Digital Commons Network^™

"Covid-19 Was The Publicist For Homeschooling" And States Need To Finally Take Homeschooling Regulations Seriously Post-Pandemic, Kristia Hoffman

FIU Law Review

Homeschooling was rapidly growing in the U.S. even before COVID-19. The pandemic accelerated this growth by quickly exposing nearly every American family to homeschooling in some form. The pandemic has ushered in a new age of homeschooling characterized by flexibility, technology, collaboration, and alternative forms of schooling beyond the traditional parent-teaching-child framework. Although the Supreme Court has never recognized a fundamental right of parents to homeschool their children, it has repeatedly recognized that parents have the right to direct their children’s education and to choose to educate them in the way they deem fit. There is debate as to what …

Feminist Legal Theory And Stone’S Panes Of The Glass Ceiling, Rona Kaufman

FIU Law Review

This comprehensive analysis, divided into three parts, navigates the intricate tapestry of discrimination against women in the American workplace. Part I elucidates the historical and theoretical foundations, spanning feminist theory evolution, the modern women's movement, and the trajectory of women's labor force participation. In Part II, the discussion delves into the critical insights of Professor Kerri Stone's groundbreaking work, "Panes of the Glass Ceiling," connecting each identified glass pane to feminist theory. Part III introduces a novel perspective by appending a 10th pane to the glass ceiling: Patriarchal Violence. This addition underscores the pervasive impact of gender-based violence on women's …

Beyond The Glass Ceiling: Panes Of Equity Partnership, Rachel Arnow-Richman

FIU Law Review

This Article, prepared for a “micro-symposium” on Professor Kerri Stone’s monograph Panes of the Glass Ceiling (2022), explores the partnership pay gap in large law firms and the role of high-profile litigation in facilitating pay equity. There is a rich literature and extensive data on the gender attainment gap in elite law firms, particularly with regard to women’s attrition from practice and poor representation within the partnership ranks. Less attention has been paid to the way in which the exceptional women who achieve equity partner status continue to lag behind their male peers. This Article explores “Women v. BigLaw,” a …

Four Basic Postulates Concerning Women And Workplace Bullying In The United States, David C. Yamada

FIU Law Review

Responding to Kerri Lynn Stone's "Panes of the Glass Ceiling," this article delves into the pervasive issue of workplace bullying and its nuanced impact on women in professional settings. Stone's book identifies distinct "panes" of gender bias hindering women's progress, with a focus on workplace bullying as a major sub-theme. The essay proposes four postulates, drawing on national surveys by the Workplace Bullying Institute and articles from the author's professional blog, Minding the Workplace. Emphasizing the disproportionate targeting of women, the role of male perpetrators, complexities surrounding female perpetrators, and the potential of anti-bullying laws, the essay contributes to understanding …

Save Your Rights: How Florida And Other States Have Targeted Voting Access Following The 2020 Election, Francisco Varona

FIU Law Review

Following the 2020 general election, Florida’s Republican led legislature introduced Senate Bill 90 (“S.B. 90”), which seeks to put many restrictions on various aspects of the voting process. S.B. 90 limits ballot drop-off boxes, restricts mail-in voting, proscribes “line-warming,” increases registration difficulty, and expands identification requirements. Despite lauding Florida’s election as a gold standard for the rest of the country, Governor Ron DeSantis approved this bill in May of 2021, explaining that Florida should not become complacent despite its success. The Republican Governor approved this law against the backdrop of record voter turnout for Black and Latino voters and record …

‘Have They Talked About Us At All?’ The Moral Distress Of Healthcare Social Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Investigation In The State Of Texas, Sophia Fantus, Rebecca Cole, Lataya Hawkins, Priyanjali Chakraborty

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Amid the ongoing pandemic, as overburdened and underfunded health systems are requiring health care social workers (HSWs) to assume responsibilities beyond their scope of practice, institutional constraints have undoubtedly heightened encounters of moral distress (MD). MD is the psychological disequilibrium that arises when institutional factors obligate an individual to carry out a task that violates their professional and/or personal ethics. Our qualitative study investigated HSWs’ (n = 43) MD in Texas during the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from our study indicate that MD occurs across five levels: (i) patient care decisions; (ii) personal care decisions; (iii) team/unit decisions; (iv) …

Attitudes, Beliefs, And Perceptions On Cannabis Among Older Adults Aged 65 And Older: A Cross-Sectional Survey., Alex M Kleidon, Andrew M Peterson, Ilene Warner-Maron, Allen Glicksman

PCOM Scholarly Works

OBJECTIVE: With the rise of medical and recreational cannabis use among older adults, concerns about the potential risks and benefits of cannabis use are increasing. This pilot study aimed to determine the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of older adults toward cannabis as a medicinal product, to establish a foundation for future research on how healthcare providers communicate with this population regarding cannabis.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on adults aged 65 and older living in Philadelphia. The survey included questions related to participants' demographics, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of cannabis. Participants were recruited via flyer distributions, publications in …

Intracranial Carotid Arteriosclerosis Mediates The Association Between Blood Pressure And Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Meike W. Vernooij, M. Arfan Ikram, Zhen-Yu Zhang, Daniel Bos

School of Medicine Publications

Background:

Intracranial arteriosclerosis could explain the association between blood pressure (BP) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Therefore, we tested whether intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) mediates the association between BP and CSVD and determined pathophysiological mechanisms based on ICAC subtypes.

Methods:

One thousand four hundred fifty-eight stroke-free participants from the Rotterdam Study (mean age, 68 years; 52% women) underwent nonenhanced computed tomography scans to quantify ICAC volume (mm3) between 2003 and 2015. ICAC was categorized into intimal and internal elastic lamina calcifications. CSVD included white matter hyperintensities volume, the presence of lacunes, and cerebral microbleeds visualized on magnetic resonance …

How It Course Improves Digital Competencies: An Experimental Study In Science Education, Mustafa Tevfik Hebebci, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The rising significance of technology in society has caused a surge in the requirement of individuals possessing digital competencies. In the current era, digital skills are progressively vital for both personal and occupational growth. Governments have acknowledged the value of digital competencies and have incorporated them as part of fundamental proficiencies in numerous countries. Pre-service teachers have a paramount role in molding forthcoming generations, highlighting their necessity to possess robust digital competencies. This research centers on how an "Information Technologies in Science Education" course influences the digital competency progression in pre-service teachers. The study deployed a pre-test post-test experimental design …

Improving Reliability In Assessing Integrative Learning Using Rubrics: Does Group Norming Help?, Lanah Stafford, Erin Cousins, Linda Bol, Megan Mize

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Integrative learning is an important outcome for graduates of higher education. Therefore, it should be well-defined and assessed reliably. The American Association of Colleges & Universities has developed a rubric to define and assess integrative learning, but it has low reliability. This pilot study examines whether this rubric's reliability can be improved by training users on how to use the rubric in a group setting rather than individually. Twelve faculty were trained to score undergraduate ePortfolios using the Integrative and Applied Learning VALUE Rubric. Half of the faculty were trained in an individual setting and half in a group setting …

Ireland: Context - Sociopolitical Background, Tanya Dean

Books/Book Chapters

The period from the 1990s through to 2020 saw a profound shift in the identity of the Republic of Ireland. The early twentieth century was focussed on the move from a colonial to a postcolonial existence, and the majority of the first decades of independence were spent struggling as one of the poorest countries in Western Europe and taking tentative steps onto the single market as a member of the EU (then EEC) after 1973. However, the period of the 1990s to late 2000s saw the nation gradually assert itself as an increasingly liberal, notionally secular, economically vigorous member of …

Maximizing Technology Acceptance Model In Accessing The Attitude Of Rural Farmers Using Ict Tools In Farming To Enhance Productivity, Francis Yao Anyan Dr., Michael Oppong Mr., Stephanie O. Ansah Mrs., Millicent Yengkangyi Ms., Akosua Boatemaa Adarkwa Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was conducted using a multi-stage sampling technique involving simple random sampling, a probability sampling method, purposive sampling, and snowball sampling, which are non-probability methods. Two regions, namely, the Greater Accra and Eastern were purposively selected for the study. In the Greater Accra Region, Ada East District was selected while in the Eastern Region Asuogyaman District. In Greater Accra, the study was conducted in six farming villages namely: Big Ada, Dogo, Kasseh, Addokope, Korlekope, and Bedeku. In Eastern regions, the study was conducted in Asogyaman, where Tortibo, Sappor, Yenease, Adina Donor, and Ankyease. A snowball strategy was relied on …

China Maritime Report No. 25: More Chinese Ferry Tales: China's Use Of Civilian Shipping In Military Activities, 2021-2022, J. Michael Dahm

CMSI China Maritime Reports

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of Chinese civilian shipping support to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), examining civil maritime-military activities from October 2021 through September 2022. As of 2022, the PLA and its reserve civilian merchant fleet are still probably unable to provide significant amphibious landing capabilities or the maritime logistics in austere or challenging environments necessary to support a major cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. However, large volume lift exercises conducted in 2022 suggest that the PLA has made significant progress in the use of civilian vessels for the large-scale lift of PLA troops and equipment into undefended ports, …

The Suitability Of Demand-Controlled Sensor Based Ventilation Systems In Retrofit Dwellings - A Longitudinal Study., Seamus Harrington, Mark Mulville

Conference papers

A fabric-first approach to dwelling retrofit results in increased airtightness, therefore there is an obligation to ensure that the upgrades do not lead to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) resulting from inadequate ventilation. The sensor-based demand-controlled ventilation (SBDCV) under review seeks to provide fresh air for breathing and to dilute and exhaust pollutants and odours. This system modulates the ventilation rate over time based on relative humidity levels and/or presence detection and considers that the level of ventilation provided is sufficient to control the concentration of all other indoor air pollutants, including those that are not a result of human …

Stories To Challenge The Status Quo - Experiences Of Black Minority Ethnic Social Care Students In Ireland, Margaret Fingleton

Doctoral

This study examines Black Minority Ethnic social care students’ experiences in Ireland and is located within the parameters of a number of key global events that occurred in the last decade. It provides critical insights into the students lived experiences of migration, resettlement, employment, higher education and social care scholarship.

Theoretically the thesis is grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT) drawing on the key tenets of race as a social construction, interest convergence, White privilege, storytelling and intersectionality. A participatory research methodology was adopted which informed all phases of the study. Using a combined semi-structured interview/storytelling method the experiences of …

Music For Visual Media Of The 21st Century What Role Does Music Have In Visual Media, Sigrid Heugen

Doctoral

This research consists of a composition portfolio which examines new perspectives on musical experiences in virtual environments, through the exploration and development of immersive adaptive music for a visual medium. The research addresses the usage, adaptation, and creation of music in visual media such as Virtual Reality (VR) and other Extended Realities (XR).

Comparing The Meaning Of ‘Thesis’ And ‘Final Year Project’ In Architecture And Engineering Education, Rahman Tafahomi, Shannon Chance

Articles

Architectural education shares much in common with engineering, including the use of a culminating capstone experience in the final year. The form of this experience varies, with the research-based thesis and final-year project being most common. This paper explores the literature on traditions of enquiry and the meaning of research in various fields and the evolution of the ‘thesis’ and ‘final year project’ approaches over time. It then briefly summarises empirical research conducted on a case study institution struggling to bridge gaps in understandings of these distinct forms of learning and teaching. Throughout, the paper presents a comprehensive set of …

Walkable Neighborhoods: Linkages Between Place, Health, And Happiness In Younger And Older Adults, Kevin M. Leyden, Michael J. Hogan, Lorraine D'Arcy, Brendan Bunting, Sebastiaan Bierema

Articles

Problem, research strategy, and findings: We examined whether living in a walkable neighborhood influenced the happiness of younger and older city residents. The data for this study came from a comprehensive household population survey of 1,064 adults living in 16 neighborhoods in Dublin City (Ireland) and its suburbs. We used multigroup structural equation modeling to analyze the direct and indirect effects of walkability on happiness, mediated by health, trust, and satisfaction with neighborhood appearance. We found living in a walkable neighborhood was directly linked to the happiness of people aged 36 to 45 (p¼.001) and, to a lesser extent, those …

A Lak Of Direction Misalignment Between The Goals Of Learning Analytics And Its Research Scholarship, Benjamin A. Motz, Yoav Bergner, Christopher A. Brooks, Anna Gladden, Geraldine Gray, Charles Lang, Warren Li, Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos, Joshua D. Quick

Articles

Learning analytics defines itself with a focus on data from learners and learning environments, with corresponding goals of understanding and optimizing student learning. In this regard, learning analytics research, ideally, should be characterized by studies that make use of data from learners engaged in education systems, should measure student learning, and should make efforts to intervene and improve these learning environments.

Something Old, Something New: Two Library Building Projects Converting Old Buildings Into New Libraries, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

This paper describes two interrelated library building projects at Technological University Dublin. The first is the ongoing construction of an Academic Hub to accommodate the library and other academic support services, incorporating a protected structure into a new building. The second is the refurbishment of part of an office block, originally built in 1970 to be a hotel, to house an interim library until completion of the Academic Hub. This project has provided valuable information for the Academic Hub project.

What Impact Is Occupancy Behavior Having On The Energy Performance Gap Of A Cohort Of A Rated Dwellings?, Karl Mcgarry

Other resources

The use of energy asset ratings in the construction industry has been criticized in literature and in practice due to its apparent inaccuracies when compared to measured energy usage. In the Irish context the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (DEAP), the asset rating tool has been the topic of many research papers of late with authors citing that in almost all cases the model is underestimating the energy usage of A rated dwellings. This point is of major concern due to A rated Building Energy Rating (BER) certificates now being minimum compliance with the building regulations for new build dwellings. The …

Women’S Stories Transforming Understandings Of Abortion, Amy M. Walsh

Articles

Wind energy harvesting for electricity generation has a significant role in overcoming the challenges involved with climate change and the energy resource implications involved with population growth and political unrest. Indeed, there has been significant growth in wind energy capacity worldwide with turbine capacity growing significantly over the last two decades. This confidence is echoed in the wind power market and global wind energy statistics. However, wind energy capture and utilisation has always been challenging. Appreciation of the wind as a resource makes for difficulties in modelling and the sensitivities of how the wind resource maps to energy production results …

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement In Dialysis-Dependent Patients: A Meta-Analysis, Samuel Burton, Alexander Reynolds, Nicola King, Amit Modi, Sanjay Asopa

School of Biomedical Sciences

Objectives This meta-analysis aims to compare the clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) versus aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis in dialysis-dependent patients. Methods Literature searches employed PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Embase to identify relevant studies. Bias-treated data were prioritized, isolated and pooled for analysis; raw data were utilized where bias-treated data were unavailable. Outcomes were analysed to assess for study data crossover. Results Literature search identified 10 retrospective studies; following data source analysis, five studies were included. Upon pooling of bias-treated data, TAVI was significantly favoured in early mortality [odds ratio (OR), 0.42; …

Nanostructured Ternary Nickel-Based Mixed Anionic (Telluro)-Selenide As A Superior Catalyst For Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Ibrahim Munkaila Abdullahi, Siby Thomas, Alessio Gagliardi, Mohsen Asle Zaeem, Manashi Nath

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Developing Protocols for Designing High-Efficiency, Durable, Cost-Effective Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) Necessitates Deeper Understanding of Structure–property Correlation as a Function of Composition. Herein, It Has Been Demonstrated that Incorporating Tellurium into Binary Nickel Chalcogenide (NiSe) and Creating a Mixed Anionic Phase Perturbs its Electronic Structure and Significantly Enhances the OER Activity. a Series of Nanostructured Nickel Chalcogenides Comprising a Layer-By-Layer Morphology Along with Mixed Anionic Ternary Phase Are Grown in Situ on Nickel Foam with Varying Morphological Textures using Simple Hydrothermal Synthesis Route. Comprehensive X-Ray Diffraction, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and in Situ Raman Spectroscopy Analysis Confirms the Formation …

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study Of Co2 Capture By Fluoroalkylamines: Ammonium Ion Pka Depression Via Fluorine Modification And Thermochemistry Of Carbamylation, Brian Jameson, Kari Knobbe, Rainer Glaser

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

We are developing energy-efficient and reversible carbon capture and release (CCR) systems that mimic the Lys201 carbamylation reaction in the active site of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RuBisCO). The multiequilibria scenario ammonium ion Xa ⇌ amine Xb ⇌ carbamic acid Xc ⇌ carbamate Xd requires the presence of both free amine and CO2 for carbamylation and is affected by the pKa(Xa). Two fluorination strategies aimed at ammonium ion pKa depression and low pH carbamylation were analyzed with (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) butylamine 2b and 2,2-difluoropropylamine 3b and compared to butylamine 1b. The determination of K1 and ΔG1 of the carbamylation reactions requires the solution of …

Inter-Rater Agreement For The Annotation Of Neurologic Signs And Symptoms In Electronic Health Records, Chelsea Oommen, Quentin Howlett-Prieto, Michael D. Carrithers, Daniel B. Hier

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The extraction of patient signs and symptoms recorded as free text in electronic health records is critical for precision medicine. Once extracted, signs and symptoms can be made computable by mapping to signs and symptoms in an ontology. Extracting signs and symptoms from free text is tedious and time-consuming. Prior studies have suggested that inter-rater agreement for clinical concept extraction is low. We have examined inter-rater agreement for annotating neurologic concepts in clinical notes from electronic health records. After training on the annotation process, the annotation tool, and the supporting neuro-ontology, three raters annotated 15 clinical notes in three rounds. …

A Computational Mapping Of Online News Deserts On African News Websites, Dani Madrid-Morales, Joan Ramon Rodríguez‐Amat, Peggy Lindner

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To date, the study of news deserts, geographic spaces lacking local news and information, has largely focused on countries in the Global North, particularly the United States, and has predominantly been interested in the causes and consequences of the disappearance of local media outlets (e.g., newspapers and TV stations) to the social fabric of a community. In this article, we extend the concept of "news deserts" by drawing on literature on the geography of news in Africa, where information voids have long been documented but have not been studied within the conceptual framework of news deserts. Using computational tools, we …

Show-Me Resilience: Assessing And Reconciling Rural Leaders’ Perceptions Of Climate Resilience In Missouri, Zachary J. Miller, Caleb O'Brien, Casey I. Canfield, Lauren Sullivan

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rural areas of the United States play a vital role in coping with, adapting to and mitigating climate change, yet they often lag urban areas in climate planning and action. Rural leaders—e.g., policymakers, state/federal agency professionals, non-profit organization leadership, and scholars – are pivotal for driving the programs and policies that support resilient practices, but our understanding of their perspectives on climate resilience writ large is limited. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 rural leaders in Missouri to elucidate their conceptualizations of climate resilience and identify catalysts and constraints for climate adaptation planning and action across rural landscapes. We investigated …

Neuemot: Mitigating Neutral Label And Reclassifying False Neutrals In The 2022 Fifa World Cup Via Low-Level Emotion, Ademola Adesokan, Sanjay Madria

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Sports have been extensively studied for their impact on people's emotional well-being, with research revealing that they have the ability to reduce anxiety and unhappiness while boosting positive emotions1. among all sports, soccer stands out as the most popular and controversial2, eliciting a wide range of emotional reactions from fans, players, officials, and spectators, particularly on social media. While sentiment classifications such as positive, negative, and neutral have been extensively studied, low-level emotions, which refer to more specific and granular emotional states beyond the three basic categories, have yet to be given much attention. This study scraped over 300,000 tweets …

Optimizing Stochastic Task Migration In Vehicular Edge Computing, Ankur Nahar, Debasis Das, Sajal K. Das

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The performance of vehicular edge computing (VEC) depends on the effective optimization of task offloading. However, uneven distribution of vehicular traffic, rapidly changing network conditions, and stochastic nature of vehicular networks motivate us to innovate approaches to efficient resource management while maintaining system's stability. to address these challenges, we propose a novel queue length-Based stochastic task migration strategy that leverages model predictive control (MPC) and Lyapunov optimization techniques. Our approach employs the queue length at the edge node as the criterion for offloading decisions. the MPC controller dynamically allocates the processing power and bandwidth resources to vehicles based on their …