Digital Commons Network^™

Recent Studies In The Surgical Treatment Of Tetralogy Of Fallot, Emma C. Gardner

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

No abstract provided.

Encephaloceles: A Comprehensive Exploration Of Research, Causes, Prevention, And Innovative Approaches To Diagnosis And Treatment, Amanda N. Bautista

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Encephaloceles, a rare medical condition derived from Greek words meaning "brain hernia," involve the protrusion of brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, or membranes through a defect in the skull. These anomalies often present at birth and can occur in various locations on the skull. Recent research has shed light on the possible causes of encephaloceles, including genetic factors such as the Sonic Hedgehog pathway and inadequate folic acid intake during pregnancy. Folic acid is essential for proper neural tube closure during fetal development, making it a key preventive measure.

Emerging treatments for encephaloceles show promise, with a focus on mesenchymal stem …

Your Qualitative Research “Guide On The Side”: A Review Of Marilyn Lichtman’S Qualitative Research In Education: A User’S Guide (4th Edition), Martha Snyder

The Qualitative Report

Lichtman’s fourth edition of Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide has become my qualitative research guide on the side. From the book cover to the way she organizes and writes the chapters, Lichtman invites readers to join her on a journey to learn how qualitative research can address some of education’s most pressing problems. Up-to-date, easy to read, and useful, this book has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf. In this review I provide a review organized by themes. I describe each theme, offer excepts from the text that represent the theme and explain its importance to …

Building Community For Those Living With Hiv: Co-Empowerment And Participatory Action Research, Patricia M. Miller Dr., Brent Oliver Dr., Ken Lapointe, Kim A. Samson, Vincenzo Sabella Mr.

The Qualitative Report

The Calgary HIV Social Society (CHSS) self-determined and organized several social-recreational monthly events to reduce and understand the effects of social isolation and stigma that people living with HIV face every day. It has been found that COVID-19 had impacted the lives of people living with HIV by creating significant isolation for those already stigmatized because of living with HIV. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and focus group at the end of the events, the research showed how COVID 19, and the related concurring isolation has impacted the lives of people living with HIV. The research included three …

How I Obtained My Phd Admission Letter: A Reflective Interaction-Based Autoethnography, Qing Xu, Kei Wei Chia

The Qualitative Report

This account utilises autoethnography to explore how the “one-child generation’s” cultural context influences behaviours and character traits, focusing on the first author’s experiences during a 5-month doctoral program application. It examines interactions with the employer, unacquainted individuals, intermediaries, and family, encapsulated in three Episodes, to analyse the personality traits of this generation. The findings reveal that, though deeply rooted in traditional culture, character traits such as risk aversion, caution, and family dependency are not immutable. It highlights the potential for personal transformation through inward growth, proactive external engagement, and the support of families who challenge traditional norms. In terms of …

Stakeholders’ Perceptions On Efl Teacher Professionalism: A Phenomenological Study At A Bachelor Programme In Nepal, Nabaraj Neupane

The Qualitative Report

Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the twenty-first century has witnessed several changes, which have sparked tremendous changes in the teachers’ standpoints and the conceptualizations of professionalism. In this context, this study explored the stakeholders’ perceptions of EFL teacher professionalism. For this, the phenomenological research design was adopted. The study site was a Bachelor's Programme on a community campus in Nepal. The informants comprised the real stakeholders of the programme that comprised three EFL teachers, nine students, two administrators, and one member of the campus management committee. To collect the informants’ lived experiences, the researcher used an unstructured …

Barriers And Facilitators To Enhance Interprofessional Education For Rehabilitation Science Graduate Students, Mary A. Riopel, Kimberly Wynarczuk, Taylor Grube

The Qualitative Report

Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to develop healthcare practitioners who work effectively in teams, demonstrate strong communication skills, respect others, and have a working knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of other professionals. Of identified research to date, it is unclear what students perceive as important for effective IPE delivery and learning. The purpose of this study was to identify graduate students' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to learning interprofessional practice using phenomenology. Three semi-structured focus groups were conducted including athletic training, occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology students and the transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged about IPE …

On Restorative Validity: Reorienting Inquiry Toward Peace, Justice, And Healing, Giovanni P. Dazzo

The Qualitative Report

This work begins with a simple premise: (re)imagining a healing and restorative space for inquiry. Drawing on the work of John H. Stanfield II (2006), who first suggested the restorative functions of qualitative inquiry, this manuscript forms the basis for an axiologically-actuated conceptual model, restorative validity, which asks what it would take to (re)humanize researcher and researched alike. Beginning with the knowledge of co-researchers in our collective, the formulation of this framework was organized to understand the importance of orienting our research and ourselves toward relationships, justice, and liberation. After this review, I discuss a series of reflexive questions, rooted …

Exploring Primary School Teacher Perspectives On Adaptability And Its Links With Classroom Management And Psychological Wellbeing: A Qualitative Inquiry, Robyn Davis, Andrew Holliman, Michael John Burrows, Daniel Waldeck, David Holliman

The Qualitative Report

Teacher shortage is a major concern for educational institutions. One key psychological resource for teachers that may reduce teacher shortage (e.g., prevent burnout, improve wellbeing) is teacher adaptability (i.e., the capacity to adjust to situations of novelty and change). Indeed, teacher adaptability is known to be associated with positive functioning and wellbeing. However, little qualitative research has been conducted exploring how adaptability may be experienced by teachers. The present study set out to explore the unique perspective of a sample of teachers on their adaptability and its links with classroom management and wellbeing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four primary …

Walking Toward The Demonumentalization Of Qualitative Research: A Collaborative Autoethnography Account While Producing An Educational Podcast, Carmen H. Guerrero-Nieto, Alvaro H. Quintero-Polo

The Qualitative Report

This article examines how two teacher educators, as researchers and as research teachers, engaged in a collaborative interpretation of their autoethnographies about questioning an instrumentalist and positivist research culture in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). The autoethnographies simultaneously emerged from the research activities related to the production of a bilingual podcast named “Conversing about "Investigación Cualitativa.” Specifically, the authors conducted a qualitative study of autoethnographic and collaborative nature while working on their podcast. The data were individual written retrospective accounts, which were shared, discussed, and interpreted in online live meetings. The outcomes of the study were …

Visual Methods For Qualitative Research With Older Refugees: Reflection On Strengths And Drawbacks, Prince Chiagozie Ekoh, Christine A. Walsh

The Qualitative Report

Although older refugees have similar characteristics and vulnerabilities as other populations that have benefited from visual research methods, there is scarce evidence of these methods being used for qualitative social work studies with older refugees. In this article, we discuss the application of visual methods for social work research with older refugees for a better understanding of their experiences and challenges, highlighting how it can be evocative, improve discussions by reaching senses that ordinary interviews cannot grasp, avoid re-traumatisation during research, and build resilience and coping in older refugees. We propose that visual methods could address power dynamics that privilege …

Sexuality Research During A National Lockdown: Reflexive Notes And Lessons From My Ph.D. Fieldwork, Tshepo B. Maake Mr

The Qualitative Report

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for qualitative researchers since many countries had to implement lockdown policies to control the spread of the virus. Within the South African context, research on sexual minority identities and experiences is automatically sensitive and risky given the extent of intolerance and high regard for heteronormative ideologies and beliefs that continually exclude sexual minorities from the “normal.” The sensitivity is intensified during a national lockdown since there is an excessive reliance on digital public spaces to recruit participants and conduct interviews. Based on the experience of Ph.D. fieldwork, this paper pays attention to a sexuality researcher’s …

The Current - Volume 34 Issue 7, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

When To Marry, If At All?A Qualitative Exploration Of How Sexual Minority Young Adults In The Us Think About Marital Timing, Aaron Hoy, Sachita Pokhrel

The Qualitative Report

According to prior research, the average age at first marriage has steadily increased in the US due in large part to the significance that young adults place on marriage and their evolving conceptions of marital readiness. However, despite the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, there is a significant oversight of sexual minorities in this research. To address this, we draw upon qualitative data collected through an online survey to explore how our sample of unmarried sexual minority young adults (N=256) think about marital timing. The results of our thematic analysis show that those in our sample …

Reflection, Reflexivity, Learning And The Influence Of Formalised And Experiential Piano Training, Dorothy Li

The Qualitative Report

This autoethnographic study examines how music learning is influenced by teachers and socio-cultural environments and how this influences not only our musical journeys but the way we view our lives, of the progress we have made, the goals in which we hope to achieve, and the way we perceive we will achieve them. This study explores how my musical background, understanding, learning, music-making abilities, and skills have shaped my present beliefs, attitudes and identity as a musician, educator, and researcher. Focusing on teacher pedagogy and practice, the study reveals how prevailing teacher-centred and didactic approaches to teaching impact the perspectives …

Teaching-Learning Patchwork Technique: Proposed Active Methodology Applied To Doctoral Education, Jonimar Silva Souza, Aloir Pedruzzi Junior, Queila Regina Sousa Matitz, Natália Rese

The Qualitative Report

The didactic-pedagogical innovation at the stricto sensu level can be the differential for a program to train qualified professionals for today's demands. Within this perspective, the study seeks to reflect on the application process and impacts of a teaching strategy based on the Teaching-Learning Patchwork Technique (TLPT) active methodology in a doctoral business administration course. Using duoethnography, the research was carried out with a teacher and two students, generating reflections of different visions about the same object, which provided a greater understanding of the phenomena experienced. The results support that TLPT promotes educational innovation from the promotion of teaching worked …

Transformative Visions Of Qualitative Inquiry: Performative, Philosophical, And Artistic Transformations, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

I am writing this review, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry, considering performative, philosophical, and artistic transformations as an essential reading for faculty and students—novice and veteran. It inspires readers, writers, and novice and veteran researchers in various social sciences disciplines and educational landscapes to envision innovative approaches to healing from crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and/or earthquakes. These processes encourage resisting, recovering, connecting, finding joy, and embracing life. Likewise, Transformative Visions for Qualitative Inquiry centers on the concept of transformation and its potential for the future of qualitative research amidst a world grappling with the multifaceted implications of COVID-19, …

Broadscale Coral Disease Interventions Elicit Efficiencies In Endemic Disease Response, Kathryn A. Toth, Samantha F. Buckley, Hunter Noren, Karen L. Neely, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The presence and abundance of reef-building corals are crucial to the long-term existence of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems, providing both direct and indirect, local and global, ecological, economic, and social benefits. In 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first identified in southeast Florida and remains endemic to the region, while continuing to spread throughout the Caribbean. Effective in situ intervention treatments using antibiotic paste can halt lesion progression on Montastraea cavernosa up to 90% of the time. This study investigated intervention activities over a three-year period to identify efficiencies in disease response. Since May 2019, 1,037 corals, >85% …

Pastoral Leaders’ Perception Of Obesity And Their Role Within Faith-Based Organizations, Darren D. Moore, Clinton E. Cooper, Charles Williams

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of pastoral leaders regarding obesity and health within faith-based organizations (FBOs). In this study, the authors focused on gaining additional insight regarding how pastoral leaders conceptualize and make sense of their roles in terms of health promotion within FBOs. Utilizing a qualitative research methodological approach, specifically Qualitative Description, authors administered a qualitative survey to 12 participants which yielded three emerging themes: (1) perceived scope, (2) understanding and use of resources, and (3) defining obesity through pastoral leaders’ perspectives. In the study, investigators discuss clinical implications and provide recommendations.

A Culturally Grounded Approach To Nepalese Grandmothers’ Caring Work: Developing Dohori As A Narrative Methodology, Kusum Bhatta

The Qualitative Report

The social sciences have a growing seismic shift from prioritising positivist, objective, and generalizable knowledge to accepting subjective qualitative knowledge. This has given rise to various art-based methods that leverage multi-sensory storytelling/narrative. To further advance innovation in qualitative narrative methods, I will present the Dohori narrative, an indigenous Nepali poetic storytelling method for narrative research with older grandmothers doing care work. I start by presenting a discourse on Dohori to understand better the history and traditional and cultural underpinning of the method. Provided a brief background to Nepali grandmother immigrants and then discussed the promise of Dohori as a form …

“Your Brain Isn’T All Backwards”: Asexual Young Women’S Narratives Of Sexual Healthism, Anna Sheppard, Emily S. Mann, Carla A. Pfeffer

The Qualitative Report

Scholarship on asexuality is a growing but underexplored area in the social sciences. In the U.S., asexual people (i.e., individuals who do not experience sexual attraction) navigate a society in which being a sexual person is regarded as a normal and even compulsory aspect of human health and subjectivity. Utilizing an asexual subsample from a broader study of queer young women, this article integrates Foucault’s theorizing around sexuality and repression with scholarship on healthism to examine how discourses of sexual healthism operate among asexual young women in the U.S. South. We argue that in rejecting theories of sexual repression and …

Exploring Tefl Research Methods Courses In Iran: A Path To Research Synthesis Pedagogy, Mohammad Amini Farsani Dr, Mojtaba Asaie

The Qualitative Report

There has been inadequate investigation of research pedagogy in applied linguistics, despite the significance of research reform in the field. As such, we examined the status of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) research pedagogy in postgraduate classes in Iran. We described and evaluated 28 research methods (RM) courses in terms of objectives, content, and assessment in Iranian universities. We employed a qualitative content analysis of RM syllabi, utilizing a mixture of inductive and deductive coding. Our results revealed that among the Iranian research instructors whose syllabi we examined, there is a common approach to delivering research methods courses. …

Craftivism As Inquiry: Holding Life’S Threads, Chloe Watfern, Gaynor Macdonald, Michele Elliot, Lynne Stone, Imelda Gilmore, Manuel Tecson, Najla Turk, Penny Bingham, Jane Mears, Ann Dadich, Barbara Doran, Katherine Boydell, Sarah Wallace

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we share insights regarding an arts-based research project where carers of people with dementia conveyed their experiences in cloth. Carers face high rates of mental ill health and burnout, while forming a largely undervalued and unrecognised workforce. Through this project, carers’ knowledge was valued and amplified using an innovative methodology – craftivism. During a series of five workshops in 2021, a small group of carers, researchers and artists gathered online to develop an exhibition of craftivist textile works. They evoked the complexity of their makers’ journeys supporting loved ones at the end of life, finding joy and …

Exploring Women’S Education And Employment Opportunities In India, Syria, And The Philippines, Emma R. Sarcol, Ines Coutinho, Elle Maguire, Helen C. Collins, Patricia A. Jolliffe Dr

The Qualitative Report

The implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 marked a new chapter in global development and laid the foundations for addressing inequalities that hinder holistic progress. However, gender gaps pose a significant threat to achieving these goals. Project DREAM (Developing Resilience, Education, Aspiration, and Motivation) sought to explore women’s sense of aspiration, achievement, and lived experience in India, Syria, and the Philippines, as well as develop pilot interventions to address gender disparities. Semi-structured interviews with 69 young women from India, Syria, and the Philippines informed the development of three interventions, namely an aspiration and job skills workshop …

Associating Academic Identity With Language Socialization In Virtual Community: A Case Study Of A Chinese Graduate Student’S Learning Experiences In Religion Studies, Xiaolong Lu

The Qualitative Report

This longitudinal case study explored the academic identity and language socialization of a Chinese graduate student enrolled in an online religion course at a U.S. university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected via online classroom observations, oral interviews, and artifacts. The theoretical framework was taken from language socialization and identity, together with positioning theory. The study differs from previous research, arguing that instead of language competence, the constructed academic identity is occasionally crucial for the successful academic discourse socialization of international students in bilingual and virtual settings. Moreover, the inclination toward interactive positioning between students and instructors can arise …

Modeling Nicotine, At-1001, And Varenicline At The Α3Β4 Nicotine Acetylcholine Receptor, Japji Madan, Andersen Cheong, Mourya Khandai

Protein Modeling Reports

The escalating global prevalence of nicotine addiction, particularly among younger populations, has been linked to the increasing use of e-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes. Approximately 1.63 million students (ages 11-18) currently use vapes, reflecting a concerning trend of nicotine dependence among adolescents. As the number of nicotine addiction cases continues to rise, the development of an anti-addiction drug market is evolving to address this urgent public health issue. One such treatment is varenicline that acts as a partial agonist at the α3β4 nicotine acetylcholine receptor nAChR, a key target for smoking cessation therapies. Activation of the nAChR can modulate the …

2024 Fall Newsletter, Nova Southeastern University

Suicide and Violence Prevention Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Modeling Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 2 Mutations In Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Exploring How The Drug Ag-221 Inhibits 2-Hydroxyglutarate Production And Restores Blood Cell Differentiation, Bhumika Balani, Jay Matta, Nitya Punjal, Brianna Bourke

Protein Modeling Reports

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, specifically through improper differentiation of young blood cells into healthy red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Some of the mutations involved in AML have been traced back to the Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) enzyme. IDH2 is an enzyme within the citric acid cycle that converts isocitrate to α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) with NADP+ being reduced to NADPH as an important cofactor. Mutations in IDH2, such as R140Q and R172K, cause the protein to convert α-KG to the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG). These changes block the differentiation of …

Modeling The Binding Of Five Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (Ssris) To The Human Serotonin Transporter (Hsert) To Allosteric And Central Binding Sites, Alessandra Alvarez Coke, Ivanna Mathew, Srika Saai Talanki, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, Arthur Sikora

Protein Modeling Reports

A staggering 21 million people are currently affected by Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a condition that can impact an individual’s ability to complete even the most basic everyday activities. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which is taken back to nerve cells through a process called reuptake. However, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, (SSRIs), block this process, therefore making more serotonin available to help promote communication in the brain.

The Protein Data Bank file of ts2 human serotonin transporter was retrieved from the Protein Data Bank (PDB ID: 5I6Z). Additional PDB files were utilized to analyze various SSRIs and their respective central and …

Adult-Child Estrangement: Clinical Considerations For Deaf Clients, Emmett B. Kessler Ph.D.

JADARA

This paper provides an overview of specific considerations for counselors when working with DHH parents who have experienced adult-child estrangement. Estrangement is a process continuum brought about by schisms between adult-children and their parents/caregivers. Topics for consideration include early childhood attachment styles, issues surrounding emerging adulthood, psychological well-being, and resilience of DHH clients. Recommendations are offered to clinicians working with DHH clients. Specific individual, couples, and family counseling approaches are recommended as likely modalities to address the needs of clients embroiled in estrangement experiences.