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Early Detection Of Oak Wilt Using Machine Learning And Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs)
No full textOak wilt, a highly contagious and lethal disease threatening oak trees across North America, has traditionally been detected through manual inspections, which are often time-intensive and insufficient for timely intervention. This study introduces an automated detection system leveraging aerial imagery captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify environments as Oak Wilt or Not Oak Wilt. Initially trained on a dataset of 581 images, the model was further refined with an expanded dataset of 1,051 images and tested on 9,981 images collected from various state parks in Michigan. The customized CNN architecture, which includes convolutional, max-pooling, and fully connected layers, achieved an overall accuracy of 86.72%. The system incorporates data augmentation, geotagging, and Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), significantly enhancing model adaptability and accuracy. Deployment through a web platform built with VueJS and Flask improves accessibility and scalability, facilitating proactive forest conservation by enabling early oak wilt detection from aerial imagery
Explaining Patient Data Towards Improving Patient Understanding and Medical Efficiency
No full textPURPOSE: Patients often receive their lab results via electronic health portals before any explanation from a provider. These results, when summarized, are frequently written in technical language that can be difficult for non-medical users to understand. This study examines the application of large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, to automatically generate test result summaries, thereby enhancing patient comprehension and provider efficiency. SUBJECTS: Two groups were surveyed: undergraduate and graduate students from various majors and medical professionals from multiple specialties. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Participants reviewed original test results, a clinically detailed LLM-generated summary, and a simplified summary. Students answered comprehension questions, and medical professionals completed a Likert-scale evaluation assessing accuracy, clinical depth, and adoption potential. ANALYSES: Quantitative analysis of student response accuracy and summary preference; qualitative feedback and Likert averages for professional evaluations. RESULTS: The student survey indicates high comprehension of both detailed and simplified summaries, with most participants preferring to receive both formats. The medical professional survey reveals support for LLM adoption in practice, particularly when combined with provider oversight and patient access. While the summaries were not fully accurate due to missing lab data, they were generally reliable and considered clinically useful when carefully reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: LLMs show promise in bridging the communication gap between patients and providers. They may enhance comprehension and workflow if summaries are paired with patient support options and reviewed by medical professionals before delivery
American Track and Field Coverage An Online Content Analysis
No full textPURPOSE: Sports represent a quintessential component of what it means to be American. American sports are renowned as some of the very best in the world, and 38% of Americans keep up with sports regularly (Hatfield, 2024). Even for those who are not avid fans, events like the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games have become cultural events. Track and field is the number one participation sport in America (Statista, 2022). PROCEDURES: To analyze the quality of the current offerings of American track and field media, this study scored the coverage of 10 track and field meets on their quality and effectiveness of displaying the events. OUTCOME: This led to the conclusion that there is a variety of track and field coverage available, each with varying prices, quality, and scope. The plethora of platforms and events makes it difficult to navigating as a fan. IMPACT: Platforms like Peacock, FloTrack, and some YouTube videos provide good coverage, but the decentralized nature of track and field streaming makes it difficult to navigate and potentially leads to barriers of entry for would-be fans
Africanism in America: Exploring Hybrid Identities of African Students in the US
No full textPURPOSE: This study interrogates the intercultural experiences of African international students (AIS) in a US Midwestern University. With a focus on West African students, the study explores how students confront and overcome linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers as they create new dynamic spaces which are neither American nor African, but a mixture of both. SUBJECTS: 12 West African students. METHODS: I utilized ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews to better understand how the AIS engage in ongoing identity negotiation through language, food, cultural expressions, and technology. I conducted 40 hours of participant observation research over a 5-month period and interviewed 12 West African students. OUTCOME: Drawing on the theoretical constructs of hybridity and language ideology, the findings reveal how AIS negotiate identity by using traditional African cultural traits, rooted in what I term Africanism—with new cultural influences, generating unique, fluid and constantly-evolving hybrid identities. Language emerges as a powerful site of hybridity, where students shift between linguistic norms to balance intelligibility and cultural authenticity. These hybrid identities emerge through active, creative processes. IMPACT: The findings offer important implications for higher education, emphasizing the need for more culturally responsive support systems that recognize the distinct experiences of African students. Additionally, the study contributes to the fields of communication and migration studies by advancing a nuanced understanding of identity formation in transnational contexts. By foregrounding the voices of African students, this research challenges monolithic representations of international students and promotes intercultural dialogue in fostering inclusive communities and enriching educational environments
Slow It Down! Techniques To Help Students Make Sense Of Primary Source Data Visualizations
No full textPURPOSE: Data visualizations like maps and graphs are among the primary sources students should use to study history but can be overwhelming for learners. This poster describes techniques that support students in analyzing primary source data visualizations, blending research-informed methods to help learners interpret complex historical data visualizations with data science tools and techniques to create web-based, interactive resources. PROCEDURES: Techniques presented are grounded in research on how people make sense of graphics – reading the data, reading between the data, and reading beyond the data. We provide a brief background on this research, describe techniques for analyzing and interpreting historical data visualizations, and offer complete lesson plans for secondary social studies classrooms. OUTCOME: We developed a user-friendly, visually appealing platform for secondary social studies teachers, utilizing tools like R, Google Sheets, JavaScript, and HTML. It offers adaptable resources such as sample visualizations, guided lessons, and teaching strategies to make complex data more accessible. A professional development section offers self-paced modules to help teachers implement these techniques in their own classrooms. IMPACT: These materials help teachers guide students through data discovery, interpretation, and critical analysis, promoting stronger historical thinking and data literacy. Shreiner and Dykes (2025) highlight how one of these techniques, “offers a powerful method for teaching critical data literacy when taught with fidelity, allowing students time to notice, wonder, and discuss.” These techniques engage students of varying abilities and comfort levels, providing time to discuss social and political topics that they identify to be historically and instructionally significant
Quality Initiatives And Health Outcomes: A Case Study Of Healthcare Organizations In Michigan
No full textPURPOSE: Once considered successful in the manufacturing industry, Lean Six Sigma has become quite popular recently among hospitals as a strategy to improve quality, with the transition of US hospitals into Value-Based Purchasing models being a factor. This study navigates the status of quality initiatives in various hospitals of Michigan, their impact on performance metrics, and leadership challenges, through an interactive and data-driven approach. PROCEDURE: With six critical success factors: leadership, training, culture change, tools, communication, and resource allocation identified through a literature review from PubMed and ProQuest, questionnaire was prepared for surveying the hospitals and interviewing the Quality leaders. The findings were validated through five years\u27 performance data from CMS and AHRQ. OUTCOME: 14 hospitals participated, representing 50 % of Michigan\u27s health system. Most of them used LSS as a quality improvement tool, admitting resource allocation and culture change challenges. Focus interviews revealed strong leadership, with some implementing Quality Initiatives, rest assured of making progress. A higher degree of Lean implementation was seen as directly proportional to the improvements in performance metrics. IMPACT: This study highlights the need for healthcare institutions to move beyond the mere adoption of QI and successful culture transformation. It addresses the timely revision of the CMS measures to increase fairness among all sizes of hospitals, further advocating for the inclusion of Social Determinants of Health
Creating and Using Culturally Responsive Text Sets in K-8 Literacy Education
No full textPURPOSE: Selecting diverse texts for literacy and social emotional education is a task that should be critically considered by educators. We must strive to keep the learner\u27s needs at the center of our curriculum to achieve cultural responsiveness in our classrooms. PROCEDURES: Using the framework from Every Child a Super Reader by Pam Allen and Ernest Morrell (2022), we curated text sets and activities to amplify reading behaviors and supplement reading curriculum. To select texts, we used the 7 Strengths of Reading to guide our practice: Belonging, Friendship, Curiosity, Kindness, Confidence, Courage, and Hope. We evaluated and adapted the framework’s books, activities, and lessons to fit our unique learners’ needs. We looked for books that provided our students with mirrors to reflect on their own lived experiences and windows and sliding glass doors into others’ experiences (Bishop, R. S., 1990). OUTCOME: As we started implementing the 7 Strengths Framework, we encountered obstacles involving time, curriculum demands, and the social emotional needs of our students. This caused us to shift from using the 7 Strengths strictly in reading to integrate it into cross-curricular activities as well. We found we needed to adjust our original timeline and be flexible with our expectations. Overall, these activities brought about a positive change in our students\u27 attitudes toward reading and within our classroom community. IMPACT: Students must have a connection with texts provided in the classroom. It is important to realize how these 7 Strengths coincide with growth in academics, relationships, and engagement with literacy
Developing Student Cultural Humility in Physical and Occupational Therapy Education Programs: A Scoping Review
No full textPURPOSE: Cultural humility is a key principle of health equity and is recognized within healthcare practice and education as vital to addressing health disparities. The term has evolved but conceptually cultural humility emphasizes an ongoing learning process rather than a finite task. A wide variety of interventions and approaches are described within the literature to develop student cultural humility in entry-level physical and occupational therapy education programs. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore interventions that develop cultural humility in students in entry-level physical and occupational therapy education programs in the United States. METHODS: A search of the databases PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, and Web of Science was conducted using predefined search terms focusing on physical and occupational therapy, cultural humility, and education. Inclusion criteria included entry-level education programs in physical and/or occupational therapy and original text in English. Grey literature and articles not published in the United States were excluded. Results were screened via a blind review process, and data were extracted and synthesized from articles that met inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Of the 1,345 articles screened, 107 were included. Theoretical and applied interventions were identified. Incorporating several approaches, three primary applied interventions were identified: didactic curriculum, experiential curriculum, and service learning. Most articles emphasized the use of reflection in combination with different approaches and interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Entry-level physical and occupational therapy education programs should consider implementing multiple cultural humility interventions and approaches to better prepare students to be compassionate and effective providers for diverse patient populations
Centering Disability In Teacher Preparation Programs: A Scoping Review
No full textPURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to describe previous research on learning from individuals with disabilities within teacher preparation programs. To address the purpose, we asked: What are the characteristics and findings of research studies on learning from individuals with disabilities in teacher preparation programs? SUBJECTS: No subjects are included in a scoping review. METHODS AND MATERIALS: To answer the research question, we used a scoping review. Scoping reviews provide a broad and systematic overview of a topic (Tricco et al., 2018). We included articles that met the following criteria: (a) written in English, (b) presented original research, (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal, and (d) focused on learning from individuals with disabilities within the teacher preparation process. ANALYSES: We are using Covidence, an online platform funding by GVSU, to house and organize our literature. RESULTS: This study is currently in progress. On March 15, 2025, we conducted a keyword search in six databases. As a result of this search, a total of 2,854 unique articles were identified. We are currently in the first of two screening phases. In this first phase, both researchers are tasked with reading the title and abstract of each article and independently determining whether it (a) addressed teacher preparation and (b) mentioned disability. Articles that meet the criteria for phase one will move on to the second phase of screening, in which a full-text review will be conducted. Reliability is tracked for each phase. CONCLUSION: We will share preliminary findings
Exploring the Filipino/Filipino American College Student Identities
Get PDFAsian American college students are often lumped together as one identity and background. Asian American college students, specifically Filipino American college students, provide various experiences that shapes them to who they are individually. For institutions to understand the identities of Filipino students, theories like Baxter Magolda’s (2001) self authorship theory and Tinto’s (1999) theory of student integration are used as lens to provide contexts of Filipino identities. Before providing a space of Asian American students to present their identities, a workshop for faculty and staff is created to be able to foster an inclusive environment where professionals know that type of students they might encounter on a daily basis. The project will provide an intervention, an orientation designed for Asian American students, to create an environment where Asian American students can highlight their cultural identity, provide an effective transition from home to college, and address how to validate their identity to deter from the stereotype of model minority. To foster a sense of belonging on campus to Asian American students, institutions need to have a better understanding of the challenges that hinders their success and characteristics that influence their perseverance