Showing papers by "DePaul University published in 2022"

A Graph-Based Approach for Mitigating Multi-Sided Exposure Bias in Recommender Systems

Abstract: Fairness is a critical system-level objective in recommender systems that has been the subject of extensive recent research. A specific form of fairness is supplier exposure fairness, where the obj...

(Mis)perceptions and engagement on Twitter: COVID-19 vaccine rumors on efficacy and mass immunization effort

Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a 606-participant study analyzing the perception of, and engagement with, COVID-19 vaccine rumors on efficacy and mass immunization effort on Twitter. Misperceptions were successfully induced through simple content alterations and the addition of popular anti-COVID-19 hashtags such as #COVIDIOT and #covidhoax to otherwise valid Twitter content. Twitter's soft moderation warning label helped the majority of our participants to dismiss the rumors about mass immunization. However, for the skeptic, vaccine-hesitant minority, the soft moderation caused a “backfire effect” i.e., make them perceive the rumor as accurate. While the majority of the participants staunchly refrain from engaging with the COVID-19 rumors, the hesitant and skeptic minority was open to comment, retweet, like and share the vaccine efficacy rumors. Based on these findings, we recommend misinformation label designs to prevent the “backfire effect” of COVID-19 vaccine rumors on Twitter.

Reporting Bias in Coverage of Iran Protests by Global News Agencies

Abstract: This study examines reporting on protests in Iran between late December 2017 and early January 2018 by global news agencies located in the United States (Associated Press [AP]), United Kingdom (Reu...

An Integrative Review of the Barriers and Facilitators to Nurse Engagement in Quality Improvement in the Clinical Practice Setting.

Abstract: Background Nurse engagement in quality improvement (QI) improves health care quality and outcomes but is typically low in clinical settings. Purpose An integrative review was conducted to identify facilitators and barriers of nurse engagement in QI. Methods This integrative review was conducted using an electronic search of databases with search terms specific to nursing engagement in QI. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Evidence Level and Quality Guide was used to rate quality and level of evidence. Results Nine articles met the criteria for review. Top barriers were leadership, education and training, resource constraints, data, culture, and time. Top facilitators were leadership, education and training, culture, mentors, and champions. Conclusion High-quality literature exploring barriers and facilitators of nurse engagement in QI is lacking. Research is needed to examine the degree to which these barriers and facilitators impact engagement and how they can be addressed to increase it.

Cytokine network analysis in a community-based pediatric sample of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract: Objectives Studies have demonstrated immune dysfunction in adolescents with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS); however, evidence is varied. The current study used network analysis to examine relationships between cytokines among a sample of pediatric participants with ME/CFS. Methods 10,119 youth aged 5–17 in the Chicagoland area were screened for ME/CFS; 111 subjects and controls were brought in for a physician examination and completed a blood draw. Youth were classified as controls (Cs, N = 43), ME/CFS (N = 23) or severe (S-ME/CFS, N = 45). Patterns of plasma cytokine networks were analyzed. Results All participant groups displayed a primary network of interconnected cytokines. In the ME/CFS group, inflammatory cytokines IL-12p70, IL-17A, and IFN-γ were connected and included in the primary membership, suggesting activation of inflammatory mechanisms. The S-ME/CFS group demonstrated a strong relationship between IL-17A and IL-23, a connection associated with chronic inflammation. The relationships of IL-6 and IL-8 in ME/CFS and S-ME/CFS participants also differed from Cs. Together, these results indicate pro-inflammatory responses in our illness populations. Discussion Our data imply biological differences between our three participant groups, with ME/CFS and S-ME/CFS participants demonstrating an inflammatory profile. Examining co-expression of cytokines may aid in the identification of a biomarker for pediatric ME/CFS.

Cooperative strengthening of the halogen bond in cyclic clusters of iodine monofluoride, (IF)n (n = 3–8): From a closed-shell interaction, F-I…F, to a symmetric partly covalent interaction, F…I…F

Abstract: Cooperativity in cyclic (IF)n clusters, n = 3–8, is investigated using ab initio and density functional methods. Trimer formation weakens the halogen bond while larger cluster formation strengthens it substantially. Topological analysis reveals a change in the nature of the interaction from a closed-shell interaction (n ≤ 4) to a partly covalent interaction (n ≥ 5). For clusters of size n < 6, multiple iodonium ion transfer occurs via a concerted mechanism. At the CCSD(T) level, the barrier height for the multiple ion transfer decreases from 40.41 kcal/mol in the trimer to just 0.10 kcal/mol in the pentamer.

Discrete Quadratic-Phase Fourier Transform: Theory and Convolution Structures

Abstract: The discrete Fourier transform is considered as one of the most powerful tools in digital signal processing, which enable us to find the spectrum of finite-duration signals. In this article, we introduce the notion of discrete quadratic-phase Fourier transform, which encompasses a wider class of discrete Fourier transforms, including classical discrete Fourier transform, discrete fractional Fourier transform, discrete linear canonical transform, discrete Fresnal transform, and so on. To begin with, we examine the fundamental aspects of the discrete quadratic-phase Fourier transform, including the formulation of Parseval’s and reconstruction formulae. To extend the scope of the present study, we establish weighted and non-weighted convolution and correlation structures associated with the discrete quadratic-phase Fourier transform.

A Trace Formula on Stationary Kaluza-Klein Spacetimes

Abstract: We prove relativistic versions of the ladder asymptotics from V. Guillemin and A. Uribe [Journal of Differential Geometry, 32(2):315-347, 1990] on principal bundles over globally hyperbolic, stationary, spatially compact spacetimes equipped with a Kaluza-Klein metric. This involves understanding the distribution of the frequency spectrum for the wave equation on a Kaluza-Klein spacetime when restricted to the isotypic subspace of an irreducible representation of the structure group, in the limit that the weight of the representation approaches infinity in the Weyl chamber. This is a direct generalization of the results from A. Strohmaier and S. Zelditch [Indagationes Mathematicae 32 (2021), 323-363] and is closely related to Strohmaier-Zelditch [Advances in Mathematics, Volume 376, 2021, 107434] and O. Islam arXiv:2109.09219. Furthermore we show how to apply these results to frequency asymptotics for the massive Klein-Gordon equation on vector bundles as one takes the representation defining the vector bundle to infinity.

(Why) Is the Recent Recovery So Different from the Past?

Abstract: The prospect of the economy returning to high growth looks increasingly like a pipe dream for many Koreans. The unusually weak pace of the recent economic recovery amid continued decline in trend growth has become a major concern. Yet the unpleasant economic downtrend has been years in the making, as suggested by a wide range of economic indicators. This chapter explores the debate on the nature of the growth deceleration from a short-term business cycle perspective. A new event-study of recovery episodes shows that the most recent recovery was the weakest among eleven business cycles since 1970 and uncovers important (and some surprising) new features about the recent recovery episode, shedding some light on a likely future growth path. Against the backdrop of post-crisis sluggish global growth amid retreat from globalization, unusual weakness is a result of a series of adverse shocks (domestic, external) compounding the already slowing growth trend on structural problems. In particular, negative shocks amplified repercussions owing to Korea’s unique industrial structure, with heavy reliance on manufacturing exports, highly concentrated exports sensitive to certain types of shocks, and substantial linkage with China playing a significant role in dramatically weakening the strength of economic recovery.

Interval Posets of Permutations

Abstract: The interval poset of a permutation catalogues the intervals that appear in its one-line notation, according to set inclusion. We study this poset, describing its structural, characterizing, and enumerative properties.

Self-Isolation and Adolescents’ Friendship Quality: Moderation of Technology Use for Friendship Maintenance

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the moderating effect of technology use for friendship maintenance in the associations between self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and friendship quality, measured 6 months later (Time 2). Participants were 1,567 seventh and eighth graders (51% female; 51% white; M age = 13.47) from the United States. They completed questionnaires on friendship quality at Time 1, and self-isolation during COVID-19 and technology use for friendship maintenance and friendship quality at Time 2. The findings revealed that self-isolation during COVID-19 was related positively to technology use for friendship maintenance and negatively to Time 2 friendship quality. Higher technology use for friendship maintenance buffered against the negative impacts on friendship quality associated with self-isolation during COVID-19, while lower technology use had the opposite effects on Time 2 friendship quality.

Lucy Hutchinson’s Guide to Domestic Catechesis

Abstract: Abstract This essay proposes that we can better understand Lucy Hutchinson’s manuscript, ‘On the Principles of the Christian Religion’, by considering it in relation to ministerial guides to domestic catechesis. Guides to catechesis were a popular religious genre in sevententh-century England and were most often composed by ministers as part of their pastoral duties; they provided explanations of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and were designed for use within godly homes. ‘On the Principles’ resembles these ministerial guides both thematically and structurally. But Hutchinson elaborates and expands the genre to reflect her own concerns and experience as a catechizing mother, just as she adapts the epic genre in ‘Order and Disorder’. By composing a guide to domestic catechesis for her daughter, Hutchinson draws upon the authority accorded to mothers in domestic catechesis while emulating ministerial authority. Hutchinson’s adaptation of this ministerial genre reveals her views concerning the role of domestic catechesis within Christian community as well as her understanding of the relationship between women’s teaching and ministerial authority.

Jobs and Wages

Abstract: Importantly, standard aggregate measures of inequality mask much more pronounced changes in wage dispersion in many different dimensions, such as firm size, industry (manufacturing versus service, or high- versus low-technology industry), types of occupation, employment status, educational level, gender, and age. Wage inequality reflects individual differences in talent and motivation, but there are also significant socioeconomic, structural, and cultural causes. Chapter 6 explores the underlying drivers of wage inequalities in multiple areas, presenting a new analysis. The common forces such as new technology, automation, globalization, sectoral shifts, and changing skill requirements of the workforce are important drivers. But wage disparities also reflect long-standing structural problems, including gaping disparities between productive and unproductive sectors, labor market rigidities and duality, and outdated business regulations. Our analysis shows that the structural problems amplify wage differentials, while causing misallocations of labor and hence lower productivity. Therefore, addressing productivity disparities could help boost economic growth and at the same time reduce wage disparities in some important ways.

Essays

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines Johnson’s achievements as an essayist in relation to the established conventions of the periodical essay. With the Rambler, Johnson restored the periodical essay to its once-prominent place in English literary culture by elevating its moral seriousness and emphasizing its aptness as a vehicle for literary criticism. The success of the series spurred a revival of the genre at mid-century, albeit largely in reaction to the Rambler’s relative gravity and ponderous diction. After doubling down on the Rambler’s style with his contributions to the Adventurer, Johnson experimented with a more playful approach to the periodical essay in the Idler. The mixed critical reception of his efforts near the end of the century often associated his essays more with the moralist and critic Johnson had become than with the genre in which he first enjoyed popular success, an enduring perspective that this chapter aims to qualify.

Final Thoughts

Abstract: This chapter reflects upon major findings about various socioeconomic issues and problems from the preceding chapters and puts into perspective what would constitute critical elements of ideal policy solutions and the direction of the future government’s role. Yet it is not so much about the choice between state intervention and a free market, as is often painted in the scholarly debate. It argues that the government’s role and intervention must evolve toward areas where government function is essential or which are strategically important yet market initiatives are weak (or absent); whereas government should refrain from intervening in markets that can effectively function under proper rules and regulatory frameworks. Here the essential government function goes beyond the traditional role such as public goods provision and intervention to correct market failures, including an active government role in providing institutional frameworks that markets need to function well. It also includes a fiscally robust and working welfare state. There are many areas in the market-driven economy that await a constructive and modern government role, as illustrated in the chapter. From a structural point of view, though, one of the most imperative tasks that requires the decisive action of the government or the political system in general is to take bold and yet sensible structural changes and reform to revitalize the dynamism of the economy and improve the economic opportunity in Korean society.