Digital Commons Network^™

The Psychological Constructs Of International Graduate Students Transitioning To A University In America: A Thematic Analysis, Umadevi Ramesh

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation employed a qualitative analysis methodology to explore the experiences of first-time international graduate students during their transition to university, focusing on initial adjustment, perceived support, perceived discrimination, and mental well-being. Previous studies about international student experience have mainly focused on undergraduate students. Furthermore, few have examined the initial transition period to university and factors involved in both positively and negatively impacting students’ adjustment process as well as overall psychological well-being. Nine participants qualified for inclusion in the present study and participated in semi-structured interviews, which the researcher analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. Participants expressed a strong need …

Adaptations To Family-Based Treatment For Medicaid-Insured Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa, Renee Borges

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading intervention for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN), however it is under researched in socioeconomically disadvantaged and racially diverse youth.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were completed with ten FBT clinicians who practice in publicly-funded settings. Interview questions were focused on implementation challenges, overall acceptability and appropriateness of FBT, and naturally-occurring treatment adaptations.

Results: Content analysis revealed common themes relating to the implementation of FBT in publicly-funded, community-based settings: acceptability and appropriateness, complexity and learnability, perceived core components of FBT, cultural adaptations, socioeconomic factors, logistical considerations, organizational and systemic barriers, training acceptability, participant’s self-efficacy, and telehealth …

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, And Access Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2025, April Anderson-Zorn, Emily Baldoni, Karmine Beecroft, Chad E. Buckley, Susan Franzen, Tom Hardy, Ellie Harman, Laura Killingsworth, Heather Koopmans, Maddi Loiselle, Joshua Newport, Ryan Peters, Seth Peterson, Lindsey Skaggs, Caitlin Stewart, Maria Tudela, Eric Willey, Angela Yon

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

Report of Milner Library's activities and initiatives related to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in Fiscal Year 2025. Compiled by the IDEA Committee.

Computed Tomography Radiomics-Based Cross-Sectional Detection Of Mandibular Osteoradionecrosis In Head And Neck Cancer Survivors, Serageldin Kamel, Laia Humbert-Vidan, Zaphanlene Kaffey, Sarah Mirbahaeddin, Abdulrahman Abusaif, David T A Fuentes, Kareem Wahid, Cem Dede, Mohamed A Naser, Renjie He, Ahmed W Moawad, Khaled M Elsayes, Melissa M Chen, Adegbenga O Otun, Jillian Rigert, Mark S Chambers, Andrew Hope, Erin Watson, Kristy K Brock, Katherine Hutcheson, Lisanne Van Dijk, Amy C Moreno, Stephen Y Lai, Clifton D Fuller, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Md Anderson Head And Neck Cancer Symptom Working Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: This study aims to identify radiomic features from contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) scans that differentiate osteoradionecrosis (ORN) from normal mandibular bone in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with radiotherapy (RT).

Materials and methods: CECT images from 150 patients with confirmed ORN diagnosis (2008-2018) at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) were analyzed (80 % train, 20 % test). Radiomic features were extracted using PyRadiomics from manually segmented ORN regions and automated contralateral healthy mandible regions. Correlation analysis (r > 0.95) reduced features for model training. A random Forest (RF) classifier with Recursive Feature Elimination identified discriminative features. Explainability was assessed …

Language Barriers In Accessing Healthcare Services For Refugees In The United States, Sadaf Khuram

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

Accessing healthcare is a pivotal aspect of refugees' integration into their host countries and significantly impacts their long-term health outcomes. The literature emphasizes the critical role of language proficiency in overcoming communication barriers within healthcare settings. This thesis, however, challenges the assumption that addressing language barriers alone is universally sufficient. It argues that the importance of language solutions is context-dependent, varying with the design of healthcare systems and the diverse needs and backgrounds of refugees. In some cases, focusing primarily on language barriers can divert resources from other critical areas, particularly when healthcare facilities have limited capacities or when services …

Service With A Smile Or Salesperson Mirroring? Understanding The Flow Of Emotional Contagion In Sales Encounters, Vinh Quoc Trong Luong

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This study examines the directionality of emotional contagion in sales interactions, addressing a critical gap in understanding whether emotions flow primarily from the salesperson to the customer, from the customer to the salesperson, or bidirectionally. While prior research emphasizes customer-driven emotional flow or bidirectional alignment, this study challenges these assumptions by employing categorical Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQA) to assess temporal emotional synchronization in sales dialogues. Leveraging automated sentiment analysis and multi-agent AI evaluation for performance metrics, the research analyzes 166 sales interactions to quantify emotional influence dynamics. Results reveal that salespeople predominantly lead emotional exchanges, exhibiting stronger and more stable …

Nanotechnology For Immuno-Oncology, Adam J Grippin, Daeyong Lee, Eileen E Parkes, Wen Jiang, Betty Y S Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although the first generation of cancer immunotherapeutics produced unprecedented improvements in clinical outcomes for individuals with cancer, novel strategies to increase treatment specificity, delivery efficiency and pharmacokinetics are still needed. In this Review, we describe the potential advantages and current limitations of nanomaterials for cancer immunotherapy and highlight rational uses of nanosystems to generate potent and durable antitumor immune responses. We close with a review of the current state of clinical development of nanomedicine for cancer immunotherapy.

Formation Control Between Leader And Migratory Follower Tissues Allows Coordinated Growth, Toru Kawanishi, Takamichi Sushida, Tony Y-C Tsai, Hiroyuki Takeda, Sean G Megason

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Coordinated growth of multiple tissues is fundamental to shaping our body, but the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. In zebrafish embryos, midline tissues composed of the notochord, floorplate, and hypochord elongate synchronously with their lengths aligned. We show that floorplate and hypochord cells collectively migrate posteriorly along the nascent notochord extracellular matrix as it extends posteriorly, maintaining the tripartite configuration. Fibroblast growth factor-mediated migration in a spatially graded manner causes cell stretching, which triggers Yap-dependent proliferation and controls floorplate and hypochord growth. Supported by mathematical modeling, we further suggest that their growth is fine-tuned by mechanical tethering to the notochord via …

A Measurement Science Framework To Optimize Cds For Opioid Use Disorder Treatment In The Ed, Mark S. Iscoe, Carolina Diniz Hooper, Deborah R. Levy, John Lutz, Hyung Paek, Christian Rose, Thomas Kannampallil, Daniella Meeker, James D. Dziura, Edward R. Melnick

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In the emergency department-initiated buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (EMBED) trial, a clinical decision support (CDS) tool had no effect on rates of buprenorphine initiation in emergency department (ED) patients with opioid use disorder. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released a CDS Performance Measure Inventory to guide data-driven CDS development and evaluation. Through partner co-design, we tailored AHRQ inventory measures to evaluate EMBED CDS performance and drive improvements.Relevant AHRQ inventory measures were selected and adapted using a partner co-design approach grounded in consensus methodology, with three iterative, multidisciplinary partner working group sessions involving stakeholders from various …

Mitophagy’S Impacts On Cancer And Neurodegenerative Diseases: Implications For Future Therapies, Jason Huang, Vincent Truong Pham, Shaozi Fu, Gang Huang, Ya-Guang Liu, Lei Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Substantial evidence supports an inverse relationship between cancer and neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), but few studies investigate the biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. While previous explanations-such as inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), genetic mutations, and cell death-remain significant, they ultimately converge on mitophagy. This review identifies mitophagy as a pivotal factor in the development of both cancer and NDDs, while also evaluating specific mechanisms and processes to clarify how mitophagy connects these opposing disease trajectories. By examining these factors, we aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms that explain the inverse relationship between cancer and NDDs, which will help develop therapeutic strategies …

Advancing File System Model Checking: Coverage, Framework, And Scalability, Yifei Liu

Electronic Dissertations and Theses, 2010-current

File systems serve as the foundation for data storage and access, making their reliability crucial to maintaining system correctness and data integrity. However, building robust file systems remains a significant challenge. Despite numerous testing and verification techniques, file system bugs continue to emerge. To detect file system bugs and improve reliability, we tackle three key aspects: new coverage metrics for testing, a novel model checking approach, and enhanced scalability for file system verification. We begin by introducing input and output coverage (IOCov) as metrics for evaluating and improving file system testing, along with IOCov to compute them. We integrated IOCov …

Formation Of Inclusive Competence Of Future Special Education Teachers, Gulbanu Ashimkhanova, Akbota Autaeva, Anar Rakhmetova, Gulmira Tussupbekova, Kanat Sadykov

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study aims to explore the phenomenon of inclusive competence as an integral trait of today’s educators.

Methods: The scientific research involved surveying students from pedagogical universities as well as using methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization, systematization, comparison, and classification.

Results: The concept of inclusive competence is understood as the degree of skills and knowledge required to fulfil pedagogical responsibilities within an inclusive educational environment. Key elements of inclusive competence, such as cognitive, motivational, reflexive, and operational components, have been identified and have the following functions:

• · Cognitive elements enable teachers to develop a comprehensive understanding of pedagogical …

Associative Coding Of Conditioned Fear In The Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens In Rodents And Humans, Tuğçe Tuna, Michael S Totty, Muhammad Badarnee, Flávio Afonso Gonçalves Mourão, Shaun Peters, Mohammad R Milad, Stephen Maren

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The nucleus reuniens (RE) is a midline thalamic structure interconnecting the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (HPC). Recent work in both rodents and humans implicates the RE in the adaptive regulation of emotional memories, including the suppression of learned fear. However, the neural correlates of aversive learning in the RE of rodents and humans remain unclear. To address this, we recorded RE activity in humans (BOLD fMRI) and rats (fiber photometry) during Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction. In both rats and humans, we found that conditioned stimulus (CS)-evoked activity in RE reflects the associative value of the CS. …

2-Adic Quantum Mechanics, Continuous-Time Quantum Walks, And The Space Discreteness, Wilson A. Zuniga-Galindo

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

The authors show that a large class of 2-adic Schrödinger equations is the scaling limit of certain continuous-time quantum Markov chains (CTQMCs). Practically, a discretization of such an equation gives a CTQMC. As a practical result, new types of continuous-time quantum walks (CTQWs) on graphs using two symmetric matrices are constructed. The transport between nodes in one direction is described by one matrix, while the transport between nodes in the opposite direction. This construction includes, as a particular case, the CTQWs constructed using adjacency matrices. The final goal of this work is to contribute to the understanding of the foundations …

Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of ¡Iniciando! La Adultez: A Culturally Tailored Intervention For Transitioning Latino Young Adults With Autism, Antonio F. Pagán, Ana Esparza, Ana C. Ramirez, Miriam Ortiz, Linda Hernandez, Mary Beth Morgan, Geohanna Noel, Alejandro L. Pagán, Jada Salas, Cecilia Montiel-Nava

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

This Phase 1 clinical trial evaluated ¡Iniciando! la Adultez, a culturally adapted intervention for Latino autistic young adults (n = 56) and their parents (n = 63). Young adults showed significant post-treatment improvements on measures of social responsiveness (SRS-2), adaptive behavior (ABAS-3), executive functioning (BRIEF-A), quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), transition readiness (TRS-A), coping self-efficacy (CSES), and emotion regulation (DERS-SF). Parents reported significant improvements in their perceptions of their child’s social responsiveness, adaptive behavior, and executive functioning, as well as increased transition readiness ratings. Notably, parents evinced a significant decrease in acculturative stress (RASI) and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), however, …

Enhancing Microgrid Protection Through Adaptive Decentralized Relay Coordination: A Solution To Blinding And Sympathetic Tripping, Sujatha Balasubramanian, J. Preetha Roselyn, Prabha Sundaravadivel

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Integrating Distributed Energy Resources into microgrids modifies the network’s system parameters and causes it to exhibit behaviour, particularly during fault conditions. This is due to the greater variations in current direction and magnitude. When a microgrid runs in autonomous mode, Distributed Generators result in a reduced short circuit current compared to a system working in grid-connected mode. Microgrid protection issues, namely, blinding of protection, sympathetic tripping, and bidirectional power flow, occur in the power network under such circumstances. The impact of microgrid protection issues and changes in fault current leads to variations of overcurrent relay settings, their operating time and …

Heat-Pipe-Based Thermal Management System Design For A 250-Kw Gan-Based Integrated Modular Motor Drive, Seyed Iman Hosseini Sabzevari, Salar Koushan, Armin Ebrahimian, Towhid Islam Chowdhury, Nathan Weise, Ayman El-Refaie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Integrated modular motor drive (IMMD) is an effective approach for realizing high-efficiency, high-power-density, and fault-tolerant electric machines. However, designing an efficient thermal management system (TMS) for the motor drive becomes a challenge, particularly due to space constraints. This article presents the design of a TMS based on 3-mm heat pipes for a 250-kW IMMD intended for aviation applications. The power electronics module is simulated using PLECS software where an electrothermal analysis is conducted. A simplified thermal resistance model of the system is developed to estimate the die junction temperature of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. The performance of the proposed TMS …

Behaviour Change Design For Reducing Plastic Usage By Perceived Similarity Nudge, Quentin Ehkirch, Ferdi Raharja, Udari Samaranayake, Ken Ichi Sawai, Akane Matsumae

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study explores the influence of perceived similarity on pro-environmental behavior, focusing on plastic reduction. Participants' daily plastic use and reduction were tracked over 30 days via online chat software, with controlled nudges from an agent. Each group included two examinees and one agent. Behavioral data were analyzed to evaluate predictability from various perspectives and its relationship with behavioral change. Results showed significant differences in predictability based on perceived similarity, particularly during the first 10 days. Furthermore, nudges, consumption levels, and behavioral changes significantly affected predictability within the first 20 days. These findings contribute to understanding how perceived similarity can …

The Silent Grief Of Grandmothers After An Out-Of-Order Death—An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Jordan Robertson, Elizabeth Cutrer, Paul Caldarella, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Terrell Young, Erjola Gjini, Sarah Stuart, Savannah Tueller

Faculty Publications

This study delves into the lived experiences of grandmothers grappling with grief following the “out-of-order” death of a child, child-in-law, or grandchild, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis grounded in the Dual Process Model-Revised. With 70% of U.S. adults over 65 being grandparents, the research highlights their often-invisible role as both grievers and caregivers amid family loss. Findings reveal three key themes: navigating personal grief, intergenerational support dynamics, and reconstructing family identity. Grandmothers oscillate between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping, with grief intensity varying by relational proximity—most profound when losing their own child. They provide emotional and practical support to surviving grandchildren, …

Implementation Of Link Workers In Primary Care: Synopsis Of Findings From A Realist Evaluation, Stephanie Tierney, Geoff Wong, Debra Westlake, Amadea Turk, Steven Markham, Jordan Gorenberg, Joanne Reeve, Caroline Mitchell, Kerryn Husk, Sabi Redwood, Tony Meacock, Catherine Pope, Beccy Baird, Kamal R. Mahtani

Peninsula Medical School

Background: Social prescribing link workers formed part of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme introduced into primary care in England from 2019. Link workers assist patients experiencing issues affecting their health and well-being that are 'non-medical' (e.g. lack of social connections, financial difficulties and housing problems). They give patients space to consider these non-medical issues and, when relevant, connect them to support, often within the voluntary-community-social-enterprise sector. We conducted an earlier realist review on the link worker role in primary care. We then carried out a realist evaluation, described in this report, to address the question: When implementing link workers in …

Digital Twins, Ai, And Cybersecurity In Additive Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Review Of Current Trends And Challenges, Md Sazol Ahmmed, Laraib Khan, Muhammad Arif Mahmood, Frank Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The development of Industry 4.0 has accelerated the adoption of sophisticated technologies, including Digital Twins (DTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity, within Additive Manufacturing (AM). Enabling real-time monitoring, process optimization, predictive maintenance, and secure data management can redefine conventional manufacturing paradigms. Although their individual importance is increasing, a consistent understanding of how these technologies interact and collectively improve AM procedures is lacking. Focusing on the integration of digital twins (DTs), modular AI, and cybersecurity in AM, this review presents a comprehensive analysis of over 137 research publications from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. The publications are categorized …

Assessing The Robustness Of Test Selection Methods For Deep Neural Networks, Qiang Hu, Yuejun Guo, Xiaofei Xie, Maxime Cordy, Wei Ma, Mike Papadakis, Lei Ma, Yves Le Traon

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Regularly testing deep learning-powered systems on newly collected data is critical to ensure their reliability, robustness, and efficacy in real-world applications. This process is demanding due to the significant time and human effort required for labeling new data. While test selection methods alleviate manual labor by labeling and evaluating only a subset of data while meeting testing criteria, we observe that such methods with reported promising results are simply evaluated, e.g., testing on original test data. The question arises: are they always reliable? In this article, we explore when and to what extent test selection methods fail. First, we identify …

Ai-Assisted Triage And Decision Support Of Head And Neck Cancer Screening And Diagnosis In Low-Resourced Settings, Min Hun Lee, Sean Shao Wei Lam, Shaun Xin Hong Liew, Michael Dorosan, Nicholas Graves, Jonas Karlström, Hiang Khoon Tan, Walter Tsong Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The mortality burden of head and neck cancer (HNC) is increasing globally and disproportionately affects people in low-and middle-income countries with limited medical workforce. To address this issue, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are increasingly being explored to process medical imaging data, demonstrating competitive performance. However, the clinical adoption of AI remains challenging as clinicians struggle to understand how complex AI works and trust it to use in practice. In addition, AI may not perform well on varying data qualities of endoscopy videos for HNC screening and diagnosis from multiple sites.In this project, our international and interdisciplinary team will collaborate with …

Advancing Molecular Graph-Text Pre-Training Via Fine-Grained Alignment, Yibo Li, Yuan Fang, Mengmei Zhang, Chuan Shi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Understanding molecular structure and related knowledge is crucialfor scientific research. Recent studies integrate molecular graphswith their textual descriptions to enhance molecular representationlearning. However, they focus on the whole molecular graph andneglect frequently occurring subgraphs, known as motifs, whichare essential for determining molecular properties. Without suchfine-grained knowledge, these models struggle to generalize to un-seen molecules and tasks that require motif-level insights. To bridgethis gap, we propose FineMolTex, a novel Fine-grained Moleculargraph-Text pre-training framework to jointly learn coarse-grainedmolecule-level knowledge and fine-grained motif-level knowledge.Specifically, FineMolTex consists of two pre-training tasks: a con-trastive alignment task for coarse-grained matching and a maskedmulti-modal modeling task for …

Sifar: A Simple Faster Accelerated Variance‑Reduced Gradient Method, Zhize Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we propose a simple faster accelerated gradient method called SIFAR for solving the finite-sum optimization problems. Concretely, we consider both general convex and strongly convex settings: i) For general convex finite-sum problems, SIFAR improves previous state-of-the-art result given by Varag. In particular, for large-scale problems or the convergence error is not very small, SIFAR obtains the first optimal result O(n), matching the lower bound. ii) For strongly convex finite-sum problems, we also show that SIFAR can achieve the optimal convergence rate matching the lower bound. Besides, SIFAR enjoys a simpler loopless algorithmic structure while previous algorithms use …

Funds Of Knowledge And The Transition To School: A Scoping Review, Amelia Ruscoe, Leanne Lavina, Lennie Barblett, Fiona Boylan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Children's funds of knowledge (FoK) were recognised in the initial iteration of the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) in 2009, the mandated framework for educator decision-making, and their significance was further emphasised in EYLF 2.0 in 2022. However, a unified understanding of children as knowledgeable individuals and how to effectively incorporate their diverse knowledges into early childhood education is still evolving. Recent evidence highlights the link between engaging with children's FoK and supporting successful transitions to formal schooling. Given that childhood is experienced differently across cultures and contexts, achieving consensus on the nature and value of FoK remains a …

Changing The Perceived Pain Intensity In Populations With Spinal Cord Injury And With Health Disparities (Happiness): Protocol For A Feasibility Study, Ann Van De Winckel, Lin Zhang, Leslie R. Morse, Brianna Woodliff, Gladys Maestre, Kelsey Baker

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Chronic neuropathic pain affects 69% of adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Medication, as a primary treatment, has insufficient benefits and significant risks for addiction and adverse effects. Of the available mind and body approaches, Qigong is the most accessible for adults with SCI, with evidence for effectiveness in reducing pain. Still, there is insufficient evidence to make recommendations for adults with SCI. Thus, the feasibility of Qigong in SCI needs to be established. We previously demonstrated feasibility in a pilot study, in which 18 non-Hispanic White adults with SCI completed a 12-week remote Qigong program. However, three additional …

Does Teach Lead To More Teachers? Evaluating The Effects Of The Federal Teach Program, Daniel Sparks

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teachers are critical to education production. Yet, recruiting and retaining teachers has remained challenging, particularly in high need fields, at schools serving a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, and from racially diverse backgrounds. To incentivize enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to support teacher candidates through degree completion, the federal government implemented the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant in 2008. The TEACH Grant offers undergraduate and graduate students up to $16,000 and $8,000 in grant aid, respectively, to pursue degrees in high need teaching fields. I use difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effects …

Short: Breaking The Charge: Exploiting State Manipulation In Ev Charging, Ce Zhou, Qiben Yan, Zhiyuan Yu, Eshan Dixit, Ning Zhang, Huacheng Zeng, Alireza Safdari Ghanhdari

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become one of the promising solutions to the ever-evolving environmental and energy crisis. The key to the wide adoption of EVs is a pervasive charging infrastructure, composed of both private/home chargers and public/commercial charging stations. However, the security of electric vehicle charging has not been thoroughly investigated. This paper investigates the communication mechanisms between the chargers and EVs and exposes the lack of protection for the authenticity in the SAE J1772 charging control protocol. To showcase our discoveries, we propose a new class of attacks, ChargeX, which aims to manipulate the charging states of EV chargers …

Teaching Transactional Skills And Lawyering Values To First-Year Students Through An Affordable-Housing Deal, Laura E. D'Amato

Faculty Scholarship

With the anticipated launch of the NextGen bar exam next year, transactional lawyering skills are enjoying increased attention in first-year law school curricular development. At the same time, recent amendments to ABA Rule 303 have made it essential for new law students to learn about the profession’s core values and responsibilities. While these evolving priorities open the door to pedagogical innovation, incorporating two distinct topics into an already packed curriculum can be challenging. This article explores how a simulated affordable-housing financing deal has served as a cohesive foundation for introducing first-year students to transactional skills and core professional values.