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Exploring First-Generation Student Experiences with OER Textbooks
Get PDFPreprint of article scheduled for publication in College & Research Libraries.As academic librarians engage in OER creation and adoption programs, exploring student perceptions of OER provides information that can be used to revise and improve the OER, inform faculty perceptions, and contextualize the benefits of OER in relation to student financial concerns. This case study explores how first-generation students perceive their textbooks, particularly in the areas of cost savings and format. It also supports research indicating that first-generation students are concerned about the cost of textbooks and experience financial challenges such as food insecurity. Adopting OER may ease financial concerns and increase access to higher education for first-generation students
Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) Programs and Infant Mortality Outcomes
No full textInfant mortality is defined as the death of a baby before his or her first birthday. The United States had the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) of any high-income country at 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2020. Having a substantial number of poor birth outcomes in a community is a multi-faceted problem and often requires an interdisciplinary approach to understand the challenges impacting fetal and/or infant death. One such coordinated approach to address this problem is the Fetal & Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) program.
Despite the proposed function of FIMR programs to combat high infant mortality (IM), there is no published evidence linking the existence of FIMR programs to improved IM outcomes. Existing published research has been useful in clarifying what FIMR is in general terms.
In Chapter 2, a scoping literature review provides a focused approach to determining the relationship between FIMRs and intended outcomes of reduced IM by reviewing the literature for existing studies on FIMR and IM outcomes. Out of 97 screened articles, 12 were empirical articles on FIMR programs, and 7 articles included an evaluation of a FIMR program or process and were included in the review.
In Chapter 3, a quantitative study assesses differences in IMR in communities with an existing FIMR program examining IMR pre- and post FIMR implementation. Results demonstrated a decrease in IMR in communities post-FIMR implementation thus showing that there appears to be an association between FIMR programs and IM outcomes.
In Chapter 4, a qualitative study evaluates the FIMR process, how it works, and what makes it effective or ineffective. Eleven people participated in the virtual one-on-one interviews. A phenomenological approach was used, and findings revealed reported benefits of the FIMR program as well as areas for needed improvement.
This research concluded that more evaluative studies are needed for assessing FIMR program outcomes specific to IM, not solely its processes; and a nationally standardized approach for the operation of FIMRs is needed with room to tailor to specific communities. Findings need to be disseminated widely and used as an opportunity for greater accountability and improvements to FIMR programs
Professional Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors
No full textThis dissertation examined the mental health help-seeking behaviors of undergraduate students and the retrospective help-seeking experiences of professors, while they were college students. Past research has noted disparate mental health outcomes for minoritized and first-generation students. However, research exploring their help-seeking attitudes, styles, and sources in general college populations is limited. This dissertation aims to address some of those gaps by including the perspectives of traditionally underrepresented groups.
The dissertation employed a mixed-methods approach. The first study used a quantitative approach with over 200 self-identified Black, Latine, and White students through surveys. Data was analyzed via numerous versions of Analysis of variances. The second study employed a qualitative focus group design with 10 students from the first study. The third study used a single case design via an exploratory, qualitative inquiry with 8 self-identified Black and Latine professors. Data collection methods for both qualitative studies included face-to-face interviews. Data for both qualitative studies were also analyzed via the constant comparative method.
Major findings from the first study indicated significantly higher avoidant help-seeking styles scores for first-generation students than their counterparts. Findings from the second study included various themes about generational differences, socioeconomic ideals, and differing help-seeking styles via ethnicity. Findings from the third study included various themes based on values, sociocultural factors, and how professors��� attitudes changed over time.
The data from this dissertation highlights the need for continued exploration and understanding the role that college settings, ethnicity, and first-generation status may or may not play in mental health help-seeking behaviors
The Classical-Nonclassical Polarity of Gaussian States
No full textGaussian states with nonclassical properties such as squeezing and entanglement serve as crucial resources for quantum information processing. Accurately quantifying these properties within multi-mode Gaussian states has posed some challenges. In this work, we first give a detailed review to Gaussian state. To address these challenges, we introduce a unified quantification: the ���classical-nonclassical polarity���, represented by P. For a single mode, a positive value of P captures the reduced minimum quadrature uncertainty below the vacuum noise, while a negative value represents an enlarged uncertainty due to classical mixtures. For multi-mode systems, a positive P indicates bipartite quantum entanglement. We show that the sum of the total classical-nonclassical polarity is conserved under arbitrary linear optical transformations for any two-mode and three-mode Gaussian states. For any pure multi-mode Gaussian state, the total classical-nonclassical polarity equals the sum of the mean photon number from single-mode squeezing and two-mode squeezing. Our results provide a new perspective on the quantitative relation between single-mode nonclassicality and entanglement, which may find applications in a unified resource theory of nonclassical features
The Spillover Effects of Source of Income Anti-discrimination Laws on Public Housing
Get PDFSource of income anti-discrimination laws have the potential to improve the success rates of the housing choice voucher program by making landlord discrimination against voucher holders illegal. This may change the type of households that apply for, successfully utilize, and ultimately remain in the voucher program. The demographics of households in public housing operated within the same local public housing authority are likely affected by such change. This study finds that anti-discrimination laws targeted at low-income renters in the private market have spillover effects on public housing by diverting its poorest households to private rental units, alleviating concentrations of poverty in public housing
Transparency, Accuracy, & Uncertainty in Human-AI Collaborative Decision-Making for Spacecraft Anomaly Diagnosis
No full textAI agents are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in a variety of domains, from safety-critical environments to day-to-day activities. These days they are being considered more as a virtual peer rather than a decision-making tool. In the coming years, AI agents will have a key role to play in spaceflight missions that will voyage beyond low earth orbit, where communication delays with the ground control will become longer and more frequent. On-board AI agents can help the crewmembers detect, diagnose, and treat spacecraft anomalies faster, giving them more autonomy and allowing them to respond faster to emergencies, or to focus on other critical aspects of their mission.
In order for any technology to be accepted and used by the operators, a sufficient amount of trust needs to be established first. Trust in automation is a key factor that determines willingness of a human operator to rely on an AI agent. Previous research on trust in an AI agent highlights some key elements that influence its development, such as its transparency, accuracy, and reliability. However, having perfectly accurate and reliable agents may not be possible or even enough to establish trust, especially in scenarios where there is significant uncertainty in the agent���s recommendations. In light of this fact, the link between trust, accuracy, and uncertainty merits further examination. This dissertation aims to elucidate this potential link in an agent that provides explanations for its recommendations compared to one that does not explain its decisions to the user.
This thesis presents the development and use of an AI-agent, Daphne, for detecting, diagnosing, and treating spacecraft anomalies related to the Environment Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS). We present an experiment where human operators rely on Daphne���s recommendations induced with various levels of inaccuracies and uncertainties to detect and diagnose ECLSS-based anomalies. Human performance (number of anomalies correctly diagnosed and time to diagnosis), trust, situational awareness, cognitive workload, satisfaction, and confidence in their response were measured using both objective and subjective techniques.
Our results show that the effects of automation transparency can influence operator task performance, trust, situational awareness, workload, user confidence, satisfaction, and appropriate reliance positively. Results also suggested that agent accuracy improved task performance, appropriate reliance, and partially improved user confidence, while trust, workload, and SA were not significantly affected. Results also showed that uncertainty in agent���s recommendations reduces task performance, trust, situational awareness, user confidence, satisfaction, and appropriate reliance, and increases mental workload.
Overall, this work sheds light on under-investigated issues in Human-AI Collaboration by providing insights on factors that are most likely to effect the human-AI relationship during long duration exploration missions for spacecraft anomaly diagnosis. Further, this work provides recommendations and guidelines for designers and developers of XAI systems for developing transparent AI agents to support operators in time- and safety-critical tasks and environments, such as crew members during long-duration exploration missions
Beyond Victimhood: An Analysis of Rape Culture Rhetoric on Sexual Assault Survivors
No full textThis thesis delves into pivotal moments and movements within recent cultural histories of sexual assault, focusing on Chanel Miller's rape by Brock Turner and the evolution of Tarana Burke's "me too" movement into #MeToo. Through an analysis of media coverage and literary works such as Miller's memoir, Know My Name, and Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's, She Said, this study explores the embedded dynamics of rape culture and sexual assault tolerance within American society and institutions. Emphasizing survivors' voices, this research contends that their narratives are vital in challenging societal perceptions and fostering empathy towards survivors. Drawing on insights of fellow feminist scholars, this thesis investigates the role of survivors in dismantling patriarchal structures that perpetuate rape and sexual assault. Methodologically, this thesis examines the concepts of the good survivor, ideal victim, and naming and shaming, dissecting the societal frameworks that influence survivors' reporting behaviors and perceptions. By scrutinizing government-funded programs' methodologies and limitations in gathering accurate statistics on sexual violence, the research underscores the complexities and challenges in understanding the prevalence of rape and sexual assault. Ultimately, this work advocates for a nuanced understanding of survivor experiences and calls for a societal shift towards empathy and support for survivors, challenging entrenched rape culture mentalities
Effect of Bone Segementation Data of the Maxilla and Mandible on the Accuracy of Bone-Supported Surgical Guides
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study was to identify whether the quantity of Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scan (CBCT) image slices included in the jaw segmentation process has a significant effect on the accuracy of bone-supported guides and whether there is a minimum number of slices that can be identified as being needed to produce a surface model of the mandible and the maxilla that will yield an accurate bone-supported guide.
Materials and Methods: Dried human edentulous mandibles and maxillae, three of each, were selected. Each bone model was digitized using an intraoral scanner, and each scan was saved as a Standard Tessellation Language (STL). A bone-supported surgical guide was created on the surface scan of each jaw using a 3D implant planning software program, each serving as a reference guide for each specimen. CBCT images were then acquired once for each bone model, which were then imported into an implant planning software in digital imaging in communication in medicine (DICOM) format. A CBCT image segmentation procedure was then performed for each jaw to create a surface model of each bone with varying numbers of CBCT slices included for each segmentation: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 slices. A surgical guide was then created on each surface model rendered from CBCT segmentations and saved as STL. Then the STL of each experimental guide and its corresponding reference guide were imported into an image analysis program and Root Mean Square (RMS) values and heat maps generated to study the internal fit deviation of each guide.
Results: There were statistically significant differences (P<0.001) between the guides created from different numbers of CBCT slices segmented. Additionally, there were statistically significant results between the mandibular and maxillary models, with the mandibular groups having a higher mean deviation (238 ��m) than the maxillary guides (230 ��m). For the mandibles combined, groups below 70 slices produced significant results, while for the maxillae combined, anything below 90 slices was significant.
Conclusions: The internal fit of bone-supported guides is affected by the number of CBCT slices used in the jaw segmentations process for rendering the bone model on which the guide is created. There is a difference in the minimum number of slices needed to create an accurate bone supported guide on the maxilla and mandible. The threshold number of slices is higher for the maxilla compared to the mandible. Although differences between the different guides were observed, the clinical implications are not as clear and should be further studied
Exploring the Career Aspirations of China���s Generation Z (Gen Z): A Basic Qualitative Study
No full textThe topic of career aspirations has attracted increasing attention from scholars and practitioners given its crucial role as one of the most useful predictors of eventual career. While ample studies were conducted to explore the career aspirations of Gen Z living in the West, few were situated in the context of the non-Western world. This critical group outnumbers Gen Z in the West. However, we have limited understanding of attracting, engaging, and retaining the emerging workforce in the non-Western world. For human resource development (HRD) field, whose core mission is developing people, limited research attention has been given to Gen Z in the non-Western world. With jobs changing and the workforce shrinking, talent competition will be fierce, employers need to prepare differently to win the global talent market. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the career aspirations of China's Gen Z members. Specifically, three research questions guided this inquiry: First, what are the career aspirations of China's Gen Z? Second, what influences the career aspirations of China's Gen Z? Third, what do China's Gen Z expect from their prospective employers?
To address these questions, I used a basic qualitative research approach. Informed by this design, I recruited 27 Gen Z participants from a comprehensive university in Eastern China. I conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews. I analyzed 520 pages of interview data using the thematic analysis (TA) method.
This study revealed three major findings. First, the career aspirations of China's Gen Z participants could be categorized into three types: talent-based, needs-based, and value-based. Second, the shaping factors include contextual factors and personal factors. Lastly, China's Gen Z expects to work with tolerant leaders who are tolerant of mistakes in a positive environment. They favor face-to-face communication and individual tasks.
This study provided significant implications for HRD practice and research. For organizational leaders and HRD professionals, this study proposed actionable strategies that can effectively attract, engage, and retain China's Gen Z. For HRD scholars, this study opened the door to an almost uncharted territory (China's Gen Z) and outlined a new research agenda
John Bickham field notebook: AK19501-AK20000.pdf
No full textBound book, each page corresponds to a karyotype slide data.Data pages for AK20001-AK20500 corresponding to unique identifiers of specimens/samples examined for biological research. Specimens are primarily housed at Texas A&M University; Biodiverstiy Research and Teaching Collection