7028 research outputs found
Sort by
To Buy or Not to Buy? Investing the Impact of Verification Status on Gen Z Purchasing Decisions
Full text linkPrior to the introduction of technology and surge of web 2.0 platforms, word-of- mouth (WOM) was the principal way for society to adopt and relay information to others. Given the onset of social media platforms, TikTok for example, information such as feedback on a person, product, or service, has been made accessible worldwide, giving rise to electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Popular eWOM comes from social media influencers, with many followers and are favored for their perceived experitise in a certain area (beauty, fashion, gaming, etc.). Generation Z (1997-2012), Gen Z for short, are the main users of the TikTok app and are known to make purchases influenced by others on the app. This study investigates the impact of TikTok user verification status on Gen Z consumers\u27 willingness to pay for or buy a product reviewed on TikTok. Data was collected through a 2x1 between-subject design surveying 576 participants aged 18-2. The study found a positive but insignificant relationship between the verification status of a user and participants\u27 willingness to buy or pay for the good. Additional variables measuring the demographics (race, gender, household income), participant perceptions of the TikTok user (relatability, trustworthiness), and other importance factors that influence TikTok induced purchasing (price and trendiness of product, and follower count of TikTok user) proved to have a greater impact
The Effect of State Level Policies on Telehealth Usage During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Full text linkOver the past two decades, telehealth has become an increasingly common form of healthcare delivery in the United States. As healthcare providers continue to invest more into telehealth, the capabilities of virtual care have expanded rapidly. This investment into telehealth has been encouraged by the important benefits it has been proven to provide, such as cost reduction and increased accessibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for telehealth reached new heights as people were forced to quarantine indoors and avoid in person contact for extended periods of time. In order to satisfy this rise in demand, many states enacted new policies aimed at increasing telehealth usage, such as private payer laws, licensure compacts and payment parity laws. While some of these policies were implemented permanently, some were put into place with expiration dates. Therefore, it is important to understand how effective these policies were. This paper uses panel data from FAIR Health, the US Census, the Center for Connected Health Policy, and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis in order to analyze how effectively the three policies mentioned above increased telehealth usage among states and age groups. Using OLS regression and interaction terms, I intend to estimate the effects of each policy on telehealth usage within individual states and among five different age groups. This study finds that the implementation of private payer laws increases telehealth usage within an individual state, while licensure compacts and payment parity policies do not. It also finds that all three policies increase telehealth usage among individual age groups (except for licensure compacts with 19-35 year olds)
A Neural Network Approach to Inflation Nowcasting Using Google Trends
No full textThis paper incorporates Google Trends in addition to other macroeconomic predictors to nowcast the regional-level Consumer Price Index in the United States by using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). In order to assess the contribution of adding Google Trends, we first consider a benchmark forecasting model to regional inflation. The benchmark model solely utilizes panel data of macroeconomic and financial variables such as employment, money supply M2, gold price, and bond yield. And then we extend the model by incorporating regional Google Trends into the macroeconomic panel. Google trends data is not available at the regional level. Therefore, I first construct regional Google Trends data by aggregating state-level Google Trends in which each state receives a weight proportional to its GDP. The results show that the ANN model with Google trends data nowcasts U.S regional level CPI more accurately based on the MAE and MSE measures on a 12-month horizon testing period ranging from Feb 2022 to Jan 2023. Finally, I present regional-level CPI nowcasts for the period Feb 2023-April 2023 with the ANN model using Google trends data and a panel data of macro-financial data
Quantifying the Effects of Aerogels for Their Use in Catalytic Converters
No full textAerogel catalysts are being investigated to improve performance, reduce cost, and reduce the environmental impact of automotive catalytic converters. Catalytic converters are an expensive but necessary technology incorporated in gas-powered vehicle emissions systems. These devices use large amounts of expensive materials called Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) which catalyze the oxidation and reduction reactions of harmful pollutants in engine emissions. To improve this technology, PGM concentrations and light-off temperatures should be decreased. The light-off temperature is the temperature at which catalytic converters start converting 50% of a specific pollutant. Aerogels are of interest for application in catalytic converters because of their extremely high porosity and surface area. By incorporating PGMs into aerogel materials, comparable light-off temperatures to products on the market have been achieved with smaller concentrations of PGMs. Because of these results, the next step is to isolate aerogel\u27s unique qualities to quantify their effects on catalytic performance. To do this, two chemically identical but structurally different catalytic materials have been made and then tested to find the differences in light-off temperatures. These two catalysts differ from each other in one way: one catalyst is aerogel material and one is a non-aerogel material called xerogel. The testing of these materials is done using the Union College Aerogel Testbed (UCAT) which subjects the samples to realistic automotive conditions using CLEERS (an automotive industry professional organization dedicated to pollution mitigation research) guidelines. Despite the difference in physical properties between the aerogels and xerogels, the experiment is designed so that each sample tested in the UCAT has the same volume and contains the same total mass amount of PGMs (i.e. catalytically active material). Two sets of aerogel and xerogel samples were made using two different PGMs of interest. Palladium alumina (PdAl) samples were made using 11.6 mg of palladium in each of the aerogel and xerogel samples. Rhodium alumina (RhAl) samples were made using 11.4 mg of rhodium in each of the aerogel and xerogel samples. Comparing the aerogel PdAl sample to the xerogel PdAl sample, the light-off temperature of hydrocarbons (HCs) was improved by 50°C, and carbon monoxide (CO) was improved by over 25°C. Comparing the aerogel to xerogel RhAl samples, the light-off temperature for nitrogen oxides (NOx) was also improved by over 25°C. These results indicate that aerogel materials improve catalytic efficiency
The Neoliberal Attack on Education: Burnout for Teachers and Increased Exposure to Student Food Insecurity Amid COVID-19 in Low-Income School Districts
No full textBackground The United States education system has long been broken. Neoliberal policies disproportionately impact under-resourced and highly segregated school districts, where most students are at or below the poverty line and are also ethnic or racial minorities. These policies are evident when reviewing high stakes standardized tests which prioritize accountability and competition. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers nationally reported higher levels of burnout than working adults in any other profession, and this is disproportionately escalating in low-income and urban districts. As another consequence of the pandemic, teachers in under-resourced schools are exposed to higher levels of student food insecurity, frequently paying out of pocket to provide for their students. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how flaws in the current education system perpetuate systemic inequality and disproportionately affect educators in under-resourced schools. Additionally, this study intends to shed light on the personal experiences of teachers and what they concede to be the greatest barriers in the pedagogical field, and what they wish others would recognize to create change in the educational system. Methods This qualitative study utilizes semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Seven participants were randomly selected online from the Schenectady school district teacher directory and are actively employed in the district. The sample group consisted of one teacher from VanCorlaer Elementary School, three teachers from Oneida Middle School, one teacher from Mont Pleasant Middle School, and two teachers from Schenectady High School. Interviews were conducted in person or via Zoom and were recorded, manually transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Results Eight key themes and various sub themes emerged in relation to the aim of this study. The eight key themes were: COVID related stressors, neoliberalism in schools, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress, teacher support resources, teachers\u27 labor conditions and district politics that increase burnout and undermine self-efficacy, teachers\u27 response to student food insecurity, what teachers concede to be the common barriers that are exacerbated by poverty for students in their district, and what they identified as their hopes for the future. Veteran teachers demonstrated signs of compassion fatigue, while younger teachers showed symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. All participants exhibited burnout, and all participants reported student food insecurity related to poverty in their classrooms. All participants stated that accountability policies undermined their self-efficacy and expressed numerous concerns regarding standardized testing. All participants also agreed that the educational system was flawed and adversely affected their district because of socioeconomic factors. Conclusions Empathy needs to be encouraged and supported in the teaching profession rather than seen as a weakness. To decrease levels of compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, policymakers must acknowledge that teachers in low-income districts have high exposure to adverse childhood experiences that make it difficult for them to teach efficiently. In relation to neoliberalism, all participants stated that teaching for the test is not working, and that policymakers must address that the education system is not one size fits all. They explained that standardization and policies that prioritize accountability disproportionately and adversely affects both themselves and their students in low-income school districts. Teachers expressed that the field of education needs to be professionalized to encourage others to enter the profession. Teachers additionally stated that if they felt heard, valued, and supported, they would be more satisfied with their job and less likely to leave the profession earlier. Just because everyone went to school does not mean that they are an expert on education. Listening to the concerns of teachers who are on the frontlines in educating the next generation is vital to create effective change. To empower educators, we must allocate resources for low-income schools and accept that the current education system is inequitable
The Role of Nutrition in Breast and Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy
Full text linkNutrition is important to sustain life. It is extremely significant for patients who are actively being treated with chemotherapy. The focus of this research is to understand how nutrition affects cancer patients. This includes the intake of beverages on breast and colorectal cancer patients. Research suggests women breast cancer patients and men colorectal cancer patients can overcome or lessen side effects from cancer treatment with a focus on nutrition. These side effects are most apparent when cancer patients are undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, there has been limited research on nutritional support for breast and colorectal cancer patients. Therefore this study includes qualitative data to expand the research. It includes interviews with an oncologist and a registered dietitian to help examine the level of awareness that healthcare professionals incorporate into treatment plans for their patients pertaining to the role of nutrition. The interviews are presented in chapters two and three. These chapters consist of main subcategories which correlate to chapter one, which reviews the existing scholarship on the topic. The subcategories are as follows: training, side effects, weight, and diet. The last chapter explores the lack of resources for cancer patients regarding nutritional support while undergoing treatment. A collaborative effort among oncologists and registered dietitians would create optimal treatment plans for breast and colorectal patients. Patients have the right to rely on their providers to direct them to the best care
Optimizing an assistive Brain Computer Interface that uses Auditory Attention as Input
Full text linkBrain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow individuals to operate technology using (typically consciously controllable) aspects of their brain activity. Auditory BCIs utilize principles of Auditory Event Related Potentials or Auditory Evoked Potentials as a reproducible controllable features that individuals can use to operate a BCI. These Auditory BCIs in their most basic format can allow users to answer yes or no questions by listening to either one auditory stimuli or the other. Current accuracy in intended response detection for these kinds of BCIs can be as good as mean accuracy of 77 \%. BCI research tends to optimize the computer side of the system however the ease of use for the human operating the system is an important point of consideration as well. This research project aimed to determine what factors make a human operator able to achieve the highest accuracy using a given previously successfully demonstrated classifier. This research project primarily sought to answer the questions; to what degree people can improve their accuracy in operating an Auditory BCI and what factors of the stimulus used can be altered to achieve this. The results of this project, obtained through the data collected from six individuals, found that slower stimuli speeds for eliciting Auditory Event Related Potentials were significantly better at achieving higher prediction accuracies compared to faster stimulus speeds. The amount of time spent using the system appeared to result in diminishing returns in accuracy regardless of condition however not before an initial spike in greater classifier prediction accuracy for the second condition run on each subject. Although further research is needed to gain more conclusive evidence for or against the hypothesis, the results of this research may be able suggest that individuals can improve their performance using Auditory BCIs with practice at optimal parameters albeit within a given time frame before experiencing diminishing returns. These findings would stand to provide benefit both to continued research in making optimal non-invasive alternative communication technologies as well as making progress in finding the potential ceiling in accuracy that an Auditory BCI can have in interpreting brain activity for the intended action of the user
Kelly Adirondack Center Spring 2023 Newsletter
Full text linkThe Kelly Adirondack Center Spring 2023 newsletter shares information on the Adirondack Research Library Postcard Collection and new exhibit, Layers of Autumn.https://digitalworks.union.edu/arlpublications/1006/thumbnail.jp
Temperature and Direction-changing Effects on the Agonistic Headbob Display of Anolis sagrei
Full text linkAnolis sagrei, or the brown anole, is a lizard endemic to the Antilles that produces headbob displays for territorial aggression and sexual attraction. It has been hypothesized that these displays are honest signals of body condition, so they are evolutionarily more likely to garner attention and a response from receivers. In this study, we looked at the effects of body temperature on the display by controlling the body temperature during territorial headbob displays. We examined whether the speed (or abruptness) of display motion patterns was altered by changes in body temperature. In another experiment we tested whether or not the lizards could sense a small difference in the speed of display movements. We also directly stimulated the gastrocnemius muscle to see if it inherently had a direction-changing motion pattern. Results indicated no significant difference in temperature effects or ability to sense those slower display movements. This could indicate that Anolis sagrei is less temperature-sensitive than initially thought, which could have important implications for conservation in terms of the threat of climate change. We also looked at the effects of rapid shifts in direction of motion observed in the visual displays. The motion stimulus experiment revealed no significant difference between direction-changing elements and nondirection-changing elements. However, the muscle stimulation did not show any presence of a direction-changing element. These results are unclear with regard to the evolution of the direction-changing element in the Anolis sagrei headbob display