ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst

Recent Submissions

  • Publication
    Understanding the College Experience of Students with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
    (2024-05) Andrews, Molly Kiley
    Studies have shown undergraduate students with a functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), functional dysplasia (FD), or other related functional gastrointestinal disorders have a greater level of perceived stress and a greater difficulty during the transition to college than their healthy peers. There is limited research on how undergraduate students with FGIDs conceptualize their disease, cope mentally and physically, and manage symptoms during the college experience. Because diet is essential in FGID symptom management, the current study aims to understand how on-campus dining options impact the mental and physical health of students with FGIDs and how social, emotional, and personal environments impact their disease management. For many first and multi-year undergraduates, attending post-secondary education includes a dining plan managed and provided by the college or university. Understanding how the foods and resources provided are inclusive to those with FGIDs could help explore the importance of proper nutritional options and emotional support networks to provide insight into the lived experience of undergraduates with FGIDs. This study utilized qualitative in-depth semistructured interviews to better understand how functional gastrointestinal disorders shape the college social, personal, and nutritional experience and to understand how on-campus dining services impact symptom and disease management. The results may be valuable for campus administrators, health and dining service professionals, and others who make decisions about campus resources and wellbeing.
  • Publication
    Ornitherapy as Stealth Health: Supporting Student Well-Being One Bird at a Time
    (2024-05) Dresser, Mikayla Marlee
    This thesis addresses the substantial mental health crisis that college students have been facing by employing a “stealth health” perspective. “Stealth health” refers to an activity that fosters mental or physical wellness without the direct intention of deliberately improving the individual’s health. While prior research has been published on the potential of using birding as a non-pharmaceutical treatment for mental health, this innovative research specifically delves into the unique impacts of birding on college student's mental health. This study employed a focus group methodology to engage with self-identified student birders, which allowed for direct feedback from the target population. Participants who reported going birding at least once every two weeks described how going birding has impacted their lives mentally, physically, socially, and academically. Participants comprised both undergraduate and graduate students. This study highlights the versatility of birding as a tool for social well-being, mental health, and physical health. A significant emphasis is placed on the meditative impact that birding has on individuals. The findings of this research may be valuable to student affairs practitioners concerned with enhancing students' well-being and campus planning professionals responsible for shaping campus environments. These insights will support the enhancement of student success and encourage a focus on bird habitat and environmental conservation.
  • Publication
    Bits and Bytes of Well-Being: Decoding Mental Health for College Students in Computer Science
    (2024-05) Jin, Chang
    Research over the last decade has shown a sharp increase in mental health issues amongst university students, and several studies corroborate a common perception that these issues are more prevalent, or are experienced more intensely, amongst computer science students. Common explanations for this rise include rigorous academic expectations, intense competition, the isolated nature of programming tasks, the rapidly changing industry, and particular physical health challenges. While prior research has considered and analyzed the mental health issues of student subgroups such as STEM fields and health sciences, no study has yet examined the prevalence and impact of the five possible stressors listed above for computer science students. This study addresses this gap by surveying undergraduate computer science students at a large research university to examine the commonality and frequency of stressors for computer science students. The survey will consist of a variety of questions, including multiple-choice, Likert scale rankings, and short responses. The findings of this study can be used to raise awareness about the sources of mental health issues in the computer science student community and inform discussions about possible interventions. Findings may also be valuable to university staff and administration to create programming and policies that support student well-being.
  • Publication
    Recognition in Personal Data: Data Warping, Recognition Concessions, and Social Justics
    (2024) Stelmaszak, Marta; Wagner, Erica; DuPont, Nicolle Nixon
    Data-related harm and injustice are commonly viewed through instrumental, procedural, distributional, or representational theories of social justice. These theories do not account for the social injustice that occurs through the lack of recognition of individuals when data are first conceptualized. We explore the recognition of individuals in data conceptualization by drawing from information systems (IS) literature on data artifacts that acknowledges the fact that data are comprised of semantics and formats. Guided by recognition theory, we studied a project to expand sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection at a public, U.S.-based LGBTQ+ welcoming university. We found that while the actors involved worked towards recognizing in SOGI data the fact that identities are layered, non-binary, plural, and fluid, the data themselves still misrecognized individuals due to data warping. We argue that data warping occurs because of recognition concessions between social recognition through data semantics and systems recognition through data formats. Such concessions are both necessary for some recognition but accessory to misrecognition. Our findings have implications for recognition theory, data justice, and information systems research, as well as for personal data in practice.

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