness of care and suggest interventions that could position the children for success. Through interviews with caretakers and administrators, it was found that residential care in Malawi could be an effective form of care. The greatest needs were consistent behavioral intervention and sexual activity prevention. The results showed that with intervention and intentional caretakers, the likelihood for success was possible. Hope and spirituality gave a way for leadership and maturity at the orphanage

Poisoned Subjects: Testimonial Justice in Toxic Life Narrative

Since at least the publication of Lois Gibbs’s 1982 memoir about the toxic waste disaster in New York’s Love Canal community, anti-toxics social movements have relied on personal narrative as a crucial vehicle through which to advance their political agendas. As a result, acts of personal witness have been foundational to the body of knowledge ecocritics call “toxic discourse.” This dissertation asks how people exposed to environmental chemicals wield personal narrative to constitute themselves as poisoned subjects seeking recognition and redress for toxic injury. As they witness to the harms of toxic exposures, poisoned subjects confront gendered and ableist challenges to their authority as witnesses to embodied experiences of illness and disability. Confronting such testimonial injustice, poisoned subjects navigate unsteady relationships to normative forms of being and embodiment. “Poisoned Subjects” examines life narratives emerging from three anti-toxics embodied health movements: 1) diethylstilbestrol narratives DES Daughter, Daughters at Risk, and DES Stories; 2) multiple chemical sensitivity testimony collections The Dispossessed and Amputated Lives; and 3) alternative food exposés The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Tomatoland. Across successive chapters, this dissertation tracks an “ur” narrative of environmental chemical exposure in which autobiographical narrators draw on familiar tropes and story structures to make legible claims as subjects of toxic harm. The final chapter reads the digital art piece Male Pregnancy Project as a toxic life narrative in order to interrogate toxic discourse’s implicit messages about disability, reproduction, and justice. Toxic discourse is invested in concepts of fitness and better breeding that negatively impact efforts toward testimonial and embodied justice for marginalized ecological others. “Poisoned Subjects” intervenes in the study of toxic discourse to consider relationships between tropes of toxicity and autobiographical forms. Drawing attention to the deep connection between environmental and testimonial justice, this dissertation demonstrates that personal witness is central to the ways environmental movements and subjects are imagined. In so doing, it challenges prevailing approaches to toxic discourse as congruent with environmental justice. While toxic discourse is a strategy that has helped some subjects achieve recognition and win political gains, personal narratives of environmental chemical exposure reinscribe interlocking norms of gender and ability.PhDEnglish and Women's StudiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111364/1/eclind_1.pd

“Just Like When I Was a Liaison”: Applying a Liaison Approach to Functional Library Models

In this exploratory paper we consolidate themes discussed in literature to highlight three principles of liaison librarianship: building relationships, anticipating and meeting needs, and drawing on specialized expertise. These principles capture how liaison librarians approach their professional activities and together comprise what we define as a liaison approach. Through stories of our own work as scholarly communication librarians, we explore how a liaison approach can extend beyond subject liaison models to be relevant for librarians in functional roles. In sharing our stories, we prompt academic librarians in a variety of roles to consider how the perspective of a liaison approach might be helpful in their work. We offer this perspective, too, as a new lens through which librarians and library administrators may view organizational restructures, so as to address challenges that may be reproduced or replicated when a library moves from subject liaison model to functional model

Open or Openwashing? Preliminary Findings from a Content Analysis of Publisher Websites

The term openwashing originated in 2009, when Michelle Thorne coined and defined it as the process of “spin[ning] a product or company as open, although it is not.” The term has since become more commonplace around scholars and practitioners, who sometimes call out acts of openwashing to signal that despite claims suggesting otherwise, a product, service, or company does not fulfill requirements to be Open. A recent literature review by the authors concluded that while research on the topic is minimal, commentary on openwashing coalesces around two themes: marketing and transparency. Openness as a virtue has become a marketing asset that academic publishers can capitalize on by co-opting the language of Open without adherence to Open values. This poster presents the preliminary findings of a content analysis of publisher websites examining how publishers market \u27Open\u27 to authors. We examined webpages about Open Access from 25 medium-to-large size academic publishers, and surfaced key themes and categorized publisher tactics that are characteristic of openwashing. By openwashing, we mean cases in which a publisher has presented their organization as supporting and enabling Open, but further exploration shows that it does not. By surfacing common themes, our research marks the first comprehensive effort to categorize publisher tactics that are characteristic of openwashing. Themes identified in our analysis will inform a framework that can teach LIS professionals “how to spot openwashing,” which will empower our field to collectively identify and challenge the ways that publishers use the language of Open to mobilize openwashing practices. These skills are becoming increasingly necessary for librarians as for-profit publishers develop new, costly agreements to appeal to the rising interest and requirements for Open Access