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Effective Best Practices in Social Studies Education: Empowering Students Despite Institutional Barriers
Full text linkSocial Studies has remained a prevalent feature of the curriculum taught in the United States education system since the start of the 20th century as society became concerned with teaching children to be active citizens in their communities, and has evolved to integrate the development of critical and historical thinking skills that will enable students to analyze historical events and figures to generate a historical narrative (Coleman, 2021; Smith et al., 1995). The lack of standardized tests centered around social studies has meant that legislation like No Child Left Behind limits the funding provided to social studies as opposed to English, Mathematics, and Science, which has resulted in slow approval of new social studies curriculum, funding issues within individual school systems, and less time being devoted to social studies classes (O’Conner et al., 2007).
Therefore, to combat obstacles within the school system that place social studies at a disadvantage, teachers need to utilize effective instructional strategies considered by prior research to be the best practices for social studies education. Instructional strategies deemed to be the best practices to use in social studies classes are effective because they empower students to be an active participant in their learning, and to take on an increased amount of responsibility for their learning as they interpret historical events and figures to generate their own understanding of history and identify historical patterns that have resulted in the social issues that persist in modern society (Bolinger and Warren, 2007, Hattie and Timperley, 2007)
Health Professional Perspectives on Sudden Unexpected Infant Death in Arkansas
Full text linkArkansas has one of the highest Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) rates in the nation, with 173.6 deaths for every 100,000 live births (CDC, 2024). This is much higher than the national rate, indicating a significant need for prevention education. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death is an umbrella term used to categorize Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), unknown death causes, and accidental suffocation in bed. SUID rate reduction can be achieved by following infant-safe sleeping guidelines, which include crib use, flat and firm mattresses, no blankets, and putting babies on their backs. In this proposed study, health care professionals across Arkansas will be interviewed on their experience with SUID. The participants will exclusively be people working with expecting mothers and infants, and they will be questioned on how they discuss SUID, what the barriers to SUID education are, what their role is in preventing SUID, as well as what they think of current SUID prevention programs. Their insight will be analyzed for similarities and compiled into a report to aid in the development of infant safe sleep programs in Arkansas
Evaluation of Fecal Egg Counts (FEC) as a Viable Means to Estimate Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum and Capillaria obsignata Burdens in Laying Hens
Full text linkThe control of gastrointestinal helminths, specifically Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum, and Capillaria obsignata, is a critical component of poultry health management, particularly in free-range and organic farming systems. Methods of estimating parasite burdens, such as post-mortem examinations, are not feasible for large-scale commercial operations due to their invasiveness and time requirements. This study aimed to evaluate the use of fecal egg counts (FEC) as a non-invasive and efficient method for estimating the worm burdens of these parasites in laying hens. A flock of 12 brown egg laying, spent, hens were individually penned on concrete. Fecal samples (both cecal and intestinal) were collected for a total of 6 days (0-5), mean FEC ranged from 0 - 61.5 for Ascaridia galli, 0.16 - 98.8 for Heterakis gallinarum and 0 - 3.6 for Capillaria obsignata . Worm burdens for each species were quantified post-mortem ranging from 0 - 1 for Ascaridia galli, 0 – 28 for Heterakis gallinarum, and 2 – 25 in Capillaria obsignata to assess the accuracy of FEC as a predictive tool. Statistical analysis, including Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r-values) and P-values, revealed weak positive relationships between mean FEC and female worm burdens for H. gallinarum (r = 0.16306, p = 0.6126) and C. obsignata (r = 0.14505, p = 0.6529), with no statistical significance for any of the three target species. Even after applying geometric means to adjust for outliers, correlations remained weak and insignificant. These results suggest that while FEC shows some potential as an indicator of parasite burden, its accuracy is limited. Further research is needed to assess additional factors that may influence egg shedding patterns and find improved diagnostic techniques to enhance animal welfare and farm sustainability in the poultry industry
Organizational Care: The Formation and Reproduction of Social Support Structures in Nonprofit Organizations
Full text linkThrough past literature it has been established that nonprofit employees are prone to experience increased levels of stress and burnout due to the emotionally taxing nature of their jobs. Social support is a communicative transaction between individuals that has been proven to mitigate the negative impacts that both stress and burnout can cause employees to face. Previous studies on social support have focused on healthcare workers and nonprofit volunteers, while this study aims to understand the specific social support structures that are prominent within nonprofit organizations to provide support for employees. This study utilizes structuration theory to explore the structures that nonprofit organizations have created and maintained to provide support for employees. Along with, identifying how nonprofit employees (re)produce support structures through their own actions. 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with nonprofit employees throughout the research process. The findings from these interviews revealed that nonprofit organizations have developed many social support structures that are valuable to nonprofit employees and similarly employees have (re)produced these structures as well. The primary social support structures found in this research can be categorized by mental health and physical wellness, flexible work arrangements, recognition for good work, and safe spaces (to be heard and seen)
Self-Compassion Mediates the Relationship between Childhood Adversity in the Prediction of Later Health Outcomes among U.S. Adults
Full text linkAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events, such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, that occur before 18 years old. ACEs are strong predictors of negative health outcomes, such as poor physical health and risky health behaviors (Felitti et al., 1998; Merrick et al., 2017; Hughes et al., 2017). Previous research has proposed self- compassion may serve as a robust protective factor against childhood adversity (Hazzard et al., 2021) and may help explain the negative consequences of ACEs. The present study investigated the relationship between retrospectively reported ACEs and health outcomes in the context of self-compassion. 458 U.S. adults aged 18-45 were surveyed to assess self-reported levels of childhood adversity, self-compassion, mental health, risky behaviors, and physical health. Higher amounts of childhood adversity were found to predict worse mental health, engagement in more risky behaviors, and poorer physical health. Moreover, self-compassion partially mediated the associations between adversity types experienced in childhood with mental health, risky behavior, and physical health in adulthood
Assessment of Attitudes, Preferences, and Knowledge Regarding Dietary Protein and Health
Full text linkIn the area of nutrition and dietary protein, experts often state that there are several barriers to consumption of dietary protein, however there is a lack of published data supporting these claims. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the attitudes, preferences and knowledge regarding dietary protein to identify potential barriers that would prevent purchasing protein or including protein in the diet. A 38-question Qualtrics survey was distributed via University of Arkansas listservs and on social media for three weeks. Participants (n=866) were asked to answer questions related to general nutrition knowledge and current dietary practices related to protein. Preliminary analyses of the survey population show that 27% of survey participants were between the ages of 18-24 y, 72% were female, and 89% were white. When asked how often they include a protein source when eating a meal or snack, 56% responded sometimes and 40% responded always. Most (82%) participants indicated that they consume protein daily. 88% of the participants are most likely to eat protein at dinner, 56% at lunch and 41% at breakfast. However, of the 82% of participants who indicated that they consume breakfast daily, 31% consume protein at breakfast 5 or more times per week. The primary barriers preventing participants from consuming protein are cost (44%) and convenience (33%). When asked about current research topics related to dietary protein, 100% responded that protein, in general, is good for you. More than 60% responded that higher protein diets have health benefits and 70% think protein burns more calories than carbohydrates and fats. However, participants do not think all protein is nutritionally equal, 82% responded ‘no’ to all protein (plant versus animal sources) providing the same nutrients, 65% think plant protein is healthier. The survey population understands health benefits associated with protein intake; however cost and convenience are barriers to consumption. This highlights the need for nurses to educate patients on cost-effective and convenient ways to incorporate protein into their diets, ensuring they receive adequate nutrition
Causes and Contributing Factors in General Aviation Fixed-wing Stall and Spin Accidents
Full text linkGeneral Aviation operations are all civil aviation operations excluding commercial airline operations and cargo transport. General Aviation accidents comprise approximately 94% of all aviation accidents in the United States annually. Stall and spin accidents are the third most common causes of fatal General Aviation accidents, accounting for 7.28% of such accidents in 2013–2022. The National Transportation Safety Board investigates and records all General Aviation accidents in the United States. Using the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident database, I investigated stall and spin accidents between 2013 and 2022 to find (1) the most common phases of flight where stall and spin occurred, (2) the factors that occurred prior to the stall and spin, and (3) the reasonings/findings for accidents that occurred during low altitude maneuvering. The findings from my research may help the pilot community better understand when and what causes a stall and spin and how to prevent these accidents in the future. The findings may also help modify training procedures to help improve General Aviation safety
Design, Simulation, and Testing of Planar Transformer for Smart Green Power Node (SGPN) Isolation using Ansys
Full text linkThe goal of this project was to design and simulate a small, high-frequency, planar, ferrite-core transformer which can be used in a variety of applications, the most relevant of which is photovoltaic (PV) converter systems, which often require bulky transformers to function properly. The current research involved several processes: (1) Understanding and designing a tutorial for the use of Ansys software to aid in the efficient development and modeling of transformers, (2) designing and simulating a planar transformer in Ansys to be used in a solar converter, specifically the Smart Green Power Node (SGPN), and (3) testing the planar transformer using a series of tests in a controlled laboratory environment. The importance of this work lies in its future implications: its proper implementation could allow for far more sustainable and cost-effective solar energy solutions for everyone, relying on small but effective magnetics rather than the current bulky transformer options. The result of this research is an optimized planar transformer designed using Ansys Electronics Desktop, complete with its simulation results which accurately predict the core losses of the transformer throughout its use, as supported by data collected through its implementation and testing
Calming Music as an Emotion Regulation Technique in Response to a Traumatic Sexual Assault Narrative
Full text linkProblem. Experiencing a sexual assault often results in lasting psychological trauma that inhibits the person’s ability to function (CDC, 2022), so coping strategies are needed to reduce those symptoms. For instance, after listening to traumatic stories, people experience significant increases in subjective distress (Bynion et al., 2023). And laboratory studies demonstrate that calming music reduces subjective distress (Judd, 2020; Ophir & Jacoby, 2020). On the other hand, calming music appears to interfere with memory and processing (Rickard et al., 2012). While music has been shown to be a helpful coping mechanism to decrease anxiety and may relate to memory and learning, no study to date has examined these simultaneously as they relate to trauma. This study examines the effect of listening to calming music (vs silence) on both anxiety levels and memory recall following the description of a sexual assault. We hypothesize that: (H1) Participants who listen to calming music after hearing the trauma script will report lower anxiety levels than those who did not listen to music, controlling for baseline anxiety levels; (H2) Participants who listen to calming music after hearing the trauma script will demonstrate less memory retention than those who didn’t listen to music; (H3) Participants’ anxiety levels will be significantly positively related to their memory retention; and (H4) The association between listening to calming music and memory for a traumatic script will be partially mediated by anxiety levels. Methods. Participants (N = 84; 73% female; aged 18-24; 7% Asian, 5% Black, 11% Latine, 4% Native American, 1% Pacific Islander, 86% White; 89% heterosexual) with no PTSD or uncorrected hearing impairments were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses. Participants came into the lab, took a baseline anxiety measure (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI; Spielberger et al., 1970), listened to a script detailing a sexual assault, then completed the anxiety measure again. Participants were then randomly assigned to listen to either calming music (“Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie) or sit in silence for five minutes before taking the anxiety measure for a third time. Then, participants took a researcher-developed multiple-choice memory test based on the traumatic narrative they listened to. Results. Data analyses are currently being conducted. To test the hypothesis, a mediation model will be estimated in R using path analysis. The independent variable will be post-story STAI scores. The mediators will be experimental condition and final STAI scores. The dependent variable will be total story recall score. Conclusions. This research has implications for factors impacting the processing potentially traumatic information and may have extensions to the treatment of clinical populations.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hnrcsturpc25/1007/thumbnail.jp