Minnesota State University, Mankato
Institutional Repository for Minnesota State University, MankatoNot a member yet
33414 research outputs found
Sort by
Racial Diversity Matters: Experiences of Dental Hygienists of Color in Education and Practice
No full textOral health is important to overall health. Poor oral health can affect a person’s ability to smile and chew, and can negatively affect their self-esteem. Poor oral health can lead to systemic diseases and even death. Therefore, access to dental care is vital for maintaining a quality of life, but people of color often lack access to this essential care. Negative stereotyping, color blind attitudes, and providers\u27 biases are barriers for people of color to access dental care. Dental hygienists play a crucial role in removing barriers to oral healthcare for underserved populations. However, the dental hygiene profession does not represent the diversity within the United States. Even though the racial makeup of the United States is becoming more diverse, the racial makeup of the persons awarded dental hygiene degrees continues to be overwhelmingly White. Racial diversity in the dental hygiene workforce is essential to meet the needs of people of color as they seek treatment from a provider who shares their racial background. However, people of color face barriers to entering the dental hygiene profession. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of dental hygienists of color as they navigated possible career choices, educational institutions, and work environments through the lens of race. By employing the tenets of critical race theory, specifically the unique voice of color and counter-storytelling, to analyze the data collected from interviews, key themes emerged regarding racism, microaggressions, coping mechanisms, a sense of belonging, and the importance of race and patient- provider trust
Interview with Maria Sweeney on Brittle Joints
No full textJJ Pionke interviews Maria Sweeney about her book Brittle Joints and her work process as a disabled artist
Change Gone Come?: Anti-Blackness and the Exclusion of Black Judges in Mutual Preference Judging
No full textThe Mutual Preference Judging (MPJ) system has faced persistent criticism from coaches and debaters of color who note that MPJ has allowed traditional, plan-based (majority white and non-black) debaters to exclude the vast majority of Black judges from being placed in their debates. This article reviews the placement of Black judges in elimination rounds at national policy debate tournaments from 2013 to 2022. The review supports the argument that plan-based debate teams exclude Black judges from their judge preference sheets, significantly limiting Black representation in the elimination rounds of national tournaments
Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, and the \u27Terrorists\u27 of January 6th: Mortification, Groveling, and Political Image Repair Discourse
No full textThis article examines the image repair discourse of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as it relates to an incident that occurred on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show following the events of January 6th, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. After referring to the January 6th rioters as “terrorists”, which angered his Republican base, Cruz was compelled to appear on Carlson’s highly watched Fox News program in an attempt to bolster his reputation. The authors argue that Cruz’s strategic approach is best classified as mortification, but also note and investigate the nonverbal, tonal, and extra-message influence of groveling as it played out in this scenario. The authors also employ this example to more clearly elucidate the generic characteristics of groveling as an image repair tactic within the broader strategy of mortification
Macaws at Risk: Saving these Colorful Birds
No full textMacaws have traits and abilities that keep them safe from predators, from their flight speed to their sharp, strong beaks. But these colorful parrots are endangered. Trapping, poaching, and habitat loss are a few reasons that macaws are dying faster than they’re being born. Readers will explore the dangers putting macaws at risk, what it means to be endangered, and how people can help. Each title includes activities and trivia questions to help readers connect with the content.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/university-archives-msu-authors/1503/thumbnail.jp
Laser Based Metal 3D Printer
No full textThe technology and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) have advanced significantly in recent years. Research from hobbyist to industrial scale has evolved and has seen advancements in materials that can be utilized for industrial manufacturing. The Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) developed the reAM250, an open-source research platform for Powder Bed Fusion with a Laser (LPBF). It was made available to facilitate study into component-level innovation, control techniques, and process monitoring without the budgetary and intellectual property constraints of commercial machines. This paper delves into the concept and production of the machine, utilizing the available Bill of Materials (BOM) and CAD assets, and summarizes the efforts of building the LPBF printer
Hybrid Agentic System for Schema-Aware NL2SQL Generation
No full textThe natural language to SQL (NL2SQL) task enables non-expert users to interact with relational databases via natural language interfaces. However, NL2SQL frameworks often rely on Large Language Models (LLMs), raising concerns about computational overhead, data privacy, and deployment in resource-limited environments. To address these issues, we propose a hybrid schema-aware agentic system using Small Language Models (SLMs) as primary agents, with a selective LLM fallback mechanism. The LLM activates only when errors are detected in SLM-generated queries, reducing inference costs. Experiments on the BIRD benchmark dataset show our system achieves an execution accuracy of 53.91% and validation efficiency score of 50.46% on BIRD development set. While this accuracy is lower than state-of-the-art LLM-only systems like MAC-SQL (59.59% execution accuracy), the hybrid approach reduces query processing cost threefold compared to LLM-only frameworks. These findings demonstrate our cost-efficient hybrid method offers a compelling trade-off, delivering competitive performance with enhanced cost efficiency versus LLM-driven baselines
A Path to Trust: Addressing Performative Engagement and Building Authentic Relationships Between Cities and Communities
No full textThis qualitative study examines how Minneapolis City employees and community members perceive and experience the efforts of the City to engage them in public safety reform through community engagement initiatives. Although the City has pledged to prioritize racial equity and inclusion, many community members describe these engagement practices as manipulative and tokenizing. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Critical Race Theory and Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation, and guided by participatory action research and narrative inquiry, this study centers community voices. Data were collected through a community learning exchange involving City employees and residents, followed by semi-structured interviews with four community participants with extensive experience in engagement efforts. Thematic and narrative analyses revealed themes of performative engagement, tokenism, power hoarding, and aspirations and concerns with partnerships between the City and the community. This study contributes to the understanding of engagement practices in public safety and relationships between local governments and their communities. The study also offers recommendations for cities aiming to foster trust, redistribute power, and establish genuine partnerships with communities to co-create community-driven public safety solutions
From Gossip to Guidance: Analyzing Student Posting on Yik Yak
No full textThis study examines how college students at Minnesota State University, Mankato, use the anonymous social media app Yik Yak, and what they discuss within it. Using qualitative content analysis, 963 anonymous posts were collected and coded into five initial categories: (1) Seeking and Sharing Information, (2) Giving Raw and Unfiltered Opinions, (3) Attempting to Socialize, (4) Seeking Belonging, and (5) Complaining. The findings show that most posts expressed raw opinions, followed by seeking for belonging. Sub-themes emerged in these two categories, which offered more specific examples of how students use Yik Yak. These trends provide insight into how anonymity may influence online student interaction and communication to express themselves freely, seek and share information, and foster community among their fellow students. Students use these posts to air their frustrations, ask questions without judgment, and connect with others on campus who may have shared experiences
Developmental Expression of Thyroid Hormone Transporter Mct8 in the Murine Adrenal Gland
No full textThyroid hormones (THs) are important metabolic, growth, and differentiation regulators. As amphipathic ligands, TH access to target cells is limited by specific transporters. MCT8 is a high-affinity, bidirectional transporter of thyroid hormone. However, the role of Mct8 during adrenal development is not well understood. The adrenal cortex is a hormone-sensitive organ that experiences dramatic postnatal remodeling in rodents, with the transient X-zone regressing in males and persisting in females. This study aimed to characterize the spatial and temporal expression of Mct8 in development and determine whether post-weaning exogenous T3 alters this expression. Male and female wild-type (WT) and Mct8 knockout (Mct8KO) adrenal glands were harvested at postnatal days (P) 7, 14, 21, and 35. Mct8 mRNA abundance was determined by qRT-PCR. Hematoxylin staining was used to visualize adrenal morphology. Spatial localization of Mct8 expression was confirmed using the LacZ reporter of the Mct8 locus. Additional male and female mice were treated with T3 from P21-P35 to determine the effect of excess thyroid hormone on adrenal structure and Mct8 levels. The adrenal expression of Mct8 followed a biphasic developmental trajectory, with an initial peak in expression at P7, a gradual decrease in expression through P21, and a second, less substantial increase by P35. LacZ analysis revealed Mct8 promoter activity was spatially restricted to the inner cortex and medulla, and this persisted in females but was lost in males after X-zone regression. The persistence of the X-zone in T3-treated mice, regardless of genotype, further supports the idea that thyroid hormone signaling can influence adrenal structure through both Mct8-dependent and independent pathways, potentially involving efflux mechanisms. However, additional functional studies are needed to confirm these mechanisms