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Vol. 46 No. 2 (2023): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lā ‘ie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Impactful Interactivity Within Video Games, Luke Robert Maeser

Theses

Despite half a century of existence and dedicated academic programs educating next generations of game developers, conclusive evidence does not exist as to if video games are beneficial to learning or costly. Examining the notion of benefit versus cost, it is important to assess the value of video games when leveraged as tools for learning as traditional educational methodologies are not infallible. This paper explores how video games can generate psychological responses; and therefore, one must conclude learning has occurred. The following is encompassed: meaningful interactivity within video games (regarding narrative and gameplay), video games as educational tools, video game …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Fall 2023, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Exploring Critical Media Literacies In Youth Media Production: Tackling Falsehoods Through Media Creation, Oluwadara Abimbade

All Dissertations

This Mixed Method Research (MMR) study, using a convergent parallel design, explores the practices of middle school students as creators and consumers of false information-free media. It investigates their ability to identify falsehoods, explores the impact of false information on various aspects of their lives, and introduces an innovative media production boot camp to foster awareness, detection, and prevention of false information dissemination in their media creations. The research, conducted with six participants, employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including video and in-person observations, interviews, surveys, and artifacts. Integrating quantitative and qualitative data enables a comprehensive …

Estimating Financial And Environmental Risk: Some New Developments And Comparison Study., Fnu Kamronnaher

All Dissertations

This dissertation delves into the concept of risk, specifically focusing on two prominent categories: financial risk and environmental risk.

Financial risk is the probability of unfavorable outcomes of an investment while environmental risk refers to the possible harm to the environment resulting from extreme weather events. More specifically, risk is the high (low) quantiles of the distribution of variables of interest. \\ To quantify and assess uncertainties in financial and environmental risk, robust and reliable methodologies are needed. The aim of this dissertation is to develop some risk assessment methods and compare them with the widely used methodologies in both …

An Investigation Of Match For Lossless Video Compression, Brittany Sullivan-Reicks

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A new lossless video compression technique, Match, is investigated. Match uses the similarity between the frames of a video or the slices of medical images to find a prediction for the current pixel. A portion of the previous frame is searched to find a matching context, which is the pixels surrounding the current pixel, within some distance centered on the current location. The best distance to use for each dataset is found experimentally. The matching context refers to the neighborhood of w, nw, n, and ne, where the pixel in the previous frame with the closest matching context becomes the …

Connecting Through Stories: The Power Of Digital Narratives, Adam Rawson

Postgraduate

As the creator behind this project, I, Adam Rawson, draw from my Scottish heritage and a rich tapestry of experiences. With a background rooted in Media Arts and Productions, my journey spans across an array of professional roles, including documentary directing and filmmaking. My multifaceted expertise extends into the realm of composition and music production, adding depth and resonance to my creative endeavours.

Through the power of multimedia and interactive storytelling, this project weaves together digital storytelling techniques, including animation, multimedia platforms, and interactive elements, to create a cohesive, immersive, and compelling narrative. At its core, this narrative is centred …

Navigating The Stem Landscape: Exploring The Challenges And Opportunities For Latinas In Pursuit Of Representation And Inclusion, Ana B. Mendieta

Education Doctoral

This phenomenological study delves into the underrepresentation that Latinas experience in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industry, a notable disparity given their increased enrollment in higher education, revealing a significant concern within the STEM educational pipeline. Utilizing the core components of the STEM identity framework (competence, performance, and recognition) in conjunction with the cultural value of familismo, which emphasizes strong familial bonds, the research seeks to illuminate the complexities Latinas navigate as they strive to carve a pathway within the STEM education to workforce pipeline. Using a qualitative approach, the study identifies that the timing of participants' initial …

Predicting Njcaa Student-Athlete Success: An Analysis Of Graduation Over A 5-Year Period Using Precollege And College Variables At A 2-Year Institution, Alina Nazari

Education Doctoral

College student-athletes have to navigate unique challenges in order to graduate on time primarily due to their dual roles on campus (Beron & Piquero, 2016; Cooper et al., 2017). While previous research has primarily explored predictors of academic success (e.g., graduation within 150% of the standard completion time) among student-athletes at NCAA Division I institutions,

this study addressed the significant gap in knowledge specific to NJCAA Division I student- athletes. This quantitative study extended the work of Autry (2010) by investigating the

precollege and college predictors of academic success among 2-year student-athletes at a NJCAA Division I institution in the …

The Mindful Way: An Explorative Case Study Of The Transformative Effects Of Afro Flow Yoga A Culturally Adapted Mindfulness Intervention On The Health And Well-Being Of Black Women, Danielle A. Jones

Education Doctoral

This qualitative phenomenological exploratory case study explored Afro Flow Yoga to evaluate its potential as a culturally adaptable mindfulness-based intervention for enhancing the health and well-being of Black women while addressing the historical ills and adverse effects of intersectionality. From its beginning, the United States has discriminated against and defeminized Black women while profiting from all aspects of their lives. To be Black and female in America is to experience perpetual racism, sexism, and other "isms" as forms of harm and oppression. Therefore, culturally adapted mindfulness interventions are essential to cater to the unique needs of Black women. The mindfulness …

Black And Latiné College Student Expectations And Perceptions Of A College Leadership’S Responses To Nationally Known, Racially Biased Incidents, Grace Maxon-Clarke

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to understand Black and Latiné students’ expectations and perceptions of their college leaderships’ responses to nationally known, biased incidents. Through a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design, 11 participants, within one institution, across three focus groups, shared their expectations and perspectives. The data analysis was done using open-ended coding to determine the major themes and codes across all focus groups.

Themes for student expectations were (a) no expectation: first-year student, COVID restrictions, primarily White institutions; (b) expectations met: met the needs of the White majority, public institution; and (c) expected different: expected more, …

Dying With Dignity: An Exploration Into The Lived Experiences Of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Facilitating End-Of-Life Care, Dianna Lewis-Brewster

Education Doctoral

This study explored the lived experiences of advanced practice registered nurses caring for dying patients in the acute care hospital setting and how they perceive their role in the discharge process to allow for patient and family autonomy. It explored transitioning patients from the hospital to the community with an interdisciplinary team and the utilization of care homes in the community. The methodology used was a qualitative descriptive phenomenological research design. The study utilized the caring framework theories of Jean Watson’s caritas processes. The study included nine licensed advanced practice registered nurse participants from upstate New York, actively working in …

Rare Tumors: Opportunities And Challenges From The Children's Oncology Group Perspective., Kris Ann P. Schultz, Murali Chintagumpala, Jin Piao, Kenneth S. Chen, Rachana Shah, Robyn D. Gartrell, Emily Christison-Lagay, Farzana Pashnakar, Jesse L. Berry, Allison F. O'Neill, Lauren M. Vasta, Ashley Flynn, Sarah G. Mitchell, Brittani Kn Seynnaeve, Jeremy Rosenblum, Samara L. Potter, Junne Kamihara, Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, Douglas S. Hawkins, Theodore W. Laetsch

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

While all childhood cancers are rare, tumors that are particularly infrequent or underrepresented within pediatrics are studied under the umbrella of the Children's Oncology Group Rare Tumor committee, divided into the Retinoblastoma and Infrequent Tumor subcommittees. The Infrequent Tumor subcommittee has traditionally included an emphasis on globally rare tumors such as adrenocortical carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or those tumors that are rare in young children, despite being common in adolescents and young adults, such as colorectal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, and melanoma. Pleuropulmonary blastoma, gonadal stromal tumors, pancreatic tumors including pancreatoblastoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, nonmelanoma skin cancers, neuroendocrine tumors, and desmoplastic small …

Early-Life Stress Perturbs The Epigenetics Of Cd36 Concurrent With Adult Onset Of Nafld In Mice., Qi Fu, Jenna M. Frick, Maura F. O'Neil, Olivia C. Eller, E Matthew Morris, John P. Thyfault, Julie A. Christianson, Robert H. Lane

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver diseases in the U.S. and worldwide. The roles of early postnatal life stress (EPLS) and the fatty acid translocase (CD36) on the pathogenesis of adult-onset NAFLD remain unknown. We hypothesized that EPLS, in the form of neonatal maternal separation (NMS), would predispose mice towards developing adult NAFLD, increase hepatic CD36 expression, and differentially methylate Cd36 promoter concurrently.

METHODS: NMS was performed on mice from postnatal day 1 to 21 and a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFS) diet was started at 4 weeks of age to generate four experimental groups: Naive-control …

"My Gut Feeling Is…": An Ethnographic Study Exploring Interprofessional Communication About Children And Adolescents With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain In Paediatric Rheumatology., Rebecca R. Lee, Janet E. Mcdonagh, Tim Rapley, Albert Farre, Mark Connelly, Tonya M. Palermo, Karine Toupin-April, Emily Wakefield, Sarah Peters, Lis Cordingley

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Interprofessional communication about inflammatory and non-inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions is an important component of assessment and management in paediatric rheumatology. Chronic pain is a feature of some of these conditions which likely influences the extent and type of communication about pain. Research investigating interprofessional communication about paediatric pain is limited but has found that communication is inclusive of the biopsychosocial context of children/adolescents as well as their families. The aim of this ethnographic study was to explore interprofessional communication about children and adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain in paediatric rheumatology. We observed forty-five healthcare professionals recruited from 3 UK paediatric rheumatology …

The Modified Clinical Progression Scale For Pediatric Patients: Evaluation As A Severity Metric And Outcome Measure In Severe Acute Viral Respiratory Illness., Shannon B. Leland, Steven J. Staffa, Margaret M. Newhams, Robinder G. Khemani, John C. Marshall, Cameron C. Young, Aline B. Maddux, Mark W. Hall, Scott L. Weiss, Adam J. Schwarz, Bria M. Coates, Ronald C. Sanders, Michele Kong, Neal J. Thomas, Ryan A. Nofziger, Melissa L. Cullimore, Natasha B. Halasa, Laura L. Loftis, Natalie Z. Cvijanovich, Jennifer E. Schuster, Heidi Flori, Shira J. Gertz, Janet R. Hume, Samantha M. Olson, Manish M. Patel, David Zurakowski, Adrienne G. Randolph, Pediatric Acute Lung And Sepsis Investigator’S Network Pediatric Intensive Care Influenza Study Group (Palisi Picflu) Investigators And Overcoming Covid-19 Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To develop, evaluate, and explore the use of a pediatric ordinal score as a potential clinical trial outcome metric in children hospitalized with acute hypoxic respiratory failure caused by viral respiratory infections.

DESIGN: We modified the World Health Organization Clinical Progression Scale for pediatric patients (CPS-Ped) and assigned CPS-Ped at admission, days 2-4, 7, and 14. We identified predictors of clinical improvement (day 14 CPS-Ped ≤ 2 or a three-point decrease) using competing risks regression and compared clinical improvement to hospital length of stay (LOS) and ventilator-free days. We estimated sample sizes (80% power) to detect a 15% clinical …

Leukocyte Cell-Derived Chemotaxin 2 Correlates With Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease., Diego Paine-Cabrera, Lisa Harvey, Dakota R. Robarts, Michele T. Pritchard, John Thyfault, Steven A. Weinman, Udayan Apte, Voytek Slowik

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), newly renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease (MASLD), is a leading cause of liver disease in children and adults. There is a paucity of data surrounding potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, especially in pediatric NAFLD. Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2) is a chemokine associated with both liver disease and skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Our aim was to determine associations between LECT2 and common clinical findings of NAFLD in pediatric patients. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum LECT2 concentrations in children (aged 2-17 years) with and without NAFLD. LECT2 concentrations were then correlated to …

Mediators And Moderators Of Active Music Engagement To Reduce Traumatic Stress Symptoms And Improve Well-Being In Parents Of Young Children With Cancer., Sheri L. Robb, Kristin Stegenga, Susan M. Perkins, Timothy E. Stump, Karen M. Moody, Amanda K. Henley, Jessica Maclean, Seethal A. Jacob, David Delgado, Paul R. Haut

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: This trial examined the effects of proximal/distal mediators and moderators of an Active Music Engagement (AME) intervention on young child/parent distress, quality of life, and family function outcomes.

METHODS: Child/parent dyads (n = 125) were randomized to AME or Audio-storybooks attention control condition. Each group received 3 sessions with a credentialed music therapist for 3 consecutive days with data collection at baseline, post-intervention (T2), and 30-days later (T3). Potential proximal mediators included within session child and parent engagement. Potential distal mediators included changes in perceived family normalcy, parent self-efficacy, and independent use of play materials. Potential moderators included parent/child …

Sars-Cov-2 Epidemiology And Covid-19 Mrna Vaccine Effectiveness Among Infants And Children Aged 6 Months-4 Years - New Vaccine Surveillance Network, United States, July 2022-September 2023., Ayzsa Tannis, Janet A. Englund, Ariana Perez, Elizabeth J. Harker, Mary Allen Staat, Elizabeth P. Schlaudecker, Natasha B. Halasa, Laura S. Stewart, John V. Williams, Marian G. Michaels, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Jennifer E. Schuster, Leila C. Sahni, Julie A. Boom, Geoffrey A. Weinberg, Peter G. Szilagyi, Benjamin R. Clopper, Yingtao Zhou, Meredith L. Mcmorrow, Eileen J. Klein, Heidi L. Moline

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

SARS-CoV-2 infection in young children is often mild or asymptomatic; however, some children are at risk for severe disease. Data describing the protective effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against COVID-19-associated emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization in this population are limited. Data from the New Vaccine Surveillance Network, a prospective population-based surveillance system, were used to estimate vaccine effectiveness using a test-negative, case-control design and describe the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in infants and children aged 6 months-4 years during July 1, 2022-September 30, 2023. Among 7,434 children included, 5% received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result, and 95% received a negative …

Hold Off That Olanzapine! The Development Of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome In A Dehydrated Pediatric Patient., Maryam Tariq, Danielle N. Wentzel, Joshua B. Beggs

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

No abstract provided.

From Child To Children: The Experiences Of Economically Marginalized Parents As Their Family Sizes Grow, Yvanna Pogue Vicks

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Advancing Additive Manufacturing For Biomedical Applications: Antimicrobial And X-Ray Absorptive Composite Filaments For Fused Filament Fabrication, John M. Arnold Jr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to investigate the use of nano- and microparticle amendments for the creation of Poly-lactic Acid composite materials for use in biomedical applications using the Fused Filament Fabrication process of Additive Manufacturing. Composites were created with the goal of imparting the useful properties of antimicrobial activity and x-ray absorption to the material. In addition to testing the efficacy of the particle amendments in achieving the desired properties, the thermal and mechanical properties of the composite materials were tested to ensure that the composites would be compatible with the Fused Filament Fabrication process and would produce …

Detection Of Dental Restorations Using No-Code Artificial Intelligence, Manal Hamdan, Zaid Badr, Jennifer Bjork, Reagan Saxe, Francesca Malensek, Caroline Miller, Rakhi Shah, Shengtong Han, Hossein Mohammad-Rahimi

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to utilize a no-code computer vision platform to develop, train, and evaluate a model specifically designed for segmenting dental restorations on panoramic radiographs.

Methods

One hundred anonymized panoramic radiographs were selected for this study. Accurate labeling of dental restorations was performed by calibrated dental faculty and students, with subsequent final review by an oral radiologist. The radiographs were automatically split within the platform into training (70 %), development (20 %), and testing (10 %) subgroups. The model was trained for 40 epochs using a medium model size. Data augmentation techniques available within the …

A Novel Role Of Tgfbi In Macrophage Polarization And Macrophage-Induced Pancreatic Cancer Growth And Therapeutic Resistance, Jing Zhou, Nan Lyu, Qiongling Wanga, Ming Yang, Eric T. Kimchi, Kun Chenge, Trupti Joshi, Adama R. Tukulif, Kevin F. Staveley-O’Carroll, Guangfu Li

Biomedical Sciences

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), as a major and essential component of tumor microenvironment (TME), play a critical role in orchestrating pancreatic cancer (PaC) tumorigenesis from initiation to angiogenesis, growth, and systemic dissemination, as well as immunosuppression and resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy; however, the critical intrinsic factors responsible for TAMs reprograming and function remain to be identified. By performing single-cell RNA sequencing, transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein (TGFBI) was identified as TAM-producing factor in murine PaC tumors. TAMs express TGFBI in human PaC and TGFBI expression is positively related with human PaC growth. By inducing TGFBI loss-of-function in macrophage (MΦs) in vitro …

Sprouty4 Is Epigenetically Upregulated In Human Colorectal Cancer, Alexei J. Stuckel, Shuai Zeng, Zhen Lyu, Wei Zhang, Xu Zhang, Urszula Dougherty, Reba Mustafi, Tripti Khare, Qiong Zhang, Trupti Joshi, Marc Bissonnette, Sharad Khare

Biomedical Sciences

Sprouty4 (SPRY4) has been frequently reported as a tumor suppressor and is therefore downregulated in various cancers. For the first time, we report that SPRY4 is epigenetically upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we explored DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation levels of SPRY4 in CRC cells and patient samples and correlated these findings with mRNA and protein expression levels. Three loci within the promoter region of SPRY4 were evaluated for 5mC levels in CRC using the combined bisulfite restriction analysis. In addition, hydroxymethylation levels within SPRY4 were measured in CRC patients. Lastly, DNA methylation and mRNA expression data were …

A Multi-Objective Stochastic Programming Model For Resilient And Sustainable Supply Chains Under Uncertainty, Mohammad H. Majdfaghihi

Dissertations

Supply chain resilience (SCRES) and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) have garnered significant attention in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) science. This heightened interest is largely attributable to the increasing frequency and severity of uncertainty and disruptions in global supply chains. Resilience is a beneficial approach to managing uncertainties and preparing for and mitigating the adverse consequences of Supply Chain (SC) disruptions. Sustainability is a key concept in SCM, driven by governmental regulations and heightened stakeholder and customer concerns for environmental and societal well-being. Studies on SCRES have traditionally focused on preparing for and reacting to disruptions and …

The Effect Of A Specialized Training Program On The Knowledge And Attitudes Of First Responders About People With Communication Disabilities, Mariesa Rang

Dissertations

Individuals with disabilities experience emergencies more often than those without disabilities, and individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) are even more likely to have these experiences. As a result of experiencing both medical and legal emergencies, individuals with CCN have frequent encounters with emergency first responders (i.e., firefighters, EMS, and police officers; EFR). Despite being well-trained in many facets of their occupation, EFRs are not adequately trained for working with this vulnerable population. This may lead to less-than-optimal outcomes for individuals with CCN.

To better equip EFRs in their efforts to assist individuals with CCN, a 90-minute training session was …

Sustainable Diamond-Like Carbon Fabricated Gravure Cylinders For Printing Fine Lines Of Electrodes And Graphic Structures, Chandramohan Seetharamiah Srinivasaraju

Dissertations

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the potential of Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) as an alternative to chrome for use on gravure cylinders. DLC coatings consist of carbon atoms, arranged into a diamond-like structure that closely resembles that of natural diamond. In contrast to chrome, DLC is environmentally friendly. The focus of the study is to determine the viability of DLC as a substitute material for chrome to be used on gravure cylinders by determining key material properties and evaluating printing performance.

In the first research paper, four DLC variants (Standard DLC, A-DLC, S-DLC, and Organic Silica) and …

Influence Of A Multicultural Counseling And Psychology Course On Counseling Psychology And Counselor Education Master’S Students Color-Blind Ideologies And Ethnic Identity, Rebecca Tuinstra

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether ethnic identity awareness mediates the relationship between completion of a Multicultural Counseling and Psychology Course and color-blind ideology endorsement. The participants included 93 master’s level counseling psychology and counselor education trainees attending a predominantly White university in the Midwest region of the United States. The study used a quantitative, pre- and post-test descriptive research design. Using mediation analysis, this study estimated the influence of completing a Multicultural Counseling and Psychology Course on awareness of ethnic identity and use of color-blind ideology while controlling for social desirability among master’s level counseling …

System Dynamics Modeling For Cancer Prevention And Control: A Systematic Review, Erin S. Kenzie, Mellodie Seater, Wayne Wakeland, Gloria Coronado, Melinda M. Davis

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cancer prevention and control requires consideration of complex interactions between multilevel factors. System dynamics modeling, which consists of diagramming and simulation approaches for understanding and managing such complexity, is being increasingly applied to cancer prevention and control, but the breadth, characteristics, and quality of these studies is not known. We searched PubMed, Scopus, APA PsycInfo, and eight peer-reviewed journals to identify cancer-related studies that used system dynamics modeling. A dual review process was used to determine eligibility. Included studies were assessed using quality criteria adapted from prior literature and mapped onto the cancer control continuum. Characteristics of studies and models …