Exploring Minority Student Perceptions of the Effects of Campus Culture on Minority Student Academic and Social Integration at a Predominately White Technical College: a Mixed Methods Case Study

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the effects of campus culture on minority students’ perceptions of their academic success at a predominately White technical college in Pennsylvania. Critical Race Theory (CRT) formed the foundation for the study and defines the researches stances. In addition, retention models as identified by the literature, specifically Kuh and Love’s (2000) cultural perspective on student departure, and studies investigating campus culture at PWIs develop the second and third prongs of the conceptual framework. The study sought to answer the central research question: How do minority students perceive the effect of campus culture on their integration to campus? Current students at the site institution participated in focus groups and responded to a qualitative open-ended questionnaire. Existing institutional campus climate quantitative data was analyzed by race to determine if there was significant difference in feeling a sense of belonging between students of different racial backgrounds. Data were analyzed and coded to inform results. The findings revealed four major themes regarding minority student perceptions of the effect of campus climate on academic and social integration: (a) Campus Climate, (b) Campus Involvement, (c) Support of Faculty and Staff, and (d) Positive Academic Experiences. The findings were situated within the literature to present three results of the study, (a) Participants perceive the campus climate to be inhospitable, (b) Participants are very engaged in the academic experiences, and (c) Participants have had positive social engagement experiences through events and organizations that have provided a niche to minority students. The desired outcome of the study was to use the findings to guide future practice in the area of increasing retention and graduation rates of minority students through creating inclusive campus environments.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201

The touring reader: understanding the bibliophile's experience of literary tourism

This research explores the literary enthusiast’s experience of planning and undertaking literary inspired trips. The research reconceptualises the dominant figure of the literary pilgrim, inspired to visit sites associated with favourite authors, by using detailed results from 30 open-ended surveys distributed to delegates at a literary conference. The findings indicate that these keen readers prefer to plan their own trips and shun organised attractions and mainstream tourist information in favour of employing the texts themselves as source material. Respondents then feed back their experiences into the re-reading of the literary text. These findings are analysed using the concept of concretisation borrowed from literary theory. This concept, which has not been used in previous tourist studies, reflects the experience of these visitors who are using travel to solidify their reading of favourite books. This research therefore highlights the interdependence of texts and travels and emphasises the important role that imagination plays in the experience and recollection of tourist trips

Whatever it takes : an exploration of writing tools and strategies for completing a novel

This thesis consists of a novel written with the express purpose of exploring what practices and strategies are most useful in writing novel-length fiction as well as an exegesis which discusses the process. By its very nature, an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing is broad and general in approach. The Creative Writing undergraduate is being trained to manage many and varying writing tasks but none of them larger than can be readily marked and assessed in class quantities. This does not prepare the writing graduate for the gargantuan task of managing a project as large as a single title novel which can be up to 100,000 words and often is more. This study explores the question of what writing tools and practices best equip an emerging writer to begin, write and manage a long narrative within a deadline

Meals in Mississippi

I grew up in a small town known as Goodman. My family has spent many years here as we own most of the land in said town. While my ancestors migrated here, our ways of cultivating have made a considerable impact on the town. I got to enjoy fresh fruit every morning and vegetables straight from the field. We have always had an abundance of food, so much that we share it with everyone. Everything from the berries and watermelon to beans and cotton. It was a large gathering place for the town as well. Even at this moment, the memories of those days in Mississippi with my grandfather and grandmother remain key moments in my life. Harvesting the garden with them and waking up early to gather and pick peas. This made me appreciate agriculture more. My family had a big hand in the agricultural industry as they grew the majority percentage of legumes and raised the livestock to make the meals that the people of Goodman see before them. In so that our crops are so commonly found on the plates of every meal in Goodman, Mississippi