Digital Commons Network^™

Is Artificial Intelligence Attractive? An Empirical Study On User’S Intention To Use Ai-Enabled Applications, Omar F. El-Gayar, Gary Yu Zhao, Cindy Zhiling Tu

Research & Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and image recognition, are being incorporated into a wide variety of applications. These AI-enabled applications (AI apps) promise to reshape people's lives. However, despite the proliferation of AI-related research, very little research has focused on how AI apps' unique characteristics affect an individual's adoption behavior. This study examines factors influencing an individual's intention to use AI apps with a proposed research model based on the Task Technology Fit (TTF) as the underlying theoretical framework. The research model is empirically evaluated using the survey data and SEM method. …

The Applications Of Artificial Intelligence In Managing Project Processes And Targets: A Systematic Analysis, Cherie Noteboom, Martinson Ofori, Zixing Shen

Research & Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as the defining technology of the 21st century and has far-reaching impacts on project management (PM). This study assesses the applications of AI in managing project processes and targets through a systematic analysis of publications from 2017 to 2021. The analysis has revealed interesting insights, trends, gaps, and issues. This study informs the researchers and practitioners of the status of AI applications in the management of project processes and targets. It helps stimulate research efforts that can lead to more advances in applying AI to augment PM practices.

Power-Aware Fog Supported Iot Network For Healthcare Infrastructure Using Swarm Intelligence-Based Algorithms, Hafiz Munsab Ali, Syed Ahmad Chan Bukhari, Tahir Hameed, Jun Liu, Alain Bertrand Bomgni

Research & Publications

Healthcare services become increasingly technology dependent every passing day such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Fog Computing, 5th generation (5G) and beyond communications, etc. They enable the processing and exchange of huge volumes of healthcare data whose integrity and real-time delivery are critical for healthcare services. Optimal power consumption in such essential healthcare infrastructure is critical for the well-being of patients and crucial to reduce the operational cost of healthcare facilities. In this paper, a Fog node has been introduced in an IoT healthcare infrastructure with power consumption as a key deciding factor. This work proposed a mathematical formulation …

The Well-Being Of A University: The Relationship Between Gratitude And Organizational Commitment On Faculty Members' Intention To Stay, Brenda Merkel, Kristi Bockorny, Amber Henderson, Aaron Scholl

Research & Publications

Retaining good employees can be difficult , and no organization is immune. This study investigated the relationship between gratitude and organizational commitment to determine if they can predict the intention to stay among university faculty. Specifically, this study analyzed gratitude, a construct that has not been researched much in the workplace. There was a significant relationship between gratitude on organizational commitment. Gratitude and organizational commitment were important predictors of intention to stay. Gratitude was supported as a moderator between organizational commitment and intention to stay. Organizations should incorporate posititve reinforcements to express gratitude to increase organizational commitment and intent to …

Annual Report 2022-2023, Office Of Community Engagement

News, Magazines and Reports

Letter from Annie Johnson, Director, and Arlete Perez Paez, Assistant Director:

As we celebrate the beginning of summer, we pause to reflect on the changes, successes, and collaborations of this past academic year.

In January, we welcomed Francis Origanti as the interim Vice President for the Mission Integration department and are assisting with the search of Executive Director for the department as well. Additionally, Arlete Perez Paez was promoted to Assistant Director; the office also will be hiring a fulltime Coordinator for Community Partnerships in time for start of the new academic year.

We are also excited to share that …

Moderating Effects Of Relationship Length And Contact Frequency On Customer Citizenship Behaviors, Laee Choi, Mi Ran Kim

ICHRIE Research Reports

Studies show that contact frequency and relationship length impact co-creative and in-role behaviors with service providers. However, their influence on extra-role or customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs) remains unexplored. This study delves into the moderating role of relationship length and contact frequency within the CCB model. Utilizing an online survey (n = 665), the study unveils that perceived justice’s impact on affective commitment is not moderated by contact frequency, whereas the impact is stronger in short-term than in longer-term relationships. The perceived support-affective commitment-CCBs relationship is stronger in high contact than in low contact group. Similarly, the relationship is stronger for …

W-Sitting Position In Children And Its Musculoskeletal Implication, B.V. Murlimanju, Jayashree K, Suchetha S. Rao

Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences

W-sitting is a sitting position observed in a few children, where the child sits over the floor with his or her bent knees and legs positioned to the sides, making a ‘W’ shape. This sitting posture, if practiced very often can lead to the forward pelvic tilt and medial rotation of the hip. Children who suffered from cerebral palsy can present with abnormal sitting postures, including the W-sitting. Adaptive sitting and physiotherapy can be advised to improve the sitting posture and overall motor function in these children. However, a few studies suggested that there is no significant association between this …

Approaches To Sea Level Rise And International Law: A Comparative View Of Emerging Policy Responses By The African And The Americas Regions, Charles Chernor Jalloh

Articles

No abstract provided.

2023 Create, Grow, Scale Entrepreneurship Convening: Summary Report, Research Institute For Social Equity At Virginia Commonwealth University

Research Institute for Social Equity

In partnership with Capital One Insights Center, the Research Institute for Social Equity (the Institute) hosted a convening to discuss the ecosystem around Black and Hispanic businesses in Richmond, Virginia. This full-day experience brought together thought leaders, policymakers, practitioners, community influencers, and entrepreneurs from the greater Richmond community to strategize how to translate research into action toward economic outcomes that benefit Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. This summary paper offers an overview of the sessions and outcomes of this convening.

A Qualitative Study On The Financial Education Of Young Black Men, Sue M. May

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Financial literacy awareness is low among young adults, and financial literacy among Black college students is significantly lower than in other groups (Singh, 2018). However, there is little to no research on why financial literacy is so low among young Black men between 18 and 25. Few studies specifically show how financial literacy and decision-making may be related to their family economics and socialization for young Black men. Using Critical Race Theory and Family Financial Socialization theoretical frameworks, this dissertation project examined a sample of seven young self-identified Black men ages 24 to 25 years old in Northern California Bay …

Making Sense Of Big (Kinematic) Data: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Movement Parameters In A Diverse Population, Naomi Wilma Nunis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine how kinematic, big data can be evaluated using computational, comprehensive analysis of movement parameters in a diverse population.

METHODS

Retrospective data was collected, cleaned, and reviewed for further analysis of biomechanical movement in an active population using 3D collinear resistance loads. The active sample of the population involved in the study ranged from age 7 to 82 years old and respectively identified as active in 13 different sports. Moreover, a series of exercises were conducted by each participant across multiple sessions. Exercises were measured and recorded based on 6 distinct biometric …

The Effect Of A Music Therapy Video In-Service On Staffs' Beliefs About Music Therapy In Behavioral Health, Jesus Javier Garcia

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a short video presentation, about music therapy in behavioral health, had a positive effect on staff members’ beliefs about music therapy in that setting. A total of 26 staff members, from different departments, participated in the study and completed a pre- and post-presentation questionnaire. Responses were analyzed and compared to investigate whether the video had a positive effect on staff members’ beliefs about music therapy in behavioral health. Participant demographics and pre- and post-video questionnaire responses were also analyzed and compared to explore the differential impact of the video by subgroups …

Disclosing Corporate Diversity, Atinuke O. Adediran

Faculty Scholarship

This Article’s central claim is that disclosures can be used instrumentally to increase diversity in corporate America in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Until recently, scholars and policymakers have underappreciated this possibility because diversity was often omitted from the larger Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) disclosures context, even though, as this Article empirically shows, public companies make diversity disclosures in that context.

Diversity disclosures are important not only for shareholders’ interests in transparency, but also for the benefit of other stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the communities in which companies operate, who want to know whether companies …

Reflections On The Creation Of The Jewish Law Institute At Touro, Randy Lee

Touro Law Review

Having interpreted the topic of our panel liberally, what I want to talk about today is why Sam Levine, director of Touro’s Jewish Law Institute, is here at the conference, or, to put it differently—why does Touro Law School have a Jewish law institute?”

Lawyer As Presidents–A Rising Trend In Higher Education (May It Please The Campus: Lawyers Leading Higher Education By Patricia E. Salkin), Timothy Fisher

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Brown V. Board Of Education: Achieving Student Body Diversity In All Levels Of Education, Nancy L. Zisk

Touro Law Review

This Article addresses the legal standard by which school admissions programs may be judged and validated as school districts struggle to achieve student body diversity. As the Supreme Court recognized in its seminal decision, Brown v. Board of Education, education “is the very foundation of good citizenship.” Twenty years after that case was decided, Thurgood Marshall, who had argued that separate was not equal in the Brown case, observed as a Justice of the Court that “unless our children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will ever learn to live together.” Because achieving student body …

Genealogy Sites And Adoptions–Connecting Families Or Ruining Them?, Taylor Bialek

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is There A Fundamental Right To Privacy When An Educational Institution Requires A Student To Disclose Proof Of His Or Her Vaccination Status?, Mary D. Fatscher

Touro Law Review

In 2020, the coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) dominated the world. Although the public has progressively become more informed about the disease and how to safeguard itself, challenges persist as there is still much unknown. Aside from wearing masks, social distancing, and despite its undetermined consequences, the COVID-19 vaccination has emerged as a primary solution to substantially reducing the incidence and severity of the virus in our country. Many COVID-19 vaccine mandates were initiated once three pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).

Composers At War: A Study Of Composers Who Fought In World War I And World War Ii, Jason T. Hoffmann

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research document explores the connections between the war experiences of four composers and whether the possibility existed that any of the composers had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral injury, mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Scholars have not thoroughly examined the music of composers written before, during, and after war experiences and any potential changes to musical styles or compositional techniques. In my research I look at the effects that war can have on composers through autobiographical and biographical accounts of Ivor Gurney (WWI), Olivier Messiaen (WWII), Maurice Ravel (WWI), and …

What Gives? Leveraging Marketing Knowledge To Increase Consumers’ Charitable Giving, Caitlin Michael

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Marketing plays a central role in nonprofit organizations that compete for the donations of individual consumers to achieve their respective missions. To this end, marketing researchers and practitioners have devoted much attention to the antecedents of charitable giving and ways in which solicitations may be made more effective and efficient. This gives rise to the questions: “What has the field learned?” and, relatedly, “What novel effects have not yet been explored?” Within this dissertation, three essays address these questions through the use of multiple methodologies.

The first essay seeks to outline what the marketing field has learned about consumers’ charitable …

Localization Of People In Gnss-Denied Environments Using Neural-Inertial Prediction And Kalman Filter Correction, Lauren N. Cash

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis presents a method based on neural networks and Kalman filters for estimating the position of a person carrying a mobile device (i.e., cell phone or tablet) that can communicate with static UWB sensors or is carried in an environment with known landmark positions. This device is used to collect and share inertial measurement unit (IMU) information — which includes data from sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers — and UWB and landmark information. The collected data, in combination with other necessary initial condition information, is input into a pre-trained deep neural network (DNN) which predicts the movement …

Gut-Lung Axis Of The Microbiome Alterations After Ultrafine Particles And Ozone Inhalation, Md Habibul Hasan Mazumder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Air pollution poses a significant threat to public health. It is a mixture of particulate matter, gaseous substances, and other secondary substances. Despite epidemiological research indicating the interactive effects of various components of air pollution, existing studies and regulatory limits often focus on single-exposure scenarios. The emerging understanding of the microbiome’s role in regulating immune response, metabolism, and pathophysiology of various diseases points towards interactions between environmental exposures and microbial dysbiosis. In this dissertation, mice were exposed to relevant deposited doses of carbon black (CB) and ozone (O3), and lung inflammation as well as the lung-gut axis of the microbiome …

Application Of Computational Biophysics Techniques To Characterize Cell Membrane-Associated Events, Kyle Billings

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cell membranes are crowded environments which can modulate protein structure-function relationships through interaction with lipids, other proteins, carbohydrate structures and so on. This work focuses the impact of the membrane environment on two varieties of peptides: Microbial rhodopsin proteins, and cyclic peptides.

Life on Earth is dependent on the ability of plants and microbes to harness sunlight for energy production. Their ability to transform light into carbohydrates requires tailor-made machinery, and for a wealth of microorganisms, microbial rhodopsin proteins (MR) are critical for maintaining the concentration gradients used to produce the energy molecule Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The central retinal molecule …

Exploiting The Advantages And Overcoming The Challenges Of The Cable In A Tethered Drone System, Rogerio Rodrigues Lima

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation proposes solutions for motion planning, localization, and landing of tethered drones using only tether variables. A tether-based multi-model localization framework for tethered drones is proposed. This framework comprises three independent localization strategies based on a different model. The first strategy uses simple trigonometric relations assuming that the tether is taut; the second method relies on a set of catenary equations for the slack tether case; the third estimator is a neural network-based predictor that can cover different tether shapes. Multi-layer perceptron networks previously trained with a dataset comprised of the tether variables (i.e., length, tether angles on the …

Examining The Relations Among Academic And Non-Cognitive Factors And Student Achievement, Dona Sachini Hasanjalie Hewagallage

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the 1980s, Physics Education Research (PER) has explored the factors influencing students' success in college. This manuscript reports three different studies to understand the impact of different factors on students' college physics achievement. The first study explored several academic (high school physics preparation, high school preparation, math readiness, and ACT or SAT verbal and mathematics scores) and non-cognitive (self-efficacy, personality, belonging, grade expectation, and demographic) factors using correlation and linear regression analysis to understand their relation to students' physics conceptual understanding measured by the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). High school preparation was found to be the most …

Investigating The Interactions Of The Iron-Sulfur Mitochondrial Protein, Mitoneet With Its Binding Partners, Ebenezer Osei Newton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

MitoNEET belongs to the CDGSH Iron-Sulfur Domain (CISD)-gene family of proteins and is a [2Fe-2S] cluster-containing protein found on the outer membrane of mitochondria. The specific functions of mitoNEET/CISD1 remain to be fully elucidated, but the protein is involved in regulating mitochondrial bioenergetics in several metabolic diseases. Unfortunately, drug discovery efforts targeting mitoNEET to improve metabolic disorders are hampered by the lack of ligand-binding assays for this mitochondrial protein. We have developed a protocol amenable for high-throughput screening (HTS) assay, by modifying an ATP fluorescence polarization method to facilitate drug discovery targeting mitoNEET. Based on our observation that adenosine triphosphate …

Organizational Characteristics As Predictors Of Hospital Accreditation, Rebecca B. Graystone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Hospital accreditation has had wide and longstanding acceptance as a key quality tool to drive efficient, effective healthcare. Researchers have more recently questioned factors commonly related with accreditation achievement given accreditation’s general association to better patient care, risk management, and cost reduction. Even less information was known about predictors of accreditation failure, which could be addressed by hospital administrators in advance of seeking application. Accordingly, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine if hospital structures and processes were predictors of accreditation failure. The research questions explored hospital size, ownership status, geographic location, hospital leadership, empowerment, practice, and …

Relationships Among Racism, Dental Care-Related Fear/Anxiety And Dental Care Utilization Among Black And African American Women In Appalachia, Kalo Sokoto

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is a study of the implications of racism in oral health care settings for dental care-related fear/anxiety, and dental care utilization. One in five adults in the US have experienced discrimination while receiving health care. Even though racism is the most reported type of discrimination in health care, little is known about its impact on dental outcomes. There is a paucity of prior studies measuring experiences of racism in dental settings. The current study proposed the application of Krieger’s Ecosocial Theory of Health Equity to explore relationships among racism in oral health care settings, dental care-related fear/anxiety, and …

Measuring And Modeling How Plant-Microbe Interactions Control Soil Carbon And Nitrogen Cycling In Managed And Unmanaged Ecosystems, Joanna Ridgeway

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Our understanding of how plant-microbe interactions regulate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) retention in soil organic matter (SOM) remains uncertain. Conflicting evidence suggests that microbial decomposition can lead to the loss of unprotected particulate SOM, but also that microbial decomposition produces simpler compounds that preferentially form more persistent aggregate- or mineral-protected SOM pools. Further, uncertainty remains in how plant-microbe interactions alter SOM retention in these different pools through litter chemistry controls on microbial decomposition traits and rhizosphere priming. As a result, this uncertainty limits our ability to sustainably manage ecosystems and understand future feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and the global …

Xanthine Oxidase-Induced Vascular Dysfunction In Nano-Tio2 Inhalation, Xena Marie Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Inhalation of nano-TiO₂ is linked to adverse clinical outcomes that affect people worldwide, particularly those who work in manufacturing. For example, cardiovascular consequences and changes in microvascular responses are, in part, associated with exposure to engineered nanomaterials such as nano-TiO₂; however, the mechanism(s) driving this process is unknown. Nano-TiO₂ is an engineered nanomaterial (ENM) that is reported to, upon inhalation, impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation in several vascular beds via enhanced local oxidant generation and diminished nitric oxide bioavailability. This dissertation aims to address the health concerns generated by occupational exposure to nano-TiO₂ and identify a link …