Digital Commons Network^™

Misinformation And Covid-19, Dorit Rubenstein Reiss

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our world cannot be overstated. One of its noticeable features was the prominence of misinformation generally, and anti-vaccine misinformation more specifically. This article provides a breakdown of the five major themes of antivaccine misinformation and the way they were used to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt about COVID- 19 vaccines. Long before the pandemic, anti-vaccine activists argued using a five-part playbook. They argued that (1) vaccine preventable diseases were not really dangerous, (2) vaccines were dangerous and ineffective, (3) there were alternative treatments that were better than (dangerous and ineffective) vaccines, (4) there was a …

Intersections Of Disproportion: A Critical Quantitative Examination Of Dis/Ability And Gender In Black Students’ School Discipline Outcomes, Ceema Samimi, Noah Jefferson, Shelby Flanagan, Yolanda Anyon

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study uses critical race quantitative intersectionality to examine the impacts of gender and dis/ability type on Black students’ school discipline outcomes. We use multilevel logistic regression models to analyze data from a large urban school district, considering the intersectional impact of gender and dis/ability type on school discipline outcomes among Black students (suspension, restorative justice, referral to law enforcement). We found that Black students identified as male, labeled with emotional dis/abilities, or identified as having ADHD were more likely to experience school discipline consequences than those who were not. These findings suggest that gender and dis/ability status are significant …

Restorative Practices And Exclusionary School Discipline: An Integrative Review, Ceema Samimi, Tyler M. Han, Amy Navvab, Jennifer A. Sedivy, Yolanda Anyon

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study used integrative review methodology to synthesize research on the relationship between school-based restorative practices and exclusionary discipline outcomes in the United States. Exclusionary discipline outcomes were defined as out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to law enforcement. A literature search produced 5,764 publications, and 11 studies were included in the final sample. Peacemaking circles were the most common restorative practice implemented, and secondary analysis of school records was the most common method utilized. Findings indicated that restorative practices are associated with reduced suspension rates, which suggest that school-based restorative practices are a promising approach to reducing exclusionary discipline outcomes.

Advancing College Food Security: Priority Research Gaps, Matthew J. Landry, Emily Heying, Zubaida Qamar, Rebecca L. Hagedorn-Hatfield, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Cara L. Cuite, Victoria A. Zigmont, Kendra Oonorasak, Susan Chen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Despite over a decade of both quantitative and qualitative studies, food insecurity among United States college/university students remains a pervasive problem within higher education. The purpose of this perspective piece was to highlight research gaps in the area of college food insecurity and provide rationale for the research community to focus on these gaps going forward. A group of food insecurity researchers from a variety of higher education institutions across the United States identified five thematic areas of research gaps: screening and estimates of food insecurity; longitudinal changes in food insecurity; impact of food insecurity on broader health and academic …

Learning From The First Citizen Science Association Virtual Conference, Abigail Hils, Skye Kelty, Angel Hjarding, Linda Silka, Alison Cawood

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Citizen Science Association (CSA) is a member-driven organization that connects people with interest in community/citizen science (c*science) from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bi-annual CSA conference pivoted away from an in-person format to a virtual format. CitSciVirtual: Local, Global, Connected occurred throughout May 2021 and brought together more than 700 attendees from 36 countries. The conference prioritized interactive experiences for attendees, including 16 collaborative poster sessions featuring 240 virtual posters, 55 workshops to learn and practice new skills, and 7 social events. This paper summarizes the impacts of the …

Investigating The Factor Structure And Measurement Invariance Of The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (Ede-Q) In A Community Sample Of Gender Minority Adults From The United States, Jason M. Nagata, Emilio J. Compte, F. Hunter Mcguire, Tiffany A. Brown, Jason M. Lavender, Stuart B. Murray, Matthew R. Capriotti, Annesa Flentje, Micah E. Lubensky, Mitchell R. Lunn, Juno Obedin-Maliver

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objective: The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used self-report assessments of eating disorder symptoms. However, evidence indicates potential problems with its original factor structure and associated psychometric properties in a variety of populations, including gender minority populations. The aim of the current investigation was to explore several previously published EDE-Q factor structures and to examine internal consistency and measurement invariance of the best-fitting EDE-Q model in a large community sample of gender minority adults. Methods: Data were drawn from 1567 adults (337 transgender men, 180 transgender women, and 1050 gender-expansive individuals) who participated in The …

Homelessness And Water Insecurity In The Global North: Trapped In The Dwelling Paradox, Katie Meehan, Melissa Beresford, Fausto Amador Cid, Lourdes Johanna Avelar Portillo, Anna Marin, Marianne Odetola, Raul Pacheco-Vega

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this article, we introduce the “dwelling paradox” to explore how the state actively produces water insecurity for people experiencing homelessness in the Global North. We explain that the dwelling paradox is (1) produced by a modernist ideology of public service delivery that privileges water provision through private infrastructural connections in the home; (2) is reproduced by the welfare-warfare state, which has increasingly weaponized public water facilities and criminalized body functions in public space; and (3) is actively contested by some houseless communities, who challenge hegemonic ideals of the “home”—and its water infrastructure—as a private, atomized space. In advancing a …

Effectiveness Of In-Person Versus Online Negotiation Teaching For Practitioners, Patricia Oehlschläger, Michael A. Merz

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Most negotiation courses have been taught in person. However, online education has become more prevalent over the past decade due to its flexibility, cost and time efficiency, and new digital technologies designed to compensate for the lack of personal contact. The global pandemic has accelerated this trend, raising the question of whether negotiation courses taught online are as effective as those taught in person. The few studies that have examined the effect of teaching modality on student performance were limited to undergraduate and graduate student samples and the results have been mixed. To contribute to this discussion, we conducted two …

Maximizing External Action With Information Provision Over Multiple Rounds In Online Social Networks, Masaaki Miyashita, Norihiko Shinomiya, Daisuke Kasamatsu, Genya Ishigaki

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Online social networks have increased their impact on the real world, which motivates information senders to control the propagation process of information to promote particular actions of online users. However, the existing works on information provisioning seem to oversimplify the users? decision-making process that involves information reception, internal actions of social networks, and external actions of social networks. In particular, characterizing the best practices of information provisioning that promotes the users? external actions is a complex task due to the complexity of the propagation process in OSNs, even when the variation of information is limited. Therefore, we propose a new …

The (Black) Struggle That Must Be: Black Masculinity, Black College Athletes, And Black Mental Health Through A Looking Glass, A. Lamont Williams

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this article, the author describes their mental health struggles tied to Black Masculinity as a (former) Black athlete. In particular, the author focuses on the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community and the ways in which Blackness, Black masculinity, and mental health battles emulate the (Black) struggle that must be. The author attempts to highlight the complicated nature of mental health struggles, specifically the ways in which suicide is handled in the world of sport and the ways in which the narrative can have juxtaposed racial frameworks. The author moves into and through their own personal experiences …

Nursing Students' Competence With Anesthesia, Mallory Groover

Honors College Theses

Anesthesia management is diverse and complex. As a Registered Nurse (RN), it is imperative that the basic pathophysiology of anesthesia complications is understood in order to provide competent care. The effects of anesthesia can vary greatly depending on factors such as age, sex, health status, and lifestyle. Since there are several variables, it takes years of experience working with a diverse population to anticipate adverse effects and patient outcomes. Preparedness for anesthesia management could be improved through the use of simulations during nursing school relating to post-anesthesia care, as well as more in-depth lectures over the potential complications and pharmacodynamics …

The Financial And Environmental Returns In Green Banking, Julia C. White

Honors College Theses

With dire climate circumstances looming, simply recycling aluminum cans and driving EV cars is not enough to offset the past consequences our planet has withstood. Large initiatives have to be set in motion to combat and ward off future problems, which takes the amount of money that is afforded by dedicated investments. Private and public sectors are putting their money into green banking, which is proving to provide impressive returns. This paper examines the progress that has been made due to green investments and how the planet can be the recipient of groundbreaking and impactful initiatives. I will focus mostly …

Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball

Honors College Theses

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their …

Machiavellianism And Conscientiousness Of Self And Of Others, Anna Z. Jones

Honors College Theses

As a dark personality, Machiavellianism (MACH) includes callousness and deceit; however, individuals higher in MACH differ from other dark personalities in their strategic long-term orientation to manipulate others to achieve personal success, and their cynical world views towards others. To measure different aspects of personality, research has developed an assessment called the Big Five Inventory. One factor included in the five attributes is (high) conscientiousness: the tendency to be careful towards others, organized, and not impulsive. Such traits seem to support the strategic aspect of the MACH personality but do not support the lack of care that individuals higher in …

Effect Of Temperature On Morphology Of The Cardiorespiratory System Of Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), Alley E. Permenter

Honors College Theses

Climate change and temperature are two very important topics for the coming future. As climate change projections estimate a 2-3°C increase in water temperatures by the end of the century, the habitats of many aquatic organisms will be affected in more ways than one. Temperature has proven to be an integral part of the driving force that causes physiological, behavioral, and ecological patterns in aquatic organisms. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and their responses to changes in water temperature have been a topic of interest due to the fact that the southern populations do not follow their northern counterparts …

The Effect Of Larval Competition On Adult Life History Traits And The Immune Response Of Adult Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Piper N. Zellner, Lisa D. Brown

Honors College Theses

In holometabolous insects, conditions during the larval stage can affect the adult stage. For instance, in mosquitoes, reduced larval food and high density can make adults more susceptible to infection. Fleas (Siphonaptera), like mosquitoes, go through complete metamorphosis and have adult stages that exclusively feed on the blood of vertebrates, including humans. However, flea larvae have chewing mandibles and rely on nutrients from dried fecal matter containing vertebrate blood proteins. Their limited mobility and unique nutritional needs confine their development to specific areas, likely leading to frequent larval competition in natural conditions. Yet, the influence of larval density on the …

Understanding Nursing Students' Cultural Competency Levels And Implicit Biases, Deja J. Gillans

Honors College Theses

In the United States, non-Hispanic Black women are approximately three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as non-Hispanic White or Hispanic women. Racism has been identified as a significant barrier to health equality and the improvement of maternal health outcomes for Black patients. Cultural competence and implicit bias in health care has emerged in part to address factors that may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in health care. Both can impact the way nurses consciously and subconsciously deliver healthcare to patients of a different gender, race, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, etc. Nurses who are more culturally competent and aware …

The Effects Of Warming Rate On The Thermal Tolerance Of A Southern Population Of Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), James Barrett

Honors College Theses

Climate change and global warming is an ever-growing concern for our environment and the survivability of the animals which inhabit it. With water temperatures expected to rise 2-3℃ in the next century, many aquatic organisms may be limited in their habitats based on their thermal tolerance (Lleras 2019). Southern populations of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Southeastern United States could be some of the hardest hit by the effects of climate change due to their unusual life history as compared to the more northern populations of striped bass. These southern striped bass do not engage in coastal …

Eating Disorders: Barriers To Peer And Self Recognition And The Ability To Seek Or Give Help, Savannah Mcvey

Honors College Theses

A lack of knowledge concerning eating disorders has been found to play a major role in self-recognition, peer recognition, and barriers to seeking treatment at all. More specifically, straight men were more often not able to identify these issues in themselves or others. Theories that have been presented involve the image of eating disorders being a “woman’s issue” and a possible obsession with weight lifting and changing one’s body to take on a more masculine build. Combatting this issue needs to begin in the form of basic education on college campuses due to the prevalence in this particular age group. …

Algorithms And Their Affordances: How Crowdworkers Manage Algorithmic Scores In Online Labour Markets, Francesca Bellesia, Elisa Mattarelli, Fabiola Bertolotti

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

On online labour platforms, algorithmic scores are used as indicators of freelancers' work quality and future performance. Recent studies underscore that, to achieve good scores and secure their presence on platforms, freelancers respond to algorithmic control in different ways. However, we argue, to fully understand how freelancers deal with algorithmic scores, we first need to investigate how they interpret scores and, more specifically, what scores can do for them, i.e., perceived algorithmic affordances and constraints. Our interviews and other qualitative data collected with knowledge intensive gig workers on a major platform allow us to explain how the perceived affordances of …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence In Detection And Mitigation Of Human Factor Errors In Nuclear Power Plants: A Review, Meenu Sethu, Bhavya Kotla, Darrell Russell, Mahboubeh Madadi, Nesar Ahmed Titu, Jamie Baalis Coble, Ronald L. Boring, Klaus Blache, Vivek Agarwal, Vaibhav Yadav, Anahita Khojandi

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Human factors and ergonomics have played an essential role in increasing the safety and performance of operators in the nuclear energy industry. In this critical review, we examine how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can be leveraged to mitigate human errors, thereby improving the safety and performance of operators in nuclear power plants (NPPs). First, we discuss the various causes of human errors in NPPs. Next, we examine the ways in which AI has been introduced to and incorporated into different types of operator support systems to mitigate these human errors. We specifically examine (1) operator support systems, including decision support …

Comparing Enacted And Perceived Parental Communication As Predictors Of Adolescents’ Emotion Regulation In Families With Harmful Versus Non-Harmful Parental Alcohol Use, Marie C. Haverfield, Jennifer A. Theiss

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Emotion regulation is an important skill that adolescents typically learn through early interactions with their primary caregivers. Associations between parental communication and adolescent emotion regulation are well-documented however, it is unclear whether the parent’s actual communication behavior or adolescents’ perceptions of the parent’s behavior is a more robust predictor of emotion regulation outcomes. This study used Baumrind’s parenting styles typology as a theoretical foundation for examining parents’ enacted responsiveness and control and adolescents’ perceptions of their parent’s responsiveness and control during conversation as competing predictors of adolescents’ self-reported emotion regulation during two parent-child interactions. Sixty parent-adolescent dyads participated in an …

Dispersal And Coastal Geomorphology Limit Potential For Mangrove Range Expansion Under Climate Change, Jacqueline L. Raw, Tom Van Der Stocken, Dustin Carroll, Linda R. Harris, Anusha Rajkaran, Lara Van Niekerk, Janine B. Adams

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Latitudinal range limits for mangroves on high-energy, wave-dominated coasts are controlled by geomorphological features and estuarine dynamics. Mangroves reach a southern global range limit along the South African coastline, but the distribution is patchy, with stands occurring in only 16% of the estuaries in the region. Yet, the persistence of forests planted >50 years ago beyond the natural distribution limit suggests that additional estuaries could support mangroves. Understanding regional drivers is necessary to inform global-scale estimates for how this important ecosystem is predicted to respond to climate change. Here, we combine species distribution modelling (MaxEnt), Lagrangian particle tracking using an …

Disequilibrium River Networks Dissecting The Western Slope Of The Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Record Significant Late Cenozoic Tilting And Associated Surface Uplift: Comment, Emmanuel Gabet

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Beeson and McCoy (2022) present several interesting methods for detecting uplift from river profiles; however, these techniques rely on conditions and assumptions that are not met in the Sierra Nevada. Moreover, one of the key predictions from their numerical model, the presence of migrating knickpoints along the Sierra’s trunk streams, is not supported by field observations or digital elevation model (DEM) analyses.

Racial-Religious Decoupling In The University: Investigating Religious Students’ Perceptions Of Institutional Commitment To Diversity, Saugher Nojan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Muslims face racism based on their racialized religious identities, yet few address their experiences through critical race theory or campus racial climate. This paper addresses how religious students rate institutional commitments to campus diversity when considering racial and religious respect. This study examines undergraduate experience surveys across nine campuses and a Muslim student photovoice project through a mixed-methods design. I argue that racial and religious respect derived from interpersonal, discursive, and material sources influence Muslim students’ perceptions of institutional commitment to diversity. I introduce racial-religious decoupling to refer to how the separation of race and religion as distinct social experiences …

Reconfigurations In Brain Networks Upon Awakening From Slow Wave Sleep: Interventions And Implications In Neural Communication, Cassie J. Hilditch, Kanika Bansal, Ravi Chachad, Lily R. Wong, Nicholas G. Bathurst, Nathan H. Feick, Amanda Santamaria, Nita L. Shattuck, Javier O. Garcia, Erin E. Flynn-Evans

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Sleep inertia is the brief period of impaired alertness and performance experienced immediately after waking. Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. A better understanding of the neural processes during sleep inertia may offer insight into the awakening process. We observed brain activity every 15 min for 1 hr following abrupt awakening from slow wave sleep during the biological night. Using 32-channel electroencephalography, a network science approach, and a within-subject design, we evaluated power, clustering coefficient, and path length across frequency bands under both a control and a polychromatic short-wavelength-enriched light intervention condition. We found that under …

Sleep Health Education To Promote Public Health: Attitudes And Desired Learning Goals Among Social Work Students, Christine Spadola, Danielle B. Groton, Kerry Littlewood, Cassie Hilditch, Shanna Burke, Suzanne M. Bertisch

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Social workers are often front line behavioral health providers for underserved populations, many of whom experience sleep disturbances. Inadequate sleep presents a public health challenge and is associated with many adverse physical health and mental health consequences. Social workers are uniquely positioned to promote sleep health among individuals experiencing health inequities. However, sleep is rarely included as part of the curricula in social work programs in the U.S. We conducted qualitative formative research to investigate social work students’ perceptions of sleep education and desired sleep learning objectives. Twenty-five social work students were recruited via a listserv e-mail to participate in …

Principals’ Knowledge Of Trauma-Informed School Practices, Elsa Leyhe

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Trauma has become a larger issue in schools, and it is necessary for school administrators, specifically principals, to be fully aware of and equipped to deal with trauma in the student body. There is limited quantitative research on what principals currently know about trauma and trauma-informed practices. To help fill this need for more quantitative data, this research study surveyed principals in two Midwest states to address the following questions: To what extent do principals know about traumainformed care in schools? Did the principals receive any training on trauma-informed care in their graduate/certification programs? Did they seek training on their …

Boundary Lines Crossed? Seeking Honor After The Vietnam War Took Their Sons, Hannah Ackerman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

On June 3 1969, a Navy destroyer, USS Frank E. Evans DD-754 and seventy-four Evans sailors who were serving on her were killed in an accident with the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne, in the South China Sea. Family members would later discover their names were not inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. due to criteria which disqualified them. Facts of the Evans case to determine if the names of 74 Evans sailors rightfully belong on the Wall are examined. Continuing legislative efforts by the Evans Association to put the names on the Wall and other …

Understanding Student Perceptions Of Supplemental Instruction: Student Perceptions Of Supplemental Instruction Implemented In Order To Overcome Perceived Skill Deficits, Andrew Miehe

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Supplemental instruction has become so prevalent that it is simply a thing educators do to students without the students’ input or their understanding of its purpose. This prevalence combined with a lack of understanding on the part of the students could create problems around programmatic success and student motivation in addition to the potential of limiting access to coursework. Due to the fact that there is not an abundance of research focused on the student perceptions of supplemental instruction there is consensus that this perspective is often absent despite its critical role (Yazzie-Mintz & McCormick, 2012).

The proliferation of supplemental …