University of Southern Mississippi
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Using Configurable Entities in DSpace 7.2
No full textWith the release of DSpace version 7 in 2021 came a new, optional feature: configurable entities. Entities are particular types of DSpace items that can have relationships with each other. Their purpose is to better support digital objects in DSpace that are relevant to research publications but not the publications themselves, such as author profile pages and data sets. In this presentation, I will share a case study of the ISU Digital Repository team’s experiences with configurable entities. I will provide examples of the different entity types we use, explore the relationships we assign between them, and discuss the benefits and challenges of using configurable entities. This presentation will be of interest to repository managers who would like to learn more about options for using entities in DSpace 7, and of particular interest to DSpace repository managers who have not yet implemented entities but are considering it
One Search or One System? Weighing Cross-Platform Discovery Against All-in-One Repositories
No full textThe challenge of content discoverability across multiple platforms is not new to libraries – nor is the challenge of constantly diminishing budgets. This session explores two contrasting approaches: using a discovery service to aggregate search results from separate repositories or consolidating diverse content types—such as institutional repositories and Special Collections—into a single system for an all-in-one approach. We will examine the technical and strategic implications of each model, including metadata normalization, interoperability challenges, and user experience. Attendees will gain practical insights into the pros and cons of each approach, helping them make informed decisions for their own institutions
Replication of “Assessing the Student Nurses’ Knowledge of Oral Health Care”
Get PDFOral health is an important part of overall health and well-being. In nursing care, maintaining good oral hygiene helps prevent infections, improves comfort, and supports nutrition especially in patients who are extremely sick, elderly, or unable to care for themselves. Nurses play a key role in assessing and promoting oral health as part of the daily care that they provide to patients. Even though oral health is important, it is often not emphasized enough in nursing education. Many nursing students may not get enough training or experience in this area, which can lead to gaps in their knowledge and confidence when caring for patients’ oral health. Assessing their knowledge can help identify what they need to learn so they can provide better care in the future. The main aim of this research is to assess the level of knowledge that student nurses have about oral health care and to identify any gaps in their understanding that could impact patient care.
The participants in this study were fifth-semester and fourth-semester nursing students from the School of Nursing and Health Professions at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Data was gathered using the “Oral Health and Nursing” survey which was created by another group of researchers studying the same topic, which was distributed to students via email by nursing faculty members. This research followed a quantitative approach evaluating the students’ knowledge and understanding of oral health care in nursing practice. The results showed that approximately 96% of the nursing students recognized the importance of oral health in relation to overall health. However, despite this awareness, many students demonstrated limited knowledge when it came to specific information about oral health care. A common pattern observed was that while students understood oral health’s significance, they lacked confidence in areas such as tooth development, how oral health affects overall health, and understanding the nurse’s role in promoting oral hygiene. The findings suggest that while nursing students are aware of the importance of oral health, there is a noticeable gap in their detailed knowledge and practical understanding of oral health care. This indicates that the current nursing curriculum may not be placing enough emphasis on oral health education, or that the topic is not being thoroughly emphasized in clinical training. By pointing out potential gaps in students’ knowledge, this research can help instructors and institutions see that they need to add more about oral health to nursing classes. Improving this area of education could better prepare future nurses to assess, identify, and address oral health issues in their patients, ultimately leading to more effective patient care
An Analysis of the Status of ICT Integration in Tanzanian Teacher Colleges Based on the SAMR Model
No full textThe preparation of competent teachers to apply information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching depends on how a student teacher interacts with ICT at their teacher’s college (TC). Tutors require instructional strategies that engage student teachers in the use of ICTs. The study employed the substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (SAMR) model to evaluate the status of tutors’ ICT integration methods. A researcher collected data from 320 tutors across ten teachers’ colleges TCs. SPSS analyzed the results quantitatively through multiple linear regressions, tables, and charts. The results show that tutors integrate ICT at a low level (substitution and augmentation). The prevalence of PowerPoint over other software in multimedia content design demonstrates the lower level of ICT integration in TCs. The study recommends implementing regular and standard ICT training in multimedia and programming, teaching ICT from basic education, reviewing the education policy and ICT syllabi, adding more tutors with ICT skills, and introducing centers for educational technology in TCs to transform ICT integration from its current level to modification and redefinition
Investigating Compound Flood Using Remote Sensing And Hydrodynamic Modeling
No full textFlooding is a frequent and destructive natural disaster that poses serious risks to infrastructure and socio-environmental systems. It involves multiple processes (e.g., coastal, pluvial, and fluvial) that can combine to cause more devastation than any process alone, called compound flooding (CF). While hydrodynamic models remain central to flood modeling, recent studies have also implemented remote sensing for flood mapping. This study first develops a framework to investigate CF in a data-scarce, cloudy region and creates probabilistic flood hazard maps using satellite imagery. The results conclude that the flood delineation algorithm developed in this study is simple (not cloud restricted), yet effective and comparable to complex algorithms (cloud restricted) requiring multiple satellites’ images. The probabilistic flood hazard maps derived for the region indicate that a larger portion has a high probability (0.8 - 1) of flooding, with a flood depth exceeding 1m. This study hindcasts the CF hazards during two hurricane events (Harvey and Ike) in Galveston, Texas, by calibrating SFINCS hydrodynamic model to explore how various flooding processes affect the flood hazards. Results indicate that flooding is highly dynamic, with diverse drivers and processes contributing considerably across the duration and from storm to storm. Results show that flooding from Hurricane Harvey was a pluvial-dominated event, whereas Ike’s was coastal-dominated. However, compound flooding was observed during both hurricanes. The study introduces a remote sensing-based rapid flood detection algorithm under a framework for probabilistic flood hazard and uncertainty mapping, and the new insights into TC-driven CFs should be useful for further research
Trust Across Difference in Radical Social Movement Organizations: The Case of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
No full textSocial movement literature does not properly address trust between activists as a foundation of social movement organizations. This thesis aims to fill that gap by examining how trust within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a radical civil rights organization in the sixties, was built and broken over the course of the decade. I drew on first-hand accounts written by SNCC activists to find patterns in how they thought about trust building and trust breaking in their own organization. I found that trust was built primarily through sustained interaction between activists, and that trust in the organization led to activists being able to build relationships across difference to form what they refer to as the “beloved community”. Additionally, trust allowed activists to engage in generative conflict and move the organization forward.
At the turn of the decade, SNCC began to fall apart. I argue that this was because relationships within the organization were breaking down due to a large influx of new staff members, a lack of encapsulated interest, and differences between activists that they had difficulty reconciling. Trust breaking down within the organization led to activists feeling emotionally burnout, lacking good faith in their fellow staff members, and ultimately degenerative conflict. This case study offers valuable lessons for social scientists and radical social activists alike
Joint Kinematics and Kinetics During Vertical Jump Landings with Progressively Increasing External Loads
No full textThis study examined sagittal and frontal plane kinematics and kinetics during countermovement jump (CMJ) landings performed with either a traditional barbell (BB) or a hexagonal bar (HEX) across increasing submaximal loads in recreationally active males. Generally, hip and knee flexion angles and joint mean angular velocities decreased as loads increased. Hip extension and knee flexion moments increased as load increased up to 20 kg, at which point these values decreased. Performing the CMJ with the HEX exhibited increased frontal plane stability compared with the BB group. Additionally, the BB group exhibited stiffer landing strategies, with decreased sagittal plane joint angles and slower joint angular velocities than the HEX group. Despite hypothesizing that increasing external load would increase landing forces, vertical ground reaction forces were not affected by either training modality or load. These results suggest that regardless of bar type, participants employed joint-level neuromuscular landing strategies that mitigated the increased forces as load increased. Joint moment analysis revealed that the BB group exhibited greater knee extension moments, while the HEX group had increased hip extension and ankle plantarflexion moments. These findings indicate that performing the CMJ with the HEX results in improved energy dissipation techniques by directing the increased forces to the large muscle groups surrounding the hip. Additionally, the BB group relied upon the ankle and knee joints for energy dissipation during landing, while the HEX group utilized a more “hip-dominant” strategy. The BB group also displayed stiffer landing kinematics and kinetics that may increase injury risk at loads greater than 20 kg. This research underscores the importance of load modality selection in plyometric training, with a focus on both performance optimization and injury prevention. Athletes and coaches should consider these results when utilizing plyometric training with external loads, as performing a CMJ with a HEX may encourage landing strategies that improve athletic performance without increasing undue injury risk due to improper landing mechanics
Establishment of Neonatal Sepsis Predictors Utilizing Non-Invasive Monitoring Techniques
No full textNeonatal sepsis remains one of the leading causes of global neonatal mortality. Reactionary approaches for diagnosis and treatment have dominated the tactics in addressing neonatal sepsis but clinical intuition is an untapped resource that could lead to earlier prediction of sepsis onset. Nurses and other staff with specialized training and experience who have served as routine caregivers for a specific patient are able to identify when the patient’s status is altered. This clinical intuition may be substantiated by referencing specific patient trends in non-invasive measures over time. This retrospective, exploratory study examined whether variation in non-invasive monitoring variables could serve as early indicators of sepsis in neonates.
The doctoral dissertation (the study) included 69 neonates (23 with sepsis and 46 matched controls) with 168 hours of monitoring data prior to the onset of sepsis. A combination of statistical approaches including Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney U tests, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression, change-point analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models were employed. Nearly all non-invasive physiological variables demonstrated significant differences between septic and non-septic neonates, except for respiratory rate. LASSO regression identified variability in respiratory support, feeding intolerance, and abdominal distention as significant predictors of sepsis, with respiratory support demonstrating the strongest association. Cox models revealed that increased heart rate, respiratory rate, inspired oxygen concentration, and body temperature, along with decreased blood oxygen saturation and diastolic blood pressure, were significantly associated with an elevated hazard of sepsis. Change-point analysis detected early and significant increases in the frequency of bradycardia events, abdominal distention, and chest retractions beginning 48 to 72 hours prior to clinical recognition of sepsis in affected neonates.
These findings suggest that routine, non-invasive monitoring data can be used to identify early signs of impending sepsis, well before clinical diagnosis. The integration of these variables (heart rate, respiratory rate, inspired oxygen concentration, body temperature, blood oxygen saturation, diastolic blood pressure, respiratory support, feeding intolerance, abdominal distention, bradycardia events, and chest retractions) into a predictive decision support tool may enable earlier intervention, improve neonatal outcomes, and support more informed staffing and care prioritization strategies in neonatal intensive care units