College of Liberal Arts and Sciences_ENG 381 Frontiers of the Land and Mind_COVID Related Course Activities

Emails and attachment from Laura Cowan, Associate Professor, English Department, University of Maine to the Provost Office describing the assignment for her class ENG 381: Frontiers of the Land and the Mind during the 2020 Spring Semester. Several of the students featured the COVID-19 pandemic in their oral presentations

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department Fall 2020 Newsletter

This Women, Gender, and Sexuality newsletter from the Fall of 2020, August 11, includes a statement on Black Lives Matter and the department\u27s commitment to anti-racism. The newsletter also includes the departure of Dr Susan Gardner from department head and the introduction of new department head, Dr Laura Cowan. The newsletter features other information on Academic Advising, WGS395 Internship possibilities, WGS Office Operations in Fall 2020, WGS community, and Upcoming Events. The letter ends with a land-recognition of UMaine on Penobscot land.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/racial_justice/1051/thumbnail.jp

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Unearthed: Storied Artifacts and Remarkable Predecessors of the Saint Joseph’s College Campus by Steven L. Bridge; Creating Acadia National Park: The Biography of George Bucknam Dorr by Ronald H. Epp; The Human Shore: Seacoasts in Historyby John R. Gillis; Orion on the Dunes: A Biography of Henry Beston by Daniel G. Payne

The hustle is real:An examination of the self-related consequences of consuming idealized self-promotional content on LinkedIn

Purpose: Everyday users of professional networks such as LinkedIn are flooded by posts presenting the achievements of their connections (e.g. I got a new job/award). The present research takes a self-discrepancy perspective to examine the mixed-emotional and behavioral consequences of viewing such idealized self-promotional content on professional networks. Design/methodology/approach: The emotional and behavioral consequences following viewership of idealized self-promotional content on LinkedIn are explored through one pilot study (N = 109) and one online experiment (N = 714), which is evaluated using structural equation modeling. Findings: Viewership of idealized self-promotional content on professional social networking sites acts as an emotional double-edged sword for LinkedIn users. Users feel both dejection and symhedonia (i.e. happiness for others), dependent on their reported career-based self-discrepancy. We find the experience of symhedonia to be bound by the relational closeness of the poster (acquaintance vs close friend). Furthermore, we show how resultant emotions drive self-regulatory compensatory IT-use behaviors (i.e. direct resolution, fluid compensation, dissociation, and escapism). Originality/value: We offer four distinct contributions. Firstly, we disentangle inconsistent findings of mixed emotions by introducing symhedonia to IT literature. Secondly, we investigate the boundary condition of relational closeness. Thirdly, we extend our findings by investigating compensatory-consumption behaviors that stem from mixed-affective outcomes. Finally, we do so in the context of professional networks, which are greatly understudied and are distinctive from personal networks. Practical implications are discussed.</p

CEA systems: the means to achieve future food security and environmental sustainability?

As demand for food production continues to rise, it is clear that in order to meet the challenges of the future in terms of food security and environmental sustainability, radical changes are required throughout all levels of the global food system. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) (a.k.a. indoor farming) has an advantage over conventional farming methods in that production processes can be largely separated from the natural environment, thus, production is less reliant on environmental conditions, and pollution can be better restricted and controlled. While output potential of conventional farming at a global scale is predicted to suffer due to the effects of climate change, technological advancements in this time will drastically improve both the economic and environmental performance of CEA systems. This article summarizes the current understanding and gaps in knowledge surrounding the environmental sustainability of CEA systems, and assesses whether these systems may allow for intensive and fully sustainable agriculture at a global scale. The energy requirements and subsequent carbon footprint of many systems is currently the greatest environmental hurdle to overcome. The lack of economically grown staple crops which make up the majority of calories consumed by humans is also a major limiting factor in the expansion of CEA systems to reduce the environmental impacts of food production at a global scale. This review introduces the concept of Integrated System CEA (ISCEA) in which multiple CEA systems can be deployed in an integrated localized fashion to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impacts of food production. We conclude that it is feasible that with sufficient green energy, that ISCEA systems could largely negate most forms of environmental damage associated with conventional farming at a global scale (e.g., GHGs, deforestation, nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticide use, etc.). However, while there is plenty of research being carried out into improving energy efficiency, renewable energy and crop diversification in CEA systems, the circular economy approach to waste is largely ignored. We recommend that industries begin to investigate how nutrient flows and efficiencies in systems can be better managed to improve the environmental performance of CEA systems of the future

Impression formation of PhD supervisors during student-led selection:An examination of UK business schools with a focus on staff profiles

PhD students are allocated to supervisors in several ways. In Business Schools, the most dominant allocation method is student-led selection. In many cases, this requires students to approach and petition potential supervisors before having had any previous communications with them. Though, given that supervisors possess similar credentials, what evaluation process do students undertake when considering them? To date, research to understand this process is absent. Through the theoretical frame of impression management and the use of in-depth interviews (n = 19), we address this gap. Specifically, we examine how warmth and competence perceptions (i.e. The Big Two impressions) shape supervisor selection. Further, we provide understanding of the role academic staff profiles play in this process. We contribute first, a hierarchy of determinants for supervisor choice in ascending order of importance; gatekeeping attributes, competence, and warmth. Second, we provide a typology of stereotypical supervisors (The Guru, The Friend, The Machine, The Dud) based on informational cues from their profiles (i.e. high competence supervisors as colder, and high warmth staff as less competent). Third, we present a critical understanding of the opportunities and challenges of self-presentation through staff profiles. Finally, we offer specific advice for mobilising impression management tactics in these profiles to best appeal to PhD applicants