Digital Commons Network^™

Perspectives On Undergraduate Research Mentorship: A Comparative Analysis Between Online And Traditional Faculty, Emily K. Faulconer, Zachary Dixon, John Griffith, Laura Faulconer

Publications

With an increase in distance faculty, it is important to understand how faculty perceptions of undergraduate research mentorship differ between distance and traditional faculty. Perceptions were examined in a medium sized, not-for-profit university with both residential and distance faculty. Residential faculty were more likely to mentor or were very interested in undergraduate research, but overall interest in mentorship was similar across campuses. Faculty status or career experience was not correlated to interest or engagement in research mentorship. Traditional faculty were more likely to report time commitment as a significant barrier than distance faculty. Other barriers and benefits were aligned between …

Project Management: A Natural Career Destination For Military Veterans, Tracey Richardson, James W. Marion Jr, Matthew Earnhardt, Vittal S. Anantatmula

Publications

This quantitative study surveys 595 United States military veterans from all four branches of the military in order to ascertain the degree to which the branches of the military prepare individuals for possible future careers in civilian project management roles. Further, the study compares the relative knowledge of project management technical skill areas, processes and personal competencies. Although all branches provided responses indicating a high degree of familiarity with and preparation for project management roles, some significant differences were observed in responses between military branches.

Research Provides Evidence For Health Policy In Lao Pdr, Ian Bromage, Pamela J. Wright Phd, Ms, Med, Rn, Cen, Sengchanh Kounnavong, Vanphanom Sychareun, Léonie Venroij

Publications

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of Discontinuities In Elastic Solids, Arkadi Berezovski, Mihhail Berezovski

Publications

The paper is devoted to evolving discontinuities in elastic solids. A discontinuity is represented as a singular set of material points. Evolution of a discontinuity is driven by the configurational force acting at such a set. The main attention is paid to the determination of the velocity of a propagating discontinuity. Martensitic phase transition fronts and brittle cracks are considered as representative examples.

A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System For Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data On Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Robb J. Tracy

Publications

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for …

Validation Of An Automated Body Condition Scoring System Using 3d Imaging, Niall O'Leary, Lorenzo Leso, Frank Buckley, Jonathon Kenneally, True North Technologies, Shannon Business Centre, Shannon, Clare, Ireland;, Laurence Shalloo

Publications

Body condition scores (BCS) measure a cow’s fat reserves and is important for management and research. Manual BCS assessment is subjective, time-consuming, and requires trained personnel. The BodyMat F (BMF, Ingenera SA, Cureglia, Switzerland) is an automated body condition scoring system using a 3D sensor to estimate BCS. This study assesses the BMF. One hundred and three Holstein Friesian cows were assessed by the BMF and two assessors throughout a lactation. The BMF output is in the 0–5 scale commonly used in France. We develop and report the first equation to convert these scores to the 1–5 scale used by …

Unlocking The Final Code To Managing Financial Risk In The Airline Industry, Sunder Raghavan, Alfonso Canella Higuera, Maneesh Sharma, Ron Mau

Publications

This paper reports our findings on the effectiveness of revenue hedging using the newly proposed price indices by Skytra. In the example analyzed we find that when hedged, if United Airlines’ transatlantic ticket price yields fell as much as 98%, its revenues would have only fallen 8%.

Firstly, we explore revenue hedging and the evolution of financial risk management practices for the aviation industry. Until now, the industry has been confined to hedging risks posed by its major cost drivers, including fuel, foreign exchange and interest rates. However, even the most significant driver of these costs (fuel) makes up only …

Aerodynamic And Aeroacoustic Performance Of Small Uav Propellers In Static Conditions, William Jordan, Robert W. Deters, Shreyas Narsipur

Publications

The proliferation of small multi-rotor UAVs in commercial, recreational, and surveillance spheres has garnered significant interest in the noise produced by these vehicles. The current research aims to study the relationship between the aerodynamic performance and acoustic characteristics of small-scale UAV propellers. Three commercially available propellers for the DJI Phantom 2/3 UAV were selected for preliminary development and validation of an aeroacoustic experimental test setup and associated data reduction methods. Propeller thrust, torque, and power measurements were recorded at static conditions. Upon successful validation of the test bench, acoustic measurements were taken at the propeller disk’s upstream and in-plane locations. …

Performance Testing Of Aero-Naut Camfolding Propellers, Or D. Dantsker, Robert W. Deters, Marco Caccamo, Michael S. Selig

Publications

The increase in popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been driven by their use in civilian, education, government, and military applications. However, limited on-board energy storage significantly limits flight time and ultimately usability. The propulsion system plays a critical part in the overall energy consumption of the UAV; therefore, it is necessary to determine the most optimal combination of possible propulsion system components for a given mission profile, i.e. propellers, motors, and electronic speed controllers (ESC). Hundreds of options are available for the different components with little performance specifications available for most of them. By examining a variety of …

Teachers’ Perceptions And Understanding Of Children’S Fluid Intake, Kristy Howells, Tara Coppinger

Publications

No public health data exists on elementary teachers’ perceptions of both their own fluid intake and of their elementary school aged children’s fluid intake. A total of 271 (20 males, 251 females) teachers in developed areas of Australia, Belgium, England, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America completed an online questionnaire (Feb–Mar 2019) on: (i) their fluid intake, (ii) their perception and understanding of children’s fluid intake and (iii) barriers in the school day that they felt prevented school children consuming fluids. Overall, the data indicated that teachers consume considerably lower amounts than recommended themselves, but have …

Use Of Dual Rna-Seq For Systems Biology Analysis Of Zea Mays And Aspergillus Flavus Interaction, Bryan Musungu, Deepak Bhatnagar, Sylvie Quiniou, Robert L Brown, Gary A Payne, Greg O'Brian, Ahmad M. Fakhoury, Matt Geisler

Publications

The interaction between Aspergillus flavus and Zea mays is complex, and the identification of plant genes and pathways conferring resistance to the fungus has been challenging. Therefore, the authors undertook a systems biology approach involving dual RNA-seq to determine the simultaneous response from the host and the pathogen. What was dramatically highlighted in the analysis is the uniformity in the development patterns of gene expression of the host and the pathogen during infection. This led to the development of a “stage of infection index” that was subsequently used to categorize the samples before down-stream system biology analysis. Additionally, we were …

Data Literacies And Social Justice: Exploring Critical Data Literacies Through Sociocultural Perspectives, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Simon Knight, Alyssa Friend Wise, Thomas M. Philip, Maria C. Olivares, Sarah Van Wart, Sepehr Vakil, Jessica Marshall, Tapan Parikh, M. Lisette Lopez, Michelle Hoda Wilkerson, Kris Gutierrez, Shiyan Jiang, Jennifer B. Kahn

Publications

The ability to interpret, evaluate, and make data-based decisions is critical in the age of big data. Normative scripts around the use of data position them as a privileged epistemic form conferring authority through objectivity that can serve as a lever for effecting change. However, humans and materials shape how data are created and used which can reinscribe existing power relations in society at large (Van Wart, Lanouette & Parikh, 2020). Thus, research is needed on how learners can be supported to engage in critical data literacies through sociocultural perspectives. As a field intimately concerned with data-based reasoning, social justice, …

Students’ Epistemic Connections Between Science Inquiry Practices And Disciplinary Ideas In A Computational Science Unit, Sugat Dabholkar, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Michael Horn, Uri Wilensky

Publications

Teaching science inquiry practices, especially the more contemporary ones, such as computational thinking practices, requires designing newer learning environments and appropriate pedagogical scaffolds. Using such learning environments, when students construct knowledge about disciplinary ideas using inquiry practices, it is important that they make connections between the two. We call such connections epistemic connections, which are about constructing knowledge using science inquiry practices. In this paper, we discuss the design of a computational thinking integrated biology unit as an Emergent Systems Microworlds (ESM) based curriculum. Using Epistemic Network Analysis, we investigate how the design of unit support students’ learning through making …

“Would You Rather Have It Be Accurate Or Diverse?” How Male Middle-School Students Make Sense Of Algorithm Bias, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Jacoya Thompson

Publications

As data-driven decisions become more ubiquitous, it will be critical for youth to understand the impacts of algorithm bias. In this study, we discuss the design of an extra-curricular data science program and examined how the participants (12 males, ages 11 - 13) made sense of algorithm bias and discrimination. We conducted a critical discourse analysis on one classroom discussion. Results suggest that participants showed initial understandings that algorithms contain biases that may perpetuate discrimination.

Identity Negotiation Of Pre-Service Teachers Of English As A Foreign Language, Hazel Vega, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens

Publications

The study of teacher identity has gained prominence in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching. However, the construction of EFL teacher identity is underresearched, particularly how teachers navigate dominant discourses around native non-native speakers. This paper presents a qualitative study examining four pre-service teachers in an EFL education program. Grounded in the community of practice identity negotiation framework, results suggest that EFL pre-service teachers’ processes of identity negotiation mainly resided somewhere between adoption and rejection of legitimate practices in the EFL teacher community, in what we call a zone of tension. The findings of this research indicate that pre-service …

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, …

Safety Management System Implementation Planning, David Thirtyacre

Publications

No abstract provided.

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’ …

Employee Age And The Impact On Work Engagement, Robin Roberts

Publications

Purpose – Employee engagement studies are popular in contemporary research because of the complexity organizations face in nurturing the performance and productivity of multigenerations of workers. The purpose of the current study is to assess association of age and dimensions of work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach - In total 181 participants completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) to measure work engagement including the dimensions of absorption, vigor and dedication as well as demographics. One way ANOVA and post hoc tests were conducted to examine the relationship between age and work engagement.

Findings: Employees 50 years of age and older were …

The Value Of Iaq: A Review Of The Scientific Evidence Supporting The Benefits Of Investing In Better Indoor Air Quality, Vickie R. Hawkins,, Cheryl L. Marcham, John P. Springston, J. David Miller, Geoffrey Braybrooke, Craig Maunder, Lydia Feng, Ben Kollmeyer

Publications

Other studies have examined how ventilation rates, combined with the presence of pollutant sources, can affect productivity. These studies provide evidence that increased ventilation, including increases above common guidance levels such as ASHRAE’s ventilation standards, improve occupant productivity. Increased occupant control over ventilation has also been shown to improve productivity. Higher indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been directly associated with impaired work performance and increased health symptoms. Historically, it was believed that these associations exist only because higher indoor CO2 concentrations, resulting from lower outdoor air ventilation rates, are also correlated with higher levels of other indoor-generated pollutants that …

An Analysis Of Self-Reported Sleepiness And Fatigue Measures From Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Julius Keller, Thomas Laub, Sarah Wolfe

Publications

Fatigue can be deleterious to pilot performance. The National Transportation Safety Board has called on the aviation community to reduce fatigue related accidents. Currently, there are few studies and guidance specific to collegiate aviation pilots. The current study is part of a larger effort by the authors to gain a clearer understanding of fatigue within the collegiate aviation environment. Collegiate aviation pilots are a unique group with different schedules, lifestyles, and demands when compared to airline, military, and on-demand pilots. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported fatigue and sleepiness measures. Research instruments included the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale …

Simulation-Optimization For Conjunctive Water Resources Management And Optimal Crop Planning In Kushabhadra-Bhargavi River Delta Of Eastern India, Madan K. Jha, Richard C. Peralta, Sasmita Sahoo

Publications

Water resources sustainability is a worldwide concern because of climate variability, growing population, and excessive groundwater exploitation in order to meet freshwater demand. Addressing these conflicting challenges sometimes can be aided by using both simulation and mathematical optimization tools. This study combines a groundwater-flow simulation model and two optimization models to develop optimal reconnaissance-level water management strategies. For a given set of hydrologic and management constraints, both of the optimization models are applied to part of the Mahanadi River basin groundwater system, which is an important source of water supply in Odisha State, India. The first optimization model employs a …

Empirical Models For Predicting Water And Heat Flow Properties Of Permafrost Soils, Michael T. O'Connor, M. Bayani Cardenas, Stephen B. Ferencz, Yue Wu, Bethany T. Neilson, Jingyi Chen, George W. Kling

Publications

Warming and thawing in the Arctic are promoting biogeochemical processing and hydrologic transport in carbon‐rich permafrost and soils that transfer carbon to surface waters or the atmosphere. Hydrologic and biogeochemical impacts of thawing are challenging to predict with sparse information on arctic soil hydraulic and thermal properties. We developed empirical and statistical models of soil properties for three main strata in the shallow, seasonally thawed soils above permafrost in a study area of ~7,500 km² in Alaska. The models show that soil vertical stratification and hydraulic properties are predictable based on vegetation cover and slope. We also show that …

Mesopause Airglow Disturbances Driven By Nonlinear Infrasonic Acoustic Waves Generated By Large Earthquakes, P. A. Inchin, J. B. Snively, J. Aguilar Guerrero, M. D. Zettergren, A. Williamson, D. Melgar

Publications

Near-epicentral mesopause airglow perturbations, driven by infrasonic acoustic waves (AWs) during a nighttime analog of the 2011 M9.1 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, are simulated through the direct numerical computation of the 3D nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations. Surface dynamics from a forward seismic wave propagation simulation, initialized with a kinematic slip model and performed with the SPECFEM3D_GLOBE model, are used to excite AWs into the atmosphere from ground level. Simulated mesopause airglow perturbations include steep oscillations and persistent nonlinear depletions up to 50% and 70% from the background state, respectively, for the hydroxyl OH(3,1) and oxygen O(1S) 557.7-nm emissions. Results suggest that …

Technical Standards And A Theory Of Writing As Infrastructure, Jordan Frith

Publications

Infrastructures support and shape our social world, but they do so in often invisible ways. In few cases is that truer than with various documents that serve infrastructural functions. This article takes one type of those documents—technical standards—and uses analysis of one specific standard to develop theory related to the infrastructural function of writing. The author specifically analyzes one of the major infrastructures of the Internet of Things—the 126-page Tag Data Standard (TDS)—to show how rethinking writing as infrastructure can be valuable for multiple conversations occurring with writing studies, including research on material rhetoric, research that expands the scope of …

The Original Sin Of College Sports: College Presidents' Ineffectual Use Of Special Admissions, Gerard Gurney, Lisa Rubin, Sarah Stokowski, B. David Ridpath

Publications

No abstract provided.

Discontinuity-Driven Mesh Alignment For Evolving Discontinuities In Elastic Solids, Mihhail Berezovski, Arkadi Berezovski

Publications

A special mesh adaptation technique and a precise discontinuity tracking are presented for an accurate, efficient, and robust adaptive-mesh computational procedure for one-dimensional hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, with particular reference to problems with evolving discontinuities in solids. The main advantage of the adaptive technique is its ability to preserve the modified mesh as close to the original fixed mesh as possible. The constructed method is applied to the martensitic phase-transition front propagation in solids.

Toxoplasma Gondii Requires Its Plant-Like Heme Biosynthesis Pathway For Infection, Amy Bergmann, Kathleen Floyd, Melanie Key, Carly Dameron, Kerrick C. Rees, L. Brock Thornton, Daniel C. Whitehead, Iqbal Hamza, Zhicheng Dou

Publications

Heme, an iron-containing organic ring, is essential for virtually all living organisms by serving as a prosthetic group in proteins that function in diverse cellular activities ranging from diatomic gas transport and sensing, to mitochondrial respiration, to detoxification. Cellular heme levels in microbial pathogens can be a composite of endogenous de novo synthesis or exogenous uptake of heme or heme synthesis intermediates. Intracellular pathogenic microbes switch routes for heme supply when heme availability fluctuates in their replicative environment throughout infection. Here, we show that Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, encodes a functional heme biosynthesis pathway. A chloroplast-derived …

Energy Dissipation Of Type A Piano Key Weirs, Kam R. Eslinger, Brian M. Crookston

Publications

A Piano Key weir (PK weir) is a nonlinear, labyrinth-type weir well suited for rehabilitation projects due to a relatively small footprint and the ability to pass large discharges for lesser upstream-head values when compared with other weir types. A critical component of a hydraulic structure is the energy-dissipative properties. Currently, information and guidance is limited, with previous energy dissipation studies of PK weirs primarily of specific projects. Therefore, to document and quantify energy dissipation, four laboratory-scale Type A PK weir models with different width ratios (W_i/W_o) were studied, with 255 tests comprising this new …

Library Services: Impact Analysis Spring 2018 To Fall 2018, Amanda M. Hagman, Lindsay Ozburn, Hayden Hoopes, Erik Dickamore, Bradford R. Cole, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Libraries are an essential element of learning on university campuses. The content housed within libraries supports academic exploration and growth. Physically, libraries are designed to provide access to materials and spaces that facilitate learning. This report explored the impact of student library resource use on student persistence to the next term.

Students' library resource use was captured with EZ Proxy log-ins and library material check-outs. Students who had a record of using library resources were compared to similar students who did not have a record of library resource use. They were compared using prediction-based propensity score matching. Students who used …