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The effects of leading questions on opinion of news media
No full textPoster and abstract presented at the FYRE in STEM Showcase, 2025.Research project completed at the Department of English.Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of leading questions on the memory of witnesses. A leading question is a question that influences its audience to respond in a certain way e.g. “The suspect was wearing red, wasn’t he?” Some research on the subject has demonstrated that leading questions can influence people’s opinions of minority groups, but this research seeks to address the lack of research in how leading questions can influence opinion of news media. To test this, we will give participants a pre-screening survey that measures their opinions on crime and healthcare on a seven-point Likert scale asking five questions about the subject. 1-3 days after completing the survey participants would receive the second half of the study via email. The second half consisted of participants reading 3 articles about the UnitedHealthcare assassination and answering a total of twelve questions (nine multiple choice three open ended) about the articles to develop their comprehension and opinion of the subject. Half the participants would receive three leading questions intended to make them sympathetic to the suspect of the UnitedHealthcare assassination. Afterwards, participants would answer the same Likert scale and any change in opinion would be recorded. Because this research is still in progress it is impossible to discuss the results. But the pre-screening survey has a sample size of N=5 female respondents and N=2 gender nonconforming respondents. Participants report that they are dissatisfied with the state of healthcare and tend to be sympathetic towards criminals with motives they relate to. They disagree about whether or not there is a circumstance in which murder is okay. We expect that participants who receive leading questions will be swayed more than the ones who don’t
Department of Dental Hygiene Class of 1995
No full textFirst row (left to right): Pamela Bumpurs, Clinical Instructor; Barbara McCurry, Clinical Instructor; Dr. Diane E. Huntley, Associate Professor; Salme E. LaVigne, Associate Professor, Director; Dr. Steven Twietmeyer, Supervising Dentist; Dr. Chris Mar, Supervising Dentist; Margaret Minneman, Assistant Professor; Barbara Gonzalez, Assistant Professor; Stephanie Jones, Clinic CoordinatorSecond row (left to right): Teresa Henderson, Secretary/Treasurer; Jorinda Papay, President; Kimberly Hilger, Vice President; Marty Siemens, Class LiaisonThird row (left to right): Cheryl Arnold, LeaAnn Babson, Lynn Earl, Social Chairman; Renae Monroe, Social Chairman; Christi Ball, Jennifer BlueFourth row (left to right): Cindy Christner, Julie Fowler, Cynthia Geer, Linda Gutenkunst, Linda Harper, Jeana Jordan, Renee Kaiser, Faith Meyer, Karen NunneleyFifth row (left to right): Kim Orth, Vonnette Parker, Julie Parkinson, DaJon Perez, Karen Rariden, Janet Reid, Tiffani Slusser, Suzy SpatzDigitized by University Libraries' Technical Services Institutional Repository & Digitization group.Personal and non-profit use only
Black MSW students’ experiences at a historically and predominantly white university: a participatory qualitative investigation
No full textClick on the DOI link to access this article at the publishers website (may not be free).Despite decades of espoused commitment to diversity, there remains an educational and opportunity gap between Black and White students in U.S. higher education and social work. Some universities create satellite locations to recruit Black and post-traditional students, but multi-site universities face additional complexities that require thoughtful planning. As a team of graduate social work students, alumni, and faculty, we conducted a participatory, interpretive description study to investigate Black student experiences with racism and inclusion at One United Regional (OUR, pseudonym) institution. OUR institution is a U.S. public, historically, and predominantly white university that hosts graduate social work programs at two locations: an urban location with a Black-student-majority population and a suburban location with a White-student-majority student population. We interviewed current students and recent alumni (n = 18) across its locations. We drew on critical race theory to guide our questions and codebook and followed an iterative thematic process to conduct team coding and analysis. We developed five themes: experiences of inclusion; Black students as generous, unpaid educators; Black students as generous, unpaid administrators; catering to Whiteness; and the permanence of racism. After detailing our findings, we highlight the implications for social work higher education administrators and faculty. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Provost Research Grant CommitteeFirst and foremost, we want to thank the generous participants who shared their time, experiences, and lived expertise. We are also grateful to Dr. Gwenelle O\u2019Neal for her guidance throughout this research and to Jessica \u2018Jess\u2019 Borelli for her important work on this study. Finally, we want to thank Dr. Nicole \u2018Niki\u2019 Bennett and the Provost Research Grant Committee members for their financial support to conduct this research
Microsite availability, not floral herbivory, limits recruitment in peripheral native thistle populations
No full textThis is an open access article under the CC BY license.Variation in insect herbivory can drive variation in plant fitness and population dynamics. However, our ability to predict the ecological contexts in which insect herbivores will reduce plant fitness or population growth is limited. In theory, populations at the periphery of a plant species' biogeographic range are expected to experience reduced herbivory. Further, in montane landscapes, elevation is expected to drive variation in abiotic conditions and variation in plant–insect interactions. Specifically, less insect herbivory may occur at cooler, higher elevations. To examine these predictions, we quantified effects of inflorescence- and seed-feeding insect herbivores in populations of the short-lived, monocarpic, perennial forb Cirsium canescens (Platte thistle) in montane grasslands in Colorado, USA. We asked: (1) Does insect flower head herbivory and pre-dispersal seed predation limit Platte thistle lifetime seed production? (2) Does this insect herbivory limit seedling recruitment? (3) Does ecological context, including spatial—especially elevational—and temporal variation, affect the outcome of these interactions? We conducted insect exclusion experiments in three years at five sites over 52% of Platte thistle's elevation range in our region. We compared both lifetime viable seed production and seedlings recruited between plants with ambient versus insecticide-reduced levels of flower head herbivory. Insect herbivory on flower heads significantly reduced Platte thistle lifetime viable seed production at all sites, independent of elevation. Unexpectedly, however, increasing seed by reducing herbivory did not lead to a proportional increase in seedling recruitment. The relationship between viable seed production and seedling recruitment per plant was non-linear, decelerating across the range of seed production achieved by both plants exposed to and protected from flower head herbivory. While elevation altered Platte thistle flowering phenology, it did not influence insect damage, viable seed production, or seedling recruitment. These results show that flower head- and seed-feeding insect herbivores strongly reduced Platte thistle lifetime viable seed production, a key component of maternal fitness, in these peripheral populations. Yet, the herbivory did not determine population recruitment, suggesting post-dispersal processes limit recruitment here. Further, elevation did not drive context-dependent variation in the insect herbivore outcomes. © 2025 The Author(s). Ecosphere published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.Colorado State University, CSU; U.S. Bureau of Land Management, BLM; Kansas Academy of Science, KAS; Wichita State University; U.S. Forest Service, USFS; Colorado Native Plant Society, CoNPSWe thank the Bureau of Land Management, especially Cathy Hagen; the United States Forest Service, especially Jim Pitts; the Colorado State Land Board; and a private landowner, Annie Vohs, for encouragement, assistance, and access to study sites. We are grateful to Rodney W. Otley and Mary Liz Jameson for logistical support and for many fruitful discussions that benefited our project. Financial support was generously provided by Wichita State University, the Kansas Academy of Science Student Research Grants Program, the Colorado Native Plant Society John W. Marr Grant Program, and it was supplemented by personal funds
Carbonized PAN-fiber composites with nanoscale inclusions for improved thermal and mechanical properties for extreme environments
No full textClick on the DOI link to access this article at the publishers website (may not be free).Polymeric nanocomposites and carbon-carbon composites were primarily developed for aerospace, wind energy, and civil and military applications due to their outstanding properties. The study introduces an innovative process to develop carbon-carbon and carbon-silicon carbide (SiC) fiber nanocomposites incorporated with various percentages of graphene inclusions into a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution to enhance their mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. To prepare the nanocomposite coupons, a mixing ratio of 20:80 was employed for PAN and dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent, ensuring the effective dissolution of PAN powder. Subsequently, graphene powder was incorporated into the solution at a ratio of 0–4 wt%, forming the resin solution. This prepared mixture was poured into an aluminum (Al) casting groove to fabricate the nanocomposite coupons, which were reinforced with carbon and silicon carbide (SiC) fibers. After drying at room temperature, the developed composite coupons were oxidized at 200°C for 2 h in the air and then carbonized at 650°C for an additional 2 h in the presence of argon (Ar) gas. The oxidized coupons of carbon fibers (CFs) containing 4% graphene in PAN can withstand a maximum load of 9469.9 N and an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 632.8 MPa at fracture. Moreover, carbonized coupons were electrically conductive, with a mean value of 344 S/m, and highly fire retardant by passing UL94 tests. The test results of FTIR, DSC, and SEM results confirmed that the fibers and inclusions were well integrated with the new bonds, and properly oriented in the composite structures. This research recommends a promising possibility for manufacturing advanced composites with outstanding properties against extreme environmental conditions. © IMechE 2025
Classical and Bayesian inference in two-parameter exponential distribution under random censoring
No full textThesis (M.S.)-- Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Mathematics, Statistics, and PhysicsThis thesis examines different classical and Bayesian methods for estimating parameters of the two-parameter exponential distribution, a flexible and valuable model for analyzing randomly censored data in survival and reliability studies. Unlike the standard one-parameter exponential model, which can produce biased results when data have a significant minimum threshold, the two-parameter model includes a location parameter representing a minimum guarantee period, alongside the usual scale parameter. This is particularly relevant in random censoring scenarios, where subjects or items exit studies unpredictably. For computational simplicity, we assume that both failure and censoring times follow a two-parameter exponential distribution with a shared location parameter but different scale parameters, balancing mathematical convenience with realistic assumptions.
We first explore established estimation techniques to estimate the unknown parameters, including the maximum likelihood, method of moments, L-moments, least squares, weighted least squares, and Bayesian estimators using the generalized entropy loss function with flexible priors that vary in informativeness. Additionally, we propose new estimators, such as the percentile-based method and its modified version, maximum product of spacings, and Bayesian estimators under the linear-exponential loss function, using the same priors. Through extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we evaluate these estimators’ performance and some key reliability metrics to assess the system performance. Finally, we apply the two-parameter model to real-world datasets from medical science and reliability engineering and compare the results with the standard one-parameter model to highlight the value of incorporating a location parameter for accurate estimation in randomly censored data studies
A comparative assessment of welfare effects of two common approaches to individual recognition in field studies: Pit tags and image recognition
No full textThesis (M.S.)-- Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biological SciencesWild animal welfare is increasingly recognized as a critical component of scientific research. It is best understood at the individual level and defined by the quality of an animal’s subjective experiences. Individual identification is a cornerstone of wildlife studies, crucial for tracking life history and informing management decisions. There are a variety of techniques available that give an individual unique identification, but little is known about the stress impacts that the techniques directly or indirectly cause. Glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone (CORT), play a key role in the vertebrate stress response and are commonly used as biomarkers to assess stress, disease, or environmental challenges. This study focuses on Siren intermedia, an understudied, fully aquatic salamander species with characteristics suitable for water-borne hormone collection. By comparing CORT levels in response to a common identification technique (PIT tagging) and a non-invasive alternative (image recognition), in a field setting, we aim to gain insight into wild animal welfare. We obtained 3 CORT samples (baseline, agitation and recovery release rate) from each siren at initial capture and one following recapture to analyze the magnitude of stress response (MSR) and negative feedback (NF). Temperature and capture history were the strongest predictors of MSR with new captures showing elevated MSR, as temperatures increased. Technique showed marginal effects on MSR and may require more data to clarify its role. For NF, baseline release rates and capture history were the main drivers. Our study demonstrates that both identification techniques trigger measurable physiological stress in sirens. Choosing the most suitable identification technique is complex and requires thoughtful consideration of numerous factors. Although we cannot definitively determine that one method is significantly better for animal welfare—given the nuances involved—our findings offer valuable insight to help researchers assess the welfare of wild animals
Towards robust building damage detection: Leveraging augmentation and domain adaptation
No full textDate of Conference: 26-28 March 2025
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 30 April 2025Conference Location: Wichita, KS, USAThe increasing frequency of natural disasters necessitates efficient building damage detection for effective disaster response. This study addresses limitations in deep learning models, particularly their inability to classify minor as well as major damage classes due to inadequate detection of structural features like edges and corners in satellite images. To overcome these challenges, we propose the utilization of a fusion-based data augmentation technique that combines edge detection, contrast enhancement, and unsharp masking to enhance structural feature detection. We further evaluate the generalizability of this approach using domain adaptation techniques, including supervised fine-tuning and unsupervised Deep CORAL to address domain shifts between source (xBD) and target (Ida-BD) datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed augmentation improves damage classification accuracy by 5–7% in minor and major damage classes and enhances localization accuracy by 2.5%. Additionally, the integration of domain adaptation techniques validates the robustness in handling out-of-domain datasets. By improving structural feature detection and mitigating domain discrepancies, the proposed methodology enhances performance and adaptability of deep learning models for disaster response. This study demonstrates the potential of fusion-based augmentation and domain adaptation to enable reliable and efficient building damage detection in diverse disaster scenarios
Nursing: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, May 1990
No full textPersonal and not-profit use only. Contact [email protected] if you have any questions.On photo: left to right - top row: Sandra Askey, Kris A. Berger, Tori Huitt (Curriculum Committee Rep.), Tammy A. Huneycutt (President), Catrina Johnson (Student Committee Rep.), Desni Converse (Red Cross Rep.), Bob Clark, Rena DaySecond row (left to right): Sheryl Engel, John Hartford, Margaret A. Kreifels, Lisa OwensThird row (left to right): Meri Parker, Susan L. Patternson, Terri Phillips, Kathy PostonFourth row (left to right): Shellie Reynolds, Saundra Rongish, Tracy Simmons, Lindy Simpson, Stephanie Smith, Marsha Spade, Shelli Strodman, Cheril TibbettsBottom row (left to right): Cindy Uloho, Denise Urban, Susan Weber, Laura Wharff, Kandy J. Wyrick, Lisa K. Youngs, Gina M. ZavalaDigitized by University Libraries' Technical Services Institutional Repository & Digitization group