East Tennessee Spatial and Temporal Species-Specific Bat Activity Patterns

Determining the activity among species-specific bat populations within specific habitat selections can help contribute to the conservation of Appalachian bat species. This study examines the differences in species-specific bat activity patterns between three ponds of variable sizes and a southeast-facing open field with a wooded edge. Four Song Meter SM4BAT FS bioacoustics detectors were used on a 15-acre property in Fall Branch, TN, with a wildlife acoustics detector being placed at three ponds and one field. There were three stages of data collection for this study which all took place during 2023. The first stage was during the spring (March 18th – May 18th), the second stage was during the summer (June 21st – August 27th), and the third stage was during the fall (September 26th – October 26th). Acoustic recordings were analyzed through SonoBat to classify them to species level using a recording call quality threshold of ≥ 95%. An identification likelihood of ≥ 90% yielded 36,308 calls assigned to a particular species/genus. The acoustic detectors detected eight bat species and the Myotis genus throughout the study. Species identified include Rafinesque\u27s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), tricolored bat (Pipistrellus subflavus), Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), and species within the Myotis genus. Two chi-square analyses were performed through R to determine if there were significant spatial and temporal species-specific activity patterns between the four sites. Both chi-square analyses resulted in a p-value \u3c 2.2e-16 indicating significant differences in species-specific activity levels between the four sites throughout spring, summer, and fall. This data can help species-specific conservation efforts by understanding bat species’ activity levels at particular habitat selections throughout the fall, summer, and spring seasons

Public Support for Social Welfare Policies: A Cross-National Examination

What explains public support for social welfare policies? The extant literature on this topic suggests that people’s attitudes are mainly a reflection of their political ideology and economic self-interest. However, this explanation fails to recognize the role that the public sector plays in influencing individuals’ social welfare policy preferences. The literature, with few exceptions, also does not thoroughly acknowledge how national context alters people’s attitudes. Data from 23 national samples in Europe, North America, Eastern Asia, and Oceania taken from the 2006 ISSP are examined using multilevel regression. The dependent variable is a measure of individual’s views of governmental responsibility, reflecting eight different types of social welfare policies. The analysis reveals that public attitudes about social welfare policies vary both within countries and between countries. Variation within countries is a function of socio-demographic attributes, socio-psychological attitudes, and views toward the public sector. Across-country variation is largely a function of the quality of government institutions, income inequality, and, to a lesser extent, economic conditions. These results suggest that how people come to judge public sector actors, as well as the quality of the work they perform, directly influences their level of support for social welfare policies. Similarly, the findings also imply that levels of government effectiveness measured at the country-level matter, as well

Sustained Vigilance, Errors, and Job Satisfaction in a Population of Critical Care and Emergency Department Nurses

Despite the continuing efforts of health care organizations to provide a culture of safety, an unacceptable number of medication incidents and hospital errors continue to occur. This study focuses on these events as they relate to job satisfaction in the context of sustained vigilance required of acute care nurses. A constellation of variables contribute to errors including fatigue, stress, overload, protocol satisfaction, and practice risk. The study includes an intense examination of the physiological and psychological effects of night shift work. The results reflect a correlation between fatigue and errors with a less robust, though still statistically significant, association with job satisfaction and control of the practice environment

A Correlational Study of Hardiness, Health, and Burnout among Teachers in the Sullivan County School System

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among hardiness, health and burnout and to investigate the relationships of the subscales of hardiness to health and to the subscales of burnout among teachers in the Sullivan County School System. The Hardiness Test was used to measure hardiness and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Form Ed to measure burnout. Results of the Health Evaluation and Risk Test was reported on the Educators Demographic Data Survey. The study sample consisted of 501 teachers. A statistically significant relationship was revealed between hardiness and health; among the hardiness subscales, commitment accounted for the largest amount of variance in health. Multiple regression was used to analyze the relationships among the subscales of hardiness and the subscales of burnout. Of the hardiness subscales, commitment and control equally accounted for the greatest amount of variance in depersonalization and personal accomplishment. To determine the extent to which the subjects\u27 demographic variables were related to any study variables, correlation coefficients were computed between demographic variables and each of the study variables. While age, years teaching experience, and level taught were significantly related to the study variables, the extremely low correlations indicate that only 1% of the variance in these three variables were explained by the study variables, preventing meaningful interpretation. Kobasa\u27s health and hardiness theory is supported by the results of this study. These results also support previous research findings which suggest that hardiness buffers against burnout

Hammers and Strings

This thesis is a novel that explores the estranged relationship between a father and son. The protagonist, Benny Headley, has followed his musical dreams to Nashville, but after ten years has returned home to the small town of Morristown, Tennessee to care for his ailing father, Ben Headley, who is in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s. The style is simple and straightforward and does not call attention to itself so that characterization is better served. The plot is chronological with flashbacks incorporated to reveal important information. I will continue to revise this manuscript towards the goal of publication

The Society of the Selfie

This book explores how the Internet is connected to the global crisis of liberal democracy. Today, self-promotion is at the heart of many human relationships. The selfie is not just a social media gesture people love to hate. It is also a symbol of social reality in the age of the Internet. Through social media people have new ways of rating and judging themselves and one another, via metrics such as likes, shares, followers and friends. There are new thirsts for authenticity, outlets for verbal aggression, and social problems. Social media culture and neoliberalism dovetail and amplify one another, feeding social estrangement. With neoliberalism, psychosocial wounds are agitated and authoritarianism is provoked. Yet this new sociality also inspires resistance and political mobilisation. Illustrating ideas and trends with examples from news and popular culture, the book outlines and applies theories from Debord, Foucault, Fromm, Goffman, and Giddens, among others. Topics covered include the global history of communication technologies, personal branding, echo chamber effects, alienation and fear of abnormality. Information technologies provide channels for public engagement where extreme ideas reach farther and faster than ever before, and political differences are widened and inflamed. They also provide new opportunities for protest and resistance

Citizens’ Perceptions of Government Policy Success: A Cross-National Study

What explains citizens’ perceptions of government policy success? To answer this question, we use multilevel modelling strategies to examine data gathered across 21 national samples from the 2006 International Social Survey Programme’s (ISSP) Role of Government IV module. Our dependent variable is an index of perceived governmental policy success in six areas. Our analysis reveals that citizens’ evaluations of the success of public policies vary within countries as well as between countries. Our multilevel models indicate that variation in perceptions within countries is largely a function of individual sociodemographic attributes and political attitudes. In contrast, across country variation in perceptions is mainly a function of the quality of public institutions within a country and, to a lesser extent, prevailing economic conditions. These results suggest that citizens’ perceptions of government are not merely influenced by objective outcomes of public policy, they are also influenced by the degree of procedural fairness, professionalism, and integrity within public institutions

The Society of the Selfie

This book explores how the Internet is connected to the global crisis of liberal democracy. Today, self-promotion is at the heart of many human relationships. The selfie is not just a social media gesture people love to hate. It is also a symbol of social reality in the age of the Internet. Through social media people have new ways of rating and judging themselves and one another, via metrics such as likes, shares, followers and friends. There are new thirsts for authenticity, outlets for verbal aggression, and social problems. Social media culture and neoliberalism dovetail and amplify one another, feeding social estrangement. With neoliberalism, psychosocial wounds are agitated and authoritarianism is provoked. Yet this new sociality also inspires resistance and political mobilisation. Illustrating ideas and trends with examples from news and popular culture, the book outlines and applies theories from Debord, Foucault, Fromm, Goffman, and Giddens, among others. Topics covered include the global history of communication technologies, personal branding, echo chamber effects, alienation and fear of abnormality. Information technologies provide channels for public engagement where extreme ideas reach farther and faster than ever before, and political differences are widened and inflamed. They also provide new opportunities for protest and resistance