Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Social Inclusion And Community Participation Opportunities For Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Arilyn Jewel Baldowski

Honors College Theses

Social Inclusion and community participation among adults with developmental disabilities (DD) have remained critically underexplored, despite their essential role in promoting equal opportunities and access to fulfilling lives. This study addressed a significant gap in the literature by investigating the experiences of individuals within the population. The research aimed to explore social inclusion and community participation opportunities on adults with DD. Participants were recruited through an organization that offers residential camp programs to adults with developmental disabilities, and an online survey was used to collect data on the availability of opportunities, the extent of involvement, and the perceived impacts on …

Reclaiming My Identity: A Philosophical Deconstruction Of Stereotypes Placed On Black Women In Hip-Hop, Kichev L. Moultrie

Honors College Theses

Imposing damaging stereotypes on Black women has persisted throughout American culture, specifically within hip-hop. To analyze modern depictions of Black women in hip-hop, I will trace the historical roots of these stereotypes including, but not limited to, angry Black woman, jezebel, sapphire, and how they have persisted in modern media. This includes referencing the works of philosophers like Patricia Collins, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, etc. I will address the intersectionality of gender, racism, and classism, to show how these stereotypes are used as an oppression mechanism which we witness in society and the hip-hop community. However, in the face of …

What Corporate Factors Explain Variation In How Individuals Value Dei In The Beauty Industry?, Hannah Bolar

Honors College Theses

The beauty industry is known for its multi-billion dollar market, such as skincare, makeup, and haircare. As an employee in famous beauty stores, Ulta and Sephora, over the last five years, a bigger discussion has been brought to the table, being Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) . The scope of my study is to shed light and address what factors beauty industry corporations factor in and how customers view and value DEI in the beauty industry; in which my methods of surveying and focus groups support my claim that internal and external factors do play a role. My results found …

Cross-Cultural Adaptation Of The Voice-Related Experiences Of Nonbinary Individuals - Veni To Brazilian Portuguese, Isabela Dos Santos, Mara Behlau, Grace Shefcik, Pei Tzu Tsai, Vanessa Veis Ribeiro

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the “Voice-related Experiences of Nonbinary Individuals” (VENI) to Brazilian Portuguese (BP). Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation was performed based on the combined guidelines of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Translation Recommendations and the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). The process included five stages: a) Translation of the instrument into BP by a translator specialized in the construct and a non-specialist, both native BP speakers and fluent in English; b) Synthesis of the two translations by consensus; c) Back-translation by a translator specialized in the construct and a non-specialist, …

Evaluating The Influence Of Marine Protected Areas On Surf Zone Fish, M. L. Marraffini, S. L. Hamilton, J. R. Marin Jarrin, M. Ladd, G. Koval, J. R. Madden, I. Mangino, L. M. Parker, K. A. Emery, K. Terhaar, D. M. Hubbard, R. J. Miller, J. E. Dugan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Marine protected areas (MPAs) globally serve conservation and fisheries management goals, generating positive effects in some marine ecosystems. Surf zones and sandy beaches, critical ecotones bridging land and sea, play a pivotal role in the life cycles of numerous fish species and serve as prime areas for subsistence and recreational fishing. Despite their significance, these areas remain understudied when evaluating the effects of MPAs. We compared surf zone fish assemblages inside and outside MPAs across 3 bioregions in California (USA). Using seines and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs), we found differences in surf zone fish inside and outside MPAs in …

Lithium And Water: Hydrosocial Impacts Across The Life Cycle Of Energy Storage, James J.A. Blair, Noel Vineyard, Dustin Mulvaney, Alida Cantor, Ali Sharbat, Kate Berry, Elizabeth Bartholomew, Ariana Firebaugh Ornelas

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

As a key ingredient of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), lithium plays a significant role in climate change mitigation, but lithium has considerable impacts on water and society across its life cycle. Upstream extraction methods—including open-pit mining, brine evaporation, and novel direct lithium extraction (DLE)—and downstream processes present different impacts on both the quantity and quality of water resources, leading to water depletion and contamination. Regarding upstream extraction, it is critical for a comprehensive assessment of lithium's life cycle to include cumulative impacts related not only to freshwater, but also mineralized or saline groundwater, also known as brine. Legal frameworks …

A Fresh Take: Seasonal Changes In Terrestrial Freshwater Inputs Impact Salt Marsh Hydrology And Vegetation Dynamics, Maya S. Montalvo, Emilio Grande, Anna E. Braswell, Ate Visser, Bhavna Arora, Erin C. Seybold, Corianne Tatariw, John C. Haskins, Charlie A. Endris, Fuller Gerbl, Mong Han Huang, Darya Morozov, Margaret A. Zimmer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Salt marshes exist at the terrestrial-marine interface, providing important ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Tidal inputs play a dominant role in salt marsh porewater mixing, and terrestrially derived freshwater inputs are increasingly recognized as important sources of water and solutes to intertidal wetlands. However, there remains a critical gap in understanding the role of freshwater inputs on salt marsh hydrology, and how this may impact marsh subsurface salinity and plant productivity. Here, we address this knowledge gap by examining the hydrologic behavior, porewater salinity, and pickleweed (Sarcocornia pacifica also known as Salicornia pacifica) plant productivity along …

Anti-Trafficking And Humanitarian Operations: Transferring Learnings For A Better World, Kezban Yagci Sokat, Maria Besiou

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to draw insights from the rich literature on humanitarian operations efforts to combat human trafficking; second, to inspire humanitarian operations researchers to work more on human anti-trafficking. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper inspired by recent relevant reports, the academic literature and the authors’ years of involvement in both humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking. Findings: Humanitarian supply chains and human trafficking supply chains very often operate in the same environments and hence face similar challenges. The paper highlights the overlaps between the two domains and demonstrates how two decades of learnings from …

Assessment Of Digital Collaboration Skills, Esperanza Huerta, Ana Lidia Franzoni Velázquez, Scott Jensen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This exploratory study proposes a methodology for assessing digital collaboration skills based on the students' actual behavior. Students' comments using a digital collaboration tool during a one-month long project were manually coded. This methodology is not context specific and can be used across different domains. This assessment contrasts with self-reported measures in which students rate themselves as already possessing collaboration skills. Finally, the study explores the use of generative AI to automatically code student's comments to alleviate the labor-intensive process that coding requires and to enable scalability in coding data.

Cosmogenic Radionuclides In Meteorites From The Otway Massif Blue Ice Area, Antarctica: An Unusual, Well-Preserved H5 Chondrite Strewn Field, Kees C. Welten, Marc W. Caffee, Monika E. Kress, Marlene D. Giscard, A. J.Timothy Jull, Ralph P. Harvey, John Schutt

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The US Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) discovered a dense cluster of 88 ordinary chondrites with a total mass of more than 100 kg on a blue ice area (BIA) of 1.6 × 0.3 km2 near the Otway Massif, Grosvenor Mountains, Antarctica. The larger masses (weighing up to 29 kg) were found at one end of an oval-shaped pattern and the smaller masses (50–200 g) at the other end. We measured concentrations of the cosmogenic radionuclides 10Be (half-life—1.36 × 106 year) and 36Cl (3.01 × 105 year) in the metal fraction of 17 H chondrites, including 14 fragments of this …

Covid-19 Vaccination-Related Tinnitus Is Associated With Pre-Vaccination Metabolic Disorders, Weihua Wang, Anusha Yellamsetty, Robert M. Edmonds, Shaun R. Barcavage, Shaowen Bao

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Cases of tinnitus have been reported following administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The aim of this study was to characterize COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus to assess whether there is a causal relationship, and to examine potential risk factors for COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus. We analyzed a survey on 398 cases of COVID-19 vaccination-related tinnitus, and 699,839 COVID-19 vaccine-related reports in the Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS) database that was retrieved on 4 December 2021. We found that following COVID-19 vaccination, 1) tinnitus report frequencies for Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen vaccines in VAERS are 47, 51 and 70 cases per million full vaccination; …

Is Knowledge Management (Finally) Extractive? – Fuller’S Argument Revisited In The Age Of Ai, Norman Mooradian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Aim/Purpose The rise of modern artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, machine learning (ML), has provided new opportunities and directions for knowledge management (KM). A central question for the future of KM is whether it will be dominated by an automation strategy that replaces knowledge work or whether it will support a knowledge-enablement strategy that enhances knowledge work and uplifts knowledge workers. This paper addresses this question by re-examining and updating a critical argument against KM by the sociologist of science Steve Fuller (2002), who held that KM was extractive and exploitative from its origins. Background This paper re-examines Fuller’s argument …

Modeling And Vibration Suppression Of Rotating Machines Using The Sparse Identification Of Nonlinear Dynamics And Terminal Sliding Mode Control, Sina Piramoon, Mohammad Ayoubi, Saeid Bashash

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a novel physics-based data-driven approach for reconstructing the nonlinear governing equations and suppressing vibrations in vertical-shaft rotary machines during transient motion. We first identify the key nonlinear terms using a physics-based methodology. Subsequently, a data-driven approach, known as the Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (SINDy), is employed to reconstruct the nonlinear governing equations of a typical rotary machine. After validating the model, a robust nonlinear controller is designed using the terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) technique to reduce lateral vibrations in the machine’s shaft. Extensive experimental tests on a laboratory-scale rotary system confirm the stability and …

Perturbation Walking Effects On Prefrontal Cortical Activation And Walking Performance In Older Women With And Without Osteoarthritis: A Fnirs Study, Alka Bishnoi, Yang Hu, Manuel E. Hernandez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Perturbation walking (PW) has been shown to improve gait, however its effect on the cortical control of gait might provide insights on neural mechanisms underlying falls in adults with osteoarthritis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of PW on prefrontal cortical (PFC) activation in older women with (OA) and without osteoarthritis (HOA). We hypothesized that there would be an increase in PFC activation during PW relative to comfortable walking (CW) and higher increase in PFC activation during PW in HOA compared to OA. Methods: Twenty community-dwelling older women (66.7 ± 5.41 years old) walked on …

Chronic Pelvic Pain Among Transgender Men And Gender Diverse Adults Assigned Female At Birth, Diana M. Tordoff, Mitchell R. Lunn, Annesa Flentje, Diana Atashroo, Bertha Chen, Zubin Dastur, Micah E. Lubensky, Matthew Capriotti, Juno Obedin-Maliver

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: There are limited data on pelvic pain among transgender men and gender diverse people, and the impact of testosterone on pelvic pain is poorly understood. Objective: Characterize the prevalence and correlates of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) among transgender men and gender diverse people and examine the association between testosterone use and CPP. Materials and methods: We used 2020–2022 data from The Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality (PRIDE) Study, an online prospective cohort study of sexual and gender minority adults in the United States, to conduct complementary cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Our primary outcome was self-reported CPP …

Effect Of Fermentation, Malting And Ultrasonication On Sorghum, Mopane Worm And Moringa Oleifera: Improvement In Their Nutritional, Techno-Functional And Health Promoting Properties, Mpho Sebabiki Maleke, Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo, Jonathan Wilkin, Moira Ledbetter, Xi Feng, John Gieng, Tumisi Beiri Jeremiah Molelekoa

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Food processing offers various benefits that contribute to food nutrition, food security and convenience. This study investigated the effect of three different processes (fermentation, malting and ultrasonication) on the nutritional, techno-functional and health-promoting properties of sorghum, mopane worm and Moringa oleifera. Methods: The fermented and malted flours were prepared at 35°C for 48 h, and for ultrasonication, samples were subjected to 10 min at 4°C with amplitudes of 40–70 Hz. The biochemical, nutritional quality and techno-functional properties of the obtained flours were analysed using standard procedures. Results: Fermentation resulted in significantly lower pH and higher titratable acidity in sorghum …

Internet Drug Prohibition And The Opioid Overdose Crisis, Benjamin Barsky

Faculty Scholarship

The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (Ryan Haight Act) prohibits controlled substance tele-prescribing when it occurs without a preliminary in-person medical evaluation. This Article details the Ryan Haight Act’s consequences for the practice of telemedicine in general and opioid addiction treatment in particular. In doing so, it builds on literature exploring the tension between the federal criminal regulation of controlled substance prescribing and the management of large-scale public health crises, particularly the opioid overdose crisis.

By restricting the tele-prescription of certain controlled substances used for opioid addiction treatment, the Ryan Haight Act limits access to care for a …

Racial Reckoning And The Police-Free Schools Movement, Thalia Gonzalez, Rebecca Epstein

Faculty Scholarship

Across the country, students of color face daily threats of arrest, exclusion, and violence at the hands of school police officers. Whether deemed threatening, defiant, or hypersexualized, Black students, in particular, pay a heavy price to access their right to free public education. Despite victories in dismantling educational carcerality since the mid-2000s, efforts to formally remove police from public schools has been limited. However, during the 2020 racial reckonings, political opportunity catalyzed social movement campaigns, resulting in the passage of sixty-nine police-free policies. This represented an inflection point for civil rights, education justice, and police abolition scholars and activists. This …

Just Look At The Map: Bounding Environmental Review Of Housing Development In California, Eric Biber, Christopher S. Elmendorf, Nicholas Marantz, Moira O’Neill

Faculty Scholarship

California faces a dire housing crisis. California’s land-use regulatory system remains a key driver of this crisis. State law grants local governments broad power to craft their own regulations on how to review and approve housing development. Though state law may limit a locality’s ability to outright deny some types of housing development, local governments can and do use creative ways to stall approvals or functionally deny housing by making it infeasible to develop. One such strategy is to demand more intensive environmental review of new housing projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) than what state law requires. …

Hierarchies Of Discrimination In Baby Making? A Response To Professor Carroll, Radhika Rao

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Standing And Snitches, Emily Strauss

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ai And Antitrust: "The Algorithm Made Me Do It", Robin C. Feldman, Caroline A. Yuen

Faculty Scholarship

As the dawn of artificial intelligence (“AI”) rises rapidly, competition authorities should contemplate the potential for hazy days ahead. Undoubtedly, AI’s already ubiquitous presence offers exciting possibilities, from enhancing efficiency, to leveling the playing field for non-native speakers, to enabling scientific discovery. Despite these breathtaking advancements, however, recent data from the Pew Research Center reveal that only 15% of adults surveyed were “more excited than concerned about the increasing use of AI in daily life,” with 46% expressing “an equal mix of concern and excitement.”

Policymakers also manifest concerns about AI, exemplified by the extent to which government actors are …

Racial Competence Among Human Resources Leaders: A Quantcrit Analysis, Steven D. Parker

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

No abstract provided.

What Is Working And How Do We Know? Examining The Literacy Curriculum In An Elementary School After Years Of Filling The Holes: A Qualitative Study In Improvement Science, Kimberly Graven

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Administrators and teachers are overwhelmed with initiatives and expectations that they are supposed to juggle on a daily basis. When a problem of practice is identified, how do they know what to do about it? In this study, an administrator and leadership team members of a small, rural elementary school use Improvement Science as a framework to tackle their problem of practice.

Fluency reading proficiency scores have been on a slow decline at South Falls CSD over the past five to six years. Educators have been attempting to identify the holes in the curriculum and “filling the gaps” with various …

What’S The Right Move? The Relation Between Relocating And Psychosocial Outcomes Among Latinx College Students, Lisa A. Lozano, Bianca T. Villalobos, Veronica Castro, Juventino Hernandez Rodriguez

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The study investigated the role of relocating on the mental health, psychosocial stress, and social support of 159 first- and second-year Latinx college students. Findings revealed students who relocated for college had significantly higher self-reported sense of campus belonging, and social support compared to students who did not relocate. Implications for college readiness organizations and universities with commuter populations are discussed. Future directions to enhance the understanding of Latinx students’ transitionary experiences are also reviewed.

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El estudio investigó la importancia de la reubicación en la salud mental, el estrés psicosocial y el apoyo social de 159 estudiantes universitarios Latinxs …

Assessing The Acceptability And Effectiveness Of A Novel Therapeutic Footwear In Reducing Foot Pain And Improving Function Among Older Adults: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial, M G Finco, Abderrahman Ouattas, Nesreen El-Refaei, Anmol Salim Momin, Mehrnaz Azarian, Bijan Najafi

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Introduction: Nearly, a quarter of older adults suffer from frequent foot pain, impacting their quality of life. While proper footwear can alleviate this, design issues often hinder regular use. This study evaluated novel therapeutic footwear, designed for aesthetics and custom fit, to reduce foot pain. We hypothesized that older adults would experience less foot pain and favor the new footwear over their own.

Methods: This 12-week crossover randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of OrthoFeet therapeutic footwear on reducing foot pain in older adults (n = 50, age = 65 ± 5, 18% male) with moderate to severe pain. Participants …

Education Equity: Music Theory Information Literacy At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi), Charles Roush, Katrina Roush, Norma Denae Dibrell

School of Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prospective Associations Of Psychedelic Treatment For Co-Occurring Alcohol Misuse And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among United States Special Operations Forces Veterans, Stacey B Armstrong, Yitong Xin, Nathan D Sepeda, Martín Polanco, Lynnette A Averill, Alan K Davis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This study evaluated prospective associations of ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT treatment for risky alcohol use and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among United States (US) Special Operations Forces Veterans (SOFV). Data were collected during standard clinical operations at pre-treatment and 1-month (1 m), 3-months (3 m), and 6-months (6 m) post-treatment in an ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT treatment program in Mexico. Of the 86 SOFV that completed treatment, 45 met criteria for risky alcohol use at pre-treatment (mean age = 44; male = 100%; White = 91%). There was a significant reduction in alcohol use from pre-treatment (M = 7.2, SD = …

Does Serum Uric Acid To Creatinine Ratio Predict Mortality Risk In Patients With Heart Failure, Xiaoqing Xi, Jinfeng Cai, Chen Zhang, Xuefei Wang

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have established a positive correlation between serum uric acid to creatinine (SUA/Cr) ratio and cardiovascular disease, but the relationship between SUA/Cr ratio and the prognosis of heart failure (HF) remains unknown. This study investigated the potential of SUA/Cr ratio as a prognostic predictor for patients with HF.

METHODS: This single-center prospective cohort study enrolled 2,122 patients with HF between March 2013 and June 2017. All patients were divided into 3 groups according to SUA/Cr ratio tertiles and were followed up with until December 31, 2022. The association between SUA/Cr ratio and the prognosis of HF was assessed …

Best Practices For Point Of Care Ultrasound: An Interdisciplinary Expert Consensus, Brandon Oto, Robert Baeten, Leon Chen, Puja Dalal, Ria Dancel, Steven Fox, Carl William Lange Iv, Cameron Baston, Paul Bornemann, Siddharth Dugar, Andrew Goldsmith, Meghan Kelly Herbst, James N Kirkpatrick, Abhilash Koratala, Michael J Lanspa, Viveta Lobo, Jason T Nomura, Aliaksei Pustavoitau, Mourad H Senussi, Vincent L Sorrell, Frances Mae West, Aarti Sarwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite the growing use of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in contemporary medical practice and the existence of clinical guidelines addressing its specific applications, there remains a lack of standardization and agreement on optimal practices for several areas of POCUS use. The Society of Point of Care Ultrasound (SPOCUS) formed a working group in 2022 to establish a set of recommended best practices for POCUS, applicable to clinicians regardless of their training, specialty, resource setting, or scope of practice. Using a three-round modified Delphi process, a multi-disciplinary panel of 22 POCUS experts based in the United States reached consensus on …