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“When Black Women Whisper”: An Exploration Of Why Black Women Stay In K-12 Education
No full textAbstract
From low retention rates to race and gender biases to being overworked and undervalued in the classroom, Black women leave education at higher rates than any other demographic. This study highlighted the experiences of Black women in K-12 education settings, the role of support systems in their retention and advancement, and why they stay in K-12 education. The study used Counter-storytelling in Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Thought, and Womanism to examine the race and gender inequities that Black women face and to highlight their lived experiences. Through the use of Sista Circles/focus groups and one-on-one interviews, the research was able to locate the primary factors that influence their ability to sustain despite the challenges they face
A NEW GENERATION OF MULTI-FUNCTIONAL ASPHALT EMULSION WITH SUPERHYDROPHOBIC AND LUMINESCENT PROPERTIES
No full textThis study aimed to develop multifunctional asphalt emulsions incorporating super hydrophobicity and luminescent properties to enhance pavement durability, water resistance, and nighttime visibility. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Strontium Aluminate (SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺) were integrated into BC-1HT and CSS-1H asphalt emulsions both as modifiers and coatings on Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) and Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) surfaces. Performance evaluations included surface wettability (contact angle), permeability, durability (rutting cycles), anti-icing properties, luminescence, texture depth, sweep test, bitumen bond strength (BBS) tests, and chemical and morphological characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and SARA fractionation. Results demonstrated enhanced water resistance across all modified emulsions and coatings, with superhydrophobic and multifunctional coatings achieving contact angles exceeding 150°, significantly reducing permeability. The Effective Luminescent Area Ratio (ELAR) peaked at 80.24% (4% SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺, 9-second spray duration), effectively enhancing nighttime visibility. Ice formation was delayed from 33 minutes (control) to 124 minutes (superhydrophobic) and 94 minutes (multifunctional coatings), indicating superior anti-icing properties. Sweep tests confirmed aggregate loss below 10%, ensuring strong adhesion, while BBS results indicated superior bond strength in multifunctional emulsions. FTIR and SARA analyses validated molecular interactions and colloidal stability.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was also conducted to evaluate the seepage characteristics of the newly developed modified emulsions and coatings. The results indicated increased surface runoff when the new coating was used, mitigating water infiltration risks and enhancing pavement resilience in flood-prone conditions. Cost-effectiveness analysis identified optimal PTFE (10–15%) and SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺ (2–4%) dosages, ensuring a balance between performance and economic feasibility. These findings confirm that PTFE-SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺-based emulsions and coatings offer a sustainable, cost-effective solution for moisture-induced damage prevention, improved visibility, and enhanced road safety in adverse conditions
Highly Reasonable: Media Framing and Policy Reasoning in New Jersey’s Marijuana Legalization Debate
No full textThis study examines media coverage of marijuana policy in the context of gubernatorial elections, analyzing how different outlets frame the issue over two election cycles. Using content analysis of news articles from the 2017 and 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial elections, the research explores variations in policy position framing, game framing, and policy reasoning. Key independent variables include local versus national coverage, debate coverage, before and after a candidate publicly declares a policy position, and media ownership. My findings reveal that policy reasoning dominated marijuana-related coverage, while game framing increased closer to Election Day, consistent with the “horse race” nature of the political reporting. Independently owned outlets were significantly less likely to emphasize economic impacts, suggesting differences in framing priorities based on ownership structure. Additionally, debate recency showed marginal significance for social equity framing but did not meaningfully alter overall coverage patterns. Despite expectations that debates might serve as a catalyst for increased policy discussion, no statistically significant shift was detected in policy framing, game framing, or policy reasoning. While corporate-owned outlets demonstrated a slightly greater emphasis on policy reasoning compared to independent outlets, these differences were also not statistically significant. Both local and national outlets demonstrated limited shifts in framing, suggesting that media coverage of the policy follows pre-established patterns. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion about media framing in gubernatorial elections, as an area that remains underexplored in political communication scholarship. It also dives into the challenges of breaking through the clutter of high-noise news cycles, where even salient policy issues such as marijuana legalization struggle to maintain prominence
Time Lapse Adhesives and Hydrogels: A Novel Approach Utilizing Michael Addition Reaction Coupled with Clock Reaction
No full textThe development of time-lapse polymerization systems represents a significant advancement in the field of adhesives and hydrogels, enabling precise temporal control over material properties. This research presents a novel thiol-acrylate thermoset adhesive system, utilizing the urea-urease clock reaction as an enzymatic trigger for controlled polymerization. The approach integrates pH-mediated Michael addition reactions with antagonistic enzymatic catalysis, facilitating a scalable and tunable adhesive platform. By leveraging watermelon seed powder (WMSP) as a natural source of urease, the system generates ammonia in situ, modulating pH to initiate cross-linking at predetermined intervals. This strategy eliminates the need for external catalysts, enabling controlled gelation and adhesion in a one-pot formulation. In addition to adhesive formulations, this study investigates the temporal modulation of poly (vinyl alcohol)-borate (PVA-borate) hydrogels using coupled esterase-urease reactions to induce reversible gelation. The dynamic pH control enables multiple gel-degelation cycles, demonstrating potential for transient material applications. Comprehensive rheological and spectroscopic analyses confirm the precise regulation of polymerization kinetics, with tunable parameters including urease concentration, urea loading, and initial pH. The adhesive formulations exhibit superior mechanical properties, with peak tensile strengths exceeding 7 MPa and robust adhesion across multiple substrates. This work pioneers the integration of enzymatic clock reactions into polymer science, expanding the functional versatility of thiol-acrylate chemistry. The findings provide a foundation for the next generation of time-controlled adhesives and hydrogels, with potential applications in coatings, controlled assembly, and smart material design
Stoicism as a Panacea for Contemporary Problems
Get PDFThe contemporary world is battling with the persistent problems of racism and environmental crises that threaten human co-existence and constitute an existential threat in general. These pressing issues have led to injustice, disunity, and ecological destruction. Though human history has recorded some victories in the advancement of human rights and environmental policies yet, there are still some forms of racism that are entrenched in society\u27s structure. Environmental degradation also continues due to the failure or limitation in policies meant to tackle it, and the unsustainably bad attitudes of humans toward the environment. This thesis argues that Stoicism, a philosophical tradition in antiquity, has some core principles such as virtue, living in accordance with nature, Cosmopolitanism, and dichotomy of control, which form its general tenet. These principles will be used to provide solutions to the ever-lingering problem of racism and environmental issues facing contemporary society. Cosmopolitanism, for example, will be very instrumental in tackling racism, and living in accordance with nature will be instrumental in tackling environmental issues. In the same manner, other principles will also be called upon to tackle these problems
Logical memory, visual reproduction, and verbal paired associates are effective embedded validity indicators in patients with traumatic brain injury
No full textObjective: This study was design to evaluate the potential of the recognition trials for the Logical Memory (LM), Visual Reproduction (VR), and Verbal Paired Associates (VPA) subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scales–Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) to serve as embedded performance validity tests (PVTs). Method: The classification accuracy of the three WMS-IV subtests was computed against three different criterion PVTs in a sample of 103 adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results: The optimal cutoffs (LM ≤ 20, VR ≤ 3, VPA ≤ 36) produced good combinations of sensitivity (.33–.87) and specificity (.92–.98). An age-corrected scaled score of ≤5 on either of the free recall trials on the VPA was specific (.91–.92) and relatively sensitive (.48–.57) to psychometrically defined invalid performance. A VR I ≤ 5 or VR II ≤ 4 had comparable specificity, but lower sensitivity (.25–.42). There was no difference in failure rate as a function of TBI severity. Conclusions: In addition to LM, VR, and VPA can also function as embedded PVTs. Failing validity cutoffs on these subtests signals an increased risk of non-credible presentation and is robust to genuine neurocognitive impairment. However, they should not be used in isolation to determine the validity of an overall neurocognitive profile
Raising the bar: Preliminary investigation of alternative MSVT cutoffs for adults referred for ADHD
No full textThis study investigated the classification accuracy of alternative cutoffs for three Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) indices, Immediate Recall (IR), Delayed Recall (DR), and Consistency (CNS). Study 1 included 83 college students randomized into two simulated ADHD groups (Incentivized simulator n = 25; Non-incentivized simulator n = 28) and one control group (n = 30). Study 2 included cross-sectional data from 114 ADHD referrals at a university-based clinic (n = 91 valid group; n = 23 invalid group) who completed the MSVT and at least two additional performance validity tests. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves in study 1 revealed significant areas under the curve for IR, DR, and CNS (AUC =.81 −.86), high to perfect specificity (.93 −.10), and moderate to high sensitivity (.45 −.75) using cutoffs of ≤85, ≤90, and ≤95. ROC curve analyses in study 2 yielded significant areas under the curve for IR (AUC =.73), DR (AUC =.74), and CNS (AUC =.78). An optimal cut score of ≤90 across all three subtests yielded modest sensitivity (.35 −.52) while still maintaining adequate specificity (.91 −.96). The manual-recommended cutoff for invalidity (IR, DR, or CNS ≤85) demonstrated high specificity (95%) but only modest sensitivity (35%) whereas the modified cutoff (IR, DR, or CNS ≤90) increased sensitivity substantially (56%) while maintaining adequate specificity (90%). This study provides preliminary support for alternative MSVT cutoffs in adult ADHD assessments. However, additional research is warranted before utilizing these alternative cutoffs in clinical contexts
Four year practice effects on the RBANS in a longitudinal study of older adults
No full textObjective: The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is a widely used measure in neuropsychological assessment. Studies of practice effects on the RBANS have typically been assessed over one or two repeated assessments. The aim of the current study is to examine practice effects across four-years after baseline in a longitudinal study of cognitively healthy older adults. Method: 453 Participants from the Louisiana Aging Brain Study (LABrainS) completed the RBANS Form A on up to four annual assessments after baseline. Practice effects were calculated using a modified participants-replacement method where scores of returnees are compared to the baseline scores of matched participants with additional adjustment for attrition effects. Results: Practice effects were observed primarily in the immediate memory, delayed memory, and total score indices. These index scores continued to increase with repeated assessments. Conclusions: These findings extend past work on the RBANS showing the susceptibility of memory measures to practice effects. Given that memory and total score indices of the RBANS have the most robust relationships with pathological cognitive decline, these findings raise concerns about the ability to recruit those at risk for decline from longitudinal studies using the same form of the RBANS for multiple years
Preliminary Psychometric Properties of Single Item Indicators of Suicidal Thinking and Related Risk and Protective Factors: Implications for Use in Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies
No full textThe use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in suicide-related research has become more common. To decrease participant burden, single-item indicators (SIIs) have become more widely used by researchers conducting EMA studies. The present study aims to provide preliminary psychometric information on several SIIs used to assess suicide-related thoughts and related risk/protective factors in EMA research. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of several SIIs used in EMA research across two studies. Study 1 was a cross-section study of N = 888 students (78.8% cisgender women, 67.1% White, 77.3% heterosexual); Study 2 was an EMA study of N = 52 students with recent suicidal ideation (69.8% cisgender women, 62.8% White, 41.9% heterosexual). All SIIs demonstrated acceptable convergent validity, discriminant validity, and short-term predictive validity. Additionally, within-person and between-person variability was observed for each SII across the EMA testing phase. Results provide preliminary psychometric support for the use of these SIIs. Establishing a set of SIIs for use in EMA research on suicide can aid in the interpretation of findings across studies. Future research is needed to further evaluate the use of SIIs in EMA studies
Integration of Hydrological Simulations into the Design Process to Assess the Performance of Green Infrastructure Designs
Get PDFWith the growing threat of flooding in coastal and inland communities, it is necessary to migrate nature-based solutions such as green infrastructure. However, one of the challenges that designers face with this strategy lies in the design phase where it is difficult to quantify the performance with traditional design tools. Thus, there is an incentive to incorporate hydrological models within GIS to aid designers in quantifying performance. The goal of this research is to demonstrate that hydrological simulations can be used as a design tool for designers–such as landscape architects & architects– to analyze the feasibility of green infrastructure designs for flash flooding mitigation. The research will describe the methodology framework of the design process that includes the explanation of the process required to run the simulations on open-source software GRASS GIS’s models r.sim.water; as well as the workflow between GRASS GIS and 3D modeling software such as Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper. The framework includes data collection, data processing, design interventions, simulation, analysis, and how to incorporate the feedback from the simulations to optimize the green infrastructure design. The project will explain the methodology framework through a case study in the city of LaPlace, Louisiana that will focus on testing hydrologic performance of a green infrastructure design. The results of this study will provide a framework that can be replicated for any location in the world, helping communities transition more easily to green infrastructure strategies and improving their resilience to climate change