The Spring Issue 2024

This issue edited by Emily Watson features How culturally competent are you by Phoebe Thomas, Revitalizing indigenous rights and Unveiling Clotilda by Tifanee Mask, and Archive atrocities by Destiny Dehart. In addition, upcoming conferences are listed. A list of students who will graduate in May 2024 with MLIS and the graduate archival certificate are honored.https://aquila.usm.edu/fondsandfeathers/1003/thumbnail.jp

Using AI with Digital Objects: A Plethora of Opportunities

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving and affecting just about every industry imaginable. Libraries and institutional repositories are of course no exception to this. With all the possibilities, it can be difficult to know where to start with AI. In this presentation, we\u27ll discuss potential applications of AI in digital libraries and institutional repositories and brainstorm possible workflows and enhancements. The goal of this session is to demystify AI and start seeing AI as a way to build capacity, improve accuracy, promote collections, increase accessibility, and much, much more

Novel Outreach: A Report of Public Library Engagement within Virginia Communities

This study seeks to showcase how Virginia Public Libraries have harnessed the power of innovative outreach to service populations traditionally resistant to library adoption. It examines concepts such as community partnerships, the library as a Third Place (Thiele & Klagge, 2020), and the increasing function of social services in the public libraries sphere. It highlights the evolution of modern public libraries from mere book repositories to thriving community centers for education and personal growth. Mining current website data, this study explores each of the 94 public library systems in Virginia websites, determining their reach throughout their communities to show what populations receive the most services across Virginia and what methods are employed to reach them. The purpose of this webometric content analysis is to provide a current state of the union for Virginia Public Libraries’ outreach efforts to discover common outreach methods, less commonly used, but novel ways of engaging communities, and to determine how effectively marginalized populations are serviced across the state

The Emerging Impacts of Tourism on The Economy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Study of Oil and Tourism

Saudi Arabia was heavily dependent on oil, which caused an economic crisis due to the collapse of global oil prices. In 2016, the Saudi government launched Vision 2030 to diversify the Saudi economy and avoid dependence on oil revenues. One aim of Vision 2030 is to initiate numerous tourism initiatives to boost the tourism industry\u27s economic impact, elevating its contribution from 3% of GDP to 10% by 2030. This paper provides the necessary assessment to understand tourism\u27s role and contribution to the Saudi economy and to determine whether the industry\u27s growth is on the right track. Also, this paper also evaluates tourism growth trends and revenue generation compared to oil and determines whether tourism revenues can sustainably replace or supplement oil revenues in Saudi Arabia\u27s economy. Mixed methods, including time series analysis and a systematic qualitative literature review, were used to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the case study and its evaluation. Five main tourism variables are examined, including Pilgrims (Hajj), Business, Leisure, Food and beverage, and Traditional and Cultural sites. One of the most important conclusions is that tourism revenues can complement the significance of oil in the Saudi economy and enhance it sustainably, making it more resilient in the future. Many of the goals of Vision 2030 for tourism were achieved before 2030, which prompted the government to set higher goals. It was also evident from the data analysis that dependence on oil has decreased, and the rate of economic diversification and the contribution of tourism to the Saudi GDP has increased

Evading the Censors: Gay Children\u27s Literature from the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

In 1908, early gay rights advocate Edward Prime-Stevenson catalogued a collection of books from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that he described as homosexual juvenile fiction--what might be the first such attempt to compile a list of gay children\u27s literature in English. Most of the books he referenced received positive reviews at the time of their publication and evaded censors despite their often overt descriptions of same-sex love and companionship. This presentation will discuss some of the works from Stevenson\u27s list and will consider how they might continue to find relevance and appeal to today\u27s young people amidst recent efforts to challenge and ban contemporary gay children\u27s books in school and public libraries

Negative Mood and Optimism Bias: An Experimental Investigation of Sadness and Belief Updating

Background and objectives: Understanding how individuals integrate new information to form beliefs under changing emotional conditions is crucial to describing decision-making processes. Previous research suggests that although most people demonstrate bias toward optimistic appraisals of new information when updating beliefs, individuals with dysphoric psychiatric conditions (e.g., major depression) do not demonstrate this same bias. Despite these findings, limited research has investigated the relationship between affective states and belief updating processes. Methods: We induced neutral and sad moods in participants and had them complete a belief-updating paradigm by estimating the likelihood of negative future events happening to them, viewing the actual likelihood, and then re-estimating their perceived likelihood. Results: We observed that individuals updated their beliefs more after receiving desirable information relative to undesirable information under neutral conditions. Further, we found that individuals did not demonstrate unrealistic optimism under negative affective conditions. Limitations: This study incorporated a population of university students under laboratory conditions and would benefit from replication and extension in clinical populations and naturalistic settings. Conclusions: These findings suggest that momentary fluctuations in mood affect how individuals integrate information to form beliefs

Exploring the Influence of Integrating Soft Skills Training into the Undergraduate STEM Curriculum on the STEM Identity of Students

One of the major issues that STEM graduates face is overcoming Imposter Syndrome, and there is a consensus amongst STEM graduates and job recruiters that the current higher education system is missing some elements that could better prepare students for a successful STEM career. A solution to this issue results from recent research on the importance of “soft skills.” In general, “soft skills” or non-technical skills, include communication, critical thinking, and self-motivation. These skills complement “hard skills,” or technical skills, such as skills needed for performing laboratory experiments, like pipetting and Western blotting. The lack of soft skills among recent graduates affects many STEM learning outcomes that are used to measure future success in STEM fields. This research investigates the impact on STEM identity through the addition of innovative, cost-effective, efficient, and easily adaptable methods of incorporating soft skills training in the formal and informal undergraduate STEM curriculum. Investigating the integration of soft skills training will be completed by documenting the progress and experiences of students in the formal and informal learning environment. Soft skills training in the formal learning environment will be studied using studies enrolled in three inquiry-based biological sciences courses. Course activities have been designed to maximize student use of their soft skills to complete tasks. Investigating the integration of soft skills training in the informal learning environment will involve the use of a conversation starter game, QUONVO™, that requires students to use critical thinking, creativity, and innovation to generate conversations about the meaning of and implications of STEM content and issues. The purpose of the final study in this dissertation is to 1) add to the knowledge base on the state of college student engagement, performance, and future outlook in the post-pandemic world, 2) investigate the link between social capital and the development of a stable and positive professional identity, particularly among STEM majors, 3) determine the impact of the increased social media use during the pandemic on soft skills, specifically communication, and 4) explore the relationship between social media use, communication skills, and the quality of social capital

Visualizing Energy Structures of Spin Glasses

Disconnectivity graphs are two-dimensional representations of high-dimensional energy landscapes. Widely used to describe energy-landscapes and gain an understanding for the kinematics and thermodynamic properties of nano-clusters and polymers, they have yet to be thoroughly utilized for spin systems. Due to the effects of frustration, discrete spin systems possess extended minima energy structures which I have classified into three different types. These types are distinguished in the disconnectivity graphs using colors and their respective sizes are indicated via a bar chart. In this talk I will introduce the classification of the energy structures and show some of the results for different types of spin-glass systems. Note that the classification and analyses of the energy structures provides valuable information about the complexity of the systems and shows distinctive features specific to the models

Design, Synthesis, and Optimization of Allosteric Inhibitors of HIV-1 Integrase

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection remains a global health crisis, necessitating the development of innovative antiviral strategies. During the integration step, HIV-1 integrase (IN) interacts with viral DNA and the cellular cofactor LEDGF/p75 to effectively integrate the reverse transcript into the host chromatin. Recently, a novel class of antiretroviral agents called Allosteric Inhibitors of HIV-1 Integrase (ALLINI) compounds has emerged as a promising avenue in the fight against HIV-1. While originally designed to inhibit IN-LEDGF/p75 interactions, these compounds have been shown to also impact late-stage viral maturation severely through IN multimerization. Induction of IN multimerization interferes with virion maturation through misvocalization of vRNA rendering them noninfectious. ALLINI compounds have shown potent antiviral activity against a broad range of HIV-1 strains, including drug-resistant variants. This abstract provides an overview of the use of the ALLINI compounds based on quinoline scaffold derivatives which have been shown to exhibit enhanced potency, prolonged antiviral activity, and reduced likelihood of resistance. Additionally, this research explores the inclusion of covalent warheads with the aim to optimize these compounds and explore their applications as a part of therapeutic strategies for HIV-1, offering new avenues for effective treatment strategies and their integration into future combination antiretroviral therapies

Essays on Foreign Direct Investment, Free Trade Agreements, and the Digital Economy

Economic globalization’s key components include international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and the digital economy. FDI stimulates export growth, complementing international trade. The global economy is being transformed by digitalization, boosting international trade and GDP through speed, convenience, productivity, and transparency and driving shifts in FDI patterns through resource-efficient products and green technologies. This dissertation investigates three prominent issues - the FDI inflows to fragile, least-developed countries (LDC), the proliferation of Free Trade Agreements (FTA,) and the digital economy. Using the Generalised Least Squares Random effects (GLS RE) and the Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimations with a sample size of 156 countries, the research found that market size (GNI), human development (HDI), the presence of liquified natural gas (LNG), the presence of precious stones and mineral resources, least developed country (LDC) classification, and trade openness positively determine FDI. At the same time, fragility, measured by the fragile states index and political instability, can reduce FDI. Also, the research into FTAs used the Kruskal-Wallis H test to study the 356 FTAs registered by the WTO at the end of 2022. The research found that FTAs differ based on the number of countries, economic regions, and goods and/or services coverage. The research on the digital economy used a case study methodology to analyze its features and how it has contributed to cross-border trade and investment. The research findings show that internet connections, the ubiquitous mobile phone, and the actions of digital MNEs have created an ecosystem that has changed how we work and play and boosted cross-border trade in goods and services. For example, digital platforms such as Airbnb and social media platforms, including YouTube, have enabled trade in services across borders. The research findings can contribute to national and multilateral discussions. Countries can implement policies and programs that promote FDI and advance the digital economy. At the same time, at the multilateral level, discussions can acknowledge the disparities and policy challenges of the digital economy and the erosion of free trade caused by FTAs and pursue multilateral solutions that would benefit the global economy