2923 research outputs found
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Creating a Framework to Develop Project-Based Platforms to Support Engineering and Technology Education
Full text linkEngineering education has evolved over the last few decades to increasingly include project-based learning (PBL) throughout the curriculum to give students more hands-on experience. However, there can be a hesitancy from faculty and instructors to move from traditional lectures to PBL-based curricula. Research has been conducted to identify barriers to research-based instructional strategies (RBIS), which include PBL. However, this research does not go into depth about the specific barriers for these individual RBIS. Furthermore, it has been found that the adoption of a new practice within a community has more success through a propagation paradigm, where the change agents are actively involved in engaging the community to adopt the new practice, as opposed to the dissemination paradigm, which relies solely on the evidence of the success of the new practice to lead to systemic adoption. This dissertation identifies the specific barriers to PBL and introduces a new project development tool, the Project Development Canvas (PDC), which guides the user through the project development process. The research detailed in this dissertation leverages the propagation paradigm to help faculty and instructors overcome key barriers to increase the adoption of PBL in classrooms through training on the PDC. The methodology for this research is based on Action Research, a collaborative approach to bringing about change in a community through an iterative research cycle involving planning, action, analysis, and a conclusion. To propagate the framework into the engineering education community, faculty and instructors in the engineering education community were engaged through two separate workshops. The first was a local, two-day workshop held in the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University, which provided an in-depth description and demonstration of the PDC. The second workshop was held at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference. It followed the same format as the local workshop, although somewhat abbreviated due to time restrictions. Both workshops incorporated a pre-survey and post-evaluation to gauge what barriers the attendees identified, what barriers the framework and associated workshops reduced, and whether the training increased their willingness to use PBL. The key findings of the results identify the most common PBL barriers to be “Lack of information/familiarity” and “Too much prep time,” and show that both were addressed through training on the PDC. Additionally, the results show an overwhelmingly positive change in the participants’ willingness to use projects in their classrooms. This research not only establishes this new framework tool in the engineering education community, but also provides proof that it is effective in building interest in the use of PBL in the classroom
Who Should Take Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Actions and Outcomes? Perception of Auditors as Users of AI Systems
Full text linkAs artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly embedded in auditing processes, questions arise regarding how professional auditors perceive and allocate responsibility for AI-assisted decisions. This study investigates the effects of AI explainability and auditors’ perceived autonomy on perceived responsibility in the context of audit decision-making. Drawing on theories of moral responsibility and professional judgment, the study employs a 2x2 experimental design using hypothetical audit scenarios to manipulate levels of AI explainability and auditors’ autonomy. Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that perceived autonomy statistically significantly increases auditors’ perception of responsibility for AI-assisted decisionmaking, whereas AI explainability is not a significant predictor. Additionally, professional identity emerges as a significant factor shaping auditors’ perceived responsibility, highlighting the importance of self-concept in responsibility attribution. A follow-up qualitative analysis of participants’ open-ended textual responses further explores the rationale behind responsibility judgements. The findings not only validate the quantitative results but also offer nuanced insights into auditors’ cognitive reasoning when working with AI. The study contributes to our understanding of users’ perception of responsibility in human-AI collaboration in professional settings. It also offers practical implications for audit firms, educators, and regulators aiming to ensure responsible AI adoption
Posture - A Framework with Measures and Mediating Effects in Support of a Structural Model for Attitude in Identity Formation
Full text linkThis dissertation develops a framework and new, valid, abbreviated instruments for researching engineering identity formation as an evolving relational and attitudinal development process rather than a fixed outcome. The framework centers on “posture”, a mediating effect analogous to physical posture in human factors engineering. The investigation was unique, and developed evidence for a structural model using an interdisciplinary, systems-oriented approach. Methodologically, a clinical measure of internal emotional states from the Marriage and Family Therapy literature was administered alongside existing scales for perseverance, perceived workload, and psychological ownership. This study used the broad coverage of the clinical instrument to search for latent constructs associated with internal emotional states, many of them burdened or associated with negative valence, in the context of undergraduate STEM learners. The investigation established construct validity for a number of latent variables using exploratory factor analysis. Validated measures for internal burdened states were significantly correlated with students’ perceived workload, perceived performance, frustration, perceived mental demand, and persistence. Although there was no significant mediator of perceived workload observed in this study, which the original analogy and research question had hoped to investigate, the study found full mediation between internal states and perceived performance through two factors. These factors were further explored, and two subfactors were observed for each. The two subfactors were associated with work-orientation and self-assuredness. Using a multiple linear regression model, the two subfactors were found to significantly explain 32% of the variance in perceived performance. This evidences structural validity of internal burdened states, as well as a structural model for how students develop those states in the context of attitudes, specifically their beliefs and behaviors about their work. This dissertation provides a new and abbreviated instrument for these two mediating factors consisting of only eight items. By viewing engineering identity through an additional lens of internal states, mediating attitudes, and perception, this work offers a useful model and abbreviated measures for how student engineers may develop their sense of self in the context of engineering educational challenges. This framework offers a student-centered perspective for evaluating engineering education interventions and support systems by their effect on the development of attributes of engineering identity over time, and may complement existing outcomes-oriented instruments
Detection and Mitigation of Out-of-Band Channel Wormhole Attack in Wireless Network Using Propagation Delay
Full text linkWireless networks, susceptible to a range of attacks due to their simplicity and ease of evasion, face a significant threat from control data attacks, notably the elusive wormhole attack. Detecting and mitigating such attacks poses challenges, particularly in the absence of a digital signature. This dissertation introduces an innovative approach that utilizes the propagation delay associated with malicious nodes’ timing characteristics for detection, employing the Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) algorithm as its foundation. The inherent propagation delay in the AODV protocol is calculated for each node link along the entire communication path, offering a distinctive timing method that provides comprehensive information for all links. The detection process requires transmitting information to the destination node, which employs box plot statistical analysis to detect outliers. Malicious nodes are then tagged with a weighting factor, and the mitigation procedure involves dynamically adjusting these factors until a boundary condition is triggered. Once flagged as malicious, the link is eliminated from the preferred path, and an alternative path is selected, ensuring a self-leveling mechanism for ongoing correction. This research creates an efficient method for identifying and mitigating the out-of-band channel wormhole attack, using propagation delay with minimal overhead. The presented method offers a streamlined and effective approach to enhance the security of wireless networks against this sophisticated form of attack, hinting at potential enhancements through the exploration of digital signatures obtained from box plot information. Unlike traditional methods that rely on signature-based detection or specialized hardware, our method focuses on analyzing propagation delay timings to identify anomalous behavior indicative of wormhole attacks. This methodology involves collecting propagation delay data in both normal network scenarios and scenarios with inserted malicious wormhole nodes. By comparing these delay timings, our approach differentiates legitimate network paths and potential wormhole shortcuts. Utilizing the NS-3 network simulator, we validate the effectiveness of our method in accurately detecting and mitigating wormhole attacks. The key advantage of our approach lies in its proactive nature and ability to detect wormholes without relying on specific attack signatures or additional hardware. Using the consistency of propagation delay data, the AODV-PD method offers a promising avenue for early detection and prevention of wormhole attacks, thereby enhancing network security and reliability. The results and insights presented in this dissertation contribute to the ongoing efforts in developing defense mechanisms against sophisticated network attacks, emphasizing the potential of propagation delay analysis in addressing the challenges posed by wormhole threats in wireless networks
The Role of a Lower Elementary Principal in Championing Co-Teaching as a Strategy to Promote Inclusive Education
Full text linkThis qualitative autoethnographic study explores the role of a lower elementary principal in leading a co-teaching initiative to create a more inclusive educational environment for students with disabilities. Rooted in Lewin’s Change Theory, the study examines how personal experience, professional vision, and intentional leadership contributed to the implementation and expansion of co-teaching practices within an early childhood setting. The research focuses on the principal’s dual role as both a systems-level change agent and an insider experiencing the transformation firsthand. Data were collected through reflective narrative, stakeholder interviews, and document analysis to provide a comprehensive view of the leadership decisions, cultural shifts, and emotional complexities that unfolded during the change process. Participants included district leaders, co-teachers, general education teachers, school leadership team members, and parents of students in co-taught classrooms. Using the constant comparative method, the study identified four essential themes: the defining traits of inclusive leaders, the responsibilities they assume to drive change, the challenges they face within traditional school structures, and the powerful influence of lived experience in sustaining their commitment to inclusion. Findings revealed that co-teaching, when led with clarity, empathy, and sustained support, can shift school culture and increase access to meaningful learning opportunities for all students. The study emphasizes the critical role of school leaders in guiding mindset shifts, building collaborative structures, and maintaining momentum throughout the change process. This work contributes to the growing field of inclusive leadership by offering a firsthand account of what it takes to lead with equity in mind, through resistance, uncertainty, and ultimately, transformation
The Impact of Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Antagonist on Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells
Full text linkObesity is a condition that affects over 40% of American adults and contributes to numerous preventable health issues. This condition is caused by increased adipose tissue, which forms when stem cells transform into adipocytes. Mesenchymal stem cells, including human adipose-derived stem cells (hASC), are multipotent with the ability to differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, or chondrocytes. Many factors affect this transformation, including the peptide growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). The main role of GHRH is to trigger the release of growth hormone, but it has also been found to play an important role in adipocyte metabolism. We expect that if the differentiation of hASCs into adipocytes is influenced by levels of GHRH, then inhibiting GHRH receptor (GHRH-R) will lead to a decrease in overall adipose tissue. To examine this, the expression of GHRH-R as well as the effects of its inhibition on hASC self-renewal and adipogenesis will be monitored. After GHRHR expression is examined, a GHRH antagonist, JV-1-36, will be administered to the hASCs through the cell’s media, and the impact on self-renewal and adipogenic differentiation will be monitored. Results have indicated that JV-1-36 plays a role in cellular proliferation of self-renewing cells, while not impacting their cell morphology. The administration of the antagonist showed varied effects on adipogenesis, needing more results to substantiate its role. However, this decrease in adipose tissue could lead to the elimination of obesity, helping millions of Americans
DSA-API: Data Standardization Automation Using AI-Powered APIs
Full text linkThe common factor with current implementations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is data. Companies are constantly looking for new ways to analyze data, but it comes in various formats: Text, Comma Separated Value (CVE), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and Excel. How can AI be adapted to standardize formats for data analysis, integration, and digestion efficiently? Published research acknowledged that Machine Learning (ML) and AI can provide an automated method to speed up this process and limit the human decision-making error. With the advancement in AI, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) prompt the idea that they can take in raw data as input into an AI platform and standardize the data for Large Language Model (LLM) algorithms. This research aims to standardize raw data using AI APIs, gather Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) data to augment the raw data, and utilize the standardized data and OSINT for LLM ingest. Research results show that AI APIs can be used to standardize raw data by including various methods to reach this goal. This research demonstrated OSINT techniques to gather data and utilizing it for LLM algorithms. A LLM with ingesting a standardized dataset and OSINT data can be presented with specific questions to generate a response. In this research, the results depict a list of specific cyber-attacks that could be viable based off of the ingested data. Access to this information, when combined with knowledge of AI APIs and OSINT, provides an opportunity to create a process for standardizing raw data and exploiting the intelligence of LLMs
Advancing RFID Systems: From Head Orientation to Robotic Localization Using Passive Tags
Full text linkVitamin B12 Deficiency: Confidence, Perspectives, and Practices among Registered Dietitian Nutritionists
Full text linkVitamin B12 deficiency is common in the United States, occurring in 20% of adults aged 60 and above (Andres et al., 2004). Veterans are susceptible to B12 deficiency due to tobacco product usage, alcohol consumption, and poor diet quality. Megaloblastic anemia is the second most prevalent vitamin deficiency disorder recorded in military personnel from 1997 to 2015 (Knapik et al., 2021). This exploratory, analytic research aims to assess registered dietitian RDN nutritionists’ (RDN) knowledge, perceptions, and intentions regarding treating vitamin B12 deficiency in a clinical setting. Due to population prevalence differences, responses from VA and non-VA practicing registered dietitian-nutritionists (RDNs) will be compared to assess potential differences in knowledge, perceptions, and intentions to treat. A cross-sectional electronic survey, created using Qualtrics, was distributed via network sampling techniques to recruit participants. The researcher-developed questionnaire included a confidence component, questions assessing perspectives on B12 deficiency prevalence, and questions regarding clinical practices among RDNs related to B12 deficiency. A cross-sectional electronic survey, created using Qualtrics, was distributed via network sampling techniques to recruit participants. The questionnaire included confidence-related questions, questions assessing RDNs’ perspectives of B12 deficiency prevalence, and questions regarding taking action to screen or treat B12 deficiency. Statistical analyses were performed using frequencies and central tendencies, as well as correlations, T-tests, and chi-square tests. The sample (n=174) was primarily female (89%) and White of non-Hispanic origin (78%) with an average age of 43 years. The sample as a whole was well-educated, with over half having earned a Master’s degree (58%) and 8% holding a doctoral degree. Most respondents reported working in a community hospital (approximately 20%), an academic medical center (19%), or facilities classified as “Other”; these workplaces included dialysis centers, academia, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). No significant differences were found between levels of education and confidence. A significant correlation was found between years worked as an RDN, or experience, and confidence in screening, diagnosing, and treating vitamin B 12 deficiency (r=.15), (p=.05). Utilizing a 4-point Likert scale ranging from “very familiar” to “not familiar”, only 19% of respondents report being “very familiar” with clinical symptoms and health risks associated with B 12 deficiency. Utilizing a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “extremely uncomfortable” to “extremely comfortable”, only 29% RDNs in this sample reported feeling somewhat comfortable in screening for vitamin B 12 deficiency, and only 13% of respondents reported feeling extremely comfortable with screening. Approximately 32% of respondents reported feeling somewhat comfortable diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency, and a small percentage (10%) felt extremely comfortable. About 41% of respondents reported feeling somewhat comfortable treating vitamin B 12 deficiency, and only 16% felt extremely comfortable. A significant relationship was found between the presence of a B12 deficiency screening protocol and frequency of encountering alcohol use disorder, χ² (6, N = 173) = 15.76, p=.02). Non-significant relationships were found between the presence of a B 12 deficiency screening protocol and Metformin usage, serving veterans, and encountering gastrointestinal conditions. Less than half (43%) of the respondents reported screening a patient at risk for B12 deficiency. Just over half (53%) of the respondents reported participating in the treatment plan of a patient diagnosed with B12 deficiency. About 28% of respondents report not treating patients at risk for B12 deficiency. Regions 3 and 4 of the United States have almost equal numbers of RDNs who do and do not treat B12 deficiency (4% difference in region 3 and 3% difference in region 4). In contrast, a greater proportion of RDNs in regions 1 and 2 report treating B12 deficiency than not treating B12 deficiency (64% difference in region 1 and 45% difference in region 2). This study did not find a difference in confidence, perspectives, and clinical practices regarding B12 deficiency between VA and non-VA RDNs. This is due to a lack of access to VA RDNs. The sample mainly consisted of RDNs who worked in academic hospitals, community hospitals, and private practice; only 3% of the sample worked in VA hospitals and VA clinics. However, this study found that years worked as an RDN (experience) and confidence in screening, diagnosing, and treating vitamin B12 deficiency are positively correlated. This study determined that few RDNs in this sample reported being extremely comfortable with screening or treating B12 deficiency. Several RDNs recommend referring patients to a physician for screening or treatment of this condition. The frequency of treating B12 deficiency differed among different regions of the United States. Future studies should have access to VA RDNs for researchers to compare confidence, perceptions, and clinical practices more accurately
For the Good Times: The Influence of Leaders\u27 Regret on Risk-Taking Behavior in Decision-Making
No full textRegret is a powerful and often underexplored emotion that significantly shapes leadership decision-making, particularly in high-stakes environments where the consequences of choices have lasting impacts on individuals, organizations, and communities. The researcher utilized qualitative research to explore how various forms of regret, including anticipatory regret, self-blame regret, and existential regret, influence risk-taking behavior and decision-making processes among higher education leaders within the University of Louisiana System. Drawing upon behavioral decision theory, regret theory, prospect theory, and emotional intelligence frameworks, the study aimed to understand how leaders experience, process, and respond to the emotional dynamics of regret within complex organizational settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve higher education leaders occupying diverse administrative roles. Thematic analysis, supported by MAXQDA software, guided the identification of patterns that illuminate the interplay between emotion, cognition, and leadership behavior. The findings reveal that regret operates as both a constraining and enabling force in decision-making. For some leaders, anticipatory regret, marked by the fear of future adverse outcomes, resulted in decision paralysis, risk aversion, and excessive reliance on consensus-building to avoid blame or criticism. For others, regret functioned as a reflective mechanism that fostered ethical alignment, enhanced strategic foresight, and strengthened the capacity to take calculated risks. Participants described how self-blame regret, characterized by the fear of personal accountability for adverse outcomes, shaped a tendency toward cautious strategies or decision delays. Existential regret emerged as particularly influential in shaping leaders’ reflections on missed opportunities, value alignment, and long-term meaning. These emotional processes shaped not only individual decisions but also broader leadership approaches to organizational change, innovation, and professional growth. Professional development emerged as a key influence in equipping leaders to navigate the emotional complexities of regret. Participants emphasized the role of formal leadership training, mentorship, individualized coaching, and peer networks in enhancing resilience, emotional intelligence, and reflective decision-making. Leaders who engaged in sustained professional development reported greater confidence in managing regret, higher adaptability, and deeper alignment between decisions and personal or institutional values. The findings suggest that regret, when engaged thoughtfully, can catalyze transformative leadership. Rather than treating regret as a purely negative emotion, leaders who embrace reflective practices can leverage regret to foster ethical decisionmaking, resilience, and strategic innovation. This research underscores the importance of leadership development programs that integrate emotional intelligence and reflective capacity alongside technical competencies. By fostering organizational cultures that promote psychological safety, encourage calculated risk-taking, and view failure as an opportunity for learning, institutions can better prepare leaders to thrive in complex and uncertain environments. These findings contribute to the growing body of leadership scholarship that recognizes decision-making as both an emotional and cognitive process and positions regret as a central factor in shaping ethical, resilient, and adaptive leadership in higher education