Digital Commons Network^™

The Assessment Of Knowledge Management Dimensions In The Libraries Of Khorasan Razavi Universities, Alireza Atarodi, Soraya Ziaei, Jamileh Naeimi, Hassan Shojaee-Mend

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Introduction: This study aims to assess knowledge management aspects in central libraries of Islamic Azad University, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran.

Methods: Conducted through a survey-analytical approach, this study focused on librarians with library education in central university libraries of Khorasan Razavi Province. A sample size of 102 individuals was selected using Cochran's formula. Validity and reliability of a researcher-developed questionnaire were confirmed. Hypotheses were tested with Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests using SPSS-20.

Results: University libraries in Khorasan Razavi Province display inadequacies in …

Impact Of Staff Training On Library Development, Joseph Owuraku Agyeiku, Ayishatu Iddrisu Ms

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examines the ongoing effects of staff training to integrate library development. The study takes a conceptual approach, thematically focusing on the impact of staff training on library development. The rationale of the study was to establish the relationship between the training of library staff and the development of libraries, leading to the effective and efficient provision of library and information services. Through a systematic literature review and thematic analysis of extant literature, the paper concludes that managers of libraries must pragmatically integrate staff training into their annual budgets: it recommends the establishment of training and development programmes for …

Use Or Not: A Qualitative Study On The User Adoption And Abandonment Of Voice Shopping With Smart Speakers, Jiahe Lan, Yu Chen, Zheng Yan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The recent advances in smart speakers impel the emergence and prevalence of voice shopping - placing orders on voice assistants. Previous work has studied user acceptance of voice shopping and the factors influencing users' experience of voice shopping. However, despite the growing interest in the use of voice shopping, little is known about the limited usage or abandonment of voice shopping. In this paper, we address this research gap through a qualitative study of 43 users of Tmall Genie, a smart speaker popular in China. We found that participants are willing to make low-involvement purchases via voice shopping. However, after …

Episodic Memory Assessment: Effects Of Sex And Age On Performance And Response Time During A Continuous Recognition Task, James O. Clifford, Sulekha Anand, Franck Tarpin-Bernard, Michael F. Bergeron, Curtis B. Ashford, Peter J. Bayley, John Wesson Ashford

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Continuous recognition tasks (CRTs) assess episodic memory (EM), the central functional disturbance in Alzheimer’s disease and several related disorders. The online MemTrax computerized CRT provides a platform for screening and assessment that is engaging and can be repeated frequently. MemTrax presents complex visual stimuli, which require complex involvement of the lateral and medial temporal lobes and can be completed in less than 2 min. Results include number of correct recognitions (HITs), recognition failures (MISSes = 1-HITs), correct rejections (CRs), false alarms (FAs = 1-CRs), total correct (TC = HITs + CRs), and response times (RTs) for each HIT and …

A Practical Framework For Component-Level Structural Health Monitoring Of The Gerald Desmond Bridge, Mehran Rahmani, Vesna Terzic, Andrea Calabrese, Brittany Cambell

Mineta Transportation Institute

Bridges serve as critical transportation infrastructure, but traditional maintenance inspection to ensure their safety is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive, especially for larger and more complex structures. This study presents a practical framework for the instrumentation, data acquisition, and remote condition assessment of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, California’s largest cable-stayed bridge. The framework aims to establish a foundation for real-time or near real-time remote health monitoring of the bridge’s critical elements. The study highlights the advantages of remote monitoring in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and early detection of damage.

Oculometric Biomarkers Of Visuomotor Deficits In Clinically Asymptomatic Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Undergoing Long-Term Hydroxychloroquine Treatment, Andrew R. Berneshawi, Kimia Seyedmadani, Rahul Goel, Mark R. Anderson, Terence L. Tyson, Yasmin M. Akay, Metin Akay, Loh Shan B. Leung, Leland S. Stone

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: This study examines a set of oculomotor measurements, or “oculometric” biomarkers, as potential early indicators of visual and visuomotor deficits due to retinal toxicity in asymptomatic Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients on long-term hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment. The aim is to identify subclinical functional impairments that are otherwise undetectable by standard clinical tests and to link them to structural retinal changes. Methods: We measured oculomotor responses in a cohort of SLE patients on chronic HCQ therapy using a previously established behavioral task and analysis technique. We also examined the relationship between oculometrics, OCT measures of retinal thickness, and standard clinical …

A Fresh Take: Seasonal Changes In Terrestrial Freshwater Inputs Impact Salt Marsh Hydrology And Vegetation Dynamics, Maya S. Montalvo, Emilio Grande, Anna E. Braswell, Ate Visser, Bhavna Arora, Erin C. Seybold, Corianne Tatariw, John C. Haskins, Charlie A. Endris, Fuller Gerbl, Mong Han Huang, Darya Morozov, Margaret A. Zimmer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Salt marshes exist at the terrestrial-marine interface, providing important ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Tidal inputs play a dominant role in salt marsh porewater mixing, and terrestrially derived freshwater inputs are increasingly recognized as important sources of water and solutes to intertidal wetlands. However, there remains a critical gap in understanding the role of freshwater inputs on salt marsh hydrology, and how this may impact marsh subsurface salinity and plant productivity. Here, we address this knowledge gap by examining the hydrologic behavior, porewater salinity, and pickleweed (Sarcocornia pacifica also known as Salicornia pacifica) plant productivity along …

Anti-Trafficking And Humanitarian Operations: Transferring Learnings For A Better World, Kezban Yagci Sokat, Maria Besiou

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to draw insights from the rich literature on humanitarian operations efforts to combat human trafficking; second, to inspire humanitarian operations researchers to work more on human anti-trafficking. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper inspired by recent relevant reports, the academic literature and the authors’ years of involvement in both humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking. Findings: Humanitarian supply chains and human trafficking supply chains very often operate in the same environments and hence face similar challenges. The paper highlights the overlaps between the two domains and demonstrates how two decades of learnings from …

Graduate Public Health Student Learning Experiences, Social Connectedness, And Mental Health During Covid-19: Pedagogical Implications For Public Health Academic Departments, Harit Agroia, Rachel Berkowitz, Andrew Carter, Vicky Gomez, Monica Allen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted college student learning both globally and nationally. Current literature points to decreases in social connectedness, adverse mental health outcomes, and decreased overall learning outcomes; however, there are limited findings from higher education institutions within the Bay Area, California. There are also limited studies that examine the COVID-19 impact among public health graduate students, especially to understand how the pandemic renewed their interest in the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on graduate student learning experiences, social connectedness and mental health within the Master of Public Health program at …

Navigating Enterprise Constraints: Building A Hybrid Multi-Modal Mobile Intelligent App, Ketan Malempati, Akshat Gupta, Kaikai Liu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted various industries to explore how it can enhance their businesses and improve customer experiences. However, the practical deployment of AI services faces challenges due to internal infrastructure limitations, data policies, and network restrictions. In this paper, we present our current project - a solution designed to empower mental health centers with AI tools while adhering to stringent data and network constraints. Our approach involves deploying AI services and data within internal enterprise networks, while the customer-facing mobile app resides in the public cloud. We introduce a custom AI agent system that monitors …

Public Libraries Encouraged To Meet The Health Information Needs Of Tribal Women In Bangladesh, Lili Luo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objective – To investigate public libraries’ existing community engagement practices, explore their willingness to provide health information services to tribal communities in Bangladesh, and examine tribal women’s health information-seeking behavior and interest in obtaining health information from public libraries. Design – A cross-sectional study using online interviews and structured questionnaires. Setting – Public libraries and tribal communities in tribal regions of Bangladesh. Subjects – Public librarians (n=11) and tribal women (n=276) from three tribal districts in Bangladesh (Bandarban, Khagrachari, and Mymensingh). Methods – Interviews were conducted with librarians via Zoom in January 2023. Survey questionnaires were distributed to a convenience …

Effects Of The Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project On Rates Of Child Abuse And Neglect 7 Years Post-Implementation (1999–2010), Bridget Freisthler, Jennifer Price Wolf

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Evaluations of alcohol environmental prevention efforts examine short-term effects of these interventions on alcohol-related problems. We examine whether the effects of the Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project (SNAPP), an alcohol environmental intervention aimed to reduce alcohol-related problems in two neighbourhoods, on child abuse and neglect remained 7 years post-implementation. Methods: SNAPP used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design, where intervention activities occurred in the South area, followed by those in the North area 2 years later. Our sample size is 3912 space–time units (326 census block groups × 12 years [1999–2010]). Outcomes were measured at the household level and …

Lessons From A Professional Learning Community: Navigating Tensions While Moving Between Theory And Practice In Teaching Chemistry For Social Justice, Kathryn Ribay

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Maintaining a commitment to social justice teaching can be especially challenging when navigating the bureaucratic systems and ever-spiraling responsibilities of the education system. To better understand how social-justice-oriented educators navigate these tensions, this paper uses qualitative methods to investigate the social justice problems of practice identified by five chemistry teachers in a year-long professional learning community. By analyzing the challenges described in their problem-posing segments, I identify seven major themes that represent key sources of tension and possibility as teachers move from theory to practice in teaching chemistry for social justice. These findings indicate that the practical considerations of day-to-day …

Association Of Dietary Adherence And Dietary Quality With Weight Loss Success Among Those Following Low-Carbohydrate And Low-Fat Diets: A Secondary Analysis Of The Dietfits Randomized Clinical Trial, Michelle E. Hauser, Jennifer C. Hartle, Matthew J. Landry, Priya Fielding-Singh, Cynthia W. Shih, Fei Fei Qin, Joseph Rigdon, Christopher D. Gardner

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Eating a high-quality diet or adhering to a given dietary strategy may influence weight loss. However, these 2 factors have not been examined concurrently for those following macronutrient-limiting diets. Objective: To determine whether improvement in dietary quality, change in dietary macronutrient composition, or the combination of these factors is associated with differential weight loss when following a healthy low-carbohydrate (HLC) or healthy low-fat (HLF) diet. Design: Generally healthy adults were randomly assigned to HLC or HLF diets for 12 mo (n = 609) as part of a randomized controlled weight loss study. Participants with complete 24-h dietary recall data …

Evaluating The Implementation Of A Relationship-Centered Communication Training For Connecting With Patients In Virtual Visits, Rachyl Pines, Marie C. Haverfield, Stephanie Wong Chen, Ethan Lee, Cati Brown-Johnson, Merisa Kline, Barbette Weimer-Elder

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The use of telehealth, specifically virtual visits, has increased and adoption continues. Providers need effective training for how to communicate with patients to develop a connection during virtual visits. This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a course called Mastering Presence in Virtual Visits. Results show that although providers perceive lack of time, technology issues, and lacking experiential knowledge as barriers to enacting course behaviors, the course was feasible and acceptable. Following the course, providers rated key course behaviors as helpful for practice, and 80.7% of providers were likely to recommend the course to a colleague. The course shifted …

Interest In Over-The-Counter Progestin-Only Pills Among Transgender, Nonbinary, And Gender-Expansive Individuals In The United States, Kate Grindlay, Juno Obedin-Maliver, Sachiko Ragosta, Jen Hastings, Mitchell R. Lunn, Annesa Flentje, Matthew R. Capriotti, Zubin Dastur, Micah E. Lubensky, Heidi Moseson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: In July 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first nonprescription oral contraceptive, a progestin-only pill, in the United States. Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people assigned female or intersex at birth face substantial contraceptive access barriers and may benefit from over-the-counter oral contraceptive access. However, no previous research has explored their perspectives on this topic. Objective: This study aimed to measure interest in over-the-counter progestin-only pill use among transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive individuals assigned female or intersex at birth. Study Design: We conducted an online, cross-sectional survey from May to September 2019 (before the US Food and …

Fuzzy Similarity Analysis Of Effective Training Samples To Improve Machine Learning Estimations Of Water Quality Parameters Using Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing Data, Alireza Taheri Dehkordi, Mohammad Javad Valadan Zoej, Ali Mehran, Mohsen Jafari, Amir Masoud Chegoonian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Continuous monitoring of water quality parameters (WQPs) is crucial due to the global degradation of water quality, primarily caused by climate change and population growth. Typically, machine learning (ML) models are employed to retrieve WQPs, but they require a large amount of training samples to accurately capture the data relationships. Even with sufficient training data, discrepancies still exist between values of predicted and in-situ WQPs. This study proposes a fuzzy similarity analysis (FSA) technique to enhance ML estimates of WQPs by using the prediction errors in effective training samples. The method was successfully applied to retrieve turbidity (Turb) and specific …

Potential Use Of Poultry Farms By Wild Waterfowl In California's Central Valley Varies Across Space, Times Of Day, And Species: Implications For Influenza Transmission Risk, Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Elliott L. Matchett, Fiona Mcduie, Austen A. Lorenz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Diann J. Prosser

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to cross-species disease transmission, which incurs economic costs and threatens wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of AIVs in poultry. Interspecific and seasonal variation in waterfowl movement and habitat use means that the risk of disease transmission between wild birds and poultry inevitably varies across species, space, and time. Here, we used GPS telemetry data from 10 waterfowl species in and near California's Central Valley, a region where both wild waterfowl and domestic poultry are …

Selective Partitioned Regression For Accurate Kidney Health Monitoring, Alex Whelan, Ragwa Elsayed, Alessandro Bellofiore, David C. Anastasiu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The number of people diagnosed with advanced stages of kidney disease have been rising every year. Early detection and constant monitoring are the only minimally invasive means to prevent severe kidney damage or kidney failure. We propose a cost-effective machine learning-based testing system that can facilitate inexpensive yet accurate kidney health checks. Our proposed framework, which was developed into an iPhone application, uses a camera-based bio-sensor and state-of-the-art classical machine learning and deep learning techniques for predicting the concentration of creatinine in the sample, based on colorimetric change in the test strip. The predicted creatinine concentration is then used to …

Access To Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding Across Countries And Platforms, Saul Estrin, Susanna Khavul, Alexander S. Kritikos, Jonas Löher

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated with differences across three countries and seven platforms. Using a novel dataset of successful fundraising on the most prominent platforms in the UK, Germany, and the USA, we find the underlying relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money …

Emergency And Disaster Preparedness For Individuals Who Use Augmentative And Alternative Communication: A Pilot Study On Supported Planning Using A Toolkit, Andrea Barton-Hulsey, Miriam C. Boesch, Yoosun Chung, Tina Caswell, Amy Miller Sonntag, Wendy Quach

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: When emergencies or disasters arise, individuals who use augmenta-tive and alternative communication (AAC) are particularly vulnerable. It is critical that individuals who use AAC are supported to make decisions that impact their own lives and are able to communicate during such a crisis. Preparedness efforts that include a plan around communication needs and supports are necessary for ensuring that individuals who use AAC are able to understand options that ensure personal safety and express their needs during a time of crisis. Method: Qualitative methods were used to identify and describe the experi-ences of two young adults who use AAC …

The Effect Of A Night Shift Nap On Post-Night Shift Performance, Sleepiness, Mood, And First Recovery Sleep: A Randomized Crossover Trial, P. Daniel Patterson, Cassie J. Hilditch, Matthew D. Weaver, David G.L. Roach, Tiffany S. Okerman, Sarah E. Martin, Charity G. Patterson, Leonard S. Weiss

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives This study aimed to test the effect of a 30-minute nap versus a 2-hour nap opportunity taken during a simulated night shift on performance, fatigue, sleepiness, mood, and sleep at the end of shift and during post-night shift recovery. Methods We conducted a randomized crossover trial of three nap conditions (30-minute, 2-hour, and no-nap) during 12-hour simulated night shifts. We tested for differences in performance, fatigue, sleepiness, mood, and sleep during in-lab and at-home recovery. Performance was measured with the Brief Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B). Subjective ratings were assessed with single-item surveys. Results Twenty-eight individuals consented to participate [mean …

Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy: A Hybrid Approach To Mitigate Speckle And Rician Noise In Medical Images, Naveenkumar Jayakumar, Saurabh Saoji, Sagar V. Joshi, Hemlata Mane, Roshni Narkhede, Shrikant Jadhav

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This research explores the detrimental effects of Rician and speckle noise in medical imaging, particularly within MRI and radiographic modalities. Such noise can significantly obscure critical details, potentially leading to misdiagnoses and inaccurate measurements. Rician noise candidly dangles on the signal strength. Removing this noise affects the origial information in image that makes this noise removal perplexing. On other hand speckle noise is visualised like granular clog in ultrasound imageries. It creates ambiguous details and edges in the images. To address this challenge, the study introduces a novel hybrid method implemented in Java. The method employs a frequency-based decomposition approach …

Tiktok As Social Communication Tool To Encourage Participation In Volunteering Projects, Belén Moreno-Albarracín, Tania Blanco-Sánchez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Social media are regarded as tools of communication and social influence. Notwithstanding this, TikTok’s majority audience in 2023 is made up of members of generations Z and Alpha, associated in previous studies with a participatory crisis. Given this contradiction, a research question is proposed: do young people use TikTok to consolidate social values such as solidarity? To answer it, the main objective is to analyse the use of TikTok as an instrument for youth participation in volunteer projects. A mixed methodology is used, based on a content analysis of the 150 videos uploaded to TikTok with the hashtag #voluntariado and …

True Grit: Exploring Nonprofit Sector Resilience Following Economic Recessions, Xintong Chen, Kerry Kuenzi, Lindsey Evans, Amanda Stewart

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The nonprofit sector has been portrayed as resilient, describing a sector that persists despite challenges. We investigate nonprofit resiliency by examining how organizational characteristics, strategies, and community factors equipped organizations to recover following economic recessions. Utilizing a fixed effects panel regression model, our study covers a period of 29 years (1989–2018), encompassing three economic crises in the United States. The primary focus is examining the sector’s financial health and the resilience of the constituent organizations. Our findings describe a sector buoyed by the resilience of larger and older organizations, earned revenue, and contribution revenue, as well as the role of …

Cross-Cultural Adaptation Of The Voice-Related Experiences Of Nonbinary Individuals - Veni To Brazilian Portuguese, Isabela Dos Santos, Mara Behlau, Grace Shefcik, Pei Tzu Tsai, Vanessa Veis Ribeiro

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the “Voice-related Experiences of Nonbinary Individuals” (VENI) to Brazilian Portuguese (BP). Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation was performed based on the combined guidelines of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Translation Recommendations and the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). The process included five stages: a) Translation of the instrument into BP by a translator specialized in the construct and a non-specialist, both native BP speakers and fluent in English; b) Synthesis of the two translations by consensus; c) Back-translation by a translator specialized in the construct and a non-specialist, …

Fpdclustering: A Comprehensive R Package For Probabilistic Distance Clustering Based Methods, Cristina Tortora, Francesco Palumbo

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Data clustering has a long history and refers to a vast range of models and methods that exploit the ever-more-performing numerical optimization algorithms and are designed to find homogeneous groups of observations in data. In this framework, the probability distance clustering (PDC) family methods offer a numerically effective alternative to model-based clustering methods and a more flexible opportunity in the framework of geometric data clustering. Given nJ-dimensional data vectors arranged in a data matrix and the number K of clusters, PDC maximizes the joint density function that is defined as the sum of the products between the distance and the …

Covid-19 Vaccination-Related Tinnitus Is Associated With Pre-Vaccination Metabolic Disorders, Weihua Wang, Anusha Yellamsetty, Robert M. Edmonds, Shaun R. Barcavage, Shaowen Bao

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Cases of tinnitus have been reported following administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The aim of this study was to characterize COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus to assess whether there is a causal relationship, and to examine potential risk factors for COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus. We analyzed a survey on 398 cases of COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus, and 699,839 COVID-19 vaccine-related reports in the Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS) database that was retrieved on 4 December 2021. We found that following COVID-19 vaccination, 1) tinnitus report frequencies for Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen vaccines in VAERS are 47, 51 and 70 cases per million full vaccination; …

Is Knowledge Management (Finally) Extractive? – Fuller’S Argument Revisited In The Age Of Ai, Norman Mooradian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Aim/Purpose The rise of modern artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, machine learning (ML), has provided new opportunities and directions for knowledge management (KM). A central question for the future of KM is whether it will be dominated by an automation strategy that replaces knowledge work or whether it will support a knowledge-enablement strategy that enhances knowledge work and uplifts knowledge workers. This paper addresses this question by re-examining and updating a critical argument against KM by the sociologist of science Steve Fuller (2002), who held that KM was extractive and exploitative from its origins. Background This paper re-examines Fuller’s argument …

Opening The Black Box: Carbon-Footprint Calculators, Meat Consumption, And The “Wicked Problem” Of Metric Governance, E. Melanie Dupuis, Dustin Mulvaney

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Carbon-footprint calculators are widely used as communication and education tools, designed to make people aware of the ways their personal actions contribute to greenhouse-gas emissions. However, they have come under criticism for emphasizing individual behavior versus structural change. We extend this critique to argue that carbon-footprint calculators are a form of “metric governance” that not only disciplines users but also constrains their abilities to engage with the complexities of climate change and social action. We focus on a particularly wicked problem of carbon-metric governance: livestock greenhouse-gas emissions. We show that carbon-footprint calculators black box and fix the complex politics and …