FIRST Portfolio: Introduction to Psychology (Psych 181)

This course portfolio analyzed student learning in Introduction to Psychology, Psych 181 at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. This course is often taken by first year students of various backgrounds and majors; this course is a pre-requisite for many other psychology courses. In general, the course covers basic psychological concepts in the realm of biopsychology, developmental psychology, social and personality psychology, cognitive psychology, and clinical psychology. Student enrollment for this section is capped at 200. This portfolio outlines my course goal, objectives, and assessments of those goals. There is also a reflection throughout regarding how well students feel supported and how much the content allows students to apply material or use critical thinking and suggestions for areas that can be improved in future iterations of the course

A Meta-Analysis of Hiring Discrimination Against Muslims and Arabs

Muslim and Arab individuals are discriminated against in almost all domains. Recently, there has been a focus on examining the treatment of these groups in the work setting. Despite the great number of primary studies examining this issue, there has not yet been a quantitative review of the research literature. To fill this gap, this meta-analysis examined the presence and magnitude of hiring discrimination against Muslim and Arab individuals. Using 46 independent effect sizes from 26 sources, we found evidence of discrimination against Muslim and Arab people in employment judgments, behaviors, and decisions across multiple countries. Moderator analyses revealed that discrimination is stronger in field settings, when actual employment decisions are made, and when experimental studies used “Arab” (vs. “Muslim”) targets. However, primary studies provide inconsistent and inaccurate distinctions between Arabs and Muslims, therefore future work should be cautious in categorizing the exact aspect of identity being studied

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

College Students\u27 Relationship with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Accommodations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can provide many challenges for college students due to difficulties focusing, multi-tasking, and staying organized. Colleges are required to offer academic accommodations to students with disabilities in an attempt to provide students with an equitable learning environment. However, accommodations may be ineffective if they are highly unattainable, unused by the student once granted, or hindered by university faculty. The objective of this study was to identify barriers to receiving effective and beneficial academic accommodations for individuals with ADHD at the University level and to provide insight into college students\u27 knowledge and relationships relating to the disability. To do this, a survey was created and distributed to undergraduate students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and our results were analyzed with ANOVA, T-tests, F-tests, and Chi-squared tests. Findings indicated that while students who used accommodations found the accommodations to be mostly beneficial to their learning, several factors, linked to symptoms of ADHD, may cause students to struggle in obtaining and using accommodations. Further, this research outlines these specific factors and suggests potential actions that may improve learning conditions for students with ADHD

Perspectives on ENCODE

The Encylopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project launched in 2003 with the long-term goal of developing a comprehensive map of functional elements in the human genome. These included genes, biochemical regions associated with gene regulation (for example, transcription factor binding sites, open chromatin, and histone marks) and transcript isoforms. The marks serve as sites for candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs) that may serve functional roles in regulating gene expression1. The project has been extended to model organisms, particularly the mouse. In the third phase of ENCODE, nearly a million and more than 300,000 cCRE annotations have been generated for human and mouse, respectively, and these have provided a valuable resource for the scientific community.11Nsciescopu

Expanded encyclopaedias of DNA elements in the human and mouse genomes

AbstractThe human and mouse genomes contain instructions that specify RNAs and proteins and govern the timing, magnitude, and cellular context of their production. To better delineate these elements, phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project has expanded analysis of the cell and tissue repertoires of RNA transcription, chromatin structure and modification, DNA methylation, chromatin looping, and occupancy by transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins. Here we summarize these efforts, which have produced 5,992 new experimental datasets, including systematic determinations across mouse fetal development. All data are available through the ENCODE data portal (https://www.encodeproject.org), including phase II ENCODE1 and Roadmap Epigenomics2 data. We have developed a registry of 926,535 human and 339,815 mouse candidate cis-regulatory elements, covering 7.9 and 3.4% of their respective genomes, by integrating selected datatypes associated with gene regulation, and constructed a web-based server (SCREEN; http://screen.encodeproject.org) to provide flexible, user-defined access to this resource. Collectively, the ENCODE data and registry provide an expansive resource for the scientific community to build a better understanding of the organization and function of the human and mouse genomes.11Nsciescopu