Digital Commons Network^™

Prevalence And Economic Burden Of Osteoarthritis And Rheumatoid Arthritis In The Medically Underserved Rio Grande Valley: A Retrospective Longitudinal Analysis, John M. Gaddis, Elias Arellano, Ryan Bialaszewski, Dominic Chau-Zanetti, Tyler Torres, Elizabeth Bergman, Kelsey Baker, Bharathi Gadad

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, two of the most common forms of arthritis worldwide, are chronic diseases affecting the joints. The Rio Grande Valley is characterized by an abundance of health disparities, with previous studies showing increased rates of multiple diseases and disorders in this region. This study aimed to determine both the prevalence and the risk-adjusted average cost of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the Rio Grande Valley and to compare them with the national average. We hypothesize that the prevalence and risk-adjusted average cost of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the Rio Grande Valley will be greater than …

Surgical Treatment Of Brachiocephalic Artery Aneurysm With Impending Rupture And Tracheal Communication, Soon Jin Kim, Kyung Hwa Kim, Jong Hun Kim, Tae Yun Kim

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Brachiocephalic artery aneurysm is uncommon but may require surgery because it tends to enlarge, rupture, or cause symptoms related to thrombosis or compression. This case report describes a brachiocephalic artery aneurysm in a 72-year-old man who presented at the hospital with dyspnea and hemoptysis resulting from impending rupture and tracheal communication.

Sustainable Environmental Technologies: Recent Development, Opportunities, And Key Challenges, Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, Rupali Datta, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman, Dibyendu Sarkar

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

Heroic Virtues In Space Exploration: Everydayness And Supererogation On Earth And Beyond, John N. Nielsen

Heroism Science

The space environment poses significant dangers and difficulties for human explorers—difficulties so great that it has been argued that space exploration should be exclusively conducted by automated spacecraft. The possibility of space science conducted by human astronauts in spite of these dangers presents the opportunity for individuals to exhibit traditional heroic virtues—presumably, supererogatory forms of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice—in the pursuit of science. In particular, the difficulties of pursuing science in the hostile conditions of extraterrestrial environments will call for physical courage in the face of personal danger, patience with the painstaking procedures of technically difficult scientific experiments performed …

Importance Of Service Learning In Higher Education, Brian Anderson

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

Service Learning in Higher Education is an integral part of a student’s development and educational experience. By incorporating service learning into the classroom, students increase their knowledge of the local communities around them; then bringing that knowledge back to their coursework, students are able to understand the connections of their local experiences with the theories they learn in the classroom. Having institutional buy-in demonstrates to the students the importance of this process.

Career Success Begins In College, Larissa Leifer, Kristina Mieszcanski

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

The authors are both graduate students in a Student Development Administration program. Both grew up in different states and attended undergraduate institutions for different reasons. Coming from middle-class working families, both authors were on academic scholarships and both held part-time jobs throughout their collegiate careers. Synthesizing their employment experiences and national research on student employment, the authors will present the argument in support of college students working part-time jobs during their undergraduate education. For the purpose of this paper the authors define a job as either a part- time job (5-20 hours/week), an internship, or compensated student leadership role (whether …

Humor In Higher Education, Colin Stewart

MAGIS: Student Development Journal

Improvisation is a tool that student development professionals can use to engage students in active learning. The tenets of improv can be utilized to inform how student development professionals work with students and each other in a practical way. The purpose of this article is to explore the connection between improvisation, higher education, and student development.

Letter To Collin Mckinney

McKinney and Milam Family Papers

Letter to Collin McKinney requiring about his general well being, informing him about the health of Betsy and telling him about the rumors concerning the sale of Texas to the United States Of America.

Social Capital, Post-Industrial Society, And Faulty Industry Experience: Higher Education’S Engagement Opportunity In Applied Disciplines, Asa B. Wilson, Steven A. Stovall, Edward Crowley

Journal of the North American Management Society

Higher education faces two currents - declining social capital support and the post-industrial transition. Both impact the academy and its students. The associated challenges are discussed as engagement opportunities for the academy in applied disciplines. Also, the instructional value of faculty industry experience (IE) is defined as an attribute of social capital. It fosters student engagement while building an experiential learning bridge from the classroom to the workplace. A composite case based on faculty social capital backgrounds illustrates how faculty IE augments program development, academic rigor, student readiness, research creativity, industry linkages, and community impact. Follow-up research opportunities are identified.

Building A Better Future For Christian Higher Education, Maria Ll Lam

Journal of the North American Management Society

This paper is an exploratory study concerning the perceptions of 16 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officers at nine Protestant evangelical Christian universities and six Catholic universities. Among these 16 DEI officers, 15 are people of color. 13 possess Ph.D. degrees and hold the highest administrative positions at their institutions. They are often required to address justice issues in their diversity initiatives if they don’t want to reproduce systematic institutional injustices in historically white-dominated Christian universities. They are working across multiple boundaries (i.e., boundary spanners) for institutional-level diversity changes. They all voice motivations to make institutional changes and 11 DEI …

Religious Accommodations For Educators: A Reexamination Of Undue Burden In The Public School Classroom, Maggie L. Paino, Suzanne Eckes

ConLawNOW

This Essay addresses the question of how public schools should address existing tensions between employee religious rights and student identity and expression when a teacher refuses to use a student’s chosen name and pronouns. Guiding this issue and the practice for public school officials to follow is a 2024 decision of a federal district court in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School District, and guidance published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While the court in Kluge recognized the substantial increased costs to the school of granting the religious accommodation when students are involved, the EEOC affirmed the need to …

Early Career Nurses' Attitudes Toward Climate Change And Its Relationship To Nursing Practice And Education: A Qualitative, Descriptive Exploratory Study, Ongelique Conflenti

Theses

Background: Climate change is accelerating rapidly, and its adverse effects on human health are expected to worsen in the coming decades. Nurses have a professional and ethical responsibility to address climate change and help the healthcare sector adapt to its challenges. Due to a lack of education on the topic, however, many nurses are not aware of the relevance of climate change to their nursing practice. Little is known about the attitudes of early career nurses (ECNs) toward climate change or their perspectives on integrating it into their continuing education.

Aims: This research will aim to explore the attitudes of …

Digital Humanities: Using Computational Methods On Literature To Understand Human-Water Relations, Ariel Yang

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

By using computational techniques to analyze literature, deeper insights can be gained into human-water relationships across different historical and cultural contexts. Natural Language Processing (NLP) and other data science methods can explore applications of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and underlying emotions or beliefs in literature to help understand sustainability. Protecting this sensitive cultural data through ethical applications can further secure future implementations of policies, urban planning, and environmental relationships.

Life Experiences Of Limited English Proficiency Patients With Established Cardiovascular Diseases Living In The Us-Mexico Border, Cristina Dominguez De Quezada, Crystal Brown, Enrique Barrientos

Sigma Foundation for Nursing Research Grant Reports

The proposed study aimed to explore the life experiences of Limited English Proficiency Hispanic/Latinos with established cardiovascular conditions when interacting in a predominantly English-speaking healthcare environment in the US-Mexico border.

Through Their Eyes, Austin Dixon, Ty-Ie Fuller

Journal of Access, Retention, and Inclusion in Higher Education

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of success and experiences of nine minority male participants in a men-of-color-themed first-year learning community (MCLC) at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Focus groups and individual interviews revealed four major themes: the importance of strong instructor relationships, the subjective nature of success, the value of affinity spaces, and the positive impact of the learning community on development and motivation. Participants emphasized the role of instructor rapport, defined success through the lens of personal empowerment, and highlighted the significance of culturally relevant peer connections. The findings indicate that MCLCs can foster a sense of community, identity …

Counseling Center Collaboration To Bridge The Gap For College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Stephanie Sibley Psy.D., Kristen Mehr Ph.D.

Journal of Access, Retention, and Inclusion in Higher Education

As more individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) enter college, increased efforts should be made by university counseling centers to provide support and help ensure the success of these students. This article reviews the unique needs of college students with ASD and highlights the benefits of proactive, collaborative, and individualized mental health support. An existing outreach relationship between a university counseling center and that university’s Autism support program is described, and recommendations for how other counseling centers can develop similar programming are discussed. It is believed that efforts to effectively address the mental health needs of college students with ASD …

Covid-19 Impacts On College Students’ Basic Needs Insecurity, Megan K. Schraedley Ph.D., Ashlie B. Delshad Ph.D.

Journal of Access, Retention, and Inclusion in Higher Education

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, data clearly documented that college students experience a higher rate of basic needs insecurity, including food insecurity, than the general US population. COVID-19 both expanded the rate of basic needs insecurity and decreased the range of resources students had access to. In this study, we examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student basic needs insecurity through a qualitative photovoice study. Our research draws upon Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth model and the concepts of navigational and social capital specifically. The findings indicate that students experienced heightened levels of basic needs insecurity during the …

Convolutional Neural Networks For Dementia Severity Classification: Ordinal Versus Regular Methods, Ambresh Bhadrashetty, P. Sandhya

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Dementia, a chronic neurodegenerative disorder, progressively impairs cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, learning, and recall, placing a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. Early and accurate classification of dementia severity is crucial for personalized care and intervention. This study introduces a novel Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) designed to classify dementia into four ordinal severity levels (None, Very Mild, Mild, and Moderate) based on MRI brain scans. Utilizing the extensive Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS) dataset, which includes 86,437 MRI scans (67,222 ‘none,’ 13,725 ‘very mild,’ 5,002 ‘mild,’ and 488 ‘moderate’), our model addresses severe class imbalance …

Investigating Intrusion Detection System Using Federated Learning For Iot Security Challenges, Mohammed Q. Mohammed, Zena Abd Alrahman, Aouf R. Shehab

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a decentralized and ever-changing network, which poses challenges in terms of security. The input highlights the need for robust security measures to protect IoT devices and their data from potential threats. The study focuses on Federated Learning (FL) technology as a potential solution to enhance IoT security. FL models are designed to protect sensitive data while allowing its exchange with other systems, making it a promising approach for securing IoT environments. Additionally, the input suggests the implementation of intrusion detection systems (IDS) as an additional strategy to enhance overall IoT security. By combining FL …

Explainable Machine Learning Approach Enables Computer-Aided Identification System For Children Autism Spectrum Disorder (C-Asd), Karrar Hameed Abdulkareem, Zainab Hussein Arif, Mazin Abed Mohammed

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cause significant cognitive, linguistic, object identification, communication, and social skills deficits. Although there is currently no cure for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early detection can aid in diagnosis and implementing effective preventative measures. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools allow for an earlier diagnosis of ASD than was previously possible. Furthermore, many clinical and not clinical attributes can be used for identification of ASD but select the most proper ones still challenge. Therefore, in this study we propose a Computer-Aided Identification System based on machine learning concept and feature selection methods to diagnosis Children Autism …

Stable Heterogeneous Traffic Flow With Effective Localization And Path Planning In Wireless Network Connected And Automated Vehicles In~Internet Of Vehicular Things (Iovt), Ahmed N. Rashid, Ahmed Mahdi Jubair

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

The increasing complexity of networks comprising both Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and Human-Driven Vehicles (HDVs) presents substantial challenges in achieving accurate positioning, efficient communication, and optimal route planning. Current methodologies fall short in enhancing vehicular network efficiency and reliability due to noise interference, inefficient data transmission, and unstable data transfer. This study aims to improve localization accuracy, reduce communication noise, and enhance path planning efficiency in mixed CAV and HDV environments through the Stable Heterogeneous Traffic Flow using Deep Reinforcement Learning and Effective Path Planning (SHTDR-EPP) approach. The primary goals are to ensure dependable localization, efficient communication, and reliable route …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Partition Dimensions In Efavirenz Abacavir Lamivudine Doravirine Of Anti-Hiv Drug Structures, R. Nithya Raj, R. Sundara Rajan, Hijaz Ahmad

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

The partition dimension of a graph in chemical graph theory refers to a graph invariant used to analyze the structural properties of molecules. It represents the minimum number of clusters or resolving partition set required to uniquely identify each vertex in the graph based on the neighborhoods within their respective clusters. In the context of chemical graph theory, the vertices of the graph correspond to atoms, and edges represent bonds between these atoms in a molecular structure. Determining the partition dimension of a chemical graph helps in understanding the relationships between molecular components and their spatial arrangements. It assists in …

Ethics And The Evolving Deployments Of Disciplinary Practices: A Foucauldian Analysis Of The Glamorization Of Bodies, Gerald Pio M. Franco

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

The paper discusses how individuals are constituted by disciplinary practices as presented in Michel Foucault’s two major works: Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. The workings of power-knowledge gave rise to the penal apparatus and deployments of sexuality, which affected entire populations. But even as these disciplinary practices evolve and become seemingly more humane and liberating, they continue to produce docile and normalized subjects. One particular example of this process, discussed here in detail, is the transition from the figure of the hysterical woman to the modern glamorous (beautiful) woman. Such a transition extends …

Pilapil On The Theory And Praxis Of Recognition, Paolo A. BolañOs

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

Pilapil on the Theory and Praxis of Recognition

Why Should Universities Contribute To New Utopias?, Geert Bouckaert

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

What would the ideal society look like, and its university? In 1516 the English humanist Thomas More tried his hand at imagining a perfect society on a distant island. His Utopia was first published in the Flemish town of Leuven, home of a university that was established almost a century earlier in 1425. Five hundred years later, university scholars revisit More’s exercise in an interdisciplinary range of science-based utopias.1 Like More’s Utopia, later and new utopias have to be read in the light of their own times. Utopias are connected to and embedded in their social realities. They belong to …

Christianity's Paradox: Chesterton After Kierkegaard, Peter Murphy

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

A convert to Catholicism, G.K. Chesterton was a leading intellectual of the British Edwardian age and one of the important social and religious thinkers of the twentieth century. His trademark was paradox. He wrote in defense of the imagination and the corralling of opposites, oppositions, contradictions, and bountiful inconsistencies. The article explores Chesterton’s views on faith, religion, God, Christianity, Islam, modernity, change, and progress. It locates him in a philosophical stream that sees laughter and comedy as a religious disguise, paradox as a creative force, and the imagination as a necessary complement of reason. This is framed by a discussion …

The Practice Of Hermeneutics: The Legal Text And Beyond, George H. Taylor

Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture

This article attempts to show the continuing practical relevance of hermeneutics through the example of legal interpretation. The article begins with the very concrete nature of legal hermeneutics that forms everyday legal practice—the interrelation of meaning and application— and expands at a more theoretical to show how legal hermeneutics, and hermeneutics more generally, offers what Ricoeur calls an interpretive “choice in favor of meaning.” The choice in favor of meaning underscores the restorative character of hermeneutics that legal hermeneutics can epitomize. The article concludes with some of the challenges facing contemporary legal hermeneutics.

“How Come I Don’T Look Like That”: The Negative Impact Of Wishful Identification With Influencers On Follower Well-Being, Ruonan Zhang, Trinideé Mercado, Yu Chen, Nicky Chang Bi

Faculty Publications

Purpose Building on Social Comparison Theory and Parasocial Relationship Theory, this study is designed to investigate how followers’ wishful identification with YouTube influencers is associated with their psychological well-being and how parasocial relationships with influencers moderate this association. Design/methodology/approach Influencer-fan data (N = 504) is collected through a Qualtrics survey in collaboration with a real-life influencer on YouTube. Hayes Process Modeling was used to conduct mediation and moderation analyses. Findings Results indicate that enjoyment of influencers’ videos positively leads to followers’ wishful identification, which negatively impacts their well-being. The parasocial relationship with the influencer was found to be a significant …

The Utah Statesman, November 25, 2024, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Brown, Brandy, Atlantis Martin

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

In this interview with Brandy Brown, a queer social worker originally from Georgia, they discuss such topics as family of origin, education (including getting a GED and later a doctorate), religious conversion therapies, overcoming estrangement with their family, parenting, and queer youth. Dr Brown also discusses their important role in creating the first gender clinic for trans youth at Maine Health in the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.