Digital Commons Network^™

"Who Can Help Me?'': Knowledge Infused Matching Of Support Seekers And Support Providers During Covid-19 On Reddit, Manas Gaur, Kaushik Roy, Aditya Sharma, Biplav Srivastava, Amit Sheth

Publications

During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, subreddits on Reddit, such as r/Coronavirus saw a rapid growth in user's requests for help (support seekers - SSs) including individuals with varying professions and experiences with diverse perspectives on care (support providers - SPs). Currently, knowledgeable human moderators match an SS with a user with relevant experience, i.e, an SP on these subreddits. This unscalable process defers timely care. We present a medical knowledge-infused approach to efficient matching of SS and SPs validated by experts for the users affected by anxiety and depression, in the context of with COVID-19. After matching, each SP to …

Knowledge Infused Policy Gradients With Upper Confidence Bound For Relational Bandits, Kaushik Roy, Qi Zhang, Manas Gaur, Amit Sheth

Publications

Contextual Bandits find important use cases in various real-life scenarios such as online advertising, recommendation systems, healthcare, etc. However, most of the algorithms use at feature vectors to represent context whereas, in the real world, there is a varying number of objects and relations among them to model in the context. For example, in a music recommendation system, the user context contains what music they listen to, which artists create this music, the artist albums, etc. Adding richer relational context representations also introduces a much larger context space making exploration-exploitation harder. To improve the efficiency of exploration-exploitation knowledge about the …

Gravity Waves, Na Lidar, Yafang Guo, Alan Z. Liu

Publications

Vertical energy transports due to dissipating gravity waves in the mesopause region (85–100 km) are analyzed using over 400 h of observational data obtained from a narrow-band sodium wind-temperature lidar located at Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), Cerro Pachón (30.25°S, 70.73°W), Chile. Sensible heat flux is directly estimated using measured temperature and vertical wind; energy flux is estimated from the vertical wavenumber and frequency spectra of temperature perturbations; and enthalpy flux is derived based on its relationship with sensible heat and energy fluxes. Sensible heat flux is mostly downward throughout the region. Enthalpy flux exhibits an annual oscillation with maximum downward …

Upper Limit Of Electron Fluxes Observed In The Radiation Belts, Kun Zhang, Xinlin Li, Hong Zhao, Zheng Xiang, Leng Ying Khoo, Wenxun Zhang, Benjamin Hogan, Michael A. Temerin

Publications

Radiation belt electrons have a complicated relationship with geomagnetic activity. We select electron measurements from 7 years of DEMETER and 6 years of Van Allen Probes data during geomagnetic storms to conduct statistical analysis focusing on the correlation between electron flux and Dst index. We report, for the first time, an upper limit of electron fluxes observed by both satellites throughout the inner and outer belts across a wide energy range from ∼100s keV to multi-MeV. The upper flux limit is determined at different L's and energies, for example, 1.9 × 107/cm2-s-sr-MeV at 470 keV at L = 1.5 and …

Seasonal Variation Of Vertical Heat And Energy Fluxes Due To Dissipating Gravity Waves In The Mesopause Region Over The Andes, Yafang Guo, Alan Z. Liu

Publications

Vertical energy transports due to dissipating gravity waves in the mesopause region (85–100 km) are analyzed using over 400 h of observational data obtained from a narrow-band sodium wind-temperature lidar located at Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO), Cerro Pachón (30.25°S, 70.73°W), Chile. Sensible heat flux is directly estimated using measured temperature and vertical wind; energy flux is estimated from the vertical wavenumber and frequency spectra of temperature perturbations; and enthalpy flux is derived based on its relationship with sensible heat and energy fluxes. Sensible heat flux is mostly downward throughout the region. Enthalpy flux exhibits an annual oscillation with maximum downward …

Eservice-Learning: A Decade Of Research In Undergraduate Online Service-Learning, Emily Faulconer

Publications

With an increasing number of courses taught asynchronously online, it is important to explore how to implement high-impact practices in this modality. Service-learning – a high impact practice - is a course-based, credit-bearing type of experiential learning. It is important to understand instructional strategies and course design for service-learning in the online modality. This review provides an analysis of the last decade of research of Type II and Type IV eService-Learning (with service component online). Analysis of the literature reveals the absence of STEM disciplines, cursory attention to detailing reflection and assessment in describing learning environments in eService-Learning research, and …

National Park Interpretation And Place-Based Education: An Integrative Literature Review, Steph N. Dean

Publications

Background: Both national park (NP) interpretation and place-based education (PBE) approach learning by applying the unique attributes of a place to facilitate meaning-making experiences within learners. Despite the similarities between these two place-centered pedagogies, there is a limited amount of collaboration between NP interpretative services and school systems engaged with PBE. Purpose: Within this integrative review, my purpose is to fully consider both NP interpretation and PBE to present a comprehensive understanding of the two types of pedagogies. Methodology/Approach: Following an integrative review methodology, I use three different databases to access relevant empirical and theoretical articles. I evaluate and analyze …

Cosmogenesis, Complexity, And Neo-Natural Faith In The Context Of Astrobiology, Kelly C. Smith

Publications

It is fair to say that religion, and in particular the ways in which some Christian and Islamic thinkers have again begun to encroach on the domain of science (e.g., global warming, the teaching of evolution), has caused a great deal of consternation within the scientific and philosophical communities. An understandable reaction to these developments is to reject out of hand even the slightest taint of religion in these fields—a position that has now attained the status of orthodoxy, at least in the western world. This is curious on its face, given the fact that religion has clearly provided a …

Creating Order Out Of Chaos? Development Of A Measure Of Perceived Effects Of Communication On The Crisis Organizing Process, Ryan Patrick Fuller, Andrew S. Pyle, Laura Riolli, Amy Mickel

Publications

Organizations are important sources of communication during natural-hazard crises. How members of an organization perceive these communications (e.g., creating confusion, causing disorder, providing clarity, and restoring order) influences response and recovery from such a crisis. Using Chaos Theory as a guiding framework, the authors developed a new instrument measuring the perceived effects of an organization’s communication on crisis-organizing processes. Three distinct studies were conducted to assess the reliability and validity of this new instrument: the “Perceived Effects of Communication on the Crisis-organizing Process (PEC-COP)” scale. This one-factor scale can be used by both scholars and practitioners to assess the effects …

Assessment As A Learning Opportunity: Feedforward With Multiple Attempts, Emily Faulconer

Publications

High quality feedback is well-known to provide multiple student benefits, especially if students are provided the opportunity to apply the feedback. It reasons, then, that we can support student success on summative assessments by combining multiple attempts with high-quality immediate feedback. This study explores student behaviors, performance, and perspectives regarding this strategy.

Imposter Syndrome In Academia, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Defining Imposter Syndrome

• Despite evidence, fears being exposed as not having the expertise expected in your role.
• Despite evidence, feels like a fraud.
• Attributes success to luck, masking skills, or the work of other people.
• Internalizes failure and over-focus on mistakes.
• Over-estimates abilities of others, underestimates amount of work those individuals put in.

Getting Published In Sotl, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Navigating the publication process can be confusing and frustrating if you don't know what to expect. This session will outline and discuss successful approaches from manuscript generation to post-publication promotion of your work.

We will explore how to identify potential dissemination venues, factors to consider when vetting a journal (readership, impact, access, etc.), editorial processes, and how to strategically get your message across to editors and viewers. From search engine optimization to graphical abstracts and social media, what steps can you take the get the most out of your publication? How can you navigate the "failure points" (growth opportunities) in …

Identifying Depressive Symptoms From Tweets: Figurative Language Enabled Multitask Learning Framework, Shweta Yadav, Jainish Chauhan, Joy Prakash Sain, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Amit P. Sheth, Jeremiah Schumm

Publications

Existing studies on using social media for deriving mental health status of users focus on the depression detection task. However, for case management and referral to psychiatrists, healthcare workers require practical and scalable depressive disorder screening and triage system. This study aims to design and evaluate a decision support system (DSS) to reliably determine the depressive triage level by capturing fine-grained depressive symptoms expressed in user tweets through the emulation of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) that is routinely used in clinical practice. The reliable detection of depressive symptoms from tweets is challenging because the 280-character limit on tweets incentivizes the …

Nearly 30,000 Late-Type Main-Sequence Stars With Stellar Age From Lamost Dr5, Jiajun Zhang, Terry D. Oswalt, Jingkun Zhao, Xilong Liang, Xianhao Ye, Gang Zhao

Publications

We construct a sample of nearly 30,000 main-sequence stars with 4500K < Teff < 5000K and stellar ages estimated by the chromospheric activity−age relation. This sample is used to determine the age distribution in the R − Z plane of the Galaxy, where R is the projected Galactocentric distance in the disk midplane and Z is the height above the disk midplane. As |Z| increases, the percentage of old stars becomes larger. It is known that scale-height of Galactic disk increases as R increases, which is called flare. A mild flare from R ∼ 8.0 to 9.0 kpc in stellar age distribution is found. We also find that the velocity dispersion increases with age as confirmed by previous studies. Finally we present spiral-shaped structures in Z − υZ phase space in three stellar age bins. The spiral is clearly seen in the age bin of [0, 1] Gyr, which suggests that a vertical perturbation to the disk probably took place within the last ∼ 1.0 Gyr.

Implementing The Flipped Classroom In An Undergraduate Corporate Finance Course, Jayendra S. Gokhale

Publications

This study analyzes flipped mode of instruction in Corporate Finance. In the current environment, with many students in quarantine and greater emphasis on self-study, it is even more relevant to understand how students understand and retain concepts derived from online environment. In this study, performance of students in flipped mode is compared with the performance in traditional lecture-style. In flipped class, students watched a brief video-lecture, took an online assessment quiz prior to attending an interactive discussion-based class session, unlike the traditional lecture style. The results of this study suggest that with flipped mode, most students take greater responsibility of …

The Dynamics Of Nonlinear Atmospheric Acoustic-Gravity Waves Generated By Tsunamis Over Realistic Bathymetry, P. A. Inchin, C. J. Heale, J. B. Snively, M. D. Zettergren

Publications

The investigation of atmospheric tsunamigenic acoustic and gravity wave (TAGW) dynamics, from the ocean surface to the thermosphere, is performed through the numerical computations of the 3D compressible nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations. Tsunami propagation is first simulated using a nonlinear shallow water model, which incorporates instantaneous or temporal evolutions of initial tsunami distributions (ITD). Ocean surface dynamics are then imposed as a boundary condition to excite TAGWs into the atmosphere from the ground level. We perform a case study of a large tsunami associated with the 2011 M9.1 Tohuku-Oki earthquake and parametric studies with simplified and demonstrative bathymetry and ITD. Our …

Kelvin-Helmholtz Billow Interactions And Instabilities In The Mesosphere Over The Andes Lidar Observatory: 1. Observations, J. H. Hecht, R. L. Walterscheid, A. Z. Liu, D. C. Fritts, L. J. Gelinas, R. J. Rudy

Publications

A very high spatial resolution (∼25 m pixel at 90 km altitude) OH airglow imager was installed at the Andes Lidar Observatory on Cerro Pachón, Chile, in February 2016. This instrument was collocated with a Na wind-temperature lidar. On 1 March 2016, the lidar data showed that the atmosphere was dynamically unstable before 0100 UT and thus conducive to the formation of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHIs). The imager revealed the presence of a KHI and an apparent atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) propagating approximately perpendicular to the plane of primary KHI motions. The AGW appears to have induced modulations of the shear …

Surveying The Safety Culture Of Academic Laboratories, Emily Faulconer, Zachary Dixon, John C. Griffith, Hayden Frank

Publications

The university traditionally has been the foundation for young adults’ professional development, yet the proclivity toward safety culture has garnered less focus in higher education than in the workforce. A survey of faculty at a medium-sized, research-active, private institution revealed specific areas of policy noncompliance as well as specific safety attitudes that can be targeted for interventions. Albeit a snapshot view, the survey implies that safety needs better representation in the classroom, teaching laboratories, and research facilities at universities. Safety is not abandoned by any means, and there is a strong presence of safety-oriented individuals, but the data show barriers …

Do Not Disturb The Flow! Smoking And The Cardiovascular System, Shunderla Wilson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack (Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017). Students may experience or be affected by several incidences of heart attacks throughout their life. As such, students should be aware of the risk factors and learn the underlying reasons for a heart attack.

Most students believe they are too young for a heart attack and think symptoms will appear gradually (Roth and Gotter 2018). Heart disease in younger individuals is appearing more frequently due to obesity, tobacco and alcohol us-age, stress, and race (Napoli 2019). In this article, we describe how …

Do Not Disturb The Flow!, Shunderla Wilson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack (Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017). Students may experience or be affected by several incidences of heart attacks throughout their life. As such, students should be aware of the risk factors and learn the underlying reasons for a heart attack.

Most students believe they are too young for a heart attack and think symptoms will appear gradually (Roth and Gotter 2018). Heart disease in younger individuals is appearing more frequently due to obesity, tobacco and alcohol usage, stress, and race (Napoli 2019). In this …

A Statistical Learning Regression Model Utilized To Determine Predictive Factors Of Social Distancing During Covid-19 Pandemic, Timothy A. Smith, Albert J. Boquet, Matthew V. Chin

Publications

In an application of the mathematical theory of statistics, predictive regression modelling can be used to determine if there is a trend to predict the response variable of social distancing in terms of multiple predictor input “predictor” variables. In this study the social distancing is measured as the percentage reduction in average mobility by GPS records, and the mathematical results obtained are interpreted to determine what factors drive that response. This study was done on county level data from the state of Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is found that the most deterministic predictors are county population density …

Finite-Time State Estimation For An Inverted Pendulum Under Input-Multiplicative Uncertainty, Sergey V. Drakunov, William Mackunis, Anu Kossery Jayaprakash, Krishna Bhavithavya Kidambi, Mahmut Reyhanoglu

Publications

A sliding mode observer is presented, which is rigorously proven to achieve finite-time state estimation of a dual-parallel underactuated (i.e., single-input multi-output) cart inverted pendulum system in the presence of parametric uncertainty. A salient feature of the proposed sliding mode observer design is that a rigorous analysis is provided, which proves finite-time estimation of the complete system state in the presence of input-multiplicative parametric uncertainty. The performance of the proposed observer design is demonstrated through numerical case studies using both sliding mode control (SMC)- and linear quadratic regulator (LQR)-based closed-loop control systems. The main contribution presented here is the rigorous …

Finite-Time State Estimation For An Inverted Pendulum Under Input-Multiplicative Uncertainty, William Mackunis, Sergey V. Drakunov, Anu Kossery Jayaprakash, Krishna Bhavithavya Kidambi, Mahmut Reyhanoglu

Publications

A sliding mode observer is presented, which is rigorously proven to achieve finite-time state estimation of a dual-parallel underactuated (i.e., single-input multi-output) cart inverted pendulum system in the presence of parametric uncertainty. A salient feature of the proposed sliding mode observer design is that a rigorous analysis is provided, which proves finite-time estimation of the complete system state in the presence of input-multiplicative parametric uncertainty. The performance of the proposed observer design is demonstrated through numerical case studies using both sliding mode control (SMC)- and linear quadratic regulator (LQR)-based closed-loop control systems. The main contribution presented here is the rigorous …

Identifying Dietary Patterns In Irish Schoolchildren And Their Association With Nutritional Knowledge And Markers Of Health Before And After Intervention, Alison Merrotsy, Aoife L. Mccarthy, Seán Lacey, Tara Coppinger

Publications

The aim of the study was to identify dietary patterns (DP) and examine differences in anthropometric measures, blood pressure (BP), cardiorespiratory fitness and nutritional knowledge of 6- and 10-year-old children at baseline and following a nutrition and physical activity intervention, with respect to DP and treatment group. This is a longitudinal study. Food diary, nutritional knowledge questionnaire and 550-m walk/run test measured dietary intake, nutritional knowledge and cardiorespiratory fitness, respectively. BP, weight, height and waist circumference were also measured and BMI and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were derived. All measurements were performed at baseline and following intervention. Two primary schools (one …

Case Study: Unsaturated Embankment Failure On Soft Soils, Ghada Ellithy, Timothy D. Stark

Publications

This paper describes the application of unsaturated soil mechanics to an interstate connecting-ramp embankment that failed during construction. Specifically, matric suction is incorporated into the calculation of the tension crack (TC) depth induced by desiccation and strain incompatibility and the contribution of matric suction to embankment shear strength. The results are compared with field observations to assess the viability of unsaturated soil mechanics in modeling compacted embankments in stability analyses. Results from this study suggest that using unsaturated shear strength parameters while introducing a TC in the compacted fill yields a reasonable inverse analysis of this interstate embankment. This may …

Finding Community And Overcoming Barriers: Experiences Of Queer And Transgender Postsecondary Students In Mathematics And Other Stem Fields, Elizabeth Kersey, Matthew Voigt

Publications

Although there is little research on the experiences of queer and/or transgender postsecondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, we can infer from current literature that these subjects may be less welcoming than the humanities and social sciences. We conducted two studies to investigate this possibility: (1) a narrative inquiry study with postsecondary transgender students and (2) a grounded theory narrative study with undergraduate queer students. Transgender students who had transitioned indicated that they were subjected to lower expectations when presenting as female, but transgender women experienced this change as positive, since their treatment by others was …

Analysis Of The Causes Of Workforce Shortages: Create Guidelines For Education And Workforce Development In Transportation To Generate Future Careers For The Navajo Nation, Gholam Ehteshami

Publications

Activities were dedicated to the collections, summarizations and categorizing more research articles related to the analysis of the sources of workforce deficiencies. The focus was on the technical and educational solution methods and strategies, guideline relevant to the workforce development. The times also were committed to the development of educational modules related to carrier’s opportunities in the transport industry into a couple of courses. Several NTU STEM students were interviewed, selected and introduced for the summer research internships in transportation areas to LSU Tran SET center. Outreach activities conducted with the community and some of the high school professionals related …

Stem Laboratory Safety On A Shoestring, Emily K. Faulconer

Publications

Classroom laboratory activities promote learner development in scientific reasoning and interest in science. Learner safety is a critical concern. Many states have adopted OSHA standards (e.g. The Laboratory Standard 29 CFR 1910.1450 or Hazard Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200) or developed their own standards to protect public school teachers and staff, but these do not extend to students.

Detection And Estimation Of Inundation And Associated Risks Using Traffic And Monitoring Cameras And Image Processing Under Extreme Flooding Conditions, Suyun Ham Ph.D, Seongjin Noh Ph.D, Dong-Jun Seo Ph.D, Yin Chao Yu, Sangoo Kang

Publications

The main objective of this project is to develop an inundation detection and evaluation framework using images from traffic monitoring cameras and reliable flood monitoring under extreme precipitation conditions. This study presents a comparative assessment of image enhancement and segmentation techniques to automatically identify the flash flooding from the low-resolution images taken by traffic-monitoring cameras. Due to inaccurate equipment in severe weather conditions (e.g., raindrops or light refraction on camera lenses), low-resolution images are subject to noises that degrade the quality of information. De-noising procedures are carried out for the enhancement of images by removing different types of noises. After …

Advanced Modeling And Design Methodology For Pavements Using Plasticity-Based Shakedown Theory, Shengli Chen, Chao Sun, Xu Wang, Zhiming Zhang

Publications

Pavement design is a process intended to find the most economical combination of layer thickness and material type for the pavement, taking into account the properties of the subgrade soil and the traffic to be carried during the service life of the road. The currently prevalent methods of pavement analysis and design, however, are more or less empirical in U.S., which possess the shortcoming that the important type of pavement distress of rutting related to the accumulation of plastic or permanent deformations cannot be effectively considered. This project proposes an exploratory study on the application of the plasticity theory-based shakedown …