Kansas State University
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Sapere Aude – Dare to Be Wise: Karen D. Liller
Get PDFSapere Aude – Dare to Be Wise is a unique editorial conversational interview-type feature. It is an attempt to deep dive into an Academy members’ background, formative experience, and education – specifically, to extract factors that contributed to their development and evolution as a professional, as well as their success as a prominent researcher in the health behavior arena. Every Academy member selected has a different story to tell and numerous models for success will emerge from this exploration of the membership
How college students evaluate the quality of online health information: A qualitative study
Get PDFObjective: Health information is critically important for guiding health-related decision-making. This paper examines the strategies college students used to evaluate the quality of online health information. Methods: Fifteen undergraduate students at a land-grant university located in north central Oklahoma were recruited through a research participation and management tool called SONA. Data were collected with semi-structured individual interviews focused on individual experiences in retrieving health information from the internet, specifically examining how students evaluate the quality of online health information. To analyze the data, we applied a deductive approach guided by established criteria to identify the strategies respondents used to evaluate the quality of online health information. Results: We identified four primary factors influencing participants’ judgment of information quality: source-related, content-related, design-related, and individual factors. The most widely mentioned source-related factor was site owners/sponsors (e.g., website domain type and ownership of the information), which influenced their judgement of whether the information had a sufficient level of subject-related knowledge. The most commonly used content-related factor was authorship (e.g., author’s credentials and author’s previous work), which influenced participants’ judgement of whether the information can be trusted. The most used design-related factor was overall appearance as a pivotal indicator of professionalism. Prior knowledge and experience of using a source were identified as the most important individual factors for evaluating online health information. Discussion: This study expands our understanding of online health information seeking behaviors among college students and provides insights for public health organizations and professionals to disseminate high-quality information and prevent the spread of misinformation
Dual Purpose Corn Hybrids’ (Grain-Silage) Performance Assessment in Northeastern Kansas. II. Quality
Get PDFDual-purpose corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids are capturing the attention of farmers due to their versatility, as their final use can be chosen as either grain or silage. This versatility emphasizes the importance of understanding the yield and quality performance of these hybrids. This study compared eight dual-purpose corn commercial hybrids’ quality performance. During the 2023 growing season, a dryland field experiment was conducted in Manhattan, Kansas. We analyzed quality at two crop growth stages: before and after the silage process. Dry matter digestibility (DMD) increased after ensiling, mainly due to starch digestibility of ~85 to ~95%. The 6152D1 hybrid led in terms of crude protein (CP) levels before (9.3%) and after ensilage (8.3%). Hybrid 6235D1 showed the lowest conversion efficiency (i.e., lb/t DM) after the silage process. The waxy hybrid 6219WX showed the lowest value of undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDFD30t) before ensilage (~20%). Differences between hybrids were found regarding the milk per acre index. The hybrid 6219wx achieved the highest value after the silage process (~14 t/a), whereas the hybrid 6219 was the least productive
Nitrogen and Sulfur Fertilization’s Effect on Soybean Quality and Yield in Kansas
Get PDFThis study evaluates the effects of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilization on soybean yield and quality. Over three years (2021-2023), nine site-year studies in Kansas tested five fertilization strategies, including Check (no fertilization), S (30.3 lbs S ac-1), N (26.8 lbs N ac-1), NS (26.8 lbs N ac-1 + 30.3 lbs S ac-1), and Full (30.3 lbs S ac-1 + 299.8 lbs N ac-1). Seed yield was recorded, and the seeds were analyzed for protein content. Weather data was summarized into four growth periods. There were no yield or protein content differences. Seed yield and protein showed positive correlation with soil-N content, and with precipitation and average temperature from flowering to full-pod phenological stage. The study suggests that current N2-fixation and soil-N contributions are adequate for optimal growth, pointing toward the importance of site-specific management
Association of suicidality, sleep duration, screen time, and social behaviors among U.S. adolescents
Get PDFSuicide is a leading cause of death among U.S. adolescents. Short sleep duration and screen time were potential risk factors. This study aims to explore both direct and indirect associations of screen time, sleep, and suicidality. Using the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (N=13,677), logistic regression was conducted to examine direct associations of sleep, screen time, and suicidality when controlling demographics and social behaviors. The bootstrapping method was used to test the mediation effects of sleep. Adolescents with excessive screen time (internet, social media) have higher odd ratios in suicide ideation (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.34-1.36, p. The association between screen time and suicidality is multifaceted. Excessive screen time (internet, social media) is directly associated and indirectly associated through sleep with suicidality. Future research could focus on sex differences in the associations
Postsecondary Teachers’ Perspectives on Effectively Engaging Learners in Today’s Post Pandemic Pedagogy Era
Get PDFThis article presents the findings of a recent study surveying and interviewing post-secondary teachers within a college of education at a large, Carnegie R1 public university in the Midwestern United States to unearth their perspectives of how to better engage their learners within the hybrid/multiple-modality instructional contexts that represent the new normal in today’s post pandemic pedagogy era. Within the current context of potentially emerging new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and/or other pathogens, it also discusses key findings related to the teachers’ views regarding the current levels of institutional support they receive to this end, and their perspectives regarding how said support could be improved
Navigating Academic Success: Exploring the Role of Self-Perceived Coping Strategies Among Preservice Teachers
Get PDFThis study examines self-perceived coping strategies and academic success among preservice teachers in teacher preparation programs. Understanding the self-reported coping strategies preservice teachers utilize in teacher preparation programs is crucial for their preparation and academic performance. By analyzing and discussing self-reported survey data, the research identifies patterns and trends that can inform future practices to support preservice teachers. Findings indicate that preservice teachers self-reported using various coping strategies but predominantly utilized Problem-Solving coping strategies when presented with stressful situations. The study further discusses and provides recommendations for how university-school partnerships can provide the necessary supports for preservice teachers to be fully prepared as professionals
Supporting Written Scientific Explanations of Middle-School Students with Learning Disabilities
Get PDFStudents with learning disabilities deserve high-quality science instruction that supports them in constructing scientific explanations as a means toward building their science content knowledge. We examined written scientific explanations of 66 middle-school students with learning disabilities from rural Kansas school districts, comparing them with a matched set of 66 peers without learning disabilities within the same classrooms following instruction using a Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned curriculum that embedded explicitly taught supports for writing scientific explanations. Students were assessed at pre- and post-unit on overall content learning and change in written scientific explanations. Post-unit written explanations of students with learning disabilities were statistically significantly better following instruction but overall content knowledge gains were only practically significant. Differences between post-unit written explanations of students with learning disabilities compared to their peers without learning disabilities were not statistically significantly different, yet students without learning disabilities did show statistically significant growth in overall content knowledge
Adults’ beliefs about eating the USDA vegetable subgroups: A Reasoned Action Approach Elicitation
Get PDFA healthy diet includes quantity (e.g. cups per day) and a variety of vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines recommends consuming vegetables from five subgroups (dark green, red/orange, beans/peas/lentils, starchy, and other vegetables). Despite being introduced almost 20 years ago most Americans are not eating within all of the subgroups, therefore thepurpose of this study was to assess if there are differences in beliefs pertaining to eating within the vegetable subgroups,using the Reasoned Action Approach. A nationwide convenience sample of adults (19-59 years old) were recruited via Forthright Access. Volunteers were sent an online survey and randomized to one of six groups: one of the five vegetable subgroups, or an overall vegetable group. Participants (n=180; 30 per group) were informed of the recommendation for their group and given several examples (Appendix 1). Four types of beliefs were elicited using open-ended questions (behavioral, injunctive normative, descriptive normative and control beliefs). Next, belief types were blinded by group and coded into distinct categories by two independent coders. No demographic variables differed between groups. There were no significant differences in the average number of behavioral, injunctive normative, descriptive normative or control beliefs between groups (all p’s\u3e0.05). There were also no significant differences in the distribution of the belief types (all p’s\u3e0.05). Taste and enjoyment, health benefits, and cost were common factors reported for consuming all vegetable subgroups. Adults appeared to be generally unaware of the differences in nutrient profiles and health benefits of different vegetable subgroups, therefore public health interventions should be developed to overcome this lack of awareness
A Book Review of Reading Picture Books With Children
No full textReading Picture Books With Children by Megan Dowd Lambert introduces the Whole Book Approach. This inquiry-based method puts the art of the picture book at the center of story time. Drawing on her extensive work at the Eric Carle Museum, Lambert explores the physical and creative aspects of picture books, from trim size to typography to endpapers. Plentiful anecdotes stemming from children\u27s natural curiosity make this an engaging read as one considers an alternative approach to the traditional story time routine. Preschool and elementary teachers, in addition to university faculty in literacy education, will find this approach to picture book-as-artform worthy of further examination