Taking a Grassroots Approach: Creating a Future for STEAM Based Research, Data, and Tools Support at the UCF Libraries

This session will explore the impetus for UCF Libraries interest in developing a research data management (RDM) workshop series, specific infrastructure concerns (such as scalability and staff resources), key partnerships leveraged, and how the pilot workshops series has provided valuable lessons learned as the Libraries develops additional workshops on research data management. What do you do when your library does not have a formal RDM team or positions dedicated to this area of research support? How can you leverage existing campus partnerships to create robust and scalable services? Come to this session to find out more

Full STEAM Ahead: Piloting Graduate & Faculty RDM Workshops

The University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries has developed a series of research data management sessions to provide support and promote awareness of available resources to the campus community, with an emphasis on outreach to graduate students and faculty. The Libraries does not have a formal research data management team or dedicated positions, and with this in mind, a team of librarians from Reference & Information Services, Digital Initiatives, and Scholarly Communication collaborated to plan opportunities for RDM programming. This team developed a STEAM Bootcamp series piloted in 2019-2020 with a four-part series of RDM workshops ranging from STEAM-focused literature reviews to data visualization. As this series developed, the team explored other opportunities for collaborations on campus – leveraging expertise and resources from other academic and research units. Attendees will learn how we collaborated internally and externally to develop this pilot program and plans for a broader workshop series in 2020-2021. Presented at Southeast Data Librarian Symposium (SEDLS) 2020 virtual conference

The Sky’s the Limit: Scholarly Communication, Digital Initiatives, Institutional Repositories, and Subject Librarians

The University of Central Florida’s institutional repository, Showcase of Text, Archives, Research, and Scholarship (STARS), has presented new opportunities for collaboration among the Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communication, Digital Initiatives, Research Services, and subject librarians. Building on efforts to proactively promote scholarly communication initiatives to the university community, these four units have used the institutional repository as a foundation for collaboration, outreach, marketing, and educational efforts. This article will give an overview of a panel presentation given by members of these four units on STARS and highlight the role the institutional repository has in increasing the collaborative efforts of these four units. Additionally, it will highlight four different perspectives and discuss strategies designed to generate institutional repository interest from the university community. Successful ventures and lessons learned will provide insight into creating a productive interdepartmental framework that is geared toward supporting students and faculty institutional repository projects

Providing Strategic Direction and Marketing Insights for a Mature Aquatic Facility

As local communities all over the country are facing declining usage of aquatic centers as they age, recreation departments must decide how to address the increasing loss of revenue while also continuing to provide a desired service. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current situation of a municipal aquatic center located in the Southeast United States in order to determine what steps could be taken to increase usage and decrease negative cash flow. While the Center is still very functional, little has been done in recent decades to update or market it and usage has greatly declined. The study reports how the town sought outside expertise in order to determine what elements of the marketing mix may be better used to minimize the negative cash flow generated by the Center and direct future strategic planning. The SWOT analysis developed through the use of a nominal group is described with the panel\u27s recommendations for future steps and development options included. The town is now able to make an informed decision as to how best spend limited resources and direct efforts to not only resuscitate their aging facility, but also enhance the image of the town and develop much needed new revenue streams

Rural Appalachian Women Will Suffer Disproportionately if Attempts to Further Restrict Emergency Contraception are Successful

The removal of federal abortion protection has incited fear that restrictions on contraception may be next. Many states now imposing abortion restrictions and bans are in the South and Appalachian Regions of the U.S., where rates of unplanned pregnancy and poor health outcomes are already disproportionately high. Numerous studies have documented variable access to levonorgestrel EC (LNG EC) in community pharmacies, with particularly low rates of access at independent pharmacies that are more likely to be located in rural communities than chain pharmacies. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, some large chain pharmacies and online retailers are restricting the purchase of LNG EC, limiting its availability. Some legislators and activists are calling for a ban on EC based on a misunderstanding about its mechanism of action, equating it with abortion. At a time when access to the full range of contraceptive options is more critical than ever, already limited access to LNG EC is worsening. Extensive data on LNG EC availability in 509 pharmacies and 400 health clinics across West Virginia, contextualized with socioeconomic demographics, illustrate existing disparities in LNG EC access

Service Learning and Community-Based Research: Implementation, Benefits, Challenges, and Future Directions

Rationale: Service learning and community engagement are a natural fit for many disciplines. Service learning projects provide students with an opportunity to apply course content to real world situations (Harder, 2010), developing projects that will benefit clients, agencies, and communities. Service learning is used across a variety of disciplines including social work (Hostetter, Sullenberger, & Wood, 2013) nursing (Murray, 2013) and business (Payne, Campbell, Bal, & Piercy, 2011). Working in a group within a service learning context provides a multitude of benefits including greater interest, motivation, and engagement; improved communication skills; real-life application of course content; and skills acquisition (Murray, 2013; Payne et al., 2011; Postlethwait, 2012). Panel Purpose: The purpose of this panel is to describe how four faculty members incorporated service learning into their social work courses. This panel is unique in that three of the four faculty began conducting service learning projects while at the same institution and are now integrating service learning into their respective university settings in a variety of ways. Goals: Five goals exist for this panel. By the end of the Panel participants will understand (1) how to implement student-led community-based research projects, (2) how to build partnerships with diverse stakeholders/agency settings, (3) benefits and challenges of student-led research within a community-based agency, (4) how to use projects to support agency change, and (5) future directions in service learning. Specifically, the panel will provide the audience with information on how to incorporate student-led community-based research projects into their courses. First, the discussion will focus on how to prepare for a community-based research project. The panelists will describe how to: (a) develop an assignment that is consistent with learning outcomes and meets the need of the partner agency, (b) create a project that is feasible to complete in one semester and results in a high quality project, (c) manage and plan for difficult group dynamics, and (d) incorporate measures of student learning and engagement into a service learning course. Second, the panelists will describe the art of building relationships and engaging diverse stakeholders/agencies in the community-based research project, highlighting key strategies. Next, the panelists will discuss the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing service learning into their courses. For example, one panelist will describe the challenges of partnering with a rural agency, while another panelist will highlight how agency politics influence students’ abilities to conduct agency-based research. Lastly, the panelists will discuss how to use service learning to support community change and explore future directions for service learning. Participant Engagement will occur through questions designed to elicit discussion related to the five Panel goals. Participants will also be asked to share their experiences with the various topics covered during the panel

Marijuana Use and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Functioning in Humans

Preclinical studies suggest cannabinoids affect functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but little is known about the effects of marijuana (MJ) use on HPA axis functioning in humans. Since previous work indicates substances of abuse may dysregulate the HPA axis, it is critical to understand how MJ use affects HPA axis activity. Here, we review studies that (a) examined the effects of acute MJ administration on HPA axis functioning, (b) investigated the impact of stress on HPA axis functioning in MJ users, (c) examined the effect of chronic MJ use on basal cortisol levels, and (d) studied the relationship between MJ use and the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Findings indicate acute MJ administration typically raises cortisol levels, but this increase is blunted in MJ-dependent users relative to controls. Frequent MJ users have blunted adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol reactivity in response to acute stress. These findings suggest HPA axis activity may be dysregulated by heavy MJ use. Alternatively, dysregulation of the HPA axis may be a risk marker for heavy MJ use. There is mixed evidence for how MJ use affects basal cortisol levels and the CAR. Future studies should consider MJ use characteristics, method of hormone collection, time when samples are collected, and environmental factors that may influence HPA axis activity in MJ users. By examining existing studies we provide one of the first reviews aimed at synthesizing the literature on HPA axis functioning in MJ users

Older Adults and Mental Health - Preparing to Care For Those Who Cared For Us

Capstone paper for the fulfillment of the Master of Public Affairs degree.Depression and anxiety are often thought of as part of the normal aging process by many, including healthcare providers, who attribute symptoms as a natural reaction to life changes or illnesses that occur with aging.' Even though depression and anxiety are often treatable through psychological and/or pharmacological interventions, mental health needs remain widely under-recognized and under-treated amongst older adults." As Minnesota prepares for 2030, and the demographic shift as a result of the Baby Boomer Generation, a focus on the mental health needs of older adults is needed. Research shows that while the prevalence of mental health diagnoses is not higher in older adults than other age groups, there are unique needs that contribute to older adults' use and access to mental health services. By addressing these needs, and increasing access to services, the Minnesota Board on Aging can lessen the impact on individuals and health care costs. For purposes of this policy brief, older adults are defined as individuals age 65+, and mental health needs exclude Alzheimer's or dementia-related diagnoses, serious and persistent mental health diagnoses, and substance use disorder

Evaluation of Women's Empowerment in a Community-Based Human Papillomavirus Self-Sampling Social Entrepreneurship Program (Hope Project) in Peru : A Mixed-Method Study

Funding Information: This work was supported by the University of Washington: School of Nursing, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-DIV 7200AA19FA00001), Duke Universities Bass Connections project titled Analysis of Bringing Elements of Referral Services to Community Care, and GMaP Region 5 program of the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium 3P30CA015704-46S5. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Shin, Garcia, Dotson, Valderrama, Chiappe, Ramanujam, Krieger, Ásbjörnsdóttir, Barnabas, Iribarren and Gimbel.Introduction: Understanding community women's relational and financial empowerment in social entrepreneurship could be the key to scaling up community-based human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling programs in low- and middle-income countries. The Hope Project, social entrepreneurship in Peru, trains women (Hope Ladies) to promote HPV self-sampling among other women in their communities. This study aims to evaluate the Hope Ladies' relational and financial empowerment after participating in the program. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the Hope Ladies' experiences of empowerment in social entrepreneurship using a parallel convergent mixed methods design. The Hope Ladies participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 20) and an eight-questions five-point Likert scale survey that evaluated their relational (n = 19)/financial (n = 17) empowerment. The interview and the survey questions were developed using three empowerment frameworks: Kabeer's conceptual framework, International Center for Research on Women's economic empowerment indicators, and the Relational Leadership Theory. Deductive content analysis was used to evaluate the interviews with pre-determined codes and categories of empowerment. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey results. Qualitative and quantitative data were integrated through a cross-case comparison of emergent themes and corresponding survey responses during the results interpretation. Results: All Hope Ladies reported experiencing increased empowerment in social entrepreneurship. Interviews: The women reported challenges and improvement in three categories of empowerment: (1) resources (balancing between household and Hope Lady roles, recognition from the community as a resource, camaraderie with other Hope Ladies); (2) agency (increased knowledge about reproductive health, improved confidence to express themselves, and ability to speak out against male-dominant culture); and (3) achievement (increased economic assets, improved ability to make financial decisions, and widened social network and capital, and technology skills development). Survey: All (100%) agreed/totally agreed an increase in social contacts, increased unaccompanied visits to a healthcare provider (86%), improved confidence in discussing reproductive topics (100%), improved ability to make household decisions about money (57% pre-intervention vs. 92% post-intervention). Conclusions: The Hope Ladies reported improved relational and financial empowerment through participating in community-based social entrepreneurship. Future studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between empowerment and worker retention/performance to inform the scale-up of HPV self-sampling social entrepreneurship programs.Peer reviewe

Observing the Evolution of the Universe

How did the universe evolve? The fine angular scale (l>1000) temperature and polarization anisotropies in the CMB are a Rosetta stone for understanding the evolution of the universe. Through detailed measurements one may address everything from the physics of the birth of the universe to the history of star formation and the process by which galaxies formed. One may in addition track the evolution of the dark energy and discover the net neutrino mass. We are at the dawn of a new era in which hundreds of square degrees of sky can be mapped with arcminute resolution and sensitivities measured in microKelvin. Acquiring these data requires the use of special purpose telescopes such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), located in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). These new telescopes are outfitted with a new generation of custom mm-wave kilo-pixel arrays. Additional instruments are in the planning stages.Comment: Science White Paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey. Full list of 177 author available at http://cmbpol.uchicago.ed