Digital Commons Network^™

Blatant Benevolence And Social Capital Attainment On Social Network Sites – A Multi-Method Approach, Jiayuan Zhang

Open Access Dissertations

While information systems literature includes multiple studies on knowledge contribution or sharing, blatant benevolence in general has received less attention. To extend the knowledge of the blatant benevolence concept, this dissertation analyzes the blatant benevolence – social capital link on social network sites based on three different studies.

The first study implements an interview method to explore antecedents, forms, and consequences of blatant benevolence. More importantly, it also explores the moderators that change the relationship between blatant benevolence and social capital attainment on social network sites. After conducting 126 interviews with social media users, we find that five most common …

Consumer Engagement With Brands On Social Media: The Moderating Roles Of Self-Quantification And Awe, Petru Dorin Micu

Open Access Dissertations

Considering the benefits of consumer-brand engagement on social media, both companies and researchers are interested in finding what factors influence this engagement. Brand engagement antecedents are numerous, yet not fully explored. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of self-quantification (defined as one’s focus on different metrics, such as number of likes, shares, fitness goals) on consumer brand engagement.

Through a series of four studies, we establish validity for the concept of self-quantification on a brand’s social medial and examine its role on consumer-brand engagement. The first study shows that self-quantification on social media brand platforms …

Turning Points: A Case Study Of Motivation In Foreign Language, Shawna C. Iula

Open Access Dissertations

Enrollment in foreign language courses has been declining. Fewer students are studying foreign languages and those that do often discontinue after the introductory levels. This single-embedded case study looks into why students who initially wanted to continue on to more intermediate levels did not, and also why students who initially only wanted to complete introductory levels changed their plans and continued on to more intermediate levels. Participants included two groups with nine participants total. The first group consists of five students who initially planned on discontinuing after introductory levels and changed their minds and decided to continue. The second group …

Co-Occurrence Of Depressive Symptoms And Alcohol Use: Impact Of Sociodemographic Factors, Marie C. Tate

Open Access Dissertations

Since depression disorders have been found to be the leading cause of disability (Friedrich, 2017), affecting 17.3 million adults in the United States alone (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). Various scales have been developed to measure depression. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health uses the Major Depression Episode module to measure lifetime depression symptoms, this is the scale the current work aims to validate. The selected model had adequate fit. It was also found to be invariant at the strictest level across gender, race, income, and education level. The validated scale was then used to study the …

Intimate Distances: An Archipelago, Elizabeth Foulke

Open Access Dissertations

“Intimate Distances: An Archipelago” is a collection of personal essays and short form experimental nonfiction prose that uses the relationship between content and form to explore the solitude and the array of relationships to which the single woman gives her attention. How do relationships that defy the categories of friend, family, spouse, partner— for example relationships with strangers, minor acquaintances, and place—give purpose and meaning to our lives? The work in this collection engages with this question.

Previous works of life-writing and sociological texts by and about the single woman, in their reliance on mimetic narratives, foreclose the potential for …

Crowdsourced Assessment Of Surgical Skill Proficiency In Cataract Surgery, Grace L Paley, Rebecca Grove, Tejas C Sekhar, Jack Pruett, Michael V Stock, Tony N Pira, Steven M Shields, Evan L Waxman, Bradley S Wilson, Mae O Gordon, Susan M Culican

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: To test whether crowdsourced lay raters can accurately assess cataract surgical skills.

DESIGN: Two-armed study: independent cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts.

SETTING: Washington University Department of Ophthalmology.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Sixteen cataract surgeons with varying experience levels submitted cataract surgery videos to be graded by 5 experts and 300+ crowdworkers masked to surgeon experience. Cross-sectional study: 50 videos from surgeons ranging from first-year resident to attending physician, pooled by years of training. Longitudinal study: 28 videos obtained at regular intervals as residents progressed through 180 cases. Surgical skill was graded using the modified Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (mOSATS). …

Fantasizing Reproduction: The Biologization Of The Desire For Progress In Victorian Literature, Xinqiang Chang

Open Access Dissertations

The preoccupation with reproduction in Victorian literature has, by and large, received little critical attention. This dissertation seeks to contribute to Victorian scholarship and examines the representations of reproduction in Victorian literature in relation to the contemporaneous desire for progress. Adopting a historiographical approach, this dissertation analyzes five Victorian novels: Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, George Eliot’s Middlemarch, George Du Maurier’s Trilby, Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, and Sarah Grand’s The Heavenly Twins. In this dissertation, I demonstrate the different ways in which these Victorian novelists explored, accommodated, and concretized the Victorian desire for and pursuit …

Carrot Or Stick: Nudging Consumers Towards Healthier Choices Through Customized Price Incentives, Xintong Guan

Open Access Dissertations

In a market where consumers are increasingly concerned with maintaining a healthy diet and demand healthier foods, the role of retail grocery stores has been highlighted, as they exert a powerful influence on food choices. To increase more healthful food purchases, some food retailers have implemented marketing efforts to influence consumer food decision-making. However, due to the mixed findings on the effect of existing marketing interventions on improving purchasing of healthier foods, it is unclear which interventions work best to shift purchasing and what benefits they can bring to the retailer.

A promising approach to nudge healthy purchases with behavioral …

Predictors Of Paired, Singular, And No Action Among Middle School Students With Behavior Risks, Eva-Molly Petitto Dunbar

Open Access Dissertations

Understanding multiple health risk behavior change may contribute to the prevention of chronic illness. The present study examined drivers of behavior change over time within individuals with health behavior risks who were at risk for two behaviors. Participants were middle school students from a randomized controlled trial conducted across 20 middle schools within the state of Rhode Island using two transtheoretical model tailored, computer-delivered interventions in the school setting. Participants received an alcohol prevention program or an energy balance program. Analyses were conducted with participants who were at risk for both physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake (N = …

South Asian American College Students’ Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes And Preferences, Mehwish Shahid

Open Access Dissertations

Previous research has established that Asian Americans are less likely than other racial and ethnic groups to utilize mental health services. This has given rise to a multitude of studies examining Asian Americans’ attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help. However, given the immense diversity of the Asian American population, there exists a need for additional studies exploring the needs of specific subsets of the Asian American population. The present study explored the mental health help-seeking preferences and attitudes of South Asian Americans in particular. Participants were 131 South Asian American undergraduate and graduate students from universities across the United States. …

Pharmacist-Administered Pediatric Influenza Vaccination In The United States, Dana M. Gates

Open Access Dissertations

One of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century is the control of infectious diseases from vaccination according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC). It is recommended by the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that everyone 6 months and older should receive an annual influenza vaccination. The influenza vaccine is a safe and effective way to prevent the influenza infection and subsequent complications, which is particularly important in children because it has been shown to reduce influenza illness in older adults. Currently, the United States utilizes the National Immunization Survey …

Psychometric Properties And Generational Differences In Selfreporting On The Clinically Useful Substance Abuse Problems Outcomes Scale, Donya Sorensen

Open Access Dissertations

Substance abuse is a growing problem worldwide, and the negative consequences associated with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) impact people across all age groups, but the availability of SUD screening tools that show clinical usefulness across generational differences is limited. Therefore, more research exploring differences and similarities in substance abuse and dependence problems across age groups may provide useful information for future research and clinical work. The present study examines age group differences in substance abuse and dependence behaviors in three main analyses.

First, age differences in abuse and dependence of drug types were examined using Chi-square tests for independence with …

Three Essays On Interactions Between Poverty And Natural Resources, Mattana Wongsirikajorn

Open Access Dissertations

Using natural resources sustainably while reducing poverty is one of the greatest global challenges, especially in developing countries where rural communities rely on natural resources for their livelihood. In this dissertation, I examine the interactions between poverty and natural resource depletions in the coastal communities of Tanzania. Chapter 1 explores the effects of subsidies and social nudges on collective action by resource users and whether extrinsic motivation crowd out intrinsic motivation for those actions. The results from a framed field experiment conducted in coastal communities in Tanzania reveal that while the subsidies and social nudges themselves motivate the resource users …

Gatekeepers And Access Agents: How Admissions Officers Understand Their Roles In Shaping College Access In The 21st Century Market For Higher Education, Brian Stevens

Open Access Dissertations

Many scholars (Cox, 2016; Harklau & McClanahan, 2012; Niemann & Maruyama, 2005; Solórzano, 2005) have explored the causes of opportunity gaps in higher education. Those studies have looked at the various impediments to accessing higher education that have led to the persistence of gaps in college attendance rates, but few have specifically explored the complex relationship between college admissions officers and institutional admissions policies. This study will contribute to literature related to higher education access by examining the roles of admissions officers and adding their perspectives to a body of work where their voices have been largely absent. Grounded in …

Genius Hour: Educator Perspectives On Navigating The Prompts, Promises, And Predicaments Of Implementing Interest-Driven Learning In Public Schools, David Quinn

Open Access Dissertations

Recent studies on student engagement suggest that students become decreasingly engaged as they proceed through their secondary-level school experience (Gallup Inc, 2015; Hodges, 2018; Washor & Mojkowski, 2014; Yazzie-Mintz, 2007). The consequences of low student engagement or disengagement in schools can be significant, leading to poor academic performance and the potential for dropping out of school (Geraci et al., 2017; Loeb, 2016; Shernoff, 2013; Yazzie-Mintz, 2010). However, the literature suggests numerous teaching practices, including inquiry-based learning rooted in student interests, can create conditions for high levels of student engagement (Boss, 2017; Garcia et al., 2014; Newmann, 1992; Shernoff et al., …

Convalescent Plasma Therapy For Covid-19: A Graphical Mosaic Of The Worldwide Evidence, Stephen A Klassen, Brenda J Grossman, Jeffrey P Henderson, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Convalescent plasma has been used worldwide to treat patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and prevent disease progression. Despite global usage, uncertainty remains regarding plasma efficacy, as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have provided divergent evidence regarding the survival benefit of convalescent plasma. Here, we argue that during a global health emergency, the mosaic of evidence originating from multiple levels of the epistemic hierarchy should inform contemporary policy and healthcare decisions. Indeed, worldwide matched-control studies have generally found convalescent plasma to improve COVID-19 patient survival, and RCTs have demonstrated a survival benefit when transfused early in the disease course but …

Student Retention: Bridging Theory, Research, Practice & Policy, Corinne M. Kulesh

Open Access Dissertations

Institutions of higher education are under a lot of pressure to increase student retention. The focus on student retention supports many goals relating to student success, institutional reputation, rankings, recruitment, performance-based funding, and continued viability. Students, on the other hand, are not so concerned with being retained, but rather whether their experience makes them want to persist toward graduating with a degree at that institution. Additionally, historically-underrepresented students, such as first-generation students and students with low socioeconomic status (SES), are over-represented in the number of students who do not persist, perpetuating achievement and SES gaps. Although institutions tend to be …

A Modified Delphi Approach To Develop A Trial Protocol For Antibiotic De-Escalation In Patients With Suspected Sepsis, Michael E Yarrington, Rebekah W Moehring, Michael Z David, Keith W Hamilton, Michael Klompas, Chanu Rhee, Kevin Hsueh, Elizabeth Dodds Ashley, Ronda L Sinkowitz-Cochran, Matthew Ryan, Deverick J Anderson, Detours Expert Panel Of The Cdc Prevention Epicenters Program

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background: Early administration of antibiotics in sepsis is associated with improved patient outcomes, but safe and generalizable approaches to de-escalate or discontinue antibiotics after suspected sepsis events are unknown.

Methods: We used a modified Delphi approach to identify safety criteria for an opt-out protocol to guide de-escalation or discontinuation of antibiotic therapy after 72 hours in non-ICU patients with suspected sepsis. An expert panel with expertise in antimicrobial stewardship and hospital epidemiology rated 48 unique criteria across 3 electronic survey rating tools. Criteria were rated primarily based on their impact on patient safety and feasibility for extraction from electronic health …

Incidentally Found Rib Hemangioma: Case Report And Discussion Of Management, Deniz B. Morkan, Jason M. Gauthier, Daniel Kreisel, Varun Puri, Ruben G. Nava

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Rib hemangioma is a rare chest wall tumor for which few reports in the literature exist to help guide treatment. The clinical presentation, radiographic findings, and treatment strategies vary in the literature, with the majority of patients undergoing surgical resection to definitively rule out malignancy. Here, we report a 23-year-old woman with an incidentally discovered rib hemangioma, who had a history of migraines, during the workup of a severe headache refractory to medical treatment. Imaging revealed a solitary, expansile tumor arising from the posterior left third rib. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a fat-containing lesion with multiple vascular flow …

Infrastructure Academy Transportation Program, Hassan Hashemian

Mineta Transportation Institute

The College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at the California State University, Los Angeles has expanded its National Summer Transportation Institute into a year-long program by creating the Infrastructure Academy Transportation Program (IATP). The goal of this program is to build a pipeline of diverse, well qualified young people for the transportation industry. The program works with high school students and teachers to offer academic courses, basic skills, workforce readiness training, internships, extracurricular activities, and career placements to prepare students and place them into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) College track. The academy emphasizes on transportation as …

Defining Antisemitism, Mark Goldfeder

Scholarly Works

Antisemitic harassment is illegal, but without a standard definition of what ‘antisemitism’ includes, that idea is almost meaningless. That is why state legislatures and university administrators across the country are debating enacting policies that adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This Article will illustrate precisely how a state bill or a university policy utilizing the IHRA definition for assessing motivation when analyzing discriminatory conduct claims would actually function, so that critics can no longer vaguely claim that such policies would somehow offend the First Amendment. It will also explain the difference between protected political speech and …

Opportunities For Information Systems Scholars To Help Address Global Crises, James Gaskin, Warren Rosengren

Faculty Publications

As of yet, most applied information systems (IS) research has been concentrated on the problems facing privately owned institutions in developed nations. Now that the IS field has matured and applied research has begun to take a bigger role in the IS community, we have the opportunity to tackle not only traditional information systems problems but also global crises affecting billions of people. There are an abundance of major societal, global, and environmental crises that information systems scholars can help address. In this paper, we review the AIS Senior Scholars’ Basket of Eight (AIS-8) journals to determine their coverage of …

Trump V. Mazars Usa, Llp: The Case Of The Chief Justice And The Congressional Subpoenas, Rodger D. Citron

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

A Merritt-Orious Path For Lawyer Licensing, Eileen Kaufman, Carol L. Chomsky, Andrea Anne Curcio

Scholarly Works

More than two decades ago, Professor Deborah Merritt turned her attention to responding to the then-proliferating efforts to raise state passing scores for the bar examination. Writing with Lowell Hargens and Barbara Reskin, two professors of sociology, Professor Merritt challenged the methodology of the studies that purported to show the need to “raise the bar.” In the process, she presciently raised broader concerns about the validity of the bar exam to assess lawyer competence and the impact of the bar exam on the diversity of the legal profession. In the years since, Professor Merritt has continued to critique the bar …

Pedestrians Under Attack, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

A review of Right Of Way by Angie Schmitt

A Hybrid Gene Selection Strategy Based On Fisher And Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm For Breast Cancer Classification, Mohammed Hamim, Ismail El Moudden, Mohan D. Pant, Hicham Moutachaouik, Mustapha Hain

EVMS School of Health Professions Faculty Publications

Breast cancer poses the greatest threat to human life and especially to women's life. Despite the progress made in data mining technology in recent years, the ability to predict and diagnose such fatal diseases based on gene expression data still reveals a limited prediction performance, which may not be surprising since most of the genes in expression data are believed to be irrelevant or redundant. The dimensionality reduction process may be considered as a crucial step to analyze gene expression data, as it can reduce the high dimensionality of the breast cancer datasets, which may result into a better prediction …

College Recruitment Of Low-Income Underrepresented Minority Students, Cassady M. Ogedegbe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the use of discriminatory recruitment procedures against low-income unrepresented minority (URM) students at four-year private institutions based on enrollment managers’ and college recruiters’ beliefs, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions was this study’s focus. Specifically, the following were investigated: (a) how enrollment managers perceive their role in recruiting low-income URM students, (b) how college recruiters understand their role in recruiting low-income URM students, (c) the effective strategies enrollment managers use to prepare recruiters for recruiting low-income URM students, and (d) the differential impact in recruiting low-income URM students versus their counterparts. A supporting factor explored further in this study …

The Effect Of Servant Leadership On Nonprofit Workplace Conflict, Lorena M. Freeborough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Workplace conflict depletes nonprofit organizations of valuable time and energy. Organizations spend millions of dollars because of the financial and human cost of unresolved interpersonal conflict in the workplace that stem from ineffective leadership behaviors. A leader’s ineffective behaviors have been linked to the organizational pressures that can cause and spread counterproductive workplace behavior, which results in interpersonal conflict and great financial cost. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship between servant leadership behaviors and interpersonal workplace conflict in nonprofit organizational settings in the United States. Specifically, the intended goal of this research was to …

Pandemic Pop-Ups And The Performance Of Legality, Alexandra Flynn, Amelia Thorpe

All Faculty Publications

Cities around the world have rushed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic by regulating public space to promote social distancing and stimulate economic recovery. The resulting decisions are what we term ‘pandemic pop-ups’ - hasty, real-time, and temporary changes to the use and regulation of public space. Focusing on Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia, we argue that pandemic pop-ups extend beyond immediate infrastructure needs to how cities govern generally. Pop-ups may replace cars with bikes or extend restaurants into streets, and for this they have been celebrated: for saving jobs, and for making streets safer and more enjoyable. Pandemic pop-ups …

Policy Forum: Non-Standard Employment And Canada’S Initial Pandemic Response, Wei Cui

All Faculty Publications

Despite public attention to gig workers and their potential mis-classification as independent contractors, much flexible work already takes place in the sphere of formal employment. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market suggests that non-standard employees may be even more vulnerable than the self-employed. This article suggests that traditional employment insurance and related programs inadequately serve flexible employees, and policies targeted at the intensive margins of employment are needed to help precarious workers.