Defending an indirect normativity of belief

In this dissertation, I seek to answer the following questions: is there such a thing as deontic epistemic normativity -- obligations, permissions, and prohibitions to act in a certain way based on epistemic grounds -- and if so what does it consist in, and is it important for determining what we ought to do in practical reasoning? I argue for an indirect account of epistemic normativity: epistemic obligations command believers to act in certain ways so as to affect beliefs downstream of their actions. Further, I argue that if an agent commits him/herself to epistemic normativity, then these epistemic obligations can matter for the purposes of practical reason.Includes bibliographical reference

The genetic and physiological basis of total energy budget in different nutritional environments

Organisms need to adapt to dynamic environments over time. An organism consumes and stores a finite amount of resources that are used for all daily tasks. In order to survive and thrive, they must allocate these finite resources to different life history traits like reproduction or somatic growth. In order to understand this process, I examined the genetic and phenotypic variation in macromolecule content, estimated heritability for these phenotypes, and studied the effects of selection on macromolecule content. In my first study, I used the genetic mapping population, the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource (DSPR), to measure macromolecule content and mapped the genetic loci responsible for carbohydrate, lipid and protein storage on different diets in Drosophila melanogaster. I measured the effect of nutritional environment on overall fly composition. By using the energy budget assays, I showed that there is phenotypic variation in response to diet, the genotypes responsible for nutrient content storage are plastic and that there are multiple genomic loci of interest. Nutrient acquisition increased according to diet composition, with DR having the lowest amount and HS having the highest. The exception to this pattern was glycogen. On the C diet, lipid and carbohydrate amounts correlated together. Overall, protein consistently correlated with all other macromolecules between 0.2 and 0.3 correlation. In my second study, I estimated the heritability of lipid, carbohydrate, glycogen, and protein contents across three different diets using a half-sibling design experiment, using flies from a genetically diverse outbred population generated from the DSPR. I showed differing heritability for different macromolecule contents across nutritional environments. This suggesting not only does nutrient content change based on the particular environment a genotype is in, but that these phenotypes are heritable. In my final study, I tested the effects of female fruit flies undergoing selection for 30 generations. I measured protein, lipid, soluble carbohydrates, and glycogen amount in ovaries and somatic tissue across three different diets across three different selection regimes and found that selection treatments did not significantly impacted macromolecule content. However, diet did. Strikingly, for carbohydrates specifically, patterns of acquisition remained the same in both the base population and after thirty generations of selection regardless of selection regimen. Unlike previous studies, I focused on the impact of diet and measured all four energy budget components on the same individual flies. This allows a wider understanding of resource allocation in different environments. I found that there was variation in macromolecule content acquisition. It is a heritable phenotype, and that diet was more influential in macromolecule content allocation than selection treatment.Includes bibliographical reference

Laser-induced forward transfer-assisted flip-chip bonding of optoelectronic components

We report the Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) of micro-bumps of silver nanoparticle and solder based paste for flip-chip bonding of single VCSEL chips. The electrical characterization results of the bonded chips are also presented

Evaluation of the Impact of an Education Program on Self-Reported Leadership and Management Competence Among Nurse Managers

BACKGROUND: Developing leadership and management competencies for nursing managers is critical to the effective leadership of others and driving team and organizational performance. This paper aimed to evaluate the impact of a system-wide nursing leadership quality improvement initiative in a network of four public hospitals and one specialized outpatient center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The initiative was designed to enhance nursing middle managers’ leadership and managerial competencies. METHODS: This is a quantitative evaluation following the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRES) guidelines. Secondary Data analysis of a pre- and post-course self-assessment for 105 middle nursing managers who attended a nursing leadership quality improvement training program between December 2017 and April 2019. RESULTS: Following participation in this quality improvement initiative, the paired sample t-test analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-assessments total and individual leadership domains mean scores. CONCLUSION: Attending well-structured nursing leadership quality improvement programs positively enhances nurse managers’ professional abilities and perception of their management and leadership competencies. Leadership development programs should equip managers with the skills and tools to achieve their professional goals effectively and support their transition to becoming expert nurse leaders. Healthcare institutions’ ethical obligation is to provide them with the necessary resources and training to achieve this goal

The effect of intentional nurse rounding and nurse prompt response time to Call system on patient satisfaction, patient complaints, and patient clinical outcome: An Audit trial

Background: Improving patient satisfaction and safety is a critical goal for hospitals around the world. Healthcare providers have increasingly recognized the importance of strategic initiatives and the impact they have on patient outcomes.Objectives: This study examines the effect of intentional nurse rounding and the call system's response times on patient satisfaction, patient complaints, falls, and hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI).Methods: This descriptive study was conducted between December 2017 to August 2018 in a hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The Intentional Nurse Rounding (INR) and Prompt Response to Call System (PRTCS) were introduced in December 2017. It comprised of: (1) hourly nurses’ rounds between 07:00 hours to 23:59 hours and 2 hourly rounds between 24:00 hours to 06:59 hours daily, (2) measurement of nurses’ response time to call bells, (3) leadership rounds to assess patient satisfaction. The outcomes were patient satisfaction, patient complaints, fall rates, and HAPI rates. Baseline data were collected through retrospective reviews of the data on these outcomes in December 2017. The second period of data collection was conducted over eight months after the initiation of the system, from December 2017 to August 2018. The Chi-square test was used to detect significant differences in outcomes pre and post intervention.Results: The overall adherence to the “Intentional Nurse Rounding and Prompt Response Time to Call System” was 91% while the overall patient satisfaction rate was 97% in August 2018. The average response to call time was 1.2 minutes. Patient complaints decreased from 0.75/month to 0.125/month between December 2017 to August 2018. During the same period, the rates of patient falls and HAPI decreased from 1.17/month to 0.38/month and 0.35/month to 0.24/month respectively. Though the observed differences were not statistically significant, there was a promising difference in patient complaints pre and post intervention (P=0.08).Conclusion: Integrating nursing-led strategic initiatives such as intentional nurse rounding and reduced response time to the call bell system can positively impact patient satisfaction, complaints, and clinical outcome

Stretchable electronic platform for soft and smart contact lens applications

A stretchable platform with spherical-shaped electronics based on thermo- plastic polyurethane (TPU) is introduced for soft smart contact lenses. The low glass transition temperature of TPU, its relatively low hardness, and its proven biocompatibility (i.e., protection of exterior body wounds) fulfill the essential requirements for eye wearable devices. These requirements include optical transparency, conformal fitting, and flexibility comparable with soft contact lenses (e.g., hydrogel-based). Moreover, the viscoelastic nature of TPU allows planar structures to be thermoformed into spherical caps with a well-defined curvature (i.e., eye’s curvature at the cornea: 9 mm). Numerical modeling and experimental validation enable fine-tuning of the thermo - forming parameters and the optimization of strain-release patterns. Such tight control is proven necessary to achieve oxygen permeable, thin, nonde- velopable, and wrinkle-free contact lenses with integrated electronics (silicon die, radio-frequency antenna, and stretchable thin-film interconnections). This work paves the way toward fully autonomous smart contact lenses potentially for vision correction or sensing applications, among others

High resolution chromosome 3p, 8p, 9q and 22q allelotyping analysis in the pathogenesis of gallbladder carcinoma

Our recent genome-wide allelotyping analysis of gallbladder carcinoma identified 3p, 8p, 9q and 22q as chromosomal regions with frequent loss of heterozygosity. The present study was undertaken to more precisely identify the presence and location of regions of frequent allele loss involving those chromosomes in gallbladder carcinoma. Microdissected tissue from 24 gallbladder carcinoma were analysed for PCR-based loss of heterozygosity using 81 microsatellite markers spanning chromosome 3p (n=26), 8p (n=14), 9q (n=29) and 22q (n=12) regions. We also studied the role of those allele losses in gallbladder carcinoma pathogenesis by examining 45 microdissected normal and dysplastic gallbladder epithelia accompanying gallbladder carcinoma, using 17 microsatellite markers. Overall frequencies of loss of heterozygosity at 3p (100%), 8p (100%), 9q (88%), and 22q (92%) sites were very high in gallbladder carcinoma, and we identified 13 distinct regions undergoing frequent loss of heterozygosity in tumours. Allele losses were frequently detected in normal and dysplastic gallbladder epithelia. There was a progressive increase of the overall loss of heterozygosity frequency with increasing severity of histopathological changes. Allele losses were not random and followed a sequence. This study refines several distinct chromosome 3p, 8p, 9q and 22q regions undergoing frequent allele loss in gallbladder carcinoma that will aid in the positional identification of tumour suppressor genes involved in gallbladder carcinoma pathogenesis

Faculty Perspectives on Diversity and Inclusion Training in Higher Education

The present study was a qualitative inquiry into the attitudes and needs of faculty in higher education regarding diversity and inclusion training. Faculty are more likely to hold bias against students of marginalized identities (Tinto, 1975; Moss-Racusin et. al, 2012; Phelan et. al, 2017). This bias can often create discrimination and disparate outcomes for marginalized students (Okahana et. al, 2016). However, few opportunities are provided for faculty to develop competence in working with students of marginalized identities (Sue & Constantine, 2007). Diversity and inclusion training has become widely popular in organizations as a solution to bias and discrimination; however, it has been criticized as ineffective and unhelpful in targeting unique challenges of professions such as academic (Bezhrukova et. al, 2012). Participants in this study were recruited from a mid-size Midwestern university through direct email solicitation. Experiences with diversity, inclusion, and training were assessed through a short answer survey. Participants were asked to share their personal and professional experiences with diversity, inclusion, and training, as well as their needs from future diversity and inclusion training. A Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze the data. The emergent themes from this study were categorized into a typology of faculty based on their attitudes to diversity, inclusion, and training. These typologies encompass faculty attitudes toward diversity and inclusion, attitudes toward training, and how those attitudes impact perspectives on other faculty, administration, students, and future training opportunities. Faculty were categorized into the following types: (a) resistant, (b) apathetic, (c) ambivalent, (d) neoliberal, and (e) advocate. Faculty attitudes on diversity and inclusion ranged from positive to negative. These views impacted how participants viewed diversity and inclusion training, as well as their willingness to engage in future initiatives. Although many participants held positive views to diversity and inclusion training, they also recognized barriers such as the time involved, the philosophies of the training, and other attendees within the training. Participants also largely believed that they were competent in working with diverse students. They recognized challenges such as increasing retention of diverse students, reducing bias, and having challenging conversations on diversity and inclusion issues in the classroom. Participants also expressed varied views of their fellow faculty and administrators. Although some viewed their faculty peers and administrators as supportive and helpful in moving forward diversity and inclusion initiatives, others exhibited negative views toward faculty and administrators. Training recommendations for each faculty type were dependent on their unique attitudes and barriers to training. These findings suggest that faculty have significantly different needs from diversity and inclusion training and would benefit from specific training opportunities rather than broad training

MICROAGGRESSIONS WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION: EXPLORING HOW WHITE FACULTY COMMIT AND RESPOND TO MICROAGGRESSIONS

The purpose of this study was to explore the different kinds of microaggressions that students of color experienced with white faculty, including the process and outcomes of these interactions. Undergraduate students of color face fewer positive outcomes, in comparison to their white peers, such as increased attrition, lower academic self-efficacy, and feeling less connected to their campus (Tinto, 1975; Cabrera et al., 1999; Rankin & Reason, 2005). The relationship between students and faculty has been shown to have a direct impact on student’s engagement on campus and their academic self-efficacy (Komarraju, Musulkin, & Battacharya, 2010), thus implying that students of color could benefit from strong relationships with faculty. However, faculty are more likely to have lower expectations of minority students, interact with these students less frequently, and depend on racial stereotypes to develop perspectives on students (e.g., Jussim & Harbor, 2005, Trujillo, 1986, Jussim, Eccles, & Madon, 1996). Participants in this study were recruited from a mid-size Midwestern university from university-based organizations and direct contact with students in various campus locations. Experiences with microaggressions were assessed through a short answer survey, in which participants were asked to recount both a negative incident and a positive incident that involved a faculty member committing or responding to a microaggression. A Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze the data. The emergent themes from this study were categorized in terms of type of incident, proximal outcomes, distal outcomes. Relationships were also examined between the events and outcomes. Participants observed that white faculty did commit microaggressions in the classroom, involving stereotyping, dismissing derogatory comments made by other students, and treating participants differently than their white peers. These microaggressions were typically not noticed by the faculty themselves, and students often did not address them with faculty due to the faculty members’ power and influence on participants’ grades. However, participants experienced internal cognitive and emotional reactions that led to them feeling a loss of trust and respect for their faculty and institution. Students who experienced classroom microaggressions also experienced a negative impact on their academic performance, as they were less likely to attend class, participate, and seek out the faculty member for academic help after such incidents. These students also reported some positive experiences with other faculty, such as having discussions around diversity or being encouraged to be successful. Participants who experienced such positive interactions felt a stronger connection to faculty and reported that they were motivated and cared more about their coursework. These findings suggest that the interactions between faculty and students of color have an impact on students’ relationship with faculty and their academic performance, specifically when they are negative, race-related interactions such as microaggressions