Digital Commons Network^™

The Museum Of Misinformation: An Interactive Exhibit Illuminating The Effects Of Social Media Algorithms On Cognitive Bias And The Spread Of Misinformation, Sydney Morris

Masters Theses

Misinformation is so easily believed and spread due to social media and its algorithms that amplify bias. This severely effects the millennial population and their ability to assess information, as many of them have begun to forego traditional news outlets and rely on social media for their news. The aim of this research was to investigate the phenomenon of confirmation bias and its connection to millennials’ belief in misinformation along with how social media uses confirmation bias to aid in the spread of misinformation. Specifically, it investigates methods that would aid millennials in combatting spreading misinformation. The following research questions …

Improvisation And Interpretation For High School Instrumental Students, Jeffrey J. Bianchine Jr.

Masters Theses

Improvisation is associated with jazz or rap in modern western culture, but classical music has a long tradition of improvisation featuring famous improvises such as Mozart and Liszt. Improvisation develops critical thinking and problem solving, essential skills in the American job market. The typical instrumental student does not often get the opportunity to use this. Bloom’s Taxonomy explains that students who do critical thinking activities in class have a better understanding of the course material. This course will equip students to improvise with others, make executive decisions about artistic elements in the repertoire, self-cretic playing, and compose a short cadenza.

Online Learning In Graduate Health Programs: Andragogy, Lecture Preference, And The Effectiveness Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Participation, Adam Ladwig

Dissertations and Theses

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, graduate health programs have undertaken greater utilization of online learning, employing synchronous and asynchronous online lectures as a replacement for traditional face-to-face instruction. Although supported in previous literature as a method at least equally effective to traditional learning, online learning has been a source of frustration for students and instructors expecting face-to-face instruction. This dissertation project seeks to explore (1) the ways in which principles of andragogy have been implemented in graduate health programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the factors that contribute to preference for online method of lecture participation (synchronous or …

Mental Fatigue On Landing Performance, Madison Marie Gaffney

Dissertations and Theses

Mental fatigue has been shown to impair physical performance, especially for endurance-based sports. However, little research has been done regarding the impacts of mental fatigue on shorter maximal effort movements during a common sport related activity such as the depth jump. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on short maximal performance efforts and predisposing biomechanical variables for non-contact ACL tears during depth-jumps in 18 Division I female soccer players. Each participant completed five depth jumps, followed by a 30-minute Stroop task to induce mental fatigue, and then completed five more depth jumps. Multiple …

Modulation Of Stress-Induced Behaviors Through Orexinergic Signaling In The Basolateral Amygdala, Jazmine D W Yaeger

Dissertations and Theses

Stress initiates behavioral disturbances, which are often seen as symptoms of psychiatric disorders, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. While stress is involved in the formation of disordered states, only certain individuals are vulnerable to, and therefore experience, these outcomes. Further, females are more likely to be diagnosed with stress-induced psychiatric disorders. Elements within stress neurocircuitry offer insight into differential behavioral outcomes associated with stressful experiences; and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), where pro- and anti-stress signals are integrated, is likely an important mediator in phenotype development. The orexin system, too, while being strongly associated with sleep, motivation, and …

Restorative Practice In Secondary Schools: A Case Study On Leadership, Implementation, And Challenges, Sarah M. Gross

Dissertations and Theses

Students who receive exclusionary discipline (discipline that removes them from the classroom) are less likely to graduate from high school. It has long been documented that students of color, special education students, and boys are more likely to be assigned suspensions and miss classroom instruction. Discipline matrices have been in place across the country and disparities still exist in consequences assigned to individual students. To alter this current reality, school professionals have looked for alternatives. One possibility lies in restorative practices. Restorative practices are strategies that value the whole child and consider not only an act of harm, but also …

Personal Digital Health In Parkinson's Disease: Case Histories And Commentary, Aidan T. Boving, L. Shuster, Theodore A. Walls, Todd Brothers

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

The use of self-tracking of bio-behavioral states along with prescription dosing information is increasingly popular in the care and study of many human diseases. Parkinson’s Disease is particularly amenable to such tracking, as patients live with the progressive disease for many years, increasing motivation to pursue quality of life changes through careful monitoring of symptoms and self-guided management of their medications and lifestyle choices. Through the use of digital self-tracking technologies, patients independently or in conjunction with professional medical advice are modulating their medications and behavioral regimens based on self-tracking data. Self-trackers engage in self-experimentation with their health, and more …

Combination Intrathecal Drug Therapy Strategies For Pain Management, Jay Karri, Mani Singh, Devas J Modi, Vwaire Orhurhu, Caleb Seale, Michael Saulino, Anuj Marathe, Darrell Vydra, Jonathan M Hagedorn, Brian Bruel, Alaa Abd-Elsayed

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Numerous combination intrathecal drug therapy (CIDT) strategies exist and are utilized for varying pain syndromes, typically when monotherapy dose escalation or medication alternation is deemed untenable or unfeasible. Unfortunately, the supportive evidence basis for the use of these strategies and specific drug combinations is generally lacking and unclear, with many medications being used for off-label indications.

Objective: In this manuscript, we provide a robust exploration and analysis of the literature to provide an evidence-based narrative for the use of CIDT strategies in regard to clinical indications, pharmacologic parameters, specific drug combinations, safety profiles, and future directions.

Study design: Narrative …

Human Behavior In Domestic Environments: Prediction And Applications, Sharare Zehtabian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A longstanding goal of human behavior science is to model and predict how humans interact with each other or with other systems. Such models are beneficial and have many applications, including designing and implementing assistive technologies, improving users' experiences and quality of life and making better decisions to create public policies. Behavior is highly complex due to uncertainties and a lack of scientific tools to measure it. Hence prediction of human behavior cannot be 100% accurate. However, prediction is also not hopeless because the biological needs, as well as cultural conventions (for instance, regarding meal times) set the general patterns …

Providing Resources To Caregivers Of Pediatric Mentally Ill Clients And Assessing For Caregiver Burden, Stacy Dee

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background. Provision of educational and supportive resources to the caregivers of children with mental illness can help create an environment of advocacy and understanding between the child, caregiver, and provider. In depth and comprehensive learning about their child’s mental illness cannot be accomplished in a one-hour new patient appointment or established patient appointment of 20 minutes. Purpose. The purpose of this practice improvement project was to facilitate educational and community support for caregivers of pediatric clients with mental illness and evaluate if caregivers require additional support due to burden. Objectives. (a) 100% of caregivers of pediatric clients who have appointments …

Forage News [2021-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Academic Self-Efficacy Among Nursing Students During Covid-19: A Path Analysis, Shinhi Han, Koun Eum, Hee Sun Kang, Kathleen Karsten

Publications and Research

Introduction: The shift to online learning owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is posing an additional challenge to academic success, particularly for students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). This study aimed to examine the factors that contribute to academic self-efficacy among ESL nursing students.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study using path analysis with 113 undergraduate ESL nursing students in New York City. Data were collected online using self-report measures of the study variables: academic self-efficacy, perfectionistic concerns, acculturative stress, and e-learning stress. A hypothetical path model was tested using AMOS 26.0.

Results: …

Sin Yen Ling, Sin Yen Ling

Oral Histories – Student Projects

Sin Yen Ling was born in Chinatown, Manhattan, she is daughter of immigrant parents who arrived to the U.S in the early 70s and worked in garment factories and restaurants. She's a former staff attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) where she spent six years advocating for anti-Asian violence, racial profiling, and the deportations and detentions made against immigrants post 9/11. She founded ASPIRE, the first pan Asian undocumented youth group in the country. She is now the director of the Immigration Project, member of the New York State Bar and of the American Immigration …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Undergraduate Research Motivations At The University Of Nebraska Omaha (Uno), Afrah F. Rasheed

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Undergraduate research provides unique experiences and skill sets that are applicable in various careers. However, there has been an increasing need for greater diversity among researchers, namely undergraduate researchers, and the motivations behind undergraduate research participation need to be further explored. The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic information of undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), and what motivations were the most prevalent in undergraduate research at UNO. A mixed-methods approach was utilized through a quantitative portion and a qualitative portion. The quantitative portion was a web-based survey which gauged for 22 independent …

Will You Be My Special Cucumber?: A Study Of Human-Robot Interaction (Hri), Kalvry Cooper

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

African American Vernacular English In K–12 Education In Texas: An Interview Study Of Education Professionals, Calyha Brown

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Scholarships, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Cultivando Sabiduría (Cultivating Wisdom): Latinx Immigrant Elders And Civic Engagement, Marisol Clark-Ibáñez, Arcela Nuñez Alvarez, Alicia Gonzales, Michelle F. Ramos Pellicia, Ann Ardon, Noemi Jara, Valentina Martinez-Rodriguez

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This article describes a program, Cultivando Sabiduría (Cultivating Wisdom), that was created to honor and further ignite civic engagement in low-income, Spanish-speaking Latinx elders. Cultivando Sabiduría utilized a popular education pedagogical approach and culturally validating curriculum. Methodological and theoretical innovations aided in recognizing program participants’ strengths. Discussion is provided on the social and health benefits of volunteering and civic engagement for Latinx elders. The 177 Latinx program participants were ages 55+ years old and primarily low income with low (formal) educational levels. Program impacts included identification of the strengths of the elders in terms of civic engagement and community leadership, …

Multi-Dimensional Disaster Response For Older Adults, Donna Jensen

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

During disasters older adults are particularly at risk to be negatively affected. This paper will examine the increased vulnerabilities of older adults facing disasters, specifically through the lens of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California which killed 85 people, burned over 150,000 acres, and destroyed close to 19,000 structures in the rural communities it impacted. It has been designated the “deadliest and most destructive” fire in recorded California history. While research demonstrates that older adults tend to be more resilient in disasters, they also have some vulnerabilities that make them more susceptible to death. I discuss common issues …

Isolating The White Matter Circuitry Of The Dorsal Language Stream: Connectome-Symptom Mapping In Stroke Induced Aphasia, Vatche Baboyan, Alexandra Basilaskos, Grigori Yourganov, Chris Rorden, Leonardo Bonilha, Julius Fridiksson, Gregory Hickok

Faculty Publications

The application of �� 1 -regularized machine learning models to high-dimensional connectomes offers a promising methodology to assess clinical-anatomical correlations in humans. Here, we integrate the connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping framework with sparse partial least squares regression (sPLS-R) to isolate elements of the connectome associated with speech repetition deficits. By mapping over 2,500 connections of the structural connectome in a cohort of 71 stroke-induced cases of aphasia presenting with varying left-hemisphere lesions and repetition impairment, sPLS-R was trained on 50 subjects to algorithmically identify connectomic features on the basis of their predictive value. The highest ranking features were subsequently used to …

Devfold: A Toolbox For Designing Age-Specific Fnirs Channel Placement, Xiaoxue (Jessie) Fu Ph.D., John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Significance: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technique that uses scalp-placed sensors to measure cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Commercial NIRS instruments do not allow for whole-head coverage and do not intrinsically indicate which brain areas generate the NIRS signal. Hence, the challenge is to design source–detector channel arrangement that maximizes sensitivity to a given brain region of interest (ROI). Existing methods for optimizing channel placement design have been developed using adult head models. Thus, they have limited utility for developmental research.

Aim: We aim to build an application from an existing toolbox (fOLD) that guides NIRS channel configuration based on age …

“Now I Feel A Little Bit More Secure”: The Impact Of Snap Enrollment On Older Adult Ssi Recipients, Katie Savin, Alena Morales, Ronli Levi, Dora Alvarez, Hilary Seligman

All Faculty Scholarship

In June 2019, California expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries for the first time. This research assesses the experience and impact of new SNAP enrollment among older adult SSI recipients, a population characterized by social and economic precarity. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 SNAP participants to explore their experiences with new SNAP benefits. Following initial coding, member-check groups allowed for participants to provide feedback on preliminary data analysis. Findings demonstrate that SNAP enrollment improved participants’ access to nutritious foods of their choice, contributed to overall budgets, eased mental distress resulting from …

Passed: Calculate Power And Sample Size For Two Sample Tests, Jinpu Li, Ryan .. Knigge, Kaiyi Chen, Emily V. Leary

The R Journal

Power and sample size estimation are critical aspects of study design to demonstrate minimized risk for subjects and justify the allocation of time, money, and other resources. Researchers often work with response variables that take the form of various distributions. Here, we present an R package, PASSED, that allows flexibility with seven common distributions and multiple options to accommodate sample size or power analysis. The relevant statistical theory, calculations, and examples for each distribution using PASSED are discussed in this paper.

Passed: Calculate Power And Sample Size For Two Sample Tests, University Of Missouri Li, Ryan P. Knigge, Kaiyi Chen, Emily V. Leary

The R Journal

Power and sample size estimation are critical aspects of study design to demonstrate minimized risk for subjects and justify the allocation of time, money, and other resources. Researchers often work with response variables that take the form of various distributions. Here, we present an R package, PASSED, that allows flexibility with seven common distributions and multiple options to accommodate sample size or power analysis. The relevant statistical theory, calculations, and examples for each distribution using PASSED are discussed in this paper.

Estimating Social Influence Effects In Networks Using A Latent Space Adjusted Approach In R, Ran Xu

The R Journal

Social influence effects have been extensively studied in various empirical network research. However, many challenges remain in estimating social influence effects in networks, as influence effects are often entangled with other factors, such as homophily in the selection process and the common social-environmental factors that individuals are embedded in. Methods currently available either do not solve these problems or require stringent assumptions. Recent works by Xu (2018) and others have shown that a latent space adjusted approach based on the latent space model has the potential to disentangle the influence effects from other processes, and the simulation evidence has shown …

Cat.Dt: An R Package For Fast Construction Of Accurate Computerized Adaptive Tests Using Decision Trees, Javier Rodríguez-Cuadrado, Juan C. Laria, David Delgado-Gómez

The R Journal

This article introduces the cat.dt package for the creation of Computerized Adaptive Tests (CATs). Unlike existing packages, the cat.dt package represents the CAT in a Decision Tree (DT) structure. This allows building the test before its administration, ensuring that the creation time of the test is independent of the number of participants. Moreover, to accelerate the construction of the tree, the package controls its growth by joining nodes with similar estimations or distributions of the ability level and uses techniques such as message passing and pre-calculations. The constructed tree, as well as the estimation procedure, can be visualized using the …

Matchthem: Matching And Weighting After Multiple Imputation, Farhad Pishgar, Noah Greifer, Clémence Leyrat, Elizabeth Stuart

The R Journal

Balancing the distributions of the confounders across the exposure levels in an observational study through matching or weighting is an accepted method to control for confounding due to these variables when estimating the association between an exposure and outcome and reducing the degree of dependence on certain modeling assumptions. Despite the increasing popularity in practice, these procedures cannot be immediately applied to datasets with missing values. Multiple imputation of the missing data is a popular approach to account for missing values while preserving the number of units in the dataset and accounting for the uncertainty in the missing values. However, …

Exploring High-Power Distance Among Other Variables In Information Security Policy Compliance, Erasmus Ekpo Etim

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Information security threat is one of the significant challenges organizations must deal with, and one component of that challenge is information security policy compliance. Data breaches sometimes happen because employees do not adhere to information security policies. The purpose of the exploratory study was to determine if power distance had a role in information security policy compliance; power distance is the understanding that power distribution is unequal. The research required survey data collected from a high-power distance index country, Nigeria. The Nigerian working class was the population sample; a model was developed based on compliance, descriptive norms, moral beliefs, normative …

Dance In Public Space, Rachel Cruzan

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dance is a universal cultural phenomenon that provides physical, emotional, and social benefits. Public Space, when well-utilized, provides people with opportunities to meet various needs. In this way, Dance and Public Space have the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship, Public Space providing a way for people to meet certain needs through Dance, while Dance improves the quality of Public Space. This relationship is already in existence worldwide. This paper explores seven case studies globally where Dance occurs in Public Space. Written research is combined with diagrams developed to study key aspects of these spaces. The diagrams study Dance and …