Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Smart Nation Singapore As An International Model For Ai Responsibility, Philip L. Frana

International Journal on Responsibility

While AI and other smart technologies greatly contribute to material aspects of well-being, there are concerns that they threaten quality of life in Singapore. Smart technologies and digital governance have freed up labor for activities where human empathy and understanding are unique and indispensable, but also threaten to undermine human dignity and accountability. This paper undertakes a comprehensive assessment of Singapore as an international model for AI responsibility from the perspective of the history and philosophy of technological governance. It examines the evolution of regulatory frameworks, ethical considerations, and key legal documents and social initiatives shaping the nation’s approach to …

Artificial Intelligence Chatbot As A Mathematics Curriculum Developer: Discovering Preservice Teachers’ Overconfidence In Chatgpt, Amanda G. Sawyer

International Journal on Responsibility

Instructors in many colleges and universities are responsible for supporting their preservice teachers’ understanding of mathematics curriculum to best serve elementary students’ needs. As such, preservice teachers are taught how to critically analyze curriculum materials. However, with the advent of technologies like ChatGPT, preservice teachers are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) tools in new ways to collate and construct mathematical curricula. As of now, little is known about how to adapt these new resources for the classroom. ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, can create a mathematics curriculum based on user questions, which teachers can then adapt to their classrooms. Although this AI …

Differences In Immigrant And U.S. Native Born Patients’ Experiences In The American Healthcare System: A Correlational Study, Betaneya W. Daniel

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Objective: To examine any perceived barriers that might exist in the United States healthcare system and gather data on how different patients experience the system.

Methods: The study utilized a correlational analysis with usage of a Likert scale survey administered to U.S.- born natives, immigrants, and healthcare providers. The survey assessed respondents of their access to healthcare services, barriers to healthcare services, healthcare provider trust/relationships, and health institutions’ relations. Another survey assessed healthcare providers’ belief in the efficacy of their services and health institutions’.

Results: No statistically significant differences were found between U.S. natives and immigrants, but notable distinctions were …

Health Equity: Communicating Impaired Water Status, Emily Potter

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Introduction: Land use changes in the Rivanna River and James River Watersheds have increased the number of impaired recreational waters, and there is a disparity in the equitable communication of these impairments to different populations. Ineffective communication contributes to inequities in access to safe, accessible, and affordable water for vulnerable populations, placing public health at risk.

Methods: This study uses secondary data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Index Online (WSIO) Indicator Data Tables, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Rivanna River Association, and James River Association. Correlations, linear regression, and percent change were used to identify statistically significant trends …

Addressing Farm Safety: Farm Safety Dinner Theaters In The Shenandoah Valley, Tammy Kiser, Michelle Seekford, Jeremy Daubert

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Statistics demonstrate that farm safety and wellness issues affect all ages in the agricultural community. However, an increased proportion of youth and older farm workers comprise the highest rates of farm-related morbidity and mortality. Engaging farmers in increasing safe practices in the agricultural community is an important, ongoing challenge.

Methodology

Farm Safety Dinner Theaters, an initiative created through community-based participatory research (CBPR) at the University of Kentucky, provide a relaxed environment where farmers and their families can identify safety and wellness issues, watch as the actors process these issues, and enjoy a meal. Seeing the situations played out in theater …

Enhancing Community Engagement: Perspectives From Researchers, Community Members, And Service Providers, Anne-Marie O'Brien, Elyssa Wood

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Purpose: Compare and contrast perspectives from Research Team Members (RT), Community Members (CM) and Service Providers/Others (SP/O) about barriers and facilitators to community engagement and participation in health research.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey study with a convenience sample of adults who lived and/or worked in the Commonwealth of Virginia was conducted between May and July 2022. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were conducted to identify similarities and differences across the three stakeholder groups.

Results: A total of 303 participants were involved in this study. In general RTs, CMs and SP/Os were similar in their responses to perceived barriers and …

Mentorship Matters: Promising Results From Vpha’S Pilot Mentorship Program, Ashley Tharpe, Stacey B. Plichta, Anna R. Robertson, Kim Baskette

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Purpose

The Virginia Public Health Association (VPHA) Pilot Mentorship Program seeks to support public health students, early career professionals, and career switchers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia in their growth as public health professionals. The program provides opportunities for participants to gain job-seeking and professional communication skills through live webinars, to connect with each other through online networking events, to manage stress through wellness webinars, and to interact with experienced public health professionals.

Methods

VPHA formed a volunteer committee to develop and implement the program in Fall 2022. Initially, the program was envisioned as a traditional one-to-one mentoring program; however, …

Describing Trends In Virginia's Dentist And Dental Hygienist Workforce: Challenges And Opportunities, Shillpa Naavaal, Yetty Shobo, Barbara Hodgdon

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Purpose: Regular assessment of the dental workforce is essential to improve the population's oral health. This analysis aimed to understand the trends in the distribution of dentists and dental hygienists (DHs) in Virginia.

Methods: Annual survey data (2013-2022) of dentists and DHs from the Virginia Department of Health Professions Healthcare Workforce Data Center was used to examine the trends in provider distribution by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and geography across Virginia.

Results: In 2022, there were 5,720 dentists and 5,290 DH licensees in Virginia. In the dentist workforce, there was a high representation of those aged ≥60 years (23%), males (58%), …

Virginia Journal Of Public Health Spring 2024

Virginia Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

[Re]Thinking Digital Infrastructure: Centering Humans In Integrated Systems Work, Mark Lane, Bodeene Amyot Cairdeas, Rebecca B. French, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

In this talk, librarians and archivists from an academic library will discuss establishing and cultivating a Digital Infrastructure Working Group (DIWG). The DIWG was born out of a need to create interoperability between metadata, preservation, discovery, and access systems for archival materials, and demanded a radical rethinking of prior organizational approaches to digital asset curation, including leveraging available APIs and vendor contracted system development. Learn how team members approached technological work by centering each other’s well-being and intentionally making visible the often-invisible human labor invested in developing and maintaining digital infrastructure. We will share how the DIWG challenged organizational silos, …

"Money That Flows In The Shadows": Citizens United, Dark Money, And The Need For Rhetorical Competence, Kristy Kocot

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The 2010 United States Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC, has the potential to present a significant threat to American democracy. The landmark decision removed limits on corporate contributions, allowing disproportionate dark money influence from corporations in American political campaigns. This paper explores the ethical dilemmas of the Citizens United decision, drawing from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, legal documents, and advocacy organizations to highlight the negative impact that dark money has on American politics. Citizens United and its aftermath demonstrate the necessity for rhetorical competence in a democracy with broad protections for individual and corporate speech. The paper argues …

Considering The “Special Considerations”: The Treatment Of Female Inmates In The People’S Republic Of China Since 1994, Niklas Berry

Madison Historical Review

The purpose of this paper is to historicize contemporary gendered legal practices in the People’s Republic of China and to demonstrate that, despite rhetoric to the contrary, paternalistic assumptions rooted in Confucianism still inform the treatment of female prisoners today. Though China underwent massive political and economic shifts after the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, certain longstanding societal principles were preserved in modern China, including long-held paternalistic stereotypes about the physical and mental fragility of women. These precepts undergirded the PRC’s reforms of its judicial and criminal systems …

Is Humanitarian Aid Neutral? The American Ambulance Field Service And The American Red Cross, Laura Neis

Madison Historical Review

The United States did not outwardly join WWI until April of 1917. However, in the nearly three years in which the U.S. was neutral, they provided medical support to the suffering. This act has been dismissed as humanitarian charity work, and therefore not breaking with neutrality agreements, but it was actually a hotly contested act of foreign policy, and different propaganda campaigns were used to change the minds of American citizens.

Two different groups of medical volunteers show how humanitarian aid shapes perspectives on war. The American Ambulance Field Service drove ambulances for the French army on the front line, …

Competency To Stand Trial Evaluations: Using Vignettes With Patients Who Lack Insight, Katelyn Fuller

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

In the United States, an attorney may request a competency to stand trial evaluation if they are concerned that their client is not mentally fit to adequately participate in their case and defense. Patients found incompetent must undergo treatment for restoration of competency, regardless of their willingness. Clinicians and psychiatrists may use vignettes, or hypothetical scenarios, to help restore competency if the patient lacks insight into their mental illness. While vignettes have been well documented in studying attitudes and awareness, decision making, and identifying mental illness, there is little to no research into their use in psychiatric hospitals due to …

April 4, 2024, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

To Walk The Earth In Safety 23rd Edition (Fy2023), Cisr Jmu

Global CWD Repository

In this year’s edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety, we highlight the many ways that U.S. conventional weapons destruction assistance promotes post-conflict recovery. For example, our humanitarian demining funding enhances food security by helping to revitalize agricultural fields in countries like Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This funding is especially critical in Sri Lanka where more than 6 million people—nearly 30 percent of the population—are currently food-insecure. In Vietnam, our commitment to promoting agricultural security is a key component to successful post-conflict recovery, even decades after war ended.

The United States is the world’s top supporter of conventional …

Surveying Eighty-Year-Old Battlefields In Solomon Islands, Simon Conway

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Surveying battlefield sites and abandoned ammunition depots eighty years after a conflict presents a challenge. There are few living witnesses, and the land has often changed beyond recognition. In Solomon Islands, the situation is exacerbated by a combination of familiarity and lack of information. Civilians have grown accustomed to the presence of ordnance and concluded that the problem is intractable. At the same time, it is not known how many people have died or been injured because of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned (AXO) ordnance. Nor is it known where the accidents occurred or what the victims were doing at …

Social Barriers And Cyclical Health Inequity: Addressing Disparities In Health, Kaitlyn Gentille

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This mixed methods study examined the lived experiences of participants negatively impacted by the social determinants of health (i.e., physical environment, economic stability, education), and the repercussions regarding their ability to access quality healthcare. Three themes emerged: evidence of social determinants, barriers to healthcare, and the influence of health insurance. These three themes illustrate the interrelated nature of the social determinants of health and the cyclical entrapment of social injustice and health inequity. To address the realities of the impacts of inequitable healthcare on vulnerable populations, interventions must be initiated to enact tangible, positive change for vulnerable populations.

Fostering Belonging In The Workplace: What Does Commitment Look Like At Interpersonal, Team, And Organizational Levels?, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Researchers describe belonging as “an essential human need” that supports people’s abilities to share, create meaning, participate, and learn with others at work (Filstad et al., 2019, p117). Sense of belonging varies by culture (Cortina et al., 2017) and belonging-related stressors have been shown to be more intense for those who identify with outgroups (Walton & Brady, 2017). Given this context and the impossibility of directly creating belonging, how can people at all levels support an inclusive commitment to fostering belonging as an organizational value? This presentation will define belonging, outline relevant actions and behaviors, and illuminate potential pitfalls.

Working To Prevent And Reduce The Impact Of Armed Violence In Coastal West Africa, Clément Meynier

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In recent years, West Africa has experienced an alarming escalation in violence, leading to dramatic cost to human life and political instability in the region. The Sahelian states, encompassing Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have seen a surge in deaths and injuries due to armed conflicts and violence, with a majority of violent events happening within fifty kilometers of their shared borders.[1] Conflicts and unrest have caused widespread displacement, with millions fleeing their homes. As part of his New Agenda for Peace, in July 2023, the United Nations Secretary-General highlighted how the proliferation, diversion, and misuse of small arms …

Emergency Explosive Ordnance Risk Education: Lessons Learned From Ukraine, Nick Vovk

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Following the Russian Federation military offensive launched on 24 February 2022, the context and extent of Ukraine’s explosive ordnance (EO) contamination drastically changed, leaving mine action (MA) operators with the need to provide emergency explosive ordnance risk education (EORE). Faced with scarce up-to-date guidance and good practices on the topic, the global EORE Advisory Group (AG)[1] produced a refreshed document to support implementation. In September 2023, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) also surveyed the entire MA community in Ukraine and organized a joint lessons-learned workshop to review the past eighteen months of emergency EORE programming. The workshop addressed various …

Inclusive Data Mangement: Reporting, Storing, And Sharing Of Information On Beneficiaries In The Mine Action Sector, Maysa Hajjaj Phd, Lauren Burrows, Teia Rogers, Natalia Lozano, Phd, Sarah Kamal Elias, Samban Seng

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The mine action sector has witnessed transformative changes in data management practices, underpinned by international legal instruments such as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC),[1] the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM),[2] and Protocols II and V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).[3] Despite advancements, transitioning from operational to people-centric data practices has presented challenges, especially about gender, diversity, inclusion, and protection. This study explored current data management methodologies, emphasizing sensitive data and its interplay with gender and diverse social identities. Grounded in case studies from Cambodia, Colombia, and Iraq, the research uncovered the state …

Assessing Biological Condition Of Restored Streams In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Sub-Watershed, Julia M. Portmann, Bruce Wiggins

Department of Biology - Faculty Scholarship

Intensive agricultural practices can be detrimental to aquatic biological conditions; however, restoration such as removing livestock and creating in-stream habitat can strengthen biotic communities. Smith Creek, a sub-watershed of the Chesa- peake Bay, was designated a showcase watershed in 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the efficacy of widespread restoration. Our study sought to follow up on these efforts by assessing the individual and combined impacts of restoration, habitat, and land cover on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in Smith Creek. We predicted that longer-restored sites, sites with less surrounding pasture, and streams with larger substrate size would …

The Mine Action Trauma Care Collaborative: Enhancing Coordination Between Humanitarian Mine Action And The Emergency Health Response To Civilian Casualties Of Explosive Ordnance, Hannah Wild, Christelle Loupforest, Loren Persi, Elke Hottentot, Sebastian Kasack, Firoz Alizada, International Blast Injury Research Network (Ibirn), Adam Kushner, Barclay T. Stewart

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Modern armed conflict is characterized by the use of a wide variety of explosive weapons (EW), creating complex injury patterns with need for rapid first aid including hemorrhage control close to the point of injury. Yet, in many places where these injuries occur, formal trauma systems are weakened by conflict and resource limitations. In conflict zones, where immediate trauma care is often challenging to access for civilian casualties of EW, the humanitarian mine action (HMA) sector’s unique position and capabilities present a critical opportunity to bridge this gap—a potential that has been realized with the creation of the Mine Action …

The Detection Problem: An Eight-Decade Challenge: The Difficulty Of Practically Detecting And Discriminating Mines, Booby Traps, And Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Devices, Roly Evans, Tracey Temple Phd, Liz Nelson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Reliably detecting and discriminating mines, booby traps, and victim operated improvised explosive devices remains a stubborn problem for both humanitarian demining organizations and the military. Since mines were widely used during the Second World War, much effort has been expended on the detection problem, with limited success. The aim of being able to positively identify a device first time remains elusive since the scientific challenge of positively identifying different substances in the ground is formidable. This article critically examines the detection problem and suggests that in the continued absence of a ‘silver bullet’ technological solution, the best means currently available …

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

Localization In Mine Action: Where The Possible Meets The Necessary, Markus Schindler

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While arguments for greater localization in humanitarian aid are strong, in humanitarian mine action (HMA) the case is not always as clear and requires detailed discussion. Despite these challenges, however, the development of national nongovernmental organizations (NNGOs) in mine action is advocated for, as they can offer local knowledge, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and contribute to national ownership. HMA stands out from other sectors due to its resource-intensive and highly regulated nature, often necessitating the use of expensive equipment and specialized expatriates. This article discusses the concept of localization in HMA, emphasizing its distinct challenges compared to other humanitarian sectors. …

Dietary Adherence And Cognitive Performance In Older Adults By Nativity Status: Results From The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes), 2011–2014, Md Towfiqul Alam, Elizabeth Vásquez, Jennifer L. Etnier, Sandra Echeverria

Department of Health Sciences - Faculty Scholarship

Although adherence to dietary guidelines is associated with better cognitive performance, there may be differences by nativity status. This study aimed to investigate the association between adherence to the healthy eating index (HEI) and cognitive performance (CP) among United States (US)-born and foreign-born older adults (60+ years). Data were obtained from the 2011–2014 NHANES (n = 3065). Dietary adherence was assessed with HEI quintiles. CP (adequate vs. low) was examined using word listing (CERAD), animal naming (AFT), and the digit symbol substitution test (DSST). Weighted multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine associations. The US-born participants in higher dietary quintiles …

February 22, 2024, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

February 15, 2024, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2020-

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.