Digital Commons Network^™

Automating Autism: Disability, Discourse, And Artificial Intelligence, Os Keyes

The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems shift to interact with new domains and populations, so does AI ethics: a relatively nascent subdiscipline that frequently concerns itself with questions of “fairness” and “accountability.” This fairness-centred approach has been criticized for (amongst other things) lacking the ability to address discursive, rather than distributional, injustices. In this paper I simultaneously validate these concerns, and work to correct the relative silence of both conventional and critical AI ethicists around disability, by exploring the narratives deployed by AI researchers in discussing and designing systems around autism. Demonstrating that these narratives frequently perpetuate a dangerously dehumanizing model …

Fundamentals Of Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): Comparative Analysis Of Europe And The U. S. Landscape, Torré A. Williams

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This research is a comparative analysis of human-centric Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in Europe and the U.S. This research establishes fundamentals that are critical to what makes A.I. human-centric. This research contains eight phases: 1) Lawful A.I.; 2) Robust A.I.; 3) Ethical A.I.; 4) Human-centric A.I.; 5) Current State of A.I.; 6) A.I. in Europe; 7) A.I. in the U.S.; 9) Importance of Human-centric A.I. This research shows that there are still ongoing changes with having a human-centric A.I. and why it is very important to society. This research is the beginning of the making of a successful and reliable human-centric …

Monarch Science Observer, Volume 7, College Of Sciences, Old Dominion University

College of Sciences Newsletter

December-Fall 2020 issue of Monarch Science Observer, ODU College of Sciences Newsletter.

Status And Factors Associated With Healthcare Choices Among Older Adults And Children In An Urbanized County: A Cross-Sectional Study In Kunshan, China, Yuxi Zhao, Linqi Mao, Jun Lu, Qi Zhang, Gang Chen, Mei Sun, Fengshui Chang, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

As important unit for regional health planning, urbanized counties are facing challenges because of internal migrants and aging. This study took urbanized counties in China as cases and two key populations as objects to understand different populations’ intentions of choosing corresponding health service resources and to provide support for resource allocation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kunshan, a highly urbanized county in China, in 2016, among older adults aged 60 or over and children aged 0–6. Multinomial logistics models were used to identify the factors associated with healthcare choices. In this study, we found that income, distance of the …

Exploring Student Perceptions Of Flipgrid In Online Courses, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Asynchronous video-based discussions have affordances that can address some of the constraints of asynchronous text-based discussions. However, little research has been conducted on the use of asynchronous video-based discussions in online courses. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate students’ perceptions of using Flipgrid for asynchronous video-based discussions in fully online courses. We used a cross-sectional survey design to survey 79 students who used Flipgrid in a fully online course. Students overall reported that they liked using Flipgrid, it was easy to use, and that it helped improve social presence. In this paper, we will …

The Role Of Traditional Knowledge In Coastal Adaptation Priorities: The Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Nicole S. Hutton, Thomas R. Allen

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Coastal reservations are increasingly vulnerable to hazards exacerbated by climate change. Resources for restoration projects are limited. Storm surge, storms, tidal flooding, and erosion endanger artifacts and limit livelihoods of tribes in coastal Virginia. GIS offers a platform to increase communication between scientists, planners, and indigenous groups. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe engaged in a participatory mapping exercise to assess the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in coastal management decision-making and its capacity to address flooding. Priorities and strategies were spatially referenced using maps of potential sea level rise for 2040, 2060, and 2080, input into a resilience matrix to …

Wicked Ideas For Wicked Problems: Marine Debris And The Complexity Of Governance, Dawn Helene Driesbach

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Myriad challenges regarding earth's common spaces, those unregulated by sovereign state authorities, mount and intensify as resources diminish and competition for commercial, scientific and security advantages increases; the pollution and degradation of those spaces simultaneously expands. Threats to the global commons complicate efforts to achieve international consensus which impedes attempts to develop effective governance. As an example, marine debris is a growing problem and is an existential threat to the global commons.

This dissertation aims to characterize marine debris as a wicked problem and explores the complexity of governance in the global ocean commons by answering two fundamental questions. Under …

Fine-Scale Patterns Of Genetic Structure In The Host Plant Chamaecrista Fasciculata (Fabaceae) And Its Nodulating Rhizobia Symbionts, Mahboubeh Hosseinalizadeh Nobarinezhad, Lisa A. Wallace

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In natural plant populations, a fine-scale spatial genetic structure (SGS) can result from limited gene flow, selection pressures or spatial autocorrelation. However, limited gene flow is considered the predominant determinant in the establishment of SGS. With limited dispersal ability of bacterial cells in soil and host influence on their variety and abundance, spatial autocorrelation of bacterial communities associated with plants is expected. For this study, we collected genetic data from legume host plants, Chamaecrista fasciculata, their Bradyrhizobium symbionts and rhizosphere free-living bacteria at a small spatial scale to evaluate the extent to which symbiotic partners will have similar SGS …

Stratified Security Communities: Transatlantic Distrust And Identity Divergence, Afra Maike Herr

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

With mounting pressure by the United States directly and through their strategic shift and slow abdication of leadership towards Asia and away from the transatlantic community, European states have growing incentive to cooperate more strongly and integrate their defense and security efforts. The absence of such a trend of integration points to internal barriers to growing cooperation countering the external dynamic. Utilizing the theory of security communities, this thesis explores German, French, and British understanding of leadership, defense, and their respective public opinions. Focusing on the security identities of all three nations and their visions for the community as well …

I Told You That To Tell You This: Metagaming And Metacognition In The Hybrid Classroom, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

This paper theorizes the use of play and gamified methods to foster metacognition, or strategies for learning and learning about learning, in online graduate instruction. In the process, it calls into question the determinism of “serious” games as being the only means of facilitating metacognition. Ultimately, by adopting metagame approaches—that is, approaches based on0 goals and achievements that are external to the game and/or are developed by the players themselves—metacognition can and does occur because students participate in the development of the rewards. Moreover, any metagame feature ultimately becomes a commentary so that an approach based on metagaming offers its …

Family Communication Patterns During Recovery Maintenance: Relapse Prevention For Alcoholics & Addicts, Adam Pyecha

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The following thesis is research into the Family Communication Patterns (FCP) (McLeod & Chaffee, 1972) of “alcoholics and drug addicts” (ADA) with long-term recovery stages III and IV. Improving relapse rates of ADA in early recovery stage I and stage II may require knowledge about the family communication environment and family type of those ADA with extended recovery time. This is an exploratory descriptive of FCP and family typology of 81 ADA identifying as Twelve-step fellowship (TSF) members recovering from the disease of addiction (Jellinek, 1947; 1960). Data was collected via online questionnaire with adapted scales; AWARE 3.0 relapse awareness …

The Path To Victory: A Comparative Analysis Of Mena Region Countries, Negar Moayed

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

During the “Arab Spring” the Arab world witnessed a wave of uprisings. As a result of these anti-government movements, four governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown, three governments of Bahrain, Jordan, and to some points Saudi Arabia were faced with critical difficulties, and one government ,Syria, experienced domestic war. All these happened while some other Middle Eastern countries remained stable. Yet, the remaining questions are: how did these protests emerge? How was the collective identity which is essential for the social movements created? Why were some of these movements successful in overthrowing the regime while the others …

Shifting Sources Of Humanitarian Aid: The Importance Of Network Resiliency And Donor Diversification, Mackenzie Marie Clark

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

As instances of forced displacement arise and become increasingly large and prolonged around the world, large influxes of humanitarian aid have become critical in assisting host countries with crisis response. The funding required to meet the immediate, emergency needs presented by a refugee situation is filled primarily by governmental humanitarian contributions, and more specifically, by the United States. Typically, the U.S. is integral to the structure of the networks of humanitarian aid being directed towards a humanitarian response as it is the largest donor, in most cases. However, what does this reliance on U.S. funding mean for the structural integrity …

A Rivalry Of Necessity: An Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Contention Between The Islamic Republic Of Iran And The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Aras Syahmanssuri

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution that extremely concerned the Saudis leaders culminated after the overthrow of a monarchical regime of the Iranian Shah and the power rise of a theocratic Shia government led by Ayatollah Khomeini. From the early days of this revolution, Khomeini raised a unique slogan, which was “exporting the revolution” to neighboring countries. Through targeting the Shia minority in neighboring countries, this slogan highly concerned the Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Examining four decades of hostility, which starts from the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran, this study indicates that the rivalry between the Islamic …

Parton Distribution Functions From Ioffe Time Pseudodistributions From Lattice Calculations: Approaching The Physical Point, Bálint Joó, Joseph Karpie, Kostas Orginos, Anatoly V. Radyushkin, David G. Richards, Savvas Zafeiropoulos

Physics Faculty Publications

We present results for the unpolarized parton distribution function of the nucleon computed in lattice QCD at the physical pion mass. This is the first study of its kind employing the method of Ioffe time pseudodistributions. Beyond the reconstruction of the Bjorken-x dependence, we also extract the lowest moments of the distribution function using the small Ioffe time expansion of the Ioffe time pseudodistribution. We compare our findings with the pertinent phenomenological determinations.

Nursing Students’ Knowledge And Attitudes About Pain Management And Opioids, Hedieh Hatami Sirjani

Health Services Research Dissertations

Statement of the problem: healthcare professionals’ knowledge of using opioids for pain management safely is critical in preventing opioid abuse and overdose. Undergraduate curricula of health professional schools, including undergraduate nursing programs, need to improve and adopt a comprehensive education regarding this issue.

Method: the first project was a systematic analysis of the literature regarding the educational interventions’ impact on healthcare professional knowledge and practice behavior regarding prescription opioids. The second project was a qualitative study of nursing students to explore their experience, self-efficacy, and knowledge of prescription opioid use for pain management and whether they feel the need for …

The Drug Overdose Epidemic Seen Through Different Lenses, Barbara Blake Gonzalez, Richard Cebula, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

The age-adjusted death rate from drug overdoses in the United States per 100,000 individuals rose from 6.8 in 2010 to 17.1 in 2018. The most common explanation offered is the deaths of despair hypothesis. We identify additional factors that have contributed to the rise in drug overdose deaths in cities and counties. Methods: We utilize a period fixed effects model with a multi-variate panel data set for 94 independent cities and counties in Virginia for the period 2008 through 2017. Results: The drug overdose mortality rate is: (a) an increasing function (prob.

Internet Of Things (Iot): Cybersecurity Risks In Healthcare, Ruhi Patel

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The rapid growth and investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly impacted how individuals and industries operate. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of physical, technology-embedded objects that communicate, detect, and interact with their external environment or internal state (Hung, 2017). According to Tankovska (2020), IoT devices are estimated to reach 21.5 billion units by 2025. This technological boom is leading various industrial sectors to notice a quick increase in cybersecurity risks and threats. One industrial sector has been particularly vulnerable to numerous cyber threats across the globe: healthcare. Oliver Noble (2020), a data encryption …

Health-Related Fitness Knowledge Growth In Middle School Years: Individual- And School-Level Correlates, Xihe Zhu, Justin A. Haegele, Haichun Sun

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

Background: Health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) has been an essential concept for many health and physical education programs. There has been limited understanding and longitudinal investigation on HRFK growth. This longitudinal study examined HRFK growth and its individual- and school-level correlates in middle school years under 1 curriculum condition: Five for Life.

Methods: Participants were 12,044 students from 47 middle schools. Data were collected at both individual/participant and school/institution levels. Individual-level variables included gender, grade, and HRFK test scores. School-level variables included percentage of students receiving free and reduced meals (FARM), student-to-faculty ratio for physical education, and school academic performance …

Exploring The Niche Of Rickettsia Montanensis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) Infection Of The American Dog Tick (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Multiple Species Distribution Model Approaches, Catherine A. Lippi, Holly Gaff, Alexis L. White, Heidi K. St. John, Allen L. Richards, Sadie J. Ryan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari: Ixodidae), is a vector for several human diseasecausing pathogens such as tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and the understudied spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) infection caused by Rickettsia montanensis. It is important for public health planning and intervention to understand the distribution of this tick and pathogen encounter risk. Risk is often described in terms of vector distribution, but greatest risk may be concentrated where more vectors are positive for a given pathogen. When assessing species distributions, the choice of modeling framework and spatial layers used to make predictions are important. …

The Relationship Between Virginia Title 1 Spending And Minority Male Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Anastacio B. Marin

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, education funding in the United States has been redistributed to schools that lack sufficient financial resources to meet the needs of students (Boyle & Lee, 2015). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was enacted to increase academic accountability and achievement throughout the nation’s public-school systems. Nationwide, there is a persistent achievement gap between historically marginalized students and their affluent peers. This gap is evident in the Commonwealth of Virginia when measuring student proficiency on End of Course Assessments (EOCAs). For schools serving a large …

A Meta-Analysis Of Group Treatment Outcomes For Veterans With Substance Use Disorders, Robert “Tony” Dice

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Group therapy is commonly used in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Many studies exist related to the efficacy of group interventions for veterans with SUDs. A meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature addressing the use of group therapy, specifically psychoeducational groups, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups and support groups, in the treatment of SUDs with veterans was conducted. The following questions guided the research: What are viable treatment outcomes for psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with SUDs? and What are the measures that capture outcomes related to psychoeducational, CBT, and support groups of veterans with …

Synthesis, Characterization, Spectroscopic, And Mesomorphic Studies Of New Schiff Base Ligands And Titanium, Cobalt, Nickel And Copper Metal Centers, Raj K. Gurung

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Transition metal complexes with Schiff base ligands offer a wide application in the field of development of catalysis and material. The straightforward synthesis allowed the structural modification and helped to optimize in various application of such complexes. Titanium-containing complexes have been reported to be important for their catalytic and material applications through the coordination of a tetradentate Schiff base ligand, viz. N, N’-ethylene bis(salicylideneiminate) dianion (salen). Studies reporting the characterization of achiral titanium(IV) salen complexes are scarce due to their intricate nature. Such complexes would be comparatively less expensive and easier to prepare synthetically and thus could represent an …

The Effects Of Security Framing, Time Pressure, And Brand Familiarity On Risky Mobile Application Downloads, Cody Parker

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined the effects of security system framing, time pressure, and brand familiarity on mobile application download behaviors, with an emphasis on risk taking. According to the Prospect Theory, people tend to engage in irrational decision making, and make qualitatively different decisions when information is framed in terms of gains and losses (i.e., the framing effect). Past research has used this framing effect to guide the design of a risk display for mobile applications (apps), with the purpose of communicating the potential risks and minimizing insecure app selections. Time pressure has been shown to influence the framing effect …

Numerical Analysis Of A Roadway Piezoelectric Harvesting System, Abdul Rahman Badawi

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Highways, streets, bridges, and sidewalks with heavy traffic dissipate a considerable amount of waste mechanical energy every day. Piezoelectric energy harvesting devices are a very promising technology that can convert the waste mechanical energy to clean and renewable energy to enhance the sustainability of infrastructures. Research efforts in large-scale energy harvesting have led to the advancement of piezoelectric devices to the point that large-scale implementation is starting to become more feasible. The energy harvested by these devices can be used in many ways such as providing heating or cooling, melting ice, monitoring structural conditions in bridges and tunnels, and powering …

Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering At Hall A, Jefferson Lab, Mohamed Nuhman Hashir Rashad

Physics Theses & Dissertations

The Standard Model of particle physics defines quarks and leptons as the basic building blocks of all matter. The interaction between them are mediated by force carrying gauge bosons. Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD), the theory that explains the strong interaction is still not complete enough to derive the physical observables of a Quark-Gluon system from the fundamental degrees of freedom of it’s constituents. Experimentally observable single particle densities provide important insights into our understanding of the quark-gluon system and hence help fill in the gaps of QCD. Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) provide simultaneous information of both spacial and longitudinal momentum distributions …

Designing For The One-Shot: Building Consensus On Design Processes For Academic Librarians, Kirsten Hostetler

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Academic librarians have long been responsible for teaching information literacy competencies on college campuses, even as many are hesitant to accept the title of teacher. With inadequate instructional design preparation and one-shot sessions serving as a popular, if limited, instructional medium, librarians’ design processes are often developed on the job and infrequently explored in the literature. Previous research has examined specific design models and instructional strategies, but no studies were found that determined how academic librarians select and implement these design decisions within the unique context of a one-shot.

The purpose of this study was to describe academic librarians’ design …

Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, But Moderately Variable: The Influence Of Environmental Variability On Coral Thermal Tolerance, Courtney Nicole Klepac

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Anthropogenic climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and severity of marine heat waves, resulting in declining health of coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Coral bleaching events – the breakdown in symbiosis between the coral host and their intracellular photosynthetic algae – are increasingly common in recent years and contribute to widespread losses in coral cover. However, bleaching and heat stress responses vary across spatial scales both within and among coral species. Coral populations native to highly variable environments can have greater bleaching resistance than corals from more stable habitats and corals transplanted into these variable reef sites can …

A Model Of Individual, Relationship, And Societal Factors And Mental Health And Well-Being In Partnered Sexual Minority Women: The Central Role Of Relationship Satisfaction, Charlotte A. Dawson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk for mental health disorders, substance abuse, and physical health problems compared to heterosexual women. For heterosexual individuals, romantic relationships have been found to be protective against a variety of health issues. Less research, however, has focused on the association between romantic relationships and health in same-sex couples. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential protective nature of being in a relationship for SMW and to test a model investigating the central role of relationship satisfaction in the association between individual, relationship, and societal factors and mental health and well-being …

Attentional Control In Young Drivers: Does Training Help Or Hinder Bottom-Up Processing In A Dynamic Driving Environment?, Sarah Elizabeth Yahoodik

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Anticipating hidden hazards on the road is a critical skill for safe driving, one that many young and novice drivers lack. Training programs are shown to improve hazard anticipation performance in young drivers, but whether these training effects persist in the presence of salient and potentially distracting stimuli remains relatively less explored. In this study, we examined whether the effectiveness of an existing driving training program, Risk Awareness Perception Training (RAPT), on increasing latent hazard anticipation on the road persisted with extraneous bottom-up stimuli in the road environment. Forty-one young drivers, aged 18-21, completed a series of driving scenarios with …