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Influence Of Attitude As A Catalyst On The Productivity Level Of Cataloguers In Tertiary Institutions’ Libraries In Edo State, Nigeria, Olalekan Ola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

As soon as librarians are productive based on their positive attitude, it is expected that libraries will perform optimally. In circumstances where catalogers are less productive or lack a good attitude, the long-lasting effect will be felt by end users. It is in this regard, that this study investigates the influence of attitude as a catalyst on the productivity level of catalogers in tertiary institutions’ libraries in Edo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The population was comprised of 81 catalogers in Edo State. The study made use of a total enumeration sampling technique. …

Spartan Daily, March 5, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 164, Issue 18

Randomised Controlled Trial Of Lgbtq-Affirmative Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy For Sexual Minority Women's Minority Stress, Mental Health And Hazardous Drinking: Project Equip Protocol, John Pachankis, Danielle Chiaramonte, Jillian R. Scheer, Hadley Ankrum, Benjamin Eisenstadt, Rebekah Hobbs, Hunter Baldwin, Jeremy D. Kidd, Katie Witkiewitz, Denise Ann Esserman, Kendra Plourde, Laurie Drabble, Tonda Hughes

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction Sexual minority women represent one of the highest-risk groups for hazardous drinking and comorbid mental health problems (eg, depression, anxiety). Research has identified cognitive (eg, expectations of rejection), affective (eg, emotion dysregulation) and behavioural (eg, avoidant coping) pathways through which minority stress (eg, stigma) places sexual minority women at disproportionate risk of hazardous drinking and comorbid depression/anxiety; yet no evidence-based interventions have been tested to address these pathways in this population. This article describes the design of Project EQuIP (Empowering Queer Identities in Psychotherapy), a randomised controlled trial of a transdiagnostic lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ)-affirmative cognitive-behavioural therapy …

Assessing The Perceived Safety Of Cyclists With Virtual Reality, Vahid Balali

Mineta Transportation Institute

In 2022, 7,522 pedestrians and 1,084 bicyclists were killed and approximately 67,000 pedestrians and 46,195 bicyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes on public roadways in the United States, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The transportation industry is faced with a pressing need to bolster the safety of these vulnerable road users. This research develops models of design and environmental factors that influence bicyclists’ and pedestrians’ perception of safety using Virtual Reality (VR) technology and ultimately informs transportation infrastructure design to better accommodate nonmotorized travelers. The goal of the bicycle element of this research is to develop …

Age-Related Motives For Substance Use And Outcomes Among Veteran Patients Receiving Detoxification Services: A Longitudinal Study, Erin L. Woodhead, Christine Timko

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objectives: Study objectives were to examine (1) baseline differences in substance use motives (social, coping, enhancement, and physical discomfort) among older, middle-aged, and younger adults, and (2) whether age group moderated associations between substance use motives at baseline and substance use outcomes at six-month follow-up. Design: Participants were assessed at baseline and followed for six months (91.1%). Setting: U.S. military veterans receiving alcohol and/or opioid detoxification services. Participants: 298 participants in a study of telephone monitoring to improve detoxification outcomes. Measurements: Baseline substance use motives were measured using the Motives for Alcohol and Drug Use questionnaire. At baseline and 6-month …

Mobile Technology-Based Library Services In Academic Libraries Of Ghana, Silas Adjei, Patience Adetsi, Isaac Kojo Agyeman

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In contemporary academic library settings, there's a growing need for libraries to offer access to their resources and services remotely and without boundaries. Mobile technologies (MT) have gained widespread acceptance among academic library stakeholders globally, as they are seen as effective communication tools for providing convenient library services to patrons. This study aimed to explore the potential benefits of adopting and implementing Mobile Technology-based Library Services in academic libraries in Ghana. Conducted as a descriptive survey using a quantitative approach, the research focused on two private universities in Ghana: Valley View University and Central University. The sample comprised 390 undergraduate …

Cultural Influences On Parental Advocacy For Inclusion: Experiences Of South Asian Families With Children With Extensive Support Needs, Sudha Krishnan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This qualitative study examined the cultural factors in parental advocacy in South Asian parents of children with extensive support needs (ESN), concerning the educational placement decisions for their children. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic coding. The findings revealed that the predominant preference for segregated educational settings among participants was shaped by various cultural influences: persistent social stigma surrounding disability, a culturally-rooted belief in the curability of the disability, the prioritization of safety over academic integration, perceived inadequacies within general education settings, institutional pressures from school or IEP recommendations, advocacy for intensive home-based instruction, and a …

Deviant Behaviors In Academic Libraries In Oyo State, Nigeria: Prevalence, Causes, Impacts, And Mitigation Strategies, Fisayo Adesola Adekunle Mr, Bright Ajayi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract:

This study explores deviant behaviors in academic libraries in Oyo State, Nigeria, focusing on their prevalence, causes, impacts, and potential strategies for mitigation. The descriptive research design of the survey type was adopted for the study. Data were collected from respondents, including students and staff at Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan, and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology library, Ogbomoso. These universities formed the population of the study. Simple random sampling technique was used. 350 copies of questionnaire were distributed across the universities with a retrieval success of 305 copies, representing 87.14% return rate. The study identifies that …

Spartan Daily, February 13, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 164, Issue 10

Library Staff Perceptions Of Virtual Library And Information Services At Makerere And Uganda Christian Universities, Uganda, Lydia Namugera, Joyce Bukirwa, Constant Okello-Obura

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study, which was underpinned by the ServQual model aims to determine the perceptions of library staff of Makerere and Uganda Christian Universities on the provision of virtual library and information services (VLIS), the challenges faced and strategies for the enhancement of VLIS provision. A qualitative design was used to collect data from eight library staff who were selected through purposive sampling until data reached saturation. The findings indicated that majority of librarians exhibit poor perceptions towards VLIS; as manifested in their reluctance to participate in VLIS provision, their conservatism, which impedes acceptance of new VLIS and their …

“Burned Through”: Performing Social Justice In The Academy, Matthew P. Bejar, Saemi Lee, Terilyn C. Shigeno, Leslie K. Larsen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this chapter, we discuss and interrogate our experiences of infusing social justice into our research, teaching, and service amidst sexism, racism, and other intersectional forms of oppression that are prevalent within the academy and how this tension has tended to elicit performative social justice. First, we situate this chapter by summarizing our individual journeys with social justice in sport and exercise psychology (SEP). Second, we describe our collective journey as former graduate students and early career professionals. Third, we discuss the challenges that we encountered with respect to our social justice work. Fourth, we share the ways that we …

Insights For The Future Of Car Rental And Ridesharing: Driving Behavior Across Different Levels Of Automation, Pranav Meda, Aubrey Victoria Contreras, Wei-Hsiang Lo, Gaojian Huang, Yue Luo

Mineta Transportation Institute

Autonomous vehicles are reshaping the car rental and ridesharing industries, potentially leading to a unified model of on-demand transportation suitable for both uncommon (e.g., business trips) and daily commuting. An exploratory study of human behavior towards autonomous vehicles can uncover the challenges and opportunities inherent in different levels of vehicle automation. This study aims to (a) identify behavioral differences in drivers operating vehicles at various levels of automation and (b) explore how these behaviors vary with different assistance feature styles, specifically between risky and conservative modes. Human-subject experiments were conducted among twelve participants (aged 21 to 29, including four women) …

Understanding The Prevalence Of Mental Health And Behavioral Distress In Transit Assaults And Presenting Targeted Response And Mitigation Methods To Reduce Victimization Trends, Kathleen Moore, Emilie Ellenberg, Melissa Carlson, Jodi Godfrey, Lisa Staes

Mineta Transportation Institute

This research project was performed to better understand the prevalence of mental health and behavioral distress in transit assaults and present corresponding targeted response and mitigation methods to reduce victimization trends. It includes a literature review, a data presentation and overview of reported public transit assault-related events, an examination of the contributing factors to those events, and documentation of 10 transit agency case studies. The literature review discusses some of the misconceptions of mental illness and associated stigmas and discrimination that can occur in response to these misconceptions. It discusses various approaches and strategies that transit agencies have used to …

The Impact Of Vacations On Urban Women's Well-Being From The Perspective Of Feminist Urbanism, Jie Gao, Deborah Kerstetter, Tianfu Wang

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Vacations are known to foster well-being outcomes, yet few researchers have accounted for the influence of individual attributes such as gender, residential setting, or cultural context. As a result, there is a noticeable gap in the well-being literature concerning well-being outcomes for female travelers whose subjectivities have been shaped in as well as by their residential environment (urban) and culture. Using qualitative inquiry informed by the feminist urbanism perspective, this study uncovered urban Chinese women's cognitive representations of well-being outcomes from vacations. Findings revealed that vacations provide liberation from cultural constraints, boosting of social bonds and relationship building, enabling reflection …

“I Need This Person’S Support To Have A Career” The Material And Emotional Impacts Of Neoliberalism On Trans Collegians’ Classroom Experiences At A Public University, Justin A. Gutzwa, Robert A. Marx

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Neoliberal capitalism has undoubtedly impacted every sphere of public education in the United States. As faculty are pushed towards identity-neutral modalities of instruction, students who identify as transgender, non-binary, or other expansive gender identities (trans) are forced to reckon with implicit and explicit power dynamics in classrooms that prioritize White, cisheteropatriarchal modes of knowledge production in nuanced ways. This qualitative study explores the ways neoliberal capitalism impacts the curricular experiences of trans students by centering the power dynamics they encounter through interactions with their professors and their peers. Findings underscore the pernicious nature of the neoliberalization of higher education in …

Spartan Daily, January 30, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 164, Issue 4

Spartan Daily, January 29, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 164, Issue 3

Is Buddhist View Of Mental States In Consonance With The Foundational Tenets Of Their System?: Investigating Nyāya And Buddhist Debate On Perception In Jayanta Bhatta’S Nyāyamanjari, Ajay K. Verma

Comparative Philosophy

The first noble truth in Buddhism points toward a purely phenomenal experience. Though purely qualitative in nature, the experience of suffering has an existential aspect. As stated in the second noble truth, suffering has a cause that relates to our situatedness in the world. Notwithstanding, the cause of suffering has to be something external to the mental state of suffering itself. Some of the more recent studies on mental states suggest two different positions on the nature of mental states. One may view mental states as self-referential, reflexive and purely qualitative in nature; alternatively, one could view them as transitive …

Walking Through The Aristotelian Lane: Amartya Sen On Rational Choice, Barada Laxmi Panda

Comparative Philosophy

The term ‘rational choice’ has great impact on the life of a rational agent. Rational choice helps the agent to understand her capability of making choice and the intentional involvement for working on a particular aspect considering certain circumstances. At the same time, this creates a lot of dilemmas in terms of understanding the freewill of the agent while being committed for a work. Following this, Amartya Sen’s discussion on this subject seems relevant where Sen very prominently reflects on the point that rational choice involves freedom, rationality, and normativity. These three features are coherent with each other and with …

Epistemic Injustices In Philosophical Practice: African And Western, Michael Omoge

Comparative Philosophy

Arguably, there is a Eurocentric problem in philosophical practice, which, among many other things, has unwarrantedly given Western analytic philosophy an identity power that governs our collective social imagination regarding the ideal philosophy. In this paper, I argue that in both the African and Western philosophical communities, this identity power makes it such that the African analytic philosopher is the victim of different forms of epistemic injustice. In the African community, he is a victim of epistemic withdrawal and epistemic meekness; in the Western community, he is a victim of epistemic gatekeeping. I characterize these forms of epistemic injustice, setting …

The Methodological Problems Of Incorporating Indigenous Philosophy In Collaborative Research, Luthonliu Gangmei, P. Milan Khangamcha

Comparative Philosophy

This paper addresses the methodological challenges inherent in collaborative research endeavours focused on the development of Indigenous philosophy. It argues that these challenges persist due to a lack of recognition of the autonomy and intrinsic philosophical value of ethno-philosophy or Indigenous philosophy. Despite the United Nations acknowledging the significance of indigenous worldviews and their philosophical underpinnings, they are still yet to be fully integrated into the global knowledge domain. The paper highlights the tendency to view indigenous philosophy solely as a cultural asset of indigenous peoples rather than recognizing its broader philosophical relevance. It identifies this as a critical interdisciplinary …

Epicurus And The Buddha On Desire, Andrew Alwood

Comparative Philosophy

The philosophies of Epicurus and the Buddha aim to free us from suffering by helping us to recognize how ignorance and delusion lead us to pursue harmful desires. Since the problem lies in our attitudes, the solution is to change our attitudes. Like doctors healing the sick, they offer therapeutic practical advice, to remove the groundless opinions and the unhealthy desires that cause suffering. Although various misconceptions may lead us to conceive of these two thinkers as quite different with respect to values and ethics, there are remarkable similarities. Indeed, their practical advice for how to live has the same …

In Touch With Those In Need: How Touchscreen Devices Lead Consumers To Support Social Causes, Aekyoung Kim, Hyojin Lee, Saerom Lee

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

As consumers are increasingly using touchscreen devices (e.g., tablets or smartphones) when exposed to various marketing messages, this research explores how touchscreen devices alter consumer reactions to social cause marketing. This research shows that using touchscreen (vs. nontouchscreen) devices while viewing online charity ads featuring human victims increases consumers’ support for the advertised social causes. Four studies demonstrate this effect by examining consumers’ social media activities, donation intentions, and actual donations in field and lab settings. Mediation analysis reveals that using touchscreen (vs. nontouchscreen) devices enhances consumer support through increased empathy for the victims featured in charity ads. Together, this …

Differential Encoding Of Mammalian Proprioception By Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels, Cyrrus M. Espino, Chetan Nagaraja, Serena Ortiz, Jacquelyn R. Dayton, Akash R. Murali, Yanki Ma, Emari L. Mann, Snigdha Garlapalli, Ross P. Wohlgemuth, Sarah E. Brashear, Lucas R. Smith, Katherine A. Wilkinson, Theanne N. Griffith

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Animals requiring purposeful movement for survival are endowed with mechanoreceptors, called proprioceptors, that provide essential sensory feedback from muscles and joints to spinal cord circuits, which modulates motor output. Despite the essential nature of proprioceptive signaling in daily life, the mechanisms governing proprioceptor activity are poorly understood. Here, we identified nonredundant roles for two voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs), NaV1.1 and NaV1.6, in mammalian proprioception. Deletion of NaV1.6 in somatosensory neurons (NaV1.6cKO mice) causes severe motor deficits accompanied by loss of proprioceptive transmission, which contrasts with our previous findings using similar mouse models to target NaV1.1 (NaV1.1cKO). In NaV1.6cKO animals, we …

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 …

Bridging Gaps With Occupational Therapy: The Unique Role Of Occupational Therapy In Women’S Day Shelters, Alex Sato

Doctoral Projects

Homelessness is a multifaceted, complex issue that we face as a society. Mainstream services provided to homeless or vulnerable populations tend to focus on housing and basic services. While these are essential and meaningful, literature suggests there is a lack in trauma and self-care support (Marzana et al., 2023; Milaney et al., 2020). Looking through an Occupational Therapy (OT) lens, there are a multitude of ways the profession can provide holistic care. Current OT service provision within this population most commonly focuses on obtaining and maintaining housing and addressing the survival occupations these individuals may be engaging in (Cunningham & …

From Silos To Synergies: How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Collaboration Among Graduate Students, Jennifer Jimenez

Doctoral Projects

Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential for preparing collaborative healthcare practitioners, yet opportunities at San José State University (SJSU) have been limited, inconsistent, and largely dependent on individual faculty initiative. This capstone project aimed to strengthen IPE at SJSU by assessing institutional capacity and developing feasible, sustainable strategies to enhance exposure and participation across health-related programs. Guided by the Person–Environment–Occupation–Performance (PEOP) model and adult learning theory, the project combined a needs assessment, literature review, and partnership with the Healthy Development Community Clinic (HDCC) to create an instructor implementation guide and student introductory modules for HDCC service-learning onboarding. An IRB-approved mixed-methods faculty …

A Guide To Falls In A Skilled Nursing Facility, Sarah Ghione

Doctoral Projects

Approximately one in four older adults experiences a fall each year in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024b; Kakara et al., 2023). Among those residing in nursing homes for either short-term rehabilitation or long-term care, the risk of falls is doubled (Acker & Janssen, 2017; Shao et al., 2023). The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to develop an educational resource aimed at enhancing staff education and fall prevention efforts within a single nursing home, supporting the facility’s goal of reducing fall rates. Methods included a needs assessment, observational experiences, resource development, and the …

Multimodal Deception Detection Via Audio-Text Fusion With Deep Learning And Asr, Xiangyi Li

Master's Projects

Emotion detection plays a crucial role in human-computer interaction, enabling machines to recognize and respond appropriately to human emotional states. This project explores a two-stage approach to emotion detection using multimodal data, first predicting dimensional values (Arousal, Valence, Dominance) from textual and audio inputs, then mapping these representations to discrete emotion categories. We compare this approach with direct categorical classification using transformer-based language models like BERT, RoBERTa, and DeBERTa for text processing, alongside various audio feature extraction methods, including MFCCs and spectrograms. Using the IEMOCAP dataset, we evaluate both approaches across text-only, audio-only, and multimodal configurations. Our findings reveal that …

Suicidal Ideation Detection On Reddit Using Llm-Annotated Data And Graph Neural Networks, Ikbal Singh Gurdev Singh Dhanjal

Master's Projects

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among people aged 15-29. More than 720, 000 people commit suicide every year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw an increase in people seeking out mental health support on anonymous forums like Reddit. These anonymous forums allow people to express their suicidal ideation without judgment and give them a support structure that not everyone has. The aim of this project is to detect suicidal ideation using Reddit. In this work, we propose SIRGEL (Suicidal Ideation on Reddit using Graph Embeddings and LLMs), a dual-pipeline approach that combines large language model (LLM)- based …