Bridging the Research Gap: A Toolkit on Inclusive Research and Development Practices

Research and development (R&D) is a key component of any organization's strategy—whether its deliverables lie in consulting, marketing, developing innovative technology, serving vulnerable communities, education, or generating knowledge and higher revenue. In addition, we know that human-centered design processes not only result in more impactful and beneficial products, but also save money. But what exactly does it mean to design and conduct human-centered research? What are key steps that one can take to develop products with an eye to diversity and inclusion? How can we ensure that R&D not only generates valuable products, but also contributes to broader social equity? This toolkit presents a list of steps that one can take to ensure that the entire R&D process from the initial idea, to the dissemination of products/information, to the very consequences of R&D uses equity, diversity, and inclusion as guiding principles at every stage

Plate Pouring Device I

The goal of this project was to build a cost-effective automated system that can handle the process of pouring agar into plates, but is also easily sterilized and operates with no supervision. This agar plate-pouring machine is intended to increase productivity in small-scale biology and research labs by pouring at least 120 plates per hour while keeping the agar sterile and preventing contamination. This was accomplished with a multi-valve system controlled by an Arduino board which could also fit inside of a fume hood

Socioeconomic Status, Perceived Resources, and Susceptibility to Sickness Suggestions: Investigating Whether a Manipulation of Socioeconomic Status Influences Susceptibility to the Nocebo Effect

Because individuals with low socioeconomic status (SES) are exposed to greater stressors and perceive having more limited resources, they may be far more susceptible to the nocebo effect than individuals with higher SES. The nocebo effect is a negative reaction to the suggestion that a person may feel unpleasant, despite no environmental reason why this suggestion alone should induce a negative state. I examined the effects of a nocebo suggestion and social status on health symptoms. After administering my nocebo—a suggestion that dust in the lab environment was potentially harmful—I manipulated participants’ subjective social status. We then examined reported health symptoms. My data indicated that being low in subjective SES resulted in greater health symptoms when a nocebo was not delivered. This nocebo effect was actually stronger among those in the low subjective SES condition than among those in the high subjective SES condition. Overall, the findings provide unique insight into the nature of SES and the nocebo effect, and the implications of the findings are discussed.Bachelor of Scienc

Phylogenetic relationships of the Wolbachia of nematodes and arthropods

Wolbachia are well known as bacterial symbionts of arthropods, where they are reproductive parasites, but have also been described from nematode hosts, where the symbiotic interaction has features of mutualism. The majority of arthropod Wolbachia belong to clades A and B, while nematode Wolbachia mostly belong to clades C and D, but these relationships have been based on analysis of a small number of genes. To investigate the evolution and relationships of Wolbachia symbionts we have sequenced over 70 kb of the genome of wOvo, a Wolbachia from the human-parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus, and compared the genes identified to orthologues in other sequenced Wolbachia genomes. In comparisons of conserved local synteny, we find that wBm, from the nematode Brugia malayi, and wMel, from Drosophila melanogaster, are more similar to each other than either is to wOvo. Phylogenetic analysis of the protein-coding and ribosomal RNA genes on the sequenced fragments supports reciprocal monophyly of nematode and arthropod Wolbachia. The nematode Wolbachia did not arise from within the A clade of arthropod Wolbachia, and the root of the Wolbachia clade lies between the nematode and arthropod symbionts. Using the wOvo sequence, we identified a lateral transfer event whereby segments of the Wolbachia genome were inserted into the Onchocerca nuclear genome. This event predated the separation of the human parasite O. volvulus from its cattle-parasitic sister species, O. ochengi. The long association between filarial nematodes and Wolbachia symbionts may permit more frequent genetic exchange between their genomes

Putting the “U” in Shore U: Expanding Postsecondary Education on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

The University of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Foundation (Shore U) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine opportunities to expand postsecondary education on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. In response to this request, a doctoral research team conducted a mixed-methods study that explored potential pathways for a four-year degree option on the Eastern Shore. Eastern Shore Community College (ESCC) students, ESCC employees, and Eastern Shore community members were surveyed during the quantitative phase of the study. Secondary data was used to understand the postsecondary positionality of Eastern Shore high school students. The President of ESCC, Eastern Shore community members, and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) administrators were interviewed during the study’s qualitative phase. A key finding from the quantitative data collection is that current ESCC students credit proximity to home as the primary reason for their enrollment and 71% of the ESCC students surveyed indicated that they would attend Shore U if it existed. A key finding from the qualitative data collection is that while there is support for expanding postsecondary opportunities on the Shore, that support is not necessarily for a four-year institution. In response to these findings, the doctoral research team created a five-year plan that outlines a path forward for Shore U through community and PUTTING THE “U” IN SHORE U 10 political engagement, fundraising, internships, academic partnerships, and the provision of upper-division courses

The Role of University-Required Fitness Courses in Students\u27 Health and Exercise Practices

Lifetime fitness (LF) classes include exercise, sport, and recreational activity courses. The main purposes of LF classes are to give health education that elicits mental, social, and physical preparation for a lifelong experience of fitness. However, previous research has not extensively investigated the role of LF classes on students’ motivations to exercise during and after completing the course. PURPOSE: To determine whether or not taking an LF class contributes to a student’s motivation to exercise, to determine a motivation for signing up for an LF course, to determine why they chose that specific class, and to determine the degree to which an LF class effectively changes a student’s view on exercise. METHODS: Male and female college students (n=183) were recruited from LF classes, including aerobic walking, aerobic running, volleyball, softball, strength training, golf, bowling, and fitness theory. At the beginning of the semester, a survey was given via Qualtrics that asked four open-ended questions about the students’ views of LF classes. RESULTS: In response to the first question, “Why did you choose this LF course?”, 30% of the students responded it was to play a fun sport. Other responses included to maintain a healthy lifestyle (15%), to continue to play a sport they played before the LF class (17%), or to learn how to play a new sport (17%). The second question asked, “Why are you taking an LF course?”, and 87% of the students responded it was required. The other 13% responded they took it for fun, or they wanted to take it with a friend. The third question asked, “Why do you think Baylor requires you to take an LF class?”. 86% of the students felt that Baylor requires LF classes for the well-being of students, while 14% were not sure why or believed it was for monetary purposes. The final question asked, “What is your motivation for exercising, both in an LF and outside of class?” To this question, 98% of participants responded saying their motivation was to maintain health or for fun, social reasons. The other 2% responded saying their motivation was a GPA boost. CONCLUSIONS: When asked why students are taking an LF class, the majority of students indicated they did so for reasons from a negative approach. However, when asked about exercise motivation as a whole, the majority of the students indicated reasons for wanting to exercise from a positive approach. The disparity between answers given for these two questions may indicate a motivational distinction between LF classes and exercise in general. Therefore, further research exploring the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations between exercise and LF classes is warranted

Humanities, Stem, Social Sciences

Personal statements and reports from the departments belonging to the Humanities, STEM, and Social Sciences.https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pda/1000/thumbnail.jp