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Annual Report 2024, Tennessee. Department Of General Services

Annual Reports

This annual report briefly describes the business units in General Services and financial transactions made during the fiscal year.

Assessing Depression, Anxiety, Stress, And Occupational Decision Regret Levels Among Resident Physicians Working At Ankara University Faculty Of Medicine Hospital, Emrah Emi̇ral, Bari̇s Örs, Nergi̇s Cantürk

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Physicians work under high stress levels due to factors such as excessive workload, emotional factors, and economic variables. This situation leads to various health problems such as depression, burnout, fatigue, and hopelessness, resulting in decreased interest in a medical career and an increase in career choice regret. Materials and methods: 300 volunteer resident physicians from Ankara University Medical Faculty Hospital participated in the study. The data for the research was collected using a survey form prepared by reviewing the literature. The survey consisted of three parts, which questioned the physicians' socio-demographic characteristics and professional choices, including the Depression, Anxiety, …

Association Of Gait Speed And Handgrip Strength With Falls In Older Adults: The Role Of Cognition, Nesli̇han Kayahan Satiş, Sultan Keski̇n Demi̇rcan, Mehmet İlki̇n Naharci

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Fall risk assessment is crucial for older adults because falls are associated with morbidity and mortality. This study investigated the relationship of gait speed (GS) and handgrip strength (HGS) with falls and assessed whether cognition mediates this causality.Materials and methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary referral geriatric outpatient clinic. The physical performance of participants was evaluated by GS and HGS. All falls the previous year were noted and factors associated with falls were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis.Results: A total of 1,018 older adults, with a mean age of 78.8 years (±7.2), of whom 64.2% were female, …

A Word From The Writing Team (January 2024), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Virtual Writing Retreats Return in February
• The OPWPC Canvas Page Offers Helpful Tools
• Academic Commons Will Host a Presentation on Refugee Health in Philadelphia
• Publication Spotlight
• The OPWPC Helps with Scholarly Communication and Publication
• Scott Memorial Library Renovations Continue
• Wiley Open Access Fees Waived for Jefferson Authors

Powerless Beings: Solitary Confinement Of Humans And Nonhumans In America, Michael B. Mushlin, David N. Cassuto

Nebraska Law Review

Every day, thousands of humans and millions of nonhumans endure solitary confinement. Human prisoners held in this way are confined for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day for weeks, months, or even years on end in cells the size of a parking space. For these humans, the experience is tortuous. Captive animals held in solitary confinement similarly spend much of their lives locked into tiny spaces, isolated, and deprived of the types of interactions and environment essential to their wellbeing. And, like humans, they are driven mad. In human and nonhuman settings, the agony of solitary is chillingly alike and …

Shared Housing As A Missing Middle Solution For Rural Communities, Alison Lintal

Nebraska Law Review

There is mounting pressure on municipalities to reform their zoning ordinances to eliminate “exclusive” single-family zoning. Advocates call for the inclusion of more multi-family housing within what have been exclusively single (white nuclear) family spaces. In particular, there is a need for “missing middle housing” which is a range of smaller multi-unit or duplex housing that is similar in scale to single-family homes. Twenty-eight percent of single-family homes are occupied by one person and generationally, Baby Boomers make up the largest portion of sole-person households. Deteriorating housing stock, high development costs, and lack of affordable options continues to hamper affordable …

Codifying Murphy’S Law: The Necessity Of A Statutory Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact (Imac) In Nebraska, Taylor Brown

Nebraska Law Review

There is an adage that states, “whatever that can go wrong will go wrong.” This idea leads emergency managers to develop ideas and programs which allow political entities to respond to and mitigate disasters. However, there will inevitably be situations where some loss is unavoidable. Ideally, lawyers are heavily involved before and throughout the response to improve these outcomes in a practice known as “litigation mitigation.”

Litigation mitigation has three goals: reduce exposure to legal claims, improve safety, and enhance property protection. One way to accomplish all three of these goals is to seek external assistance when a disaster is …

Negotiating Inherent Asymmetries Of Co-Design: A Case Of Integrative Elementary Mathematics And Computer Science Instruction, Victor R. Lee, Stephanie Robillard, Mimi Recker, Jody Clarke-Midura, Jessica Shumway

Publications

Collaborative design, or “co-design”, is a term that has gained popularity in educational research and design communities, including those working with K-12 educators. While more groups are identifying with and pursuing co-design, much remains to be understood about how to structure the work within given different constraints, circumstances, and resources available to different parties. We propose understanding co-design as having inherent asymmetries and that structuring co-design work patterns involves negotiation of those asymmetries. Through a case of an elementary computer science and math integration research-practice partnership, we share ways that those asymmetries are both intentionally softened and leveraged at different …

Using Student Experience Reports As A Window For Teacher Reflections On Inquiry Science Instructional Practices, Jessie Nixon, Mimi Recker

Publications

This paper examines how student experience reports, collected as exit tickets, can be leveraged during professional learning to support science teachers’ understanding of their students and inform future classroom practices. Our analysis frames exit ticket data as a boundary object, which bridges across researchers’, teachers’, and students’ perspectives of the learning environment. During two successive professional learning activities, teachers examined and reflected upon their students’ exit ticket data. A thematic analysis of teachers’ discourse during these activities distilled two themes. The first theme surfaced how exit data helped teachers form new views about their students’ emerging science identities; the second …

Critical Success Factors For Bi Systems Implementation And Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review, Badr Harfoush, Omar F. El-Gayar, Noura Mansoura

Research & Publications

Despite the widespread acquisition of business intelligence (BI) systems, their implementation has not always been successful. This study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) that impact the implementation of BI systems in organizations. The systematic literature review follows the guidelines of Kitchenham and Charter’s research that was published in 2007. A total of 93 articles published between 2011 and 2021 were analyzed for CSF related to BI systems implementation and delivery. The study identified 56 CSFs linked to organization empowerment & operations, 52 CSFs related to system implementation, and 28 CSFs associated with user enablement. The study found a paucity …

Factors Influencing Blockchain Implementation In Supply Chain Management: An Exploratory Pilot Study, Aravindh Sekar, Deb Tech, Patti Brooks, Cherie Noteboom

Research & Publications

This study presents findings from a pilot study investigating key factors influencing the successful implementation of blockchain technology in supply chain organizations. Based on data collected from five participants, the pilot study offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics surrounding blockchain implementation. Through semi-structured interviews and grounded theory analysis, the study identifies key factors such as user adoption and acceptance, data integrity and protection, organizational strategy, strategic leadership, training, change management, and a supportive ecosystem. The findings highlight the multifaceted nature of blockchain implementation challenges and underscore the importance of comprehensive strategies for fostering user acceptance, aligning organizational goals, and …

Factors Affecting Users’ Satisfaction With Telehealth Apps: Analysis Of User Reviews Using Bert, Abdullah Wahbeh, Tyler Howes, Omar F. El-Gayar, Raed Seetan, Mohammad Al-Ramahi

Research & Publications

Telehealth mobile apps and telehealth services are increasingly used by patients, particularly, post-COVID-19.This study examines factors related to users’ satisfaction with these apps and services by analyzing reviews from actual telehealth app users. A total of 53,209 reviews were collected from nine telehealth apps on the Google Play store. Using BERT embeddings, UMAP, and HDBSCAN, topics were generated and labeled to identify these factors. Results showed that telehealth app users expressed several factors related to satisfaction with telehealth apps, which could impact the acceptability and adoption of such apps. These include usability (ease of use), usefulness, convenience and efficiency, cost …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Interpretability Of Lda And Llm For Topic Modeling: The Case Of Healthcare Apps, Omar El-Gayar, Mohammad Al-Ramahi, Abdullah Wahbeh, Tareq Nasralah, Ahmed Elnoshokaty

Research & Publications

This study compares the interpretability of the topics resulting from three topic modeling techniques, namely, LDA, BERTopic, and RoBERTa. Using a case study of three healthcare apps (MyChart, Replika, and Teladoc), we collected 39,999, 52,255, and 27,462 reviews from each app, respectively. Topics were generated for each app using the three topic models and labels were assigned to the resulting topics. Comparative qualitative analysis showed that BERTopic, RoBERTa, and LDA have relatively similar performance in terms of the final list of resulting topics concerning human interpretability. The LDA topic model achieved the highest rate of assigning labels to topics, but …

Political Economy Analysis Of The Dissemination And Use Of Seasonal Weather Forecasts And Services In Zimbabwe, Joseph Manzvera, Kwabena Asomanin Anaman

All Grantees Publications

Weather and climate services are essential tools that help farmers make informed choices, such as choosing appropriate crop varieties. These services depend considerably on the availability of adequate investments in infrastructure related to weather forecasting, which are often provided by the State in most countries. Zimbabwean farmers generally have limited access to modern weather and climate services. While extensive attempts have been made to investigate farmers’ socioeconomic factors that influence access to and use of weather and climate services, comparative political economy analysis of weather and climate service production and use is limited. To address this knowledge gap, this study …

The Authors Acknowledge The Contributions Of The Extension Agents In Each Of The Six Southwest States In Nigeria, Who Provided Links Between Our Survey Team And The Farmers During Data Collection., Obed Appiah, Kwame Oppong Hackman, Belko Abdoul Aziz Diallo, Kehinde O. Ogunjobi, Son Diakalia, Ouedraogo Valentin, Damoue Abdoul-Karim, Gaston Dabire

All Grantees Publications

This study presents PlanteSaine, a novel mobile application powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) models explicitly designed for maize, tomato, and onion farmers in Burkina Faso. Agriculture in Burkina Faso, like many developing nations, faces substantial challenges from plant pests and diseases, posing threats to both food security and economic stability. PlanteSaine addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive solution that provides farmers with real-time identification of pests and diseases. Farmers capture images of affected plants with their smartphones, and PlanteSaine’s AI system analyzes these images to provide accurate diagnoses. The application’s offline functionality ensures accessibility even in remote areas with …

Rwandan Farmers’ Perceptions Of The Acoustic Environment And The Potential For Acoustic Monitoring, Destiny Kwabla Amenyedzi, Micheline Kazeneza, Frederic Nzanywayingoma, Philibert Nsengiyumva

All Grantees Publications

Monitoring the farm acoustic environment can provide important information about processes affecting crop production. This paper assesses farmers’ knowledge and attitudes toward acoustic technology for farm monitoring in Rwanda. Stratified random sampling was used to select 430 farmers from 3 sectors. Demographic, farm, and technical knowledge data were collected from farmers with a survey. Cross-tabulation results show farmers with secondary and university education are more interested in acoustic technology than those with a primary education and farmers engaged in commercial farming are more interested in technology for monitoring acoustic sources than subsistence farmers. However, nearly all farmers are willing to …

Evaluation Of The Awareness Of Electromagnetic Compatibility And Interference For Improved Medical Device Management Observed In Selected Rwanda District Hospitals, Chiedza Hwata Mtecha, Omar Gatera, Omar Gatera,, Ritsch Nicola, Therese Meng, Rushingabigwi Gerard, Twizere Celestin, Mukalinyigira Didacienne, Thomas Bolaji, Nsengiyera Daniel

All Grantees Publications

Accuracy and reliability of medical device measurements are essential for high-quality healthcare delivery. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is 1 of the conditions that can be monitored when managing electronic and wireless medical devices in hospitals. Noncompliance with EMC can lead to electromagnetic interference (EMI), risking catastrophic failures, especially in vital sign devices such as defibrillators and pacemakers, and potentially irreversible harm to patients’ health. This study assessed the knowledge of biomedical engineers and technicians regarding EMC and EMI in hospital devices and their effects. It also examines how hospitals manage biomedical equipment and the frequency of wireless communication usage. This study …

System Design For A Prototype Acoustic Network To Deter Avian Pests In Agriculture Fields, Destiny Kwabla Amenyedzi, Micheline Kazeneza, Ipyana Issah Mwaisekwa, Frederic Nzanywayingoma, Philibert Nsengiyumva, Peace Bamurigire, Emmanuel Ndashimye, Anthony Vodacek

All Grantees Publications

Crop damage attributed to pest birds is an important problem, particularly in low-income countries. This paper describes a prototype system for pest bird detection using a Conv1D neural network model followed by scaring actions to reduce the presence of pest birds on farms. Acoustic recorders were deployed on farms for data collection, supplemented by acoustic libraries. The sounds of pest bird species were identified and labeled. The labeled data were used in Edge Impulse to train a tinyML Conv1D model to detect birds of interest. The model was deployed on Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense (nodes) and XIAO (Base station) …

Regulation By (Bad) Proxy: How Selective Application Of Transaction Cost Economics Tainted The Ftc's Proposed Ban Of Employee Noncompete Agreements, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

Agencies have imperfect information about conduct they regulate. This problem is particularly acute when identical conduct has differing effects in various markets. Determining the economy-wide impact of such conduct can be difficult or impossible.

The FTC faces such a challenge. The Commission has announced a rule banning the nation’s 30 million employee noncompete agreements (“NCAs”) as unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The Commission determined that NCAs likely reduce aggregate wages, helping to establish a presumptive violation. The Commission also found that nearly all NCAs are both procedurally coercive—because employers use overwhelming bargaining power to …

Book-And-Claim System For Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Christine Kranich, Sarah J. Haas

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

This Article provides an overview of the regulatory (legal) framework in which the decarbonisation of aviation is embedded, with a focus on European law. The Article further provides updates on EU-ETS, CORISA, RED III and the minimum quota of SAF supply in accordance with Refuel EU Aviation up to October 2023. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) will be described in detail in this Article, and it is further explained that the use of SAF could significantly contribute to aviation becoming “greener”. As the availability of SAF is still rather scarce, the Article revolves around a mechanism of a global book-and-claim system …

Space ‘Tourism’: A Framework For Ensuring ‘Safe And Orderly Development’ Lessons Learnt From The U.S. And Aviation, Sarah J. Fox

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

In August 2023, following its successful mission, Virgin Galactic announced the intention to provide scheduled services into space. Yet, this paper sets out to present evidence to argue that, from an international (U.N.) perspective, there has been a lack of activity to establish safeguards and to ensure a fit for purpose governance and oversight mechanism is in place for this new and growing sector—space tourism. The research is undertaken by way of a comparison law/policy analysis which factors in key historic events across both aviation and space. The main focus is given to the developments and approach of …

In Abundance An Analysis Of The Thriving Landscape Of Collective Giving In The U.S., Dorothy A. Johnson Center For Philanthropy At Grand Valley State University, Philanthropy Together, Adriana Loson-Ceballos, Michael D. Layton

Research, Reports, and Publications

Philanthropy today faces many critical and complex challenges that are both uniquely urgent for our sector and grounded in wider forces beyond our control. Within this dynamic context, collective giving — a tradition observed across cultures worldwide and grounded in the ethos of community agency — has emerged as a growing force in U.S. philanthropy.

Non-Fungible Tokens (Nfts) And Copyright Law, Ochoa, Tyler T.

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

The concept of using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to facilitate and authenticate sales of digital art dates back to 2014; but it took several years before the concept really captured public attention. Since copyright law governs the reproduction of works of art, including digital images, the connection to NFTs seems obvious. Yet, copyright law is only tangentially related to NFTs, for two reasons. First, buying an NFT does not, by itself, convey any rights to reproduce or display the work associated with that token. Instead, those rights are governed entirely by the contract that accompanies the sale. Second, minting and selling …

In Event Of An (Ai) Emergency: Interpreting Continuity Of Government Provisions In State Constitutions, Frazier, Kevin T.

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

“Of this I am certain: If we prepare ourselves so that a terrible attack—although it might hurt us—could not destroy us, then such an attack will never come.” - Edward Teller, the “Father of the Hydrogen Bomb,” in an interview with Allen Brown of This Week Magazine in 1957.

Bad actors have already used or may soon use AI to disrupt critical infrastructure, influence elections, and upend economies. Those most concerned about the risks posed by AI argue that it is a matter of when and not if state governments will have to respond to threatened or realized acts of …

Did I Buy The Right Gadget? A Methodological Replication Study, Paul A. Weisgarber, Joseph S. Valacich, Jeffrey L. Jenkins

Faculty Publications

This study is a methodological replication of Valacich et al.’s (2018) experiment, which investigated the evaluability hypothesis in the context of technology product assessment. The evaluability hypothesis suggests that the evaluation context significantly influences how users assess and perceive technology features. More specifically, it posits that the perception of technology features, as well as the ultimate selection of a technology product, is likely to differ depending on whether a single technology is evaluated in isolation or multiple technologies are evaluated simultaneously. Our replication study consisted of 310 participants who evaluated two wireless internet products with two product features – connection …

New Family Law Statutes In 2023: Selected State Legislation, Family Law Quarterly 2023–24 Editors, New York Law School

Redefining Family Law: State Legislative Updates

This article provides summaries and context for 31 changes to family law that were enacted in 2023 by legislatures in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The topics include (1) Child Custody and Visitation, (2) Nonparent Custody and Visitation, (3) Children’s Representation, (4) Child Welfare, (5) Child Support, (6) Domestic Violence, (7) Companion Animals, (8) Age of Marriage, and (9) Other Topics. More specifically, the topics of the laws featured in this article include (among others) presumptions of 50-50 parenting time; virtual visitation; enhancement of children’s voices in child protective proceedings; pets and property division; and strengthened domestic violence …

Alterity As A Mirror Of Identity: Primo Levi’S Self Representation In Other People’S Trades, Ilona Klein

Faculty Publications

Primo Levi reveals much about himself in the fifty-one short essays of L’altrui mestiere (Other People’s Trades). This study analyzes L’altrui mestiere as the awareness of the “self” through the observation of “otherness” — other people, but also other living beings which are not human (mammalian animals and insects), others as minerals, and others as hypotheses, theories, writings, microcosmic or macrocosmic conceptions that Levi uses to weave a discourse of “alterity” as a mirror of “identity.” L’altrui mestiere’s narrative pattern revolves around contrasts and comparisons between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the canny and the uncanny, the …

Gvsu Undergraduate And Graduate Catalog, 2024-2025, Grand Valley State University

Course Catalogs, 1963 - Current

Grand Valley State University 2024-2025 undergraduate and graduate course catalog. Course catalogs are published annually to provide students with information and guidance for enrollment.

Unjust And Unsafe: The Eviction Experiences Of Latine Immigrant And Farmworker Tenants In Oregon, Natalie J. Cholula, Lisa K. Bates, Alex Farrington, Marisa Zapata, Jacen Greene, Azad Amir-Ghassemi, Colleen Carroll

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Latine immigrant households often face housing instability due to language barriers, immigration status, and limited access to government resources. Oregon farmworkers experience additional obstacles to safe and stable housing caused by low wages, a lack of affordable housing options, and social isolation. In light of the identified needs and lack of equitable access to resources that this group experiences, the Evicted in Oregon research team conducted focus groups with Latine immigrant and farmworker tenants in Multnomah, Washington, and Marion Counties. The aim was to gain insight into their experiences with eviction and understand how they navigated through evictions during the …

The Next Generation, Jeremiah Chin

Articles

What would the law look like if we let children remake it? Laws govern, classify, and circumscribe children who inherit the law and its consequences. Discourses of power invoke children as rhetorical strategies to gain political favor or obviate a position—yet children are uncritically excluded from participating in the systems that control them. Children are subjected to the laws and objects of legislation, but denied the rights, autonomy, or authority to participate in the making of law and policy. Even the conceptualization of the constitutional rights of children is treated as an assumption, ill-defined and under theorized by traditional legal …