Interdisciplinary – Page 22 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Interdisciplinary

Perceptions of COVID Risk

The ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic has forced every American to make difficult choices as to when they find it acceptable to possibly expose themselves to this deadly virus. An individual’s decision is based on their perceptions of how likely they are to contract the virus. These perceptions are influenced by many factors such as age, preferred political ideology, financial status, occupation, etc. This project focuses on a person’s perceived risk of contracting COVID-19. Two studies were conducted for this project: in Study 1, we asked participants to look at one of two scenarios where a person might be exposed to COVID-19 and rate the likelihood of that individual contracting COVID. In one scenario, the person was in a risky situation but had encounters with only one person, while in the other, they had brief yet safer encounters with multiple people. Participants in response to the first study perceived having only one contact as safer, even though this was not the reality. In Study 2, participants judged how many people they believe would die from COVID and Influenza out of 1000 people, and were then asked to state their political preferences. Results showed that Biden and Trump voters estimated the fatality of COVID-19 and Influenza similarly, however, thoughts on how society is to handle the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly different between both groups.

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Perceptions of COVID Risk

The ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic has forced every American to make difficult choices as to when they find it acceptable to possibly expose themselves to this deadly virus. An individual’s decision is based on their perceptions of how likely they are to contract the virus. These perceptions are influenced by many factors such as age, preferred political ideology, financial status, occupation, etc. This project focuses on a person’s perceived risk of contracting COVID-19. Two studies were conducted for this project: in Study 1, we asked participants to look at one of two scenarios where a person might be exposed to COVID-19 and rate the likelihood of that individual contracting COVID. In one scenario, the person was in a risky situation but had encounters with only one person, while in the other, they had brief yet safer encounters with multiple people. Participants in response to the first study perceived having only one contact as safer, even though this was not the reality. In Study 2, participants judged how many people they believe would die from COVID and Influenza out of a 1000 people, and were then asked to state their political preferences. Results showed that Biden and Trump voters estimated the fatality of COVID-19 and Influenza similarly, however, thoughts on how society is to handle the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly different between both groups.

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The Police Killings and Protest Dataset

Police killings have been a prominent issue in the United States and seemingly has been increasing over the past 6 years. Some of these killings, such as Michael Brown and Georgy Floyd have sparked nationwide protests that have drawn crowds of 10,000 people. While some of these police killings have gained widespread attention, there are hundreds that have gone unnoticed. This raises the question of why certain police killings spark protests and others don’t. In order to facilitate this research, all police killings from 2015 and 2016 will be coded. Through extensive online searches and the use of various social media platforms protests for each killing is recorded. The location of the protest, the number of participants, who organized the protests, and the race of the protesters are all recorded and are input into an survey system that organizes the information. Based on the current information collected, it appears that race is one of the most important components. African Americans that were killed by police on average have more protests surrounding their death. This is likely tied to the underlying racist sentiments held by many police departments. Second to race, age was an important component. For non-Black victims, those who were 18 years of age or younger had more protests surrounding their death and for Black victims under 18 there were also more protests in comparison to those that were older. With the information collected, it can be concluded that while all police killings don’t lead to protests, race and age are big determining factors for if there are.

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The effect of a decedent’s mental health status on protests following police killings

In 2015, 1,146 Americans were killed by the police, and some of these killings were followed by protests. It is important to investigate why some killings led to protests while others did not. The existence of a protest could be due to numerous factors, such as location, the age of the decedent, the existence of cell phone footage, etc. Specifically, this research investigates whether people are more likely to protest a police killing if the decedent had mental health issues. In order to answer this question, we gather data on each police killing in 2015 using Google search, local newspapers, and social media. This data included whether the decedent had a history of mental health disorders, whether they were behaving erratically at the time of their death, and whether there were any protests following their death. Then, a random sample of 701 of the deaths was taken to investigate whether the decedent’s mental health affected the existence of a protest. We will use the R statistical software and t-tests to determine whether a decedent’s mental health status affects the existence of protests. We expect that there will be more protests if a decedent has mental health issues. These results will reveal more information about protests following police killings in the United States, an important topic because protests have the potential to alter the aftermath of a killing and lead to a heightened awareness of social issues.

The effect of a decedent’s mental health status on protests following police killings Read More »

The Effect of a Decedent’s Mental Health on Protests Following Police Killings

n 2015, 1,146 Americans were killed by the police, and some of these killings were followed by protests. It is important to investigate why some killings led to protests while others did not. The existence of a protest could be due to numerous factors, such as location, the age of the decedent, the existence of cell phone footage, etc. Specifically, this research investigates whether people are more likely to protest a police killing if the decedent had mental health issues. In order to answer this question, we gather data on each police killing in 2015 using Google search, local newspapers, and social media. This data included whether the decedent had a history of mental health disorders, whether they were behaving erratically at the time of their death, and whether there were any protests following their death. Then, a random sample of 701 of the deaths was taken to investigate whether the decedent’s mental health affected the existence of a protest. We will use the R statistical software and t-tests to determine whether a decedent’s mental health status affects the existence of protests. We expect that there will be more protests if a decedent has mental health issues. These results will reveal more information about protests following police killings in the United States, an important topic because protests have the potential to alter the aftermath of a killing and lead to a heightened awareness of social issues.

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Studying the Role of Feedback and Assessment in Teacher Preparation

Educator preparation programs train aspiring primary and secondary school teachers by pairing them with advising instructors to receive mentorship through observation, co-teaching, and independent student instruction. Until recently, little attention was given to the impact of effective mentorship from advising instructors. This study examines the impact of instructionally effective mentorship on aspiring teachers by categorizing over 4000 entries of written feedback, provided by the Tennessee Department of Education, that mentor teachers have given to training teachers. These feedback entries are coded into any applicable number of the 16 different categories of instructional improvement, including areas of both instructional content and quality of instruction. The area of study specific to the UROP project focuses on the role of feedback in student assessment. Results are expected to demonstrate that student teachers receiving feedback about their skills in student assessment feel more confident in assessing student learning following their completion of the educator preparation program. This study is part of a growing body of research on student teacher preparation reform. By determining specific areas of instructional feedback to be effective or ineffective, this research will contribute potential policy changes in educator preparation programs.

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Understanding Graduate Student Perspectives of Mental Health

Mental health challenges are rising in higher education across the United States. We investigate doctoral students’ experiences concerning mental health in academia and their perceptions of university responses to wellbeing concerns. Through 30 semi-structured interviews with students enrolled in all levels of the PhD, we find that while participants are aware of wellbeing resources offered by the university, their perceptions suggest the short-term nature of counseling is not fit for graduate students’ needs. Although participants from all backgrounds reported feeling anxiety and impostor syndrome on account of their academic experiences, such problems are exacerbated for members of minoritized groups, many of whom do not see themselves reflected in role models or the canon of literature in their field. We identify tensions among expectations of knowledge construction and faculty advising. Our findings have implications for stronger institutional relationships with external counselors, increased peer group support, and effective communication about doctoral expectations.

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Effects of Social Determinants of Health on Infant Mortality in Washtenaw and Wayne County

Infant mortality is the death of an infant within the first year of life, and this is a very useful indicator of population health. The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates among developed countries, and while the reason for this remains unclear, it is hypothesized that social determinants of health play a large role. Social determinants of health are conditions in the lives of people that affect health risks and outcomes. It is still unclear how these determinants influence infant mortality, and which determinants have the most influence. In Michigan, the infant mortality rate as of 2018 was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018). This puts Michigan high on the spectrum within the United States, and just as these rates differ by country, they also differ by state and even county. It was hypothesized that by studying two counties with different infant mortality rates, the difference could be attributed to the social determinants of health that vary among these populations. Therefore, if it can be determined that particular determinants have a more significant influence on infant mortality rates, then vulnerable populations can be more easily identified, and implementation efforts can be better catered to these populations and their disadvantages. Infant mortality data were collected from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from 2010-2018 for both Washtenaw and Wayne County, Michigan. Additional data were collected from the United States Census Bureau from 2010-2018 regarding social determinants such as poverty rate, unemployment rate, uninsured rate, race, and education level for both counties. After performing a series of calculations including linear regressions and logistic regression curves to find odds ratios, no correlation was found between the infant mortality rates and any of the determinants. Therefore, it can be concluded that one social determinant of health is unlikely to be a good predictor of infant outcomes. Instead, high infant mortality rates are likely a result of interactions between several determinants that, together, increase an infant’s risk. Therefore, simultaneous targeting of multiple determinants is necessary to implement meaningful interventions.

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Roles of Migratory Neural Crest Cells in CHARGE Syndrome

CHARGE Syndrome is characterized by a number of congenital abnormalities (Coloboma of the eye, Heart defects, Atresia of the choanae, Retardation of growth, Genital abnormalities, and Ear abnormalities). The primary cause of CHARGE is mutations of the gene CHD7 (Chromodomain Helicase DNA binding protein 7). One of the main hallmarks of CHARGE is deafness, but the etiology of hearing loss in CHARGE is unknown. Defects in neural crest derived tissue has been linked to other aspects of CHARGE syndrome. Here we look at the connection between CHD7 mutations and their effect on neural crest cell migration in the development of the inner ear. We used a neural crest specific CHD7 knockout mouse line (Wnt1Cre2;Chd7flox/flox) to observe the migration of neural crest cells in tissue sections. We found that CHD7 loss in neural crest cells does not impair their migration to the developing inner ear. Work is ongoing to determine if the development of neural crest-derived glial cells is impaired in the Chd7Gt/+ mouse model of CHARGE syndrome. Collectively, these studies improve our understanding of CHD7 in neural crest development in CHARGE syndrome.

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Imaging of the effects of GLP-1 on pancreatic ilets (morphometry, in vivo imaging…)

GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like protein-1. The GLP-1 is an incretin mostly secreted by intestinal epithelial endocrine L-cells, which are the cells lining the inside of the large intestine. It is secreted into the bloodstream when a meal is eaten. GLP-1 travels through the bloodstream to influence many different organs in our body such as our brain, liver, and pancreas. This research focuses on how GLP-1 affects islets in the pancreas. Since the GLP-1 protein has the ability to decrease blood sugar levels by promoting the production of insulin, the protein has been a topic of interest for pharmacological research. GLP-1 is currently being used in treatments for type 2 diabetes. The effects of the GLP-1 protein are known in adults, however, nothing is known about GLP-1 influence during development. This project investigates the effects of the GLP-1 protein on islets in the pancreas during development. We hypothesize that mice without GLP-1 receptors will have less islet cell mass and less proliferation. If there is no difference between pups with GLP-1 receptor and without the GLP-1 receptor, we expect to see no difference in mass nor proliferation of cells. Not much research has been done on the effects of GLP-1 during embryonic development, which is what this project is attempting to uncover. Further exploring this protein’s effect on islet activity in developing pups can supply the field with more important information.

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