Modeling usage of an online research community

Although online communities have been thought of as a new way for collaboration across geographic boundaries in the scientific world, they have a problem attracting people to keep visiting. The main purpose of this study is to understand how people behave in such communities, and to build and evaluate tools to stimulate engagement in a research community. These tools were designed based on a research framework of factors that influence online participation and relationship development. There are two main objectives for people to join an online community, information sharing and interpersonal relationship development, such as friends or colleagues. The tools designed in this study are to serve both information sharing and interpersonal relationship development needs. The awareness tool is designed to increase the sense of a community and increase the degree of social presence of members in the community. The recommender system is designed to help provide higher quality and personalized information to community members. It also helps to match community members into subgroups based on their interests. The designed tools were implemented in a field site - the Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN) Research community. A longitudinal field study was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the designed tools. This research explored people\u27s behavior inside a research community by analyzing web server logs. The results show that although there are not many interactions in the community space, the WebCenter has been visited extensively by its members. There are over 2,000 hits per day on average and over 5,000 article accesses during the observation period. This research also provided a framework to identify factors that affect people\u27s engagement in an online community. The research framework was tested using the PLS modeling method with online survey responses. The results show that perceived usefulness performs a very significant role in members\u27 intention to continue using the system and their perceived preliminary networking. The results also show that the quality of the content of the system is a strong indicator for both perceived usefulness of the community space and perceived ease of use of the community system. Perceived ease of use did not show a strong correlation with intention to continue use which was consistent with other studies of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). For the ALN research community, this online community helps its members to broaden their contacts, improve the quality and quantity of their research, and increase the dissemination of knowledge among community members

Automatic Context-Driven Inference of Engagement in HMI: A Survey

An integral part of seamless human-human communication is engagement, the process by which two or more participants establish, maintain, and end their perceived connection. Therefore, to develop successful human-centered human-machine interaction applications, automatic engagement inference is one of the tasks required to achieve engaging interactions between humans and machines, and to make machines attuned to their users, hence enhancing user satisfaction and technology acceptance. Several factors contribute to engagement state inference, which include the interaction context and interactants' behaviours and identity. Indeed, engagement is a multi-faceted and multi-modal construct that requires high accuracy in the analysis and interpretation of contextual, verbal and non-verbal cues. Thus, the development of an automated and intelligent system that accomplishes this task has been proven to be challenging so far. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on previous work in engagement inference for human-machine interaction, entailing interdisciplinary definition, engagement components and factors, publicly available datasets, ground truth assessment, and most commonly used features and methods, serving as a guide for the development of future human-machine interaction interfaces with reliable context-aware engagement inference capability. An in-depth review across embodied and disembodied interaction modes, and an emphasis on the interaction context of which engagement perception modules are integrated sets apart the presented survey from existing surveys

Professional Help-seeking Attitudes among Latter-day Saints: The Role of Gender, Distress, and Religiosity

abstract: Factors of gender, marital status, and psychological distress are known to be related to help-seeking attitudes. This study sought to explore and understand the relations between gender, marital status, religiosity, psychological distress, and help-seeking attitudes among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). The moderating effect of religious commitment on psychological distress and attitudes towards seeking professional help was explored through an online survey of 1,201 Latter-day Saint individuals. It was predicted that gender and marital status would predict distress and helping seeking attitudes and that religiosity would moderate the relation between distress and help-seeking attitudes among religious individuals, with individuals who experience high distress and low religiosity being more likely to seek help than individuals with high distress and high religiosity. Participants completed the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Religious Commitment Inventory-10, and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form online. Multiple hierarchical regressions were used to test the study hypotheses. Although the accounted for variances were small, gender was the most significant variable associated with both distress and help seeking. Females reported higher distress and being more willing to seek psychological help than did males. Religiosity did not moderate the relation between distress and help-seeking attitudes. These findings are discussed in light of previous research and gender role schemas as relevant to Mormon culture.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Counseling 201

Bridging the empathy gap: Effects of brief mindfulness training on helping outgroup members in need

Witnessing others in need can be felt similarly to experiencing it oneself (empathy) and motivates assistance of those in need (prosocial action). It is well-documented that empathy can occur automatically, but when those in need are not members of a social ingroup, empathy and prosocial action are undermined. One major ingroup—outgroup division in American and in other countries is based on race. Although most condemn racial discrimination, empathy and prosocial action are often lower, however unintentionally, in interracial contexts. In light of this empathy gap, it is important to identify psychological factors that could bolster empathy and prosocial action toward racial outgroup members in need. This dissertation asked whether mindfulness training – cultivating present-centered, receptive attention to one’s ongoing experiences –increases social sensitivity toward racial outgroup members, and is based on pilot research indicating that a brief mindfulness induction increased empathy and prosocial action in such contexts. Healthy, self-identifying White women were randomized to either a brief (4-day) mindfulness training or a structurally-equivalent sham mindfulness training. Pre-post electroencephalographic measures of empathy toward video stimuli of outgroup members expressing sadness was assessed via prefrontal alpha frequency oscillations (i.e., frontal alpha asymmetry). Pre-post scenario-based spontaneous prosocial action toward Black individuals in need, and pre-post 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of empathy and prosocial action toward Black individuals (and other races) were conducted. Mindfulness training was expected to increase EEG- and EMA-based empathy toward Black individuals in need, as well as increase prosocial action toward such individuals in scenario and daily life (EMA) contexts. Opposite of what was hypothesized, MT reduced post-intervention empathic simulation, relative to ST, as measured by frontal alpha asymmetry. Consistent with hypotheses, however, MT increased empathic concern for outgroup members expressing sadness during video stimuli observation, and increased post-intervention scenario-based prosocial action. However, the hypothesis that MT would predict increases in pre- to post-intervention daily EMA-based prosocial action was not supported. Providing somewhat convergent evidence, trait mindfulness predicted more frequent pre-intervention scenario-based and daily prosocial action toward outgroup members; trait mindfulness was not related to pre-intervention video-based EEG and self-reported empathy outcomes. Together these results suggest that mindfulness can enhance some indicators or empathy and prosocial behavior in interracial contexts. Mechanisms and implications of the findings are discussed

Enhancing adult student persistence: The relationship between prior learning assessment and persistence toward the baccalaureate degree

In this study of adult part-time baccalaureate students at a midwestern private liberal arts college, prior learning assessment (the PLA portfolio process) significantly predicts persistence. Logistic regression results indicate that completers of the PLA portfolio process increase their estimated probability of persistence dramatically;Part-time adult students in higher education are likely to drop out. Adult students had dropped out at double the rate of traditional age students (45% versus 23%) in a 1992 study of the 1989 entering class. In a 1994 follow-up study, highly non-traditional students (attended part-time, worked full-time, had dependents, and delayed entry into college) were the least likely to have persisted. Among highly non-traditional students, 54% had dropped out 5 years after their 1989 entry;Researchers have identified a set of background factors and process factors that play significant role in persistence. The background variables are: age, gender, educational attainment of spouse and parents, work intensity (full-time or part-time), high school performance, and prior college credits. Life changes (such as divorce, childbirth, death or illness, and job change) influence the decision to enter higher education and the decision to leave. The outcome variables (grade point average, enrollment status, financial aid, academic and social integration, and disposition) directly influence the decision to persist;Disposition factors are confidence, goal clarity, commitment, satisfaction, and sources of support;The complex interplay of background, motivation, academic performance, PLA portfolio participation, and life changes affects adult student progress throughout the process. The significant variables predicting persistence for this study are grade point average, number of prior college credits, and participation in prior learning assessment. Demographic variables were not significant;Few interventions by adult educators can have as dramatic effect on persistence as the PLA portfolio process. Students within this sample who complete the PLA portfolio process increase their probability of persistence by a minimum of 45% to a high of 281%. Students with mean GPA and mean prior credits increased their probability of persistence by 106%. Three fourths of eligible students who completed the PLA graduated versus 39% of those who did not

A comparative analysis of Indonesian and Philippino contraceptive determinants and use

This exploratory study investigates the contraceptive determinants affecting the variation behind different contraceptive use patterns in Indonesia and the Philippines. I analyze how much effect various determinants have on use patterns and whether these same determinants are relevant to a similar degree in both countries. Several demographic studies have indicated that while education and other socio-economic; variables play a large role in contraceptive use, other factors are pertinent as well. Physical access in terms of distance to a facility or ease in reaching it is one concept. In addition, informational access via availability of mass media and the related function of literacy are important. Hopefully policy makers can utilize these findings to eventually increase access to contraception in areas where it is needed most

Characterizing the Patterns, Predictors, and Processes Involved in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders

Alcohol and drug use disorders are associated with significant cost to individuals, families, and society.Approximately 40-75% of affected individuals remit from alcohol use disorders (AUD). Although the development of AUD is well studied, recovery from AUD and factors that contribute to recovery are not as well characterized. With the definition of recovery evolving towards a process rather than an outcome, there is a need to better understand psychosocial functioning and quality of life among individuals at different points in their recovery journeys. Concurrently, additional research is needed to understand the interplay between sources of recovery capital, individual differences in risk factors for substance use, genetic influences, and psychosocial functioning and quality of life. To address that gap, we used a subsample of young adults who met criteria for AUD in their lifetime but later remitted (N = 323), derived from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) Prospective Study, to investigate profiles of functioning related to quality of life at first remitted assessment. We also examined recovery capital, epidemiological risk factors for substance use, and genome-wide polygenic risk scores as predictors of these profiles. Results suggested that a two-profile solution fit the data best, with 40% of participants categorized into the “infrequent alcohol use, good health” profile and 60% into the “frequent alcohol use, good to very good health” profile. These findings indicate heterogeneity in functioning related to quality of life among those in AUD remission. Importantly, however, individuals in the “frequent alcohol use, good to very good” profile relative to individuals in the “infrequent alcohol use, good health” profile may represent those individuals who matured out of AUD. Social support for recovery, lifetime maximum depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and lifetime exposure to sexual assaultive trauma were higher in the “infrequent alcohol use, good health” profile than in the “frequent alcohol use, good to very good health” profile, while affiliation with deviant peers during adolescence and sensation seeking was higher in the latter profile. When examining the joint influence of all predictors on assigned profile membership, none had a unique effect. None of our polygenic risk scores were associated with assigned profile membership. Our findings add to the body of literature suggesting thatheterogeneity in patterns of quality of life exists among those in AUD remission. Although none of our predictors had a unique effect on assigned profile membership when modeled simultaneously, findings suggest that mechanisms that underlie the development of AUD, such as comorbid internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors, may be important to consider with respect to quality of life in AUD remission. Moreover, findings from the present study can inform our understanding of recovery processes. The present findings underscore the importance of measuring individuals’ self-reported recovery status and/or recovery identity so as not to conflate recovery processes with maturing out of AUD

An examination of factors that impact persistence among adult students in a degree completion program at a four-year university.

For more than 100 years, nearly half of all undergraduate students have failed to persist to degree completion (ACT, 2010; Tinto, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, 2008). To make matters worse, adult students have consistently been victims of higher levels of attrition than their traditional student counterparts (Justice & Dornan, 2001; National Adult Attitudes Report, 2008). This study utilized the theoretical underpinnings from the Bean and Metzner (1985) Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition and Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon\u27s (2004) Theory of Student Departure in Commuter College and Universities model to create a new model to examine variables that impact persistence among adult students over the age of twenty-five in a degree-completion program at the bachelor\u27s level. An internet-based self-report survey was constructed to measure variables from three constructs including student entry variables, internal campus/academic variables, and external environment variables. The sample came from the Bachelor of Science in Workforce Leadership program at the University of Louisville which includes adults ranging from ages 25-67. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and logistic regression analytic procedures. Educational goal, finances, and active learning were all significant predictors of persistence, controlling for all other variables in the equation and accounted for 35.4% of the variance among all variables. Students who reported higher educational goals, sufficient finances to pay for school, and content relevant active learning were more likely to persist. Implications for theory, research, and practice are highlighted as possible strategic leverage points for creating policies and procedures that will aid in adult student retention in degree completion programs at four-year universities