Digital Commons Network^™

Transformative Psychedelic Experiences At Music Events: Using Subjective Experience To Explore Chemosocial Assemblages Of Culture, Gabrielle R. Lehigh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clinical interest in psychedelic treatments in the United States started in the 1950s, but anti-drug policy and anti-social sentiments quickly thwarted future research. The last decade has renewed clinical interest in using psychedelics to treat a diversity of mental health ailments. While these studies provide essential protocols, treatments, and therapy models for patients, they are limited in understanding the role of the contextual elements that influence psychedelic experiences and outcomes. This project examines how people use psychedelic substances outside medical settings by studying transformative psychedelic experiences at music events. This inquiry into psychedelic use utilizes an integrated framework of chemoethnography …

Losing Control To The Controller: Mmorpg Video Game Addiction And Mediating Roles Of Player Motivations, Abbie Speed

Theses and Dissertations

Using a quantitative survey distributed to regular players of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) (N = 777), the current study employed a correlation matrix and a parallel mediation model to assess the relationship between play frequency, motivating factors, and video game addiction. The results demonstrated that each of these elements were related to one another to varying degrees (p < .001). The motivating factors identified by Yee (2006) included achievement, immersion, and social interaction, which were tested as mediators and indicated that achievement (a1 = 0.2817, p < 0.001; b1 = 0.4073, p < 0.001) and immersion (a2 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b2 = 0.2574, p < 0.001) are mediators in the relationship of play frequency and addiction. Social interaction was not significant as a mediator (a3 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b3 = -0.0235, p = 0.6753). Higher levels of addiction were present for those who were motivated by achievement (rewards) and immersion (storyline/diversion) to play more frequently per week. However, those who were motivated by social interaction to play frequently did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with higher levels of addiction. Findings suggest that motivating factors of gameplay may have a mediating effect on the relationship between play frequency and addiction.

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

But Do They Work? Researchers Investigate Effectiveness of Lactation Cookies on Human Milk Production

Constructing A Destination Gestalt Model: Brand Gestalt, Brand Attitude, And Revisit Intention, Ronny H. Walean, Lies Wullur, Deske W. Mandagi

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

This study proposes and tests a structural model that integrates brand gestalt, brand attitude, and revisit intention in the context of tourism destinations. Specifically, the study investigated the influences of 4S brand gestalt dimensions (i.e., story, sensescape, servicescape, and stakeholder) on tourists’ attitudes and intention to revisit a destination. Survey-based data were collected from visitors of North Sulawesi, Indonesia (n = 357). Findings from the structural equations modeling analysis indicate that the two underlying dimensions of brand gestalt (i.e., story and sensescape) significantly influence brand attitude and revisit intention. Additionally, the brand attitude has a significant effect on revisit intention. …

تأثير التمكين الاداري في الاستدامة التنظيمية: دراسة تحليلية لآراء عينة من الموظفين في جامعة تلعفر, شعيب احمد عزيز

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

يهدف البحث الى معرفة تأثيرالتمكين الاداري(التدريب، تفويض السلطة، الحوافز، الاتصال، فرق العمل) في الاستدامة التنظيمية(المسؤولية الاجتماعية، إضفاء الشرعية، الميزة التنافسية) لدى عينة من العاملين في جامعة تلعفر، إذ تم توزيع(43) استمارة استبانة وتم تحليل البيانات باستخدام برامج الاحصائية التالية ((Smartpls و (Spss)و(Excel)، واختبار فرضيات البحث، وتوصل البحث الى وجود علاقة تأثير معنوية بين أبعاد التمكين الاداري والاستدامة التنظيمية، ومن أهم الاستنتاجات التي توصل اليها البحث ان حصول الموظفين في جامعة تلعفر على التمكين الاداري سيؤدي الى رفع النتاج العملي لهم في المؤسسة وتقلل من مستوى الاحساس والشعور السلبي الموجود لدى عينة الدراسة، وبالتالي تتحسن مستوى التنمية في الجامعة. وقدم البحث …

Role Of Balanced Scorecard In Evaluating Total Productive Maintenance Performance, Raad Abidmuslim Hraiga, Ahmed Maher Muhammad Ali, Ali Abdulhassan Abbas

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

In light of the general inadequacy in the performance of the economic units operating in Iraq, and the contemporary developments in all the various sciences, Iraqi economic units have become obligated to use modern technologies applied around the world. Keeping abreast of these developments is done by moving away from traditional methods of evaluating performance and applying approved and accepted methods of evaluating performance. This will lead to an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities of economic units. In addition, this drives to reduce production costs. Accordingly, this study aims to clarify the application of the balanced …

The Effect Of Internal Marketing On Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Yasir Adil Alkhafagi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of internal marketing through three dimensions: vision, development, and reward - on organizational citizenship behavior in three private universities in Iraq. Organizations’ view of their members as internal customers could be made them more realistic in dealing with the reasons for leaving and going to other organizations. This can promote business organizations to build an organizational environment that contributes to making the organization look like the homeland of those workers. The research method is descriptive and analytical. The tool for data collection was the questionnaire. Statistical software (SPSS V.23 and …

Draft Final Quarterly Operations And Maintenance Report Butte Treatment Lagoon System – Fourth Quarter 2022, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Continuous Semi-Supervised Nonnegative Matrix Factorization, Michael R. Lindstrom, Xiaofu Ding, Feng Liu, Anand Somayajula, Deanna Needell

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Nonnegative matrix factorization can be used to automatically detect topics within a corpus in an unsupervised fashion. The technique amounts to an approximation of a nonnegative matrix as the product of two nonnegative matrices of lower rank. In certain applications it is desirable to extract topics and use them to predict quantitative outcomes. In this paper, we show Nonnegative Matrix Factorization can be combined with regression on a continuous response variable by minimizing a penalty function that adds a weighted regression error to a matrix factorization error. We show theoretically that as the weighting increases, the regression error in training …

Aspiration Thrombectomy Of M2 Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion To Treat Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Core Lab–Adjudicated Subset Analysis From The Complete Registry And Literature Review, Johanna T. Fifi, Kurt Yaeger, Stavros Matsoukas, Ameer E. Hassan, Albert Yoo, Sunil A. Sheth, Osama O. Zaidat

School of Medicine Publications

Background

Although the benefits of aspiration thrombectomy for treating acute ischemic stroke caused by proximal large vessel occlusion have been established, fewer data are available for evaluating aspiration thrombectomy of distal occlusion. The objective of this study was to evaluate, by means of prospectively collected data, the safety and efficacy of aspiration thrombectomy in patients with M2 middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion.

Methods

This study is a subset analysis of a global prospective multicenter observational registry that included patients who presented with either anterior or posterior large vessel occlusion and were eligible for mechanical thrombectomy using the Penumbra System including …

Who’S At The Bottom Of The Hiring List? Exploring The Compounding Effects Of Applicant Race And Offense History On Employability, Meera Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Justice-involved persons, especially people of color and those convicted of a sexual offense, experience bias and other barriers when seeking employment. However, there is no research on the synergistic effects of race and sexual criminal offense on employment-related outcomes. This study examined whether a hypothetical job applicant’s race (Black vs. White) and/or sexual criminal offense history (sexual, non-sexual, or no history) impacted hiring decisions and related employment-related outcomes among 476 volunteers recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions in which they read mock job application materials that varied based on the applicant’s identified …

Training A Cnn To Estimate Voice Pathology From Connected Speech Using Egg To Automatically Label The Dataset For Voicing, I Howard

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Air Pollution In South Texas: A Short Communication Of Health Risks And Implications, Sai Deepak Pinakana, Esmeralda Mendez, Ismaila Ibrahim, Md. Salahuddin Majumder, Amit U. Raysoni

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Air pollution is a major public health concern. The region of South Texas in the United States has experienced high levels of air pollution in recent years due to an increase in population, cross-border trade between the U.S.A. and Mexico, and high vehicular activity. This review assesses the relationships between human health and air pollution in South Texas. A thorough scientific search was performed using PubMed, Science Direct, and ProQuest, with most of the literature focusing on the source apportionment of particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in width (PM2.5), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), Black Carbon …

Publish Or Perish And Its Implications To Academia, Ador Revelar Torneo

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

No abstract provided.

A Sociolinguistic Analysis Of Bilingual Puns In The Linguistic Landscapes Of Guangzhou, China, Junhua Peng, Nor Shahila Mansor, Zalina Mohd Kasim, Lay Hoon Ang

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Punning, either monolingual or bilingual, is a significant action in creating literal humor and rhetorical jokes. Notwithstanding, there is a dearth of linguistic studies on punning, particularly bilingual punning. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a sociolinguistic appraisal of Chinese-English bilingual puns in Guangzhou, an international Chinese metropolis, by presenting and analyzing the data collected from the linguistic landscapes of Guangzhou. A qualitative method was employed in analyzing the data collected from 18 commercial signages with visible bilingual puns that were located in two popular commercial centers of Guangzhou. Resultantly, Chinese-English puns largely occurred at the word level with bilingual …

Transnational Surrogacy: Vietnam’S Deliberate Choice Of A Separate Path, Ngo Thi Anh Van

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Many developing Asian countries are known as promising transnational commercial surrogacy markets for infertile foreign couples. Although there have been recent reports stating that transnational surrogacy is surreptitiously taking place in Vietnam, this country has never taken the path to become an ideal destination for foreigners looking for surrogacy. By comparing and analyzing the economic, demographic, medical, and legal aspects of some Asian countries, along with the survey of over 166 rural women in Vietnam, this article aims to explain why Vietnam, while sharing various similarities with the typical countries such as India and Thailand, has not been a transnational …

A Qualitative Study On Malaysian Parents’ Perspective Of Enhancing Children’S Creativity, Chee-Seng Tan, Sew-Kim Low, Anna Wen-Huey Ong, Soon-Aun Tan, Sarvarubini A/P Nainee, Su-Wan Gan

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

While studies have supported parental influences on children’s creativity development, little attention has been paid to understanding parents’ perspectives of nurturing children’s creativity. This study used a qualitative approach to understand how parents in Malaysia assist their children to develop creativity and to identify challenges encountered along the process. Twenty-nine parents were interviewed individually. Five main themes were identified: creativity involves novel ideas, strategies to encourage the growth of creativity, learning environments, challenges encountered, and the roles of school teachers. Notably, parents agreed that authoritative parenting style and educational online materials are conducive to creativity, while time and financial constraints …

What It Means To Be A Drag Queen In Thailand: A Qualitative Study, Sakol Sopitarchasak

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

Despite its burgeoning popularity in recent years, “drag queen” is a relatively new concept to the Thai public. This qualitative study aims to investigate how the meaning of drag queens in Thailand is being constructed through their narratives and to look into how being drag queens affects their lives, especially regarding the experience of discrimination and abuse. Ten professional drag queens, aged 19 to 34, who based their activities in Thailand, were interviewed via phone calls in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Two participants identified as transwomen, while eight identified as gay. The interview recordings were transcribed, and the transcripts were analyzed …

Pharmacy Student Education Related To Opioids: A Scoping Review Protocol, Marie Barnard, Dorothy Reid

Faculty and Student Publications

Pharmacy student education related to opioids: A scoping review protocol

Authors: Marie Barnard, Ph.D. and Dorothy Reid, M.A.T.

Abstract: Opioid misuse is a major public health concern, with increasing rates of addiction, overdose, and death. As frontline healthcare providers, pharmacists play a critical role in ensuring the safe use of prescription opioids. While pharmacists receive training on the pharmacology and therapeutics of opioid analgesics, they may lack the broader knowledge and skills needed to effectively prevent opioid misuse. To address this issue, the ACPE 2020 Special Committee on Substance Use and Pharmacy Education made curricular recommendations to better prepare students …

The Local Neurologies Of Substance Use Triggers, Breanne I. Casper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Substance use triggers are largely understood to be embedded in drug use contexts and to be a major precipitator of relapse. Yet, the relationship between triggers and future instances of drug use is not quite clear– particularly in understanding the nuances of when triggers are “triggering” and when they are not. Additionally, there is little ethnographic work that explores how individuals interact with triggers in contexts related to substance use, particularly during periods of active use. This project employs ethnographic and survey research methods to interrogate substance use triggers in the harm reduction context. In doing so, it answers the …

A Forward Genetic Screen Identifies Genes Involved In Gametocyte Development Of The Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum., Jyotsna Chawla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transmission of the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum from human to mosquito is achieved by specialized intraerythrocytic sexual forms called gametocytes. Circulating in the vertebrate host, relatively few intraerythrocytic gametocytes are picked up during a bloodmeal to continue sexual development in the mosquito vector. Human-to-vector transmission thus represents an infection bottleneck in the parasite's life cycle for therapeutic interventions to prevent malaria. Though the crucial regulatory mechanisms leading to gametocyte commitment have recently come to light, networks of genes that control sexual development remain to be elucidated. Here, we report a forward genetic approach to identify genes associated with gametocyte …

Karl Marx On Human Flourishing And Proletarian Ethics, Sam Badger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation will show that Marx’s philosophy contains a notion of human “second nature” centered on the activity of labor with a corresponding class-centered theory of flourishing and emancipation. This notion shares important similarities with that of Aristotle but also differs in significant ways. Second nature for Marx is created and habituated through education and social labor. Moreover, human nature is molded into different forms as history progresses and modes and means of production change. In a class society everyone becomes is alienated from their nature in a way that inhibits their flourishing. This contrasts with an emancipated society, where …

Evaluating Foot-Drop Interventions For Multiple Sclerosis Using A Multimodal System, Laura Marie Byrnes-Blanco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how multimodal walking impacts quantitative and qualitative aspects of gait for persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) experiencing foot-drop. Foot-drop can dramatically impede mobility and clinicians routinely prescribe ankle-foot-orthosis (AFO) and functional electrical stimulation (FES) devices to alleviate its impacts on daily life. However, little is known about how these devices affect pwMS while traversing environments with real-world complexity. To explore this topic, an interventional, parallel assigned study was conducted. A realistic nature pathway containing changes in floor pitch, audiovisual stimulation, and during-trial tasks (for dual-tasking) was generated in an immersive virtual reality system called CAREN: Computer Assisted …

Relationships Between Leading And Trailing Indicators At Construction Sites In Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia, Anas H. Halloul

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statement of Purpose: This study sought to assess the relationship between leading and lagging indicators in construction safety Management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In particular, it sought to determine whether construction sites with higher leading indicators predicted fewer incidents/accidents.Rationale for Study: Construction safety management is a critical occupational health concern globally. Scholars have researched approaches to improve safety measures and performance in construction sites. However, there is little discourse assessing the relationship between the leading indicators and the occurrence of incidents and accidents in construction sites. General Methods: A quantitative analysis was used in this study. Data were …

A Human-In-The-Loop Robot Grasping System With Grasp Quality Refinement, Tian Tan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to develop a grasping system for assistive robots that can help people with disabilities and the elderly to perform tasks of daily living. In developing this robot grasping system, we maximize its reliability, accuracy, and autonomy. High reliability and accuracy are required for robots to perform tasks around human users and to safely interact with objects that might be fragile or have contents that could spill. High autonomy is desired as users with disabilities are usually not dexterous enough to directly operate the robot. In this dissertation, a human-in-the-loop (HitL) robot grasping system is …

Relationship Between Chinese Herbal Medicine Use And Risk Of Sjögren’S Syndrome In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Retrospective, Population-Based, Nested Case-Control Study, Hou-Hsun Liao, Hanoch Livneh, Miao-Chiu Lin, Ming-Chi Lu, Ning-Sheng Lai, Hung-Rong Yen, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background and Objectives: Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS) is a common extra-articular feature among subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been used to treat symptoms of RA for many years, few studies have examined its efficacy in guarding against the SS onset. This study aimed to compare risk of SS for RA patients with and without use of CHM. Materials and Methods: Data obtained for this nested case-control study were retrieved from Taiwanese nationwide insurance database from 2000–2013. Cases with SS claims were defined and matched to two randomly selected controls without SS from the recruited RA …

The Perceptions, Experiences, And Stories Of Tied-Migrant Music Educators: How The Personal And Professional Blend, Rachel K. Broyles

LSU Master's Theses

Centering around the purpose of examining the lived experiences and perspectives of self-identified tied-migrant music educators and how the transitory aspects of their personal lives impact their professional careers, this phenomenological case study discusses the findings of both a review of literature and completed original research utilizing two participants who are tied-migrant spouses in the music education field and examine their stories. For this study, tied- migrant spouses are defined as persons who are married to individuals who frequently relocate due to their professional occupation (Mincer, 1978). Participants include tied-migrant military spouses and tied-migrant civilian spouses.

Specific research questions include: …

Characterizing And Modeling The Impact Photorepair Conditions Have On Parameters Governing The Regrowth Of Escherichia Coli After Uvc Irradiation, And Investigating Potential Mitigation Strategies, Andrea J. Martinez Ballen

LSU Master's Theses

Ultraviolet disinfection has been used to treat water and wastewater for decades. Previous studies highlight the significance of disinfection conditions and attempt to model bacterial regrowth behavior according to disinfection dosing parameters. The emergence of light-emitting diode (LED) technology provides the ability to further explore bacterial repair methods after UV disinfection, which has been a growing concern within the UV community. However, it is necessary to also consider post-disinfection conditions to model the regrowth patterns of bacterial organisms more accurately. By varying reactivation wavelengths, and their respective intensities, experiments using Escherichia coli ATCC 15597 revealed how these parameters impact the …

Kinetic Studies On The 2-Oxoglutarate/Fe(Ii)-Dependent Nucleic Acid Modifying Enzymes From The Alkb And Tet Families, Zhiyuan Peng, Jian Ma, Christo Christov, Tatyana Karabencheva-Christova, Nicolai Lehnert, Deyu Li

Michigan Tech Publications

Nucleic acid methylations are important genetic and epigenetic biomarkers. The formation and removal of these markers is related to either methylation or demethylation. In this review, we focus on the demethylation or oxidative modification that is mediated by the 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG)/Fe(II)-dependent AlkB/TET family enzymes. In the catalytic process, most enzymes oxidize 2-OG to succinate, in the meantime oxidizing methyl to hydroxymethyl, leaving formaldehyde and generating demethylated base. The AlkB enzyme from Escherichia coli has nine human homologs (ALKBH1-8 and FTO) and the TET family includes three members, TET1 to 3. Among them, some enzymes have been carefully studied, but for …

Perampanel Outcomes At Different Stages Of Treatment In People With Focal And Generalized Epilepsy Treated In Clinical Practice: Evidence From The Permit Study, Claudio Liguori, Estevo Santamarina, Adam Strzelczyk, Juan Jesús Rodríguez-Uranga, Rohit Shankar, Xiana Rodríguez-Osorio, Stéphane Auvin, Paolo Bonanni, Eugen Trinka, Rob Mcmurray, Ricardo Sáinz-Fuertes, Vicente Villanueva

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction: The PERMIT study is the largest pooled analysis of perampanel (PER) clinical practice data conducted to date. Methods: This post-hoc analysis of PERMIT investigated the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of PER when used as early add-on therapy (after failure of one or two previous antiseizure medications) in comparison with late add-on therapy (after failure of three or more previous antiseizure medications). Retention and effectiveness were assessed after 3, 6, and 12 months, and at the last visit (last observation carried forward). Effectiveness was assessed by seizure type (total seizures, focal seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures [GTCS]) and assessments included seizure …