Mda At Your Service: What Are The New Features On The Mda Member Compass?, Rachel Sinacola Dds, Ms

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Q&A column assists members in utilizing association resources. It highlights the new MDA Member Compass, which allows for online practice management, staff roster updates, and event registration. It also offers critical advice for new graduates regarding state licensure, mandatory insurance policies, and contract review services. Furthermore, it describes the MDA Peer Review System, a confidential process for resolving patient-dentist disputes through impartial committee evaluation rather than litigation.

Drug Therapy Of Anxiety Disorders And Depression: Considerations For Dental Treatment, David Tindle Dds, Ms

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This clinical article examines the dental implications for patients taking psychiatric medications. It reviews major drug classes, including SSRIs, SNRIs, and benzodiazepines, focusing on oral side effects like xerostomia and bruxism. The author details critical drug interactions with local anesthetic vasoconstrictors and macrolide antibiotics. Crucially, the source explores research suggesting that SSRIs may significantly increase the risk of dental implant failure by interfering with bone metabolism and osseointegration.

2026 May, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2026.

Predicting Flight Fares With Machine Learning: Enhancing Aviation Industry Pricing Forecasting, Reem Almulla

Theses

This research investigates the increasing challenge of accurate flight fare prediction for travel agencies that are functioning and working in the post-pandemic aviation market. As the prices fluctuate while demand is unstable and competition pressure increases, therefore it influences decision-making and profitability. In most cases, traditional ticket pricing methods often can be ineffective when capturing complex and non-linear relationships within factors that influence the ticket fare dynamics. As a result, highlighting the urge of more adaptive pricing and data-driven predictive machine learning models. In response to this challenge, the research examines the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for enhancing flight …

Genui: Customizing And Improving User Interfaces In Real-Time With Generative Ai, Ursula Parker

Theses

MOTIVATION: Users must conform to the interfaces they are given, which are designed for a generalized user base rather than individual workflows or preferences. Existing UI customizations are often limited to fixed options predetermined by developers, restricting meaningful user control. Advances in generative AI introduce the possibility of modifying the underlying code of a production system that defines interfaces, enabling more flexible and targeted adaptations. However, the feasibility, scalability, and usability of such user-driven customization remain open questions. GOAL: The goal of this work is to help people customize their user interfaces, by investigating how they can linguistically specify the …

Energy And Cost In Cold Climates: Comparing Passive And Active Solar Design Upgrades For Homes And Their Ability To Reduce Energy Bills In Western New York, Gillespie Merod

Theses

This study examines the comparative effectiveness of passive solar design strategies and active solar systems for reducing residential energy expenditures while maintaining thermal comfort in Climate Zone 6A/B, with a focus on Western New York. A baseline single-family residence was created in Autodesk Revit and analyzed with Autodesk Insight (EnergyPlus) to assess energy performance across multiple upgrade scenarios. These scenarios encompassed targeted envelope enhancements, passive solar design strategies, deep energy retrofits, and photovoltaic (PV) system integrations. Results indicate passive measures, especially air sealing and insulation, can cut energy use by up to 76% with deep retrofits, though upfront costs and …

Long Run Effect Of Industrial Place-Based Policy On County Level Complexity, An Investigation Of The Tennessee Valley Authority, Anita Ifeyinwa Umunnah

Master's Theses

This paper studies the long-term effects of large federal investments in place-based industrial policies on regional economic development, contributing new evidence on how industrial policies shape regional local productive capabilities over time. While extensive research show that industrial policies impact regional development by advancing productive technology (capabilities), the fundamental question remains how to measure this technological transformation. The study employs the use of Economic Complexity Index (ECI) as a measure of “technological advancements” resulting from large federal investments in place-based industrial policies. Previous evaluations of such investment were based on livelihood, employment and income outcomes, with productive capability of receiving …

Resilience, Stress, And Emotion Regulation In College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Of Tiktok Engagement, Samuel Bibat, Jon Thang, Hui Zhang, Hannah Carrie, Jessica Golden

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This study examined associations between stress, resilience, emotion regulation (ER), and TikTok use. Data were collected from 101 undergraduate students (M_age = 20.04, SD_age = 4.02) at a Midwestern private university. Participants completed self-report measures of TikTok use and intensity (i.e., emotional attachment), resilience, perceived stress, and intrapersonal and interpersonal ER. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS macro models. Stress mediated the relationship between resilience and TikTok use but not intensity. Interpersonal ER moderated the resilience–stress link, with higher interpersonal ER amplifying the negative association between resilience and stress, which in turn was linked …

Latinos In Rural Areas Of Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Rodolfo R. Vega, Florita Coto Tristán, Rafael M. Pérez Medina

Gastón Institute Publications

In previous reports, the Gastón Institute has noted that the Latino population is dispersed across the state, but mainly to urban areas. In 2024, Latinos living in Massachusetts rural areas1 numbered 38,500, or 3.6% of the state's overall Latino population. Although Massachusetts is the third most densely populated among the fifty U.S. states, 52% of its land is classified as rural. These rural areas hold over 45% of the state's cities and towns and about 700,000 residents (9.9% of the total population). This report underscores the limited Latino presence in rural areas compared to urban areas and analyzes differences in …

Massachusetts' Unseen Contributors: The Economic Contribution Of Its Latino Population With Irregular Immigration Status, Phillip Granberry, Mariana Dutra

Gastón Institute Publications

This report shows that so-called “irregular” Latinos are an essential part of the

workforce. Beyond community spending, consumer activity, and taxes paid

(including tax benefits that many will never benefit from), it is important to

remember that we are talking about people— human beings with stories, families,

difficult choices, and dreams. I hope that in the near future, when we are able to

dream big again, this analysis will sustain our advocacy for systems that truly reflect

our (Latino) contributions to the Commonwealth and beyond.

The George-Anne Inkwell Edition, Georgia Southern University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

The Quality Assurance Machine – A Software Quality Assurance Architecture For Ml-Enabled Systems, Shane E. Downing

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates whether a reusable assurance architecture, the Quality Assurance Machine (QAM), can provide effective product and process quality assurance for ML-enabled software platforms. The QAM is a system-level SQA architecture that turns plans and policies into versioned configurations, executes them in controlled environments, and produces preserved run evidence that supports traceability, auditability, and controlled change. The study follows Design Science Research and evaluates the instantiated artifact using eight assurance requirements (AR1–AR8) synthesized from standards-based guidance, including IEEE 730 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026. A four-year longitudinal evaluation combines two methods. First, operational evidence from routine regression and release-validation runs, defect …

Personality Characteristics Of Emergency Nurses And Their Subjective Fit In The Emergency Department, Jose Michael Maria

Theses & Dissertations

Nursing workforce challenges in the United States persist despite widespread recruitment and retention efforts, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated shortages, turnover, and workforce instability. Despite interventions such as residency programs, financial incentives, and organizational initiatives, long-term retention remains inconsistent, particularly in high-demand settings like emergency departments. Ongoing issues such as overcrowding, rising patient acuity, and workforce attrition contribute to burnout, compassion fatigue, and compromised patient outcomes, perpetuating a cycle of staffing strain. Grounded in Person–Environment Fit theory, this research proposes that aligning emergency nurses’ personality traits with the specialty practice environment, the emergency department, may offer a more …

Caring For Transgender People In Healthcare: A Qualitative Descriptive Study With Nurses Working In An Acute Healthcare Setting, Gabriela Roxana Matson

Theses & Dissertations

Transgender individuals frequently encounter numerous obstacles when accessing healthcare services, including stigma, discrimination, and inadequate understanding from healthcare providers. Structural, interpersonal, and anticipation barriers significantly hinder transgender patients' access to care. Structural barriers include a lack of healthcare providers knowledgeable in transgender health and financial constraints. Interpersonal barriers involve discrimination, such as refusal to use correct pronouns or provide gender-affirming care. Anticipation barriers stem from fear of mistreatment, causing many to avoid seeking medical care altogether. Nurses play a vital role in upholding inclusive and affirming healthcare This qualitative descriptive study explored the subjective experiences of registered nurses who provided …

Bridge Building In Professional Development For Educators Working With Latinx Families: An Action Research Approach Leading To Equitable Family Engagement, Nicole Deanna Bell

Theses & Dissertations

Latinx students represent a growing population in public schools, and research highlights the importance of focusing on collectivist family engagement strategies to align with their cultural ideals. However, there is limited research on how school systems, beginning with teachers and administrators, can shift their definitions and practices to embed more collectivist-oriented strategies that foster more welcoming and inclusive spaces for Latinx families. This action-research study explored whether an asset-based lens introduced through a one-day professional development workshop could serve as a catalyst for such change. The workshop centered on participants’ storytelling, building understanding of the collectivist-individualist dichotomy, and presenting strategies …

Market Reactions To Deceptive Language In Fake News: Implications From Language Expectancy Theory And Transfer Learning, Ka Chung Ng, Ping Fan Ke, Ping Fan, Mike So, Tam, Kar Yan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has heightened the proliferation of fake news. A key challenge is the limited real-world data to investigate the societal impact of fake news produced by generative AI. In this paper, we examine stock market reactions to financial news articles that exhibit stylometric similarity to human-crafted and AI-crafted fake financial news. Grounded in language expectancy theory, we employ a style-based transfer learning model, pre-trained to recognizing deceptive language employed in various types of fake news intricacies. We then apply this model to a comprehensive dataset of financial news, assigning a “veracity style score” to …

Quantitative Bounds On Resource Usage Of Probabilistic Programs, Krishnendu Chatterjee, Amir Kafshdar Goharshady, Tobias Meggendorfer, Dorde Zikelic

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Cost analysis, also known as resource usage analysis, is the task of finding bounds on the total cost of a program and is a well-studied problem in static analysis. In this work, we consider two classical quantitative problems in cost analysis for probabilistic programs. The first problem is to find a bound on the expected total cost of the program. This is a natural measure for the resource usage of the program and can also be directly applied to average-case runtime analysis. The second problem asks for a tail bound, i.e. ‍given a threshold t the goal is to find …

Optimisation Of Photosensitive Recording Materials For Broadband Holographic Optical Elements, Michael Murray

Doctoral

The introduction of broadband (white) LED outdoor lighting has led to significant energy savings. However, this has come at the cost of increased light pollution which has negative impacts both on ecological systems and human health. This light pollution is largely the result of the lack of control measures for the directionality of the light emitted by outdoor LED lighting. The lack of directionality also results in higher energy consumption in order to compensate for the light scattered to the atmosphere and sufficiently illuminate the target area. In this thesis holographic optical elements (HOEs) are proposed as a complementary technology …

Political Costs And Strategic Corporate Communication, Christine Cuny, Jungbae Kim, Mihir N. Mehta

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

When subject to public scrutiny, do firms strategically use advertising to reduce expected political costs? Advertising can ease public concerns, thereby reducing the pressure on politicians to act harshly against scrutinized firms and their industries. We use repeated congressional testimony by industry members as a novel way to identify political scrutiny. Our central finding is that scrutinized industries increase their advertising spending 132 percent more in the electorates of politicians overseeing the hearings than in the electorates of other politicians. Further, strategic advertising is complementary to income-decreasing accounting choices and a substitute for lobbying. Overall, our study sheds light on …

Cities And Climate Change, Matthias Roth, Enric Aguilar, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

We are pleased to present this special virtual collection of articles, highlighting the multifaceted interactions between cities, local climates, and global anthropogenic climate change. Climate change and urbanisation are the two global megatrends that transform human life and, at the same time, directly impact each other. Urban areas have the highest density of human populations and experience altered atmospheric conditions due to anthropogenic modification of natural physical settings and extra emissions of air pollutants and trace gases. One of the most obvious examples of climate modification due to humans is the urban heat island (UHI). This phenomenon describes urban regions, …

Brief Virtual Reality And Mixed Reality Mindfulness Breathing Exercise For Emotional Well-Being And Cognitive Functions In University Students: Within-Subjects Experimental Design Study, Zoey Khai Yee Eun, Charmaine Jiali Koh, Hwajin Yang, Adalia Yin Hui Goh, Meilan Hu, K Tennakoon Appuhamillage Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: Mindfulness has been shown to enhance emotional well-being and cognitive performance, yet much of this evidence stems from interventions requiring prolonged practice, making them time-consuming and less accessible. Recent studies suggest that brief mindfulness sessions may also yield positive outcomes, but the effectiveness of such interventions in virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) remains underexplored. Objective: This study investigates the effects of brief mindfulness breathing exercises delivered through VR and MR on attentional and emotional restoration and self-control capacity. Methods: Using a within-subjects experimental design, 102 undergraduate participants (n=83, 81.4% female; mean age 20.87, SD 1.89) completed a …

A Stress-Induced Digital Escapism Framework For Understanding The Link Between Stress And Problematic Social Media Use, Hwajin Yang, Frosch Yi Xuan Quek, Xiu Hui Salin Yap, Yue Qi Germaine Tng, Gilaine Rui Ng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Given that stress is a significant risk factor for problematic social media use, understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms is essential. We introduce the Stress-Induced Digital Escapism (SIDE) framework, which posits that negative internal emotional responses to external stressors may increase reliance on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies that fail to alleviate distress. These processes may, in turn, strengthen escapism motives that lead to seeking emotional relief through compulsive social media use. Using structural equation modeling (N = 238), we examined three integrated psychological pathways—negative stress reactions, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and escapism motives—as sequential mediators linking external demands to problematic social …

Research "Junkification" Is Caused By Researchers, Not Journals, Simon Sebastian Groome, Jose C. Yong, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Concerns about declining research quality have increasingly been framed as “junkification,” whereby academic output expands in volume while declining in epistemic value. A recent paper by Rhodes and Linnenluecke (2025) attributes this trend to changes in publishing, arguing that research quality erodes as journals and publishers become increasingly oriented toward output quantity and metrics, driven by monetization. In 2009, Nobel Laureate James Watson remarked that scientific publishing in the mid-twentieth century was both easier and of a higher standard than today (Web of Stories, 2017). If publishing is much easier of late, as Rhodes and Linnenelucke (R&L) argued, then how …

Meritocracy And Equal Access To The Public Sector: A Comparative Analysis Of Accessibility To Public Sector Jobs And Public Services, Beomgeun Cho, Heasun Choi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This study investigates the impact of meritocracy on equal access to the public sector, focusing on public sector employment and services. While meritocratic principles promote impartiality and fairness in administrative processes, their effectiveness in improving equal accessibility remains understudied and contested. Drawing on the literature linking meritocracy to democratic stability, we argue that strong meritocratic systems enhance equal access to the public sector regardless of social groups and gender by fostering professional stewardship in the bureaucracy and strengthening checks and balances between bureaucrats and politicians. Our findings, drawn from a panel dataset consisting of 161 countries over 49 years, suggest …

Regional Assessment Of South Texas Wells Produced Water, Hunter T. Barnett

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

This study presents a regional assessment of produced water (PW) quality from oil and gas wells in South Texas, with a focus on variability and its implications for treatment and reuse. As oil and gas production continues to expand, PW waste streams will continue to grow. With a focus on the Eagle Ford Shale, understanding the chemical composition is critical for effective PW management. A total of 28 PW samples were collected from wells located in Pleasanton, Jourdanton, and Tilden, Texas. Samples were analyzed for key parameters including total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, total hardness, and calcium. The results showed …

Miserly Thinking: Understanding The Factors Shaping Public Support Towards Project Wolbachia In Singapore, Shirley S. Ho, Agnes S. F. Chuah, Fiona J. W. Goh, Nova Mengxia Huang, Mengxue Qu, Hye Kyung Kim, Sonny Rosenthal

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Project Wolbachia is a vector control method that releases male Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquitoes to curb dengue transmission in Singapore. While research has primarily focused on its efficacy, few studies have examined public opinion. This study draws upon the cognitive miser model and scientific literacy model to examine the factors shaping public support for Project Wolbachia. A nationally representative door-to-door survey was conducted in Singapore (N = 1,000) using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Our findings revealed that while knowledge about Project Wolbachia explains public support, laypeople may often rely on cognitive shortcuts, such as value predispositions, media attention, and pre-existing perceptions, …

Alcohol Awareness, Prevention, And Education In Greek Life, Vivian J. Mcmechen, Kara Ann Lasater, Page Dobbs

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Alcohol consumption is normalized in Greek Life culture, and this social standard can lead to risky health behaviors and overconsumption. At the University of Arkansas, approximately one-third of students are members of Greek Life; there is a need for prevention methods that understand students’ lived experiences. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine students’ experiences with alcohol prevention, awareness, and education as current members of Greek Life at the University of Arkansas. Through student interviews and surveys, this project aims to inform and provide recommendations for relatable and student-centered alcohol prevention and education efforts. Methodology: This study …

Adolescent Social Media Use And Associations With Parental Screen Time Practices, Joseph A. Simon, Josiah Leong

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The rise of electronic use among younger generations has raised concerns surrounding  the developmental and behavioral effects of increasing usage. While past research has found some associations between screen time and mental health, there is less knowledge about how parenting practices influence these developmental and behavioral patterns of social media use. Our study examined longitudinal trajectories of social media use from ages 9 to 13 among 9,211 subjects at baseline, year 1, year 2 and later a complete 3-year parent questionnaire on screen time reward, limiting, and monitoring to then examine whether parenting behaviors were associated with previous social media …

Patterns In Awareness And Uptake Of The Lpa Among Older Adults In Singapore, Paulin Tay Straughan, Emi Loh, Shu Fang Ng, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan, Wensi Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Findings from a survey with 7910 Singapore Life Panel members reveal that awareness of the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) was relatively high, but actual uptake remained low, with only one in three having made an LPA and pronounced gaps among lower socioeconomic groups. Despite this, attitudes towards LPA were generally positive, with perceived benefits centered on peace of mind and reducing burdens on family members. A major barrier to adoption is the misconception that children automatically have the legal authority to make decisions if parents lose mental capacity. Structural and psychological barriers, including cost, complexity, and limited guidance, further …

Antidistillation Sampling For Classification Models, Khawaja Abaid Ullah

Theses

Knowledge distillation enables adversaries to replicate the functionality of proprietary machine learning models by querying their APIs and training surrogate student models on the returned soft-label distributions. Antidistillation Sampling (ADS), recently proposed for large language models, perturbs the output distribution of a teacher model at inference time to degrade the quality of the resulting distilled model while preserving utility for legitimate users. We adapt ADS to the supervised classification setting and identify a structural obstacle to its direct transfer: the high-confidence, near-one-hot output distributions characteristic of well-trained classifiers leave insufficient probability mass on non-target classes for the additive penalty to …