Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Analysis Of Stress Relief, Life Satisfaction, And Quality Of Life Based On Marriage Status And Gender Among Members Of Society Participating In Exercise, Ji-Hye Yang, Sicheol Jung, Hyejin Yang, Chulhwan Choi, Chul-Ho Bum

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Modern members of society tend to feel stressed in their workplace and at home, but exercising has been shown to effectively reduce stress and increase quality of life and satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate and compare stress relief, life satisfaction, and quality of life based on marriage status and gender among members of society who participate in exercise. We used a questionnaire survey with 311 participants, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity and reliability, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and a post hoc analysis. The study results showed that the single groups demonstrated higher mean …

Examining The Socioemotional Outcomes Of Social Justice Efforts On Social Media Users: Evidence From The Nfl's Inspire Change Initiatives, Yoseph Z. Mamo, Justin Haegele, Christos Anagnostopoulos, Kwame Agyemang

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Despite the growing interest in social justice activities, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding their impact on various stakeholders, particularly social media users. We gathered longitudinal data from the NFL's @inspirechange X (former Twitter) account, a designated social justice communication handle, between August 2019 and March 2023. During this timeframe, the account garnered 20,967 comments (including original tweets and retweets) from 11,481 distinct users, but our analysis focused on 5851 comments deemed usable from 3632 unique users. Drawing on the social exchange theory, sentiment analysis, and thematic analysis, this study examines social media users' sentiments toward the NFL's …

The Downstream Well-Being Effect Of Encounters With The U.S. Criminal Justice System, Christopher A. Sanders, Laura A. King

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between encounters with the criminal justice system and psychological well-being in a large U.S. sample. This project builds upon previous research about the negative outcomes tied to such encounters by examining potential long term negative effects on people’s subjective well-being and sense of meaning and purpose in life. Panel study participants indicated their lifetime exposure to the criminal justice system, and then, about two years later, indicated their current subjective well-being and sense of meaning and purpose in life. Our findings reveal that the number of past police arrests is associated with reductions in well-being, …

"Queens Of Ghost-Land" 134 Years Later: Un-Masking An Appalachian Witchcraft Accuser, Aíne Norris

English Faculty Publications

In 1891, newspapers across America printed a story about witches in the Appalachian Mountains and the alleged powers they possessed to control their small farming community. The article was scathing in accusation and ultimately contributed to continued othering of the women profiled, increasing their visible vulnerabilities of class, gender, and societal status. Despite an implied familiarity with the region, the article was published with initials for its byline, an act that simultaneously identified the author to locals as historian Eva Grant while offering her anonymized national protection as a subject expert. For over five years the accusations were re-printed in …

Understanding Teacher Leadership: Development And Testing Of The Survey Of Teacher Leadership, Peter D. Wiens, Vanessa Vongkulluksn, Jori Beck, Brenda Pearson

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Teacher leadership (TL) has been identified as key component of effective schools. While research has grown in this area, there is a dearth of empirically and theoretically supported measures for understanding TL. This study examines the validity and reliability of the Survey of Teacher Leadership (STL). The STL builds on previous theory and research in TL by creating an assessment of teacher TL practices and their associated self-efficacy in these practices. In addition to more established domains of TL, the STL also examines teachers’ leadership practices and self-efficacy in diversity and equity. The STL was sent to all non-charter public …

Dominance Of Leading Business Schools In Top Journals: Insights For Increasing Institutional Representation, Rodrigo Romero-Silva, Erika Marsillac, Sander De Leeuw

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The competitive push for business schools to publish in prestigious journals has resulted in a disproportionate number of papers in prestigious Management and Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) journals coming from a select group of institutions. Our analysis shows the Matthew effect of prestigious journals favors established schools with 51.2% of papers in 18 Management ABS 4* journals and 61.3% of papers in 3 OR/MS ABS 4* journals involving authors from the 100 top business schools identified by the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Citation patterns are similarly concentrated among papers authored by scholars from UTD-listed business schools, with nearly …

Why Ai Monitoring Faces Resistance And What Healthcare Organizations Can Do About It: An Emotion-Based Perspective, Karl Werder, Lan Cao, Eun Hee Park, Balasubramaniam Ramesh

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Continuous monitoring of patients' health facilitated by artificial intelligence (AI) has enhanced the quality of health care, that is, the ability to access effective care. However, AI monitoring often encounters resistance to adoption by decision makers. Healthcare organizations frequently assume that the resistance stems from patients' rational evaluation of the technology's costs and benefits. Recent research challenges this assumption and suggests that the resistance to AI monitoring is influenced by the emotional experiences of patients and their surrogate decision makers. We develop a framework from an emotional perspective, provide important implications for healthcare organizations, and offer recommendations to help reduce …

Readiness To The Privatization Of The Health System In Saudi Arabia: Translation And Factor Analysis Of Readiness To Organizational Change (Roc) Scale, Ahmed Ali Alasiri, Qi Zhang

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) began a major transformation as a part of version 2030 for its health system. These reform initiatives aim to privatize health services and improve efficiency. Despite this meaningful change, there is a knowledge gap in how healthcare providers prepare for or perceive this shift. Specifically, there has been a lack of validation of Arabic instruments that gauge the individual readiness to this change. This study bridges the gap by localizing and validating the Readiness to Organizational Change scale (ROC) to provide empirical evidence and to understand adaptability for the KSA context.

Method

The …

Full Ride To College, But At What Cost?: Colonial Subjects At Imperial Educational Institutions In Binti And The Fifth Season, Martha Zornow

English Faculty Publications

A marginalized young person, often of a different physiognomy from those wielding power, sees the 'ivory tower' in her universe as a path to the learning, respect, power, and agency not available to her in her home environs. At their educational institutions, while their Blackness is not the basis for their outsider status, the Othering they experience mirrors that experienced by Black students at predominantly white universities in the real world. Theorizing the Colonial Role of Educational Institutions Following Thomas Macaulay's notorious' Minute on Education'(1835), educational systems have played a vital role in reaffirming the balance of power between the …

Institutionalisation And Institutional Evolution: A Model Of Selecting Government Officials In Ancient China, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

The evolution of institutions in selecting government officials in ancient China reflected efficiency considerations and increased power concentration in the hands of the ruler. Selecting government officials in ancient China became more rule‐based over time, and standardisation and centralisation were some key features of this process. In this dynamic model, a higher volume of transactions, shown as the number of candidates needed to be evaluated, leads to institutionalisation, which has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost in processing each transaction. In the steady state, a ruler with a more encompassing interest chooses a higher level of institutionalisation. …

What Role Do Finance Ministers Play In Political Business Cycles? Evidence-Based On A New African Dataset, Christine Olivia Strong

Economics Faculty Publications

This study investigates how the personal characteristics of finance ministers influence political budget cycles in Africa. Using a new dataset covering 300 finance ministers across 23 countries from 1980 to 2020, we find that political budget cycles primarily take the form of increased government consumption during election years. Ministers with prior central banking experience are less likely to amplify spending in election years, effectively curbing political budget cycles. These results remain consistent after accounting for institutional quality, ministerial tenure, and other confounding factors. The findings contribute to the literature by showing that the appointment of finance ministers in African countries …

What Does It Mean To "Humanize" Online Teaching?, Dana L. Rognlie, Kathryn E. Frazier, Elizabeth A. Siler

Philosophy Faculty Publications

[Introduction] "Humanizing" the online classroom is widely acknowledged as a feminist goal (e.g., Pacansky-Brock et al., 2020). Yet the project of humanizing has a complex history in the academy and beyond, with elements of this history often misaligned or directly opposed to what might be considered "feminist" goals. Feminist philosophers have long critiqued the neutral-human-as-masculine default (Beauvoir, 2010; Irigaray, 1993; Lloyd, 1993), and decolonial and antiracist scholars have highlighted the racist legacy of projects that aim to qualify humanity (Cameron, 2021) and of programs designed to humanize the Other (Berenstain, 2020, Foucault, 1979; See Malone & Malone, 2015, on the …

The Application Of 4e Cognition To Counseling And The Intersectional Experiences Of Black Individuals With Disabilities, A. Albright, Clarence K. Bumpas, Jeff Moe

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Black Americans with disabilities experience a range of inequities including barriers to access, social stigmatization, and health outcomes that are greater than both their White and their nondisabled peers. This conceptual article explains in detail these inequities. The authors provide an overview of the existing models of disability used in counseling, healthcare, research, and educational settings, as well as a rationale for why they are limited. The authors then suggest a 4E cognitive framework rooted in cognitive sciences, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience. The authors explain why a 4E cognitive framework may be better suited than existing models to conceptualize …

Designing Tpack-Driven Mobile Learning With Digital Citizenship For Biology Education: Insights From Ngt And Ism Approaches, Cik Jamaliah Abd Manaf, Shakinaz Desa, Muhamad Ikhwan Mat Saad, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The rapid digitization of education and the complexity of scientific content demand the integration of digital citizenship in TPACK-based mobile learning for Biology. This study aimed to identify and prioritize relevant digital citizenship practices using a Design and Development Research approach. In Phase One, the Nominal Group Technique with 10 experts evaluated eight proposed practices. Phase Two employed Interpretive Structural Modeling with nine experts to structure hierarchical relationships. Seven practices were retained, with Ethical Use of Digital Resources as the top-level driver. The resulting framework supports ethical and discipline-specific mobile learning models, promoting responsible digital engagement in Biology education.

Lived Experiences Of Marginalized Pre-Service Teachers' Technology Ownership And Acquisition Of Digital Skills, Jerolyn Brown, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose

Despite increasing access to technology, persistent disparities in digital competence and self-efficacy remain among marginalized pre-service teachers, often exacerbated by systemic inequities and the digital divide. This research explores the gap in knowledge of the lived experiences of marginalized pre-service teachers’ (PST) prior access to technology and their current perceptions about educational technology integration.

Background

Grounded in Sociocultural Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study seeks to answer how marginalized pre-service teachers perceive prior and current technology ownership and related skill acquisition, what beliefs and intentions they have for future classroom technology integration, and what systemic disparities …

(In)Attention To Attractive Brand Alternatives, Danielle J. Brick, Veronica L. Thomas

Marketing Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers maintain their brand relationships has important implications for marketers as committed consumers contribute significant value to firms. In the present research, we propose and test one such way consumers protect their brand relationships, namely through attentional avoidance of attractive alternative partners. Across multiple studies, we find support for our theory that committed consumers avoid attending to alternative brand partners by recalling less about and spending less time focused on attractive alternatives. We further find that this inattention occurs because consumers view the competing brand as a threat to the consumer’s current relationship. In addition, we investigate a …

Quiet Resistance: Drawing On Covert Advocacy Research To Understand School Leadership Within The Current Anti-Trans Context, Alexandria Gribble, Erica Simpson, Meagan S. Richard

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Over the last few years, there has been a surge in anti-LGBTQIA+ and, specifically, anti-transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming legislation. These laws target the rights of LGBTQIA+ students in K–12 schools, leading to policies censoring gender-inclusive curricula, mandating the outing of students, and restricting transgender students’ access to sports and facilities. The rapid emergence of these bills has outpaced research on how leaders—particularly justice-centred leaders—navigate these hostile policy contexts. Existing research taking a broader lens around leaders’ justice work in schools sheds light on how leaders engage in covert advocacy within complex and constraining contexts. However, understanding how leaders resist …

Addressing Cte Faculty Shortages In Community Colleges: Perspectives From The Field, Brandon Hensley, Michelle E. Bartlett, James E. Bartlett Ii, Sophia Alston

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study investigates the motivations, challenges, and institutional strategies shaping the recruitment and retention of postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) faculty in North Carolina. Drawing on quantitative data from 171 North Carolina participants in a national survey, the research provides a localized perspective on faculty workplace experiences within the state’s community college system. Grounded in Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Job Embeddedness Theory, the analysis identifies key factors influencing job satisfaction, faculty stability, and the perceived effects of ongoing instructor shortages. The study’s findings are organized around four central research questions and present a comprehensive analysis of the challenges associated …

Towards Dynamic Learner State: Orchestrating Ai Agents And Workplace Performance Via The Model Context Protocol, Mohan Yang, Nolan Lovett, Belle Li, Zhen Hou

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Current learning and development approaches often struggle to capture dynamic individual capabilities, particularly the skills they acquire informally every day on the job. This dynamic creates a significant gap between what traditional models think people know and their actual performance, leading to an incomplete and often outdated understanding of how ready the workforce truly is, which can hinder organizational adaptability in rapidly evolving environments. This paper proposes a novel dynamic learner-state ecosystem—an AI-driven solution designed to bridge this gap. Our approach leverages specialized AI agents, orchestrated via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), to continuously track and evolve an individual’s multi-dimensional …

[Review Of The Book Expanding Approaches To Thematic Analysis: Creative Engagements With Qualitative Data By J. R. Wolgemuth, K. W. Guyotte, & S. A. Shelton (Eds.)], Nazmun Nahar Chaitee

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

In Expanding Approaches to Thematic Analysis, editors Jennifer R. Wolgemuth, Kelly W. Guyotte, and Stephanie Anne Shelton introduce an expansive, paradigm-shifting book that reimagines thematic analysis beyond conventional coding methods. This edited volume begins with two presumptions: (1) there are multiple methods of theming data, and (2) qualitative researchers are not necessarily required to code to achieve themes. Through the convergence of various qualitative researchers and early-career scholars, this edited collection pushes thematic analysis into new epistemological territories. The 18 chapters of the book reveal new techniques, such as meditative theming, poetic analysis, and making art, underpinned by theoretical …

Multimodal Wearable Intelligence For Dementia Care In Healthcare 4.0: A Survey, Po Yang, Gaoshan Bi, Jun Qi, Xulong Wang, Yun Yang, Li Da Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

As a new revolution of Ubiquitous Computing and Internet of Things, multimodal wearable intelligence technique is rapidly becoming a new research topic in both academic and industrial fields. Owning to the rapid spread of wearable and mobile devices, this technique is evolving healthcare from traditional hub-based systems to more personalised healthcare systems. This trend is well-aligned with recent "Healthcare 4.0" which is a continuous process of transforming the entire healthcare value chain to be preventive, precise, predictive and personalised, with significant benefits to elder care. But empowering the utility of multimodal wearable intelligence technique for elderly care like people with …

A Comparison Of Service Needs For Face-To-Face To Online Programs, Ali Ardalan, Roya K. Ardalan, G. Steven Rhiel

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions strive to gain a competitive advantage over similar programs offered by other institutions. A criterion for comparing programs is the quality of service. The definition of quality from the customer's view is "fitness for use," which incorporates the value generated by the product. Each learner may evaluate programs differently from other learners. It is impossible to develop a unique standard for program quality that is defined by a specific set of factors and specific level for each of these factors. This study presents an extensive set of factors that may affect learners' satisfaction. Higher education administrators should …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Self-Regulated Learning Practices In Elementary School Classrooms, Stephanie Greenquist-Marlett, Linda Bol, Courtney Hill

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is associated with adaptable, critical, lifelong thinking skills. Teachers are essential to promoting SRL in learners, yet infrequently teach these learning strategies in classrooms. We addressed three research questions: (1) How do K–5 teachers implement SRL in their teaching?, (2) How is the use of SRL strategies linked to their self-efficacy or confidence in teaching?, and (3) How do teachers differ in their use of SRL depending on school type (public vs. private)? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 primary in-service teachers, sampled equally from one public and one private school, to explore their SRL practices. They …

Enhancing Risk And Crisis Communication With Computational Methods: A Systematic Literature Review, Madison H. Munro, Ross J. Gore, Christopher J. Lynch, Yvette D. Hastings, Ann Marie Reinhold

VMASC Publications

Recent developments in risk and crisis communication (RCC) research combine social science theory and data science tools to construct effective risk messages efficiently. However, current systematic literature reviews (SLRs) on RCC primarily focus on computationally assessing message efficacy as opposed to message efficiency. We conduct an SLR to highlight any current computational methods that improve message construction efficacy and efficiency. We found that most RCC research focuses on using theoretical frameworks and computational methods to analyze or classify message elements that improve efficacy. For improving message efficiency, computational and manual methods are only used in message classification. Specifying the computational …

Faithful Narratives From Complex Conceptual Models: Should Modelers Or Large Language Models Simplify Causal Maps, Tyler J. Gandee, Philippe J. Giabbanelli

VMASC Publications

(1) Background: Comprehensive conceptual models can result in complex artifacts, consisting of many concepts that interact through multiple mechanisms. This complexity can be acceptable and even expected when generating rich models, for instance to support ensuing analyses that find central concepts or decompose models into parts that can be managed by different actors. However, complexity can become a barrier when the conceptual model is used directly by individuals. A ‘transparent’ model can support learning among stakeholders (e.g., in group model building) and it can motivate the adoption of specific interventions (i.e., using a model as evidence base). Although advances in …

Sex-Dependent Changes In Risk-Taking Predisposition Of Rats Following Space Radiation Exposure, Elliot Smits, Faith E. Reid, Ella N. Tamgue, Paola Alvarado Arriaga, Charles Nguyen, Richard A. Britten

Department Radiation Oncology & Biophysics Faculty Publications

The Artemis missions will establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, serving as a crucial steppingstone for future Mars exploration. Astronauts on these ambitious missions will have to successfully complete complex tasks, which will frequently involve rapid and effective decision making under unfamiliar or high-pressure conditions. Exposure to low doses of space radiation (SR) can impair key executive functions critical to decision making. This study examined the effects of exposure to 10 cGy of Galactic Cosmic Ray simulated radiation (GCRsim) on decision-making performance in male and female rats with a naturally low predisposition for risk-taking (RTP) prior to exposure. …

A Two-Hit Model Of Executive Dysfunction: Simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation Primes Latent Deficits Revealed By Sleep Fragmentation, Richard A. Britten, Ella N. Tamgue, Paola Arriaga Alvarado, Arriyam S. Fesshaye, Larry D. Sanford

Department Radiation Oncology & Biophysics Faculty Publications

Future Artemis-class missions to Mars will expose astronauts to prolonged space radiation (SR), sleep disruption, and operational demands requiring greater autonomy, placing decision making and executive function at heightened risk. Both SR and sleep fragmentation (SF) independently impair cognition, yet their combined effects remain poorly understood. Using the Associative Recognition Memory and Interference (ARMIT) task, we assessed cognitive performance in male rats exposed to 10 cGy of Galactic Cosmic Ray simulation (GCRsim), SF, or both. Under well-rested conditions, GCRsim-exposed rats exhibited overt deficits in the C.1.2 stage, performing at chance when reinforcement contingencies shifted, consistent with impaired cognitive flexibility. In …

Facilitated Group Care For Maternal And Child Health Model Fidelity: A Scoping Review, Ashley Gresh, Phoebe Parker, Anne Batchelder, Jalana Lazar, Christina X. Marea, Camilla Bjelland, Rohan D. Jeremiah, Giovanna Cristina Machado-Kayzuka, Hayden Geibel, Dhruvi R. Patel, Esnath Kapito, Kathleen F. Norr, Crystal L. Patil

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Group care is a transformative model of prenatal, postnatal, and well-child care. The Centering-based group care model has three core components: health care, interactive learning, and community building. It has been implemented in 33 countries with associated improved maternal and child health outcomes. Maintaining fidelity to the model is essential for its effectiveness. However, to date no standardised measure of fidelity to the group care model exists. This review aimed to explore how fidelity is measured in group care and identify common themes to understand what is essential to maintain fidelity. We used the scoping review framework by Arksey & …

Traditional And Non-Traditional Behavioral Tests Demonstrate The Attenuation Of Cognitive Deficits By Therapeutic Hypothermia In A Rat Model Of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, Angela Saadat, Cortney Kaszowski, Haree Pallera, Frank Lattanzio, Richard A. Britten, Asna Sulaiman, Stephanie Newman, Alireza Hosseini, Tushar Shah

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Introduction: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is neurological disease caused by the deprivation of oxygen and blood flow to the brain during the developmentally-critical perinatal period. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care treatment for HIE, though cognitive deficits can persistent throughout life despite treatment. The nature of these deficits, and the impacts of TH and sex are not well understood, and this presents a key barrier in the development of novel therapeutics.

Methods: The goal of this study was to enhance the characterization and measurement of cognitive outcomes with tasks that measure spontaneous behaviors in a rodent models of …

Model-Free Organization Of Patient Reported Outcomes Data: Geometrical Rep-Resentation Of The Modified Compartmen-Talization Method, Manasi Sheth, N. Rao Chaganty

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

There is a recent advancement in the field of mathematics and statistics to understand the geometry or connectedness of the data due to the massive amounts of data being generated. The data provided for analyses are usually very large and need to be organized and minimized in order to make it more useful and meaningful. In biostatistics or medical field, it is important for patients to have access to high-quality, safe and effective and/ or efficacious medical products. It is quite necessary to ascertain that the patients and their care-partners stay at the center of the regulatory decision-making process. In …