An Exploration of Online Doctoral Students and the Ways They Cultivate Connections

According to the United States Department of Education, 42.4% of postbaccalaureate students participated in online distance education during Fall of 2019. These numbers increased because of the Covid-19 pandemic of March 2020. The pandemic not only created a severe social and economic disruption, but it also disrupted all levels of education. This study examines exclusively online students enrolled with traditional face-to-face students and faculty. Understanding the impact of the pandemic, faculty and administrators can gain insights into how online learning can be adapted to meet the unique needs of advanced learners. The pandemic has forced many universities to move their programs online, which has significantly impacted doctoral students. These students have had to adapt to new modes of instruction and learning. By studying their experiences, we can better understand the challenges that were online learning presents. Students feel they developed connections in their respective degree programs, and online doctoral students feel isolated and disconnected from their instructors, course content, and classmates (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). With online learning, building, and maintaining these connections can be challenging; this study will lend insight into how doctoral students are cultivating relationships in online learning environments. In this qualitative exploratory case study, I explored the perceptions of online doctoral students and their descriptions of how they cultivated connections with their peers, instructors, and instructional content while participating in multiple online postgraduate programs. I drew data from two sources, social media platforms and focus group interviews. Participants described how they cultivated connections, including learner-to-learner, learner-to-instructor, and learner-to-content connections. The findings of purposeful attention, humanizing online learning, and cocurricular engagement showed how they each contributed to students developing relationships with their peers, instructors, and instructional content. The findings of this study have implications for practitioners, including creating engagement hubs for student gatherings, removing barriers through training and support, and developing standardized communication and support measures. Throughout this research, the importance of cultivating connections has been found significant. Establishing relationships is essential if participants were originally in fully online programs or involuntarily placed in online programs

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationGreen Stormwater Infrastructure (GSWI) has emerged as the next-generation stormwater management solution for urban areas and can provide greater flexibility in treatment options, design type, and site locations compared to traditional stormwater management alternatives. While methodologies for simulating GSWI functionality at the individual site level are well established, the complexity of representing GSWI collectively throughout a watershed remains problematic. One reason is the lack of literature comparing methods that represent GSWI networks within urban watershed models. This research addresses this need by evaluating GSWI up-scaling methods and the associated impacts on estimated benefits from varying spatial distribution and subcatchment aggregation. The first component of this research focuses on GSWI up-scaling methods and the impacts to the hydrologic response estimates. Comparisons are drawn from two GSWI models built to meet performance criteria metrics, such as drawdown time and runoff capture volume. One model applies a GSWI design-specific up-scaling approach, while the other model represents the GSWI network as a nonspecific collective unit. Results from an assessment of the hydrologic response output between the models show comparable estimates within 5% for peak discharge, average flow rate, and volume. Therefore, representing GSWI as nonspecific collectives can comparably estimate watershed-scale benefits to those estimated using representations with design-specific details. The second component compares various GSWI spatial distribution and aggregation modeling scenarios and identifies the impacts of each on hydrologic response estimates. Spatial targeting of GSWI is compared to output from uniformly distributed GSWI in all subcatchments. Statistical assessments using t-test methods indicate that spatial targeting does not significantly impact estimates for volume, peak flow rate, or average flow rate estimates. Increasingly aggregated GSWI subcatchments had varied hydrologic response estimates of volume, peak flow rate, and average flow rate for urban areas, though not varied enough to be statistically significant for the Philadelphia model until the subcatchments were aggregated to a single subcatchment. However, the impact at the event level was obvious for peak discharge. Thus, for watershed areas with smaller subcatchment sizes, the greatest impact is to the peak flow rates. For SLC model scenarios, aggregating GSWI subcatchments significantly influenced all flow

A Program to Improve the Quality of Life of Caregivers of Older Adults with Chronic Conditions: A Pilot Study

Background: Among the nearly 41.8 million family caregivers of older adults 50 years of age and older in the United States, only 30% of caregivers report receiving the education, resources, and support they need to feel competent in their role. Many existing programs focus on dementia-related caregiving, and programs are needed to address the caregiving needs of individuals with chronic conditions. Method: A pilot study using a mixed methods design was conducted with eight participants. The pre and post. measure, Adult Carer Quality of Life (AC-QoL), and post program individual interviews were conducted. Results: Six of the eight AC-QoL subscales showed improvement in quality of life and two showed decreases. The effect size was 0.63 for the total AC-QoL score, requiring 25–30 participants to achieve a power of 0.80 in a larger study. Interview data indicated the program provided an outside perspective of caregiver needs, provided information, resources and a support system, reduced their stress, and improved self-efficacy. Conclusion: Further study of programs for caregivers of older adults with chronic conditions are important to fully address the needs of 35 million unpaid caregivers. Occupational therapists are ideally situated for leading the development of such programs given their unique practice focus and expertise

Turning to art as a positive way of living with cancer: A qualitative study of personal motives and contextual influences

Why do some women turn to creative art-making after a diagnosis of cancer? Eleven women provided qualitative accounts that were analyzed following guidelines for interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Some described taking up artistic leisure activities initially in order to manage emotional distress. Others emphasized their need for positive well-being, taking up art to experience achievement and satisfaction, to regain a positive identity, and to normalize family dynamics in the context of living with cancer. Participants’ turn to art-making was facilitated by biographical and contextual factors, including pre-existing craft skills, long-standing personal values and coping philosophies, family role models for managing adversity, and the supportive encouragement of family and friends. Other research has acknowledged that positive lifestyle change and post-traumatic growth can occur after a cancer diagnosis, and this study reveals a multi-faceted process. The findings suggest a need for further research into the experiences that facilitate positive lifestyle change and subjective well-being among people who are living with cancer

What systems are essential to achieving the sustainable development goals and what will it take to marshal them?

The sustainable development goal (SDG) for health is linked to 67 indicators, eight times more than their predecessor, the Millenium Development Goals. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the information infrastructure is not yet able to collect and use the data needed for the indicators. As they seek to be responsive to the SDG agenda, LMICs must not lose sight of their local data needs; they should be cautious about embracing untested electronic technologies for data collection, analysis, and use; carefully balance the care provision and data collection responsibilities of care providers; and use evidence of what works in strengthening their health information systems (HIS). While attending to these concerns, countries can look for instances in which SDG indicators are in sync with their own HIS goals

“It gave me something big in my life to wonder and think about which took over the space … and not MS”: Managing well-being in multiple sclerosis through art-making

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2014 Informa UK Ltd.Background and aim: Individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often face progressive loss of function, uncertainty and disruption to self-image and valued roles. Previous studies show that creative self-expression is valued by some people living with long-term illness, yet its meaning for people living with MS is unclear. This research study explored the meanings of leisure-based visual art-making for people living with MS. Method: This qualitative study followed guidelines for Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Single semi-structured interviews were conducted with five adults (2 males; 3 females; 40–65 years), recruited from MS Ireland. Findings: Participants valued art-making for contributing to a more satisfying way of life; for filling occupational voids and using time well. Deep immersion offered respite from worry about illness. Creative classes offered social camaraderie and opportunities for learning and development. Art-making processes and products were highly affirmative, increasing emotional well-being and promoting self-worth. Most felt that they expressed valued aspects of self through their art. Art-making appeared to assist with identity maintenance, accommodating functional losses associated with MS whilst opening “new doors”. Conclusion: Art-making offered a multi-faceted means of supporting identity and increasing fulfilment in lives that were restricted in many ways by MS

Art+Politics

For the exhibition Art + Politics, students worked closely with the holdings of Gettysburg College\u27s Special Collections and College Archives to curate an exhibition in Schmucker Art Gallery that engages with issues of public policy, activism, war, propaganda, and other critical socio-political themes. Each of the students worked diligently to contextualize the objects historically, politically, and art-historically. The art and artifacts presented in this exhibition reveal how various political events and social issues have been interpreted through various visual and printed materials, including posters, pins, illustrations, song sheets, as well as a Chinese shoe for bound feet. The students\u27 essays that follow demonstrate careful research and thoughtful reflection on the American Civil War, nineteenth-century politics, the First and Second World Wars, World\u27s Fairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower\u27s campaign, Vietnam-War era protests, and the Cultural Revolution in China. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1009/thumbnail.jp

Glacial lakes of the Central and Patagonian Andes

The prevalence and increased frequency of high-magnitude Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Chilean and Argentinean Andes suggests this region will be prone to similar events in the future as glaciers continue to retreat and thin under a warming climate. Despite this situation, monitoring of glacial lake development in this region has been limited, with past investigations only covering relatively small regions of Patagonia. This study presents new glacial lake inventories for 1986, 2000 and 2016, covering the Central Andes, Northern Patagonia and Southern Patagonia. Our aim was to characterise the physical attributes, spatial distribution and temporal development of glacial lakes in these three sub-regions using Landsat satellite imagery and image datasets available in Google Earth and Bing Maps. Glacial lake water volume was also estimated using an empirical area-volume scaling approach. Results reveal that glacial lakes across the study area have increased in number (43%) and areal extent (7%) between 1986 and 2016. Such changes equate to a glacial lake water volume increase of 65?km3 during the 30-year observation period. However, glacial lake growth and emergence was shown to vary sub-regionally according to localised topography, meteorology, climate change, rate of glacier change and the availability of low gradient ice areas. These and other factors are likely to influence the occurrence of GLOFs in the future. This analysis represents the first large-scale census of glacial lakes in Chile and Argentina and will allow for a better understanding of lake development in this region, as well as, providing a basis for future GLOF risk assessments.authorsversionPeer reviewe

Client Factors That Predict the Therapeutic Alliance in a Chronic, Complex Trauma Sample

This investigation aimed to examine how specific client characteristics of individuals with chronic, complex trauma are associated with the type coping strategies they employ and the quality of the therapeutic alliance. Fifty-nine adult participants with diagnostic levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and who attended therapy for complex trauma in Northern Ireland were obtained via opportunity sampling. Participants completed self-report measures of client attachment style, alexithymia, coping strategies, and the therapeutic alliance. Preoccupied attachment factors such as “Need for Approval” and “Preoccupation with Relationships” were related to use of maladaptive coping strategies. In contrast, the adaptive coping strategies of “Acceptance” and “Instrumental Support” were significant predictors of a positive therapeutic alliance, whereas established psychological and traumatogenic factors (e.g., attachment, number of traumatic events) did not significantly predict the therapeutic alliance. The findings have implications for understanding the relationship between client characteristics and the therapeutic alliance within complex trauma populations, as well as developing protocols to assist this process

The 2015 Chileno Valley glacial lake outburst flood, Patagonia

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) have become increasingly common over the past century in response to climate change, posing risks for human activities in many mountain regions. In this paper we document and reconstruct the sequence of events and impact of a large GLOF that took place in December 2015 in the Chileno Valley, Patagonia. Hydrograph data suggests that the flood continued for around eight days with an estimated total discharge of 105.6 × 106 m3 of water. The sequence of events was as follows: (1) A large debris flow entered the lake from two steep and largely non-vegetated mountain gullies located northeast of the Chileno Glacier terminus. (2) Water displaced in the lake by the debris flow increased the discharge through the Chileno Lake outflow. (3) Lake and moraine sediments were eroded by the flood. (4) Eroded sediments were redistributed downstream by the GLOF. The post-GLOF channel at the lake outlet widened in some places by >130 m and the surface elevation of the terrain lowered by a maximum of 38.8 ± 1.5 m. Farther downstream, large amounts of entrained sediment were deposited at the head of an alluvial plain and these sediments produced an ~340 m wide fan with an average increase in surface elevation over the pre-GLOF surface of 4.6 ± 1.5 m. We estimate that around 3.5 million m3 of material was eroded from the flood-affected area whilst over 0.5 million m3 of material was deposited in the downstream GLOF fan. The large debris flow that triggered the GLOF was probably a paraglacial response to glacier recession from its Little Ice Age limits. We suggest that GLOFs will continue to occur in these settings in the future as glaciers further recede in response to global warming and produce potentially unstable lakes. Detailed studies of GLOF events are currently limited in Patagonia and the information presented here will therefore help to inform future glacial hazard assessments in this region