Open Research Oklahoma (Oklahoma State Univ.)
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Psychophysiological impact of virtual observations on cognitive control within social anxiety
No full textSocial anxiety (SA) is characterized by fears and avoidance of social situations in which one may be evaluated by others. Research suggests that those with SA demonstrate differences in cognitive processing of socially-salient information, such as response inhibition and attentional processing. However, extant literature has primarily focused on real-world social situations that may initiate or exacerbate the aforementioned impairments associated with SA. Similarly, there is less work that combines self-report, behavioral, and psychophysiological methods to comprehensively understand SA. Given recent technological advances, it is important to also understand the role that virtual settings may play in contributing to SA-related fear and avoidance across different domains. For example, online communities or video game play in front of an audience provide opportunities for evaluation through electronic interaction and performance. Moreover, virtual settings differ from real-world settings in that the modality through which interactions and performance occurs varies (e.g., through use of videos, avatars, no visual cues). However, there is a paucity of research that evaluates how the above factors may interact within these settings to affect cognitive aspects of SA. Therefore, the present work fills this gap by using psychophysiological methods to clarify how the type of view through which an audience observes a video game player influences cognitive functions, and how SA, as well as the extent to which an individual is already engaged in video gaming and virtual social community platforms, moderates this relationship. Using a mixed factorial 2 Time (Pre-Video Game, Post-Video Game) by 3 Performance View Type (Control, Picture, Video) by SA (continuous) on the N2 and P3 design, participants completed Emotional Go/No-Go tasks prior to and following engagement in an online video game during which they were informed another participant would watch their gameplay alongside no visual cues, a picture, or a video stream of themselves. Primary analyses suggested no differential impacts of Time, Performance View Type, or SA on the N2 or P3. Inclusion of video game and virtual community engagement variables explained some additional error in these models. Exploratory analyses examining the LPP suggested some significant main effects of SA and Performance Viewing Type
Navigating function in sequence space using resurrected ancestral proteins and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
No full textA general challenge in protein science and protein engineering is that proteins belonging to the same protein family but differ in functional properties (such as enzymatic rate and thermodynamic stability) often differ in a substantial number of positions. In many cases it is likely that a combination of a number of substitutions causes the observed functional changes, but there are too many combinations (a combinatorial explosion) of possible substitutions to experimentally verify. Currently, there is no method to address such challenges in structure-function studies. Our approach allows the degree of sequence similarity between these predicted ancestors to be quite small, greatly narrowing down the residues involved in causing this functional change and allowing them to be unambiguously identified by traditional site-directed mutagenesis. This approach promises to provide a generally applicable strategy for identifying structure-function relationships in protein families based on resurrected ancestral proteins. With this project we were able to identify that AlphaFold structural predictions are not as accurate as originally thought. Also, along the evolutionary path, there is a phenomenon that occurs that we attribute to molecular meandering. The characterization of site-directed mutants of proteins is a major tool to uncover protein structure-function relationships. In general, a clear interpretation of the properties of the mutant is only possible if the mutation does not cause substantial structural perturbations. However, currently it is often difficult to determine if a point mutation leaves the structure of a protein essentially intact or if it causes substantial structural perturbations. Here we aim to develop an FTIR-based method that can quickly, reliably, and sensitively answer that question. Also, proton transfer is fundamental to many processes in biology, ranging from receptor activation and bioenergetics to bio-catalysis. However, few methods in structural biology are able to determine residue-resolved protonation states, particularly for functional intermediates. We focus on the unambiguous determination of histidine side chain protonation state because histidine is a residue found at the active site of many enzymes, where it often functions by altering its protonation state. With this research, we also developed a new method using FTIR to identify secondary structure perturbations
Design science in information systems research: A three essay examination
No full textIn information systems research there has long been a tradition of design, and this dissertation seeks to represent this tradition across three research essays. In essay 1, we develop and evaluate a novel IT artifact to allow remote hands-on IoT training. Findings from this essay demonstrated the usability of this device using subjective and objective performance metrics. In essay 2, a novel scale to measure embodied social presence was developed and deployed to discern differences in embodied social presence across two distinct groups. Findings suggest that vicarious experiences are perceptually rich, enacting similar perceptual outcomes as active experiences. Essay 3 seeks to define, design, and implement a novel design artifact to enhance information seeking in the oral history context. In phase one, the device was iteratively developed, evaluated, and improved across four studies using formative assessments. Once the device was shown to reliably improve information seeking, a second phase was performed to evaluate the generalizability of the designed artifact to the oral history context through a week-long qualitative investigation with a context-specific sample. This research contributes to research in knowledge management systems through the description of a device to manage unstructured data. For practitioners, this research describes a novel tool that can be adopted and applied to current oral history repositories. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates how design can be used effectively in information systems research, whether it be the focal aspect of study (chapters 2 & 4), or as an essential component to further non-DSR research (chapter 3)
Vertical logo positioning in brand extensions
No full textThis dissertation investigates how the vertical positioning of parent brand names in extension logos influences consumer evaluations, drawing on conceptual metaphor theory and processing fluency research. Despite the widespread use of brand extensions and the strategic importance of logo design, limited research has examined how spatial positioning of logo elements affects consumer perceptions of brand extensions.
Two experimental studies tested the effects of upward versus downward parent brand positioning on consumer evaluations of brand extensions across different product categories and price/quality tiers. Study 1 employed a fictional snack brand (Crisp) with explicit price manipulations to establish luxury versus budget positioning. Study 2 addressed design limitations by using an established hospitality brand (Hilton), eliminating price cues, and shifting to a higher-involvement product category (hotel accommodations) to enhance ecological validity.
Results revealed consistent support for core theoretical relationships across both studies. Processing fluency strongly predicted brand evaluations and perceived appropriateness enhanced conceptual processing fluency. However, vertical positioning alone did not directly affect brand evaluations, suggesting that spatial metaphors operate through more complex cognitive mechanisms than simple direct effects.
Importantly, the studies revealed context-dependent moderation effects. In Study 2's hotel context, upward parent brand positioning significantly enhanced perceived appropriateness for budget extensions but not luxury extensions, contrary to hypothesized predictions. This asymmetric pattern suggests competing metaphorical mappings in luxury contexts, where hierarchical parent-extension relationships conflict with luxury status hierarchies.
The findings contribute theoretically by integrating conceptual metaphor theory with processing fluency research and extending brand extension literature by demonstrating how visual design elements influence consumer processing in different involvement contexts. Practically, the research provides strategic guidance for logo design in brand extensions when implementing spatial metaphors. The research identifies conceptual processing fluency as a key mechanism underlying design effects and reveals important boundary conditions for when and why vertical positioning strategies are most effective
Polytopal resolutions of dense ideals
No full textLet S = k[x₁,⋯,xₙ] and I=(x₁,⋯,xₙ)d. In this document, we study ideals obtained by removing small number of generators from G(I). We introduce a minimal resolution for I, the ideal generated by G(I) ∖ {m}, where m is a generator of I. We also give an upper bound for the Hirsch diameter of the graph associated with J where J is an equigenerated monomial ideal with linear presentation
Influence of multiple and emotional intelligences on flight course performance: A study of Generation Z student pilots enrolled in a university aviation program
No full textCollegiate flight training requires student pilots to master complex technical knowledge, psychomotor skills, and sound decision-making under pressure. While prior aviation research has emphasized technical proficiency, less attention has been given to how diverse learning styles and emotional competencies affect performance. For Generation Z student pilots, an overreliance on verbal instruction and rote memorization techniques, which are traditionally emphasized by certified flight instructors (CFIs), may not align with their learning preferences. This study examined the extent to which CFI instructional methods aligned with the dominant multiple intelligences (MI) of student pilots and how such alignment influenced flight course outcomes. It also investigated the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping student pilots’ ability to regulate emotions, manage stress, and perform effectively, while exploring perceptions of how MI and EI influenced overall learning experiences and CFI interactions. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study combined survey data from 124 participants with interviews from 40 student pilots. The survey measured dominant MI learning styles, CFI alignment with those styles, and EI factors, while interview data provided contextual narratives that expanded on quantitative results.
Analyses revealed that students whose CFIs adapted instruction to their dominant MI styles were less likely to face repeated stage checks or checkride failures. Similarly, students with higher EI demonstrated stronger performance during evaluations, while those with lower EI were more prone to stress symptoms and decision-making errors. Qualitative findings reinforced these results, with participants reporting that instructional misalignment often led to frustration, anxiety, and training delays. In contrast, early recognition of MI preferences and CFI adaptability fostered comprehension, confidence, and skill retention. The results of this study will help inform collegiate aviation programs, flight school administrators, and CFIs in adopting instructional practices that better align with the learning needs of Generation Z student pilots. Findings also provide guidance for the Federal Aviation Administration and aviation policymakers on integrating MI and EI strategies into CFI preparation and flight course curricula to enhance pilot performance, reduce training inefficiencies, and strengthen operational safety
Evaluating school accountability: Chronic absenteeism as an antecedent indicator in every student succeeds act accountability systems
No full textThis study examined the role of chronic absenteeism within a state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability system, focusing on its empirical and structural relationships with other accountability indicators and its influence on school rankings. Using statewide data from four academic years (2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023), the study employed principal components analysis (PCA) and path analysis to address three research questions: (1) What are the observed relationships among the State’s accountability indicators, as identified through principal component analysis, and how do these relationships inform interpretations of overall school quality? (2) How does changing the State education indicator composition (i.e., removing chronic absenteeism) affect overall and relative school rankings? and (3) How do the direct and indirect effects among the observed accountability indicators involving chronic absenteeism help explain overall school quality? Results from the PCA revealed a unidimensional component structure across years, with academic achievement, academic growth, and chronic absenteeism emerging as core contributors to school quality composites. Path analyses indicated that chronic absenteeism functioned as both a direct and indirect predictor of overall accountability outcomes. While its exclusion had minimal impact on statewide ratings, localized effects on relative rankings were evident, particularly among schools near accountability classification thresholds. Over the years, chronic absenteeism’s predictive influence strengthened in the post-COVID period, underscoring its increasing importance in explaining school-level performance variation.
Findings suggest that chronic absenteeism operates as an antecedent rather than a reflection of school quality outcomes. These results contribute to ongoing policy discussions about the design and weighting of accountability systems by highlighting the need to balance outcome-based measures with leading indicators that capture conditions for learning
Oklahoma State wrestling and twentieth-century America: A strenuous exercise in gender, race, and politics
No full textFrom 1928 through 1999 the Oklahoma State University (OSU) wrestling program won thirty National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships. This dissertation uses that program as a framework to tell an American twentieth-century story about gender, race, and politics. Each of the program’s twentieth-century coaches, from Edward Clark Gallagher to John Smith, provide varied narratives and are each representative of the cultural changes taking place during the period of their tenures.
Throughout this study, links to Theodore Roosevelt’s strenuous life models and collegiate wrestling’s roots to the American Midwest in post-1920s America are prominent. Gallagher led the program from 1916 to 1940 and was among a number of influential men to develop the sport. His successor, Art Griffith, reformed and changed the rules of the sport, while the program’s third coach, Myron Roderick, forged a relationship with Japanese wrestling leadership at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics that was part of a new transnationalism and desegregation of American athletics in the post-World War II period.
The final quarter of the century brought new challenges to the male-dominated space of collegiate sports landscape in the form of Title IX legislation that impacted collegiate wrestling in a number of ways. In turn, the sport’s relationship with conservative political ideologies throughout its history led to the community responding negatively to the cultural changes taking place embodied by the imagery of a number of twenty-first-century NCAA championships. This is not a sports study filled with statistics and biographies of Oklahoma State wrestling’s top athletes; instead it allows a sport outside the mainstream to serve as a window into the broader historical narratives of gender, race, and politics
24/48 or 48/96: A critical analysis of the impacts of shift pattern change on firefighters in North Texas
No full textShift patterns variations are inherent to shift work occupations, especially firefighting. Different shift patterns provide various advantages and disadvantages. This study provides crucial evaluation of an emerging trend of fire departments in North Texas seeking to change from the 24/48 shift pattern to the 48/96 shift pattern. Firefighters from an area department that underwent the change were surveyed to analyze their individual perceptions of the impact that the change has had on factors in their lives. While specific factors such as years of service, commute time, number of ambulance assignments, and family factors were not statistically significant, there was a statistically significant indication of overall perceived improvement across sleep quality, home and work quality of life, and stress. This study contributes greatly to the body of literature and field of study surrounding the fire service in terms of organizational management and health and well-being of firefighters
Recruiting and retaining parent volunteers in a competitive marching band program: A qualitative study
No full textThis qualitative case study is to gain a better understanding of how band faculty leaders in one large, competitive marching band program in a state in the Midwest have successfully recruited and retained band parent volunteers over a sustained period. Through the lens of the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler Model of the parental involvement process, this study considers how parent volunteerism is sustained. The findings highlighted the complex interplay between intrinsic motivation, life context variables, program structures, and relational dynamics in shaping parental engagement