Digital Commons Network^™

Embracing Identities And Affirming Agency: Exploring Effective Mentorship For Women Doctoral Students In Engineering Disciplines Using An Intersectional Lens, Jennifer Brown

All Dissertations

Positive mentoring experiences are crucial for retaining and advancing those who hold marginalized identities in STEM, as they foster a greater sense of belonging and self-efficacy that encourage these students to persist in their fields. Marginalized identities in STEM include, but are not limited to, women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), low-income, first-generation, neurodivergent, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Oftentimes, these identities intersect, introduce additional nuance in interactions within engineering spaces, and affect the mentoring support that both mentees and their mentors require.

Prior research has shown the reciprocal value that is created when graduate students are …

Citrate Hydrogels For Regenerative Medicine Applications, Mark Pitman

All Dissertations

Regenerative medicine focuses on restoring cells and tissues to re-establish proper function. Hydrogels are a customizable and adaptable set of materials that can be engineered as tools for regenerative medicine. My research has focused on developing and applying biomaterials to spinal cord injury and chronic wounds. Spinal cord injury and chronic wounds share pathophysiological issues with oxidative stress, excess free, and macrophage polarization. Furthermore, both conditions lack robust, effective treatments. We hypothesized that citrate hydrogels – hydrogels that contain citric acid as a functional component – would provide radical scavenging and iron chelation that would benefit both conditions. The hydrogels …

The Effect Of Prior Virtual Reality Experience On Locomotion And Navigation In Virtual Environments, Moloud Nasiri

All Dissertations

VirtualReality(VR) is becoming more accessible and widely utilized in crucial disciplines like training, communication, healthcare, and education. One of the important parts of VR applications is walking through virtual environments. So, researchers have broadly studied various kinds of walking in VR as it can reduce sickness, improve the sense of presence, and enhance the general user experience. Due to the recent availability of consumer Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), people are using HMDs in all sorts of different locations. It underscores the need for locomotion methods that allow users to move through large Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) when occupying a small …

United States Social Security Administration Response To The Office Of Science And Technology Policy Memo, 2022: Public Access Plan (December 2023)

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

SSA response to OSTP memo, 2022: Public Access Plan (December 2023)

Model Of Evidence-Based Practice: Children Experiencing Domestic Violence In Rural Areas, Linden Sutton, Mckenzie Kurtz

Student Projects

Domestic violence is often something that occurs between an abuser and a victim. However, children are also deeply affected by any type of abuse that they witness or experience. More specifically, children in rural areas face more challenges and barriers preventing them from experiencing the freedom to simply be a child. This study examined theories and interventions to treat children experiencing domestic violence. The researchers developed a treatment curriculum based on solution-focused brief therapy to address this population. Overall, solution-focused brief therapy is an effective treatment for children who have either witnessed or experienced domestic violence in a rural setting.

Domestic Violence In Sioux County: Raising Awareness And Stimulating Empathy, Jenna Aalbers, Bailey Brown, Kenzie Kurtz, Linden Sutton

Student Projects

Domestic violence is a pertinent problem in Sioux County, Iowa, yet community members tend to be unaware of its existence and relevance. That is because it operates in a sly cycle, largely undetected by those outside the family. There is a general lack of public discussion and understanding about domestic violence, which tends to be viewed as a private, family matter. Despite this, the impacts of domestic violence extend beyond the family, and there are systemic factors that serve as barriers and risk factors for domestic violence survivors. This paper highlights the conditions of domestic violence in general as well …

Student Perceptions And Preferences Of University-Affiliated Athletic Merchandise And Logos, Robin Hardin, Michelle L. Childs, Kirby D. Simpson

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

College sports are certainly ingrained in the fabric of American society, and a significant aspect of this phenomena is the pageantry associated with college sports. This pageantry includes team logos and official team colors, and both are important aspects of fandom and team identification. Utilizing social identify theory as the theoretical framework for this research, the purpose of this study was to examine students’ university-affiliated athletic merchandise and logo preferences and related behaviors. Two focus groups were conducted with results showing three major themes, where students demonstrated polarizing views and opinions. These themes were (a) fashion and function, (b) orientation …

Real But Fictional: A Research Agenda Of Virtual Influencers For Brand Communications In Social Media Marketing, Lei Huang

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

With the rise of virtual influencers (VIs) and their impacts on influencer marketing, this paper proposes a future research paradigm on how to develop brand communication strategies through a novel understanding of VIs from both the consumer and company perspectives. Built on the parasocial interaction theory and the human brand theory, six propositions aim to provide research guidelines for influencer and social media marketing by leveraging the use of VIs in a brand-consumer relationship. The theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Digital Vs. Traditional: Comparing Sales Students' Initial Post- College Career Search Preferences Before And After Covid-19, Linda Mullen, Randy Stuart, Michael L. Thomas

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the

career search strategies of college students studying professional

sales. The research consists of a post-pandemic study that is

compared to a previous study conducted pre-pandemic in 2019. The

paper investigates the preference of sales students for digital

media versus face-to-face interactions in their career searches.

The pre-pandemic study revealed that while sales students

engaged with digital media, they still heavily relied on traditional

methods. The post-pandemic results differed primarily in students’

interviewing preferences. Despite the challenges posed by the

pandemic, students continue to utilize both online and traditional

resources. …

Enhanced Content-Based Fake News Detection Methods With Context-Labeled News Sources, Duncan Arnfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work examined the relative effectiveness of multilayer perceptron, random forest, and multinomial naïve Bayes classifiers, trained using bag of words and term frequency-inverse dense frequency transformations of documents in the Fake News Corpus and Fake and Real News Dataset. The goal of this work was to help meet the formidable challenges posed by proliferation of fake news to society, including the erosion of public trust, disruption of social harmony, and endangerment of lives. This training included the use of context-categorized fake news in an effort to enhance the tools’ effectiveness. It was found that term frequency-inverse dense frequency provided …

Experiences Of Appalachian People With Conflicting Christian And Lgbtq+ Identities, Zacharias Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of six LGBTQ+ individuals living in Appalachia who have felt conflict between their LGBTQ+ and Christian identities. Using data from six one-on-one intensive interviews, the study examines the various kinds of conflict participants experienced, the strategies they used to manage those conflicts, and the role that Christianity played in their lives. The author found that participant conflicts were grounded in struggles to find acceptance from others while living authentically, to reconcile ideological disputes with the church, and to accept themselves as LGBTQ+ and/or Christian. Included among their various management strategies were finding accepting people and …

The Impact Of Aces On College Students And Their Major Choice, Britten Harrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) has mostly focused on the long-term effects of these experiences on adult mental and physical health. Less attention has been focused on the impact of ACEs on college student satisfaction, dropout rates, and major choice. The overarching questions for the current study sought to further research by (1) assessing if there is a relationship between the ACE scores of college students and their mental and physical health, (2) if ACEs play a role in student satisfaction or desire to drop out, and (3) determining if there is a connection between students with high ACE …

Investigating The Role Of Maternal Adiposity On Human Breast Milk And Preterm Infant Stool Short Chain Fatty Acid And Microbiome Profiles, Kristy L. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preterm birth is the number one cause of death in neonates, accounting for 35% of neonatal mortality. The preterm birth rate in the U.S. in 2021 was 10.5%, disproportionally affected by race and ethnicity. Obese women have an increased risk of preterm pregnancy, and if delivered before 37 weeks of gestation, the offspring have higher rates of complications that extend from the neonatal period into life-long metabolic and immune adverse outcomes. In the early months after delivery, preterm infants have higher rates of adverse health outcomes than term infants, including infections, extrauterine growth restrictions, respiratory, metabolic, and neurological complications, necrotizing …

Examining Factors Among People With Opioid Use Disorder And Comorbid Mental Health Disorders, Tori Denae Livingston

Theses and Dissertations

Opioid use disorder (OUD) affects over two million Americans, and over 42,000 Americans perished of opioid overdoses in 2016 (Volkow et al., 2019). During the initial years of the opioid crisis, overdose deaths were primarily attributed to prescription analgesics, heroin, and synthetic opioids. However, it was illicit prescription opioid painkiller use that ranked highest in terms of fatalities (Volkow et al., 2019). The increasing prevalence of opioid use among individuals with mental health disorders is in stark contrast to the ongoing opioid crisis (Prince, 2019). Additionally, there is evidence that individuals undergoing substance use treatment and concurrently suffering from a …

Political Skill: A Potential Buffer To Abusive Supervision, Emotional Labor, And Burnout, Keith R. Cole

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This dissertation examines the relationship among political skill, abusive supervision, emotional labor, and burnout through the lens of the conservation of resources theory. The study proposes that political skill is a personal resource that individuals can use to buffer the negative consequences of abusive supervision and emotional labor, as well as prevent burnout. Moreover, this work proposes that political skill will lessen the harmful effects of abusive supervision on emotional labor, and emotional labor on burnout, respectively. The study also highlights the importance of political skill in managing abusive supervision, emotional labor, and burnout in organizations. This work tests a …

A 21 Year Meta Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Trauma-Sensitive Schools Initiatives, Megan Ann Blanton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Childhood exposure to adversity is prevalent, with most individuals in the United States having experienced at least one adverse event in childhood (Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2019; Merrick et al., 2018). Low dosages of childhood adversity experienced within the context of a safe and caring home environment can promote the development of healthy coping skills that prepare children for future adversity. However, childhood adversity that is intense, chronic, or complex can result in a toxic stress response that leads to the development of mental illness, physical health concerns, cognitive deficits, academic performance deficits, and in severe cases, premature …

Perceptions Of College Students With Disabilities Regarding The Impact Of Instructional Supports On Academic Success, John O. Oreye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how college students with disabilities (SWDs) accessed accommodations from their universities and their perceptions of service delivery by university faculty and staff. An additional purpose of this study was to seek the type and effectiveness of accommodations received by college SWDs. I recruited participants through the disability resource office of a regional university in the Southeastern United States. The diverse population studied was college SWDs, and the phenomenon of interest was their experience with receiving accommodations from their university. The seven participants who took part in interviews identified as college students with a disability that …

Parent Choice: Learning Pods Or Public Education During Covid-19 Pandemic, Shari Kinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the decision-making process of K-12 parents living in the Appalachian Highlands who chose to remove their children from traditional public schools to join learning pods (sometimes referred to as pandemic pods) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to answer this overarching question, the researcher focused her study on two areas: first, what were the possible push factors that influenced parents to remove their children from public schools, and secondly, what were the pull factors that lead parents to choose learning pods over other school choice options. Through the data collected …

Biological Age Mediates The Effects Of Perceived Neighborhood Problems On Heart Failure Risk Among Black Persons, Ganga Bey, James Pike, Priya Palta, Anthony Zannas, Qian Xiao, Shelly-Ann Love, Gerardo Heiss

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: We assessed whether biological age, measured by the epigenetic clock GrimAge, mediates the association of objective and subjective neighborhood disadvantage with incident HF among Black persons.

METHODS: Participants were 1448 self-reported Black adults (mean age (standard deviation, SD) = 64.3 (5.5)) dually enrolled in two community-based cohorts in Jackson, Mississippi, the ARIC and JHS cohorts, who were free of HF as of January 1, 2000. Incident HF events leading to hospitalization through December 31, 2017, were classified using ICD-9 discharge codes of HF. Multilevel age- and sex-adjusted Cox causal mediation models were used to examine whether biological age (at …

The Exploration Of Perceptions Of Patient-Clinician Communication In Black Mothers Diagnosed With An Acute Post-Partum Hypertensive Crisis, Melanie P. Fant

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

For Black American mothers, postpartum stressors are magnified as about half of this population are single mothers, and many suffer from inadequate social and healthcare needs. Expected postpartum stressors, coupled with social stressors that Black American mothers face, can mask or influence patient reporting of early postpartum hypertensive crisis symptoms. Patients diagnosed with preeclampsia risk developing even more severe complications, such as cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States. Black American women face the challenge of inadequate communication with their healthcare providers, medical mistrust, and perceived discrimination when accessing health care. Pregnant women, …

The Long-Term Cognitive And Psychological Effects Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (Mtbi), Leah L. Somerville

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), commonly referred to as a concussion, is a prevalent injury in the United States, with several million occurring every year. Many of these injuries take place while playing a sport, particularly in those activities that have higher rates of impact with another person, such as hockey, soccer, or football. While most recover quickly from an mTBI, some individuals may have longer term effects. Recent literature has provided some evidence for long-term dysfunction in head injured individuals, with these dysfunctions appearing as changes in cognition or psychological well-being. Some of the most frequently reported cognitive symptoms …

Understanding The Host Cellular Response To Astrovirus Infection, Theresa Mary Taggart Bub

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Astrovirus is a non-enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that infects the small intestine and causes gastrointestinal disease in most hosts. However, in immunocompromised patients, astrovirus can infect the brain, causing encephalitis and death. Here, we characterize astrovirus induction of replication organelles and dysregulation of cellular processes. It is known that autophagy can play a key role in the viral lifecycle, from entry to egress, and can be either pro-virus or pro-host depending on the virus. RNA viruses often exploit autophagy machinery to create double membrane vesicles (DMVs) as sites of replication and to protect viral RNAs from detection by innate …

Offend No One But The Truth: The Second Half Of 2023, Jethro K. Lieberman

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Concurrent Psychological Problems Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients In Germany And The United States, Jana Roehr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite increasing scientific interest over the past few decades in the neurobehavioral aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS), there has been relatively little systematic study of MS patients’ awareness of psychological problems. Even fewer data are currently available providing a direct comparison of the national prevalence rates of psychological problems among MS patients by country. This study was intended to address this question by comparing MS patients from Germany and the United States (US). Patients were asked to provide ratings of their psychological symptom severity, cognitive functioning, and overall quality of life (QoL) on six assessment instruments designed to assess depression, …

Preparing Teaching Assistants To Facilitate Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (Cures) In The Biological Sciences: A Call To Action, Erin Shortlidge, Amie M. Kern, Emma Goodwin, Jeffrey T. Olimpo

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) offer an expanding avenue to engage students in real-world scientific practices. Increasingly, CUREs are instructed by graduate teaching assistants (TAs), yet TAs may be underprepared to facilitate and face unique barriers when teaching CUREs. Consequently, unless TAs are provided professional development (PD) and resources to teach CUREs effectively, they and their students may not reap the assumed benefits of CURE instruction. Here, we describe three perspectives – that of the CURE TA, the CURE designer/facilitator, and the CURE student – that are collectively intended to inform the development of tentative components of CURE TA PD. …

The 5r Model Of Language Learner Autonomy: Reconstructing Autonomous Language Learners In Distance Education, Roseniya G. Tamano

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Although the concept of language learner autonomy (LLA) has traditionally revolved around learners’ capacity to assume control over their own learning, the circumstances brought about by the pandemic prompt us to delve deeper into this capability. What is the nature of LLA, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic? This study uses a Philippine case to redefine and operationalize LLA by comprehensively describing this phenomenon. It focuses on the themes revealed in the lived experiences of the learners and proposes a model of LLA based on these findings. Exactly 41 Grade 10 ESL learners from a science high school served as participants …

Language As The Catalyst Between The Relationship Of Subordinates' Communicative Competence And Supervisors' Communicative Behavior: A Canonical Correlation Analysis, Lindsey N. Tan

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Communicative competence could be understood as the ability to effectively use language in different contexts, and one of these contexts is the intricate framework of the supervisor-subordinate relationship (SSR). However, studies on SSR are mostly based on supervisors’ communicative behavior (SCB), and there is a scarcity of studies that investigate the role of subordinates’ organizational communication competence (SOCC) on SSR. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the relationship between SOCC and SCB in the SSR framework. Using the canonical correlation analysis, two sets of facets were used to analyze the relationship. The first set is the SOCC, which includes communicative …

The Development And Validation Of An Efl Learner Attitude Scale For Phonetic Symbol Learning In A Chinese University Context, Jie Zeng, Yi Qin, Yu Zong, Tengfei Zhao, Xiping Wang

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Research has established that learner attitude significantly impacts the outcomes of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). However, previous studies have rarely considered a validated attitude scale for English phonetic symbol learning (EPSL). This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure students' attitudes toward EPSL by integrating findings from learning attitude research in education and psychology. The results demonstrate that the attitude scale can predict attitudes towards EPSL in the context of a Chinese university and has good reliability and validity (KMO=0.892, α=0.749). Pedagogical suggestions are made to help students develop a more positive attitude toward …

Educators’ Perspectives Of Principal’S Motivational Behavior In High Performing High Schools In An Urban School District, John Santos

All Dissertations

Principal leadership style is a significant factor influencing student achievement. The problem this study addressed was limited qualitative research exploring the differences in perspectives of principals and teachers regarding the effectiveness of principals’ leadership styles on teachers’ instructional modalities and student achievement, especially in urban K-12 schools. The purpose of this study was to examine how the impact of principals’ leadership styles is experienced by principals and teachers serving in the same school.

Using rational emotive behavioral theory as a conceptual framework, the study further examined, from both principals’ and teachers’ perspectives, how a principal’s leadership impacted teachers’ instructional style …

An Integrated Theoretical Examination Of General Strain And Identity Theory To Describe Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual (Lgb) Youth Drug Use, Ciarra I. Hastings

All Dissertations

In recent years, the United States has experienced an increase in LGBT+ youth perpetrating drugs, sex, and violent offenses. According to identity theory, individuals maintain three main identities that if incongruent can create friction which could lead to crime. The friction may involve the LGBT+ identity and other contributing factors such as demographics age, race, religion, level of education, adverse childhood experiences, stigmatization, discrimination, mental illness, and identity measures (masculine versus feminine identities and sexual minority identity).

This study examined how the LGBT+ identity may create a strain with an individual’s three main identities, personal, group, and societal, and how …