Digital Commons Network^™

Communication Enhancement Strategies To Mitigate Functional Siloes In Head Start Programs, Maryom G. Mccloud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inefficient internal communication between program and financial operations may negatively affect organizational performance and profitability. Some Head Start Program (HSP) leaders are concerned with communication failures because of the potential to negatively impact business productivity and profitability. Grounded in business process re-engineering, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies used by HSP leaders to increase communications between program and financial operations to increase profitability. The participants were four HSP leaders located in the Northern Region of the United States, who successfully implemented such strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents. Through thematic …

Transgenerational Imprints Of Sequential Herbivory Onsoybean Physiology And Fitness Traits, Insha Shaft, Rupesh Kariyat

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sequential herbivory leads to a multitude of effects on plants, influencing processes like growth, physiology, defense, and fitness. However, whether the sequential herbivore attack can elicit any transgenerational consequences is poorly examined. In this study, we show evidence of transgenerational impacts of sequential herbivory by two chewing herbivores, fall armyworm (Spodopterafrugiperda , FAW) and soybean looper (Chrysodeixis includens , SL) on soybean (Glycine max ) progeny. Seeds from the parents subjected to different herbivore sequences (SL-FAW: initial attack by SL followed by FAW and FAW-SL: FAW followed by SL) were used for the transgenerational experiment. Our main hypothesis was that …

An Action Research Study On Ai Video Vs. Written Feedback: Enhancing Undergraduate Academic Writing And Critical Thinking, Sandra Baroudi, Nida Mubeen, Suha Karaki

All Works

This action research explores how AI-assisted feedback formats influence students’ academic writing and critical thinking, a gap particularly relevant in the digital learning landscape. This study involved 40 undergraduate Emirati students divided into two groups, receiving either AI-generated video or written feedback across three assignments. Using a quantitative design, data were gathered using standardized critical thinking and academic writing skills rubrics. Additionally, students completed post-surveys to capture their perceptions, engagement levels and use of AI tools in the learning process. Results showed written feedback significantly improvemed critical thinking (M = 2.80, SD = 0.75) compared to video feedback (M = …

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Seeking Into Cell-Free Therapies For Bone-Affected Lysosomal Storage Disorders, Andrés Felipe Leal, Harry Pachajoa, Shunji Tomatsu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) constitute a group of monogenic systemic diseases resulting from deficiencies in specific lysosomal enzymes that cause the intralysosomal accumulation of non- or partially degraded substrates, leading to lysosomal dysfunction. In some cases of LSDs, the bone is more severely affected, thus producing skeletal manifestations in patients. Current therapies, such as enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and gene therapy (GT), show limited efficacy in correcting skeletal abnormalities. Increasing evidence suggests that microenvironmental disturbances also contribute significantly to disease pathogenesis. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting lysosomal dysfunction and microenvironmental dysregulation are needed. Mesenchymal stem-cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) are emerging as …

Pharmacological Considerations For Healthcare Providers When Caring For Muslim Patients: A Practical Guide, Layla Abubshait, Nissa Tasnim, Taha Cangoz

Einstein Health Papers

Healthcare providers increasingly encounter Muslim patients with unique pharmacological considerations influenced by religious beliefs and practices. Islam, as the world's second-largest religion, includes specific guidelines affecting medication permissibility, particularly regarding alcohol and pork-derived ingredients. This educational guide examines the intersection of Islamic teachings with pharmacotherapy, providing examples of commonly prescribed medications containing alcohol or porcine-derived gelatin from our academic medical center's inpatient and outpatient formulary. We document alcohol content percentages in various medications and suggest possible alternatives as illustrative examples. Most importantly, we present a step-by-step practical framework for using National Drug Code (NDC) numbers and the DailyMed database, enabling …

Vitamin D Receptor (Vdr) And Autoimmune Diseases, Zahraa M. Al-Taee, Noor Mahommoud Naji, Zeena Hadi Obaid Alwan, Anmar M. K. Al-Maamori, Rasha Kadhim Mahdi

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

The vitamin_D_receptor (VDR) has great role in the regulates of expression of gene in several organs, responsive to vitamin D, after activation by physiologically active vit.D. There is strong evidence that vit.D is work in several physiological pathways, since vit.D-activating receptors and enzymes have been found in cell types that are unrelated to mineral and bone homeostasis. Many processes are affected by the so-called non-classic effects of VDR activation. These involve cell death, growth and reproduction of cells, and immune cell activity among many others. Moreover, immunity cells such as activated “CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, B cells, neutrophils, and …

Effect Of Exclusive Bottle Feeding On Infant‘S Serum Calcium And Serum Vitamin D3 And Its Comparison With Other Types Of Feeding In Diyala Governorate, Iraq, Hailah Othman Habeeb, Saif Hakeem Tofiq, Haider Jwad Dawod

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Background: The mixed feeding means that the infant gets bottle milk and breast milk. Bottle feeding serves as incomplete nutritional source for the first six months of infant’s life because bottle feeding not contains all essential nutrients that necessary for the physiological growth and development of infants.

Objectives: The aim of this research is to determine impact of breastfeeding feeding other than formula feeding,, or a mixed feeding ,on serum calcium and blood vitamin D3 levels in infants.

Materials and Methods: Fifty patients were enrolled in this study. We collected the sample from the infants and children (first 2 years …

Factors Associated With Falls Among Nursing Home Residents, Dorsenia Hendrix

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Falls in nursing home facilities are prevalent, and numbers continue to rise as residents grow older and antipsychotic (AP) medications are prescribed more frequently. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether frequency of falls was related to the use of AP medications. Data (N=100) were collected from 2020 incident reports, investigation sheets, and patient charts generated by the State Department of Public Health regarding resident falls and the use of AP medications in a nursing home Facility located in the Southern United States. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was used to understand specific behavior patterns such as personal, …

Staff Education Project: Staff Education To Improve Nurses’ Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, And Motivation In Supporting Medication Adherence, Giovanna Happy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medication nonadherence among individuals with psychiatric disorders remains a significant barrier to recovery, ranging from 40% to 60%. Contributing factors include fear of side effects, stigma, cognitive limitations, and complex regimens. This staff education project addressed challenges through the implementation of a structured, evidence-based intervention to improve adherence-supportive practices among 14 outpatient psychiatric nurses. A preimplementation needs assessment revealed inconsistent application of adherence strategies and low staff confidence. The project’s objective was to evaluate whether a structured education program could improve nurses’ knowledge by 15%, confidence by 15%, and willingness by 3.5 points on a Likert scale to promote medication …

Strategies Used By Public Relations And Communications Executives To Implement Ethical Use Standards For Ai, Karl Bateson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public relations and communications (PR&C) executives’ ineffective artificial intelligence (AI) strategies to develop and apply ethical frameworks for AI implementation can negatively impact organizations’ brand reputation. Grounded in AI4People and stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and explore the effective AI strategies PR&C executives used to develop and apply ethical frameworks for AI implementation while maintaining their organizations’ brand reputations. The participants were six PR&C executives who used effective strategies to develop and apply ethical frameworks for AI implementation while maintaining their organization’s brand reputation. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, public websites, …

Big Five Personality Traits As Predictors Of Funeral Directors’ Job Satisfaction, Teresa Busick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

By 2037, annual deaths in the United States are expected to exceed 3.6 million, over 1 million more than in 2015. At the same time, the funeral service industry faces a serious staffing problem, with about 50% of funeral directors leaving the profession within 2 years. These combined challenges highlight the need to understand what contributes to job satisfaction and helps to retain these workers in this essential field. This quantitative correlational study examined whether the Big Five personality traits predict job satisfaction among funeral directors. Thus, the Big Five model of personality traits was used to guide the study. …

Improving Genetics Equity: Identifying Women Eligible For Genetic Care Services Using Mammography Clinics In Underserved Areas As Screening Hubs, Darya Kizub, Rachel Bluebond, Sierra Green, Jessica Duckworth, Sreejesh Shanker, Autumn Vara, Banu Arun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Fewer than 20% of underserved individuals undergo guideline-concordant hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) genetic testing (GT). Our study aimed to determine the proportion of women eligible for HBOC GT using a cancer genetics risk assessment (CGRA) tool at breast cancer (BC) screening clinics in underserved communities and to describe the program's impact.

METHODS: Participants were women who presented for BC screening at The Rose clinics, serving low-income underserved communities in southeast Texas, and completed the CGRA. High-risk individuals received bilingual educational materials and a saliva-based GT kit. Those with a pathogenic variant (PV) or a variant of uncertain …

Supporting Patients With Advanced Cancer And Their Spouses In Parenting Minor Children: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Kathrin Milbury, Sujin Ann-Yi, Meagan S Whisenant, Morgan Jones, Yisheng Li, Victoria Necroto, Sania D Yousuf, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Larrisa Meyers, Eduardo Bruera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Patients with advanced cancer and their spousal caregivers who parent minor children report unmet parenting concerns and increased psychological distress. Seeking to address these important supportive care needs, this RCT examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial evidence for the efficacy of a novel psychosocial intervention.

Patients and methods: Patients with a metastatic solid malignancy and their spouses completed self-reported validated assessments of psychological symptoms and cancer-related parenting outcomes and were then randomized to the parent support intervention or a usual care (UC) group. Both groups were reassessed 6 and 12 weeks later. Dyads randomized to the counselor-led intervention attended …

Improving The Methodology Of Complex Organization Of Rural Areas Based On Gis Technologies, Anvarjon Pardaboyev

Technical science and innovation

In the world, scientific research is being conducted aimed at improving the efficiency of complex organization of rural areas by utilizing modern geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing data. These studies focus on shaping the land allocated to these areas, organizing their activities, and forming the basis of cartographic information. Additionally, the use of modern GIS and remote sensing data has become widespread in the complex organization of rural areas in many countries. This method stands out for its effectiveness in organizing regions today.

In our republic, comprehensive measures are being implemented to consistently develop production through structural, institutional, …

Training Stages And Algorithms Of Multilayer Neural Networks For The Control System, Abdishukurov Maqsudovich Shavkat, Xuecheng Li

Technical science and innovation

The application of neural network technologies in control systems consists of several stages. In technological object control systems, each layer of the multilayer perceptron neural networks is represented using separate transfer functions. The result of synthesizing neural network technology into control systems allows for the rapid solution of many problems. Using neural network technology, it is possible to perform many calculations. Chain rules of neural networks are added this paper. Lots of training algorithms are compared to choose better to train network. Backpropagation neural networks is seen deeply in the last page. Problems of interpolation and extrapolation are solved. Algorithms …

Mic: A Deep Learning Tool For Assigning Ions And Waters In Cryo-Em And Crystal Structures, Laura Shub, Wenjin Liu, Georgios Skiniotis, Michael J Keiser, Michael J Robertson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

At sufficiently high resolution, x-ray crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy are capable of resolving small spherical map features corresponding to either water or ions. Correct classification of these sites provides crucial insight for understanding structure and function as well as guiding downstream design tasks, including structure-based drug discovery and de novo biomolecule design. However, direct identification of these sites from experimental data can prove challenging, and existing empirical approaches leveraging the local environment can only characterize limited ion types. We present a representation of chemical environments using interaction fingerprints and develop a machine learning model to predict the identity of …

Vigorous Physical Activity As A Potential Environmental Risk Factor In Renal Medullary Carcinoma, Daniel D Shapiro, Sagar S Mukhida, Andrew W Hahn, Ayman Isahaku, Schyler M Turner, Jessica P Cheng, Pankaj K Chauhan, Susan S Thomas, Beei Chan, Zita D Lim, Nizar M Tannir, Maria Chang Swartz, Pavlos Msaouel

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is a rare but aggressive kidney cancer affecting young individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies. Prior retrospective case-control and mouse modeling studies suggest a mechanism linking vigorous intensity physical activity to increased RMC risk in individuals with sickle hemoglobinopathies. This study aimed to prospectively investigate the association between vigorous intensity exercise and RMC.

Materials and methods: This study used a validated questionnaire to prospectively assess reported physical activity in a large cohort of patients with RMC compared to the activity of individuals without RMC. Between 2022 and 2024, patients with RMC (N = 39) were prospectively surveyed …

Cortical Functional Organization In Early Childhood, Jiaxin Tu

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The advent of connectivity-based methods, particularly those utilizing spontaneous BOLD signals, has significantly advanced brain mapping and deepened our understanding of the human brain's functional architecture. While prior research has explored functional organization in early childhood, most studies have focused on coarse, group-level distinctions aligned with adult literature, often within narrow age ranges. This dissertation extends these investigations by examining cortical functional organization in greater detail among healthy infants and toddlers aged 1 to 5 years. Chapter 1 employs spontaneous BOLD signals in sleeping infants and toddlers to derive a group-level functional organization at the resolution of areas and networks. …

Feeling Underqualified And Out Of My League: Motivational And Affective Paths To Adaptive And Maladaptive Behaviors, Gamze Koseoglu, Sejin Keem, Aysegul Karaeminogullari, Berrin Erdogan, Talya N. Bauer, Eyup Burak Sancak

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explored the motivational and affective implications of perceived underqualification, specifically examining how it leads to increased levels of envy and help-seeking behaviors. We predicted that envy and help seeking behaviors would in turn indirectly relate to interpersonal deviance and task performance. We further hypothesized that two psychological resources, hope and self-efficacy, would moderate the relationships between perceived underqualification, envy, and help seeking. We tested our model with a sample of 149 medical school students who were undergoing a clinical rotation as well as their rotation coordinators at a university hospital located in northwestern Turkey. Data collection spanned four …

An Interview With Anthony Viola, Anthony Viola, John Van Kirk

Critical Humanities

Anthony Viola interviewed by John Van Kirk

The Extraction Unconscious: Solar-Powered Utopias In Catching The Sun (2015) And In The Name Of Lithium (2021), Isidora Cortés-Monroy

Critical Humanities

By comparing the depictions of future energy regimes in the two ecodocumentaries, Catching the Sun (2015) and In the Name of Lithium (2021), this article explores representations of post-carbon futures from the US and Argentina. Read closely alongside Frederic Jameson’s notions of utopias, the article delineates the extent to which a solar powered future challenges and reiterates current neocolonial extractivist structures. Basing myself on Patricia Yaeger’s concept of an “energy unconscious,” I argue that these solar utopias maintain an “extraction unconscious” that continues to produce sacrifice zones where primary commodities needed for the energy transition can be found. By analysing …

Towards An Indigenous Climate Epistemology: Bringing The Newa Literary Tradition Of The Swasthani Vrata Katha In Conversation With The Festival Tradition Of The Macchindra Nath Jatra, Shangrila Joshi Dr.

Critical Humanities

This paper brings into conversation two Newa cultural traditions to articulate notions of climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, to illustrate how ways of knowing, ways of being, and ways of governing are inherently linked. These articulations offer a framework for developing what the author calls an Indigenous Climate Epistemology. The two cultural traditions reviewed include: a 17^th century Newa literary tradition that advocates for keeping oil in the ground, and that instructs ordinary people to engage in ritual acts seemingly designed to develop personal and community resilience; and a 1700 year old annual community festival designed to avert catastrophes …

The Radical Potential Of Ecopoetics: Ecological Intimacy In Forrest Gander’S Twice Alive, Thomas Storey

Critical Humanities

Ecopoetics is a contested term, one defined by its capaciousness. Through its focus on deep ecology, it draws together the world system and the individual, the collective and the singular, and the global and the placed-based within its dialectical framework, without resolving any of these oppositions. Instead, the apparent contradictions underlying ecopoetics offer productive material for a poetic praxis that aims to foreground the complex connections that string together nature, culture, politics, and society. Forrest Gander’s Twice Alive engages with these contradictions in an attempt to foreground the intimacy of ecological thinking, and its basis in personal connections that are …

Imagined Communities In The Orient: Mapping New Definitions Of Moroccan Spatiality Through Western Travelogues, Abdelaaziz El Bakkali

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

The portrayal of Morocco as an exotic location has often been related to the tradition of European Orientalism. From Daniel Defoe to Edith Wharton, the Western presence in Morocco has long been identified by means of several encounters, which has become a central attempt to identify and analyze the country as Oriental. Many of these encounters have resulted in diverse representations that have primarily framed Western ideas about the Oriental world. Morocco, which was identified as an international itinerary of early travelogues about North Africa, has long been a place of Western cultural anthropology and ethnographic surveys. In addressing new …

Open Access To Humboldt. The Digital Edition Of His Complete Writings, Thomas Nehrlich

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

Humboldt published around 750 essays, articles and essays between 1789 and 1859. The Bern Edition of these Complete Writings, which was published in 10 volumes in 2019, has also been available online as a free digital edition since 2021. This article presents its contents and functions, from the bibliography and text display to explanatory commentaries and search functions.

Paisaje De Cataluña Y Valencia. Polimatía Y Epistemología En El Sello Epistolar De Alexander Von Humboldt En Concordancia Con Las Observaciones De Antonio José Cavanilles, Martha Garcia

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

Epistolary activity dates to Ancient Greece in affinity with the Roman tradition in which the missive was the most efficient means of communication at a distance. An erudite knowledge of the subject was required since the content would be recorded in posterity. Polymathy and epistemology were therefore required in daily practice of writing encyclicals from the society of Medieval era up to the pinnacle of the epistolary genre during Humanism. The letter, therefore, implied the fact that the writer was out from the territory of the point of departure and the recipient of the correspondence was distant. This exegesis focuses …

Humboldt, El Ruso – Humboldt, The American, Oliver Lubrich

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt: Travels to and from Spain Throughout the Centuries / Homenaje a Alexander von Humboldt: Viajes hacia y desde España de todos los siglos

Durante mucho tiempo, Alexander von Humboldt fue percibido ante todo en relación con América Latina. A partir de la edición de sus escritos completos (2019, 2021), también podemos seguir su publicación y recepción internacional en inglés y en ruso. Durante su vida, 250 de sus artículos aparecieron en inglés y 40 en ruso. Las experiencias de Humboldt en Estados Unidos y en Rusia fueron contradictorias. En Estados Unidos encontró condiciones favorables para la comunicación de sus ideas políticas. En Rusia, viajó en condiciones difíciles de vigilancia y censura. Así, en el mundo inglés y en el mundo ruso, Humboldt se …

Concentration Of Media Ownership

Communication Research Trends

Multi-channel cable, direct broadcast satellite and immediate access to computer data banks promise an immense variety ofinformation at our finger tips. But many are questioning whether this will mean real diversity of public access or simply many more channels in the hands of fewer and fewer industrial giants. Tne rapid introduction of new communication technologies is bringing to the fore all of the old policy dilemmas regarding concentration of economic power in the mass media. In the background are the perennial concerns to guarantee the right to communicate and to encourage diversity of opinion in the debate of public decisions. …

Secrecy, Privacy And The Right To Information

Communication Research Trends

George Orwell's 1984 is the vision of the ultimate totalitarian state. The citizens ruled by Big Brother surrender all control over their lives, their personal privacy is abolished, and government surveillance is ubiquitous and inescapable. Meanwhile, impenetrable secrecy protects and enhances the power of the rulers and their agents.

Many people find disturbing echoes of Orwell's nightmare in present-day democratic societies. They point to growing control of all aspects of everyday life by governments and large corporations, to the storage of more and more sensitive personal information in ever larger data banks, and to continuing 'Watergate type' revelations of abuse …

We Have Lost The Fluoride Battle..., Richard A. Mufson

SFDDA Newsletter

Editorial feature from lead editor, Dr. Richard Mufson