Digital Commons Network^™

Weathering The Divide: Social Determinants, Neighborhood Context, And Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Among African American Women, Vanessa Cl Morman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disproportionately affects African American women and contributes to racial health disparities in the United States. Although genetic susceptibility influences disease risk, growing evidence suggests that social determinants of health (SDOH), including neighborhood conditions, structural racism, and socioeconomic disadvantage, contribute to disease development and progression. Epigenetic mechanisms may provide a biological pathway linking adverse social conditions to chronic disease disparities. This dissertation examined the influence of SDOH on SLE disparities through evidence synthesis and empirical investigation to inform public health practice and policy.

Methods: This integrated learning experience consisted of three complementary manuscripts. Aim 1 was …

Generative Ai Adoption And Solvers' Popularity On Supply-Driven Crowdsourcing Platforms: The Dual Role Of Price Signals, Zimeng Zhu, Carol Hsu, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Na Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Purpose – We investigate the effect of solvers’ adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) on their popularity in a supply-driven crowdsourcing platform. We also examine the impact of price signals as well as their heterogeneous impact based on the solvers’ membership duration on the platform. Design/methodology/approach – Our analysis focuses on solvers who adopt GenAI for design-related gigs on the supply-driven crowdsourcing platform. By combining propensity score matching (PSM) with multi-period difference-in-differences (DID), we examine how GenAI adoption impacts solvers’ popularity and how price signals affect this main effect. Findings – Our findings reveal that solvers who adopt GenAI tend to …

Impact Of School Nurse Education On Factors Influencing Hpv Vaccine Communication With Parents, Jihye Choi, Efrat K Gabay, Jeanette Deason, Elizabeth Baumler, Diane Santa Maria, Daisy Mullassery, Lara S Savas, Erika Thompson, Sanghamitra M Misra, Paula M Cuccaro

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause six cancer types but can be prevented with timely vaccination in early adolescence. However, despite the wide availability of the HPV vaccine, uptake remains suboptimal among US adolescents. School nurses are invaluable resources to students and their families regarding adolescent immunization needs. As part of the All for Them vaccination program, we assessed the impact of the continued nurse education (CNE) intervention on school nurses’ HPV vaccine communication with parents. Seventy-two school nurses and nurse administrators in Texas participated in the study. Using a single-arm study design, we measured participants’ potential barriers to and self-efficacy …

Ring Ring Goes The Telephone, Answer That Email: The Immediacy Of Information Communication Technologies And Their Effects On Employee Well-Being, Concepcion Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Rapid technological advances have resulted in information communication technologies (ICTs) with revolutionary capabilities, allowing employees easy access to the workplace without the impediments of time or space. Initial inception of ICTs in the workplace were expected to increase autonomy (Heller, 1989), but the ability to be reachable at any time proved disadvantageous to employee well-being by creating a culture in which immediate responses were expected and precipitating the psychological phenomenon of workplace telepressure, an overwhelming preoccupation and urge experienced by workers to respond to work-related messages (Barber & Santuzzi, 2015; Mazmanian et al., 2013). The current study centered on exploring …

The Economics Of Modern Basketball Fandom, Holden Velasco

Capstones

In an increasingly money-sucking economy, many Americans are feeling the aching of their wallets. Basketball, once serving as an escape from the outside world, has now turned into a money-making machine where fans are paying to keep it running. It’s inescapable, whether it’s the rising costs to watch the professionals, forking thousands of dollars for children to play or sports gambling being plastered everywhere. Basketball no longer feels like basketball.

Balancing Root-Zone Oxygenation And Rhizosphere Stability: The Impact Of Aeration And Hypoxia On Hydroponic Plant Growth, Christian D. Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

As the global population and food demand continue to increase, growers must look to innovative and sustainable methods for plant cultivation. Hydroponics is a popular method of sustainable plant cultivation where plant roots are suspended over a liquid nutrient solution. Hydroponics uses less water compared to traditional agriculture because there is no evaporation or solution runoff. It also maximizes land use, requires fewer pesticides and herbicides, and enables year-round cultivation in controlled environments. However, indoor hydroponic systems rely on artificial lighting, which has higher energy costs than traditional farming methods. Optimizing growing conditions is therefore critical to ensure long-term economic …

Enhancing Teachers’ Intercultural Literacy: Examining The Impact Of A Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program To Indonesia, Paul R. Wallace

Journal of Global Education and Research

The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program offers institutional grants to support overseas experiences and curriculum development for educators. The study reported here focused on changes in the intercultural literacy of participants involved in a 4-week Fulbright-Hays GPA Program to Indonesia. Participants in this study included K-12 teachers from public schools and teacher education majors. Before and after traveling to Indonesia, eight participants completed a self-assessment of intercultural literacy, which measured competencies, understandings, attitudes, language proficiencies, participation, and identities deemed necessary for successful living and working in a cross-cultural environment. This article presents the results of the assessment survey, along …

Changing Expectations In Higher Education Post-Pandemic, Gregory R. Mackinnon, Tyler Maclean, Mohamad El Maouch, William Yuan, Zhao Kaibin, Bi Dandan, Marwa Saab

Journal of Global Education and Research

A sample of higher education students in Canada and China was surveyed and interviewed to ascertain any changes in their educational expectations given their experiences with emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. In addition, the instructors of these students were interviewed to corroborate student feedback. The research suggested that students in Canada and China expressed expectations of increased flexibility and improved pedagogy. Whereas Canadian students were overtly demanding of the instructor and the educational system, Chinese students were comparatively subtle in their expectation that the post-pandemic level of support be maintained. The primary concern of the Chinese cohort was a …

Advancing Blended Education: Caribbean Lecturers’ Reflective Narratives Of Caution, Creativity, And Change, Mia A. Jules, Donna-Maria B. Maynard, Grace A. Fayombo, Jason E. Marshall, Tanya Newton, Kamilah Hutson, Amanda Kellman, Cherise Bynoe, Mikaila Collymore, Jo-Ann Prosper-Chase, Laura Lee Foster, Adicia Clarke

Journal of Global Education and Research

Blended teaching requires lecturers to constantly self-reflect on their pedagogical practice to enhance student learning. However, there is yet to be a significant corpus of literature that highlights the cognitive resources that lecturers in higher education should possess to effectively use blended learning strategies. It is important to understand the intellectual resources required for blended pedagogy so that such capabilities can be fostered during faculty-training programs; ultimately resulting in innovative strategies to ensure quality learning outcomes and the advancement of university-level blended teaching mandates. This qualitative case study explored how twelve Caribbean lecturers experienced and navigated the teaching process in …

In-Hospital Mortality Patterns And Readmissions In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Analysis Of The Role Of Pulmonary Hypertension, Saad Afzal Khan, Trishna Parikh, Adishwar Rao, Akriti Agrawal, Aarohi Parikh, Farah Kazzaz, Sarah Shin, Harry Karmouty-Quintana, Maulin Patel, Kha Dinh, Bela Patel, Bindu Akkanti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be complicated by pulmonary hypertension (PH). We aimed to understand the impact of PH on in-hospital mortality and quantify the 30-day readmission rate among patients with COPD. For this cross-sectional study, we used the Nationwide Readmissions Database from 2017-2020 to identify adults ≥18 years with COPD. Patients were stratified according to PH diagnosis. Baseline characteristics between groups were compared using the Pearson chi-square test and two-sample t-test. Predictors of in-hospital mortality were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for demographics and confounders. The 30-day readmission rate and prevalence of PH subgroups by baseline …

How Leaders Build Employee Trust In Artificial Intelligence: Voice Opportunities, Humility, And Trust Transfer, Jack Mcguire, David De Cremer, Devesh Narayanan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Artificial intelligence is increasingly central to organizational work, yet employee trust in AI remains fragile. Although prior research has primarily explained trust in AI through technological characteristics such as transparency, reliability, and accuracy, we argue that trust in AI is also shaped by the social context in which employees encounter these systems. Drawing on affect-as-information theory and social information processing theory, we develop and test a model in which leader-provided voice opportunities reduce employees’ negative affect about AI-related work experiences, thereby enhancing perceptions of leader trustworthiness and, in turn, trust in AI. We further propose that this indirect effect depends …

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Variability In Prediction Of Target Organ Injury: The Ship Ahoy Study, Coral D Hanevold, Jang Dong Seo, Stephen R Daniels, Bonita E Falkner, Michael A Ferguson, Joseph T Flynn, Julie R Ingelfinger, Philip R Khoury, Marc B Lande, Kevin E Meyers, Mark Mitsnefes, Joshua Samuels, Elaine M Urbina

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Ambulatory hypertension is associated with elevated left ventricular mass index (LVMI), cardiac dysfunction, and increased arterial stiffness in adolescents. Whether the addition of measures of BP variability improves the prediction of subclinical cardiovascular target organ damage (TOD) over mean BP measures is not known.

Methods: We assessed clinic and ambulatory BP (ABP), anthropometrics, and TOD in 397 adolescents. ABP means standard deviation (SD), BP, and heart rate (HR) dipping were calculated; coefficients of variability (CV) were calculated (SD/mean) to assess ABP variabilities. Measures of TOD included LVMI, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), LV systolic shortening, LV diastolic function (e'/a'), and …

The Impact Of Virtual Reality Simulation On Developing Competence And Confidence In Non-Technical Skills In Nursing. A Scoping Review, Katie Janz, Karen Clark-Burg, Khaya Morris-Binelli, Brennen Mills, Amanda Graf

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Medical errors are a global concern and can compromise patient safety, with up to 80% of these errors directly linked to non-technical skills (NTS) failures. Traditional simulation using mannikins is resource-intensive, and virtual reality simulation (VR) has the potential to offer comparable outcomes with enhanced consistency and lowered resource requirements, but the effectiveness of VR to teach and enhance NTS has been underexplored.

Aim: This scoping review explores the existing literature on VR simulation as a method for teaching NTS in nursing to evaluate whether VR simulation yields positive learning outcomes, particularly in comparison to traditional training methods such …

Team-On-Team Negotiation: How Internal Structure Shapes What Teams Can Do At The Table, Leyi Holly Shi, Tianyu He, Robert B. Lount Jr., Michael Schaerer, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Team negotiation research presents a paradox: teams sometimes achieve more integrative outcomes than solo negotiators, yet in other cases they escalate competitiveness and harm relational outcomes. Existing theory has not resolved this inconsistency, in part because it treats negotiating teams as if they could change positions as easily as individual negotiators. We argue this assumption overlooks a central constraint of team-on-team negotiation: before any adaptive external exchange can occur, teams must internally authorize revisions to their positions as new information emerges. Drawing on evidence from research on team negotiation, multiparty negotiation, and team design, we identify this internal capacity as …

Horizontal Regulatory Barriers In International Trade: Evidence From Electric Plugs, Yuan Mei, Mingzhi (Jimmy) Xu

Research Collection School Of Economics

Domestic policies regulating the horizontal dimensions of product differentiation can impede international trade and have become a major concern in contemporary trade negotiations. We estimate trade frictions associated with incompatible designs of electric plugs, a well-known example of a horizontal regulatory barrier. Our findings indicate that fewer electronic devices are exported to destinations with incompatible electric plugs, and this effect operates through both the extensive margin and the intensive margin of exports. These results are further corroborated by an online survey of Chinese electronics exporters. Moreover, incompatible plugs are associated with lower average quality of exported electronic devices, suggesting that …

The Effects Of Eps Level And Presentation Format Of Analysts’ Forecast Deviation On Non-Professional Investors’ Investment Judgments, Clarence Goh, Prasart Jongjaroenkamol, Poh-Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We experimentally investigate how the presentation format of the extent to which a firm's earnings per share (EPS) diverges from analysts' EPS forecasts (i.e. deviation information) and a firm's EPS level affect the investment judgments of non-professional investors (referred to hereafter as “investors”). Our results suggest that investors' investment judgments are more positive when firms with low (high) EPS levels disclose deviation information in percentage (absolute) terms. Furthermore, when the percentage of forecast deviation is held constant, investment judgments are more positive when EPS levels are high versus low if the deviation information is expressed in absolute terms. By contrast, …

The Downstream Effect Of Gender Bias On Academic Performance And Career Aspirations Amongst Female Students In Stem Via Gender-Professional Identity Integration (G-Pii), Chi-Ying Cheng, Shuna Shiann Khoo, Shih-Fen Cheng, Yeow Leong Lee, Vandana Ramachandra Rao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background Gender imbalance in STEM, characterized by a significant underrepresentation of women, remains a significant challenge. Although gender bias is a well-known contributor to women’s attrition from STEM, the psychological mechanisms linking gender bias to departure are less well understood. Our research investigates early antecedents of attrition and the psychological processes that precede leaving the STEM pathway in tertiary education. Drawing upon identity integration research, we propose that perceived gender bias exerts undermines female STEM students’ academic performance and career aspirations by reducing their Gender-Professional Identity Integration (G-PII), a construct that captures individual differences in the perceived compatibility between a …

The Future Of Nature-Based Recreation In Warming Tropical Cities, Perrine Hamel, Emma E. Ramsay, Shawnda A. Morrison, Su Li Heng, Winston T. L. Chow, Beatrice H. Ho, Pearl Min Sze Tan, Moshe Mandelmilch, Lancy Sim, Jason Kai Wei Lee

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Nature-based recreation promotes health in tropical cities but is increasingly threatened by rising heat. This review presents recent evidence on the issue of humid heat stress and outdoor recreation in tropical cities and outlines key adaptation strategies – addressing hazard, exposure, and vulnerability – to enable ‘heat-smart’ nature-based activities. Despite existing solutions, critical research gaps remain, especially in integrating social, physiological, and technological insights to better address humid heat stress in tropical urban environments.

Depression, Psychological Distress, And Coping Strategies Among African Migrants In Australia: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Study, Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu, Lillian Mwanri, Edith N. Botchway-Commey, David Chisanga, Agness Tembo, Nnaemeka Meribe, Kathomi Gatwiri, Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Kerrie P. Doyle, Frank Darkwa Baffour, Ahmed A. Moustafa

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: African migrants constitute a significant proportion of the Australian population. While migration and resettlement offer opportunities, the associated stressors may adversely affect the mental health and well-being of African migrants. This study explored, for the first time, the prevalence of depression and psychological distress among African migrants in Australia and the relationship between coping mechanisms and mental health outcomes. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey of adult African migrants in Australia was conducted between February and May 2022. Participants (N = 167) who did not have a refugee status who resided in Australia for at least 12 months were recruited …

Examining Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education For All: Development Of A New Scale, Stephan Kielblock, Woodcock, John Ehrich

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education are widely recognised as a key indicator of the inclusiveness of classroom environments. However, existing instruments inadequately capture teachers’ mindsets in relation to inclusive education for all learners. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating a new cross-cultural measurement instrument: the Attitudes Towards Inclusion for All scale (ATIFA), in both English (ATIFA-EN) and German (ATIFA-DE). Data were collected from pre-service and in-service teachers in Australia (n = 146) and Germany (n = 238). Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch modelling identified four robust subscales—Philosophy, Practice, Social Inclusion, and Support—with strong psychometric properties. Evidence of …

Evolving Ai Integration In Complex Medical Decision-Making And Multidisciplinary Transplant Care: A Systematic Review Of Human-Ai Collaboration, Rachel L. Dzieran, Cihan H. Dagli, Robert J. Marley

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Purpose of Review: Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has evolved dramatically from early expert systems, which were initially considered replacements for clinical judgment, to today's collaborative frameworks that aim to augment physician decision-making. This evolution is particularly crucial in domains such as transplant surgery, where decisions carry irreversible consequences and require the integration of complex, often ambiguous data. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature from 2019 to 2025, we conducted a systematic review that analyzed key elements distinguishing successful human-AI partnerships from those that fail. Recent Findings: The ideal balance incorporates human expertise into AI systems through weighted integration approaches, rather than …

Reduced Mediators Released By Cyanobacteria During Exoelectrogenesis Detected Using Differential Pulse Voltammetry, Laura T. Wey, Monica Brachi, Yagut Allahverdiyeva, Shelley D. Minteer

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cyanobacteria generate electrical current through exoelectrogenesis (extracellular electron transfer) downstream of photosynthesis, yet the identity of the endogenous redox mediator(s) responsible remains unresolved. Here, we apply differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) to detect and characterise redox-active species released by Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under illumination. To enable sensitive detection, we developed an electrolyte intermediate between BG11 (Blue-Green-11) growth medium and MOPS (3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid) buffer that minimises background electrochemical interference while maintaining short-term cellular functionality. DPV revealed multiple light-enhanced oxidation peaks (0.1–0.65 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE)) that were not resolvable using cyclic voltammetry, providing evidence that cyanobacteria release reduced compounds …

Mtorc2-Nav1.2 Signaling Drives Early Hyperexcitability In Alzheimer’S Disease Mouse Model, Nolan M Dvorak, Jeffrey L Noebels

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Hyperexcitability is a biomarker of early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and hastens cognitive decline later in its course. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling contributes to the slope of this trajectory, as evidenced by early increased brain expression and the rescue of hyperexcitability by genetic deletion of mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2); however, a molecular mechanism directly linking mTOR signaling to membrane hyperexcitability in early-stage AD remains elusive. Here, we show that hyperactive mTOR signaling stimulates the voltage-gated Na+ channel 1.2 (Nav1.2), a previously identified downstream phosphorylation target of mTORC2 and a key regulator of membrane electrogenesis. Augmented Nav1.2 channel function induced …

The Airport And The City: Toward A Philosophy Of The Aerotropolis, Shane Ray Epting

Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works

As a city centered on its airport's vast influence, the aerotropolis's existence has an inherent tension: It is a stable city for people to stay put and dwell, with the notion of leaving at the foreground of urban life. As a conception, the aerotropolis requires investigation to reveal its significance for humankind and its place in an ontology of cities. When the aerotropolis is situated in such a manner, we see how it differs significantly from other kinds of cities throughout history that depend on travel, such as river and port cities. After unpacking these points, a view emerges illustrating …

Will Your Ai Turn Backers Away? Evidence From Kickstarter's Ai-Use Disclosure Policy, Sonika Singhal, Yeongin Kim, Seonjun Kang, Victoria Yoon

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping how creative work is produced, raising new questions about authenticity, originality, and human effort in entrepreneurial settings. We examine how platform-mandated AI-use disclosure is associated with crowdfunding outcomes, using Kickstarter's 2023 disclosure policy and a dataset of over 63,000 campaigns launched between 2022 and 2024. Drawing on signaling theory, we argue that an AI-use label functions as a platform-governed cue that backers may interpret as signaling reduced human effort, potentially shaping how they evaluate creators and campaigns. Empirically, we find that AI-use disclosure is associated with a significantly lower likelihood of campaign success, with …

Caribou Migration And Non-Local Hunting In Northwest Alaska: A Gis Analysis Of Hunting Activity And Its Relationship With Caribou Migration Corridors, Brittney L. Jiménezszabo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Indigenous Alaskans rely on subsistence hunting for food, with Barren-ground caribou making up approximately 27% of their diet. It is believed by subsistence hunters that non-local hunting is forcing a change in caribou migration behavior. This study examined non-local harvesting records from 2013 – 2025 in the northwest and interior Game Management Units (GMU) and Alaksa’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) migration range data to answer the question, is there a spatial relationship between non-local harvests and WACH migration behavior. Mixed methods included spatial autocorrelation and local statistics. Findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis which will help …

We All Read: Adapting An Early Literacy Program For Children With Developmental Differences And Their Families, Rachel Podl

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Children with developmental differences face elevated risk for early literacy delays, while their caregivers experience significant difficulty accessing appropriate and supportive resources. This paper describes an adaptation of WeRead, an existing story-time and psychoeducation program through the University of Denver's Baby S.T.E.P.S. Lab, for children ages 0–7 with developmental differences and their caregivers. The program integrated a neurodiversity-affirming read-aloud, a strengths-based art activity, movement and music, caregiver psychoeducation on visual schedules, and collaboration with four community partners. The event drew approximately 65 attendees. A post-program survey, though limited by few responses, indicated that caregivers valued the program's accessibility, community partnerships, …

Ncf Sensor Coated With Cofe1.96la0.04o4/Lafeo3 Heterostructures For Room-Temperature Detection Of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Concentration, Ziqiang Liu, Fujian Tang, Yufang He, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a highly flammable fuel widely used for cooking, heating and transportation, making real-time leak detection essential for preventing fire, explosion, and suffocation hazards. In this study, a room-temperature no-core fiber (NCF) sensor coated with CoFe_1.96La_0.04O₄/LaFeO₃ heterostructures was developed for LPG detection. The heterostructures were characterized using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, XPS, PL spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. Experimental results showed that La incorporation and heterostructure formation refined the particles size, improved surface accessibility, and modulated the electronic structure and band gap, thereby enhancing LPG adsorption, carrier redistribution, and …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Cancer Symptom Management For Adult Cancer Survivors: A Scoping Review, Tao Wang, Haiying Wang, Mengyuan Li, Daniel Bressington, Daniel Terry, Guanjin Wang, Wai Hang Kwok, Jing Yu (Benjamin) Tan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and aim: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been increasingly used in cancer survivorship to support symptom management. This scoping review aimed to map existing evidence on AI applications in cancer symptom management for adult cancer survivors, including AI model development, AI-enabled intervention delivery and adoption, symptom targets, key features of the AI approaches used, reported outcomes, influencing factors, and research gaps to inform future priorities.

Method: This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Eight electronic databases were comprehensively searched in November 2025 and updated in March 2026. Empirical studies published in …

The Missouri Miner, November 10, 2016

The Missouri Miner Newspaper

No abstract provided.