Social process of knowledge creation in science, The

2019 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The Science of Team Science (SciTS) emerged as a field of study because 21st Century scientists are increasingly charged with solving complex societal and environmental challenges. This shift in the complexity of questions requires a shift in how knowledge is created. To solve the complex societal health and environmental challenges, scientific disciplines will have to work together, innovate new knowledge, and create new solutions. It is impossible for one person or one discipline to have the quantity of knowledge needed to solve these types of problems. Tackling these problems requires a team. My dissertation articles report on how knowledge is built and created on a spectrum of scientific teams from university students to long-standing teams. Collectively they answer: how is knowledge creation a social process? To answer this question, my dissertation used a mixed-methods approach that included: social network analysis, social surveys, participant observation, interviews, document analysis, and student reflections. The most important finding from my dissertation was that social relations and processes are key to knowledge creation. Historically, knowledge acquisition and creation have been thought of as individual tasks, but a growing body of literature has framed knowledge creation as a social product. This is a fundamental shift in how knowledge is created to solve complex problems. To work with scientists from other disciplines, individuals must develop personal mastery and build the necessary capacities for collaboration, collective cognitive responsibility, and knowledge building. Complex problems are solved when scientists co-evolve with teams, and individual knowledge and capacity grows alongside the ability for "team learning" Knowledge, then, is a collective product; it is not isolated or individual, but constructed and co-constructed through patterns of interactions

Exploring Communication Patterns in the Discussion of Maternal PKU Syndrome Between Parents and Daughters

Maternal PKU syndrome is the collection of features and birth defects that arise from uncontrolled phenylalanine levels in a pregnant woman with phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency, previously known as phenylketonuria (PKU). Currently, the literature is lacking in exploring what young women are being told about maternal PKU syndrome. In this study, communication patterns between parents and their daughters about maternal PKU syndrome were investigated through an online survey completed by parents. The survey assessed parents’ level of comfort with this topic, the information they discussed with their daughter and the resources they accessed. Followup interviews were conducted with participants to elaborate on survey responses. The majority of participants were very comfortable discussing maternal PKU syndrome (51%); however, 21% reported being very uncomfortable with the discussion. Parents most often discussed health concerns associated with maternal PKU syndrome (94%) and least frequently discussed unplanned pregnancies (58%). The most frequently used resource was a metabolic doctor (73%); however, parents included mothers with PAH deficiency among the most helpful resources. Themes from open-ended responses and interviews emphasized qualities of parents’ discussion with their daughters. Parents commented on the timing and how they presented the information to their daughters. They described challenges such as the emotional impact of the conversation as well as their daughter’s decision-making and consequences of her actions. Lastly, they discussed advice for treatment compliance, resources, and ways to normalize the topic of maternal PKU syndrome. These results can help genetic counselors better understand the parent daughter conversation so that healthcare professionals can better assess and inform families about maternal PKU syndrome

THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOSITY ON RISKY PATTERNS OF DRUG USAGE AND SEXUAL PRACTICES IN UNDERAGE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

High-risk behaviors such as illicit drug usage and risky sexual practices have been increasing over the years among underage college students. Research has indicated that religious beliefs and religious behaviors interact to predict risky alcohol use in underage college students, with students having higher religious beliefs but lower religious behaviors being the most at risk. The current study hypothesized that this interaction would predict risky drug usage and sexual practices in underage college students in the same way as it does unsafe alcohol use. Underage students (N=211) at the University of Kentucky completed surveys online. Results indicated that religious beliefs and religious behaviors interacted to predict number of drugs tried, drug consumption frequency, risky sexual practices in the past three months, and lifetime number of sexual partners, with those students having higher religious beliefs but lower religious behaviors being the most at risk. Religious behaviors negatively predicted current number of sexual partners. Overall findings indicate that the group of students with higher religious beliefs but lower religious behaviors most at risk for alcohol use are also more likely to engage in risky drug usage and sexual practices. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms leading to these outcomes

Evidence Based Practice Project: Families Struggling with Sexual Abuse and/ or Incest

Structural family therapy was examined for effectiveness when working with family populations that struggle with incest and / or sexual abuse. This evidence based project reviewed and studied research to effectively create curriculum. The primary goal of structural family therapy is to assist families in mapping the family structure through boundary making, hierarchies, and subsystems to help clients resolve individual mental health symptoms and relational problems, interventions include stabilization, psychoeducation, coping mechanisms, creating boundaries, expressing emotions, and restructuring roles. Enactments and symbolic representation was found to be beneficial when progressing to goals in a therapy setting

Puberty as a life transition : understanding and supporting young people with additional support needs

Onset of puberty marks the passage from childhood to adolescence and acquiring skills to carry out adult roles. Puberty is transitional period between childhood and adulthood. The majority of children with additional support needs will experience puberty at the same time and rate as their peers. However, there is a lack of research into how men and women with disabilities experience sexuality and sexual identity and, in particular, the views and experiences of young people

Use of anti-mullerian hormone to select for fertility in beef heifers

A study was conducted to determine whether concentration of serum Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) at weaning and/or breeding could predict subsequent fertility in beef heifers. Frequency distribution was used to assign serum AMH concentration measured at weaning, breeding, and the change from weaning to breeding into quartiles. Comparison of heifers based on serum AMH quartiles at weaning failed (P ≥ 0.35) to detect any effect of AMH on subsequent heifer cyclicity at breeding, estrous response after synchronization, artificial insemination (AI) pregnancy rate, overall breeding season pregnancy rate, or estimated estrous cycle of the breeding season when conception occurred. Based on AMH concentration at breeding, heifers in the lowest quartile (Q1) had a lower (P = 0.02) AI pregnancy rate than heifers in other quartiles, and conceived at a later estrous cycle (P = 0.03) in the breeding season. Comparison of heifers based on the difference between AMH concentrations at breeding versus weaning revealed that none of the heifers in the lowest quartile (Q1) became pregnant after AI, compared with 80% in the highest quartile (Q4; P \u3c 0.001). Heifers in the lowest quartile also conceived at a later estrous cycle in the breeding season than heifers in the other quartiles (P = 0.01). Results indicate that either AMH concentration at breeding or the change in AMH from weaning to breeding can identify beef heifers more likely to conceive to AI and to conceive early in the breeding seaso

Do parents listen to their children? : begging does not go unanswered in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

1 online resource (31 p.) : ill., col. mapIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-31).Begging by nestling passerines is an important method of communicating to parents their state of hunger. I examined whether experimentally increased nestling begging in a brood can quickly alter parental provisioning rates in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). I predicted that an increased begging level heard by parents during the experimental treatment would result in a significantly higher number of parental provisioning visits compared to the control through a matched pairs design. Twenty nestbox broods were studied to compare the total number of parental provisioning visits during natural (control) and experimentally increased begging conditions. Begging calls of each brood were recorded when nestlings were 13 days old, and the loudest calls from each brood were made into a three-minute loop that ran continuously for one hour during the experimental treatment. On day 14, the total number of provisioning trips made by parents was first determined over a one-hour control watch (natural begging conditions), and then over a one-hour experimental watch (when the begging audio loop playback was projected). As predicted, parents provisioned at a significantly higher rate during the experimental treatment than the control. This finding suggests that European starlings are very sensitive to begging calls made by their offspring, and respond quickly to any changes in begging

30. Measuring Executive Function in Adult Populations

The Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) is a test that was originally designed to measure executive function (EF) in ages two and up, but we propose to use the MEFS test to measure EF in adult populations for the first time. MEFS has been proven to be an effective measure of EF in children but has yet to be tested in adults. We expect MEFS to detect developmental, as well as individual differences in our participant pool of adult aged UNG Oconee students. The resulting data could prove valuable for constructing more thorough tests for measuring EF in adult populations, in addition to providing data on EF development in adults. Past studies have shown a strong correlation between frontal lobe development and EF. Because the frontal lobe is not fully developed until around age twenty-five, administering a MEFS test to an adult population could give valuable information about the test’s effectiveness in adults. Administering the MEFS test to an adult population will also allow a comparison of the Early Years Toolbox and MEFS in measuring the main aspects of executive function. These main aspects include inhibition, working memory, and flexibility. The test will be administered to participants drawn from the Psychology 1101 classes at UNG and the resulting data will be analyzed and compared to data from younger populations