Digital Commons Network^™

A Chemical And Historical Analysis Of Beer: Discovering Brewing Styles And Beer Stages, Alexander Taylor '24

Honor Scholar Theses

This interdisciplinary project is designed to explore both the compositional qualities of beer during the brewing process and its impact on society from a cultural, economic, and social viewpoint. Comparing various styles of beer against each other in a historical, societal, and chemical lens allows for a deeper understanding of what creates a beer’s identity, and what makes it different from other styles. Here we analyzed two different styles of beer, a bock lager and a saison ale, in order to determine their chemical composition through their developmental stages to their final product. Based on previously published research and extended …

Using Multiple Methods To Explore Antiracist Practices In A Cross Institutional Online Community, Mark Diacopoulos, Amanda Burbage, Kristen H. Gregory, Mary F. Rice

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

In this chapter, four white, cis-gender, teacher-educators engaged in a multiple method, cross-institution online collaboration during the dual pandemic of Covid-19 and structural racism. Using a book club reading schedule, arts based responses, problem posing, and memory work, the authors examined their experiences and reactions to the pandemic and concurrent incidences of structural racism. Drawing inspiration from Robinson and Robinson’s (2022) Imagine If, followed by Kendi’s (2019, 2023) How to be Antiracist, the authors describe how their online collaboration influenced their understanding of their past, helped them to unpack considerations of present problems in their practice, and helped them consider …

Euro Interest Rate Swap Yields: Some Ardl Models, Khawaja Mamun

WCBT Working Papers

This paper examines the dynamics of euro-denominated (EUR) long-term interest rate swap yields. It shows that the short-term interest rate has an economically and statistically significant effect on EUR swap yields of different maturity tenors, after controlling for various key macroeconomic variables. It presents several autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) models of the dynamics of EUR swap yields. The estimated econometric models of EUR swap yields of different maturity tenors imply that the European Central Bank (ECB) exerts substantial influence on interest rate swap yields, primarily through the effect of its actions on the current short-term interest rate. Examining the case …

The Raci Matrix And Its Use In The Office, Michelle C. Dziurgot Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The RACI Matrix, crucial in office management, delegates tasks efficiently: Responsible individuals, like lead assistants, handle specific duties; Accountable, typically the manager, ensures smooth operations; Consulted, such as patients, provide input; Informed parties, like lab technicians, contribute expertise. By adhering to RACI, dental offices optimize workflow, enhance patient care, and address challenges effectively, ensuring a harmonious and efficient practice.

Advocacy Spotlight: Sen. Sam Singh, Mda Legislator Of The Year, Neema Katibai Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Sen. Sam Singh, Michigan Senate Majority Floor Leader and MDA Legislative Achievement Award recipient, discusses oral health priorities and legislative successes. In an interview, Singh highlights the passage of SB 280, which ensures oral health assessments for kindergarteners, and SB 281, which enhances network leasing transparency. Singh emphasizes the importance of oral health in overall well-being and bipartisan support for these initiatives. He credits the Michigan Dental Association for its advocacy and advises dentists to engage in advocacy through associations and direct communication with elected officials.

Staff Matters: Utilizing ‘Unretired’ Workers To Address Hiring Challenges, Jodi Schafer Sphr, Shrm-Scp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Jodi Schafer suggests targeting "unretired" workers to address front office staffing challenges in dental practices. These retirees bring valuable experience, reliability, and a commitment to customer service. Strategies include offering flexible schedules and competitive benefits and targeting recruitment efforts through networks frequented by retirees. Utilizing this demographic can supplement and support full-time staff, alleviating hiring difficulties.

The Back Page Commentary: Mda Leaders And Students Attend Ada Student Lobby Day In Washington, D.C., Christopher J. Smiley Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

A group of MDA leaders and students from the University of Detroit Mercy and University of Michigan dental schools traveled to the nation’s capital city April 7-9 to participate in the American Dental Association’s 2024 Student Lobby Day activities.

Dr. Todd Christy: Meet Your 2024-25 Mda President, David Foe Ma, Cde

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Dr. Todd Christy, DDS, inaugurated as Michigan Dental Association (MDA) president, brings extensive experience within MDA leadership. Practicing in southwest Michigan, he aims to address workforce shortage, practice profitability, and practice sales difficulties. His tenure prioritizes advocating for effective legislation, fostering dental equity, and enhancing workforce diversity. Christy champions member involvement, emphasizing local engagement and MDA mentoring programs. Committed to improving communication and member services, he highlights MDA's strengths in education, advocacy, and insurance services. Beyond dentistry, Christy enjoys outdoor activities with his family and looks forward to statewide community engagement during his presidency.

Here Are The Mda Award Winners For 2024, David Foe Ma Cde

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

The Michigan Dental Association (MDA) awarded outstanding individuals and organizations in 2024, highlighting dedication to dentistry and community service. Notable winners include Dr. Richard Charlick, honored for decades of teaching and mission work, Dr. Daniel Miller for leadership across dentistry, and Dr. Michael Haddow and Scott Ward for exceptional public service. Educators Dr. Sarah Tomaka and Dr. Gary Bonior were recognized for their contributions to dental education, while Becky Wooters facilitated dental assistant training at tribal colleges. NDX Dental Art Laboratory and Dr. Michael Vilag were commended for their work with Donated Dental Services, alongside rising star Dr. Katherine Cramer. …

Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia Progressing To Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report, Magdalena Orlowska Dds, Felipe Nör Dds, Ms, Phd, Robert Eber Dds, Ms, Stephanie Munz Dds, David Tindle Dds, Ms

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is an uncommon type of oral leukoplakia characterized by white patches featuring verrucoid areas. It is a condition of idiopathic origin, displaying a strong tendency to transform into squamous cell carcinoma, verrucous carcinoma, or the newly described particulate carcinoma. PVL is more commonly found in elderly women who have had leukoplakic lesions for many years. Although PVL may be found virtually anywhere in the oral cavity, the buccal mucosa, gingiva, and tongue are the most common sites. In this case, we describe a lesion of this nature found in an elderly male patient. PVL is difficult …

Measuring Inclusive Leadership In Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations, Thomas Abruzzo

Dissertations

Inclusive leadership is undoubtedly a practice to strive for, and few would argue against the value of leading inclusively. Yet, empirically, little is known about what constitutes effective inclusive leadership, especially in the context of nonprofit performing arts organizations. This sector is a particularly apt place to study and practice inclusive leadership because, in addition to the many benefits it provides, the nonprofit arts sector has problematic roots in terms of privileging a dominant social class by prioritizing certain art forms over others. For example, the popularity of the nonprofit form in the arts sector, when compared to for-profit or …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Into Adult Education: Opportunities, Challenges, And Future Directions, Valerie A. Storey, Amiee Wagner

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This conceptual article provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration and its influence on adult education. It discusses generative AI technologies and their potential applications in adult education settings, examines the opportunities and ethical challenges associated with integrating AI, and provides insights into emerging trends. The article consists of five sections. The introduction provides a rationale as to why AI should be integrated into adult education. Second, it describes evolving AI technologies such as Large Language Models (LLM) for personalized learning, Machine Learning Algorithms for adaptive learning systems, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality …

Substance Use Treatment Within The Us Prison System, Timothy Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines the challenges and effectiveness of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment within US prisons, focusing on treatment availability, accessibility, and outcomes. Through a literature review spanning PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstracts, JSTOR, and PubMed, it addresses the literature gap and healthcare needs for incarcerated individuals. The research identifies limited SUD treatment availability and explores the impact of medication-assisted treatments (MATs) and therapeutic interventions. It highlights barriers such as systemic stigma and inconsistencies in treatment access and quality. Findings advocate for evidence-based treatment's role in reducing recidivism and call for policy reform and enhanced collaborative efforts to …

The Contributing Factors Of Placement Instability For Pregnant Foster Youth, Amanda Garza, Shayneskgua Colen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Objective: This systematic review examined the myriad challenges that pregnant foster youths experience in securing stable placements within the foster care system. Methods: Employing the PRISMA methodology, a literature search spanning September 2013 to May 2024 was conducted across various databases. The search strategy used keywords relating to foster care, pregnancy, placement stability, and associated factors contributing to instability. Results: Twenty-two relevant studies were identified, representing diverse research methodologies and geographic locations. A synthesis of the findings revealed that systemic issues inherent in the foster care system, including bureaucratic inefficiencies and resource constraints, exacerbate placement difficulties among pregnant foster youths. …

Effectiveness Of Cnn-Lstm Models Used For Apple Stock Forecasting, Ethan White

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project investigates the effectiveness of convolutional neural networks mixed with long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) models, and an ensemble method, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), in predicting closing stock prices. This quantitative analysis utilizes recent AAPL stock data from the NASDAQ index. The chosen research questions (RQs) are: RQ1. What are the optimal hyperparameters for CNN-LSTM models in stock price forecasting? RQ2. What is the best architecture for CNN-LSTM models in this context? RQ3. How can ensemble techniques like XGBoost effectively enhance the predictions of CNN-LSTM models for stock price forecasting?

The research questions were answered through a thorough …

Artificial Intelligence's Ability To Detect Online Predators, Olatilewa Osifeso

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online child predators pose a danger to children who use the Internet. Children fall victim to online predators at an alarming rate, based on the data from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. When making online profiles and joining websites, you only need a name, an email and a password without identity verification. Studies have shown that online predators use a variety of methods and tools to manipulate and exploit children, such as blackmail, coercion, flattery, and deception. These issues have created an opportunity for skilled online predators to have fewer obstacles when it comes to contacting and …

Social Media Told Me I Have A Mental Illness, Kathleen Knarreborg

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Objective: This study assessed and addressed the attitudes and behaviors towards mental health information on social media, specifically regarding how it influences viewers behaviors and attitudes relating to mental health. Method: Using a quantitative research design, the study collected data through Qualtrics from a 15 question survey called the Mental Health Information Scale (MHI). The survey, distributed across several social media platforms, aimed to understand user attitudes and engagement with mental health content into three dimensions: stigma, self-diagnosis, and confidence in the validity of the content. Findings: There were 99 participants in this study, 69.9% female, 21.4% male. The factor …

Classification Of Remote Sensing Image Data Using Rsscn-7 Dataset, Satya Priya Challa

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A novel technique for remote sensing image scene classification is employed using the Compact Vision Transformer (CVT) architecture. This model strengthens the power of deep learning and self-attention algorithms to significantly intensify the accuracy and efficiency of scene classification in remote sensing imagery. Through extensive training and evaluation of the RSSCNN7 dataset, our CVT-based model has achieved an impressive accuracy rate of 87.46% on the original dataset. This remarkable result underscores the prospect of CVT models in the domain of remote sensing and underscores their applicability in real-world scenarios. Our report furnishes an elaborate account of the model's architecture, training …

A Systematic Review On The Effectiveness Of The Gun Violence Restraining Order, Bonnie Galloway, Yasmeen Gonzalez-Ayala

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) is a type of restraining order that prevents individuals, who pose a significant risk to themselves or others from having, owning, and buying firearms, firearms parts, ammunition, or magazines. This gun law was enacted in January 2016, in response to the many mass shootings that had occurred prior to this legislation. Objective: This study systematically reviewed published articles to examine the effectiveness of GVRO. Methods: We used the following databases to identify articles: OneSearch, Google Scholar, and Google. The search terms used included “gun violence restraining orders” and its abbreviation “GVRO,” combined with other …

Data-Driven Forecasting For Effective Demand Management In The E-Commerce Ecosystem, Chirag Pandey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culmination project investigated and analyzed the impact of factors influencing sales forecasting models in the e-commerce ecosystem. The research questions are: Q1) To what extent are sales forecasting models in the e-commerce ecosystems influenced by customer demographic variables such as gender, age, and geographic locations? Q2) To what extent are sales forecasting models in the e-commerce ecosystems influenced by product specific factors? The datasets used were from Kaggle, and the Worldometer websites. The findings are: Q1) Individuals aged '55 or over' significantly impact total sales in both the USA and Brazil. Male consumers consistently accounted for a higher proportion …

An Empirical Study On The Efficacy Of Llm-Powered Chatbots In Basic Information Retrieval Tasks, Naja Faysal

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The rise of conversational user interfaces (CUIs) powered by large language models (LLMs) is transforming human-computer interaction. This study evaluates the efficacy of LLM-powered chatbots, trained on website data, compared to browsing websites for finding information about organizations across diverse sectors. A within-subjects experiment with 165 participants was conducted, involving similar information retrieval (IR) tasks using both websites (GUIs) and chatbots (CUIs). The research questions are: (Q1) Which interface helps users find information faster: LLM chatbots or websites? (Q2) Which interface helps users find more accurate information: LLM chatbots or websites?. The findings are: (Q1) Participants found information significantly faster …

The Community Resiliency Model (Crm) Applied To Teacher’S Well-Being, John Waterson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The goal of the proposed research is to study the efficacy among educators of a training program based on the Community Resiliency Model (CRM). The role of an educator is currently one of the most stressful vocations in the United States. Chronic stress leads to burnout, has a negative effect on pedagogy, which ultimately degrades the classroom experience. The purpose of this study is to explore whether teachers can learn a simple set of wellness (CRM) skills and become more resilient to stress, which may foster a more robust classroom experience.

Machismo: The Impact It Has On Hispanic Male College Students Receiving Mental Health Services, Sara Barillas, Alexander Aguirre

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Machismo is an ideology held within the Hispanic community that endorses the expression of men’s dominance and power as well as aspects of bravery, honor, dominance, and reserved emotions. Higher rates of belief in machismo are connected to higher post-traumatic distress, stress, and depression. The goal of the study is to determine to what extent Machismo has an impact on male Hispanic college students’ beliefs about mental illness and their willingness to seek help. The following is a quantitative study. This study utilized male college students enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs. Additional …

Examining Experiences Among Social Workers Working With Parents Who Suffer From Substance Use Disorder, Alicia Alvarado, Eleno Zepeda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Substance use disorders create physical and mental harm not only for themselves but also for their loved ones and those they interact with daily. Objective: This qualitative study aims to explore what are the factors that influence child welfare workers' decision to involve the state when working with substance-affected families. Methods: We used a phenomenology approach to gather qualitative data from child welfare workers and non-probability sampling techniques to recruit participants. Prospective participants were recruited by circulating a flier via email to our professional network, inviting individuals who meet the study's eligibility criteria to participate. Participants were asked …

A Comparative Analysis Of Body Modification Biases In The Mental Health Field, Lonese Ramsey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Societal norms continue to shift and challenge our thoughts and beliefs. The notion of the standards of professionalism has evolved to assimilate to the steady progression in the field of mental health. However, change is not typically readily accepted by everyone. This is evident in the noticeable differences in the experiences of people from different generations. Unquestionably, body modifications are becoming increasingly popular throughout mainstream society. This shift has invariably impacted the landscape of professionalism and beliefs and values that are held true in the mental health profession. Limited studies have been conducted to identify if any correlations exist between …

Program Evaluation Of School-Based Mental Health Counseling Services, Yvette Torres, Emily Ann Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of school-based mental health (SBMH) services from a mental and behavioral health program at a School District in Southern California, specifically counseling services, on academic performance and attendance for K-12 students. This study targets students from minority groups and low-income families, who often face unmet mental health needs. This research fills a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of SBMH counseling services on academic success by analyzing data from 151 participants (N = 151) collected via the school district’s electronic systems, focusing on program enrollment during the 2022-2023 academic year. Utilizing the pretest-posttest design, …

Compassion Fatigue In Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program Settings, Sandra Gallegos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was conducted to gain further understanding on the possible effects of providing trauma informed care to traumatized children in the foster care system in a Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) environment. STRTP caregivers are prone to be exposed to secondary traumatic stress when working in providing direct care in this type of setting by word of mouth by the youth, placement paperwork of previous trauma and behaviors, and current maladaptive behaviors during placement. With secondary traumatic stress, caregivers are also susceptible to burnout. This study took a positivist approach and collected data from November of 2023-Febraruay 2024 …

Surrogacy And It's Effects On The Mental Health Of The Gestational Carrier, Dayjahne Haywood

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Objective: This study examines the process of surrogacy and the effects it has on the gestational carrier's mental health during the pregnancy as well as after. While previous studies have highlighted the positive impact surrogacy has on the intended families and parents, there are few studies exploring the experiences of women who participate in the selfless act of baring another person's child. My study explores and addresses the risks (health and mental health), the screening process, and the ethical issues associated with the surrogacy process. Additionally, I investigate the impact of familial, community, the intended parent(s) support has on the …

Addressing Rural Mental Health Crises: An Alternative To Police, Faith Ann Weatheral-Block

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

There has been an increase in contacts between law enforcement and people with mental illness since the start of deinstitutionalization in the 1960s. When law enforcement officers respond to crisis calls without the proper training, the likelihood of that interaction ending fatally is far greater. The purpose of this study is to determine mental health professionals' readiness to serve as an alternative to law enforcement in addressing mental health crises in rural areas. Using the nonprobability sampling methods of convenience and snowball, this exploratory qualitative study involved semi- structured interviews with 10 adult mental health professionals from various backgrounds in …

Impact Of School-Based Mental Health Services On Student Attendance At A Southern California School District, Johanna Garcia-Fernandez, Morgan Stokes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

When children experience trauma, it impacts their development, mental stability, learning, and behavior. This causes an increased need for prevention and early intervention mental health services within the public school system. Some California school districts offer mental health services students can utilize at their schools. Social workers are best equipped to assist and provide students with the necessary mental health resources due to their education, training, and role. This study used secondary data from 101 randomly selected Southern California school district participants. This study examined the relationship between children’s attendance, age, gender, primary diagnosis, living arrangements, number of traumatic events …