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Creating Inclusive Practices Through a Culture of Caring in School Leadership: A Principal’s Perspective
Get PDFElementary educational research and practice have relied heavily on academic success and achievement based on standardized test scores, sometimes to the exclusion of other vital aspects of education, preparing each student to reach their full potential mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. This dissertation posits that the leaders of schools must establish a caring culture to create positive outcomes in teacher satisfaction, student attendance, and student performance. It further explains that we must look at the leadership to determine their qualities and characteristics for this to be possible. This dissertation presents the role a Culture of Caring plays in a diverse elementary school in a high-poverty, urban, suburban, and rural area in a southern state in the United States. It also describes the leadership knowledge, skills, dispositions, and critical attributes needed to create a positive climate and culture shift in a school. The school leader implemented a pilot program to explore the Culture of Care theory of practice that utilizes a social-emotional approach for school improvement to promote positive outcomes. The premise is that if the leadership of a school or organization intentionally models a Culture of Caring by showing genuine interest in individuals and their work, this will improve their academic performance over time and improve many aspects of their school, including teacher morale and student attendance.
A caring act, by definition, is a non-verbal or verbal gesture that displays a genuine interest in another person’s social, emotional, mental, and physical well-being, simultaneously recognizing race, culture, and socio-economic status as part of one’s identity. Creating a caring culture involves respecting, valuing, and embracing the person’s culture with a nonjudgmental and value-based perspective. The Culture of Caring leadership model promotes caring across the school, then becomes contagious and spreads to the teachers and students, creating a more successful.
This retrospective autoethnography describes and brings meaning to school reform efforts within one school site, Sunrise Elementary School (pseudonym), located in a diverse and high-poverty area of a medium-sized town in the southern United States as described through the journal entries, agendas, interviews, and notes, and trials, of one school principal. This thesis describes the daily struggles of the principal and her leadership team to understand their roles at the school to ensure that all children within the school receive the best educational experience possible. This thesis also argues that one way of representing this complex network of school improvement efforts is to look at all decisions through a lens of caring
Threads, Buckets, and Impact: A Framework for Tool Accelerated Machine Learning Courses
Get PDFArtificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) have exploded in use, accessibility, and awareness in the past few years, particularly with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Advances in end-user ML tools are accelerating the development of ML applications, lowering the technical barrier of entry for users outside of the computer science (CS) community. Access to ML education within STEM is mostly limited to upper-level computer science courses that have deep pre-requisite requirements or to introductory workshops that yield limited ML skills. Despite the critical need for ML education, there is a lack of guidance in instructional design for applied ML courses and no framework for incorporating end-user ML hardware and software tools into courses. Six applied ML courses were designed and developed for engineering and engineering technology students at Louisiana Tech University. The courses utilized several ML hardware and software platforms for computer vision, predictive maintenance, and reinforcement learning applications. A set of five course threads were defined to group related topics within the courses to develop student knowledge, skills, and attitudes for applied ML. These threads were used to categorize and assess learning and self-efficacy of the students enrolled in the courses. This work culminated in the development of the Impact Framework. This educational framework gauges the time and effort spent within a course by assigning course threads to buckets - broader categories of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Impact is measured as the product of time spent within an activity and the level of complexity of that activity according to the Structure of Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy. The Impact Framework was demonstrated by applying it to the six courses designed and delivered as part of this work. The measurement of impact was used to assess the ability of an end-user ML tool to expand the scope of ML course content while reducing the skills necessary to accomplish meaningful ML projects. The Impact Framework may also be applied to other subjects and disciplines to assist course designers in organizing and balancing course content and activities
Assessment of Human Performance in Industry 5.0 Research Via Eye-Tracking and Cognitive Biases
Get PDFManufacturing assembly is combining previously made components or subassemblies into a final finished product. The assembly process can be manual, hybrid, or fully automated. Human operators who are involved in assembly use their judgment to perform the process. They collaborate with the other work agents such as assembly machines, robots, smart technologies, and computer interfaces. The recent Industrial revolution, Industry 5.0, exploits human expertise in collaboration with efficient and accurate machines. Manufacturing facilities that feature Industry 5.0 work settings require higher expectations, higher accuracy, sustainability solutions, mass customization of products, more human involvement, and digital technologies in smart workstations. Given these features, the cognitive load exerted on human workers in this environment is continuously increasing, leading to the use of cognitive heuristics. Cognitive biases are getting more attention in the cognitive ergonomics field, to help understand the operational behavior of workers. Manufacturing facilities can integrate cognitive assistance systems to work in parallel with physical and sensorial assistance systems. Cognitive assistance systems help toward better work conditions for workers and better overall system performance. This research explores the impact of human thinking style and using a cognitive assistance system on workers\u27 cognitive load, bias-related human performance, and user satisfaction. This research presents the design and experimental implementation of a research framework based on a well-established three-layer model for implementing Industry 5.0 in manufacturing. The research framework was designed to apply the dual-system theory and cognitive assistance in Assembly 5.0. Two experiments are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed research framework. A cognitive assistance system was designed and compared to a benchmark system from LEGO ® Company. Subjective and objective measures were used to assess the thinking style, cognitive load, bias-related human performance, and user satisfaction in Assembly 5.0. As Industry 5.0 requires higher expectations, higher accuracy, smart workstations, and higher complexity, cognitive assistance systems can reduce the cognitive load and maintain the work efficiency and user satisfaction. Therefore, this work is important to industry to expand the use of cognitive ergonomic tools and employ them for A5.0 workers\u27 benefits
Clay Nanotube Drug Carrier with Enhanced Membrane/Skin Permeability
Get PDFHalloysite nanoclay is a natural material which is interesting for biomedical applications. Its unique physiochemical structure that forms the tubular shape originates from rolled sheets of aluminosilicate 15-20 times, such that alumina is inside and silica on the outside of the nanotubes, thus defining inner positive and outer negative charges. The dimensions of these tubules vary from 500-1,000 nm in length, external diameter 50-60nm, and inner lumen 12-15nm. Halloysites are biocompatible, cheap, and available in large quantities which suggests that these tubules can be used as effective nanocarriers. In this work, we exploited halloysite as a “nano-torpedo” for targeted drug delivery through the membranes in two ways. We discovered new “larger” nanotubes of 80 nm diameter and 1.6 μm length and used them for skin protection with in depth halloysite drug delivery. In the second part of the work, the use of traditional “smaller” halloysite as a carrier for drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier was developed, both in vitro and in vivo. In this work, we made all drug nanoformulations, and collaborate with Dr. DeCoster lab and Dr. Murray lab in cell and mice experiments.
We invented “new” larger halloysite nanotubes and utilized their potential for skin care applications. Analyzing the structure of the halloysite nanotubes provided by NorthStar LLC., we found an increase in dimensions when compared to traditional halloysite. The larger tubes have a length of 1.6 μm and a diameter of 80 nm. Visualization of halloysite dispersibility in water was possible with these larger tubules confirming favorable aqueous dispersibility and structural organization are comparable traditional smaller halloysite. We suggested that the larger tubes formation mechanism could be similar to smaller halloysite (rolling), but initial aluminosilicate sheets were of larger area, thus forming larger tubes. We theorized that these “new” nanotubes would be more efficient in penetration though strong barriers, like skin, for drug delivery due to their size and increased drug loading capacity. Encapsulating vitamin B-12, a known skin protecting agent inside these nanotubes create a new formulation with sustained B-12 release when admixed to traditional oil-based skin cream. Pig skin was used for initial testing and analysis due to it consisting of a similar epidermis to human skin. Initial results were promising with massaging of such a formulation on skin which provides perpendicular penetration of the halloysite nanotubes.
Additionally, we found that for penetration though cell membranes around the brain, smaller halloysite formulations could be more effective. Current treatments for brain disorders such as epilepsy are not effective due to the selectivity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) preventing drug delivery. Utilizing traditional small halloysite with dimensions of 500-800 nm in length and external diameter of 50-60 nm and inner lumen 12-15 nm, we conducted in vitro experiments of halloysite formulations as a “nano-torpedo” penetrating brain microvascular endothelial cell (BMVECs). Through fluorescent and real time calcium imaging techniques we proved a prolonged gradual drug delivery mechanism by the encapsulation of rhodamine isothiocyanate and ionomycin within the nanotube. With delayed diffusion, the nanotubes effectively delivered the drug to the primary BMVECs without causing any toxic effects or killing them, by binding and penetration in time periods of 1 to 24 h.
Furthermore, constructing a two layer (astrocytes and endothelial) synthetic blood-brain model barrier with a 0.4 um porous transwell support enabling us to study structures closer to the BBB. The confluence of the bilayer of astrocyte and endothelial cells was examined using a non-inverted microscope after Diff-Quik staining of the cells. The halloysite rhodamine formulations were tested on this barrier by treating the samples to the dual layer of endothelial / astrocyte cells and allowing them to pass through the barrier on their own. Proving its penetration by measuring the fluorescence at the bottom of the membrane after 24 h. The fluorescence signal grew moderately in the first hour but by 24 h it had increased to 85 %.
In the last section of this work, in vivo experiments on halloysite delivery to the brains of mice via intranasal administration were conducted in collaboration with Y. Yanamadala. Halloysite formulations with encapsulation of rhodamine isothiocyanate to track halloysite as it moves throughout the brain were developed. We produced the nanoclay loading of diazepam and xylazine which are two commonly used drugs for their anxiolytic and sedation effects. Wild type C57BL/6NHsd were purchased from Jackson Laboratory and these three halloysite formulations were intranasally delivered to mice. Analysis of the olfactory bulb and cortex were accomplished through multiple microscopy techniques and the overall condition of the mice were measured by behavioral studies such as rotarod, novel object recognition, and open field tests over the course of seven days. In this collaborative work we proved not only delivery of halloysite to the brain by passing the blood-brain barrier, but also have shown that its presence in the brain was not harmful to the behavior or well-being of the mice. Therefore, potentially, such halloysite-drug delivery may be used for urgent brain disease treatment with deposition / of this biocompatible nanoclay residues
Guiding Organizations Through Transformational Change and Crisis
Get PDFWith sensemaking as a framework, the researcher used document analysis and semi-structured interviews to examine the main institutional logics, culture, and values used in communication from university leaders related to changes in response to crisis. Qualitative data from analysis of written communication from the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic and interviews with presidents and chief communication officers (CCOs) were consolidated to address the research questions: (1) What sensemaking strategies do university leaders employ to frame organizational events and actions? and (2) Are institutional logics and culture used within leadership communication related to university presidents’ framing of the change process, and if so, how are they related?
Participants were limited to the presidents and chief communication officers of institutions within a large university system in the southern United States. Focused interviews with six university presidents and four CCOs and written communications from eight universities comprised the data set. The following conclusions were drawn from the findings: Through content analysis of 118 artifacts (presidential communication issued between March 2020 and June 2020), the researcher found eight individual codes used to communicate changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic: Health and Safety, Caring, Retention, Student Centered, Challenge, Change, Online Instruction, and Continuity of Learning. Interviews with university presidents and CCOs yielded data that coalesced in six themes: Caring, Change, Retention, Reaction, Values, and Sensemaking. In interviews, CCOs and presidents stated that they were aware of the presence of institutional values in leadership communication related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it necessitated; however, the majority did not indicate that the inclusion of values and culture was conscious.
The diagnostic data gathered in this study may be used in a prescriptive manner to craft communication related to changes in response to crisis. Based on the findings, concrete and actionable recommendations are provided on how to use sensemaking in communication to help stakeholders comprehend the necessary changes when crisis is encountered
Chitosan-based Composite for Wound Healing & Biomedical Applications
Get PDFPolymer composites have witnessed increased research interest in the last decades, and the applications of these materials include drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound bandages and dressings. Numerous polymers have been studied to fabricate the ideal wound dressing. Making these polymer composites biocompatible, porous, and bioactive with high absorption capabilities is critical to guide cell growth and differentiation and limit their detrimental effects on incorporated therapeutic molecules. This research work aims to address shortcomings of available wound dressings by fabricating a biocompatible, porous, bioactive, and antimicrobial dressing using chitosan (CTS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) polymers incorporated with zinc-doped halloysites (ZnHNT). In line with the points mentioned earlier, three distinct objectives are proposed in this research that involve using natural biopolymers and nanomaterials. The first objective involves the fabrication and characterization of chitosan/carboxymethylcellulose composite incorporated with zinc-coated halloysites (HNTs) via the solution-gel method, without the use of chemical crosslinkers. Here, the individual biomaterial components used in this research were tested for their inherent antibacterial properties while determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of each constituent biomaterial. A modified physical crosslinking method was used to fabricate a hydrogel biocomposite comprising CTS, CMC, and zinc-coated HNT. The physical characteristics of the hydrogel were assessed via rheological studies. SEM and digital microscopy were used to observe zinc-coated halloysites and the character of the hydrogel produced. Additional characterization tests carried out in this study include Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, x-ray fluorescence, and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that zinc doped HNTs, when loaded with a low dose of gentamicin sulfate, stagnated the growth of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria for extended hours, suggesting the possibility of less dependence on the use of antibiotics. The results also demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a CTS/CMC polymer conjugate via a simple physical crosslinking method devoid of harsh crosslinking chemical agents.
The second project involved in vitro assessment of the effect of the fabricated chitosan-based composite on wound closure and cell migration. These properties were evaluated via in vitro assays, including proliferation and live/dead assays for cytotoxicity assessment, antimicrobial tests, alizarin red staining and scratch assay. The results suggested that the chitosan polymer conjugate had improved functionalities of biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and antimicrobial properties against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the fabricated chitosan/CMC composite also showed an improved cell migration effect on human skin dermal fibroblast. This result suggests that the chitosan-based fabricated conjugate could serve as a new promising candidate for wound healing applications.
In a closely related third study, the use of solvent casting method to fabricate CTS/CMC film membranes bearing added functionality for biomedical applications is reported. Material characterization tests were carried out to confirm the presence of the constituted biomaterials. The tests include microscopy imaging and SEM analysis to determine the physical and surface topography of the fabricated biomaterial. Additional tests carried out include, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile strength, cell proliferation, cytotoxicity (live/dead), and antibacterial studies. The results of this project showed that the prepared biomaterial was relatively hydrophobic and non-toxic with improved thermal stability. Additional tests will be performed in future studies to obtain the ideal film membrane
Select Pathways Revealed in A. Thaliana During Spaceflight Via Meta-Analysis of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Genelab Data
Get PDFIn this study, a combination analysis using the pathview and pathfindR packages for the R programming language was performed on a collection of openly available Arabidopsis thaliana sequencing data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) GeneLab to discover broad connections between three primary spaceflight stressor types and altered pathway regulation to provide focused targets for future research. Studies were divided into groups based on their exposure to microgravity, cosmic radiation, or a theorized heat-stress factor caused by reduced convection in certain technologies. Through this study, three major pathways were identified: the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, proteasome, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways. In addition, the ribosome and photosynthesis pathways were found to be upregulated in some datasets yet downregulated in others, while the endocytosis and ribosome biogenesis pathways were found to be upregulated and downregulated respectively. This study identifies these pathways and discusses possible reasons for their altered regulation, proposes future directions for study, and addresses open data quality and curation
Antimicrobial Edible Coating Composed of Chitosan Polyvinyl Alcohol and Zinc-Coated Halloysite Nanotubes
Get PDFChanges in everyday activities like food packaging are required due to the global shift from a linear to a circular economy. Therefore, industrial, and institutional research centers are interested in using biodegradable materials like polyvinyl alcohol and natural raw materials like chitosan to develop novel food packaging films. Edible coating materials have been extensively researched to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and reduce the risk of ingesting chemical reagents. Chitosan (CH) is widely used as a natural preservative for fruits and vegetables, but its poor mechanical, and water resistance limits its use. To improve the properties of chitosan, we prepared chitosan composite films by incorporating polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with varying amounts of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and zinc oxide coated HNTs (ZnHNTs) into a 1% chitosan solution. The effects of PVA/CH blended films with varying concentrations of HNTs and ZnHNTs were assessed using SEM/FESEM, FTIR, and XRD. FTIR and XRD confirmed the presence of zinc on the HNT surface. SEM showed a rough surface that increased roughness with HNT/ZnHNTs addition. Adding ZnHNTs and HNTs improved the chitosan/PVA film\u27s tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break (EAB) with a decrease in light transmittance. We tested the films\u27 antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The CS/PVA/ ZnHNTs films were significantly antimicrobial over two weeks. Coatings made of PVA and chitosan (80/20 ratio) with concentrations (0, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%) of HNTs and ZnHNTs were selected for further study. The results indicated that the bio‐based films can extend food shelf life and could be used as novel active food packaging materials. Among them, the most promising film was 0.6% ZnHNTs, showing a good preservation effect
Bridging the Digital Divide: Using Ecological Modeling to Enhance Adult Student Recruitment and Retention in Higher Education
Get PDFHigher education is at a crossroads. An enrollment cliff (Kline, 2019) looms and global instability only exacerbates the need for higher and continuing education. The global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 highlighted the problem, and despite the evolutions in technology and Internet connectivity, there is still a chasm regarding equity of digital access. This applied dissertation study examined the barriers that exist for returning adult students to higher education and the digital divide in Louisiana. The study focused on the potential adult student population of Louisiana who have some college experience but no bachelor’s degree. Designed using archival research methods, the study uses maps for ecological modeling. The extent to which the digital divide impacts the potential adult student population of the state of Louisiana was explored through ecological models in the form of maps created using openly sourced government data (the ACS and the FCC Form 477). The theoretical considerations of population ecology and a theory about the digital divide, van Dijk’s resources and appropriation theory were explored. As well as two conceptual frameworks, the Spatially Aware Technology Utilization Model (SATUM) and the Three Domains of Sustainability used to frame the interpretation that conclude that access, ability, and affordability are the three domains required for stability and use of the Internet. The results from the study found that both geographic location and socio-economic characteristics do seem to impact access to the Internet. The analysis includes recommendations for addressing barriers to adult student recruitment and retention through the three components needed to create organizational stability: environmental factors, social factors, and economic factors
Institutional and Leadership Factors Associated with Generating Funding for Research
Get PDFThe strategic goal of increasing funding for research at a university is a complex objective dependent on various institutional and leadership factors. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assist institutional leaders in assessing institutional and leadership factors for generating research funding at research-intensive universities. The research design included a modified Delphi panel to gain consensus on the comprehensive set of institutional and leadership factors and survey items associated with research productivity. The panel participants were experts in research administration from various institutions. Through a literature review and feedback from panel participants, the current researcher identified twelve institutional factors and four leadership factors to include in the instrument. The institutional factors include recruitment and selection, clear coordinating goals, research emphasis, culture, positive group climate, mentoring, communication with a professional network, resources, sufficient work time, rewards, promotion and tenure requirements, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The leadership factors include scholar, research-oriented, inclusive leadership, and transformational leadership. The current researcher used the results of the modified Delphi panel to finalize the instrument. A pilot study was conducted at a research-intensive university to validate the instrument. Lastly, the researcher presented the outcomes to key leaders at the university and conducted interviews to assess the survey’s usefulness