Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Information Literacy Instruction And Its Impact On Stem Students At Hbcus, Dawn Ventress Kight

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

In today’s complex information environment, students are entering college underprepared and lacking Information Literacy (IL) skills as they matriculate in STEM disciplines. Some universities have not developed effective systematic approaches for IL instructional programs to aid students in developing necessary 21st century IL skills. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate Information Literacy (IL) instruction and the impact it has on student achievement for students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. This qualitative research followed a transcendental phenomenological approach by documenting and giving voice to the lived experiences of participants at HBCUs in a Southern …

"You All Look Like @Wolfiecindy:" The Homogeny Of Facial Self-Presentation Among Female Instagram Users, Kelly Mcginty

Theses & Dissertations

The emergence of a single facial aesthetic among professionally beautiful women on Instagram has popularized and idealized a specific look (i.e., Instagram Face) within a generation of young women and has normalized nonsurgical interventions and the use of photo editing in order to achieve it. It is the face of Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, and many other women who are considered attractive and who have large followings on the social platform. Through data collected by a quantitative content analysis, this thesis investigates how these women all look astoundingly the same, with uniformly high and contoured …

Innovating In The Digital Economy, Arnoud De Meyer

Perspectives@SMU

It is all about creating and capturing value, building networks, and scaling up quickly

Secure Self-Checkout Kiosks Using Alma Api With Two-Factor Authentication, Ron Bulaon

Research Collection Library

Self-checkout kiosks have become a staple feature of many modern and digitized libraries. These devices are used by library patrons for self-service item loans. Most implementations are not new, in fact many of these systems are simple, straight forward and work as intended. But behind this useful technology, there is a security concern on authentication that has to be addressed.

In my proposed presentation, I will discuss the risk factors of self-checkout kiosks and propose a solution using Alma APIs. I will address the technical shortcomings of the current implementations, compared to the proposed solution, and where the weakest link …

Fear Then And Now: The Vampire As A Reflection Of Society, Mackenzie Phelps

English (MA) Theses

Over the expanse of centuries, human society has created monsters in order to give a physical form to their abstract fears. Society has gone from speaking of them in oral traditions to watching them on a screen in more recent decades, but the written works of these monstrosities have occurred in the multitudes across multiple eras. The globalized monster I have chosen to focus on here is the vampire. Said vampires are witnessed as changing over time to adjust to the awakening or loss of certain human fears, distresses, and perceived threats—whether that be war, religion, race, etc. While …

Up Close And Personal With Mr Sundar Selvam: Hitting Zero Targets, Sundar Selvam

Oral History Collection

He might not be one you would have come across on campus. And not one you might read much about in SMU news or in the limelight for its achievements, preferring to remain in the background. But look around the SMU campus and you will see the fruits of his work and that of his team. Meet Sundar, SMU’s Vice-President for Campus Infrastructure and Services. Since January 2015, he has been at the forefront of driving SMU’s own sustainability journey which has resulted in several “firsts”. This interview was published in the August edition of SMU CIRCLE.

The Degree Of Polymerization And Sulfation Patterns In Heparan Sulfate Are Critical Determinants Of Cytomegalovirus Entry Into Host Cells, Dipanwita Mitra, Mohammad H. Hasan, John T. Bates, Michael A. Bierdeman

Faculty and Student Publications

Several enveloped viruses, including herpesviruses attach to host cells by initially interacting with cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans followed by specific coreceptor engagement which culminates in virus-host membrane fusion and virus entry. Interfering with HS-herpesvirus interactions has long been known to result in significant reduction in virus infectivity indicating that HS play important roles in initiating virus entry. In this study, we provide a series of evidence to prove that specific sulfations as well as the degree of polymerization (dp) of HS govern human cytomegalovirus (CMV) binding and infection. First, purified CMV extracellular virions preferentially bind to sulfated longer …

Red Algal Sulfated Galactan Binds And Protects Neural Cells From Hiv-1 Gp120 And Tat, Vitor H. Pomin, Fakhri Mahdi, Weihua Jin, Fuming Zhang

Faculty and Student Publications

The potential neuroprotective capacity of four different sulfated glycans: Botryocladia occidentalis-derived sulfated galactan (BoSG) (MW > 100 kDa), Lytechinus variegatus-derived sulfated fucan (LvSF) (MW~90 kDa), high-molecular weight dextran sulfate (DxS) (MW 100 kDa), and unfractionated heparin (UFH) (MW~15 kDa), was assessed in response to the HIV-1 proteins, R5-tropic glycoprotein 120 (gp120) and/or trans-activator of transcription (Tat), using primary murine neurons co-cultured with mixed glia. Compared to control-treated cells in which HIV-1 proteins alone or combined were neurotoxic, BoSG was, among the four tested sulfated glycans, the only one capable of showing significant concentration-dependent neuroprotection against Tat and/or gp120, alone or combined. …

Evaluating The Effect Of City Ordinances On The Implementation And Performance Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (Gsi), Liya E. Abera, Cristiane Q. Surbeck, Kristina Alexander

Faculty and Student Publications

The replacement of natural pervious surfaces with impervious surfaces due to urbanization, construction, and development causes excess stormwater runoff and results in cities experiencing localized flooding events. The installation of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is one way of reducing flooding events and preventing downstream erosion and damage. In this study, computer rainfall-runoff simulations were performed to analyze GSI's effectiveness in mitigating stormwater runoff when applied to sites with different soil types and for which different design storms were established by regulation. A mixed-use development site was used as a hypothetical site on which to perform the analysis. The study applied …

History Of Mathematics Education In Brazil: An Overview Of Secondary Education, Maria Laura Magalhães Gomes, Antonio Vicente Marafioti Garnica

The Mathematics Enthusiast

The field of the history of mathematics education, inscribed in the field of research on mathematics education in Brazil, has been developed as a result of the work of many groups of researchers, dedicated to varied themes under the light of various theoretical and methodological approaches. While it is impossible to describe in detail such studies in a single article, the objective of this text is to offer an overview of research results on a specific topic – mathematics in secondary education and training of teachers to teach at this level, over the years.

The current situation of the country …

Celebrating A Milestone: 20th Anniversary Achievement Highlights [School Of Accountancy], Singapore Management University

SMU Corporate Reports

The book “Celebrating a Milestone 20^th Anniversary Achievement Highlights” was published in August 2021 to commemorate SoA’s 20^th Anniversary as well as the 15^th Anniversary of the Master of Professional Accounting Programme. The book documents the achievements and key milestones in SoA’s history.

Guest Editorial: Brazilian Research In Mathematics Education, Jonei Cerqueira Barbosa

The Mathematics Enthusiast

No abstract provided.

Convergence: Eos News And Updates, August 2021, Unh Institute For The Study Of Earth, Oceans And Space

Convergence: EOS News and Updates

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Microbiome Host Disease Prediction With Variational Autoencoders, Celeste Manughian-Peter

Computational and Data Sciences (MS) Theses

Advancements in genetic sequencing methods for microbiomes in recent decades have permitted the collection of taxonomic and functional profiles of microbial communities, accelerating the discovery of the functional aspects of the microbiome and generating an increased interest among clinicians in applying these techniques with patients. This advancement has coincided with software and hardware improvements in the field of machine learning and deep learning. Combined, these advancements implicate further potential for progress in disease diagnosis and treatment in humans. The ability to classify a human microbiome profile into a disease category, and additionally identify the differentiating factors within the profile between …

Uncertainty Quantification, Douglas Cook

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

What are the limitations of scientific models? Uncertainty quantification, Sensitivity analyses, Theory-based and statistical modeling, Systems thinking, systems analysis

Image-Guided Therapies, Steven P. Allen

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Medicine, Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Ultrasound, Surgery

Predicting Eye Movement And Fixation Patterns On Scenic Images Using Machine Learning For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Raymond Anden

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

This study uses eye-tracking experiment data to predict the fixation points for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Typically Developing (TD) for 14 ASD and 14 TD subjects for 300 scenic images. Based on explanatory Logistic Regression models, it is evident that fixation patterns for both ASD and TD subjects focus near the center of each scenic image. Using gradient boosting the researchers successfully identify 31.7% and 39.5% of all fixation points in the top decile of predicted fixation points for ASD and TD subjects respectively. Results conclude that TD subjects have less variability in their eye movement and …

Combining The Forces Of Experiment, Simulation, And Data Science To Develop New Catalysis Technology For Natural Gas Conversion, Morris D. Argyle

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Heterogenous catalysis & energy engineering

Facile Atomic-Level Structure Determination Of Proteins, James Moody

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Protein structure and function, Protein crystallization methods, Enzymology, Enzyme engineering

Multi-Scale Simulation Of Turbulent Reacting Flow, David O. Lignell

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Design more efficient processes, Understand key physical phenomena, Limit and control pollutants, Analyze and predict hazards

Dellacorte Lab At Byu, Dennis Dellacorte

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Protein Folding, Protein Engineering, Building models that help interpret experimental results

Using X-Ray Vision To Understand How Things Break: Lensless X-Ray Imaging Of Materials In Extreme Conditions, Richard Sandberg

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Microscopy, nanotechnology, optics, inverse problems, applied math, materials science, computer science, data science, x-ray imaging and diffraction

Polydnavirus Innexins Disrupt Host Cellular Encapsulation And Larval Maturation, Peng Zhang, Matthew Turnbull

Open Access Publishing Fund

Polydnaviruses are dsDNA viruses associated with endoparasitoid wasps. Delivery of the virus during parasitization of a caterpillar and subsequent virus gene expression is required for production of an amenable environment for parasitoid offspring development. Consequently, understanding of Polydnavirus gene function provides insight into mechanisms of host susceptibility and parasitoid wasp host range. Polydnavirus genes predominantly are arranged in multimember gene families, one of which is the vinnexins, which are virus homologues of insect gap junction genes, the innexins. Previous studies of Campoletis sonorensis Ichnovirus Vinnexins using various heterologous systems have suggested the four encoded members may provide different functionality in …

Morag Myerscough, Lukas Emory

Communication Design: Design Pioneers

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Structural Design, Taylor Sorensen

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Structural analysis, design, and sustainability; Thermal performance of structures

Computational Design Through Manufacturing, Kendrick Shepherd

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Computer-Aided Design, Engineering, and Manufacturing; Continuum Mechanics;

Partial Differential Equations;

Computational Geometry; Isogeometric Analysis

International Education In The U.S. Through The Prism Of Fulbright Program: Historical Analysis, Polina Kaniuka

Bakerman Student Research Awards

The scale and speed of global change challenge higher education and other national sectors to internationalize, to have an understanding of the relationship of various nations, including the United States, with the rest of the world, and to realize the importance of the latter. International education plays a prominent role in the shaping of a new global society. However, it seems there has not been enough support from the federal government in regards to the efforts promoting international education in the United States. Many studies touched on the role of the federal government when it comes to the higher education; …

Winter Cereal Rye Cover Crop Decreased Nitrous Oxide Emissions During Early Spring, Graig W. Reicks, David E. Clay, Sharon A. Clay, Deepak R. Joshi, Janet Moriles-Miller, Shaina Westhoff, Aaron Lee M. Daigh, Stephanie A. Bruggeman

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Despite differences between the cover crop growth and decomposition phases, few greenhouse gas (GHG) studies have separated these phases from each other. This study’s hypothesis was that a living cover crop reduces soil inorganic N concentrations and soil water, thereby reducing N₂O emissions. We quantified the effects of a fall-planted living cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop (2017, 2018, 2019) on the following spring’s soil temperature, soil water, water-filled porosity (WFP), inorganic N, and GHG (N₂O-N and CO₂–C) emissions and compared these measurements to bare soil. The experimental design was a randomized …

Bacteria In Blood Particles For Drug Delivery, Bill Pitt

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Biomedical engineering, drug delivery, bacteria, blood, particles, polymers

Ensemble Data Fitting For Bathymetric Models Informed By Nominal Data, Samantha Zambo

Dissertations

Due to the difficulty and expense of collecting bathymetric data, modeling is the primary tool to produce detailed maps of the ocean floor. Current modeling practices typically utilize only one interpolator; the industry standard is splines-in-tension.

In this dissertation we introduce a new nominal-informed ensemble interpolator designed to improve modeling accuracy in regions of sparse data. The method is guided by a priori domain knowledge provided by artificially intelligent classifiers. We recast such geomorphological classifications, such as ‘seamount’ or ‘ridge’, as nominal data which we utilize as foundational shapes in an expanded ordinary least squares regression-based algorithm. To our knowledge …