Digital Commons Network^™

Editorial: Enhancing Nutrient Profile, Safety, And Sustainability With Fermentation Technology, Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo, John Gieng, Xi Feng

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Empowering Customer Service With Generative Ai: Enhancing Agent Performance While Navigating Challenges, Charles Costa, Souvick Ghosh

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction. As large language models (LLMs), such as GPTs, become more intelligent, a key area of exploration is how these technologies can improve the customer experience. Contrary to common belief, many consumers, including Gen Z, prefer human-provided customer service, illustrating the importance of human-AI collaboration in the space. Method. By leveraging the author’s real-world knowledge of enterprise knowledge management and customer service delivery, we reviewed numerous literature about AI, knowledge management, and service design and synthesised practical insights for industry professionals to build a successful AI strategy. Analysis. We examined the gap between academic research on generative AI and how …

Measurement Resolution Enhanced Coherence For Lattice Fermions, Hilary M. Hurst, Yik Haw Teoh, I. B. Spielman

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Weak measurement enables the extraction of targeted information from a quantum system while minimizing decoherence due to measurement backaction. However, in many-body quantum systems, backaction can have unexpected effects on wave-function collapse. We theoretically study a minimal many-particle model consisting of weakly measured noninteracting fermions in a one-dimensional lattice. Repeated measurement of the on-site occupation number with single-site resolution stochastically drives the system toward a Fock state, regardless of the initial state. This need not be the case for measurements that do not, even in principle, have single-site spatial resolution. We numerically show for systems with up to 16 sites …

Optogenetic Methods To Stimulate Gamma Motor Neuron Axons Ex Vivo, Apoorva Karekal, Remie Mandawe, Cameron Chun, Sai Kiran Byri, Danitza Cheline, Serena Ortiz, Shawn Hochman, Katherine A. Wilkinson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

It is challenging to stimulate gamma motor neurons, which are important regulators of muscle spindle afferent function, without also recruiting alpha motor neurons. Here, we test the feasibility of stimulating gamma motor neuron axons using optogenetics in two transgenic mouse lines. We used an ex vivo muscle–nerve preparation in adult mice to monitor muscle spindle afferent firing, which should increase in response to gamma motor neuron-induced lengthening of the sensory region of the muscle spindle. A force transducer measured alpha motor neuron-mediated twitch contractions. Blue LED light (470 nm; 1–5 mW) was delivered via a light guide to the sciatic …

A Review Of Social, Behavioral, And Ethical Considerations For Smart Life Engineering, John Murray

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Smart Life (SL) systems do not exist in a technological vacuum; they are embedded in a social ecosystem and have rich and complex interactions with their surroundings. It is important to recognize that their design and implementation will have an impact on the individuals and communities around them. This chapter examines the social, behavioral, and ethical issues to be considered in a holistic systems approach to SL engineering, to help practitioners and stakeholders to design the strategies needed for successful SL deployments. It addresses these topics from several disciplinary viewpoints and provides a comprehensive set of references for those requiring …

Reinforcement Learning-Based Dynamic Field Exploration And Reconstruction Using Multi-Robot Systems For Environmental Monitoring, Thinh Lu, Divyam Sobti, Deepak Talwar, Wencen Wu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In the realm of real-time environmental monitoring and hazard detection, multi-robot systems present a promising solution for exploring and mapping dynamic fields, particularly in scenarios where human intervention poses safety risks. This research introduces a strategy for path planning and control of a group of mobile sensing robots to efficiently explore and reconstruct a dynamic field consisting of multiple non-overlapping diffusion sources. Our approach integrates a reinforcement learning-based path planning algorithm to guide the multi-robot formation in identifying diffusion sources, with a clustering-based method for destination selection once a new source is detected, to enhance coverage and accelerate exploration in …

Resilience Practices In Health Science And Medical Libraries During The Early Stages Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Justin F. Gaynor

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper uses the concept of resilience engineering as an organizing principle to discuss best practices that evolved within health science/medical libraries in the United States during COVID-19 crisis, focusing on the period March–August 2020. Protection of library staff, assistance to medical staff, reducing the circulation of misinformation and public health consumerism all required substantial changes to standard processes. These process changes had to arise in the context of both physical isolation and information overload. Some practices became widespread due to their utility, and these are the focus of this report.

Game Theory: Using Play To Talk With My Children About The Unpredictable Road To Recovery, Miranda Worthen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this narrative, a mother with an unexpected medical setback creates a board game with her children to talk with them about what happened and share their emotions about the experience.

Evidence-Based Strategies For Novice Teachers: Increasing The Participation Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Integrated Physical Education, Kristina K. Vargo, Jihyun Lee

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder that impacts approximately 1 in 36 students. Because of its high prevalence, it is likely that all physical education teachers will serve students with ASD during their careers. Although physical education leads to many improvements in students’ physical and social skills, students with ASD may experience challenges in the integrated physical education setting due to various factors, including motivation, skill proficiency, challenging behaviors, and sensory stimulation. The purpose of this article is to describe the challenges faced by some students with ASD in integrated physical education and to provide novice teachers …

Reliability And Severity Levels Of The Voice-Related Experiences Of Nonbinary Individuals, Grace Shefcik, Pei Tzu Tsai, Satveer Kler

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives: Clinicians providing gender-affirming communication services to nonbinary individuals often utilize client questionnaires. The Voice-related Experiences of Nonbinary Individuals (VENI) is the only published questionnaire exclusively for nonbinary clients. This questionnaire consists of 17 items that gain insight into the client's self-perception of voice and voice-related concerns. According to Shefcik and Tsai (2023), the VENI's content validity is good to excellent. This study evaluated the measure's reliability through internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses and created impact ratings to support interpretation of scores. Study Design: This study utilized an online survey-based design with test-retest administration. The initial survey was administered …

Young Audience And Vod Platforms Of Linear Television. Perceptions About Playz, Mtmad And Flooxer, Belén Moreno Albarracín, Tania Blanco Sánchez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: The new audiovisual paradigm, marked by flexible consumption, a wide catalog and a participatory audience, increases the interest of linear television in connecting with young people. To that end, the channels manage specialized content platforms. This research aims to analyze Mtmad, Playz and Flooxer, and the perceptions about them. The specific objectives are to examine the catalogs; evaluate identification with management chains; analyze youth-content identification and study their consumption habits. Methodology: A content analysis based on web structures and catalogs is proposed; and a survey of 160 young people about their knowledge, identification and consumption patterns. Results: Mtmad leads …

RaˉMaˉNuja's Cosmopsychist-Panentheistic Solution To The Hard Problem Of Consciousness, Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, S. Siddharth

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Recent decades have seen a renewal of interest in panpsychism as a solution to the hard problem of consciousness. This has, in part, also driven an increase in interest in classical Indian philosophical traditions among analytic philosophers of mind. Many of these cross-cultural studies pertaining to panpsychism (and cosmopsychism) have focused on one particularly influential school of Indian philosophy, Advaita (non-dual) Veda nta, the most famous proponent of which is sankara. In this work, we would like to consider the view of another influential philosopher and the school that developed based on his view - Rama nuja (eleventh century CE) …

“This Is Everyone's Issue”: Policy Entrepreneurs, Issue Framing, And Coalition Building In The Passage Of Automatic Criminal Record Expungement, Elsa Y. Chen, Sarah E. Lageson, Ericka B. Adams

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Research Summary: Since 2018, at least 12 U.S. states have introduced policies to expunge certain eligible arrest and criminal conviction records through automated or algorithmic means. Drawing on interviews with governmental representatives and community stakeholders, this paper identifies strategies used to pass this legislation in Pennsylvania and Utah, the first two states to enact automated expungement policies. We frame our findings around three established theoretical frameworks of public policy making—policy entrepreneurship, issue framing, and coalition building—illustrating their combined strategic importance with data gathered from those involved on the ground in the passage and adoption of automated expungement legislation. The findings …

Exploration Of The Effects Of Tai Chi Practice On Lower Limb Corticomuscular Coherence During Balance-Demanding Virtual Reality Conditions In Older Adults, Yang Hu, Elizabeth T. Hsiao-Wecksler, Manuel E. Hernandez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Tai Chi practice has been widely adopted to improve balance and prevent falls in older adults. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the benefits of Tai Chi are difficult to evaluate during traditional balance assessments. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi and healthy aging on corticomuscular coherence (CMC) while standing in virtual balance-demanding environments. We recorded neural, muscular, and behavioral data in an immersive virtual reality environment while implementing sensory and mechanical perturbations to introduce high postural threats. Through the acquisition of electroencephalography and electromyography signals, we examined β and γ CMC changes in …

Impact Of Sensory Organization Tasks On Prefrontal Cortex Activity In Older Women: A Comparative Fnirs Study Of Osteoarthritis And Healthy Aging, Alka Bishnoi, Yang Hu, Manuel E. Hernandez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent musculoskeletal condition, is associated with an increased risk of falls. Maintaining posture relies on visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive inputs, but these systems can be compromised due to aging or disease, heightening fall risk. Such impairments may result from neuromuscular decline and reduced cognitive or visuospatial processing abilities. This study aimed to investigate prefrontal cortical (PFC) activation patterns during clinical sensory organization tasks (SOT) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in older women with OA and healthy controls (HOA). We hypothesized that PFC activation would increase as SOT conditions became more challenging, but that increases would be …

Temporal Patterns Of The Introduced Sponge Hymeniacidon Perlevis (Montagu, 1814) In The Elkhorn Slough, California, Usa, Jackson T. Hoeke, Kerstin Wasson, Amanda S. Kahn

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Hymeniacidon perlevis is a cosmopolitan sponge with a seasonal life cycle. We investigated seasonal and interannual dynamics of H. perlevis in Elkhorn Slough estuary, where it is an introduced species, and explored correlations between sponge cover and environmental conditions. We used sponge cover to estimate the potential effects of H. perlevis on its environment, and how those could vary across its seasonal life cycle. We found that recruitment is currently restricted to the upper estuary and while it varies annually, the frequency and density of sponge recruits have generally increased from 2007 to 2023. A seasonal life cycle was confirmed …

Generating Synthetic Malware Samples Using Generative Ai, Tiffany Bao, Kylie Trousil, Quang Duy Tran, Fabio Di Troia, Younghee Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Malware attacks have a significant negative impact on organizations of varied scales in the field of cybersecurity. Recently, malware researchers have increasingly turned to machine learning techniques to combat sophisticated obfuscation methods used in malware. However, collecting a diverse set of malware samples with various obfuscation techniques is challenging and often takes years, especially for newly developed malware. This issue is further compounded by a well-known limitation of machine learning models: their poor performance when training data is scarce. In this paper, we propose a new system for generating synthetic malware samples to augment imbalanced malware dataset. Our approach decomposes …

Learning About The Transit Passenger Experience From Microblogging Posts, Egbe Etu Etu, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jordan Larot, Chaitanya Tatipigari, Imokhai Theophilus Tenebe

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Transit agencies often track delays and malfunctions but may overlook riders’ real-time social experiences. To fill this gap, we analyzed 559 tweets from 2020 to 2023 that captured personal accounts of public transport use. Using thematic analysis, we found that 74% of posts criticized other passengers’ behavior, far outweighing comments on transit ride quality, such as complaints about delays (25%). Notably, 86% of tweets expressed negative sentiment, though some highlighted exceptional service. These findings demonstrate that interpersonal dynamics are a key contributor to riders’ experiences and illustrate the nature of the interactions that riders like and dislike.

Finding Floral And Faunal Species Richness Optima Among Active Fire Regimes, Zachary L. Steel, Alissa M. Fogg, Raphaela Floreani Buzbee, Kate Wilkin, Brandon M. Collins, Ryan Burnett, Marc D. Meyer, Amarina Wuenschel, Scott L. Stephens

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Changing fire regimes have important implications for biodiversity and challenge traditional conservation approaches that rely on historical conditions as proxies for ecological integrity. This historical-centric approach becomes increasingly tenuous under climate change, necessitating direct tests of environmental impacts on biodiversity. At the same time, widespread departures from historical fire regimes have limited the ability to sample diverse fire histories. We examined 2 areas in California's Sierra Nevada (USA) with active fire regimes to study the responses of bird, plant, and bat communities to a broad spectrum of temporal, spatial, and severity patterns of fire. Bird and plant species richness peaked …

Utilization Of A Single Preferred Aac System In Us Schools, Jill E. Senner, Wendy Quach, Yoosun Chung, Brian Patterson, Amy Goldman, Sarah Blackstone, Kathleen A. Post

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The use of a single preferred communication book, board, app, or device across a school or district is a frequent topic on social media. The purposes of this study were to determine: (1) When a single system is adopted by a school or district, how does frequency of input from stakeholders compare to when a single system is not used; (2) When a single system is used, are data collected; and (3) When a single system is adopted, are criteria specified and what criteria are used to determine which students receive which levels of support? A link to an online …

Can Whistleblowing Improve Organizational Effectiveness? Evidence From Financial Reporting Misconduct, Hong Kim Duong, Sadok El Ghoul, Omrane Guedhami, Emmanuel Sequeira, Zuobao Wei

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: While whistleblowing (WB) has attracted growing research interest in recent years, several critical WB-related issues remain underexplored. Purpose: This study examines the impact of external WB allegations on a firm’s organizational capital (OC). Such allegations often indicate management’s failure to address employee concerns internally, spotlighting potential deficiencies in internal reporting systems, employee communication, training, and trust in organizational fairness. To mitigate reputational damage, restore employee trust, and prevent future incidents, we posit that WB firms respond by increasing OC investment. Research Design: We employ a difference-in-differences approach, comparing OC changes in WB-targeted firms with those in a propensity score-matched …

A Short Pragmatic Tool For Evaluating Community Engagement: Partnering For Health Improvement And Research Equity, John G. Oetzel, Blake Boursaw, Lenora Littledeer, Sarah Kastelic, Page Castro-Reyes, Juan M. Peña, Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa, Shannon Sanchez-Youngman, Lorenda Belone, Nina Wallerstein

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: As community-engaged research (CEnR), community-based participatory research (CBPR) and patient-engaged research (PEnR) have become increasingly recognized as valued research approaches in the last several decades, there is need for pragmatic and validated tools to assess effective partnering practices that contribute to health and health equity outcomes. This article reports on the co-creation of an actionable pragmatic survey, shortened from validated metrics of partnership practices and outcomes. Methods: We pursued a triple aim of preserving content validity, psychometric properties, and importance to stakeholders of items, scales, and constructs from a previously validated measure of CBRP/CEnR processes and outcomes. There were …

From Disciplinary Enthusiasm To Soulless Tasks: Norms Behind Computing Educators' Emotion Display, Virginia Grande, Päivi Kinnunen, Matthew Barr, Anne Kathrin Peters, Mihaela Sabin, Matilde Sánchez-Peña, Ethel Tshukudu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Computing educators' emotion display is regulated by various norms and conventions. These (unwritten) rules affect which emotions educators feel comfortable expressing to different extents when students can perceive such displays. We draw on emotions and norms literature to investigate higher education computing educators' perceptions of what kinds of norms they have as criteria when considering which emotions they are (not) comfortable showing when teaching. Based on the qualitative content analysis of 22 interviews with computing educators from seven countries, we present various–sometimes connected or conflicting–norms that influence emotion display. These norms comprise moral, national, societal, professional, and affiliation norms that …

Grand Challenges For Human Factors And Ergonomics, Waldemar Karwowski, Gavriel Salvendy, Mica Endsley, William Rouse, Paul Salmon, Kay Stanney, Andrew Thatcher, Tony Andre, Jessie Yang, Hasan Ayaz, Ahmet Cakir, Vince Duffy, Colin Drury, Qin Gao, Yinni Guo, Peter Hancock, William S. Marras, Patrick Rau

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Contemporary society faces a growing set of complex global issues representing significant human health, well-being, and sustainability threats. Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) has a critical role to play in responding to these issues; however, there remain a set of grand challenges that require resolution. This paper presents and discusses six grand challenges for HFE and related key research thrust areas for each of the challenges. The grand challenges are (1) Evolution in Societal Thinking; (2) Future of Human Work in Industry 5.0; (3) Climate Change and Sustainability; (4) Future of Education and Training; (5) Future of Personalized Health, and …

Poster: Synthetic Malware Generation Using Generative Models, Tiffany Bao, Kylie Trousil, Quang Duy Tran, Fabio Di Troia, Younghee Park

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Malware poses significant challenges to cybersecurity, exacerbated by the scarcity of high-quality datasets. This paper explores the use of Diffusion and Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Networks with Gradient Penalty (WGAN-GP) to generate synthetic malware samples as opcode sequences. The synthetic data, validated through classification metrics, demonstrates improved malware detection accuracy across families, particularly in addressing zero-day attacks. Results show that Diffusion achieves up to 99.6% accuracy in multi-class classification, outperforming WGAN-GP, which reaches up to 96.1%. Incorporating synthetic samples improves detection accuracy for rare malware families by up to 100%, underscoring the potential of generative models in enhancing malware detection.

Librarians In U.S. Public Schools Without Other Kinds Of Specialist Educators: The Scale Of Opportunities For Instructional Leadership, Keith Curry Lance, Caitlin Gerrity

Learning Hub

This article explores the unique instructional leadership opportunities for school librarians in U.S. public schools that lack other specialist educators, such as technology specialists, instructional specialists, and instructional coaches. Drawing on data from the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), the study highlights the prevalence of schools with librarians operating without full-time or part-time technology specialists, subject-specific instructional specialists, or instructional coaches. The absence of these roles often places librarians in a central position to support both students and teachers in areas such as literacy development, STEM education, and technology integration. Additionally, the article examines the potential for librarians …

Archeota, Fall/Winter 2024, Sarah Miller, Kaitlyn O'Dell, Erica Leff, Peyton Walters, Joshua Insel

Archeota

Archeota is a platform for SJSU iSchool students to contribute to the archival conversation. It is written BY students, FOR students. It provides substantive content on archival concerns and issues and promotes professional development in the field of archival studies. Archeota upholds the core values of the archival profession.

Contents

A Tale of Two Film Archives: History and Impact of the British Film Institute and the Cinémathèque Française by Sarah Miller

Enhancing Archival Access with Sustainability: Insights from a Library Scholar Internship at Cal Poly Humboldt by Kaitlyn R. O’Dell

Farewell to Our Winter 2024 Graduate: Interviews with SAA Student …

Grounded In Experience: A Collaborative Approach To Resource Development For Adults With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Morgan Kam

Doctoral Projects

Background: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a complex connective tissue disorder that significantly affects daily occupations, participation, and quality of life, yet early support for individuals pursuing or newly receiving a diagnosis remains limited. Occupational therapy (OT) is uniquely positioned to address these challenges through interventions that promote self-management and functional engagement.

Purpose: This project aimed to develop an experience- and evidence-informed educational resource for individuals undergoing or newly receiving an EDS diagnosis, while increasing awareness of OT’s role in managing this chronic, multisystemic condition.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach integrated qualitative insights from interviews, online support groups, and practitioner feedback. A …

Family-Level Impacts Of Equine-Assisted Occupational Therapy For Children With Disabilities: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Pilot Study, Emily Canigiula

Doctoral Projects

Equine-assisted occupational therapy (EAOT) has been shown to enhance functional, social, and quality-of-life outcomes for children with disabilities (McDaniel Peters & Wood, 2017; Prieto et al., 2022). While child-focused outcomes are well documented, significantly less is known about how EAOT participation may influence caregivers and the broader family unit, as existing research largely prioritizes individual outcomes over family experiences (Peters et al., 2017; Tan & Simmonds, 2018; Trzmiel et al., 2019; Xiao et al., 2023). Emerging qualitative studies suggest potential family-level impacts including family engagement, reduced parental stress, and enhanced feelings of pride, empowerment, and connection (Kalmback et al., 2020; …

Applying Occupational Empowerment Principles In A Life Skills Program For Unhoused Transitional-Aged Youth: Feasibility And Early Outcomes, Eriza Navarro

Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this occupational therapy doctoral capstone project was to address a gap in community-based services for unhoused transitional-aged youth (TAY) by promoting life skill acquisition and supporting participation in meaningful activities in order to enhance self-efficacy. This project aimed to design, implement, and evaluate a structured occupation-based life skills program that builds upon existing services at a local drop-in center. The program incorporated life skill education and activity-based, experiential interventions tailored to meet the needs and learning styles of the population. Methods included conducting a needs assessment, developing the program curriculum, and piloting the 6-week program consisting of …