Digital Commons Network^™

Personal Power Tactics African American Female Superintendents Employ To Overcome Four Identified Self-Sabotaging Behaviors, Angela Brantley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-method study was to identify and describe personal power tactics that African American female superintendents employ to overcome the four identified self-sabotaging behaviors from the Self Sabotaging Framework adapted from Lerner (2012), Ryder and Briles (2003).

Methodology: This study identified and described the lived experiences of seven female African American superintendents across the United States. This research design encompassed a sequential data collection method using an electronic survey instrument, followed by one-on-one interviews. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher was able to triangulate data using the trends, categories, and patterns …

Mapping And Geomorphic Characterization Of The Vast Cold-Water Coral Mounds Of The Blake Plateau, Derek C. Sowers, Larry A. Mayer, Giuseppe Masetti, Erik Cordes, Ryan Gasbarro, Elizabeth Lobecker, Kasey Cantwell, Samuel Candio, Shannon Hoy, Mashkoor Malik, Michael White, Matthew Dornback

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

A coordinated multi-year ocean exploration campaign on the Blake Plateau offshore of the southeastern U.S. has mapped what appears to be the most expansive cold-water coral (CWC) mound province thus far discovered. Nearly continuous CWC mound features span an area up to 500 km long and 110 km wide, with a core area of high-density mounds up to 254 km long by 42 km wide. This study synthesized bathymetric data from 31 multibeam sonar mapping surveys and generated a standardized geomorphic classification of the region in order to delineate and quantify CWC mound habitats and compare mound morphologies among subregions …

Estimation Of Sugarcane Yield Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel 2 Satellite Imagery And Random Forest Regression, Alireza Taravat, Gebeyehu Abebe, Berhan Gessesse, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Advancements in remote sensing techniques have greatly enhanced crop monitoring and yield estimation, with spectral vegetation indices (VIs) serving as a key component. Our study investigates the use of Sentinel-2 data, notable for its red-edge bands, in estimating sugarcane yield in Ethiopia's Awash Basin. Utilizing 22 VIs from S2 imagery, our approach combines Random Forest (RF) regression with the Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) algorithm to improve the accuracy of sugarcane yield predictions. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the RF-RFE method over traditional RF with full datasets and Stepwise Multiple Regression (SMR). Particularly, VIs focusing on the red-edge spectral …

Extended Event Calculus Using Neutrosophic Logic: Method, Implementation, Analysis, Recent Progress And Future Directions, Antonios Paraskevas

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Brains do not reason as digital computers do. Computers reason in clear steps with statements that are either true or false, while humans reason with vague terms of common sense. Neutrosophy is a new branch of philosophy and machine intelligence that deals with neutralities, specifically the idea of indeterminacy that is evident and experienced in our everyday lives. Indeterminacy is interpreted as everything that falls between a concept, idea, statement, declaration, etc. and its opposite. The fundamental thesis of neutrosophy is to employ neutrosophic logic, an extension of fuzzy logic, to incorporate fuzzy truth into complex schemes of formal reasoning. …

Comparison Of Two At-Home Sleep Monitoring Technologies, Raymond Chong, Alex Willis, Sonya Kakaiya, Casey Schambach, Carla Todd, Alex Young

Asian Journal of Physical Therapy

Background: Despite the importance of regular sleep patterns being well-known throughout society, a growing number of people claim to be sleep-deprived. There is a need to identify a simple and unobtrusive method in which people can accurately track their sleep to monitor changes and track how their sleep affects their daytime function. Methods: Here, we compared two at-home sleep monitors, the Zeo EEG headband system and the OURA physiological ring, in twenty-seven healthy young adults to determine their relative accuracy in classifying the various sleep stages. The two devices track sleep differently. The ring relies on hand movements and hemodynamic …

Open System Neural Networks, Bradley Hatch

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in self-supervised learning have made it possible to reuse information-rich models that have been generally pre-trained on massive amounts of data for other downstream tasks. But the pre-training process can be drastically different from the fine-tuning training process, which can lead to inefficient learning. We address this disconnect in training dynamics by structuring the learning process like an open system in thermodynamics. Open systems can achieve a steady state when low-entropy inputs are converted to high-entropy outputs. We modify the the model and the learning process to mimic this behavior, and attend more to elements of the input …

Religious Tourism At Tana Chirkos & St. Kirstos Semra: Contemporary Issues And Prospects For Sustainable Tourism, Dagnachew Nega

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is not a new phenomenon or new practice. It has recently received considerable attention in both academia and the public at large. However, even though Ethiopia is endowed with a variety of religious tourism activities, its contemporary issues, and future prospects haven’t been utilised, outlined and managed. In the Amhara region, in the South Gondar zone, Tana Chirkos and Kirstos Semra are among the outstanding sites where lots of religious travellers are going and religious tourism activities are held. Thus, this study stands with the general objective of investigating the issues and future prospects of religious tourism development …

Exploring Pilgrims’ Perceptions Of Islamic Tour Operators In The United Kingdom: Insights For Improved Services, Shabir Ahmad, Kamran Siddiqui

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In recent years, religious tourism has gained popularity worldwide, with millions of people travelling to different destinations for religious purposes. The United Kingdom has a growing Muslim population, and Islamic religious tourism is no exception. However, little research has been conducted on the pilgrim’s perceptions of Islamic religious tour operators in the United Kingdom. Understanding these perceptions is essential for tour operators to provide better services and attract more customers. The present study aims to contribute to Islamic tourism research by assessing the perceptions of pilgrims toward religious tour operators in the United Kingdom. Employing a snowball sampling technique, this …

Development Of Bali Spirit Festival To Support Sustainable Spiritual Tourism, Mohamad Yusuf, I Putu Gede Eka Praptika

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Spiritual tourism has developed significantly through creative activities such as the Bali Spirit Festival in Ubud, Bali. The aim of this paper is to analyse the practice of Bali Spirit Festival and its prospects for supporting tourism sustainability. The research design is descriptive-analytical and based on qualitative data. The data collection was done through in-depth interviews and a study of the literature. The research results reveal that spiritual tourism is oriented toward self-development based on religious values, culture, and nature without being exclusively tied to a specific religion. Further, the principles of spiritual tourism in Bali Spirit Festival can contribute …

Brendan O\'Keefe V. Lehigh University

2024 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Exploring The Conceptual Structure And Perspectives Of Religious-Spiritual And Wellness Tourism Research From The Destination Community: A Bibliometric Review, Priyanka Babu N, Sherry Abraham

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The conceptualisation of specific holistic tourism components (religious-spiritual-wellness tourism) and their influence on community well-being in contemporary literature appears complex and needs to be more specific. This research traces critical developments in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism and their relationship with community by reviewing published literature in the Scopus database from 1990 to 2020 using bibliometric analysis. The literature review includes three sub-areas: descriptive analysis, reference publication year spectroscopy, and network analysis. In demonstrating the trends and evolution, the study focuses on the social, conceptual, and intellectual structures in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism (RSWT) and community. The key findings indicate that the RSWT community is …

Impact Of Globalisation On Religious Tourism: The Case Of Vrindavan, India, Charlie Gupta, Ridhu Dhan Gahalot

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The term ‘religious tourism’ refers to travel that is primarily inspired by spiritual beliefs (Smith, 2012). It serves as one of humanity’s oldest religious practices as well as one of the earliest examples of tourism (Timothy, 2011). Due in the main to the numerous sacred places that are dispersed throughout its vast geographic area, India, which is known for its rich heritage and culture, has attracted attention from throughout the world (Eck, 2011; Singh, 2013). As a result, it has become a well-known location for religious tourism. During the past ten years, this specific type of tourism has seen a …

Remedial Action Work Plan Silver Bow Montessori, Environmental Resource Management (Erm)

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Nest/Ing Un/Methodologies, Jayne Osgood, Claire Walsh

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

A dense, pungent, brown-green, intricately woven, itchy-silky, moss-strewn, twig- ridden ball brought us together.Since then, nest(ing)[i] has become a shared methodology - nest/ing has offered a praxis of getting to know each other, getting to know nests (better) and it has become a capacious writing methodology. Taking nest(ing) seriously has drawn into sharp focus the perils of human exceptionalism. Nesting has gifted opportunities to wallow in porous boundaries and to luxuriate in modes of liminal reading/writing/experimenting, informed by a feminist politics to imagine the world differently (Despret, 2016). It is through lively storytelling, involving passing patterns back and forth that …

Deep Learning Detection Of Aneurysm Clips For Magnetic Resonance Imaging Safety, M Courtman, D Kim, H Wit, H Wang, L Sun, E Ifeachor, S Mullin, M Thurston

Peninsula Medical School

Flagging the presence of metal devices before a head MRI scan is essential to allow appropriate safety checks. There is an unmet need for an automated system which can flag aneurysm clips prior to MRI appointments. We assess the accuracy with which a machine learning model can classify the presence or absence of an aneurysm clip on CT images. A total of 280 CT head scans were collected, 140 with aneurysm clips visible and 140 without. The data were used to retrain a pre-trained image classification neural network to classify CT localizer images. Models were developed using fivefold cross-validation and …

Residual Mechanical Properties Of Ggbs-Fa-Sf Blended Geopolymer Concrete After Exposed To Elevated Temperatures, Min Yu, Tan Wang, Yin Chi, Dawang Li, Long-Yuan Li, Feiyu Shi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Geopolymer concrete has been increasingly used in industry. However, if the geopolymer concrete is blended using a single percussor its performance is often very limited by the properties of the percussor. Thus, it is preferable to use multiple percussors to produce geopolymer concrete. In this paper an experimental study is reported on the residual micro- and macro-mechanical properties of the steel-fibre reinforced geopolymer concrete blended by using combined percussors of ground granulated blast-furnace slag, fly ash, and salic fume. The experimental work included the examination of the effects of exposure temperature, the volume fractions of coarse aggregate and steel fibre …

Entrepreneurial Mental Well-Being: Strategies For Positive Business Outcomes, Shanna A. Jefferson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Challenges Of Implementing And Documenting Ottawa Ankle Rules In The Pediatric Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study, Emmalee M. Kugler, Michael Gillman, Olivia Toner

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

INTRODUCTION
Acute ankle sprains account for nearly 2% of visits to the pediatric emergency department (PED). The Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) were developed as a safe and effective clinical decision-making tool for detecting the need for radiographs in adults with acute ankle pain. OAR state radiographs are required with at least one of the following:

1. Inability to bear weight immediately following the injury and for four steps in the ED 2. Bony tenderness at the posterior edge of the lateral or medial malleolus

OBJECTIVE
Few prospective cohort studies have attempted to assess OAR pediatric populations. This study investigates the …

Effect Of Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Maternal Resiliency On Early Childhood Outcomes On Vaccination Adherence And Emergency Department Visits, Leslie Abraham, Hsiao-Wei Banks, John P. Gaughan, Alla Kushnir

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Introduction: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occurred to an individual during ages 0-17 years. The 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) suggested higher ACE scores contributed to negative future health outcomes. The tool is now used to screen at-risk populations for the development of chronic health conditions. Protective factors, such as resilience, were later studied and found to offset the negative health impacts of traumatic childhood events. The 7Cs questionnaire was a tool developed to measure resilience in adolescents and demonstrated better health outcomes despite the presence of higher ACE scores. This pilot study evaluated whether higher …

Turtle Species And Ecology Drive Carapace Microbiome Diversity In Three Seasonally Interconnected Wetland Habitats, Matthew Parks, Jun Sheng Lee, Kassandra Camua, Ethan Hollender

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Different species of freshwater turtles exhibit primary behaviours ranging from aerial basking to benthic bottom-walking, cycle between wet and dry conditions at different time intervals, and undertake short-distance overland movements between aquatic habitats. These behaviours in turn may impact the accumulation of microbes on external shell surfaces of turtles and provide novel niches for differentiation of microbial communities. We assessed microbial diversity using 16S and 18S rRNA metabarcoding on carapace surfaces of six species of freshwater turtles residing in three adjacent and seasonally interconnected wetland habitats in southeast Oklahoma (United States). Communities were highly diverse, with nearly 4200 prokaryotic and …

Factors Influencing Implementation And Sustainability Of Interventions To Improve Oral Health And Related Health Behaviours In Adults Experiencing Severe And Multiple Disadvantage: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review, Deepti A. John, Emma A. Adams, Laura J. Mcgowan, Emma C. Joyes, Catherine Richmond, Fiona R. Beyer, David Landes, Richard G. Watt, Falko F. Sniehotta, Martha Paisi, Clare Bambra, Dawn Craig, Eileen Kaner, Sheena E. Ramsay

Peninsula Dental School

Objectives Among people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD), poor oral health is common and linked to smoking, substance use and high sugar intake. Studies have explored interventions addressing oral health and related behaviours; however, factors related to the implementation of these interventions remain unclear. This mixed-methods systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence on the implementation and sustainability of interventions to improve oral health and related health behaviours among adults experiencing SMD. Methods Bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EBSCO, Scopus) and grey literature were searched from inception to February 2023. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were screened and extracted …

On Lightweight Shape Memory Vitrimer Composites, Siavash Sarrafan, Guoqiang Li

Faculty Publications

Lightweight materials are highly desired in many engineering applications. A popular approach to obtain lightweight polymers is to prepare polymeric syntactic foams by dispersing hollow particles, such as hollow glass microbubbles (HGMs), in a polymer matrix. Integrating shape memory vitrimers (SMVs) in fabricating these syntactic foams enhances their appeal due to the multifunctionality of SMVs. The SMV-based syntactic foams have many potential applications, including actuators, insulators, and sandwich cores. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the effect of the HGM volume fraction on different material properties and behaviors. In this study, we prepared an SMV-based syntactic foam to …

Free-Standing 3d Printing Of Epoxy-Vinyl Ether Structures Using Radical-Induced Cationic Frontal Polymerization, Brecklyn R. Groce, Alexandra V. Aucoin, Md Asmat Ullah, Jake Dicesare, Claire Wingfield, Jonathan Sardin, Jackson T. Harris, John C. Nguyen, Patrick Raley, Svetlana S. Stanley, Genevieve Palardy, John A. Pojman

Faculty Publications

The application of frontal polymerization to additive manufacturing has advantages in energy consumption and speed of printing. Additionally, with frontal polymerization, it is possible to print free-standing structures that require no supports. A resin was developed using a mixture of epoxies and vinyl ether with an iodonium salt and peroxide initiating system that frontally polymerizes through radical-induced cationic frontal polymerization. The formulation, which was optimized for reactivity, physical properties, and rheology, allowed the printing of free-standing structures. Increasing ratios of vinyl ether and reactive cycloaliphatic epoxide were found to increase the front velocity. Addition of carbon nanofibers increased the front …

Preparing Pakistan For Meeting The Challenges Of The 21st Century, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

The three decades 1990-2020 ( despite the set backs of the Global financial crisis of 2009 and the pandemic of 2019) have resulted in remarkable gains for the Emerging and Developing Countries (EDCs). The hollowing out of the Soviet economy followed by the disintegration of the Soviet Union itself gave impetus to the trend of Deregulation, Privatization and Liberalization which was being followed by Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan .This trend was then emulated by the larger East Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand the Philippines. The major and unprecedented break through came when China, the most populous …

Research Collaboration Among Library And Information Science (Lis) Professionals In Nigeria., Ebisemen Patience Lulu-Pokubo, George Azubuike Onwueme

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper investigated research collaboration as a tool for professional development among Library and Information science Professionals in Nigeria. Survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study comprises of all the professional librarians of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA) members in Rivers and Delta states. The findings of the survey showed that the professional librarians as members of NLA Delta and Rivers States are highly involved in research collaboration. The study also revealed the relevance of research collaboration and it was observed that research collaboration brings about higher quality of result in the LIS profession …

Introduction To Soil Health For High School Students, Jiyul Chang, Becki Ritter, Dean Feller, Madhav P. Nepal

iLEARN Teaching Resources

Growing food from soil is a basic and important work to continue supporting the growing human population. Producing more foods and producing healthy food are challenging tasks, because producing foods use soil nutrients but can deplete the soil. This can adversely affect the natural balance. If the soil is healthy, we will not only increase production but also grow healthy food. This class is a starting point for learning about Soil Health – where students will learn about how the soil functions and how it directly influences the food we grow. In summary, it is all about striking the right …

The Relationship Between Communication With Coworkers And Job Satisfaction Among Teleworkers: The Moderating Role Of Communication Modality, Madison L. Mariano

Master's Theses

Teleworking has become increasingly prevalent due to public health concerns and advancements in communication technologies. While organizations should take steps to promote job satisfaction among teleworkers, there is little research on the predictors of job satisfaction among full-time teleworkers. Specifically, few studies have focused on how coworker communication might impact job satisfaction among full-time teleworkers. This study focused on this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between the frequency of communication with coworkers and job satisfaction and the moderating role of communication modality. Communication modality refers to a form of communication technology available to teleworkers, ranging from rich …

Elementary Teachers’ Preparedness To Teach Three-Dimensional Standards In The United Arab Emirates, Zoya Houjeiri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Speech Play On A Character’S Name: A Case Study Of Uncle Buḍh In A Thai Novel, Thiyot . . . Waew Siang Khruan Khlang (Death Whisperer), Direk Hongthong

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

The film adaptation of the novel Thiyot . . . Waew Siang Khruan Khlang (Death Whisperer) in 2023 significantly devalued the role of Uncle Buḍh, an important character in the novel. This article aims to reveal the ingenuity and importance of this character in the novel by studying it within the framework of speech play. The study reveals that the name “Buḍh” (พุฒ ิ) plays with sounds and meanings, through which device the character’s role is enhanced. The name can be pronounced in two ways: /put/ and /putthi/. The first pronunciation corresponds with the words “Buḍh” (พุฒ), “Buddh” (พุทธ), and …

The Ideal “Home/Family” Vs. (Possibly) Unbeautiful Realities: Meanings And Reflections In Kadee Rak Raang, Wipada Rattanadilok Na Phuket

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

This analysis of the novel Kadee Rak Raang (The Case of Abandoned Love) is aimed at studying the changing meaning of the word “home” as illustrated in the text and at examining the home as a space where the roles and identities of women are expressed. The researcher posits that home is not just a physical space, but also a cultural space. Ideally, home/family is characterized by having complete family members, being a happy space, and being a safe zone or a mental shelter. However, when this ideal cannot be maintained, the concept of home/ family may be negotiated and …