6501 research outputs found
Sort by
Disseminated Diaper Dermatitis With Concomitant Body Rash: A Case Report.
No full textDiaper dermatitis is a rash typically localized to the genital area and may have various etiologies, including irritant and allergic contact dermatitis. In most cases, it resolves on its own with minimal to no medical intervention, and when treatment is necessary, it usually responds promptly. Here, we present a prolonged case of diaper dermatitis accompanied by a nearly full-body rash that was resistant to initial treatment with steroids, antibiotics, and antifungals
MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF POLYMER COLD SPRAY DEPOSITION FOR ENHANCED EFFICIENCY
No full textCold spray (CS) is a promising additive manufacturing technique for various industries, including aerospace and automotive. However, the application of CS to polymers presents unique challenges due to their inherent properties and complex deposition mechanisms. This study addresses critical knowledge gaps in polymer cold spray processes, focusing on optimizing parameters for enhanced deposition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyamide-6 (nylon 6). Through a comprehensive three-stage experimental approach, the effects of gas temperature, feed rate, standoff distance, gas pressure, raster speed, particle size, and crystallinity on deposition efficiency was investigated. Utilizing advanced design of experiments methodologies, including a response surface methodology, non-linear mathematical models were developed to predict and optimize cold spray parameters for polymeric systems. Our findings provide crucial insights into the interplay between process parameters and material properties, significantly advancing the understanding of polymer cold spray deposition. This research paves the way for improved polymer coating technologies, with far-reaching implications for lightweight, high-performance applications in critical industries
BARRIERS AND BELONGING: A CASE STUDY ON RACIALLY MINORITIZED STUDENTS AT HEALTH SCIENCE HIGH
No full textAbstract Kevin Dougherty THE EXPERIENCES OF RACIALLY MINORITIZED STUDENTS AT HEALTH SCIENCE HIGH: A CASE STUDY 2024-2025 Sarah Ferguson, Ph.D. Doctor of Education The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of racially minoritized students at Health Science High (HSH), a specialized and admissions-based high school, bound by the time period of 2020-2022 with an eye on current practice as well. The study focused on the extent that HSH addressed systemic racial barriers and how well elements of the guiding theories were implemented: Critical Civic Inquiry and Transformative Social and Emotional Learning. As a qualitative case study, the data collection and analysis came primarily from interviews with alumni and current teachers and staff as well as a detailed document analysis. Findings of the study indicated both successes and shortcomings in how well HSH addresses systemic racial barriers. Furthermore, findings of this case study revealed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on the overall student experience and helped bring about implementation of Critical Civic Inquiry and Transformative Social and Emotional Learning. The case study also revealed that prior student experience prior to arriving at HSH plays a significant role in their overall experience with us
Understanding Faculty Engagement with Transformative Publishing Agreements
No full textPresented at STEM Librarian Collaborative Conference 2025:
https://www.stemlib.co/schedule.html
Transformative agreements, also known as read and publish agreements, are a relatively new journal subscription model used by academic libraries to facilitate both access to scholarly content and open-access publishing for institutionally affiliated researchers. In these agreements, institutions pay publishers a single fee that covers both access to subscription content and the publication costs for their affiliated authors, thereby shifting the traditional subscription model towards a more sustainable and equitable system for scholarly communication.
A preliminary literature review has revealed previous studies that address several of the topics being investigated in this proposed research project such as Parmhed’s 2023 study (1), which found that transformative read and publish agreements led to an increase in institutional publishing frequency in Open Access journals and Yang’s 2015 study (2) revealed concerns and barriers by some faculty members reported in publishing their works via Open Access.
Our research project delves into the adoption and impact of 17 newly launched transformative Open Access publishing agreements on faculty publishing behaviors and perspectives. Through a mixed-methods approach involving one survey and multiple one-on-one interviews, the research team of four academic librarians aims to uncover how introducing these new agreements has influenced the publishing choices of researchers and their perceptions of Open Access publishing in general. Findings from this study will contribute to the scholarship on transformative agreements and inform future strategies for promoting Open Access within academic communities. The study also aims to investigate the impact of these initiatives on researchers\u27 decisions regarding publication venues and their overall support for Open Access publishing. Insights gained from this study can inform the ongoing development and refinement of scholarly communication initiatives within the university and the broader academic community.
Research questions examined and presented:
Through a mixed-methods approach involving a cross-sectional survey and interviews, the research team aims to uncover how the introduction of transformative agreements influenced University researchers\u27 perception of open-access publishing?
How have the new transformative agreements influenced University authors’ choice of journal?
Have transformative agreements changed authors\u27 opinions on the quality of open-access publications?
How access to these agreements may have impacted academic departments\u27 views on the prestige and impact of Open Access journals.
Preliminary findings from both the survey and interview data will be shared during the presentation, offering early insights into faculty publishing behaviors and attitudes toward the new transformative agreements. This is an important contribution as these agreements continue to be adopted by US academic institutions.
Parmhed, Sara, and Johanna Säll. Transformative agreements and their practical impact: a librarian perspective. Insights the UKSG journal 36 (2023).
Yang, Zheng Y. Lan, and Yu Li. University faculty awareness and attitudes towards open access publishing and the institutional repository: A case study. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication 3, no. 1 (2015)
Review of All in All (More or Less): Rhetorical Considerations in Literature, Thought, and Experience by Walter Jost
No full textReview of All in All (More or Less): Rhetorical Considerations in Literature, Thought, and Experience by Walter Jos
“The Being of Being Creative” in Assessment: Learning from the Creative and Performing Arts
No full textAssessment design shapes not only what students learn, but who they become as learners. In the era of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), where information is abundant and recall is easily outsourced, higher education assessment must move beyond memorization and toward authentic tasks that cultivate deeper learning and ontological growth. This conceptual, reflective paper argues that assessment should be grounded in students’ mode of being, rather than restricted to knowing, having, or doing. Drawing on Barnett’s ontology of higher education, Biesta’s subjectification, and Su’s epistemological distinctions, this paper positions assessment as a formative site where agency, ownership, identity, and self-understanding can be intentionally developed. This paper draws on a narrative literature review that synthesises research on assessment in the creative and performing arts, selected purposively for its attention to creativity and learner empowerment. The synthesis identifies four quality indicators through which assessment engages students’ being: (1) shifting from reproduction to creation via open tasks and multimodal outputs; (2) situating assessment in naturalistic, public-facing contexts that connect learning to authentic audiences and communities; (3) adopting holistic approaches that value process, reflexivity, and becoming self-assessors; and (4) foregrounding communication through dialogue, critique, consultation, and the cultivation of an ontological student voice. The paper concludes that “assessment for becoming” is essential for meaningful engagement and integrity in AI-shaped learning environments
Lessons in Object Impermanence
No full textThis hybrid piece begins as a lyric essay written around Emily Dickinson’s meditation on snow and becomes an elegy to winter. Footnotes frame the recollection/lament, toggling between the history that led us to climate catastrophe, cultural commentary, memory, and reflection on the felt experience of the author
Making a difference through authentic autobiographical performance
No full textAuthentic autobiographical performance has the potential to open up possibilities for audience members to see their lives in new ways and take actions that make a difference in the world. This article describes the development of a 45-minute autobiographical performance from its initial creation in 2017 through its evolutionary journey to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024, and beyond. The creative process is presented from the perspective of both the performer and the director-coach, and brings together the worlds of education and theatre. The authors ask themselves: what does it mean to share their lived experiences authentically? They conclude that the act of creating an authentic performance can be transformational for the performer, and that creating distance between the audience and the performance provides audience members with an opportunity to take a fresh look at their own lives
Unifying Explainability and Machine Learning: Towards Trustworthy and Plausible Explanations without Post-hoc Manipulations
No full textThe deployment of machine learning (ML) in safety-critical domains is impeded by the black-box nature of deep learning models. Although these models excel at discerning complex patterns, their opacity undermines trust, limiting their use for high-stakes tasks. This thesis advances the field of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) by introducing novel methods to evaluate and enhance model interpretability, ensuring explanations are both faithful (accurate to the model’s reasoning) and plausible (intelligible to human users). A key challenge in XAI is the unreliability of post-hoc explanation methods. To address this, we propose (1) quantitative evaluation metrics for assessing the faithfulness of local and global explanations and (2) enhancement frameworks that improve explainability without sacrificing faithfulness. Our qualitative and quantitative analysis reveals that simpler attribution methods reliably outperform complex alternatives in faithfulness. Leveraging these insights, we develop two novel training frameworks that integrate explainability into optimization and an explainability method utilizing fractional calculus to provide an understanding of deeper model characteristics. Through extensive experimentation, this work demonstrates that robust models and inherently explainable methods yield more trustworthy explanations than post-hoc approaches. The findings advocate for unifying XAI and ML into a singular field, where explainability is treated as a core component of model development, akin to robustness. By advancing both the evaluation and improvement of explanations, this thesis contributes to the development of transparent, reliable, and deployable ML systems for real-world applications
WaterPOD: Evaluating Learner Engagement and Conceptual Understanding Through Gamified Virtual Reality
No full textThe water and wastewater industry faces a growing workforce crisis due to high retirement rates, limited public awareness, and underrepresentation of technical talent. Traditional outreach methods have struggled to engage students or convey the complexity of water systems. This study evaluates WaterPOD, an interactive virtual reality (VR) simulation designed to introduce users to wastewater treatment processes and careers through immersive learning. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), and Constructivist Learning Theory (ConLT), the study examined how VR influences conceptual understanding and career perceptions. A mixed-methods study with 138 college students measured SCCT constructs, CLT- and ConLT-aligned items, and comprehension through pre- and post-surveys. Results showed significant gains in understanding wastewater treatment concepts, supported by quantitative and qualitative data. While overall career interest did not increase, discovering new career roles during the simulation significantly predicted interest change. These findings suggest that theory-informed VR simulations like WaterPOD can improve understanding of complex systems and support early-stage career exploration. exploration, offering valuable opportunities for advancing outreach and education in the water sector and other technical fields