Digital Commons Network^™

Vitamin D Deficiency As A Sign Of Severity In Bronchiectasis, Mustafa Eskander Salman, Mohammed Waheeb Al-Obaidy

Muthanna Medical Journal

Bronchiectasis is a chronic heterogeneous lung disease with poorly understood pathogenic processes and variable contributing factors. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and the impact of vitamin D deficiency in bronchiectasis patients. A cross-sectional study of 40 Baghdad teaching hospital respiratory diseases consultant outpatient clinic patients with verified bronchiectasis was undertaken between 2022 and 2023. 40 healthy, demographically matched controls were also studied. A detailed history, comprehensive physical examination with respiratory emphasis, and vitamin D level evaluation were done. Vitamin D levels were categorized as deficient (< 20 ng/ml), insufficiency (20–29.9 ng/ml), and adequate (≥ 30 ng/ml). Patients were categorized as frequent exacerbates (≥3 times/year) or non-frequent exacerbates (<3 times/year). Symptom intensity was further divided into mild, moderate, and severe. We studied 40 bronchiectasis patients, 21 of them were male and 7 had comorbidities. The mean age, BMI, ESR, and CRP for included patients were 39 years, 23.945 kg/m2, 9.65 ml/hr, and 0.234 mg/dL. Group vitamin levels averaged 19.68 ng/ml. Average annual exacerbation, BSI, Bhalla, and FEV1 scores were 1.95, 6.325, 14.275, and 85.8%. Bronchiectasis patients and healthy controls had similar demographic and clinical features except for vitamin D and CRP. Exacerbation number, BSI score, Bhalla score, and FEV1 correlated with vitamin D but not ESR or CRP. In conclusion, Vitamin D insufficiency is common in bronchiectasis patients and healthy people and is linked to poor symptom severity, radiological abnormalities, and lung function.

Artificial Intelligence-Powered User Age Determination, Karl Weinmeister

Defensive Publications Series

An online platform can determine the age of a user of the platform by obtaining conversational data the user of the platform provides during the user’s interactions on the platform; using one or more AI models to determine the age of the user based on the conversational data; and responsive to the one or more AI models determining that the user’s age is below a threshold age, taking a corrective action regarding the user (e.g., restricting the user’s account until the user’s age can be verified, suspending the user’s account, or other actions).

Optimization Of Smf Selection Based On Upf N3 Interface Ip Version, Anthony Maswan Fajri, Gautam Mohanlal Borkar

Defensive Publications Series

In mobile networks, discrepancies in Internet Protocol (IP) versions on the N3 interface between a gNodeB and user plane function (UPF) present significant challenges, especially since N3 IP version is not considered during the Session Management Function (SMF) selection process at an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). Proposed herein are critical innovations to address these issues, including enabling a gNodeB to communicate its N3 IP version to an AMF during the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Next Generation (NG) Setup Procedure. The AMF can use this information for optimal SMF selection to ensure N3 IP version compatibility with UPFs …

Typology Of Atmospheric Conditions Leading To Dam Overtopping In The Eastern Us, Hodo I. Orok, Deanna Hence

I-GUIDE Forum

Statistical characterization of reanalysis datasets during over 300 hydrologic dam incidents between 2003 and 2022 will create a detailed typology of weather systems associated with dam overtopping in the eastern United States. Dam overtopping poses significant risks to infrastructure and public safety, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of the multi-scale atmospheric conditions that lead to such events. To better account for the natural flow of water to the affected dams, we will adopt a watershed-focused Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on regional atmospheric data collected from ERA5 alongside USGS streamflow and Stage IV precipitation observations to enhance understanding of high-risk weather conditions. …

A Critical Assessment Tool For Social Studies, Lisa Andries D'Souza

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Faced with endless online social studies lessons, teachers often become overwhelmed sifting through vast resources. Teachers must develop skills to make professional decisions about the value and quality of pre-made curriculum materials. This investigation explores CAT (Critical Assessment Tool) for evaluating pre-made instructional materials to support cultural and linguistic responsiveness and instructional support for all learners. CAT focuses on identifying, modifying, and adding pedagogical materials to be relevant and responsive to the learners in the classroom.

Collaborative Professional Development Featuring Innovative Curriculum Materials, Cory Callahan

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Here I synthesize two research investigations (Callahan, 2018, 2019) that comprise a continuing line of inquiry into the potential of innovative curriculum materials and sustained collaboration as a professional development program to help in-service teachers understand and implement a complex model of social studies instruction. This article features an original innovative curriculum material and specifically explores the question: To what degree can a collaborative professional development program featuring innovative curriculum materials help social studies teachers understand and implement a powerful social studies approach? Findings suggest the professional development program and its innovative curriculum materials helped teachers promote substantive pedagogical thinking …

Searching For The Path To A More Perfect Union. A Book Review Of Educating For Democracy, Tiffany Berman, Aaron Mccullough, Rabih Murr, David Adams

Democracy & Education

Educating for Democracy presents Walter Feinberg’s vision for the democratic aims of education. Feinberg argues that the evolutionary nature of democracy should be met with a citizenry capable of critical reflection. Education for democracy, then, entails the development of cognitive and affective habits that underpin this critical reflexivity. However, Educating for Democracy asserts that such education should be embedded across curricular areas and not limited solely to civics education. In this review of Educating for Democracy, we begin by providing a broad overview of Feinberg’s foundational arguments presented in the opening chapters. Next, we identify specific themes developed in these …

Critical Reflections On Salamander. A Response To “Land Education And Young People Working Toward Salamander”, Jay Odenbaugh, Stacy Meyer

Democracy & Education

In this response, we examine what it means to center Indigenous perspectives, how we can avoid overly individualistic approaches to examine the well-being of students, and how SALAMANDER might be implemented with younger students.

Un/Learning To Disagree. A Response To "Pragmatist Thinking For A Populist Moment: Contingency And Racial Re-Valuing In Education Governance", Edda Sant, Marta Da Costa

Democracy & Education

How should education governance respond to increasing polarized perspectives? Drawing on contemporary African American pragmatism, Knight-Abowitz and Sellers’s article "Pragmatist Thinking for a Populist Moment: Contingency and Racial Re-valuing in Education Governance" interrogated the critical case of Black Lives Matters and anti-critical race theory protests in the USA education governance and concluded that inquiry and deliberation are needed to embrace more pluralistic forms of democracy. In our response, in which we engage with decolonial, agonistic, and speculative theories, we share Knight-Abowitz and Sellers’s analytical framings. Yet we wonder to what extent inquiry and deliberation can push off racial habits and …

Moving Forward Democratically From The Critical Race Theory Battles In Schools. A Response To “Reconstructing Democracy In Polarized Times: Thinking Through/With The Crt Conflicts”, Laura B. Kelly

Democracy & Education

This response to “Reconstructing Democracy in Polarized Times: Thinking through/with the CRT Conflicts” explores the conditions that need to be in place to move forward with the original authors’ recommendations for taking advantage of the current debates about critical race theory in schools. The original authors argued that this moment provides an opportunity to strengthen a shared, democratic commitment to schools. This response argues that, for this democratic solidarity to occur, we must dismantle the inequitable structures currently governing who has influence and power in schools. Additionally, I explore policy and curricular shifts needed to enable the recommendations related to …

Democracy Can Be Dangerous Work: The Story Of Youthbuilders Civic Education Program 1938-1948, Jessica Shiller

Democracy & Education

This article describes the work of a civic education program in New York City schools called Youthbuilders, which existed from 1938 to 1948. Youthbuilders' aim was to engage youth in civic education projects and teach them about their place in a democracy and worked with them to support racial and social equality. Shortly after World War II, they were attacked by a conservative Catholic organization that was working to eliminate groups associated with so-called Communist beliefs like social justice and racial equality. Youthbuilders shut their doors by 1948. The story is one that helps us understand the fragility of working …

Enhancing Democracy Through P-20 School-University Partnerships In Teacher Education: Implications For Educational Leaders, Rebecca West Burns

Democracy & Education

The purpose of this paper is to share how schools and universities can partner intentionally through Professional Development Schools to enhance democracy by answering the questions: (1) What is it about Professional Development Schools, as robust school-university partnerships, that give voice to teachers to enhance democracy, particularly in a high-stakes accountability climate? and (2) How can schools and universities create robust partnerships to empower teachers’ voices in a high-stakes accountability climate? The paper argues that educational leaders in schools and universities must change their mindset and their practice to form partnerships in ways that rethink teacher preparation, induction, and professional …

“Heated, Polarized, And Annoying”: The Characteristics And Consequences Of Affective Polarization In Independent High Schools, Nora Gross, Ellen Bryer, Charlotte E. Jacobs, Jarvis Goosby

Democracy & Education

Affective political polarization, or a sense of political identity-based animosity or distrust, became especially heightened during the Trump presidency. However, we know little about how youth experience such polarization in school and its effect on their political socialization. With unusual access to high-status independent schools, this paper explores the characteristics, consequences, and evolution of affective polarization for adolescents during high school. We draw on open-ended responses to school climate surveys administered at nine schools, 2018-2019, in which many students described experiences of political polarization and partisan hostility present in their schools. These reports of affective polarization increased by students’ grade …

Agreement And Disagreement In Teachers’ Talk: Facilitative Design Of Deliberation In Norwegian Initial Education, Andreas Reichelt Lind

Democracy & Education

This article investigates the roles of the terms agreement and disagreement in teachers’ talk in Norwegian Grades 1-4 classrooms. Through an exploration of what teachers said and did when they used these terms, five different themes were identified in the teachers’ talk. The teachers tended to use the terms in relation to the process of discussion, the outcome of these discussions, and nuancing the idea of the nature of this outcome; as a function in conversation; and how agreement and disagreement are valuable in different ways. The key finding across these themes and patterns was that the lessons tended to …

Democratic Practices As Part Of Mathematical Modeling In Schools, Lisa Steffensen, Inger Elin Lilland, Shengtian Zhou

Democracy & Education

We focus on how democratic practices occur during the modeling activity “The Candy Bag of Dreams.” With democratic practices, we refer to approaches supporting inclusivity and active participation aimed at empowering students. We investigated one group of preservice teachers implementing an optimizing modeling activity during practicum in two fifth-grade classes, where students modeled their dream candy bags. Students engaged in mathematical modeling where mathematics was embedded in their social context, and they negotiated meanings and developed perspectives. Through this, they experienced lived democracy by actively engaging in and through democratic practices.

We found democratic practices such as students inviting peers …

A Situated Lens To Designing Assessments Of Citizenship Competency, Paula J. Waatainen, Man-Wai Chu

Democracy & Education

As education systems increasingly emphasize teaching for the development of competency, teachers need support in how to design classroom assessments of competencies associated with their areas of learning. Teachers who engage students in learning democracy through deliberative dialogue and participation in real-world processes will find limited support in the literature on how to operationalize the development of associated competencies. In this first design cycle of an ongoing multi-stage design-based research study, a researcher and two classroom teachers in British Columbia collaborated to apply principles of authentic assessment (Koh, 2017) to the design of an assessment of the citizenship competencies Grades …

Reconstructing Democracy In Polarized Times: Thinking Through/With The Crt Conflicts, Kathy Hytten, Kurt Stemhagen

Democracy & Education

In this essay, we consider how reconstructing our ideas about the nature of democracy, and its relationship to education, can help us respond to contemporary challenges. We focus specifically on the ongoing fights about critical race theory (CRT), providing an overview of the CRT controversy—we argue that its cultivation for political reasons has often lessened the possibility of democratic discussions of race, racism, and ongoing white supremacy. Next, we consider how debates around CRT can help us to rethink how we “do” democracy and how to use education to help cultivate democratic habits and values. Finally, we describe three possibilities …

Empowering Accessibility: Navigating The Digital Landscape (Workshop), Renae Bjorg

Just Ask: Accessibility & Disability at UND Conference

No abstract provided.

Understanding Complex Socio-Environmental Systems With Spatial Agent-Based Models, Rebecca C. Vandewalle, Alexander Michels, Furqan Baig, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

Our increasingly connected world is faced with complex socio-environmental problems (e.g., biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity). Tackling these problems requires cross- disciplinary approaches that examine the problems based on synergistic spatial and system thinking. Spatial Agent-Based Models (SABMs) represent a powerful approach to understanding complex socio-environmental systems. However, research on SABMs and associated complex problem solving face grand challenges that must be overcome to effectively unleash the power of SABMs enabled by cyber-based geographic information science and systems (cyberGIS). This paper describes four such grand challenges —reproducibility, scalability, communication, and accessibility. Resolving these challenges will enable new spatial …

Communicating Uncertainty And Cataloging Bias In Spatial Data Science Education, Peter Kedron, Jiahua Chen

I-GUIDE Forum

Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of any spatial analysis, which makes quantifying and communicating uncertainty a requirement of any spatial data science study. However, current curricula leave students understanding the importance of uncertainty and concerned about potential bias, but without an actionable framework to improve their workflows or inferences. We propose a framework rooted in Bloom’s Taxonomy for introducing these concepts to spatial data science students.

A Convergence Framework For Integrating Cybergis Education And Research On I-Guide Platform, Fangzheng Lyu, Furqan Baig, Yunfan Kang, Erick Li, Anand Padmanabhan, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

This paper described Data with Notebooks as a convergence framework for integrating cyberGIS education and research on the I-GUIDE Platform. The I-GUIDE Platform provides rich geospatial data and computing resources and adheres to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles. The framework enhances these capabilities by harnessing scalable and reproducible geospatial analytics. Specifically, this framework supports the development of interactive cyberGIS education and research Jupyter Notebooks centered around geospatial datasets. A case study demonstrates the application of the framework, showing six cyberGIS research notebooks and four cyberGIS education notebooks based on a Twitter dataset. The case study and underlying …

“I Had No Idea”: At-Risk College Student Knowledge Of Financial Aid And Resources, Elizabeth A. Rainey, Zach W. Taylor

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Although research has explored what college students struggle to understand about financial aid, no research has investigated how at-risk students on financial aid probation articulate their financial aid knowledge and the gaps in that knowledge. As a result, this content analysis investigates online discussion board posts from a credit-bearing student success course for at-risk students (GPA < 2.00 or below a 67% completed over attempted credit hours ratio) to learn how these students conceptualized their financial aid knowledge and how prior knowledge could have helped them before reaching probationary financial aid status. This study involved 110 students across three semesters in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest students lacked financial aid knowledge to plan their college career, specifically with student loans. They relied on a range of familial resources, but were often unaware that their academic progress was tied to their financial aid. Implications for research, policy, and practice are addressed.

Student Loan Policies And Payments During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Closing The Gap Or Widening Inequalities?, Jason Jabbari, Takeshi Terada, Haotian Zheng, Stephen Roll

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Student debt was specifically addressed in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic through forbearance polices. However, not all individuals were eligible for forbearance, and it is possible that forbearance would leave some feeling further behind. Yet, little is known about student loan debt over the course of the pandemic, especially in relationship to forbearance policies, loan payments, and household financial stability. Leveraging a representative longitudinal survey of households during the pandemic, we use descriptive regression techniques to explore changes in loan balances throughout the pandemic, as well as the relationships among student loan policies, payments, and measures of …

Patterns Of Borrowing For Student Veterans, Phillip A. Morris, Jim Burke, Jen Weiss

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study examined the relationship between individual and institutional characteristics for student veterans who borrow money while enrolled in degree-seeking programs. Using data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS 16), we established predictors of borrowing, implications of borrowing, and examined patterns in total aid awarded to this group of students. The accumulation of grant funding, Department of Defense funds, and Veteran’s Education Benefits (i.e. GI Bill) contribute to lower levels of borrowing for veterans. However, subgroups of student veterans borrow more than non-veterans, e.g. Asian and Hispanic identifying students. Significant predictors of borrowing included attending for-profit institutions, identifying …

Do Students' Academic Capital, Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Mandatory Fees, And University Knowledge Predict Their Payment Methods?, Emeka Ikegwuonu, Lydia Ross

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Mandatory fees in higher education have increased substantially in recent years. These increases have changed the net cost of attendance for students from semester to semester. Coupled with these changes, we are witnessing an increase in students from diverse lived experiences who are traditionally unaware of costs associated with their attendance. As fees typically support services and programs that promote student retention and matriculation, students should be aware of these services and programs. Because these students have varied perceptions of costs and understandings of resources and systems in higher education, it may shape their payment methods. Our findings suggest that …

Accessibility For Students: Accommodations In The Academic Environment, Sara Kaiser

Just Ask: Accessibility & Disability at UND Conference

No abstract provided.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics: Origin, Development, And Considerations For The Choral Program, Leanna B. Iddings

Visions of Research in Music Education

This literature review describes the origin and development of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and the implications of utilizing this approach in the choral rehearsal. This information aims to equip choral directors with knowledge about how Eurhythmics can benefit their pedagogical practices and students’ experiences in choir. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze developed Eurhythmics in the late 19th century to facilitate profound musical learning experiences through mind and body integration. Current literature supports that the three Eurhythmics branches (rhythmics, solfège, and improvisation) can be applied to the choral setting and can impact student engagement, enjoyment, and musical achievement in the choral rehearsal (Butke & Frego, 2021; …

A Reimagining Of Popular Music Interpretation Through Barthes’S Third Meaning: Implications For General Music Teacher Education, Kexin Xu

Visions of Research in Music Education

Popular music is valuable in music teacher education because it can allow the considering of divergent and unique perspectives. However, viewing popular music making as a static process can constrain its values. Drawing on the work of Roland Barthes (1977), the purpose of this philosophical inquiry is to examine the limitations of current ways of interpreting popular music and to reimagine popular music interpretation in general music teacher education. After providing an overview of Barthes’s (1977) three levels of meaning—the information level of meaning, the symbolic level of meaning, and the third meaning—I problematize popular music interpretation at the first …

Modern Band Music Teachers' Adoption Of A Community Music Ethos In Online Teaching During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Bryan Powell, Gareth Dylan Smith, Warren Gramm, David Knapp

Visions of Research in Music Education

At intersections of popular music education, music technology, and community music practices, music teachers in the United States adapted to teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically from March 2020 to March 2021. The purpose of this research was to better understand the perspectives of modern band teachers regarding the opportunities and challenges of teaching music during the pandemic. The researchers interviewed four teachers who taught modern band (popular music) in public schools in geographically and demographically distinct parts of the US and found that each educator adopted a community music ethos in the online environment. An analysis of …

“I Have To Convince People I Am Worth Accommodating”: A Narrative Inquiry Of A Blind Student In Undergraduate Music Education, Erika J. Knapp, Julianna Lobiondo, Paulina Diaz

Visions of Research in Music Education

This narrative inquiry aimed to re-story the experiences of Paulina, a blind music education major, as she navigated her degree program at a large university. While scholars have begun to document the experiences of students who are blind or visually impaired in both PK-12 settings and during student teaching, no known study has explored the experience of a blind preservice student during their music education coursework. Utilizing critical disability studies as a lens, this narrative inquiry utilized the three commonplaces of temporality, sociality, and place to highlight Paulina’s experience. Data included interviews, memos from all three researchers, emails and texts, …