Digital Commons Network^™

Measuring Procedural Justice Policy Adherence During Use Of Force Events: The Body-Worn Camera As A Performance Monitoring Tool, Victoria A. Sytsma, Eric L. Piza, Vijay F. Chillar, Leigh S. Grossman

Publications and Research

This study capitalizes on a successful researcher–practitioner partnership to conduct a systematic social observation (SSO) of police body-worn camera (BWC) footage in Newark, NJ. To demonstrate the utility of BWCs as performance monitoring tools, we measure officer adherence to procedural justice standards throughout use of force events as mandated in the Newark Police Division’s updated policies pursuant to an ongoing federal consent decree. Overall, a slim majority of use of force events are procedurally just. However, results indicate several instances of policy noncompliance. Results are discussed, and policy recommendations related to procedural justice policy violations and BWCs for performance monitoring …

Instructional Design With The Ice Approach In Academic Libraries: A Framework That Integrates Assessing, Learning, And Teaching, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

One-shot instruction in academic libraries is a librarian-controlled bibliographic instruction that responds to the point of information need for subject-related courses. The assessment of teaching effectiveness tends to take a summative approach, which provides an answer to what students learned but does not address how they learned. This column theoretically explores the framework of Ideas-Connections-Extensions (ICE) in library instruction and the classroom setting, which demonstrates learning outcomes and explores the learning journey, and integrates assessment, learning, and teaching through collaborative efforts by academic librarians and classroom faculty.

Assessment Of Judgment Ability In A Brazilian Sample Of Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment And Dementia, Patrícia Helena Figueirêdo Do Vale-Britto, Laura Rabin, Livia Spindola, Ricardo Nitrini, Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki

Publications and Research

Judgment is the ability to make sound decisions after consideration of relevant information, possible solutions, likely outcomes, and contextual factors. Loss of judgment is common in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. The Test of Practical Judgment (TOP-J) evaluates practical judgment in adults and the elderly, with 15- and 9-item versions that require individuals to listen to scenarios about everyday problems and report their solutions. Objective: Adaptation of TOP-J for a Brazilian sample, preparation of a reduced version and verification of the accuracy of both. Methods: Eighty-five older adults, including 26 with MCI, 20 with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), …

Depression, Depression Literacy, And Sociodemographic Characteristics Of Korean Americans: A Preliminary Investigation, Kunsook Bernstein, Young-Me Lee, Philmon N. Gona, Shinhi Han, Soonsik Kim, Sun S. Kim

Publications and Research

Despite the rapid growth in the number of Korean Americans (KAs) and the alarmingly high prevalence of depression in this population, relatively little is known about the impact of depression literacy on KAs’ depression. This study investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms among a community-based sample of KA adults; the associations among socio-demographic characteristics, depression literacy, and depressive symptoms; and predictors related to depressive symptoms. A sample of 600 KAs completed depression and depression literacy scales, as well as socio-demographic questionnaires. Data analyses were conducted to assess the association between depressive symptoms, depression literacy, and the covariates. Forty-five percent of …

Correlates Of Exam Performance In An Introductory Statistics Course: Basic Math Skills Along With Self- Reported Psychological/Behavioral And Demographic Variables, Laura A. Rabin, Anjali Krishnan, Rose Bergdoll, Joshua Fogel

Publications and Research

This study investigated whether basic mathematics skills are associated with undergraduate psychology statistics course performance while simultaneously considering self-reported psychological/behavioral and demographic variables. Participants (n = 460) completed a Math Assessment for College Students (MACS), which included questions ranging from calculating percentages to graphical interpretation. The researchers used a discriminant correspondence analysis to reveal differences in course performance evaluated as the average of three exam grades. For the variation in the average exam scores accounted for by our model, the MACS scores provided the largest contribution. Other variables associated with better exam grades included white ethnicity, non-transfer status, lower year …

Turning Collective Digital Stories Of The First-Year Transition To College Into A Web Of Belonging, Mery Diaz, Sandra Cheng, Karen Goodlad, Jennifer Sears, Phil Kreniske, Ashwin Satyanarayana

Publications and Research

In this article, we present lessons learned from "Our Stories," a digital writing project designed to assist students in the transition from high school to college. From the collective digital narratives of first-year and first-generation students at an urban public college, who are primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), low-income, and immigrant, and who participated in a First-year Learning Communities course, we examine the challenges of becoming a college student at a public college. Further, we explore how digital writing supports community-building and influences students' transition experience, in particular, making sense of shared challenges. For these BIPOC students, …

Testing The Waters: An Investigation Of The Impact Of Hot Tubbing On Experts From Referral Through Testimony, Jennifer T. Perillo, Anthony D. Perillo, Nikoleta Despodova, Margaret Bull Kovera

Publications and Research

Objective: The present research examined whether concurrent expert testimony (“hot tubbing”) and court appointed testimony reduced adversarial allegiance in clinical experts’ judgments compared with traditional adversarial expert testimony. Hypotheses: We predicted Hypothesis 1: Defense experts would render more not responsible judgments and lower ratings of criminal responsibility than would prosecution experts; Hypothesis 2: Adversarial allegiance effects on experts’ judgments would be heightened for adversarial experts and attenuated for concurrent experts over time; Hypothesis 3: Adversarial and concurrent experts would report higher dissonance than would court-appointed experts and adversarial experts’ ratings would increase over time, concurrent experts’ ratings would decrease, and …

Relationships Between Sports, Physical Activity Participation, And Phys-Ed Gpa: Results And Analyses From A National Sample Of Asian American Students, Howard Z. Zeng, Raymond E. Weston, Juan Battle

Publications and Research

Relationships among sports, physical activity (PA) participation, and educational outcomes have been studied in various venues, however, used a longitudinal method with a national sample of Asian-American High-School Students (AAHSS) was barely covered. This study employed the latest National High-School Longitudinal Study data (Participants, N = 950); hierarchical regression modeling and intersectionality theory examined, analyzed, and evaluated the relationships among sports, PA participation, and the outcomes on the physical education grade point average (Phys-Ed GPA). Moreover, the demographics factors impact on the participants' Phys-Ed GPA was also analyzed and evaluated. The primary results included: 1) the female students who participate …

Are Delusions Beliefs?, Dorothy Reviss

Publications and Research

A belief is one’s personal attitude regarding an issue in the universe that contains evidence of truth to it. A delusion can be defined as a peculiar belief that contradicts reality, scientific evidence, and rational thinking, and may be attributed to personality disorders. In order to determine where a delusion is a belief, it is important to recognize the circumstances under which certain beliefs are held. While a delusion sounds similar to a false belief, it is an entirely unique phenomenon. In the case of personality disorders like the Capgras delusion, schizophrenia, and Reverse Othello syndrome individuals genuinely believe in …

Nature-Based Learning At An Urban Community College: A Case Study At The Central Park Zoo, Nicole Kras

Publications and Research

There is rapidly growing research on the multiple benefits of nature-based experiences. Some institutions of higher education have incorporated these types of experiences in areas such as building design, travel offerings, residential programs, green spaces, field trips, wellness centers, and freshman orientation programs. Unfortunately, urban community college students often do not receive the chance to participate in these type of experiences due to lack of opportunity and lack of time outside of class due to their multiple responsibilities. One way to help mitigate some of these challenges, is for community college faculty to embed nature-based learning experiences into their courses. …

Parental Beliefs And Knowledge, Children’S Home Language Experiences, And School Readiness: The Dual Language Perspective, Rufan Luo, Lulu Song, Carla Villacis, Gloria Santiago-Bonilla

Publications and Research

Parental beliefs and knowledge about child development affect how they construct children’s home learning experiences, which in turn impact children’s developmental outcomes. A rapidly growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) highlights the need for a better understanding of parents’ beliefs and knowledge about dual language development and practices to support DLLs. The current study examined the dual language beliefs and knowledge of parents of Spanish-English preschool DLLs (n = 32). We further asked how socioeconomic and sociocultural factors were associated with parental beliefs and knowledge, and how parental beliefs and knowledge related to DLLs’ home dual language experiences and …

Dopamine Neurons That Cotransmit Glutamate, From Synapses To Circuits To Behavior, Daniel Eskenazi, Lauren Malave, Susana Mingote, Leora Yetnikoff, Samira Ztaou, Vlad Velicu, Nao Chuhma

Publications and Research

Discovered just over 20 years ago, dopamine neurons have the ability to cotransmit both dopamine and glutamate. Yet, the functional roles of dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission and their implications for therapeutic use are just emerging. This review article encompasses the current body of evidence investigating the functions of dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain that cotransmit glutamate. Since its discovery in dopamine neuron cultures, further work in vivo confirmed dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission across species. From there, growing interest has led to research related to neural functioning including roles in synaptic signaling, development, and behavior. Functional connectome mapping reveals robust …

An Update On Cardiovascular Disease, Susan H. Davide, Audra E. Haynes

Publications and Research

In the United States, cardiovascular is the leading cause of death in men and women, and most racial and ethnic groups. There are several types of heart conditions; the most common type is coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease, which can cause acute myocardial infarction. Other heart conditions which can lead to heart failure include a past history of myocardial infarction, abnormal heart valves, heart muscle disease, or congenital heart muscle disease. In adults ages 65 and younger, approximately 2 in 10 deaths are caused from coronary artery disease and about 18.2 million …

A Lexical And Syntactic Study Of Research Article Titles In Library Science And Scientometrics, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

Title of a research article is an abstract of the abstract. Titles play a decisive role in convincing readers at first sight whether articles are worth reading or not. Not only do research article titles show how carefully words are chosen by authors, but also reflect disciplinary differences in terms of title words and structure between hard sciences and soft sciences. This study examined the lexical density and syntactic structure of 690 research article titles chosen from five Library Science and Scientometrics journals, aiming to reveal disciplinary differences. The result suggested both Library Science and Scientometrics have almost the same …

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

When Crime Moves Where Does It Go? Analyzing The Spatial Correlates Of Robbery Incidents When Crime Moves Where Does It Go? Analyzing The Spatial Correlates Of Robbery Incidents Displaced By A Place-Based Policing Interventiondisplaced By A Place-Based Policing Intervention, David N. Hatten, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Objective:

Examine the place-based correlates of robbery incidents displaced by a foot-patrol intervention in Newark, NJ. We use constructs from Crime Pattern and Social Disorganization theories to test hypotheses concerned with associations between the structure of the environment and the displacement of crime.

Method:

Robbery incidents were spatially joined to street segments to study micro-level displacement processes. Predictor variables were operationalized using data from the Newark Police Department and Infogroup USA. Generalized Linear models tested associations between the characteristics of street segments and displaced robbery in the target area as compared to a control.

Results:

Environmental structure is important to …

Student Well-Being Matters: Academic Library Support For The Whole Student, Marta Bladek

Publications and Research

In response to a marked increase in the prevalence and severity of mental health problems among college students over the last decade, colleges and universities have been expanding their well-being initiatives and programs. No longer limited to health services departments, the support of student well-being has been taken up by multiple campus units, including academic libraries. As well-being has been shown to impact academic outcomes, the well-being initiatives libraries develop fit in with their commitment to enhance learning and student educational experience overall. A comprehensive review of wellness interventions in academic libraries, this article presents findings on student well-being and …

Innovative Virtual Role Play Simulations For Managing Substance Use Conversations: Pilot Study Results And Relevance During And After Covid-19, Glenn Albright, Nikita Khalid, Kristen Shockley, Kelsey Robinson, Kevin Hughes, Bethany Pace-Danley

Publications and Research

Background: Substance use places a substantial burden on our communities, both economically and socially. In light of COVID-19, it is predicted that as many as 75,000 more people will die from alcohol and other substance use and suicide as a result of isolation, new mental health concerns, and various other stressors related to the pandemic. Public awareness campaigns that aim to destigmatize substance use and help individuals have meaningful conversations with friends, coworkers, or family members to address substance use concerns are a timely and cost-effective means of augmenting existing behavioral health efforts related to substance use. These types of …

Shedding Light On Dark Patterns: A Case Study On Digital Harms, Noreen Y. Whysel

Publications and Research

You’ve been there before. You thought you could trust someone with a secret. You thought it would be safe, but found out later that they blabbed to everyone. Or maybe they didn’t share it, but the way they used it felt manipulative. You gave more than you got and it didn’t feel fair. But now that it’s out there, do you even have control anymore?

Ok. Now imagine that person was your supermarket. Or your bank. Or your boss.

As designers of digital spaces for consumer products and services, how often do we consider the relationship we have with our …

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis On The Efficacy Of Repeated Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation For Migraine, Guoshuai Cai, Zhu Xia, Leigh Charvet, Feifei Xiao, Abhishek Datta, X Michelle Androulakis

Publications and Research

Purpose: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may have therapeutic potential in the management of migraine. However, studies to date have yielded conflicting results. We reviewed studies using repeated tDCS for longer than 4 weeks in migraine treatment, and performed meta-analysis on the efficacy of tDCS in migraine.

Methods: In this meta-analysis, we included the common outcome measurements reported across randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Subgroup analysis was performed at different post-treatment endpoints, and with different stimulation intensities and polarities.

Results: Five RCTs were included in the quantitative meta-analysis with a total of 104 migraine patients. We found a significant reduction of …

Supporting Social Hierarchy Is Associated With White Police Officers’ Use Of Force, Jillian K. Swencionis, Enrique R. Pouget, Phillip Atiba Goff

Publications and Research

Three studies translate social dominance theory to policing, testing the relationship between individual officers’ endorsement of social hierarchies and their tendency to use force against residents. This article demonstrates a link between officer psychological factors and force. Because police are empowered to use force to maintain social order, and because White officers hold a dominant racial identity, we hypothesized social dominance orientation (SDO) would relate to force positively for White officers. For Black officers, we hypothesized a weak relationship between SDO and force, if any. To test these predictions, we examined the relationships between SDO and force using negative binomial …

Gifts From The Dark: Learning From The Incarceration Experience [Chapter 12], Joni Schwartz, John R. Chaney

Publications and Research

While in no way supporting the systemic injustices and disparities of mass incarceration, Gifts from the Dark: Learning from the Incarceration Experience argues that we have much to learn from those who have been and are in prison. Schwartz and Chaney profile the contributions of literary giants, social activists, entrepreneurs, and other talented individuals who, despite the disorienting dilemma of incarceration, are models of adult transformative learning that positively impact the world. The authors interweave narratives with both qualitative and quantitative research references to analyze the role of solitude, writing, non-verbal communication; race and gender; physical exercise; education; technology; family …

Exhibitions Of Impact: Introducing The Special Issue, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

The Exhibitions of Impact (EOI) special issue of American Behavioral Scientist consists of six articles from authors in communication studies and rhetoric, public health, medicine and bioethics, memory studies, and art therapy. Each article profiles some exhibition or memorial related to a pressing social issue, including gun violence, racist terrorism, domestic violence, religious fundamentalism, corporations selling harmful products, and how society treats those regarded as cognitively and behaviorally different. First, examples from today’s headlines show a global outcry over racist monuments and artifacts, and a global pandemic, which casts doubt on the future of exhibitions. Historical examples and explanatory concepts …

How Social Work Librarians Connect Social Justice To Information Literacy., Stephen Maher, Carin Graves, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

In this paper we, as members of the ACRL EBSS Social Work Committee,1 share our experience of developing a companion document to the ACRL Framework.2 Our overarching goal of this project is to clearly demonstrate the overlap between the ACRL Framework and social work’s educational competencies professional ethics. Over the course of this two-year project, we developed a fuller understanding of how social justice—and its corresponding concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion—exist in both professions.

Great Directors: Sidney Lumet, William Blick

Publications and Research

Given the breadth of Lumet’s oeuvre, it’s debatable whether or not he has a distinctive, recognizable style. The canon encompasses such a large canvas, it is impossible to say whether or not his films are instantly recognizable. There are, however, trademark characteristics: gritty New York urban realism, dynamic and snappy dialogue coupled with frequent collaborations with the best actors and writers in the business. These collaborations captivated film critics and the public alike, as both bore witness to Lumet’s talent for translating text to screen. Lumet’s politics are unabashedly liberal and often elicit distrust of the establishment as characters challenge …

An “Anti-Handbook Handbook” For Unexpected Changes In A Library Organization, Stephanie M. Margolin, Malin Abrahamsson

Publications and Research

Library employees face countless changes, big and small, in their workplaces every day: not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also such commonplace events as open positions, renovations, budget cuts, and new library systems. No single handbook can anticipate all the changing needs. This case study discusses how one particular library responded, in a specific time and context. The librarians and staff created a model of self-leadership in an effort to articulate a shared purpose and to establish cohesion and well-being in a group that was sometimes divided and stressed. Lessons learned include the importance of ways of thinking, rather than …

A Commentary On The Interpretation Of Dreams, Kayla J. Baur

Publications and Research

Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams explains the role of the theory of psychoanalysis as it pertains to dreams. Freud then leads into the idea of how psychoanalysis as a theory applies to literature. Along with Oedipus Rex, Freud uses William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to exemplify the way in which literary texts express the desires, emotions, and/or memories of the unconscious mind, just as dreams-thoughts (unconscious desire) display themselves in dreams. Hamlet experiences troubling emotions upon the death of his father as he finds himself referring back to his childhood feelings about him, and thus finds it difficult to exact …

Asian American Perspectives On Immigration Policy, Van C. Tran, Natasha K. Warikoo

Publications and Research

Despite the rapid growth in both documented and undocumented Asian Americans, their attitudes toward immigration policy are not well understood. Drawing on data from the 2016 National Asian American Survey, this article examines both interracial and intra-Asian differences in views toward immigration. Relative to other racial groups, Asians are as likely to support legal migration, but less likely to support undocumented migration. We document significant diversity among Asians. As labor migrants, Filipinos support a congressional increase in annual work visas. As economic migrants, Chinese and Indians support an increase in annual family visas. As refugees, Vietnamese are least supportive of …

Improving College Students’ Fact-Checking Strategies Through Lateral Reading Instruction In A General Education Civics Course, Jessica E. Brodsky, Patricia J. Brooks, Donna Scimeca, Ralitsa Todorova, Peter Galati, Michael Batson, Robert Grosso, Michael Matthews, Victor Miller, Michael Caulfeld

Publications and Research

College students lack fact-checking skills, which may lead them to accept information at face value. We report findings from an institution participating in the Digital Polarization Initiative (DPI), a national effort to teach students lateral reading strategies used by expert fact-checkers to verify online information. Lateral reading requires users to leave the information (website) to find out whether someone has already fact-checked the claim, identify the original source, or learn more about the individuals or organizations making the claim. Instructor-matched sections of a general education civics course implemented the DPI curriculum (N=136 students) or provided business-as-usual civics instruction (N=94 students). …

Allogeneic Bone Marrow–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Safety In Idiopathic Parkinson’S Disease, Timothy M. Ellmore

Publications and Research

Background Neuroinflammation plays a key role in PD pathogenesis, and allogeneic bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells can be used as an immunomodulatory therapy. Objective The objective of this study was to prove the safety and tolerability of intravenous allogeneic bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells in PD patients. Methods This was a 12‐month single‐center open‐label dose‐escalation phase 1 study of 20 subjects with mild/moderate PD assigned to a single intravenous infusion of 1 of 4 doses: 1, 3, 6, or 10 × 106 allogeneic bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells/kg, evaluated 3, 12, 24, and 52 weeks postinfusion. Primary outcome safety measures …