East Carolina University Research Articles

Pulling Back the Curtain: Preparing Students for the Academic Job Interview

The LIBS 6810: Academic Libraries course offered in the Master of Library Science Program at East Carolina University was originally structured to offer students a broad overview of working in academic libraries. To insert more practicality into the course, the author expanded two assignments to move students from completing hypothetical plans related to their future careers, to identifying a position to apply for and participating in a job talk interview with a mock search committee of professionals in the field. Students’ reflections indicate the updated assignments had the benefit of revealing the realities of the academic job search process and building students’ confidence in their ability to obtain a position after graduation. This case study details the activities and to update the assignments, shares students’ reflections on the activities, and offers recommendations for structuring the assignments and the course for others interested in applying the same approach.

Correlation of Patient-Reported Social Determinants of Health With Census Tract Measures of Socioeconomic Disadvantage in Patients With GI Cancers in Eastern North Carolina.

Investigating the impact of social determinants of health (SDOHs) on cancer care in large populations relies on census estimates. Routine clinic SDOH screening provides timely patient-level information which could inform best practices. This study evaluated the correlation between patient-reported SDOH needs and population-level census tract measures. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of a cohort of adult patients with GI malignancy screened for SDOHs such as financial insecurity, transportation, and food insecurity during initial outpatient evaluation at East Carolina University (formerly Vidant) Health Medical Center in Greenville, NC (November 2020-July 2021). Primary outcomes included number and severity of identified SDOH needs and area deprivation index (ADI) and census tract measures for each patient. Spearman rank correlations were calculated among patient-level needs and between patient-level needs and similar census tract measures. Of 112 patients screened, 58.9% self-identified as White (n = 66) and 41.1% as Black (n = 46). A total of 50.5% (n = 54) resided in a rural county. The collective median state ADI rank was 7 (IQR, 5-9). The median household income was $38,125 in US dollars (USD) (IQR, $31,436-$48,934 [USD]). Only 12.5% (n = 14) reported a moderate or severe financial need. Among reported needs, financial need moderately correlated with food insecurity (coefficient, 0.46; P < .001) and transportation (coefficient, 0.45; P < .001). Overall, census tract measures and reported needs poorly correlated. Lack of transportation correlated with percentage of households without a vehicle (coefficient, 0.18; P = .03) and limited access to healthy foods (coefficient, 0.18; P = .04). Given the poor correlation between reported and census needs, population-level measures may not accurately predict patient-reported needs. These findings highlight the importance of SDOH screening in the clinical setting to reduce health disparities and identify opportunities to improve care delivery.

Judge rules in favor of former coach

Case name: Thomas v. East Carolina University, et al., No. 4:22‐cv‐00030 (E.D. N.C. 09/21/23).

Wastewater based epidemiology as a surveillance tool during the current COVID-19 pandemic on a college campus (East Carolina University) and its accuracy in predicting SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in dormitories.

The COVID-19 outbreak led governmental officials to close many businesses and schools, including colleges and universities. Thus, the ability to resume normal campus operation required adoption of safety measures to monitor and respond to COVID-19. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of wastewater-based epidemiology as a surveillance method in monitoring COVID-19 on a college campus. The use of wastewater monitoring as part of a surveillance program to control COVID-19 outbreaks at East Carolina University was evaluated. During the Spring and Fall 2021 semesters, wastewater samples (N = 830) were collected every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from the sewer pipes exiting the dormitories on campus. Samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 and viral quantification was determined using qRT-PCR. During the Spring 2021 semester, there was a significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 virus copies in wastewater when comparing dorms with the highest number student cases of COVID-19 and those with the lowest number of student cases, (p = 0.002). Additionally, during the Fall 2021 semester it was observed that when weekly virus concentrations exceeded 20 copies per ml, there were new confirmed COVID-19 cases 85% of the time during the following week. Increases in wastewater viral concentration spurred COVID-19 swab testing for students residing in dormitories, aiding university officials in effectively applying COVID testing policies. This study showed wastewater-based epidemiology can be a cost-effective surveillance tool to guide other surveilling methods (e.g., contact tracing, nasal/salvia testing, etc.) to identify and isolate afflicted individuals to reduce the spread of pathogens and potential outbreaks within a community.

One World, Many Stories: Finding Human Connection through Global Sociology

This Teaching Note examines the implementation of a full-semester course model for digital exchanges between students across countries. The model, Global Understanding, created and administered by East Carolina University, is a platform for humanistic pedagogy that dovetails seamlessly with sociological content, methods, and principles. Through an examination of student writing products, this account considers how the course exemplifies humanistic pedagogy through (1) an expansion of a verstehen of a shared experience of the “human” in the world, (2) the integration of teaching source materials from conventionally defined “humanities” fields, and (3) a normative directive to forward global human understanding.

Did court dismiss coach's retaliation claim?

The head coach of the East Carolina University women's volleyball team reported departmentwide Title IX violations. She also alleged that male coaches were treated more favorably than female coaches.

Three or four doses of intravenous immunoglobulin G treatment for isoimmune hemolytic disease: A case series and literature review.

Neonates affected by isoimmune hemolytic disease (HDN) are at risk of developing severe hyperbilirubinemia. Studies show that increasing levels of bilirubin impact neonatal neurodevelopment. To avoid complications associated with exchange transfusion, intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) is used to treat hyperbilirubinemia. We included all infants who received more than two doses of IVIG treatment for isoimmune hemolytic disease. We analyzed the incidence of side effects associated with IVIG treatment and the rate of exchange transfusion. A retrospective chart review performed between October 2011-October 2022 at East Carolina University Health identified neonates who received more than two doses IVIG for HDN. Neonates of postmenstrual age greater than 28 days old, receiving less than three doses of IVIG or received IVIG for other indications were excluded. The occurrences of adverse events, demographics and use of other medical therapies were reviewed. Eleven neonates were included in the case series. Most common cause of severe hyperbilirubinemia was attributed to ABO incompatibility. Six patients (54%) received three doses of IVIG, and five patients (45%) received four doses of IVIG with bilirubin levels decreasing below exchange transfusion. No treatment exceeding four doses of IVIG was reported, nor adverse events during treatment. In this cohort of neonates with HDN, bilirubin levels decreased after treatment with multiple doses of IVIG. Future research on recommendations of optimal total number doses of IVIG to reduce the risk for exchange transfusion.

Judge rules in favor of former coach

Case name: Thomas v. East Carolina University, et al., No. 4:22‐cv‐00030 (E.D. N.C. 09/21/23).

Servant leadership plays key role in success

Even though Jon Gilbert has worked in college athletics for more than 30 years and as Director of Athletics at East Carolina University for five of those years, he hasn’t lost sight of what really matters.

Judge rules in favor of former coach

Case name: Thomas v. East Carolina University, et al., No. 4:22‐cv‐00030 (E.D. N.C. 09/21/23).

Judge rules in favor of former coach

Case name: Thomas v. East Carolina University, et al., No. 4:22‐cv‐00030 (E.D. N.C. 09/21/23).

Judge rules in favor of former coach

Case name: Thomas v. East Carolina University, et al., No. 4:22‐cv‐00030 (E.D. N.C. 09/21/23).

Classification of mandibular molar furcation involvement in periapical radiographs by deep learning.

The purpose of this study was to classify mandibular molar furcation involvement (FI) in periapical radiographs using a deep learning algorithm. Full mouth series taken at East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine from 2011-2023 were screened. Diagnostic-quality mandibular premolar and molar periapical radiographs with healthy or FI mandibular molars were included. The radiographs were cropped into individual molar images, annotated as " healthy" or " FI," and divided into training, validation, and testing datasets. The images were preprocessed by PyTorch transformations. ResNet-18, a convolutional neural network model, was refined using the PyTorch deep learning framework for the specific imaging classification task. CrossEntropyLoss and the AdamW optimizer were employed for loss function training and optimizing the learning rate, respectively. The images were loaded by PyTorch DataLoader for efficiency. The performance of ResNet-18 algorithm was evaluated with multiple metrics, including training and validation losses, confusion matrix, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the area under the ROC curve. After adequate training, ResNet-18 classified healthy vs. FI molars in the testing set with an accuracy of 96.47%, indicating its suitability for image classification. The deep learning algorithm developed in this study was shown to be promising for classifying mandibular molar FI. It could serve as a valuable supplemental tool for detecting and managing periodontal diseases.

Improving predoctoral education related to caries risk assessment in adults.

This project examined patterns of adult patient management using a caries risk assessment (CRA) protocol at East Carolina University, School of Dental Medicine. Usage of the CRA protocol from 2014 to 2019 was assessed. Non-operative anti-caries treatments were measured against caries risk status (high, moderate, low, or none). Steps to improve the appropriate management of patients based on caries risk are presented to align with accreditation standards for predoctoral education programs. The CRA protocol is based on the Caries Management by Risk Assessment approach. Risk-based patterns for two non-operative interventions were examined: (1) prescriptions for 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) mouth rinse and (2) prescriptions for 5000 ppm fluoride toothpaste (PreviDent 5000 [PreviDent]). Statistical analyses included chi-square tests and logistic regression. Over the study period only 16.4% of adult patients had completed the CRA form. Among 29,411 patients from nine community sites, treatment rates for PreviDent were 18.7% among high-risk patients, 11.6% for moderate-risk adults, and 6.4% for low-risk adults (p<0.01). Treatment rates for CHX were 23.0%, 22.6%, and 17.1%, respectively (p<0.05). Patients without a CRA status were least likely to receive any anti-caries treatments, indicating that CRA status affects clinical, non-operative care. Patterns for prescription of PreviDent and CHX are consistent with CRA status. Future efforts to improve usage of the CRA protocol using faculty calibration, tracking with quality improvement tools, and reassessment. Training in the community-based educational setting is enhanced through data-based tracking to assure evidence-based decision making.

Undergraduate engineering education with hands-on experimental acoustic field work

Offering undergraduate students access to technician-level work experience early in their academic career has successfully promoted subsequent interest in and pursuit of independent inquiry in acoustics. Over the past 9 years, approximately 70 undergraduate students have been affiliated with the East Carolina University Department of Engineering’s acoustics and vibrations laboratory. Of those 70, 30 have pursued independent inquiry, 11 have attended a professional meeting, 7 have presented at a professional meeting, and 7 have pursued additional study or secured positions in a relevant field. The student work has spanned several topical areas in acoustics and vibrations. The primary effort has been collecting synchronized atmospheric and acoustic data over long ranges in littoral environments. This work presents the best practices the investigators have cultivated for training, recruiting, and retaining quality undergraduate research assistants. Both paid research positions and unpaid work done for course credit are included in the discussion.

Review of TEAMER Awards for WEC-Sim Support

Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) is a U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office sponsored program, overseen by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, which aims to advance the state of marine energy technologies. The program connects technology developers with experts at U.S. facilities, including numerical modeling and analysis facilities, like WEC-Sim. The WEC-Sim facility is supported by the WEC-Sim development team at Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator) is an open-source software for simulating wave energy converters. WEC-Sim can model the multi-body dynamics of devices comprised of bodies, joints, power take-off systems, and mooring systems. Since TEAMER’s first round of support in 2020, there have been eighteen TEAMER awards focused on numerical model development in WEC-Sim. TEAMER awards for WEC-Sim support have modeled a wide range of wave energy converter archetypes, including point absorbers, attenuators, oscillating water columns, and many other novel architectures. A wide variety of studies have been conducted, leading to important insights for TEAMER partners and software improvements for WECSim. This article highlights several successful WEC-Sim TEAMER awards. The awards described herein include TEAMER recipients Ocean Motion Technologies, AquaHarmonics, iProTech, East Carolina University, Virginia Tech, Maiden Wave Energy, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The awards of these seven partners contain a wide range of investigations and cover the creation of baseline hydrodynamic models, PTO modeling, geometry optimization in both boundary element methods and WECSim, and model tuning and validation.

Exploring Preparedness to Enter the Field: A Q Method Approach to Understanding a Beginning Rural Special Education Educator Preparation Program

In this program description, we examined the impact of East Carolina University’s educator preparation program on beginning special educators’ preparedness and confidence to meet professional standards and fulfill their job responsibilities using Q methodology. For this work, undergraduate interns who were enrolled in a rural-focused teacher preparation program that is also located rurally completed a Q sort of national standards for special education teachers and a written questionnaire. Data were analyzed using factor analysis and thematic analysis to draw conclusions about the interns’ perceptions of self-efficacy within the context of their programmatic experiences. Findings indicated interns felt prepared to encourage diversity and address individual students’ needs; however, they need more support engaging in professional practice and assuming the role of a collaborative leader. In addition, targeted coursework, such as developing Individualized Education Programs, supported their learning.

Integrating industry developed courseware in IT scripting courses

AbstractThe alignment of higher education with the skill needs of employers and industry at large is a topic of active debate, particularly for engineering education. Formal and informal content developed by companies, technology‐specific associations, consulting firms, and individuals forms a body of knowledge that might fast‐track careers toward very specific opportunities. By contrast, academic courseware is known for its pedagogical rigor while being slow to adapt to the fast‐paced changes in technology, particularly information technologies, and reliance on expensive course materials that burden students. This paper explores the drivers for integrating industry‐developed courseware in an existing, higher‐ed course on Scripting for Information Technology in the Department of Technology Systems at East Carolina University and the implications of such integration. We hypothesize that industry courseware is a streamlined, cost‐effective way to provide students with the knowledge they need in the workforce. Students were exposed to the two types of content and their scholarly performance was analyzed. Student perception of the two types of content was assessed through a postclass survey. The student results and the feedback they provided suggest that a hybrid approach is more suitable to address the learning preferences and predispositions of students. This case study concludes that textbook and industry‐generated content can be integrated into existing courses and improving them in terms student outcomes and in terms of alignment with industry's hiring expectations.

Development and Evaluation of the Delivery-Based HEALED Produce Rx Program for Uninsured Patients With Diabetes in Rural Eastern North Carolina.

Produce prescription (PRx) programs have emerged as a preventive treatment to subsidize the cost of fruits and vegetables for people with lower income and have shown promise in improving diet quality and diabetes-related health outcomes (eg, glycated hemoglobin A1c). Researchers from the Department of Nutrition Science at East Carolina University worked with the Wayne Action Teams for Community Health (WATCH) Clinic, a safety-net clinic in rural Eastern North Carolina, and a local research farm to develop a PRx program for rural patients with type 2 diabetes and no health insurance. Preliminary patient surveys identified high levels of interest in a PRx program and a desire for recipes to accompany the produce. Formative evaluation results via telephone interviews with eligible patients identified transportation barriers to participation and the desire for complementary nutrition education and culinary resources. These results led to a delivery-based PRx program implemented from June through November 2021. Patients received weekly home delivery of an average of 4.7 pounds of fruits and vegetables and complementary nutrition and health education materials and culinary resources (cookbook, recipes). The level of patient satisfaction with the program was high; the reported level of consumption of produce, including unfamiliar produce, was high; educational resources were associated with increased knowledge and motivation to make healthful lifestyle changes, and glycemic control significantly improved. Ensuring that patients have a voice in the design and implementation of PRx programs is crucial to success. Ongoing use of rigorous formative and process evaluations can ensure appropriateness, use, and a positive effect of PRx programs, and they are needed to establish best practices for implementation.

Payment Methods and Demographics Influence Patterns of Dental Service Utilization.

To describe the patterns of specific dental service utilization among the various sociodemographic groups in North Carolina served by the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine (ECU SoDM). This was a descriptive study utilizing self-reported patients' sociodemographic information, payment method history, and CDT codes of procedures performed. Deidentified clinical data recorded for 26 710 patients and 534 983 procedures from 2011 to 2020 were extracted from a centralized axiUm database. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 25.0. Cross-tabulations between dental service utilizations, patients' demographics, and payment method were performed using chi-square analysis. Nine dental clinic sites across the state of North Carolina. In total, 26 710 adults 23 years to older than 65 years were included in the sample for this study. In total, 534 983 procedure codes completed for the eligible patients were cross-tabulated with payment method. Payment method was significantly related to individual characteristics including location of service, age, race, ethnicity, and untreated decay ( P < .001). Payment method is associated with the dental service type utilized by an individual ( P < .001). Patients who received Medicaid benefits were more likely to receive restorative procedures, removable prosthetics, or oral surgery. Despite NC Medicaid covering preventive procedures, patients who received Medicaid benefits showed lower utilization of preventive procedures than expected. Privately insured or self-paying individuals demonstrated a greater variety of service option utilization, as well as more frequent usage of more specialized procedure options such as endodontics, periodontics, fixed prosthodontics, and implants. Payment method was found to be related to patients' demographics and type of dental service utilized. Adults older than 65 years demonstrated a higher proportion of self-payment for dental care, indicating a lack of payment options for this population. In the interest of providing care for underserved populations in North Carolina, policy makers should consider expanding dental coverage for adults older than 65 years.