SHAREOK Repository
Not a member yet
49261 research outputs found
Sort by
Performing Forgiveness-Seeking: Do Magic Words Comfort?
Get PDFForgiveness is a process culminating in relationship renegotiation and transformation following the offering and acceptance of amends. The culmination of the forgiveness process is facilitated by the acknowledgement of a transgression, as well as identifying the harmed person and the transgressor. However, responsibility for a transgression may not always be clear, potentially compelling a perceived transgressor to make amends for a transgression they did not commit. Situated within the context of a person accusing a friend of a transgression, a perceived transgressor reframing their role to that of a supportive friend is examined as a potential solution to this problem. Using the communication theory of identity (CTI) and message design logic (MDL) as guiding theories, identity gaps are examined as antecedents of communicative interaction by influencing changes in relational and interpersonal communication satisfaction, as well as ongoing negative affect and depressive symptoms. Additionally, different messages (expressive, conventional, and rhetorical) are analyzed to determine participant evaluations as to the helpfulness, supportiveness, sensitivity, appropriateness, and effectiveness of these messages in reframing the perceived transgressor’s role to a supportive friend. Results concern different identity gaps being involved in reductions of relational and interpersonal communication satisfaction and increases in ongoing negative affect, and rhetorical messages being evaluated as highly helpful, supportive, sensitive, appropriate, and effective. Theoretical and methodological implications for both CTI and MDL are discussed, as well as connections of the findings to gaslighting and possible future research on the negative aspects of forgiveness as a communication phenomenon
Using Physicochemical Properties Within a Discrete Element Modeling Framework and Fractal Geometry Theory to Understand Behavior of Unsaturated Expansive Clays
No full textThe volumetric deformations associated with expansive soils pose a risk to infrastructure, costing billions in mitigation annually. Many engineering designs assume the soil is in either the dry state or fully saturated. However, clays used as barrier systems and foundations are in the unsaturated state for the majority of the design life. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the mechanism underlying expansive soil behavior, particularly in response to changes in moisture along cycles of wetting and drying. There is substantial evidence demonstrating that the engineering behavior of these clays is controlled by microscopic, physicochemical forces, i.e., the van der Waals attractive force, double layer force, interlayer force, and mechanical contact forces. The physicochemical forces at the microscale that ultimately govern macroscale behavior, however, are not well understood and there is a need for a conceptual framework to quantify changes in fabric as the soil structure interacts with pore fluid. In order to provide better insight into the evolution of soil fabric under pore fluid changes and the controlling microscale mechanisms that cause swelling, two innovative approaches were utilized with the goal of providing a conceptual framework for quantifying microstructural forces and parameters present that affect macroscale behavior: (1) Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) and (2) Fractal Theory.
Discrete element modeling was employed to provide a method to better predict expansive soil swell pressures. The DEMClay program was adapted to consider physicochemical forces including the van der Waals attractive force, double layer repulsive, and mechanical contact forces in addition to microscale parameters (cation exchange capacity, specific surface area, Hamaker constant) to model microscale forces of expansive clays. The model was calibrated with a single mineral Na-montmorillonite and validated using natural specimens of montmorillonite-bearing soils with widely variable cation exchange capacity (CEC) and specific surface area (SA) parameters. DEMClay provided accurate predictions of swell pressures and can be employed by practitioners with knowledge of a few key soil parameters.
In addition to implementing a valid model to predict swell pressures of single-mineral and natural soils using physicochemical parameters, concepts from fractal geometry were used to provide the missing quantitative element describing surface features and structure of clay particles. Fractal geometry offers a numerical understanding of the patterns of fabric, structure, and pore networks found on high resolution environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) images of expansive single-mineral clays and natural soils at specific densities and suction. Quantitative assessments of microstructural changes were made using fractal geometry parameters, including fractal dimension and lacunarity, where the fractal dimension describes the complexity of the soil surface and lacunarity describes the texture, or pattern of voids of the fabric. For example, fractal dimension was lower for single-mineral clays than natural clays but lacunarity was higher for the artificial clays than the natural clays. These parameters allow engineers to better understand the evolution of surface complexity of expansive clays with varying mineralogy and physicochemical properties under cycles of hydrologic hysteresis and can be employed as parameters in models focused on predicting expansive soil behavior.
This research advances the understanding of unsaturated expansive soils through analyzing microscale mechanisms including surface complexity, pore fluid hysteresis and physicochemical forces. The outcome of this study provides engineers with a model that can accurately predict macroscale behavior of expansive soils, e.g., swell pressures, based on void ratio, intrinsic physicochemical parameters like SA and CEC, mineralogical parameters, and suction state and discusses methods in which this model can be further improved. It also details a novel way in which to consider surface complexity of clay minerals through fractal geometry that provides quantitative relationships with many important soil parameters and helps explain the evolution of behavior through suction states
Machine Learning for Impact-Based Flash Flood Warnings: Hazard Report Operationalization for Impact Predictions
No full textFloods account for approximately one third of all global geophysical hazards, and flash floods allow for extremely short lead times for warnings to be emitted. Flash flood warnings are weather-related alerts which serve to inform of potential hazardous conditions which threaten life or property. The National Weather Service has transitioned to an impact-based format for flash flood warnings, which aims to provide additional valuable information about hazards, that facilitate improved public response and decision making. This work responds to the need for new decision support tools, which enable forecasters to anticipate distinct levels of impacts associated with flash flood forecasts, and provide support for issuing impact-based flash flood warnings.
This dissertation proposes a foundation over which said decision support systems can be built. First and foremost, by constituting an unprecedented data set of historical flash flood reports with associated impact categories, achieved by the systematic application of a language-based impact framework (Flash Flood Severity Index) as a natural language processing task piped through a large language model (OpenAI's GPT-3.5-turbo). Secondly, through a proof-of-concept machine learning model trained to predict the severity of flash flood forecasts, based on operational flash flood forecasts, geomorphological data, and vulnerability layers
The Effects of Pharmaceutical Intervention on Neural Connectivity and Complexity in Fragile X Syndrome
Get PDFThis study aims to investigate the effects of targeted pharmaceutical interventions on brain networks in individuals with Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Focusing on three drugs tested in phase 2 clinical trials – (1) a metabatropic glutamate receptor-5 (mGluR5) antagonist in children with FXS, (2) single-dose racemic baclofen in adolescents and adults, and (3) a PDE4D allosteric inhibitor in adolescents and adults.
Previous studies suggested increased gamma connectivity, decreased alpha connectivity, and decreased complexity in FXS, which may be reversed with targeted treatment. However, none of the three drugs examined showed a significant reversal of these phenotypes. Some brain network measurements did show interesting patterns, which give insight into how the drug mechanisms affect brain function including: sedation effects on connectivity with racemic baclofen and potential minor changes in gamma connectivity with the mGluR-5 antagonist. Additionally, these measures provided insight into brain function within FXS populations. Specifically with increased alpha connectivity for males with FXS compared to females. While connectivity measures show promise in identifying potential drug effects, challenges in achieving consistent significance in small populations are evident.
Unfortunately, the small effect sizes and variability within both connectivity and entropy measures indicated that these measures are not robust enough to use as primary outcome measurements in FXS clinical trials given the small populations. Rather, they may be used more effectively in larger studies examining differences between populations or how pharmaceutical interventions work on a large scale rather than in determining individual change. This study underscores the need for further research to understand the unique dynamics of FXS, emphasizing the importance of considering gender, age, and measurement in clinical trials and future investigations
Drafting Defensemen's Effect on National Hockey League Outcomes
Get PDFAny draft in the league’s “salary cap era” (2005– Present) would go differently with
hindsight & with knowledge of the ultimate realized value of players. This study aimed to
explore whether National Hockey League (NHL) teams that choose to draft defensemen in the
first and second round of the draft more often will perform better as a team. The study
investigated data from 12 seasons 2007-08—2018-19 in the National Hockey League with 30
teams per year. The study incorporated several independent control variables and conducted an
OLS regression on defensive draft investments’ ability to predict regular season winning
percentage. The OLS model was a generally good fit with an adjusted R
2 of .632 (F(15, 344) =
42.04; p<.001). The results indicate that defensemen selected in the draft’s first two rounds are
responsible for a tangible effect on NHL team outcomes. It was found that the number of Draft
Selections had a statistically significant relationship with regular-season winning percentage
(p=.006) and each additional defenseman drafted in those rounds corresponded to a 0.7%
improvement in a team’s season winning percentage (p<.001). Additionally, for every standard
deviation increase in the use of non-drafted defensemen (free agents or transfer minutes), you
would expect to see a reduction in team winning percentage of 4.6% (p=.003). A logit regression
was also used to analyze the same variables’ ability to predict a playoff berth (Model fit:
χ
2
(15,360) = 205.22, p<.001). While traditional performance factors of Offense Quality and
Goalie Quality were significant predictors of playoff qualification (p<.001), the defensive draft
variables were not significant. Offensively-minded defensemen also did not present a statistically
significant effect on winning percentage or playoff berths for NHL clubs in either mode
Internal Needs Assessments: A worthwhile endeavor?
Get PDFIn 2020, the Oral Roberts University Library Needs Assessment Committee conducted six months of investigation, including an internal examination of the Library and an external study of Library resources, services, and staff. This Needs Assessment was unique in that a team of Library faculty and staff conducted it. Internal members of an organization rarely perform needs assessments for many reasons, including inherent bias and the potential distrust of those not on the assessment team. This process was complicated due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the period of data collection. The presenters will discuss the process, the benefits and some of the downsides of an Internal Needs Assessment. They will also describe how they navigated the tensions inherent in an internal assessment. Finally, they will present some of the recommendations that the Library has implemented. They will also explore some long-term benefits from a perspective three years later, and will discuss future plans.Ye
Leaving the Mess: Epistemology and Ethics in Media Literacy Instruction
No full text“Authority is constructed and contextual.” Thus spake the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy (2016), an assertion that rightly guides information and media literacy instructors as we form and inform students, empowering them to navigate an ecosystem rife with mis- and disinformation. Yet as danah boyd famously argues in her 2018 SXSW EDU keynote, how we teach media literacy can become an “assertion of authority over epistemology” that undermines skills we intend to sharpen by not recognizing and valuing fundamental differences among how individuals within communities make sense of the world(s) we inhabit. Just as authority is constructed and contextual, so also are evaluation and interpretation, sense-making constructs that determine how, why, and where we consume and create information. boyd asks, “How do we teach across epistemologies?” At COIL 2023, Kimberly Cannon and Chris Rosser engage boyd and her critics to describe the mess of epistemology and ethics in media literacy instruction; we then suggest how instructors might leave the mess, offering strategies to promote community and trust deployed in an exemplar gamified media literacy course entitled Eat, Play, Love: Adventures in the Information Ecosystem. Participants will: 1) identify current challenges for media literacy instruction; 2) encounter gameful design as a pedagogical strategy for navigating challenges; and 3) be challenged to attend to how we think about and encounter other minds, whether mediated digitally or face to face. We believe our use of media and of devices that mediate a tethering of self to a world of others can initiate among us generative orientations necessary for human (well) being, even across epistemologies. Note: danah boyd does not capitalize her name, and we defer here to her preferences.N
DESIGN AND MONITORING OF NON PROPRIETARY UHPC JOINTS OF PRECAST ELEMENTS (FHWA-OK-23-01)
No full textThis project included collection of UHPC connection details utilized by other states and examination of those
details for applicability to use with the OU J3 non-proprietary UHPC, examination of different fiber sources and
the effect of those fibers on properties of the OU J3 UHPC mix, consultation on and monitoring of UHPC
projects in Oklahoma, and development of materials for using in training ODOT personnel relative to UHPC
mix design and construction. UHPC connection details used in several different states were examined for
applicability to use in Oklahoma with non-proprietary UHPC. The research team provided input on upcoming
and ongoing bridge projects utilizing UHPC and UHPC connections in one ongoing project and several
completed projects were monitored throughout the project. The steel fibers used in previous studies on locally
developed J3 non-proprietary UHPC are no longer available and mechanical response and durability of J3
UHCP with varying fiber contents of a new source of straight steel microfibers and long hooked-end fibers
intended for use in structural applications were measured. A series of PowerPoint presentations providing an
introduction to UHPC, description of non-proprietary UHPC mix design, training on UHPC mixing, placement,
and testing, and results of research on non-proprietary UHPC were prepared. These presentations were used
to conduct two workshops and one free in-depth web training in conjunction with the Accelerated Bridge
Construction University Transportation Center.N
The effects of pre-trial publicity on the predictions of duration of jury deliberation
Get PDFPre-trial publicity can result in juror bias, memory errors, and biased perceptions, leading to issues within trials and jury deliberation. It is nearly impossible to avoid due to media and that publicity having multiple outlets to share information. Multiple methods have been researched in their ability to reduce the effects of PTP, but only minimally. Past research has found that PTP increases the likelihood of a guilty verdict and exposure to it will decrease the chance of a fair trial with impartial jurors. This study examines how negative PTP regarding specific people affects the predicted length of deliberation, rate of guilty verdicts, and predicted confidence in final decisions. A total of 106 participants were recruited for this study, with an average of 26 participants in each of the four conditions. Participants were recruited through a campus-wide email blast. The survey consisted of demographic questions, article summaries pertaining to the defendant, victim, both, or crime in general, and an edited video of the NJ vs. Bias trial. Participants then completed a survey containing questions about the verdict they believed they would choose, the verdict they believed the jury would choose, their confidence in those decisions, whether they believed the PTP affected their decisions and would affect the jury’s decision, and whether PTP should be limited or restricted before and during trials. There were no significant results for predicted deliberation times, predicted jury verdicts, individual decisions, or confidence ratings between any PTP exposure conditions. Results of this study do not indicate that PTP regarding different subjects has significant effects on juror decisions and predicted jury verdicts. However, changes to exposure time and retention intervals could potentially yield different results if a similar study is performed again in the future. Future research should focus on creating more real-world jury simulations in order to gain a greater understanding of PTP’s effects and how to mitigate them
A study of two piano works and their roots in ancient Chinese poetry and literati music: Two poem classics of the Tang Dynasty by Xu, Zhenmin (b. 1934) and Three preludes by Gong, Xiaoting (b. 1970)
Get PDFThis document studies Xu Zhenmin’s Two Poem Classics of the Tang Dynasty and Gong Xiaoting’s Three Preludes, and discusses how ancient Chinese poetry and literati music influence these two modern Chinese piano compositions. The author will introduce the general styles of the poetry in the Tang dynasty and the ci of the Song dynasty, the style of ancient Chinese literati music, and the timbre characteristics of guqin — one of the representative instruments of ancient Chinese literati music. Building on this understanding, the author will demonstrate how the elements of ancient Chinese poetry and literati music manifest in the two works of Xu and Gong. This document will also provide musical analyses and discuss performance interpretation of these two works