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While starting a career may be challenging in any field, in computing the process tends to be aggravated by requirements of digital portfolios and technical interviews that necessitate coding extemporaneously. During the programming components, candidates are expected to offer a solution, while also giving consideration to the choice of algorithm and its time complexity. Although intended to assess the competency of the job applicants, the process is often more akin to a professional examination. Applicants are encouraged to prepare months, or even years before they begin looking for a position, an expectation that neglects to consider the obligations and responsibilities students already have. Moreover, this presumption can result in an unequal divide between those who have the time to commit, and those who are unable to do so. To examine students’ preparation for technical interviews and their own cultural experiences, we administered a survey at three metropolitan universities in Florida. Specifically, we utilized social cognitive career theory to examine: 1) Students' preparation practices for technical interviews; 2) The impact of cultural experiences on preparation time; and 3) The relationship between preparation and job attainment. To address these topics, we used descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. We also applied the community cultural wealth model to interpret our results. We observed that, in our sample, White students began preparing earlier for technical interviews, spent more time preparing, and received more job offers than non-White students. Females also spent more hours preparing on average, and received more job offers than students that did not identify as female. However, female, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latinx students were more likely to have cultural experiences that would impact their availability to prepare, including non-computing related jobs, caring for a family member, or ongoing health issues. While we do consider the support mechanisms students may leverage to overcome obstacles, in general, these results emphasize the larger issues in existing hiring structures, and demonstrate the importance of not treating students as a monolith. The findings from this work are intended to inform educators about how to better prepare students to succeed on technical interviews, and to encourage industry to reform the process to make it more equitable. 

There is a substantial shortage of students pursuing graduate degrees in computing fields in the United States [1], and when examining participation rates of minoritized populations the disparity is even greater [2]. In order to attract more domestic students to graduate schools in computing it is important to understand what factors encourage or discourage them from participation. Literature suggests that students’ family, friends, school, and society play an important role in students' educational paths, and their own self-perceptions. Using social impact theory as the guiding lens, we explore support from family and friends, as well as social and program-related experiences, in this study to assess their impact on undergraduate students' reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree. The research questions guiding this study are 1) Which social and programmatic experiences have the greatest impact on students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in computing?; and 2) How does a student’s gender/racial/ethnic background and their participation in social and programmatic experiences impact students’ interest in pursuing graduate degrees? We answered these research questions using data from a survey conducted at three large public universities in Florida which targeted students in computing fields (n=740). Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as logistic regression. The findings revealed that “presenting work to other students,” and “research experience” are two experiences which lead to an increase of students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. This study also revealed the importance of having same gender friends and reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. These findings provide insight into which experiences may impact domestic students' interest in pursuing graduate programs in computing fields. The results of this study are beneficial for universities to consider for encouraging more students to pursue a future in academia or in the workforce after obtaining a graduate degree. 

Sand patches are one of the precursors to early stage protodunes and occur widely in both desert and coastal aeolian environments. Here we show field evidence of a mechanism to explain the initiation of sand patches on non‐erodible surfaces, such as desert gravels and moist beaches. Changes in sand transport dynamics, directly associated with the height of the saltation layer and variable transport law, observed at the boundary between non‐erodible and erodible surfaces lead to sand deposition on the erodible surface. This explains how sand patches can form on surfaces with limited sand availability where linear stability of dune theory does not apply. This new mechanism is supported by field observations that evidence both the change in transport rate over different surfaces and in situ patch formation that leads to modification of transport dynamics at the surface boundary.

 

Despite the projected growth of computer and information technology occupations, many computing students fail to graduate. Studying students’ self-beliefs is one way to understand persistence in a school setting. This paper explores how students' disciplinary identity subconstructs including competence/performance, recognition, interest, and sense of belonging contribute to academic persistence. A survey of 1,640 students as part of an NSF grant was conducted at three South Florida metropolitan public universities. A quantitative analysis was performed which included a structural equation model (SEM) and a multigroup SEM. The study examined different groups of students such as male versus female, and freshman versus senior students. Results suggest identity sub-constructs contribute differently to academic persistence among freshman and senior students; however, no significant differences were found between male and female students. The findings, such as the significance of particular aspects of computing identity on academic persistence, can have implications for educators and college administration. 

As technology increases in the global arena and the necessity for a more diverse group of individuals to fulfill engineering and computing roles increases, it is important to engage more students in computing majors and roles. Identity has proven to be an important lens through which researchers can better understand how to engage students in these fields. In particular, our framing for computing identity includes students’ self-perceptions about recognition, interest, and performance/competence. Using survey data, this study examines the computing identity of high achieving underserved students in computer science (CS), computer engineering (CE), and information technology (IT). For these students, we compare the constructs between men and women, computing fields, and freshmen and juniors/seniors. Based on preliminary data, results show that female participants had less of a computing identity than male students, specifically with respect to computing recognition and overall computing identity. Students in IT programs had less of an overall computing identity than students in CS and CE. Finally, freshmen were lower on their overall computing identities and specifically performance/competence beliefs and interest. These results suggest that even within computing programs, students differ in their computing identities. Furthermore, there are different constructs related to computing identity that vary for different subgroups of students. While these results are insightful, future work will compare the computing identities of high achieving underserved students with a larger population of computing students as well as strategies for building their computing identities. 

As technology increases in the global arena and the necessity for a more diverse group of individuals to fulfill engineering and computing roles increases, it is important to engage more students in computing majors and roles. Identity has proven to be an important lens through which researchers can better understand how to engage students in these fields. In particular, our framing for computing identity includes students’ self-perceptions about recognition, interest, and performance/competence. Using survey data, this study examines the computing identity of high achieving underserved students in computer science (CS), computer engineering (CE), and information technology (IT). For these students, we compare the constructs between men and women, computing fields, and freshmen and juniors/seniors. Based on preliminary data, results show that female participants had less of a computing identity than male students, specifically with respect to computing recognition and overall computing identity. Students in IT programs had less of an overall computing identity than students in CS and CE. Finally, freshmen were lower on their overall computing identities and specifically performance/competence beliefs and interest. These results suggest that even within computing programs, students differ in their computing identities. Furthermore, there are different constructs related to computing identity that vary for different subgroups of students. While these results are insightful, future work will compare the computing identities of high achieving underserved students with a larger population of computing students as well as strategies for building their computing identities. 

The three‐dimensional, crescentic morphology of a barchan dune induces secondary flows and a complex vortex structure in its wake. In scenarios where barchans are in close proximity to each other, the flow modifications introduced by the wake of the upstream barchan are important for understanding the morphodynamics of the downstream barchan. The results herein detail the flow structure in a plane normal to the mean flow (cross‐plane) through stereo particle image velocimetry measurements in a refractive‐index‐matching flow facility, utilizing solid, fixed‐bed barchan models. Spatial distributions of streamwise‐oriented swirling motions and Reynolds shear stress components reveal distinct flow regimes in the wake region of an isolated barchan: flow downstream of the horn tips and flow in the separated shear layer closer to the centerline. Streamwise rollers appear downstream of the horns, and measurements upstream demonstrate their origin on the stoss side of the dune in the form of a horseshoe vortex. Flow downstream of the separated shear layer in the wake embodies features consistent with that of hairpin vortices shed from the arched crestline of the barchan. These structures constitute the induction of secondary flows in the flow that, in the case of barchans in close proximity with a lateral offset, are preferentially amplified in accordance with local topography. Further analysis reveals the spatial scales and turbulent stresses associated with these structures, which are discussed in the context of larger fields of bedforms and the formation of protodunes.