Digital Commons Network^™

Cyberbullying, Digital Citizenship, And Youth With Autism: Lis Education As A Piece In The Puzzle, Abigail Phillips, Amelia Anderson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Librarians are beginning to address the lack of services for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by providing flexible and tailored programming and services. One important need among youth with ASD is a better understanding of how to navigate the online environment safely and responsibly. Given different engagement styles with social interaction and communication, youth with ASD may be more susceptible to cyberbullying and misinterpretations during online communications than their peers. This study investigates whether librarians can (or should) play a role in digital citizenship education for youth with ASD and provides suggestions for LIS educators preparing future librarians on …

School Librarians Making Global Connections: Conjecture Mapping And Researcher Practitioner Partnerships, Barbara Schultz-Jones, Marcia Mardis, Sue Kimmel

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Dr. Barbara Schultz-Jones (University of North Texas), Dr Marcia Mardis (Florida State University) and Dr Sue Kimmel (Old Dominion University, Virginia) share their research on a way to support evidence building of causal relationships between the school library and a teacher librarian’s contribution to student outcomes.

Technology Fatigue Of Faculty In Higher Education, Colleen Halupa, Doris U. Bolliger

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The study investigated technology fatigue in instructors employed at three universities located in the United States. Instructors at three private institutions of higher learning located in two states were invited to complete an online survey that was developed by the researchers. Technology fatigue was operationalized as technology-use related stress (technostress) and frequent change in technology (change fatigue). A total of 171 valid responses were received from participants during a four-week period. Results show that they experienced moderate levels of technology fatigue. No statistically significant differences in responses were found based on the two types of learning environments (campus-based and online). …

Advancing Human Services Education: Exploratory Study Of International Service Learning And Digital Pedagogy, Narketta Sparkman-Key, Anthony Vadja, T'Airra Belcher

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

This study focuses on advancing the understanding of human services education in international service learning focused study abroad programs. There is a gap in the literature pertaining to service-learning education for human services students. This study explores the integration of service-learning, reflection, and technology in human services education. Case study methodology and document review analysis are used to examine the use of ePortfolio as a reflective tool in addition to the skill development of upper-level undergraduate human services students through service learning. Seven themes arose from the findings, which suggest that international service-learning assists students in human services skill development …

A Review Of Problem Structuring Methods For Consideration In Prognostics And Smart Manufacturing, Patrick T. Hester, Andrew J. Collins, Barry Ezell, John Horst

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Successful use of prognostics involves the prediction of future system behaviors in an effort to maintain system availability and reduce the cost of maintenance and repairs. Recent work by the National Institute of Standards and Technology indicates that the field of prognostics and health management is vital for remaining competitive in today’s manufacturing environment. While prognostics-based maintenance involves many traditional operations research-centric challenges for successful deployment such as limited availability of information and concerns regarding computational efficiency, the authors argue in this paper that the field of prognostics and health management, still in its embryonic development stage, could benefit greatly …

Electrochemical Detection Of Neurotransmitters, Saikat Banerjee, Stephanie Mccracken, Md Faruk Hossain, Gymama Slaughter

Bioelectrics Publications

Neurotransmitters are important chemical messengers in the nervous system that play a crucial role in physiological and physical health. Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters have been correlated with physical, psychotic, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia, addiction, depression, and schizophrenia. Although multiple neurotechnological approaches have been reported in the literature, the detection and monitoring of neurotransmitters in the brain remains a challenge and continues to garner significant attention. Neurotechnology that provides high-throughput, as well as fast and specific quantification of target analytes in the brain, without negatively impacting the implanted region is highly desired for the monitoring of the …

Contextualizing Performance Of Coordinated Care Network Of Veteran Services In Virginia, Marina Saitgalina, Donta Council

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Coordinated care network is an approach to human service delivery that is recognized to improve client outcomes at a reduced cost. However, general mixed findings on the effectiveness of coordinated care networks warrant research contextualization. This article seeks to discover factors influencing the performance of a coordinated care network delivering social services to veterans and their families. The study provides a contextual analysis of a coordinated care network launched in 2016 in southeastern Virginia for two samples of 1,512 and 375 veterans and their families. Results of the regression analyses indicate that initial progress has been made both in efficiency …

Cyberbullying And Autism: Findings Of A Recent Study, Amelia Anderson, Abigail Phillips

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Post-Supernatural Cultures: There And Back Again, Wesley J. Wildman, F. Leron Shults, Saikou Y. Diallo, Ross Gore, Justin Lane

VMASC Publications

The abandonment of supernatural religious beliefs and rituals seems to occur quite easily in some contexts, but post-supernaturalist cultures require a specific set of conditions that are difficult to produce and sustain on a large scale and thus are historically rare. Despite the worldwide resurgence of supernaturalist religion, some subcultures reliably produce people who deny the existence of supernatural entities. This social phenomenon has evoked competing explanations, many of which enjoy empirical support. We synthesize six of the most influential social-science explanations, demonstrating that they provide complementary perspectives on a complex causal architecture. We incorporate this theoretical synthesis into a …

Sexual Harassment Issues Among Dental Hygienists, Amber W. Hunt, Brenda T. Bradshaw, Susan Lynn Tolle

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: The "#MeToo" movement has increased awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace and its detrimental effects on the work environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual harassment in a convenience sample of dental hygienists in the state of Virginia (VA).

Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to determine the experiences of VA dental hygienists with sexual harassment in the workplace occurring over the previous twenty-four months. The revised Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ-W) measured three constructs: gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion and was administered electronically to a convenience sample of …

Application Of The Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use Of Technology Model To Predict Dental Students' Behavioral Intention To Use Teledentistry, Jafar H. Alabdullah, Bonnie L. Van Lunen, Denise M. Claiborne, Susan J. Daniel, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Tina S. Gustin

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Abstract

Teledentistry is an innovative technology that can be used to improve access to care and oral health outcomes. Dental students’ intention to use teledentistry after completing dental school has not been investigated.

Purpose

The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was used to predict intentions to use teledentistry among 4th-year U.S. dental students. Methods A cross-sectional approach was performed for a 7-week period in Spring 2019. All U.S. dental schools (N = 66) were invited to participate and 16 schools agreed to participate. An anonymous survey link was emailed to academic deans for dissemination to students. …

Diagnosing Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using Saliva Rna Compared To Cognitive And Balance Testing, Steven D. Hicks, Cayce Onks, Raymond Y. Kim, Kevin J. Zhen, Jayson Loeffert, Andrea C. Loeffert, Robert P. Olympia, Gregory Fedochak, Samantha Devita, Aakanksha Rangnekar, John Leddy, Mohammad N. Haider, Zofia Gagnon, Callan D. Mcloughlin, Matthew Badia, Jason Randall, Miguel Madeira, Aaron M. Yengo-Kahn, Justin Wenzel, Matthew Heller, Hallie Zwibel, Aaron Roberts, Samantha Johnson, Chuck Monteith, Michael N. Dretsch, Thomas R. Campbell, Rebekah Mannix, Christopher Neville, Frank Middleton

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Early, accurate diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can improve clinical outcomes for patients, but mTBI remains difficult to diagnose because of reliance on subjective symptom reports. An objective biomarker could increase diagnostic accuracy and improve clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of salivary noncoding RNA (ncRNA) to serve as a diagnostic adjunct to current clinical tools. We hypothesized that saliva ncRNA levels would demonstrate comparable accuracy for identifying mTBI as measures of symptom burden, neurocognition, and balance.

METHODS: This case‐control study involved 538 individuals. Participants included 251 individuals with mTBI, enrolled …

Saliva Microrna Biomarkers Of Cumulative Concussion, Steven D. Hicks, Robert P. Olympia, Cayce Onks, Raymond Y. Kim, Kevin J. Zhen, Gregory Fedorchak, Samantha Devita, Aakanksha Rangnekar, Matthew Heller, Hallie Zwibel, Chuck Monteith, Zofia Gagnon, Callan D. Mcloughlin, Jason Randall, Miguel Madeira, Thomas R. Campbell, Elise Fengler, Michael N. Dretsch, Christopher Neville, Frank A. Middleton

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Recurrent concussions increase risk for persistent post-concussion symptoms, and may lead to chronic neurocognitive deficits. Little is known about the molecular pathways that contribute to persistent concussion symptoms. We hypothesized that salivary measurement of microribonucleic acids (miRNAs), a class of epitranscriptional molecules implicated in concussion pathophysiology, would provide insights about the molecular cascade resulting from recurrent concussions. This hypothesis was tested in a case-control study involving 13 former professional football athletes with a history of recurrent concussion, and 18 age/sex-matched peers. Molecules of interest were further validated in a cross-sectional study of 310 younger individuals with a history of no …

Using Social Media As A Platform For Increasing Knowledge Of Lung Cancer Screening In High-Risk Patients, Aimee Strong, Michelle Renaud

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods: Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and …

Pre-Service School Librarians' Perceptions Of Research Librarians' Perceptions Of Research Pedagogy: An Exploratory Study, Jeffrey Discala, Elizabeth A. Burns, Sue C. Kimmel

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This article is an exploratory study of graduate-level instruction on research designs and methods for pre-service school librarians (PSSLs). Using a focus group of one cohort of PSSLs, we examine students' perceptions of understanding research methods, course content and delivery, and self-reported application of new knowledge from a sequence of two graduate research courses in a Master's degree program. Findings indicate increased appreciation and understanding of the research process among participants and the ability to integrate the research findings of others into their own practice, while also indicating little or no confidence in their own abilities to conduct research in …

Attrition In Online And Face-To-Face Calculus And Precalculus Courses: A Comparative Analysis, Sarah Ferguson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

A multitude of online courses are available that provide opportunities for students to meet their higher education needs, goals, and desires in a nontraditional school setting. But, from a content specific perspective, how are students performing in online courses compared to their face-to-face counterparts? This study seeks to examine the attrition rates of online calculus and precalculus students relative to their face-to-face peers in an effort to expand the study of online mathematics pedagogy while providing course-specific data. Several studies have been conducted to explore attrition rates in relation to student demographics, STEM fields, and online course structure, but these …

Chopped Id: Students Engaged In Gamification To Enhance Advanced Instructional Design Techniques, John Baaki, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Food Network's television show Chopped pits chefs against each other, in a three-round battle, to create their best appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Facing master chef judges, the chef participants present their dishes with one chef chopped (eliminated) after each round. The last chef standing is crowned the Chopped Champion. A faculty member in an instructional design and technology program, created Chopped ID, an innovative adaptation and gamification of the Food Network's Chopped for application in a distance learning environment. Participating as competitors and judges, graduate students, firsthand, experienced gamification as an advanced instructional design technique. In the end, Chopped …

Improving Classroom Management And Teacher Retention: A Needs Assessment, Jill Stefaniak, Jilian L. Reynolds, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This case explores how a needs assessment was conducted at a middle school experiencing high rates of teacher turnover. Pamela Frost, an experienced instructional designer, was assigned to assess the situation and identify opportunities to improve professional development opportunities for the teachers. As a part of a needs assessment, Pamela gathered data to address needs pertaining to classroom management challenges, teacher attrition rates, and establishing relations with the local community. This case explores how Pamela gathered data and triangulated her findings to determine what interventions were needed.

Assessing Teacher Pedagogical Knowledge: The Video Assessment Of Teacher Knowledge (Vatk), Peter D. Wiens, Jori S. Beck, Christina J. Lunsmann

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study examines the creation and implementation of a video-based assessment of teacher knowledge of effective teaching called the Video Assessment of Teacher Knowledge (VATK). The VATK was developed with the intention of creating an easily administered, standardised assessment that can potentially provide information on teacher candidate knowledge of teaching at important points during their training programmes and into the teaching field. The theoretical framework upon which the VATK was developed and the process for item creation are described. Classical test theory and item response theory analysis were conducted to determine the measure’s potential for use in future studies. Analyses …

Introducing Coding Into Teacher Education: An Interdisciplinary Robotics Experience For Education And Engineering Students, Jennifer Kidd, Krishna Kaipa, Sam Sacks, Lilian Almeida

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Despite nationwide mandates to integrate computer science into P-6 curriculum, most P-6 preservice teachers (PSTs) are not exposed to coding or computational thinking during their professional preparation, and are unprepared to teach these topics. This study, conducted as a part of an NSF-funded project, explores a teacher preparation model designed to increase PSTs’ coding knowledge and coding self-efficacy. PSTs in an educational technology course partnered with engineering undergraduates (EUs) in a computational methods course and worked side-by-side on robotics activities to develop skill and confidence with basic programming concepts and block coding. Students utilized experience gained from these interdisciplinary partnerships …

The Morning Meeting: Fostering A Participatory Democracy Begins With Youth In Public Education, Rebecca C. Tilhou

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

There is a faltering sense of democracy in America's current political climate due to polarized opinions about leadership's decisions and antagonistic political parties. John Dewey (1916) proposed that education is the place to foster democracy, as schools can provide a platform to actively engage students in authentic democratic experiences that will empower them to act democratically beyond the walls of the school. The democratic schools that emerged during the Free School Movement of the 1960s and 1970s embody Dewey's philosophy, specifically with the shared governance occurring in their School Meetings. Unfortunately, American public education's present preoccupation with standardization, proficiency scores, …

"Zooming In" On Robotics During Covid-19: A Preservice Teacher, An Engineering Student, And A 5th Grader Engineer Robotic Flowers Via Zoom, Jennifer Kidd, Krishna Kaipa, Kristie Gutierrez, Pilar Pazos, Orlando Ayala, Stacie Ringleb

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 induced school shutdown dramatically decreased students’ hands-on STEM learning opportunities. An NSF-funded program partnering preservice teachers and undergraduate engineering students to teach robotics to fifth graders was adapted to a virtual format via Zoom. A case study intimately explored one team’s experience as they engineered bio-inspired robots over five weekly sessions. Zoom recordings, written reflections, and lesson slides were analyzed to describe how the virtual context shaped the lesson and influenced the preservice teacher’s experience. All three participants successfully engineered a robotic flower indicating hands-on robotics instruction is feasible in an online format. The virtual context increased the …

Hernández V. Mesa And Police Liability For Youth Homicides Before And After The Death Of Michael Brown, Delores Jones-Brown, Joshua Ruffin, Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, Akiv Dawson, Cicely J. Cottrell

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In a five-to-four decision announced in February of 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the parents of an unarmed fifteen-year-old Mexican national killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a cross-border shooting, cannot sue for damages in U.S. civil court. Here, we critique the majority and dissenting opinions and attempt to reconcile the strikingly different approach each used to resolve the case. Using a publicly available data set, we examine the homicide in Hernández v. Mesa, against the circumstances and context in which underage youth were killed by police within the United States over a five year …

A Daily Diary Study Of Drinking And Nondrinking Days In Nonstudent Alcohol Users, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Emerging adults with lower educational attainment are at higher long-term risk for problematic drinking and alcohol use disorders. Efforts to gain a more in-depth understanding of the drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adults are critical to reduce disparities and to shed light on targets of intervention for this vulnerable group.

Objectives: The current investigation aimed to: (1) provide a description of the daily drinking habits of nonstudent emerging adult drinkers using a 14-day diary method, and (2) examine nondrinking days by assessing their reasons for not drinking as well as strategies used to avoid drinking.

Methods: Participants were 27 …

Searching For I-O Psychology: How Practitioners, Academics, And Laypeople Engage With The I-O Brand Online, Bo Armstrong, Gordon B. Schmidt, Sayeedul Islam, William P. Jimenez, Eric Knudsen

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ethical Decision Making Behind The Wheel – A Driving Simulator Study, Siby Samuel, Sarah Yahoodik, Yusuke Yamani, Krishna Valluru, Donald L. Fisher

Psychology Faculty Publications

Over the past several years, there has been considerable debate surrounding ethical decision making in situations resulting in inevitable casualties. Given enough time and all other things being equal, studies show that drivers will typically decide to strike the fewest number of pedestrians in scenarios where there is a choice between striking several versus one or no pedestrians. However, it is unclear whether drivers behave similarly under situations of time pressure. In our experiment in a driving simulator, 32 drivers were given up to 2 s to decide which group of pedestrians to avoid among groups of larger (5) or …

Successfully Aging At Work Or Successfully Working While Aging? The Importance Of Older Workers' Psychological Well-Being, William P. Jimenez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Frank, 62, has been working at the same company for the past 32 years. His strong work ethic, subject-matter expertise, and continued excellent performance have saved him from several waves of layoffs and restructuring. Over the years Frank has become cynical. Gradually, many of Frank’s close colleagues were let go, and he has had difficulty connecting with newer employees. Although he is not particularly happy at his job, Frank is determined to continue working for his employer until at least 66, which is when he can start collecting Social Security benefits without penalty.

Visual Estimates Of Blood Loss By Medical Laypeople: Effects Of Blood Loss Volume, Victim Gender, And Perspective, Rachel Phillips, Marc Friberg, Mattias Lantz Cronqvist, Carl-Oscar Jonson, Erik Prytz

Psychology Faculty Publications

A severe hemorrhage can result in death within minutes, before professional first responders have time to arrive. Thus, intervention by bystanders, who may lack medical training, may be necessary to save a victim's life in situations with bleeding injuries. Proper intervention requires that bystanders accurately assess the severity of the injury and respond appropriately. As many bystanders lack tools and training, they are limited in terms of the information they can use in their evaluative process. In hemorrhage situations, visible blood loss may serve as a dominant cue to action. Therefore, understanding how medically untrained bystanders (i.e., laypeople) perceive hemorrhage …

The Rise, Fall, And Repair Of Trust For Automated Driving Systems, Scott Mishler, Jing Chen

Psychology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate how human driver's trust in the automated driving system is built over time and affected by automation failure. The study expanded trust development over time by measuring trust after a practice demonstration ofthe system capabilities and after each of seven unique, sequential drives. The automation performed perfectly on six of the seven drives but made one of three different responses to a critical hazard event in the fourth drive. Depending on the error-type condition, the automation either perfectly avoided the hazard (no error), issued a takeover request (TOR), or failed to notice …

An Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Self-Improved And Self-Evaluation Body Comparisons: Associations With College Women's Body Dissatisfaction And Exercise, Rachel I. Macintyre, Kristin E. Heron, Abby L. Braitman, Danielle Arigo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Upward body comparisons are prevalent among college women and associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. However, less is known about distinguishing features of the comparisons themselves as they occur in daily life. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine whether two types of upward body comparisons previously studied experimentally (self-improvement and self-evaluation) are differentially associated with body- and exercise-related outcomes in real-life settings using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Undergraduate women (N = 74) between 18-25 years (Mage = 20.4, SD = 1.63) completed five surveys on smartphones daily for seven days. EMA measures …