Digital Commons Network^™

Abq Streets: Creating Alternative Residential Street Designs, Gregory Rowangould Ph.D, Nick N. Ferenchak Ph.D

Publications

This research evaluates opportunities for retrofitting residential streets with alterative designs with the overall goal of improving their function, reducing their negative impacts and reducing maintenance costs. This is accomplished through three main research tasks. First, we conduct a comprehensive review of the street design literature with a focus on studies that report how alterative or unique designs that are relevant to the residential street context affect travel behavior, traffic flow, safety, crime and environmental impacts. We then survey residential streets in several study neighborhoods to measure typical design features and cross sections. With this information we then evaluate which …

An Academic Rollercoaster: A Phenomological Study Of Ncaa Division I Football, Chris Yandle, Sarah Stokowski, B. David Ridpath

Publications

No abstract provided.

Cyber Social Threats 2020 Workshop Meta-Report: Covid-19, Challenges, Methodological And Ethical Considerations, Ugur Kursuncu, Yelena Mejova, Jeremy Blackburn, Amit Sheth

Publications

Online platforms have been increasingly misused by ill-intentioned actors, affecting our society, often leading to real-world events of social significance. On the other hand, recog-nizing the narratives related to harmful behaviors is challeng-ing due to its complex and sensitive nature. The Cyber SocialThreats Workshop 2020 aimed to stimulate research for thechallenges on methodological and ethical considerations indeveloping novel approaches to analyze online harmful con-versations, concerning social, cultural, emotional, commu-nicative, and linguistic aspects. It provided a forum to bringtogether researchers and practitioners from both academiaand industry in the areas of computational social sciences, so-cial network analysis and mining, natural language process-ing, …

Covid-19, 5g Conspiracies And Infrastructural Futures, James Meese, Jordan Frith, Rowan Wilken

Publications

This article examines the emergence of conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 with 5G, with a focus on Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. The article is in two parts. The first details long-standing concerns around mobile technologies and infrastructures before showing how they translate to specific worries about 5G technology. The second shows how these fears have fuelled specific conspiracies connecting 5G with COVID-19, how they have animated protests and acts of vandalism that have occurred during the pandemic, and the ongoing engagement of conspiracists with official inquiries into 5G. Finally, we argue that a productive way to understand what …

It Is All About Location: Smartphones And Tracking The Spread Of Covid-19, Jordan Frith, Michael Saker

Publications

Mobile phone location data have become tied to understandings of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data visualizations have used mobile phone data to inform people about how mobility practices may be linked to the spread of the virus, and governments have explored contact tracing that relies upon mobile phone data. This article examines how these uses of location data implicate three particular issues that have been present in the growing body of locative media research: (1) anonymized data are often not anonymous, (2) location data are not always representative and can exacerbate inequality, and (3) location data are a …

It Is All About Location: Smartphones And Tracking The Spread Of Covid-19, Jordan Frith, Michael Saker

Publications

Mobile phone location data have become tied to understandings of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data visualizations have used mobile phone data to inform people about how mobility practices may be linked to the spread of the virus, and governments have explored contact tracing that relies upon mobile phone data. This article examines how these uses of location data implicate three particular issues that have been present in the growing body of locative media research: (1) anonymized data are often not anonymous, (2) location data are not always representative and can exacerbate inequality, and (3) location data are a …

Coextensive Space: Virtual Reality And The Developing Relationship Between The Body, The Digital And Physical Space, Michael Saker, Jordan Frith

Publications

Virtual Reality (VR) has traditionally required external sensors placed around a designated play space. In contrast, more recent wired and wireless systems, such as the Oculus Rift S (released in March 2019) and the Oculus Quest (released in May 2019) use cameras located on the outside of these devices to monitor their physical position. Users can now mark out a physical space that is then digitally tracked within their display. Once a play space has been established, users are alerted if they come close to breaching this boundary by the visual inclusion of a grid. Should this threshold be breached, …

Gaining Insight Into Transition And Progression Of Students On The Autism Spectrum - Discover A Transition Programme With A Difference, Laura Coleman, Annie Cummins, Julie O'Donovan

Publications

Autism is a neurodevelopment condition that is ‘characterised by qualitative impairments in social communication and social interaction across contexts and a repetitive or restricted pattern of interest, behaviour and activity’ (Lambe, 2019:1531). According to the autistic rights movement, ‘autistic people are not disconnected from the world around them, they are differently connected to it’ (Leveto, 2018 :3). Over the last number of years, there has been a move away from defining autism as a ‘disorder’ and towards redefining it as a ‘difference’ (Ring et al, 2018). In this paper, the terms ‘autism’ or ‘on the spectrum’ …

Lancaster County Population Projections: 2010 To 2050, David J. Drozd, Tara Grell

Publications

In projections prepared for Lancaster County, population and household growth continues in each decade between 2010 and 2050. The projections show the population increasing to about 321,000 in 2020, rising by more than 35,000 people or 12.4% from 2010. The number of households rises to nearly 130,000 in 2020, an increase of 14.4%, nearly identical to the growth rate during the 2000s. The adjectives “steady” and “stable” accurately describe Lancaster County’s expected future growth. Between 2020 and 2050, the projections indicate growth of nearly 40,000 persons and 18,000 households each decade. The county should reach the milestones of having 150,000 …

Perceptions And Determinants Of Partnership Trust In The Context Of Community-Based Participatory Research, Arelis Moore De Peralta, Julie Smithwick, Myriam E. Torres

Publications

Trust is difficult to conceptualize and define because of its diverse applications in different disciplines. Historic mistrust between vulnerable communities and researchers based on past adverse experiences can negatively affect the ability to collaborate and conduct effective research with such populations. Community Based-Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that can reduce historic mistrust and health disparities among minority populations. Although how trust development occurs in CBPR partnerships has been explored, there is a need to determine how to move from one stage to the next in fostering and maintaining that trust. The present study contributes to this …

Comparing Online And Traditional Student Engagement And Perceptions Of Undergraduate Research, Emily K. Faulconer, John Griffith, Zachary Dixon, Donna Roberts

Publications

Undergraduate research benefits students by strengthening skills, providing professional growth, and improving retention. Yet significant barriers exist, including low awareness of opportunities, restrictive cultural norms, and resource constraints. The proliferation of online education potentially increases barriers, both real and perceived. This study compared participation rates and perceived barriers between undergraduate distance and traditional students. Survey results indicated no significant differences in self-reported participation or overall interest in research. Despite inherent structural limitations of online education, there were no significant differences in the respondents’ perceptions of access to opportunities, physical resources, or human resources. Significant differences were seen regarding awareness of …

Analyzing And Learning The Language For Different Types Of Harassment, Mohammadreza Rezvan, Saeedeh Shekarpour, Faisal Alshargi, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Valerie L. Shalin, Amit P. Sheth

Publications

THIS ARTICLE USES WORDS OR LANGUAGE THAT IS CONSIDERED PROFANE, VULGAR, OR OFFENSIVE BY SOME READERS. The presence of a significant amount of harassment in user-generated content and its negative impact calls for robust automatic detection approaches. This requires the identification of different types of harassment. Earlier work has classified harassing language in terms of hurtfulness, abusiveness, sentiment, and profanity. However, to identify and understand harassment more accurately, it is essential to determine the contextual type that captures the interrelated conditions in which harassing language occurs. In this paper we introduce the notion of contextual type in harassment by distinguishing …

Middle-Income Housing In Nebraska, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

No abstract provided.

Do We Need More Productive Theorizing? A Commentary, David Reinking, David B. Yaden Jr.

Publications

In this commentary, we argue that literacy research would be more produc- tive if researchers had a clearer, more nuanced understanding of theory. Specifically, we argue that theory in a practice-oriented field is most fun- damentally productive when it provides instrumental guidance for literacy beyond academic understanding about literacy. Premises for that argument are presented, as well as how productivity connects to an instrumental view of theory within the philosophy of science. We provide examples from au- thoritative sources and relevant studies suggesting that conceptions and uses of theory in literacy research are ambiguous, diffuse, and incoherent. We argue that …

Memphis Tennessee Garrison, Kelli Johnson

Publications

Memphis Tennessee Garrison was born Memphis Tennessee Carter in Hollins, Virginia on March 3, 1890. She moved with her family to Gary, WV, as a young child. She was named after the city where her aunt worked as a teacher; Memphis, Tennessee, had a large black population. Her parents, Wesley Carter and Cassie Thomas Carter, were former slaves. She had an older brother by 10 years, John Carter, who moved to Columbus, Ohio, as an adult and worked in a steel mill.

John H. Spotts, Spotts Family

Publications

Biography of John H. Spotts prepared by the Spotts family. John H. Spotts was a longtime Marshall University staff member who was much respected by students and peers alike.

Understanding The Nli: A Matter Of Trust, Kristal Beachum, Matthew Zimmerman, Sarah Stokowski

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Health Insurance On Crime: Evidence From The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion, Qiwei He, Scott Barkowski

Publications

Little evidence exists on the effect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on criminal behavior, a gap in the literature that this paper seeks to address. Using a simple model, we argue we should anticipate a decrease in time devoted to criminal activities in response to the expansion, because the availability of the ACA Medicaid coverage raises the opportunity cost of crime. This prediction is particularly relevant for the ACA expansion because it primarily affects childless adults, a population likely to contain individuals who engage in criminal behavior. We validate this forecast empirically using a difference‐in‐differences framework, estimating the expansion's …

Greater Omaha Chamber Young Professionals Nebraska’S Exit Survey, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell, David J. Drozd

Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Youth Survey, Josie Gatti Schafer

Publications

In January 2020, Nebraska Community Foundation began working with Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to co-create a survey designed to explore young people’s perceptions and perspectives of their Nebraska hometowns. Over 1,000 high school students responded to the online survey which was administered in rural communities of varying sizes and geography between January and May 2020. The results of the Youth Survey begin to reveal the priorities, values, and desires of these individuals as well as factors that may influence their decision to return to or remain in Greater Nebraska in the future. …

Nebraska Small Business By The Numbers, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell

Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Energy Poverty: The Relevance Of Faith And Reason, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

The challenge of energy poverty (EP) primarily confronts the least developed countries (LDCs) of the world, located in Africa and Asia, but is also prevalent within segments of more advanced developing countries in Asia. This article will first delineate the nature of global energy poverty that results in the premature deaths of millions of people and leads to pervasive sickness among many more millions. The article will next sketch the legal and political responses to this problem that have generally applied principles of sustainable development (SD) and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015 adopted by the General Assembly …

(Indigenous) Language As A Human Right, Kristen Carpenter, Alexey Tsykarev

Publications

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Building on lessons of the International Year of Indigenous Languages of 2019, the Decade will "draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages." These actions are necessary, in part, because existing laws and policies have proven inadequate to redress the legacy of state suppression of indigenous languages or ensure nondiscrimination in contemporary usage. In light of the International Year and Decade, this Article explores the rights of indigenous peoples to "use, revitalize, and …

Medicalization And The New Civil Rights, Craig Konnoth

Publications

In the last several decades, individuals have advanced civil rights claims that rely on the language of medicine. This Article is the first to define and defend these “medical civil rights” as a unified phenomenon.

Individuals have increasingly used the language of medicine to seek rights and benefits, often for conditions that would not have been cognizable even a few years ago. For example, litigants have claimed that discrimination against transgender individuals constitutes illegal disability discrimination. Others have argued that their fatigue constitutes chronic fatigue syndrome (which was, until recently, a novel and contested diagnosis) to obtain Social Security disability …

Examining Gender And Enjoyment: Do They Predict Job Satisfaction And Well-Being?, Christina M. Frederick, Elizabeth H. Lazzara

Publications

Within organizations, happiness of employees is of key importance, and researchers have theorized that work happiness is comprised of positive well-being and job satisfaction (Sgroi, 2015; Wright & Cropanzano, 2000). However, women experience the workplace differently than their male counterparts (Clark, 1997). In the present study, we examine how female leaders and non-leaders (compared to male leaders and non-leaders), experience well-being and job satisfaction, as well as how work enjoyment predicts well-being and job satisfaction. Participants (286 women and 255 men) completed a demographic measure, the Subjective Vitality Scale (Ryan & Frederick, 1997), the Job Satisfaction Survey (Macdonald & McIntyre, …

Software As A Profession, Bryan H. Choi

Publications

No abstract provided.

Unsafe At Any Campus: Don't Let Colleges Become The Next Cruise Ships, Nursing Homes, And Food Processing Plants, Peter H. Huang, Debra S. Austin

Publications

The decision to educate our students via in-person or online learning environments while COVID-19 is unrestrained is a false choice, when the clear path to achieve our chief objective safely, the education of our students, can be done online. Our decision-making should be guided by the overriding principle that people matter more than money. We recognize that lost tuition revenue if students delay or defer education is an institutional concern, but we posit that many students and parents would prefer a safer online alternative to riskier in-person options, especially as we get closer to fall, and American death tolls rise. …

Medical Civil Rights As A Site Of Activism: A Reply To Critics, Craig Konnoth

Publications

See Craig Konnoth, Medicalization and the New Civil Rights, 72 Stan. L. Rev. 1165 (2020).

See also Rabia Belt & Doron Dorfman, Response, Reweighing Medical Civil Rights, 72 Stan. L. Rev. Online 176 (2020), https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/reweighing-medical-civil-rights/; Allison K. Hoffman, Response, How Medicalization of Civil Rights Could Disappoint, 72 Stan. L. Rev. Online 165 (2020), https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/how-medicalization-of-civil-rights-could-disappoint/.

Pennsylvania’S Covid-19 Response Vs. Homeland Security Frameworks And Research: Masking The Whole Community, Alexander Siedschlag

Publications

This essay offers an intermediate discussion of select policy, strategic, operational, and tactical issues that demonstrate where and how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s novel coronavirus response on the one hand, and homeland security frameworks and research on the other, converge or—more often so—diverge, and how to narrow this gap. Although typically framed as a pandemic owned by the public health sector, the COVID-19 response falls directly within the homeland security mission space, whose core missions include “Ensuring Resilience to Disasters.” In some respects, Pennsylvania’s response exemplifies best practices suggested by research. In other dimensions, it is neither in line with …

Set And Spike: Mentoring A Student-Athlete In Stem For Undergraduate Engineering Education Research, Leroy Long Iii, Mckenna D. Gooch

Publications

It is well known that student-athletes are more diverse and higher academic achievers, on average, than their collegiate peers. However, little research has explored the mentoring relationships of student-athletes who conduct undergraduate research. Unique challenges and opportunities exist for student-athletes and faculty when it comes to mentoring undergraduate research in fields like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Using a collaborative autoethnographic methodological approach and apprenticeship theory, our personal narratives detail how an engineering professor mentored a former engineering student-athlete for undergraduate engineering education research. We offer several findings and recommendations.