Villanova University Research Articles

P048 Social Media's Influence on Adolescents’ Food Preferences Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundAdditional time spent on social media (SM) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased adolescents’ exposure to food and beverage (F&B) advertisements. The marketing of unhealthy F&B products featuring celebrities and influencers may contribute to an increased preference towards various products, potentially influencing consumption patterns and increasing one's long-term health risk.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine SM's influence on adolescents’ food and beverage preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore their parents’ perceptions of this phenomenon.Study Design, Setting, ParticipantsThree, one-hour, semi-structured virtual focus groups were conducted with seven dyads of 6th grade students and their parents (n = 14) from a suburban school district in northeastern Pennsylvania. Students and parents participated in separate focus groups and completed a demographic survey that included SM use characteristics in June-September 2021.Measurable Outcome/AnalysisFocus group transcripts were transcribed, coded, and analyzed by both authors using a constant comparison approach.ResultsThree themes that emerged from adolescents were: increased SM usage, factors that increased consumption, and increased recall of memorable aspects of F&B advertisements. Themes that emerged from parents were: parental observations of adolescents’ less healthy eating behaviors, parental influence over F&B purchases, and increased engagement in food trends seen on SM.ConclusionsThese themes suggest increased SM use influenced adolescents' ability to recall specific F&B brands and potentially influenced consumption. Safeguards seem to remain in place regarding parents’ influence over the adolescents’ F&B purchase requests. Additionally, parents may be aware of the targeted marketing used on SM and its potential to influence adolescents’ eating behaviors. These findings suggest the importance for parents, dietitians, and other healthcare providers to be aware of increased SM usage and the potential influence F&B advertisements may have on adolescent eating behaviors. These findings will also be important for nutrition educators to understand when teaching these risks to students/future practitioners.FundingVillanova University's Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

Preface

The International Conference on Biomass and Bioenergy (ICBB) 2021 was successfully conducted as a fully online conference by the Surfactant and Bioenergy Research Center (SBRC)-IPB University, Indonesia in cooperation with the International Society of Biomass and Bioenergy (ISBB); College of Engineering, Villanova University, USA; and Biomass Project Research Center, Hiroshima University, Japan. ICBB 2021 was sponsored by The Palm Oil Fund Management Agency (BPDP Sawit) and IPB University. ICBB 2021 with the theme of Challenges in Biomass, Bioenergy, and Biomaterials Research and Development in a Rapidly Changing World was the sixth international scientific conference on biomass and bioenergy hosted in Indonesia. This conference is conducted annually to raise current global issues in biomass and bioenergy fields.Due to COVID-19 related real conference and travel restrictions, ICBB 2021 was held as an online conference on 9-10 August 2021 by Zoom Video Conference platform. ICBB 2021 was organized by SBRC-IPB University and hosted from IPB International Convention Center, Bogor, Indonesia. To maintain the continuity of the annual conference and the intention of scientists to disseminate and publish their research, as well as the uncertainty of the end time for COVID-19, the ICBB 2021 associates and stakeholders decided to hold a virtual conference and not postpone the conference.The list of Committees of the International Conference of Biomass and Bioenergy 2020, Steering Committee, Organizing Committee, ICBB 2021 was proudly and logos are available in the pdf

Judge rules in favor of doctoral student

Case name: Kim v. Villanova University, No. 21‐1879 (E.D. Pa. 09/16/21).

About the Contributors

About the Contributors

Remembering Carol Lazzaro-Weis (1949–2022)

Remembering Carol Lazzaro-Weis (1949–2022)

The Nursing Faculty Shortage: It's Time to Find Our Voice.

About the Author Bette Mariani, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Research Briefs editor for Nursing Education Perspectives, is vice dean for academic affairs and associate professor, Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, Villanova, Pennsylvania. Contact Dr. Mariani at [email protected]. The author has declared no conflict of interest.

Judge rules in favor of former graduate student

Case name: Astaraee v. Villanova University, No. 20‐1522 (E.D. Pa. 12/18/20).

Dynamic Modeling of a Low-cost Mechanical Ventilator

In this paper, we develop a dynamic model for a low-cost ventilator, Novavent, developed at Villanova University. Since 2020, several academic institutions have focused on developing a less expensive ventilator system with the goal of increasing accessibility of medical ventilation for low-income countries. This is mainly a response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the demand the pandemic has created, the development process of these new designs have prioritized development and implementation speed over model validation. In order to increase the understanding and aid in the controller design process of these new ventilator designs, an empirical model was developed for a low-cost ventilator design, developed at Villanova University. The process of this model design was systematically documented with the intention that other institutions can use this process as a template for modeling their own designs. After developing expressions of the different responses in the system observed through empirical data, Simulink was then used to combine all expressions into a holistic model. This model was then validated using data collected from the response of the ventilator design observed.

Did court dismiss student's breach‐of‐contract claim?

An Iranian doctoral student was enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Villanova University.

The COVID-19 Study of Healthcare and Support Personnel (CHAMPS): Protocol for a Longitudinal Observational Study.

BackgroundEarly in the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evident that health care workers, first responders, and other essential workers would face significant stress and workplace demands related to equipment shortages and rapidly growing infections in the general population. Although the effects of other sources of stress on health have been documented, the effects of these unique conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the long-term health and well-being of the health care workforce are not known.ObjectiveThe COVID-19 Study of Healthcare and Support Personnel (CHAMPS) was designed to document early and longitudinal effects of the pandemic on the mental and physical health of essential workers engaged in health care. We will investigate mediators and moderators of these effects and evaluate the influence of exposure to stress, including morbidity and mortality, over time. We will also examine the effect of protective factors and resilience on health outcomes.MethodsThe study cohort is a convenience sample recruited nationally through communities, professional organizations, networks, social media, and snowball sampling. Recruitment took place for 13 months to obtain an estimated sample of 2762 adults who provided self-reported information administered on the web through structured questionnaires about their work environment, mental and physical health, and psychosocial factors. Follow-up questionnaires will be administered after 6 months and annually thereafter to ascertain changes in health, well-being, and lifestyle. Participants who consented to be recontacted form the longitudinal cohort and the CHAMPS Registry may be contacted to ascertain their interest in ancillary studies for which they may be eligible.ResultsThe study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and launched in May 2020, with grants from Travere Therapeutics Inc, McKesson Corporation, anonymous donors, and internal funding from the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University. Recruitment ended in June 2021 after enrolling 2762 participants, 1534 of whom agreed to participate in the longitudinal study and the registry as well as to be contacted about eligibility for future studies.ConclusionsThe CHAMPS Study and Registry will enable the acquisition of detailed data on the effects of extended psychosocial and workplace stress on morbidity and mortality and serve as a platform for ancillary studies related to the COVID-19 pandemic.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04370821; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04370821International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/30757

U.S. Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Funders' Briefing Program, January 19, 2021.

U.S. Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Funders' Briefing Program, January 19, 2021.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Sustainability Development-Based Agroindustry in Chemistry Learning to Improve the Preservice Chemistry Teachers’ Competence

This research aims to integrate agroindustry and sustainability development into chemistry learning through the Project-Based Learning model (PjBL) to improve the competence of preservice chemistry teachers. This research employed the qualitative method. The Summer Course program was held collaboratively by Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Institut Pertanian Bogor, and Villanova University. The program was implemented online within six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants consisted of 25 students. The data had been collected through interviews, questionnaires, observations, student portfolios, and reflection journals. Based on the analysis, several projects developed by preservice chemistry teachers increased the application to solve sustainability problems in the agroindustry field. Furthermore, the project was expected to be developed into a natural product that can increase the agroindustry value for coffee farmers. The findings also foster the preservice chemistry teachers to improve their creative thinking, collaboration, higher-order thinking skills, and problem-solving skills. Besides, they developed their communication and collaboration after participating in the program. The paper outline is a project development learning experience in a sustainable field and would be a good resource for student-teacher involvement in teacher education.

Preface

The International Conference of Biomass and Bioenergy (ICBB) 2020 was successfully conducted as a fully online conference by the Surfactant and Bioenergy Research Center (SBRC)-IPB University, Indonesia in cooperation with the International Society of Biomass and Bioenergy (ISBB); College of Engineering, Villanova University, USA; and Biomass Project Research Center, Hiroshima University, Japan. ICBB 2020 was sponsored by The Indonesian Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP Sawit) and IPB University. ICBB 2020 with the theme of Advanced Technology and Digital Innovations in Biomass, Bioenergy and Agriculture was the fifth international scientific conference on biomass and bioenergy hosted in Indonesia. This conference is conducted annually to raise current global issues in biomass and bioenergy fields.Due to COVID-19 related real conference and travel restrictions, ICBB 2020 online conference was held on 10-11 August 2020 by Zoom Webinar and Video Conference technology platform. ICBB 2020 was organized by SBRC-IPB University and hosted from IPB International Convention Center, Bogor, Indonesia. To maintain the continuity of the annual conference and the intention of scientists to disseminate and publish their research, as well as the uncertainty of the end time for COVID-19, the ICBB 2020 stakeholders and associates decided to hold a virtual conference and not postpone the conference.List of Committees of the International Conference of Biomass and Bioenergy 2020 are available in this pdf.

Value added products from urban organic wastes: a whole systems perspective

Organic waste, specifically food waste and sewage sludge, is a challenge for sustainable waste management systems. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 38 million tons of food waste went to landfill in 2014. In the United States, public wastewater treatment plants process approximately 14 million dry tons of sewage sludge per year. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is proposed as a solution to the large streams of food waste and sewage sludge. HTC is significantly more energy efficient than the industry standard processes used today. Compared to other biomass conversion processes, HTC has the highest carbon efficiency while having the lowest greenhouse gas emissions rate. HTC is a thermochemical process that converts wet biomass to a coal-like product that can be used as a solid fuel source, for soil amendment, or as a base for advanced applications such as activated carbon. Villanova University, with SoMax BioEnergy, is researching HTC and activation techniques for upgrading sewage sludge and food waste to activated carbon. The focus of the study is to evaluate these wastes as feedstocks for HTC and the subsequent activation to determine if an activated carbon adsorbent can be produced that is comparable to commercially available activated carbon using a whole systems perspective. This is a novel look as it involves determining the impacts of the process from social, technical, environmental, economic, and political (STEEP) perspectives.

A Large-Scale Collection Review with Faculty Collaboration: A Comprehensive View

Villanova University’s Falvey Memorial Library developed a multiyear comprehensive and strategic collection review of print monographs. In this paper, the authors focus on the operational components of the project, such as generating potential deselection lists with GreenGlass, convening working groups to plan the project, developing strategies for faculty outreach and faculty collection review, and analyzing deselection and retention data. The authors share decision-making processes as well as lessons learned that were involved in the project design and implementation phases throughout the extensive collection review project.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Launch of a New Era of Education Research.

About the Author Bette Mariani, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Research Briefs editor for Nursing Education Perspectives, is vice dean for academic affairs and associate professor, Villanova University Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, Villanova, Pennsylvania. Contact Dr. Mariani at [email protected]. The author has declared no conflict of interest.

Mathematical modelling of the spread of COVID-19 on a university campus.

In this paper we present a deterministic transmission dynamic compartmental model for the spread of the novel coronavirus on a college campus for the purpose of analyzing strategies to mitigate an outbreak. The goal of this project is to determine and compare the utility of certain containment strategies including gateway testing, surveillance testing, and contact tracing as well as individual level control measures such as mask wearing and social distancing. We modify a standard SEIR-type model to reflect what is currently known about COVID-19. We also modify the model to reflect the population present on a college campus, separating it into students and faculty. This is done in order to capture the expected different contact rates between groups as well as the expected difference in outcomes based on age known for COVID-19. We aim to provide insight into which strategies are most effective, rather than predict exact numbers of infections. We analyze effectiveness by looking at relative changes in the total number of cases as well as the effect a measure has on the estimated basic reproductive number. We find that the total number of infections is most sensitive to parameters relating to student behaviors. We also find that contact tracing can be an effective control strategy when surveillance testing is unavailable. Lastly, we validate the model using data from Villanova University's online COVID-19 Dashboard from Fall 2020 and find good agreement between model and data when superspreader events are incorporated in the model as shocks to the number of infected individuals approximately two weeks after each superspreader event.

The Magical Whiteness of Being Irish: Language and Song in American White Nationalism

The Magical Whiteness of Being Irish:Language and Song in American White Nationalism Sean Williams (bio) the use of "celtic"-themed imagery—in clothing, tattoos, and business logos—has a long history in the United States. Its usage has generally been a simplified identifier of affiliation with Irish and/or Scottish heritage, and it is often uncritically adopted at the same level by tourists who visit Ireland and tell Irish people, "We're Irish." While white supremacists have also periodically drawn from Celtic imagery to support a claim of Celtic "whiteness," that usage was fairly diffuse until recently.1 The public rise of white nationalism since the US presidential election of 2016, however, has led to adherents' more public usage of Celtic symbolism. Three statements from Irish/Celtic Studies institutions in the United States publicly reject such appropriation. In early 2020, members of the Harvard Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures posted these words on the home page of their website: "There is no essential genetic 'Celtic' identity, nor is any ethnicity or group of ethnicities entitled to a privileged position within the field. Certain symbols associated with medieval Ireland and loosely identified as 'Celtic' have been appropriated by groups asserting the supremacy of persons with white skin. We repudiate this appropriation in the strongest possible terms."2 Similarly, the Center for Irish Studies at Villanova University's "Anti-Racism Statement" includes the following language: "Too often have white supremacists [End Page 134] claimed Irishness as a veil for cruelty and oppression. As scholars and teachers of Irish Studies, we commit actively to expose such moves and encourage scholarship and learning that fosters equality, social justice, and respect for everyone. We are committed to exploring these issues and challenging white privilege and racism through our teaching, research and programming."3 Lastly, the Celtic Studies Association of North America stated that they "strongly oppose the appropriation of Celtic culture, history and symbols by those who promote discrimination or violence of any kind."4 That all three institutes felt compelled to post these statements on their websites speaks to a larger issue in Irish Studies in the United States: the appropriation of Irish culture to serve a social desire to appear more white. The whiteness in question is, however, a very specific kind of whiteness, and one associated with the seemingly inviolable whiteness of Irish people. In combination with pop cultural references to how white the Irish are—including the appearance of memes about the whiteness of Irish people—and confusion surrounding actual Irish American history, a contemporary notion of what constitutes whiteness has evolved so that "claiming Irishness often authorizes a location and a celebration of whiteness in ways that would otherwise be problematic."5 Irish heritage pride and a sense of American white ethnicity have led to the assertion that, for some, one's racial whiteness can be affirmed only through the magic of publicly and repeatedly proving one's Irishness. Even as Ireland itself has undergone a stunning sea change since 1990, becoming more willing to confront elements of its challenging past and take radical steps toward acknowledging its struggles to welcome new immigrants, parts of Irish America—in the larger American context—have experienced elements of division along political lines.6 Much of that division lies in the choice of some contemporary Irish [End Page 135] Americans to align themselves with white nationalism.7 And part of that division has resulted in the use of the Irish language, the Irish flag, Irish music, and Irish symbols, such as Celtic-themed crosses in tattoos, in connection with white nationalist ideology, together with the false promulgation of the myth of "Irish slavery."8 While not limited to Irish Americans, such usage has its home in the United States. This article focuses on the specific uses of sound—in the Irish language and in Irish-language old-style songs called sean-nós—as a tool for the larger nationalist emphasis of whiteness. The concept of home and heritage is often recognized as a means by which people can feel that they belong, and proving one's Irishness might actually be a way to point to something in one's own...

Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States by Massimo Faggioli

students and teachers to formulate prayers in their own words according to their specific needs and circumstances. Part 5 is entitled ‘Ignatian Tips for Keeping Balance in our Mental Health: An Advisory’. Once again, Gleeson borrows from McManus for this section. This part begins with an excellent synopsis of the common-sense advice that McManus prepared for young people trying to cope with fragile mental health. Immediately following this advice is a prayer from Edith Stein, or St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, who died in Auschwitz. In a delicate ‘Afterword’, Gleeson recalls the ‘togetherness’ that Australians feel on ANZAC Day and teases out the universal implications of this sentiment by recalling the radical sense of union and harmony that St Ignatius and his early companions felt both in the universe and among each other. The book finishes with a Hope prayer inspired by Liam Lawton’s Hope Prayer-Words to Nourish the Soul, published in Ireland in 2009. This beautiful little book, Springboards, is clearly one inviting collective action rather than individual contemplation. It has the flavour more of a set of spiritual exercises, than a lectio divina. From his vast educational experience, Chris Gleeson has provided a valuable spiritual guide-book to students, teachers and the wider educational community, to help all of them navigate leadership challenges in a discerning, balanced way. Springboards is much more than a book of prayers. Ashley Evans SJ (as above). Massimo Faggioli, Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States (New London, CT: Bayard, 2021), 176 pages. Pope Francis’ speech to the US Congress on 24 September 2015 focused on the American dream of both civil liberty and civil rights. When he gave his speech, he was flanked by two Catholic congressmen, John Boehner and Joe Biden. His speech focused on some key intellectual sources of Christianity in the United States that moved the dial away from a conservative reading of the history. He proposed Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton as four of its key figures. The latter two are significant because they shaped the thought of left social Catholicism, and argued for radical social justice in early and mid-twentieth-century America. Both Day Studies • volume 110 • number 439 389 Autumn 2021: Book Reviews and Merton wrote about the spirituality of non-violence and civil rights, especially focusing on eradicating poverty, racism, the death penalty and war. Inhismostrecentbook,MassimoFaggioli,achurchhistorianandProfessor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University in Philadelphia, who has written some important scholarly works on the reception of the Second Vatican Council within the Catholic church, reflects on the role and significance of Catholicism in the life of the incumbent US president Joe Biden and in the US more generally. His focus here is on the impact of a Biden administration on US Catholicism. He describes the election of Biden as ‘a particularly Catholic moment’, but also one that reflects deep tensions between two different ideological camps within the church in the US. In fact, Biden’s Catholicism has divided American Catholics in a way that was unthinkable during John F Kennedy’s presidency. The change, according to Faggioli, is to be understood in the light of the developing political culture wars in the country. It also encompasses a neo-conservative, neo-traditionalist shift towards a new form of illiberalism, which is critical of the main thrust of American democracy, itself rooted in a strain of liberalism to be found uniquely in the US. Faggioli’s work probes a significant question: what does it mean to be both American and Catholic in the twenty-first century? This has wider significance because of the influence of American Catholicism on political life within the United States. The American church in the last century was the largest and richest domestic Catholic church in the world, with indirect implications for Irish Catholicism. For many decades in the US, Catholic progressive politics had contributed to issues of economic justice, human rights, healthcare, education, social welfare, the anti-war movement, racial justice, and refugees and migration, and all this had a global reach and influence. Following on from the Kennedy era, Catholics had begun to feel they were...