Digital Commons Network^™

Latent Classification Of Multi-Model Non-Homogeneous Continuous-Time Markov Chains, Joonha Chang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) model and latent clustering models are commonly used to study longitudinal measures of categorical outcomes. Because of its simple but powerful Markovian property, CTMC models have been widely used in medical and public health researches. Due to limitations in the standard CTMC model, there have been some studies on non-homogeneous continuous-time Markov chain (NH-CTMC) that utilized time-dependent rates, but the progresses have been limited. NH-CTMC can be more powerful than CTMC by its default nature of time-dependent rate that can be fitted to a wider range of applications in medical studies. In this study, we …

Can Podcasts Reduce Affective Polarization By Combating Contextomy Via Long-Form Discussions?, Luke D. Hartvigsen

Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing concern regarding political polarization in the United States, most notably the phenomenon of affective polarization, which is when polarization increases negative feelings toward those who differ politically. The current dissertation project sought to address this issue by testing a media intervention using podcasts. Podcasts allow speakers to talk for hours uninterrupted through long-form discussions, whereas other media often edit political discussions to the point of contextomy (editing and framing a quote out of its proper context). Podcasts were created for this dissertation which differed on the political message of the podcast guest (conservative vs. liberal), and …

Phase Separation And Morphology Evolution Of Multiphase Polymeric Systems, Rami Naser Fahmi Alhasan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the intricate world of soft materials through a powerful synergy of theoretical frameworks and cutting-edge computational simulations. The research investigates how processing history, thermodynamics, and kinetics intertwine to influence the behavior and manipulation of these materials. A cornerstone of the work is the establishment of a generalized Gibbs--Duhem relationship, ensuring thermodynamic consistency within the employed models. This not only clarifies existing ambiguities but also lays the groundwork for future models with a robust thermodynamic foundation. This dissertation explores the influence of processing history on soft materials through three in-depth case studies, unveiling the critical role of processing …

The Lack Of Victim Protection In The Enforcement Of The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Kelly R. Fitzgerald Valiev

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Over the past twenty-two years, United States federal courts have seen many cases regarding forced labor and the importation of goods produced by victims of forced labor trafficking. To resolve these cases, the court must interpret § 307 of the Tariff Act to determine whether victims can recover against their traffickers. Recently, an issue in the interpretation of forced labor has arisen in courts: whether an attempt at importing goods is sufficient to establish a cause of action as a violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act’s prohibition on forced labor imports. Courts that interpret forced labor narrowly to …

Context-Aware Affective Behavior Modeling And Analytics, Md Taufeeq Uddin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Affective computing (AC) is a sub-domain of AI that has the potential to assist people by assessing mental states and making appropriate recommendations to patients, loved ones, caregivers, and domain experts. Humans usually produce an enormous amount of data (such as face videos) every day. One of the major challenges for affective computer vision is to efficiently deal with high volumes of data to facilitate automated model development. To cope with this challenge, we developed computer vision algorithms that measure the expressivity of the human face from video data. More precisely, the developed algorithms can map complex affect information from …

Barcoding Bodies: Rfid Technology And The Perils Of E-Carceration, Jackson Samples

Duke Law & Technology Review

Electronic surveillance now plays a central role in the criminal legal system. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are tracked by ankle monitors and smartphone technology. And frighteningly, commentators and policymakers have now proposed implanting radio frequency identification (“RFID”) chips into people’s bodies for surveillance purposes. This Note examines the unique risks of these proposals—particularly with respect to people on probation and parole—and argues that RFID implants would constitute a systematic violation of individual privacy and bodily integrity. As a result, they would also violate the Fourth Amendment.

Unequal Land: Towards Full Recognition Of Indigenous People’S Religious Rights, Emily Campbell

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Indigenous people face disparate treatment regarding religious free-exercise claims in the United States court system. Specifically, courts misconstrue native religious practices and hold native religious practitioners to a higher standard of proof than practitioners of mainstream religions in their free-exercise claims. This Article analyzes the history of oppression of indigenous people in the United States and the congressional intent to remedy such oppression through legislation. Further, this Article argues that despite Congress’s efforts to remedy the oppression of indigenous peoples, courts still utilize a problematic analysis of indigenous free-exercise claims. To resolve the inconsistent treatment between native and mainstream religious …

Sleep Dealer: A Grim Warning To Humankind, Maia Nicolosi

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

This paper examines how the cinematographic techniques in the film Sleep Dealer pose a warning about the dehumanizing effects of technological advancements in warfare and the workplace.

The Comment, April 11, 2024, Bridgewater State University

The Comment

No abstract provided.

2024 April 11 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Education And Advocacy For Universal Design And Accessibility In Housing, Apisara Vairojanakich, Amy Lyons-Brown, Molly Wuebker

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

In the United States, there is a lack of adequate numbers of universally designed and accessible houses in the housing market for the older population and people with disabilities. Many barriers, such as financial support and lack of knowledge for housing-related professionals, can prevent this population from participating in home occupations. The project developed educational products, including the universal design housing experience booklet, universal design housing checklist, and universal design blueprints. These products were delivered through the blog post on Uncurbed LinkedIn website. The needs assessment was conducted to provide the guidelines for the chapters in the booklet and checklist. …

Sexual Assault And The Impact On Identity And Mothering: Women's Lived Experiences, Madelin Cerullo

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Literature on traumatic events, particularly those of a sexual nature, suggests that these events have an impact on one’s wellbeing and ability to parent. However, limited literature centers a women’s experience, with little attention focused on identity formation, the role of mothering, and healing as an outcome (Babcock et al., 2015; Clifford et al., 2020. Much extant literature focuses on predetermined themes that narrow participants’ reports and fail to capture lived experiences (Carothers Bert et al., 2009) with emphasis on significant disruptions to lives because of the traumatic event (Clifford et al., 2020). When literature considers these topics as part …

Probing The Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Of Sodium/Glyme-Based Battery Electrolytes, Dodangodage Ishara Senadheera, Orlando Carrillo-Bohorquez, Ernest O. Nachaki, Ryan Jorn, Daniel G. Kuroda, Revati Kumar

Faculty Publications

Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are promising systems for large-scale energy storage solutions; yet, further enhancements are required for their commercial viability. Improving the electrochemical performance of NIBs goes beyond the chemical description of the electrolyte and electrode materials as it requires a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms that govern the interface between electrodes and electrolytes. In particular, the decomposition reactions occurring at these interfaces lead to the formation of surface films. Previous work has revealed that the solvation structure of cations in the electrolyte has a significant influence on the formation and properties of these surface films. Here, an experimentally …

Lithium Ion Speciation In Cyclic Solvents: Impact Of Anion Charge Delocalization And Solvent Polarizability, Ernest O. Nachaki, Daniel G. Kuroda

Faculty Publications

The increasing demand for lithium batteries has triggered the search for safer and more efficient electrolytes. Insights into the atomistic description of electrolytes are critical for relating microscopic and macroscopic (physicochemical) properties. Previous studies have shown that the type of lithium salt and solvent used in the electrolyte influences its performance by dictating the speciation of the ionic components in the system. Here, we investigate the molecular origins of ion association in lithium-based electrolytes as a function of anion charge delocalization and solvent chemical identity. To this end, a family of cyano-based lithium salts in organic solvents, having a cyclic …

Enhancing Primary Care With Progressive Muscle Relaxation For Anxiety, Depression, And Acute Stress: A Quality Improvement Project, Andrew Dudley

DNP Projects

Introduction

Depression affects 1 in 5 individuals during their lifetime (Hidalgo et al., 2021), with 23 million Americans seeking mental health treatment annually (Parish et al., 2023). While guidelines from the AAFP and APA advocate comprehensive care approaches, medication prescriptions for anxiety and depression remain prevalent, particularly among children aged 6-18 (Lester et al., 2022). Direct observation identified a need to bridge gaps in adjunctive therapies between the primary care setting and counseling services for patients who presented with mild or mild to moderate anxiety or depression. Feedback analysis by staff in the setting identified a gap in knowledge and …

Vol.51 N.38 April 11th 2024, Voice Media Ventures

Black Voice News

No abstract provided.

Keeping Up With The Joneses: Texas’ Nil Battle For Student-Athletes, Stephanie Garner

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Starting in 2021, college athletes could earn financial compensation from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). With the change in laws, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) created an interim regulation for states to follow. After the Supreme Court decision, some states’ trigger laws went into effect, some states made new NIL regulations, and some states continued to follow the regulation set out by the NCAA. With all these laws and no federal regulation, each state stands on different footing. In Texas, a restrictive NIL statute will affect its recruiting for years unless adjusted. This Comment suggests improvements to the …

A Spatial Data Framework For Indoor Positioning Using Machine Learning Techniques, Venkateswari P

Theses and Dissertations

The last few years have seen an increase in interest in indoor positioning and localization as potential research and development areas. WiFi is a strong substitute that supports positioning based on indoor floor plans. In this thesis, the Principal Featured - Kohonen Deep Structure (PF-KDS) model is developed to position WiFi devices more accurately and efficiently for indoor floor planning. Initially, spatial data analysis is conducted using the Principal Feature Enhanced Auto-Encoder algorithm, extracting principal features for dimensionality reduction.

Following this, the Kohonen Self- Organizing Deep Structured Learning technique is devised for precise position estimation by considering a new path …

An Instrument To Evaluate 4-H Cloverbud Stem Programming, Alisha M. Hardman, Donna J. Peterson, Mariah S. Morgan, H. Elizabeth Solace

Journal of Extension

Evaluation data is needed to demonstrate the impact of 4-H science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programming on children and youth. However, collecting evaluation data from cloverbuds (ages 5-7) is particularly challenging given their developmental age. We adapted an observational Cloverbud evaluation tool to measure basic life skills, essential elements of positive youth development experiences, and, unique to this tool, STEM specific experiences. We developed the STEM items using educational science standards allowing Extension to document STEM in addition to youth development outcomes. Doing so, may increase the adoption of 4-H STEM programming by teachers in the school setting.

Leveraging 4-H To Address Emergent Health Needs During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Epidemiology Pilot Project, Anne Marie Iaccopucci, Marcel Horowitz, Dorina Espinoza, Roshan Nayak

Journal of Extension

4-H academics responded to the Covid pandemic by rapidly adapting CDC and other resources for virtual delivery. A statewide epidemiology project was taught to 48 youth with the goal of minimizing fears and confusion, increasing prevention measures, leveraging current topics for education, and bolstering the social-emotional health of youth participants. Results indicated that youth enjoyed the project and adopted behaviors to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, such as increased mask-wearing.

Latinx Science Students’ Sense Of Belonging In Rural Wisconsin, Patrick Robinson, Cynthia Baeza, Luis Gonzalez-Quizhpe, Abigail Robinson, Diego Román, Katherine Ward

Journal of Extension

This study explores the sense of belonging of rural middle and high school Latinx science students in Wisconsin. Between 2000 and 2015, the Latinx population was the fastest growing ethnic group in Wisconsin and increased by 95%. Yet, little is known about the experiences of these students in rural schools or their engagement in science learning. Our research contributes to addressing this knowledge gap and provides insights into Latinx student experiences relative to the science classroom and community. Our findings indicate that a primary determinant of Latinx science students’ positive sense of belonging is a positive relationship with their teachers.

Trial Of Early Minimally Invasive Removal Of Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Gustavo Pradilla, Salah G Keyrouz, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Trials of surgical evacuation of supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhages have generally shown no functional benefit. Whether early minimally invasive surgical removal would result in better outcomes than medical management is not known.

METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized trial involving patients with an acute intracerebral hemorrhage, we assessed surgical removal of the hematoma as compared with medical management. Patients who had a lobar or anterior basal ganglia hemorrhage with a hematoma volume of 30 to 80 ml were assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, within 24 hours after the time that they were last known to be well, to minimally invasive surgical …

Impact Of Self-Reported Loss Of Balance And Gait Disturbance On Outcomes Following Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery, Bassel G Diebo, Munish C Gupta, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Bacterial And Viral Co-Infections In Aquaculture Under Climate Warming: Co-Evolutionary Implications, Diagnosis, And Treatment, S Vega-Heredia, I Giffard-Mena, M Reverter

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Climate change and the associated environmental temperature fluctuations are contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of disease outbreaks in both wild and farmed aquatic species. This has a significant impact on biodiversity and also puts global food production systems, such as aquaculture, at risk. Most infections are the result of complex interactions be - tween multiple pathogens, and understanding these interactions and their co-evolutionary mechanisms is crucial for developing effective diagnosis and control strategies. In this review, we discuss current knowledge on bacteria-bacteria, virus-virus, and bacterial and viral co-infections in aquaculture as well as their co-evolution in the …

Enhancing Srna Confidence: Integrating Simulation-Based Crm Training With Didactic Education To Improve Intraoperative Recognition, Communication, And Management Of Intraoperative Cardiac Arrest, Melissa Lee

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Within the operating room (OR), the ability to identify deteriorating patient conditions and effectively communicate, is essential to delivering safe and efficient care. Although rare, the critical nature of emergent events necessitates early recognition and prompt intervention by an experienced anesthesia provider. The complexity of emergency management is often related to diagnostic ambiguity, individual provider experience, and disruptions of the fast-paced OR environment, requiring appropriate training methods for proficient execution. However, student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) often lack sufficient exposure to emergent clinical scenarios, leading to delayed intervention and diminished confidence during crisis management. An evidence-based simulation education guideline for …

Kenyon Collegiate - April 11, 2024

Kenyon Collegiate

No abstract provided.

United: Sun, Moon And Us, Eric F. Spina

President's Blog: From the Heart

The University of Dayton cancelled afternoon classes on Monday. Well, not exactly. The Central Mall, dotted with students, faculty, staff and families sprawled on blankets, turned into a massive outdoor laboratory for viewing the moon move across the sun and cast the University into twilight and then near-darkness.

2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium Program, Coastal Carolina University

Undergraduate Research Symposium Programs

15th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 10-11, 2024.

The Current - Volume 34 Issue 12, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

How The Arts Benefit The Whole Child, Sophie Rose Fudim

Whittier Scholars Program

This literature review draws on insights from scholars and arts advocates, it delves into the significance of incorporating artistic practices in schools and advocates for including arts education in public schools. This literature review utilizes studies, peer-reviewed research papers, and governmental recommendations based on current research. Art has a highly transformative power. It benefits the development of complex thought processes and offers insights into children's abilities. By integrating art into education, educators can address the evolving challenges of early childhood education and cultivate environments where students can be engaged by enthusiastic, trained teachers and get excited about learning. Art prepares …