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Title: Counting manatee aggregations using deep neural networks and Anisotropic Gaussian Kernel.
Creator: Zhiqiang Wang, Yiran Pang, Cihan Ulus, Xingquan Zhu
Abstract/Description: Manatees are aquatic mammals with voracious appetites. They rely on sea grass as the main food source, and often spend up to eight hours a day grazing. They move slow and frequently stay in groups (i.e. aggregations) in shallow water to search for food, making them vulnerable to environment change and other risks. Accurate counting manatee aggregations within a region is not only biologically meaningful in observing their habit, but also crucial for designing safety rules for boaters, divers,...
Show moreManatees are aquatic mammals with voracious appetites. They rely on sea grass as the main food source, and often spend up to eight hours a day grazing. They move slow and frequently stay in groups (i.e. aggregations) in shallow water to search for food, making them vulnerable to environment change and other risks. Accurate counting manatee aggregations within a region is not only biologically meaningful in observing their habit, but also crucial for designing safety rules for boaters, divers, etc., as well as scheduling nursing, intervention, and other plans. In this paper, we propose a deep learning based crowd counting approach to automatically count number of manatees within a region, by using low quality images as input. Because manatees have unique shape and they often stay in shallow water in groups, water surface reflection, occlusion, camouflage etc. making it difficult to accurately count manatee numbers. To address the challenges, we propose to use Anisotropic Gaussian Kernel (AGK), with tunable rotation and variances, to ensure that density functions can maximally capture shapes of individual manatees in different aggregations. After that, we apply AGK kernel to different types of deep neural networks primarily designed for crowd counting, including VGG, SANet, Congested Scene Recognition network (CSRNet), MARUNet etc. to learn manatee densities and calculate number of manatees in the scene. By using generic low quality images extracted from surveillance videos, our experiment results and comparison show that AGK kernel based manatee counting achieves minimum Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The proposed method works particularly well for counting manatee aggregations in environments with complex background.
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Date Issued: 2023
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000535
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Feeling the beat: a smart hand exoskeleton for learning to play musical instruments.
Creator: Maohua Lin, Rudy Paul, Moaed Abd, James Jones, Darryl Dieujuste, Harvey Chim, Erik D. Engeberg
Abstract/Description: Individuals who have suffered neurotrauma like a stroke or brachial plexus injury often experience reduced limb functionality. Soft robotic exoskeletons have been successful in assisting rehabilitative treatment and improving activities of daily life but restoring dexterity for tasks such as playing musical instruments has proven challenging. This research presents a soft robotic hand exoskeleton coupled with machine learning algorithms to aid in relearning how to play the piano by ‘feeling’...
Show moreIndividuals who have suffered neurotrauma like a stroke or brachial plexus injury often experience reduced limb functionality. Soft robotic exoskeletons have been successful in assisting rehabilitative treatment and improving activities of daily life but restoring dexterity for tasks such as playing musical instruments has proven challenging. This research presents a soft robotic hand exoskeleton coupled with machine learning algorithms to aid in relearning how to play the piano by ‘feeling’ the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song. The exoskeleton features piezoresistive sensor arrays with 16 taxels integrated into each fingertip. The hand exoskeleton was created as a single unit, with polyvinyl acid (PVA) used as a stent and later dissolved to construct the internal pressure chambers for the five individually actuated digits. Ten variations of a song were produced, one that was correct and nine containing rhythmic errors. To classify these song variations, Random Forest (RF), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithms were trained with data from the 80 taxels combined from the tactile sensors in the fingertips. Feeling the differences between correct and incorrect versions of the song was done with the exoskeleton independently and while the exoskeleton was worn by a person. Results demonstrated that the ANN algorithm had the highest classification accuracy of 97.13% ± 2.00% with the human subject and 94.60% ± 1.26% without. These findings highlight the potential of the smart exoskeleton to aid disabled individuals in relearning dexterous tasks like playing musical instruments.
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Date Issued: 2023
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000534
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A content analysis of 32 years of Shark Week documentaries.
Creator: Lisa B. Whitenack, Brady L. Mickley, Julia Saltzman, Stephen M. Kajiura, Catherine C. Macdonald, David S. Shiffman
Abstract/Description: Despite evidence of their importance to marine ecosystems, at least 32% of all chondrichthyan species are estimated or assessed as threatened with extinction. In addition to the logistical difficulties of effectively conserving wide-ranging marine species, shark conservation is believed to have been hindered in the past by public perceptions of sharks as dangerous to humans. Shark Week is a high-profile, international programming event that has potentially enormous influence on public...
Show moreDespite evidence of their importance to marine ecosystems, at least 32% of all chondrichthyan species are estimated or assessed as threatened with extinction. In addition to the logistical difficulties of effectively conserving wide-ranging marine species, shark conservation is believed to have been hindered in the past by public perceptions of sharks as dangerous to humans. Shark Week is a high-profile, international programming event that has potentially enormous influence on public perceptions of sharks, shark research, shark researchers, and shark conservation. However, Shark Week has received regular criticism for poor factual accuracy, fearmongering, bias, and inaccurate representations of science and scientists. This research analyzes the content and titles of Shark Week episodes across its entire 32 years of programming to determine if there are trends in species covered, research techniques featured, expert identity, conservation messaging, type of programming, and portrayal of sharks. We analyzed titles from 272 episodes (100%) of Shark Week programming and the content of all available (201; 73.9%) episodes. Our data demonstrate that the majority of episodes are not focused on shark bites, although such shows are common and many Shark Week programs frame sharks around fear, risk, and adrenaline. While criticisms of disproportionate attention to particular charismatic species (e.g. great whites, bull sharks, and tiger sharks) are accurate and supported by data, 79 shark species have been featured briefly at least once. Shark Week’s depictions of research and of experts are biased towards a small set of (typically visual and expensive) research methodologies and (mostly white, mostly male) experts, including presentation of many white male non-scientists as scientific experts. While sharks are more often portrayed negatively than positively, limited conservation messaging does appear in 53% of episodes analyzed. Results suggest that as a whole, while Shark Week is likely contributing to the collective public perception of sharks as bad, even relatively small alterations to programming decisions could substantially improve the presentation of sharks and shark science and conservation issues.
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Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000533
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: egl‑4 modulates electroconvulsive seizure duration in C. elegans.
Creator: Monica G. Risley, Stephanie P. Kelly, Justin Minnerly, Kailiang Jia, Ken Dawson‑Scully
Abstract/Description: Increased neuronal excitability causes seizures with debilitating symptoms. Effective and noninvasive treatments are limited for easing symptoms, partially due to the complexity of the disorder and lack of knowledge of specific molecular faults. An unexplored, novel target for seizure therapeutics is the cGMP/protein kinase G (PKG) pathway, which targets downstream K+ channels, a mechanism similar to Retigabine, a recently FDA-approved antiepileptic drug. Our results demonstrate that...
Show moreIncreased neuronal excitability causes seizures with debilitating symptoms. Effective and noninvasive treatments are limited for easing symptoms, partially due to the complexity of the disorder and lack of knowledge of specific molecular faults. An unexplored, novel target for seizure therapeutics is the cGMP/protein kinase G (PKG) pathway, which targets downstream K+ channels, a mechanism similar to Retigabine, a recently FDA-approved antiepileptic drug. Our results demonstrate that increased PKG activity decreased seizure duration in C. elegans utilizing a recently developed electroconvulsive seizure assay. While the fly is a well-established seizure model, C. elegans are an ideal yet unexploited model which easily uptakes drugs and can be utilized for high-throughput screens. In this study, we show that treating the worms with either a potassium channel opener, Retigabine or published pharmaceuticals that increase PKG activity, significantly reduces seizure recovery times. Our results suggest that PKG signaling modulates downstream K+ channel conductance to control seizure recovery time in C. elegans. Hence, we provide powerful evidence, suggesting that pharmacological manipulation of the PKG signaling cascade may control seizure duration across phyla.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000532
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The cell non-autonomous function of ATG-18 is essential for neuroendocrine regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan.
Creator: Justin Minnerly, Jiuli Zhang, Thomas Parker, Tiffany Kaul, Kailiang Jia
Abstract/Description: Restriction of dietary food without malnutrition robustly extends lifespan in more than twenty species. It was also reported that fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) deficient in olfactory function live longer and that the longevity induced by food restriction is partially due to decreased olfaction. These observations suggest food assimilation through the gastrointestinal tract and food smell detected by olfactory neurons influence lifespan. The insulin growth factor signaling pathway is...
Show moreRestriction of dietary food without malnutrition robustly extends lifespan in more than twenty species. It was also reported that fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) deficient in olfactory function live longer and that the longevity induced by food restriction is partially due to decreased olfaction. These observations suggest food assimilation through the gastrointestinal tract and food smell detected by olfactory neurons influence lifespan. The insulin growth factor signaling pathway is regulated by nutrient levels and has been shown to mediate the lifespan extension conferred by food restriction and defective gustatory neurons in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the mechanism remains unclear. Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway and is sensitive to nutrient availability. We found autophagy activity in the intestine and food sensory neurons acts in parallel to mediate food restriction and insulin signaling regulated lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, intestinal and neuronal autophagy converge on unidentified neurons to control the secretion of neuropeptides that regulate lifespan. These data suggest autophagy is an essential component in a neuroendocrine pathway that coordinates how environmental food cues detected by sensory neurons and food nutrients assimilated by the intestine influence lifespan. These findings may contribute to understanding the aging process in mammals.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000531
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Modulating Behavior in C. elegans Using Electroshock and Antiepileptic Drugs.
Creator: Monica G. Risley, Stephanie P. Kelly, Kailiang Jia, Brock Grill, Ken Dawson- Scully
Abstract/Description: The microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a valuable model for understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neurological disorders. The worm offers important physiological similarities to mammalian models such as conserved neuron morphology, ion channels, and neurotransmitters. While a wide-array of behavioral assays are available in C. elegans, an assay for electroshock/electroconvulsion remains absent. Here, we have developed a quantitative behavioral method to...
Show moreThe microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a valuable model for understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neurological disorders. The worm offers important physiological similarities to mammalian models such as conserved neuron morphology, ion channels, and neurotransmitters. While a wide-array of behavioral assays are available in C. elegans, an assay for electroshock/electroconvulsion remains absent. Here, we have developed a quantitative behavioral method to assess the locomotor response following electric shock in C. elegans. Electric shock impairs normal locomotion, and induces paralysis and muscle twitching; after a brief recovery period, shocked animals resume normal locomotion. We tested electric shock responses in loss-of-function mutants for unc-25, which encodes the GABA biosynthetic enzyme GAD, and unc-49, which encodes the GABAA receptor. unc-25 and unc-49 mutants have decreased inhibitory GABAergic transmission to muscles, and take significantly more time to recover normal locomotion following electric shock compared to wild-type. Importantly, increased sensitivity of unc-25 and unc-49 mutants to electric shock is rescued by treatment with antiepileptic drugs, such as retigabine. Additionally, we show that pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), a GABAA receptor antagonist and proconvulsant in mammalian and C. elegans seizure models, increases susceptibility of worms to electric shock.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000530
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Guidelines for monitoring autophagy in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Creator: Hong Zhang, Jessica T Chang, Bin Guo, Malene Hansen, Kailiang Jia, Attila L Kovács, Caroline Kumsta, Louis R Lapierre, Renaud Legouis, Long Lin, Qun Lu, Alicia Meléndez, Eyleen J O'Rourke, Ken Sato, Miyuki Sato, Xiaochen Wang, Fan Wu
Abstract/Description: The cellular recycling process of autophagy has been extensively characterized with standard assays in yeast and mammalian cell lines. In multicellular organisms, numerous external and internal factors differentially affect autophagy activity in specific cell types throughout the stages of organismal ontogeny, adding complexity to the analysis of autophagy in these metazoans. Here we summarize currently available assays for monitoring the autophagic process in the nematode C. elegans. A...
Show moreThe cellular recycling process of autophagy has been extensively characterized with standard assays in yeast and mammalian cell lines. In multicellular organisms, numerous external and internal factors differentially affect autophagy activity in specific cell types throughout the stages of organismal ontogeny, adding complexity to the analysis of autophagy in these metazoans. Here we summarize currently available assays for monitoring the autophagic process in the nematode C. elegans. A combination of measuring levels of the lipidated Atg8 ortholog LGG-1, degradation of well characterized autophagic substrates such as germline P granule components and the SQSTM1/p62 ortholog SQST-1, expression of autophagic genes and electron microscopy analysis of autophagic structures are presently the most informative, yet steady-state, approaches available to assess autophagy levels in C. elegans. We also review how altered autophagy activity affects a variety of biological processes in C. elegans such as L1 survival under starvation conditions, dauer formation, aging, and cell death, as well as neuronal cell specification. Taken together, C. elegans is emerging as a powerful model organism to monitor autophagy while evaluating important physiological roles for autophagy in key developmental events as well as during adulthood.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000529
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimuri.
Creator: Jiuli Zhang, Kailiang Jia
Abstract/Description: In the last decade, C. elegans has emerged as an invertebrate organism to study interactions between hosts and pathogens, including the host defense against gram-negative bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella establishes persistent infection in the intestine of C. elegans and results in early death of infected animals. A number of immunity mechanisms have been identified in C. elegans to defend against Salmonella infections. Autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved lysosomal degradation...
Show moreIn the last decade, C. elegans has emerged as an invertebrate organism to study interactions between hosts and pathogens, including the host defense against gram-negative bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella establishes persistent infection in the intestine of C. elegans and results in early death of infected animals. A number of immunity mechanisms have been identified in C. elegans to defend against Salmonella infections. Autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved lysosomal degradation pathway, has been shown to limit the Salmonella replication in C. elegans and in mammals. Here, a protocol is described to infect C. elegans with Salmonella typhimurium, in which the worms are exposed to Salmonella for a limited time, similar to Salmonella infection in humans. Salmonella infection significantly shortens the lifespan of C. elegans. Using the essential autophagy gene bec-1 as an example, we combined this infection method with C. elegans RNAi feeding approach and showed this protocol can be used to examine the function of C. elegans host genes in defense against Salmonella infection. Since C. elegans whole genome RNAi libraries are available, this protocol makes it possible to comprehensively screen for C. elegans genes that protect against Salmonella and other intestinal pathogens using genome-wide RNAi libraries.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000528
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Intestinal autophagy activity is essential for host defense against Salmonella typhimurium infection in Caenorhabditis elega.
Creator: Alexander Curt, Jiuli Zhang, Justin Minnerly, Kailiang Jia
Abstract/Description: Salmonella typhimurium infects both intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages. Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that is present in all eukaryotes. Autophagy has been reported to limit the Salmonella replication in Caenorhabditis elegans and in mammals. However, it is unknown whether intestinal autophagy activity plays a role in host defense against Salmonella infection in C. elegans. In this study, we inhibited the autophagy gene bec-1 in different C. elegans tissues and...
Show moreSalmonella typhimurium infects both intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages. Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that is present in all eukaryotes. Autophagy has been reported to limit the Salmonella replication in Caenorhabditis elegans and in mammals. However, it is unknown whether intestinal autophagy activity plays a role in host defense against Salmonella infection in C. elegans. In this study, we inhibited the autophagy gene bec-1 in different C. elegans tissues and examined the survival of these animals following Salmonella infection. Here we show that inhibition of the bec-1 gene in the intestine but not in other tissues confers susceptibility to Salmonella infection, which is consistent with recent studies in mice showing that autophagy is involved in clearance of Salmonella in the intestinal epithelial cells. Therefore, the intestinal autophagy activity is essential for host defense against Salmonella infection from C. elegans to mice, perhaps also in humans.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000527
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Aberrant Autolysosomal Regulation Is Linked to The Induction of Embryonic Senescence: Differential Roles of Beclin 1 and p53 in Vertebrate Spns1 Deficien.
Creator: Tomoyuki Sasaki, Shanshan Lian, Jie Qi, Peter E. Bayliss, Christopher E. Carr, Jennifer L. Johnson, Sujay Guha, Patrick Kobler, Sergio D. Catz, Matthew Gill, Kailiang Jia, Daniel J. Klionsky
Abstract/Description: Spinster (Spin) in Drosophila or Spinster homolog 1 (Spns1) in vertebrates is a putative lysosomal H+-carbohydrate transporter, which functions at a late stage of autophagy. The Spin/Spns1 defect induces aberrant autolysosome formation that leads to embryonic senescence and accelerated aging symptoms, but little is known about the mechanisms leading to the pathogenesis in vivo. Beclin 1 and p53 are two pivotal tumor suppressors that are critically involved in the autophagic process and its...
Show moreSpinster (Spin) in Drosophila or Spinster homolog 1 (Spns1) in vertebrates is a putative lysosomal H+-carbohydrate transporter, which functions at a late stage of autophagy. The Spin/Spns1 defect induces aberrant autolysosome formation that leads to embryonic senescence and accelerated aging symptoms, but little is known about the mechanisms leading to the pathogenesis in vivo. Beclin 1 and p53 are two pivotal tumor suppressors that are critically involved in the autophagic process and its regulation. Using zebrafish as a genetic model, we show that Beclin 1 suppression ameliorates Spns1 lossmediated senescence as well as autophagic impairment, whereas unexpectedly p53 deficit exacerbates both of these characteristics. We demonstrate that ‘basal p53’ activity plays a certain protective role(s) against the Spns1 defect-induced senescence via suppressing autophagy, lysosomal biogenesis, and subsequent autolysosomal formation and maturation, and that p53 loss can counteract the effect of Beclin 1 suppression to rescue the Spns1 defect. By contrast, in response to DNA damage, ‘activated p53’ showed an apparent enhancement of the Spns1-deficient phenotype, by inducing both autophagy and apoptosis. Moreover, we found that a chemical and genetic blockage of lysosomal acidification and biogenesis mediated by the vacuolar-type H+-ATPase, as well as of subsequent autophagosome-lysosome fusion, prevents the appearance of the hallmarks caused by the Spns1 deficiency, irrespective of the basal p53 state. Thus, these results provide evidence that Spns1 operates during autophagy and senescence differentially with Beclin 1 and p53.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000526
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Interrogating the Spatiotemporal Landscape of Neuromodulatory GPCR Signaling by Real-Time Imaging of cAMP in Intact Neurons and Circuits.
Creator: Brian S. Muntean, Stefano Zucca, Courtney M. MacMullen, Maria T. Dao, Caitlin Johnston, Hideki Iwamoto, Randy D. Blakely, Ronald L. Davis, Kirill A. Martemyanov
Abstract/Description: Modulation of neuronal circuits is key to information processing in the brain. The majority of neuromodulators exert their effects by activating G-proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) that control the production of second messengers directly impacting cellular physiology. How numerous GPCRs integrate neuromodulatory inputs while accommodating diversity of incoming signals is poorly understood. In this study, we develop an in vivo tool and analytical suite for analyzing GPCR responses by...
Show moreModulation of neuronal circuits is key to information processing in the brain. The majority of neuromodulators exert their effects by activating G-proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) that control the production of second messengers directly impacting cellular physiology. How numerous GPCRs integrate neuromodulatory inputs while accommodating diversity of incoming signals is poorly understood. In this study, we develop an in vivo tool and analytical suite for analyzing GPCR responses by monitoring the dynamics of a key second messenger, cyclic AMP (cAMP), with excellent quantitative and spatiotemporal resolution in various neurons. Using this imaging approach in combination with CRISPR/Cas9 editing and optogenetics, we interrogate neuromodulatory mechanisms of defined populations of neurons in an intact mesolimbic reward circuit and describe how individual inputs generate discrete second-messenger signatures in a cell- and receptor- specific fashion. This offers a resource for studying native neuronal GPCR signaling in real time.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000525
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Nursing Faculty Considerations in Closing the Gaps of Interprofessional Education.
Creator: Nancey France, Camille Payne
Abstract/Description: Interprofessional education (IPE) and healthcare collaboration expectations have been established in both educational and clinical settings nationally and internationally. While multiple models for implementation have been developed, identifying the best model can be challenging. Through presenting a review of considerations pertinent to structuring nursing education in the context of IPE, as well as to provide a brief overview of IPE models and exemplars of programs using IPE, this article...
Show moreInterprofessional education (IPE) and healthcare collaboration expectations have been established in both educational and clinical settings nationally and internationally. While multiple models for implementation have been developed, identifying the best model can be challenging. Through presenting a review of considerations pertinent to structuring nursing education in the context of IPE, as well as to provide a brief overview of IPE models and exemplars of programs using IPE, this article identifies gaps in, and the lack of, analysis and evaluation of IPE and its effectiveness on quality outcomes. In addition, benefits and barriers to IPE and IPCP will be discussed. Recommendations to nursing programs for IPE inclusion in curricula will be addressed.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000524
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Does Venture Capital Backing Improve Disclosure Controls and Procedures? Evidence from Management’s Post‑IPO Disclosures.
Creator: Douglas Cumming, Lars Helge Hass, Linda A. Myers, Monika Tarsalewska
Abstract/Description: Firm managers make ethical decisions regarding the form and quality of disclosure. Disclosure can have long-term implications for performance, earnings manipulation, and even fraud. We investigate the impact of venture capital (VC) backing on the quality and informativeness of disclosure controls and procedures for newly public companies. We find that these controls and procedures are stronger, as evidenced by fewer material weaknesses in internal control under Section 302 of the Sarbanes...
Show moreFirm managers make ethical decisions regarding the form and quality of disclosure. Disclosure can have long-term implications for performance, earnings manipulation, and even fraud. We investigate the impact of venture capital (VC) backing on the quality and informativeness of disclosure controls and procedures for newly public companies. We find that these controls and procedures are stronger, as evidenced by fewer material weaknesses in internal control under Section 302 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, when companies are VC-backed. Moreover, these disclosures are informative and are more likely to be followed by subsequent financial statement restatements than are disclosures made by non-VC-backed IPO companies.
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Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000523
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Disentangling Crowdfunding from Fraudfunding.
Creator: Douglas Cumming, Lars Hornuf, Moein Karami, Denis Schweizer
Abstract/Description: Fraud in the reward-based crowdfunding market has been of concern to regulators, but it is arguably of greater importance to the nascent industry itself. Despite its significance for entrepreneurial finance, our knowledge of the occurrence, determinants, and consequences of fraud in this market, as well as the implications for the business ethics literature, remain limited. In this study, we conduct an exhaustive search of all media reports on Kickstarter campaign fraud allegations from 2010...
Show moreFraud in the reward-based crowdfunding market has been of concern to regulators, but it is arguably of greater importance to the nascent industry itself. Despite its significance for entrepreneurial finance, our knowledge of the occurrence, determinants, and consequences of fraud in this market, as well as the implications for the business ethics literature, remain limited. In this study, we conduct an exhaustive search of all media reports on Kickstarter campaign fraud allegations from 2010 through 2015. We then follow up until 2018 to assess the ultimate outcome of each allegedly fraudulent campaign. First, we construct a sample of 193 fraud cases, and categorize them into detected vs. suspected fraud, based on a set of well-defined criteria. Next, using multiple matched samples of non-fraudulent campaigns, we determine which features are associated with a higher probability of fraudulent behavior. Second, we document the short-term negative consequences of possible breaches of trust in the market, using a sample of more than 270,000 crowdfunding campaigns from 2010 through 2018 on Kickstarter. Our results show that crowdfunding projects launched around the public announcement of a late and significant misconduct detection (resulting in suspension) tend to have a lower probability of success, raise less funds, and attract fewer backers.
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Date Issued: 2021
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000522
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Building Connections to Biology and Community through Service-Learning and Research Experiences.
Creator: Amy E. Kulesza, Safa Imtiaz, Kelsie M. Bernot
Abstract/Description: Service-learning and undergraduate research experiences are high-impact practices that have become more common in the sciences, but the benefits of short-term experiences have not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to compare within-semester gains for students in a short-term service- learning (SL) or short-term research project (RP) in terms of students’ (i) motivation to learn biology, (ii) scientific literacy, (iii) perception of the relevance of biology to their...
Show moreService-learning and undergraduate research experiences are high-impact practices that have become more common in the sciences, but the benefits of short-term experiences have not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to compare within-semester gains for students in a short-term service- learning (SL) or short-term research project (RP) in terms of students’ (i) motivation to learn biology, (ii) scientific literacy, (iii) perception of the relevance of biology to their lives, and (iv) learning gains associated with course learning outcomes. The impacts of brief service-learning and research project experiences were compared using direct and indirect assessments, including qualitative coding of open-ended response questions and quantitative analysis of exams and Likert-type items. We found few differences between students in the two projects regarding their changes in motivation (both slightly negative), scientific literacy (both gains), and their ability to connect biology to their lives (both gains). Emergent themes revealed that both projects influenced students’ plans for future research and service-learning. Both projects helped students build relationships; however, RP students built relationships with classmates, while SL students built relationships with community members. The positive experiences highlight the need for engaging science students through service-learning in addition to research.
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Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000521
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Disruptive French: Using OER to promote linguistic justice in the French-language classroom.
Creator: Blattner, Geraldine, Dalola, Amanda, Roulon, Stephanie
Abstract/Description: A prestige-focused approach to language teaching, motivated by hegemonic definitions of “normativity” defined by a privileged few, is one that sustains inequity, misrepresents the speech community, and excludes learners by denying them access to the cultural and linguistic tools they need to relate to real-world users. Now more than ever, as language departments struggle to fill seats and argue for the relevance of their disciplines, educators must instead embrace a linguistic justice...
Show moreA prestige-focused approach to language teaching, motivated by hegemonic definitions of “normativity” defined by a privileged few, is one that sustains inequity, misrepresents the speech community, and excludes learners by denying them access to the cultural and linguistic tools they need to relate to real-world users. Now more than ever, as language departments struggle to fill seats and argue for the relevance of their disciplines, educators must instead embrace a linguistic justice approach which simultaneously critiques monolingualism and integrates plurilingual practices essential to valorizing the linguistically-rich realities of 21st-century learners. #OnYGo, an Open Educational Resource (OER) for first-year French, employs a linguistic justice approach that redraws the francophone landscape through a lens of social justice and cultivates learners’ awareness of language variation and identity via translanguaging, the development of metalinguistic awareness, and the thoughtful use of digital tools which invite learners to create and interpret language across modalities, guided by a multiliteracies framework. Because OERs are free from the censorship of commercial publishers, we argue that they should not only be used to increase accessibility to language education but also to promote equitable and iconoclastic approaches to language teaching like the one on display in #OnYGo.
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PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/fauir000516
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A CALL TO ACTION: REMOVING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Creator: Lake, Kendyl
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000451
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: SHOULD THE DEATH PENALTY BE PUT TO DEATH?.
Creator: Lake, Kendyl
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000450
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Self-Care for Nurse Leaders in Acute Care Environment Reduces Perceived Stress: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study Merits Further Investigation.
Creator: Dyess, Susan Mac Leod, Prestia, Angela S., Marquit, Doren-Elyse, Newman, David
Date Issued: 2018-03-06
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.1177_0898010116685655_1650310541
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Hearing the Voice of Nurses in Caring Theory-Based Practice.
Creator: Dyess, Susan MacLeod, Boykin, Anne, Bulfin, Mary Jo
Date Issued: 2013-04-10
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.1177_0894318413477138_1650304265
Format: Document (PDF)

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