Current ARCS Awards

Karissa Marble-Flint, Ph.D., CCC-SLP - "Summer Literacy Camp 2022" (FY22)

Karissa Marble-Flint headshot

Dr. Karissa Marble-Flint
Assistant Professor of Communication
College of Health Professions
 
Karissa Marble-Flint, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Wichita State University (WSU) in Wichita, Kansas. She earned her doctorate in Communication Sciences and Disorders from WSU and her Master of Science in Education degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Her major research, teaching, and clinical interests include written language assessment and intervention, literacy and autism spectrum disorder, and technology for language-literacy assessment and intervention. Dr. Marble-Flint is the director of the Literacy in Kansas (LinKS) Lab where she coordinates a Summer Literacy Camp for struggling readers and writers, and she supervises graduate students conducting language-literacy evaluations and research projects.  In addition, she is the co-director and a co-principal investigator of the Center for Educational Technologies to Assist Refugee Learners (CETARL).
 

Project Abstract:

Since 2018, graduate students in the Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology (MA-SLP) program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) have participated as student clinicians in Summer Literacy Camp. This applied learning practicum experience provides language-literacy intervention for children in the Wichita Metropolitan Area. The camp is held at the WSU Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. Children who struggle with reading and writing skills in school attend the Summer Literacy Camp for seven weeks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for four hours each morning. Numbers of children participating in this program have averaged around 10-12 each summer. Through this ARC award, the goal is to increase the number of children participating.

Summer Literacy Camp 2022 has three research goals. First, the child participants’ skills in various areas of literacy will improve throughout the seven weeks and at follow-up. The skills measured will include phonological awareness (understanding that words can be divided into parts such as sounds and syllables), vocabulary, story comprehension, spelling, and writing. Progress on these skills will be measured on the first and final day of the camp using pre- and post-test measures. In addition, prior to camp, a standardized assessment of language and literacy will be used as a baseline measure. Second, the graduate students assisting the child participants will be surveyed on their experience for program evaluation and for descriptive research. Third, the parents/caregivers of the child participants will complete surveys to determine social validity of the camp.

Laila Ballout, Ph.D. -  "Saving Lebanon: Human Rights, Ethnic Politics, and Religion in the Reagan Era" (FY23)

Laila Ballout headshot

Dr. Laila Ballout
Assistant Professor of History
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
 
Dr. Laila Ballout is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Wichita State University. Her research focuses on the intersections of U.S. foreign relations, immigration history, religion, and politics. Her scholarly writing has appeared in the journal, Diplomatic History. Her current book project, “Saving Lebanon: Religion, Ethnic Politics, and Human Rights in the Reagan Era” examines how U.S. entanglements with war in Lebanon from 1976-1990 reshaped the role of religion in U.S. foreign policy, the political advocacy of Middle Eastern-Americans, and U.S. human rights politics.

Project Abstract:

This project examines the U.S. relationship with Lebanon in the Reagan era as an essential site to understand the realignment of U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War toward confrontation with the ‘Muslim World,’ the concurrent growth of hostility toward Arab Americans in the U.S., and the development of organizations to defend Arab and Muslim American rights.

War in Lebanon attracted the interest of a diverse community of Americans whose engagement in Lebanon was driven by major developments in U.S. politics. These included the growth of the evangelical movement and popularization of Christian Zionist beliefs, the political awakening of Lebanese and Arab Americans, and the rise of human rights politics as force in U.S. policymaking. “Saving Lebanon” examines the centrality of the U.S. relationship with Lebanon to three transformations in U.S. politics at the end of the twentieth century. First, the development of the role of religion, especially Christianity and Islam, in U.S. foreign relations. This study considers the influence of evangelical Christian Zionism beyond the almost exclusive focus on Israel of previous studies. Similarly, this work considers the U.S. relationship with the development of Islamic politics in Lebanon directly, rather than as an extension of the Iranian Revolution. Second, this study contributes to an emerging body of scholarship examining Arab American political engagement and the origins of Islamophobia by focusing on an understudied decade, the 1980s. Finally, this era of heightened involvement in Lebanon took place during a period in which U.S. claims to global leadership were often rooted in advocacy for human rights. By examining how a wide range of activists, and both the Carter and Reagan administrations used these narratives to justify involvement in Lebanon, this work illustrates the plurality of ways that human rights were interpreted and used politically.

Ted Adler - "Testing Clay Body Properties and Suitability to 3D Printing (FY23)

 Ted Adler headshot

Ted Adler
Professor of Ceramic Media
Art, Design & Creative Industries
College of Fine Arts
 

Ted Adler is an artist and potter, primarily working with woodfired ceramics. He has exhibited work in more than 125 exhibitions throughout the US and abroad, including a solo exhibition at Greenwich House Pottery’s Jane Hartsook Gallery in New York City.  Currently serving as Professor of Art and Area Head of Ceramics Media at Wichita State University, Adler received his BA from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR in 1993 and his MFA from Ohio University in Athens, OH in 2002. He also studied with renowned artist Toshiko Takaezu, with whom he apprenticed for more than a year in her Quakertown, NJ studio. He recently completed an artist-in-residence at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a 2019 recipient of a McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists. Adler has lectured and demonstrated at numerous ceramic centers and universities across the nation, including the Archie Bray Foundation, Red Lodge Clay Center, Arrowmont School of Crafts, and the Anderson Ranch Art Center.

Project Abstract:

The strength, functionality, and aesthetic properties of a ceramic object are determined by numerous factors including clay body composition, firing schedule and method, and surface treatment. Artists carefully alter their clay body formulation in order to achieve the properties best suited for their projects. By testing different clay bodies with the Delta WASP 3D clay printer that is currently located in ADCI’s Henrion Hall 3D Printing Lab, data will be collected to determine how the consistency of clay (i.e. water content), proportion of ingredients, and additives (such as plasticizers, deflocculants, and colorants) affect the print quality, smoothness of clay extrusion, adhesion of the clay strata, shrinkage rates, vitrification, and defects or deformation during firing.

James Beck, Ph.D. - "Is Oklahoma Phlox real? A phylogenetic and population genetic analysis of the Kansas/Oklahoma endemic plant Phlox oklahomensis" (FY23)

James_Beck_photo

Dr. James Beck
Assistant Professor Biological Sciences
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

 

James Beck is an Associate Professor in the Biological Sciences Department at WSU, specializing in plant diversity and evolution. He received his B.S. from Eastern Kentucky University, PhD from Washington University (St. Louis), and performed postdoctoral research at Duke University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Project Abstract:

Very few plant species are restricted to the central Great Plains.  One of these, Oklahoma Phlox (Phlox oklahomensis) is known from only 9 counties in Oklahoma and Kansas.  This globally rare species was recognized in 1944 based on its short styles relative to its presumed closest relative Phlox bifida.  This is only a minor morphological difference, however, and no study has ever evaluated the genetic distinctiveness of Oklahoma Phlox.  Is P. oklahomensis a genetically distinctive lineage, or is it just a minor morphological variant of P. bifida?  Additionally, no study has ever documented the levels of genetic diversity within P. oklahomensis populations.  Previous work has suggested that Oklahoma phlox is primarily self-fertilizing, which implies very low levels of genetic variation.  Do populations of P. oklahomensis contain genetic variation?  This project will answer these questions with genetic and genomic analyses of Oklahoma Phlox and related species.  Results will inform conservation strategies associated with this rare species.

Michael Sylvester - "Margaret Harshaw (1912 - 1997): Her Insights into Vocal Technique and Pedagogy as told by her students" (FY23)

Michael Sylvester head shot

Michael Sylvester
Associate Professor of Voice
College of Fine Arts
 

Tenor Michael Sylvester, widely considered one of the finest lyric spinto tenors of his generation, holds a B.M. from Westminster Choir College and a M.M. from Indiana University. A 1989 article in USA Today named Mr. Sylvester as one of the two most important tenors of his generation. He has sung leading roles in the major opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, London’s Covent Garden, Milan’s La Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, Opera Australia’s Sydney Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Paris Opera, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Houston Grand Opera, Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, Staatsoper Berlin, Grand Theater de Geneva, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Florence’s Maggio Musicale, Hamburg Staatsoper, Bonn Staatsoper, Frankfurt Staatsoper, Opera de Toulouse, the New Israeli Opera and many others. During the 1990s, Mr. Sylvester sang more performances at the Metropolitan Opera of Radames in Verdi’s opera AIDA than any other tenor.
Among others his opera repertoire includes Radames in AIDA (which he has sung over 150 times), the title role Don Carlo in DON CARLO, Adorno in SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Cavaradossi in TOSCA, Pinkerton in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Calaf in TURANDOT, Rodolfo in LA BOHEME, Bacchus in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Samson in SAMSON ET DALILA, Don Jose in CARMEN and Pollione in NORMA. All in all, he has performed close to fifty leading roles. The many works he has performed in concert include Verdi’s REQUIEM, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony #8 and Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with orchestras worldwide.
Among his recordings are the title role in DON CARLO with James Levine (Sony Classics), Adorno in SIMON BOCCANEGRA with Sir George Solti (Decca), Calaf in TURANDOT (EMI video), Mahler’s Symphony #8 with Robert Shaw (Telarc) and Mendelssohn’s Die ertse Walpurgisnacht (Arabesque). Additionally, he has been featured in numerous Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and in other broadcast and televised performances around the world.
Currently, Mr. Sylvester is an Associate Professor of Voice at Wichita State University. Before that he was on the faculty at DePaul University, Indiana University, and the University of Indianapolis. He is General Director and Co-Founder of the Bel Canto Institute San Miguel, a training program for select singers with career potential. In 2018 he founded the first-ever Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Mexico. Commonly referred to as the Met Auditions, this historic Mexico District Met Opera Auditions is the first Met District outside of the USA in many decades, and only the second international district. He served as the Master Teacher and Artist-in-Residence for the Concurso San Miguel opera competition, the largest for Mexican opera singers. Mr. Sylvester taught annually at the iSing! Festival in China (prior to the Covid pandemic) and often at Chicago Summer Opera.
His students, Bass-baritone, Le Bu and soprano Denis Velez, recently won respectively the 2022 and 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Finals. Le Bu joined the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut, and Denis Velez joined the Ryan Opera Center of the Chicago Lyric Opera. Another of his students from Mexico, Yunuet Laguna, was also accepted into the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and also made a Metropolitan Opera debut. Additionally, Mr. Sylvester has students performing in North America and Europe and
several that have been successful in national and international competitions.
In recent years, Mr. Sylvester has turned his performing talents toward recital and concert work, having given recitals in Chicago, Rochester (NY), Atlanta, Toledo (OH), Indianapolis, Ridgefield (CT), Wichita (KS), and San Miguel de Allende (Mexico). Recent concerts have included Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Beethoven’s Symphony #9.
He has just finished his first book, English Diction and Enunciation for North American Singers, and is finalizing its publication and eventual interactive e-book publication. Currently he is working on a project called A Survey of Historically Important Classical Singers of the 20th Century, an audio project aimed at introducing young singers to the singers that came before them.

Project Abstract:

Margaret Harshaw was among the finest classical/opera voice teachers of the latter half of the 20th century. Harshaw’s skill as a teacher was legend and she produced many fine singers who had outstanding international careers and many others who became excellent voice teachers. I was her student from 1974 until her death in 1997 and if I may say, with humility, I was also among her most professionally successful students.
One thing that Harshaw was adamant about was none of her students should ever write a book describing her teaching. She was firm in this. She believed that no one can adequately learn to sing at a high level by reading a book. Many facets of what might be printed could be misunderstood and/or misinterpreted. An opinion that I agree with.
The youngest of her students are now near their sixties. My fear is that the wealth of knowledge and skill she developed, which built on the work of Manuel Garcia II (1805-1906), one of the founders of modern vocal technique, will be lost as her students die. To that end, I want to interview as many of her students as possible on video. From those video interviews I will edit and create a document of her teachings. This video would serve as a repository of Harshaw’s teaching and technique. It will document as best as possible the
vocal technique and teaching methods of Margaret Harshaw as told directly by many of her students.

Maojun Gong, Ph.D - Develop Microfluidic Platforms and Technologies to Enable Sensitive Detection of Glyphosate in Complicated Samples (FY23)

Headshot of Maojun Gong

Dr. Maojun Gong 
Associate Professor of Chemistry 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 
Dr. Gong is an Associate Profession in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Cincinnati and postdoctoral training in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Michigan Ann Arbor. His research lies in the analytical instrumentation and method development based on microfluidic platform and electrophoretic separations tackling analytical challenges.

Project Abstract:

Glyphosate, the effective chemical component in Roundup herbicide, has aroused concerns of human health and environmental effect; as such, continued efforts are made to elucidate its lifecycles and the association with diseases.  Although various analytical techniques have been developed for the measurements of glyphosate and its degradation products, challenges lie in how to accurately and sensitively determine low levels in various complicated samples including environmental and biological sources since both glyphosate and its major degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) are highly ionic, which limits the available methods for their quantitative measurements. The objective of this proposal is to develop an integrated microfluidic platform and technologies for rapid, sensitive, and accurate determination of glyphosate and AMPA based on electrophoretic separations. The system will integrate three modules: sample preparation module with solid phase extraction by molecularly imprinted polymer, analyte derivatization module with various fluorogenic agents, and electrophoretic separation module coupled with online sample preconcentration strategies. The platform and methods will be validated by using the standard protocols of analytical procedures, and their applications will be demonstrated by measuring glyphosate and AMPA in surface water, soil, and urine samples. The project will provide a platform and technologies with innovative sample processing procedures and a sensitive detection system with high-throughput capability. The system and technologies are expected to determine glyphosate and AMPA in the levels of pico-molar ranges thus enabling the measurements of glyphosate in biological fluids such as urine and blood plasma as well as tissues.

Jennifer Ray- Shouting Fire: Completion of Photography Monograph Project (FY23)

Headshot of Jennifer Ray

Jennifer Ray 
Associate Professor of Photo Media 
College of Fine Arts 
Jennifer Ray received her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and BA in Studio Art from Oberlin College. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Museo del Barro, the Fundación Bienal Asunción, and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. It was selected for the 1st Asunción Biennial (Paraguay) and Bienal de Curitiba (Brazil) and has been exhibited at the RISD Museum of Art, the Chelsea Art Museum, Gallery 44, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Hyde Park Art Center, and Chicago Cultural Center, among other venues. She’s been awarded residencies at Latitude Chicago, ACRE, and Unpack (Havana/Toronto). Her work is included in the Collector's Guide to New Art Photography, published by Humble Arts Foundation. She’s received research grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Columbia College, the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, Oberlin College, and Wichita State University. She is currently Associate Professor of Photo Media at Wichita State University.

Project Abstract:

During the summer of 2023, I will continue and complete the pre-production phase of my first monograph, to be published by Push/Pull Editions. This will be a book of photographs and text from my decade-long project Shouting Fire, which examines gun culture in America, its deep roots in our history, and the role it plays in our contemporary collective psyche. Pre-production will entail producing a set of proof prints, writing a didactic introduction text, collaborating with a creative writer on an artistic response to the images (to be included in the book design), and traveling to Corvallis, and OR to finalize design choices. I will also re-develop my website to fully include Shouting Fire and to provide information about the book.

Levente Sulyok- Contemplating borders across culture by poetic museology. (FY23)

Headshot of Levente Sulyok

Levente Sulok 
Professor of Painting and Drawing
College of Fine Arts 
Born in Hungary in 1973, Levente Sulyok immigrated to the United States at age 17. He holds a BA degree in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA degree in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. Sulyok has participated in over 50 exhibitions across the US and internationally over the past decade. His work has been included in the 1st Asuncion Biennial (Paraguay); the 12th Havana Biennial (Cuba); the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum in San Antonio TX; the Ulrich Museum of Art; the University of the Pacific, Stockton CA; Wabash College, IN; and he was the principal artist behind a collaborative intervention into the dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany. Sulyok works as a Professor of Painting at Wichita State University in Wichita, KS. His work is in collections both private and public. With the support of this grant, Sulyok is preparing for inclusion in an international exhibition in Brazil, and his first international solo exhibition in Canada.

Project Abstract:

My current research and creative work responds to the tensions between the reemergence of authoritarian nationalism in central Europe, specifically Hungary, and the fluidity of cultural traditions which make up a nation. Culture is deeper and older than the nation, and often exists across its borders. Hungary lost 70% of its territory in 1920. In the proposed work, I borrow elements of folk culture preceding this date to contrast national borders with cultural traditions, which defy them. My plans include translating antique folk patterns of Hungarian origin, from both inside and outside of the nation’s current borders, into sound using an image-to-sound converter. I will also develop sculptural projects in the context of Hungary’s hand-painted furniture tradition which combine and hybridize traditional patterns from regions of historical Hungary with patterns from regions within the contemporary nation. Lastly, I will create a series of installations consisting of altered museum display cabinets containing artifacts of Hungarian origin. The artifacts will originate from the 1880-1920 time-period from regions both inside and outside of the current borders of the nation. This work registers somewhere between museum curation in the field of anthropology, and visual art. Such poetic gestures have a common intention. They interrogate the idea of ‘origin’ by contemplating the borders between national culture and folk traditions; between general concept and specific objects; and between culture as an embodied experience in the analog world and its flattening in the digital realm that almost entirely defines human experience across the ‘developed world’ today. 

Current MURPA Awards

C. Brendan Clark, Ph.D.-  Development of an agent based model to inform the electronic vehicle infrastructure (FY23)

Headshot of Brendan Clark

Dr. C. Brendan Clark
Associate Professor 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 
 

Dr. C. Brendan Clark’s current research attempts to measure the patterns of social cognition and group decision making through the use of behavioral economic paradigms. Dr. Clark graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2010. His thesis and dissertation focused on interpersonal perception, out-group discrimination, and ways of reducing it. He completed a clinical internship at the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi, Mississippi and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The bulk of his research thus far has centered on mitigating the social problems faced by various clinical populations. This line of research has focused on addiction, psychopathology, interpersonal conflict, and social cognition. He has written papers examining a wide variety of topics within these categories including: mortality, suicide, substance use, effects of trauma, cigarette smoking, and HIV risk. He has recently narrowed his research focus to examine the role of social cognition in cooperation. His work in this area has produced several papers so far.  His future goals are to better understand the patterns of social cognition associated with different forms of mental illness and group behavior and to aid in mitigating deficits in these areas.

Project Abstract:

Kansas is set to receive 40 million dollars under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program as part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill. This money will be used to greatly expand the charging station infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). Determining where to build these new charging stations presents significant logistical challenges. There are numerous differences between fueling conventional cars and charging electric vehicles. Current tools are insufficient to inform location choices for the state of Kansas. This project will combine knowledge of consumer behavior with data on power grid demand to create an agent-based modeling (ABM) in order to determine optimal building locations. The goal of the model is to simulate human behavior while also taking the demands of the power grid into account.

Claire Gregory, Ph.D., LCPC-KS, LPC-TX, LCDC-TX, NCC- The Impact of HRV-Biofeedback Training on Special Education Teacher Stress and Perceptions of Stress (FY23)

Headshot of Claire Gregory

Dr. Claire Gregory 
Assistant Professor of Counseling
College of Applied Studies
 
Claire Gregory is an Assistant Professor for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and the Addiction Counseling Coordinator at Wichita State University. Before joining WSU, Dr. Gregory earned both her master’s degree and PhD from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She was also employed as a professional ballet dancer for Ballet San Antonio for 7 seasons. Dr. Gregory developed her research agenda around creativity and the mind-body connection, which ultimately lead to her dissertation focus (i.e., neurofeedback intervention for substance use disorder) and current interests of using neurofeedback/biofeedback for self-regulation with single-case research designs.
 

Project Abstract:

Special education teachers experience work-related stress that interferes with their quality of work. The purpose of this mixed methods study will seek to examine the influence of biofeedback training for stress-reduction and self-regulation utilizing both subjective and objective indicators during their practicum for in-service special education teachers. Participants will receive Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB) training using the Neurobit Optima+ ™ device and BioExplorer software for building their awareness of physiological stress signs while also learning how to reduce stress. Using a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design (SCED) across participants, both psychological and physiological indices of stress will be measured quantitatively before and after students engage in the (HRVB) training. Special education teachers will provide qualitative, subjective indicators of stress through post-intervention interviews that will be triangulated with self-reflection notes. The proposed study will highlight if the use of HRVB training is beneficial for reducing stress and improving self-regulation alongside unveiling insights into stressors using qualitative analysis. The application of a mixed methods study that involves single-case experimental and qualitative case study methodologies offers the production of new knowledge and novelty in the methodological approach, while simultaneously testing the effectiveness of an intervention and attending to the concerns and insights of the persons involved.

Reagan Murnan, Ph.D. - The Impact of HRV-Biofeedback Training on Special Education Teacher Stress and Perceptions of Stress (FY23)

Headshot of Reagan Murnan

Dr. Reagan Murnan 
Assistant Professor of Special Education 
College of Applied Studies 
 

Reagan Murnan is an Assistant Professor of special education and the co-chair of the high-incidence disabilities program. Before joining the Intervention Services and Leadership in Education team at Wichita State University, Reagan earned both her bachelors and masters from George Mason University. Her research interests include special education teacher preparation, writing for students with disabilities, and digital literacy. Reagan is an affiliate member of the ARISE (Achieving Results in Special Education) Research Collaborative, which serves as a link between research and practice for schools and the community. In her free time, Reagan enjoys cheering for DC sports teams and cooking.

Project Abstract:

Special education teachers experience work-related stress that interferes with their quality of work. The purpose of this mixed methods study will seek to examine the influence of biofeedback training for stress-reduction and self-regulation utilizing both subjective and objective indicators during their practicum for in-service special education teachers. Participants will receive Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB) training using the Neurobit Optima+ ™ device and BioExplorer software for building their awareness of physiological stress signs while also learning how to reduce stress. Using a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design (SCED) across participants, both psychological and physiological indices of stress will be measured quantitatively before and after students engage in the (HRVB) training. Special education teachers will provide qualitative, subjective indicators of stress through post-intervention interviews that will be triangulated with self-reflection notes. The proposed study will highlight if the use of HRVB training is beneficial for reducing stress and improving self-regulation alongside unveiling insights into stressors using qualitative analysis. The application of a mixed methods study that involves single-case experimental and qualitative case study methodologies offers the production of new knowledge and novelty in the methodological approach, while simultaneously testing the effectiveness of an intervention and attending to the concerns and insights of the persons involved.

Raj Logan, Ph.D.- Deciphering the Organogenetic Biomechanical Code (FY23)

Headshot of Raj Logan

Dr. Raj Logan 
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 
 

Raj is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and directs the WSU DAISY (Developmental And Integrative Systems Biology) Lab. His lab uses the fruit fly, Drosophila, as a model system to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of organ formation during embryogenesis. Raj attended the Madras Medical College, India, for undergraduate training and the University of Kansas Medical Center for graduate school. He performed postdoctoral research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine prior to starting his research group at WSU.

Project Abstract:

Organ formation is associated with large-scale motion dynamics within the embryo. The protein network that supports cells—Extracellular Matrix (ECM)—has been studied as a passive substrate that functions exclusively to support cell motion. To form tissues and organs, however, embryos need to transport the ECM along with cells in the form of a tissue composite. Although some studies have shown that ECM is less static in the context of embryogenesis, the material properties that confer it with a dynamic role are not known. Taking a multidisciplinary approach—with the power to apply genetics, molecular biology, and mechanobiology techniques in the Drosophila (fruit fly) embryo—we test the hypothesis that the ECM is critical for organ formation by virtue of its highly dynamic material properties. Our findings are expected to provide evidence for the dynamic roles of ECM in organogenesis and could potentially result
in the refinement of models that underpin current methods to engineer tissues for biomedical applications.

David Long, Ph.D.- Deciphering the Organogenetic Biomechanical Code (FY23)

Headshot of David Long

Dr. David Long
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering 
College of Engineering 
 

David is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and directs the WSU Mechanobiology and Biomedicine Lab. His lab studies the biophysics of cells and tissues by customizing the instrumentation needed for quantifying their mechanobiological properties in the context of health and disease. David attended the Tennessee Tech University for undergraduate training and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for graduate school. He performed postdoctoral research at Duke University Pratt School of Engineering and held appointments at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, prior to starting his research group at WSU.

Project Abstract:

Organ formation is associated with large-scale motion dynamics within the embryo. The protein network that supports cells—Extracellular Matrix (ECM)—has been studied as a passive substrate that functions exclusively to support cell motion. To form tissues and organs, however, embryos need to transport the ECM along with cells in the form of a tissue composite. Although some studies have shown that ECM is less static in the context of embryogenesis, the material properties that confer it with a dynamic role are not known. Taking a multidisciplinary approach—with the power to apply genetics, molecular biology, and mechanobiology techniques in the Drosophila (fruit fly) embryo—we test the hypothesis that the ECM is critical for organ formation by virtue of its highly dynamic material properties. Our findings are expected to provide evidence for the dynamic roles of ECM in organogenesis and could potentially result
in the refinement of models that underpin current methods to engineer tissues for biomedical applications.

 

Darren DeFrain, Ph.D.- No Choice But Action: A Collaborative Project Uniting Literature and Music (FY24)

Headshot of Darren DeFrain

Dr. Darren DeFrain
Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program
College of Liberal Arts
 

Darren DeFrain is Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program at Wichita State University. In addition to his ongoing work as the co-founder (with Aaron Rodriguez) of Vizling, an app designed to provide blind and low-vision readers with a more equitable and accessible reading experience with multimodal texts like comics, he is completing a book on the postpunk history of Kansas with colleague Fran Connor. DeFrain is the author of the novel The Salt Palace and story collection Inside & Out.

 

Project Abstract:

This proposed project, spearheaded by Co-PIs Darren DeFrain of the Department of English at Wichita State University and Joshua Smith of Art, Design, and Creative Industries aims to complement the forthcoming release of the book No Choice But Action by Darren DeFrain and Fran Connor, set to be published by KU Press in Spring 2025. The project's central goal is to bridge the realms of literature and music by curating, mastering, and releasing an anthology album featuring songs by Kansas bands discussed in the book.

This collaboration will draw upon the resources and expertise of Shocker Studios/KMUW (notably through the commitment of Torin Andersen) and the School of Art, Design, and Creative Industries at Wichita State University. Students from these departments will be actively engaged in the project, gaining valuable hands-on experience in various aspects of music production, design, and archiving. This interdisciplinary endeavor will provide a unique opportunity for students to apply their academic knowledge in a practical, real-world context.

One significant aspect of the project involves preserving and revitalizing the musical heritage of Kansas, particularly within the postpunk genre. The anthology album will feature tracks from bands that played a pivotal role in Kansas' music history, including rare and previously undiscovered recordings. By doing so, this initiative contributes to the preservation of cultural artifacts that might otherwise be lost to time.

Current URCA Awards

Dosun Ko, Ph.D. - "A Participatory Design of a Culturally Sustaining, Inclusive Support System through Building a University-School-Family-Community Partnership" (FY22)
 Dr. Dosun Ko
Dr. Dosun Ko
Assistant Professor of Elementary Education
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
College of Applied Studies
 

Dosun Ko is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education. He received his Ph.D. in special education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. Formerly, he worked as an inclusive elementary classroom teacher in South Korea. As an immigrant scholar, his scholarship centers primarily on equity issues in special/inclusive education at the intersection of different social markers. He has been working with urban and rural school communities to design and implement culturally responsive behavioral support systems to address racial disproportionality in school discipline and special education. He serves as a vice president of the Council for Exceptional Children Division of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners.

Project Abstract:

Students of color from economically marginalized urban communities encounter multiple forms of marginalization in learning opportunities with consequential outcomes. Systemic transformation is needed to ensure students of color with and without disabilities are equally engaged in learning and have access to learning opportunities that will lead to meaningful educational progress. Consistent with recent critical inclusive education scholarship, this project investigates the use of Learning Lab to design a culturally sustaining, universal design for learning support system at one Midwestern urban middle school that has been struggling with disparities in the achievement gap and school discipline at the intersection of race, class, disability, and other intersecting social makers. Learning Lab is a community-driven, systemic design process in which administrators, educators, family, and community members work together to identify systemic challenges in the existing school system and design locally meaningful solutions in response to local schools’ goals, needs, and ever-changing local dynamics. To investigate the systemic design process, this study will utilize a critical design ethnography methodology that involves the combination of critical ethnography and community-based participatory design work aimed at systemic transformation. This project will empower school stakeholders to restructure their school system to better serve all students in the post COVID-19 era by developing a culturally sustaining, inclusive support system. Also, this community-based systemic design project will impact theory and practice by providing a participatory research-practice partnership model by leveraging local stakeholders’ ingenuity, cultural resources, and experiential knowledge to generate locally meaningful solutions to inequities in education.

Robert M. Owens, Ph.D. - "Death is not the end: Posthumous incorporation and punishment in early America." (FY22)
 Dr. Robert Owens
Dr. Robert M. Owens
Professor of History
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Dr. Robert M. Owens earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and serves as Professor of History at Wichita State University. He is the author of Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy (Oklahoma, 2007), Red Dreams, White Nightmares: Pan-Indian Alliances in the Anglo-American Mind, 1763-1815 (Oklahoma, 2015), and the document reader 'Indian Wars' and the Struggle for Eastern North America, 1763-1842 (Routledge, 2019). His current projects examine the intersection of murder and diplomacy on the Early American Frontier, and the posthumous treatment of friends and foes in Early America.

Project Abstract:

Much like their European contemporaries, colonial and Native Americans often did not allow death to end the dialogue with friend or foe. Whether it was army officers giving military funerals to prominent native leaders, Native American 'ritual cannibalism' of fallen enemies, or multiple groups mutilating the corpses of adversaries, early America saw numerous attempts to posthumously honor, desecrate, or incorporate the dead. I will explore the motivations and logic pursued in these actions upon the body. Was there a deeper purpose, besides instilling terror or conveying gratitude, to these treatments? How did they change over time? What can shifting attitudes about 'the body' - ritual cannibalism and scalping fell from favor, while elaborate funerary rites became more popular - tell us about life, and death, in early America? 

By exploring these questions, I hope to provide a greater understanding of how all groups in early America -- colonists, slaves, Native Americans -- viewed the significance of existence and value of their lives, and deaths. This grant will allow me to read the private and official correspondence of numerous early American figures -- government officials, merchants, Native leaders (often second hand in the sources), common citizens, etc. I will visit the Georgia Archives in Atlanta, the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston, and the P.K. Yonge Library at the University of Florida – Gainesville.

Smita Srivastava, Ph.D. - "I can do it: Entrepreneurial Self-Image and Learning from Failure" (FY22)
 Dr. Smita Srivastava
Dr. Smita Srivastava
Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Barton School of Business
 

Project Abstract:

“The sting of failure is a motivational tool for entrepreneurs who want to succeed….what is important is learning from failure”, Elon Musk, CEO Tesla. Although failure of a business provides an opportunity for an entrepreneur to learn from it and use the learning in the subsequent businesses, not all entrepreneurs learn alike from their failures. We examine why some entrepreneurs learn less from failure than others and under what conditions the learning from failure can be facilitated.  Prior research has shown that some entrepreneurs may not learn after failure due to the negative emotions such as grief that may interfere with entrepreneurs’ ability to process information and others may not learn because of cognitive biases to attribute their own failure to external factors. But we argue that even if entrepreneurs can recover from negative emotions or overcome cognitive biases, they may still not learn from failure if they lack the motivation to do so. We focus on the motivational aspect of learning from failure and posit that entrepreneurs will be motivated to learn from failure due to two important factors, that is, if they have positive self-image (how I see myself) and high desire to prove others wrong. We address our research questions using two survey-based longitudinal studies, Study 1 with young entrepreneurs participating at the Shockers New Venture Competition at WSU & Study 2, with experienced entrepreneurs using Crowdfunding campaigns. The results will fundamentally contribute to our understanding on the learning orientation of entrepreneurs’ especially after they have experienced failure.

Amy Alberton, Ph.D. MSW - "Relative Risks of Indigenous Peoples Being Reported Missing and Murdered Across the USA: Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis" (FY22)

Amy Alberton headshot

Dr. Amy Alberton
Assistant Professor in School of Social Work
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Amy Alberton, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. Dr. Alberton received her undergraduate degree in Criminology (with a minor in political science) in 2010, her MSW in 2016, and her PhD in Social Work in 2021, all from the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She was thrilled to join Wichita State University’s School of Social Work in August 2021.

Dr. Alberton’s research agenda is focused on the pursuit of social justice through anti-oppressive practices, programs, and policies. Particularly, the foundation of her area of interest is the elimination of structural violence, including colonialism, or systemic barriers. Notably, between 2017 and 2019, Dr. Alberton served as the principal writer and researcher for the First Nations Youth Suicide Prevention Curriculum which was released online in September 2019. She has presented at more than 20 peer-reviewed and invited conferences, has had six articles published in peer-reviewed journals and has several under review and in press. To date, Dr. Alberton has been awarded more than $55,000 in grants and scholarships to support her research.

Dr. Alberton has experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the USA and Canada related to policy, social welfare, direct and indirect social work practice, research (both practice and program evaluation), and statistics. She serves as Managing Editor for Critical Social Work: An Interdisciplinary Journal Dedicated to Social Justice, as a peer reviewer for several academic journals, and as a member of several committees for the School of Social Work.

Project Abstract:

The rate of Indigenous women and girls being reported missing across the United States of America (USA) is increasingly being understood as an epidemic and a crisis. However, there is a paucity of literature related to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, generally, across the USA. Moreover, there is significant variability across existing data. The goals of the proposed project are to contribute to recognition, understanding, and legitimization of the issues related to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, and specifically females, across the USA. These goals will be accomplished through a rapid review of the literature, a subsequent meta-analysis, and dissemination of findings through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

Using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software, the proposed project will test four hypotheses: 1) Indigenous peoples are at greater relative risk of being reported missing than non-Indigenous peoples across the USA; 2) Indigenous peoples are at greater relative risk of being reported as homicide victims than non-Indigenous peoples across the USA; 3) Indigenous women are at greater relative risk of being reported missing than non-Indigenous women in the USA; and 4) Indigenous women are at greater relative risk of being reported as homicide victims than non-Indigenous women in the USA.

This project will employ two Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs). The GRAs will be trained by the Principal Investigator to undertake a systematic, rapid review and will assist with the systematic, rapid review and cross-validation of studies selected to be included in the meta-analysis.

Jeff Hayton, Ph.D. - "Summits and Socialism: Mountaineering in the German Democratic Republic, 1945-1990" (FY22)

Jeff Hayton headshot

Dr. Jeff Hayton
Associate Professor of Modern European History
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Jeff Hayton is an Associate Professor of Modern European History at Wichita State University. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013. He has published numerous articles on popular culture, rock ‘n’ roll, and German history. His first book, Culture from the Slums: Punk Rock in East and West Germany, will appear with Oxford University Press in 2022. He is just beginning work on three new projects: 1) a survey of popular music in East Germany; 2) a study of mountains and mountaineering in East Germany; and 3) an examination of the relationship between video games and German history.

Project Abstract:

Despite the rich legacy of German mountaineering, climbing is rarely associated with East Germany, or socialism in general. In some respects, this absence is not surprising. Excluded from the Olympics and other international sporting competitions, mountaineering lacked the medals and prestige which attracted communist authorities during the Cold War. Denied access to the Alps or Himalaya—and lacking any peaks above 1,500 meters within the GDR—East German climbers toiled in obscurity while their more famous Western contemporaries scaled Mount Everest or the Matterhorn to global acclaim.

Such absence, however, belies the importance of mountains and mountaineering to East Germans over the decades from official efforts at integrating climbing into state structures and promoting climbing as a constituent of healthy socialist citizenship to amateurs clandestinely climbing peaks in Central Asia or secretly hosting American climbers back home. Caught between state interests and recreational activity, mountains and mountaineering were critical intersections of East German engagements with the natural world and the complex relationships between state authorities and socialist citizens.

Summits and Socialism: Mountaineering in the German Democratic Republic is the first attempt at reconstructing this remarkable but unknown history. Surmounting the material and ideological shortcomings of their society when needed, and forging workable relationships with the state as required, East German climbers found ways to climb big walls and tall peaks, and in this manner, nourished a distinctive culture, identity, and community. By examining East German climbing as an intersection of power and agency, Summits and Socialism investigates how mountaineering transformed the German Democratic Republic, and makes a compelling medium for exploring sport, socialism, and dictatorship.

Sun Young Lee, Ph.D. - "Dyslexia as language policy: Exploring the initial implementation stage of Dyslexia Initiatives in Wichita School District, Kansas" (FY22)

Sun Young Lee headshot

Dr. Sun Young Lee
Assistant Professor of Elementary Education
College of Applied Studies
 

Sun Young Lee, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education, Wichita State University. She obtained a Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with her Ph.D. minor degree in the Transdisciplinary Studies in Visual Cultures. As a prior elementary school teacher and current teacher educator, Dr. Lee’s scholarship brings critical, interdisciplinary, and post-structural approaches to studying teacher education policy and practice in the US and globally. This includes historical work that traces the changes of teacher education reform discourses as well as contemporary work that documents the ways that reform policies and practices are enacted in elementary classrooms and teacher education programs. Her latest work has been published in Curriculum Inquiry, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Teaching and Teacher Education, Paedagogica Historica, Qualitative Inquiry, among others. At WSU, Dr. Lee teaches courses in the elementary education program and supervises teaching interns in the Wichita School District.

Project Abstract:

Following the Kansas State Board of Education’s recommendations on dyslexia, Kansas schools began to implement the Dyslexia Initiatives (DI) in 2021. Teachers, as policy intermediaries, play a significant role in successfully enacting new education policy; therefore, figuring out teachers’ un-reported experiences during the early stage of the new initiatives is important for the success of the DI. This proposed research aims to explore teachers’ struggles, concerns, and suggestions during the initial implementation stage of DI in the Wichita School District. Twenty elementary school teachers will be interviewed with the semi-structured interview questions. The findings of the study will be used to develop programs for integrating the DI with culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy. As part of a larger project that explores the complicated relations among the science of reading, language policy, and culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy, the outcomes of this research will advance the knowledge on the current state of raciolinguistic construction of learning dis/ability in education policy and reform.

Irma Puškarević, Ph.D., MSc - "Letterform Archive: Uncovering lost work of the Western Balkans heritage" (FY22)

Irma Puskarevic headshot

Dr. Irma Puškarević
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
Department of Art, Design & Creative Industries
College of Fine Arts
 

Irma Puškarević is a Bosnian born, Wichita/Ljubljana-based graphic designer, lettering artist, and educator whose work focuses on her passion for type and typography. After pursuing a career as an English teacher and then as a documentary photographer, she discovered the landscape of graphic design and typography. This visual space allowed her to pursue creative and critical outcomes that are most faithful to her ways of thinking. Her pursuit of understanding the world of graphic design led her to work for design studios and accidentally start an academic career. 

Puškarević was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She holds a doctorate in graphic engineering and design from the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, where she had previously received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She is a coauthor of the textbook “Typefaces and Typography” (University of Novi Sad, 2015). Her academic research focuses on expressive qualities of typography in graphic communication. Her papers on the rhetoric of typography and effectiveness of typography in various communication contexts appear in journals, conference proceedings and as book chapters. Her artistic work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. 

Puškarević’s most recent research explores the phenomenon of multilingualism, i.e. multi-script typography, which has entered the world of graphic design due to globalization. She is currently organizing her academic research so it aligns with and informs her developing creative practice, which focuses on multilingual typography. She herself comes from a region that is historically connected to the use of bi-scriptural typography.

Zelalem Demissie, Ph.D. - "Project-based teaching approach to assist student utilizing Geographical Information System (GIS) technologies to solve local problems" (FY22)

Zelalem Demissie headshot

Dr. Zelalem Demissie
Assistant Professor of Environmental Geoscience
Department of Geology
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Zelalem Demissie is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Geoscience at Wichita State University. He has earned his Bachelor of Science in Geology and Geophysics from Addis Ababa University in 2000 and a Master of Science in Remote Sensing and GIS from his alma mater in 2005. He got his Ph.D. in Geology from Oklahoma State in 2018. He has over 20 years of experience in the industry and academia, spanning natural resource allocations to various change-detection projects and hazard predictions and mitigations. Demissie uses the spectrum of integrated techniques (GIS, geodesy, geophysics, Remote-sensing, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence) to study geo-environmental hazards triggered by natural processes or induced due to human interventions and provide solutions to mitigating the effects.

Project Abstract:

Geospatial technology was identified as a high-growth industry by the United States Department of Labor in 2004, and this initiative identified has many different career paths and skill sets that require geospatial skills. GEOL. 690Z: Applied GIS is a course in Geographic Information Science (GIS) that exposes students to geospatial technologies at Wichita State University. GEOL. 690Z balances the theoretical aspects and pre-packaged hands-on experience of lab activities to enhance the students' critical spatial thinking. Additionally, GEOL. 690Z incorporates a teaching approach that encourages graduate students to supervise undergraduate students and work in teams to complete project-based research.

Our project-based learning (PBL) approach uses authoritative, curated, and real-time geospatial data related to the current problems in our community. Moreover, acknowledging that students are faced with the rapidly changing employment outlook, GEOL 690Z provides actual data so that the material is more natural and tangible to the students. Furthermore, this kind of approach not only maintains a balance between theory and practice, but students become more attentive when they know that a problem solved in class could help them in their future careers. Hence, the PBL can bridge the gap between phenomena in the classroom and real-life experiences.

A few examples of final GIS interactive maps and apps designed by students enrolled in GIS690Z are presented here as hyperlinks https://arcg.is/1KW98e; https://arcg.is/0XLuuu; https://arcg.is/0nrTWD0. Valerie Ibarra, Guadalupe Gonzalez, and Eldon Taskinen are graduate students in the Geology Department, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Science, who designed the above interactive maps and apps.

Haifan Wu, Ph.D. - "Develop chemical cross-linkers to selectively label monmethylated lysine for the study of post-translational modification-specific local interactomes" (FY22)

Haifan Wu headshot

Dr. Haifan Wu
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Haifan is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Wichita State University.  He got his bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University (China) in 2010. Then, he moved to the US and did his PhD study with Prof. Jianfeng Cai at the University of South Florida. In 2015, he moved to University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to work with Prof. Bill DeGrado as a postdoctoral fellow. He started his independent career in Fall 2020, and his lab is developing tools to study protein structures and protein-protein interactions. Another research area is the drug discovery effort against neuroinflammation to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Project Abstract:

Histones are proteins on which DNA wraps around to form a basic storage unit called nucleosome. Besides its function as structural support for DNA storage, histones also control gene expression through a series of complex “molecular switches”—chemical modifications. Some modifications can turn on gene expression, and others turn off gene expression. This gene regulation by histone modification is critical to human development, and dysregulation has led to many diseases, including cancer and developmental disorders. There has been significant interest in identifying proteins that interact with histones with chemical modifications, because some of them can be potential drug targets. One example is histone deacetylase (HDAC), which removes acetyl modification from histones. So far there have been four FDA-approved drugs as HDAC inhibitors to treat cancer. Although several proteins have been identified to be important players in histone modifications, our understanding of this aspect is still limited due to a lack of research tools. The goal of this proposed research is to develop a robust method to rapidly identify these proteins. The outcome of this proposed study is research tools that can be used to analyze interaction partners of a specific histone modification in live cells. Such tools will facilitate the discovery of new histone interaction partners, some of which could be further validated as drug targets in cancer and many developmental disorders.

Jeoung Min Lee, Ph.D., MSW, MS - "College Cyberbullying Victimization among Racial, Sexual, and Gender Minorities and Their Suicidal Attempts and Self-Harm During the Covid-19 Pandemic" (FY23)  

Jeoung Min Lee headshot

Dr. Jeoung Min Lee
Assistant Professor in School of Social Work
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 
 

Dr. Jeoung Min Lee is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Wichita State University. She received her MSW at Soong Sil University in South Korea, M.S in Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University, and her Ph.D. in Social Work at Wayne State University. Her research interest includes bias-based bullying, cyberbullying, peer victimization of racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, LGBTQ, juvenile justice-involved, and economically disenfranchised adolescents and young adults. Minority adolescents are at an elevated risk of bullying and violence, also associated with risk behaviors, such as substance use and suicide. Thus, she plans to examine how bias-based bullying affects minority adolescents, including racial and ethnic minorities and sexual minorities among them in the United States and South Korea. She has also collaborated with South Korea, Taiwan, and Sweden scholars on research projects. Her recent research findings are cyberbullying victimization indirectly affected depression through a sense of purpose in life among college students. This study will emphasize the importance of cyberbullied college students’ purpose in life to college staff, administrators, faculty, and practitioners, which will provide them strategies to develop in-campus cyberbullying interventions for college students. For teaching, her primary role is to motivate students to learn. As an instructor, she will aim to create a learning environment where students can explore the materials and topics and effectively apply them into practice. She has taught research methods, program evaluation, policy, and human behavior in the social environment in micro and macro at Wayne State University and Wichita State University.

Project Abstract:

Since the Covid-19 burst out, most college students have had online/hybrid classes, which could increase their exposure to cyberbullying. Reduced interactions with supportive social circles may increase cyberbullying victimization, leading to psychosocial stigma. Non-dominant racial, gender, and sexual minorities may be especially likely to be victims of cyberbullying, and cyberbullying experiences may increase their likelihood to have suicidal thoughts/attempts or self-harm behaviors. However, few studies have examined the differences in cyberbullying victimization among gender, racial, and sexual minorities and how these victims are associated with suicidal thoughts/attempts and self-harm. Therefore, this study focuses on cyberbullying with gender, racial, and sexual minorities and how cyberbullying victimization mediates the association between these minorities and suicidal thoughts/attempts and self-harm among college students. Currently conducted cyberbullying prevention programs have not been concerned about race, gender, and sexual minority populations. The study findings will provide attention to practitioners, educators, and policymakers on improving the current anti-cyberbullying program for racial, gender, sexual minority students, which will eventually decrease minorities’ cyberbullying victimization and prevent their suicidal thoughts/attempts and self-harm behaviors.

Patrick Bondy, Ph.D. - "Wittgenstein on Knowledge, Disagreement, Skepticism, and Relativism" (FY23)

Patrick Bondy headshot

Dr. Patrick Bondy
Assistant Professor in Philosophy
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Patrick Bondy is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at WSU, where he regularly teaches a variety of courses, including courses in critical reasoning, the theory of knowledge, and metaphysics. His publications include Epistemic Rationality and Epistemic Normativity (2018, Routledge); an edited volume of original essays, Well-Founded Belief: New Essays on the Epistemic Basing Relation (2020, Routledge); and numerous essays, encyclopedia articles, and journal chapters. He was the recipient of the WSU Young Faculty Scholar Award in 2021.

Project Abstract:

This project will focus on the philosophical work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and the literature on skepticism, knowledge, and “epistemic hinges” that has sprung up in the wake of his posthumously published work, including, in particular, his Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty.

Wittgenstein’s work is rich and challenging, and it offers a down-to-earth understanding of language, knowledge, and action, that aims to defuse skeptical and other philosophical inquiries and challenges to our practices and our knowledge-claims. Central to Wittgenstein’s approach is the claim that there are fundamental epistemic “hinges” that must remain fixed in place in order for any other inquiry to be possible (as a door can only swing properly if its hinges remain fixed in place); and the claim that philosophical problems arise when language goes “on holiday”—when we take it out of its ordinary contexts of use. Wittgenstein argues that attempts to give direct responses to skeptics are just as misguided as the skeptical challenges themselves.

This project will aim to show that Wittgenstein’s notion of an epistemic hinge can be put to use in offering a direct and substantive reply to the skeptic, while at the same time not committing to Wittgenstein’s view that philosophical problems arise when language goes on holiday. For Wittgenstein, the theses about epistemic hinges and about the everyday contexts that give our language meaning go together; the aim of this project is to show that they can coherently be pulled apart, and that a satisfactory response to skepticism can be the result.

Andrew Swindle - "Mobility of Heavy Metals in Soils in Response to Climate Change" (FY23)

Andrew Swindle headshot

Dr. Andrew Swindle
Associate Professor in Geology
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Andrew’s research at WSU focuses on the behavior of nanoscale and colloidal minerals in soils and groundwater, particularly as they relate to contaminant transport and sequestration.  His longest running project involves the use of iron oxides to sequester chromium in aqueous systems.  Part of this project was turned into an outreach partnership with Derby High School wherein high school students performed experiments in his lab and the results were presented at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting.  He has also investigated the use of geologic materials to neutralize acid mine drainage, which was highlighted in the Ulrich Museums Solving for X = Sustainability exhibit.  Andrew teaches upper division and graduate courses in hydrogeology and soils, as well as courses for undergraduate non-majors that deal with the interactions of geology with human society.

Project Abstract:

Soils may become impacted by heavy metals through variety of means including atmospheric deposition, disposal of mine tailings, disposal of high metal wastes, and land application of pesticides.  Once heavy metals enter a soil they can linger for years depending on a number of factors.  One such factor is the is the pattern of wetting and drying of the soil due to rainfall events and their alternating dry periods.  Due to climate change we are seeing changes in precipitation patterns with the occurrences of high-volume storms and alternating periods of drought becoming more common.  This research will attempt to address the question of how changes in precipitation patterns impacts the movement of heavy metals through soils.  

Tom Wine, Ph.D. - "The Face of Men's Choirs: Traditions and Looking to the Future" (FY23)

Tom Wine headshot

Dr. Tom Wine
Professor of Music Educaton and Area Coordinator, Music Education
College of Fine Arts
 

Tom Wine is Chair of Music Education and Director of Choirs at Wichita State University.  Recipient of the 2009 WSU President's Distinguished Service Award as well as the Burton Pell Award from the Wichita Arts Council, Wine is editor of the book, Composers on Composing for Choir.  Wine is past-president of Kansas ACDA.  His choirs have appeared at KMEA eleven different times as well as Carnegie Hall in 2009.  Wine has conducted district and All-state choirs in Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, and South Carolina.  In 2016 he received the HRW Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Choral Directors Association.  He directs the Chancel Choir at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.  He is also a proud “Grand Dude.”

Project Abstract:

Wichita State University introduced a men’s choir (Shocker Choir) to the curriculum in fall 2021.  The goal of this grant proposal is to research and directly observe other university men’s choirs.  Targeted music programs have been identified by their tradition of academic excellence while also serving the community they represent.  Additionally, the choral database of repertoire for men’s choirs will be compared to look for a common core of music recommended for programming in these ensembles. By comparing traditions, community engagement, and student governance in identified successful programs, it will help shape the model for the future of our own WSU Shocker choir.

Burcu Ozturk, Ph.D. - "Experiences of Living in the United States Among Middle Eastern Intimate Partner Survivors: A Systematic Review" (FY23)

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Dr. Burcu Ozturk
Assistant Professor in School of Social Work
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
 

Burcu Ozturk, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. Dr. Ozturk did her post-doc at the University of Oklahoma in forensic social work. Dr. Ozturk received her PhD degree from the University of Alabama School of Social work. In addition, Dr. Ozturk completed her master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University and her undergraduate degree in Social Work from Adnan Menderes University, Turkey, in 2010.

Her dissertation topic was understanding the lived experiences of Middle Eastern-born immigrant women who were intimate partner violence survivors in the United States, as well as how culture impacts these experiences. Dr. Ozturk’ research agenda focuses domestic violence issues, family, immigrant, and forensic social work. Dr. Ozturk has experience teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in the USA related human behavior course, international social work, practice and research.

Project Abstract:

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is experienced in every society. IPV can cause severe mental, physical, social, and economic consequences for survivors, and impact their interpersonal relationships in their families, communities and broader society.  A significant number of IPV victims are immigrants in the U.S. This study explores the lived experiences of Middle Eastern Immigrant IPV survivors in the U.S to develop a better understanding of existing studies in the literature. We will systematically review the existing studies on immigrant women IPV survivor lived experiences that is published in peer-reviewed journals between the year 2012 and 2022. We sought to answer the question, “What is the essence of the lived experiences of Middle Eastern immigrant women IPV survivors in the United States?” “We will critically explore and summarize the eligible studies to advance knowledge and greater understanding of lived experiences of Middle Eastern female immigrant survivors in the United States.

Cynthia Richburg, Ph.D., CCC-A - "Assessing Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids and Their Benefits for Persons with Listening Difficulties: A Pilot Study" (FY23)

Cynthia Richburg headshot

Dr. Cynthia Richburg
Professor of Audiology
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders
College of Health Professions
 

Dr. Richburg obtained her PhD from the University of Tennessee in 1998. She is an Audiologist, Professor, and Coordinator of the Doctor of Audiology Program at WSU. Her research interests include central auditory processing disorder, the use of simulation activities for audiology instruction and recruitment, and the impacts of noise on health and learning. She is the current Vice President for Audiology with the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Richburg has published two textbooks and 21 peer-reviewed articles in journals, such as the American Journal of Audiology, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and she supervises AuD graduate students in the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

Project Abstract:

With the advent of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, amplification options for the public have changed. Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), one of the subcategories of Listening Difficulties (LiD), is a condition in which a person has normal or near-normal auditory sensitivity but problems understanding and perceiving spoken language. Typically, hearing aids would not be fit on people with normal auditory sensitivity; however, studies indicate that low gain amplification might benefit people with CAPD. The new OTC hearing aids are only allowed to amplify, or provide gain, for mild to moderate hearing losses. Therefore, these OTC devices might be good amplification options for people with LiD/CAPD due to their lower prices and low-gain options. This study will use electroacoustical analyses (called “real ear measurements”) and participant responses to questionnaires to compare two OTC models of hearing aid and two traditional prescription models of hearing aid. Hearing handicap inventories will be used to measure listening difficulty and psychological benefits to amplifying hearing for auditory processing purposes while comparing the two types of hearing aid models. The information obtained from these results may help audiologists determine if recommending traditional, prescription hearing aids instead of OTC hearing aids can be justified. A second portion of this study will help audiologists determine if low-gain OTC hearing aids will be an affordable option for remediating the problems associated with LiD/CAPD. These findings could reveal a new form of therapy to help individuals with LiD/CAPD improve their listening and processing abilities.

Beatrice Latavietz, Ph.D.- Interpersonal communication competence, epistemic assertiveness, and credence in educational discourses. (FY24)

Headshot of Beatrice Latavietz

Dr Beatrice Latavietz
Associate Professor of Educational Psychology 
College of Applied Studies 
 
Dr. Beatrice M. Latavietz, aka Beata M. Latawiec in scholarly records received her Ph.D. in Education (Cognitive Sciences of Teaching & Learning, and Language/Literacy) from the University of Illinois. She has been working as Educator of Educational Psychology (since 2014), Developmental Psychology to Counseling professionals since 2016, and Psychology of Discourse Processes, Persuasion and Naturalistic Research Methods to Educational Leadership-Educational Psychology doctoral candidates since 2019, at Wichita State University. She has also worked at the University of Illinois (independent researcher and language instructor), University of Social Sciences and Humanities as well as the University of Warsaw (English Teachers Training College). She has 20 years of experience in training and supervising teachers in TESL/TESOL and/or psychology (nearly 20 years) and holds an ESL teacher certificate. She has been serviceable to many professional institutions as reviewer, mentor, discussant (AERA, AAAL/American Applied-Linguistics Association, Society for Text & Discourse), incl. being co-editor for the International Journal of Special Education. Her research interests lie at the interface of language and cognition; psychology of language/communication; metacognition, sociolinguistic and psychosocial development, language/literacy assessment, discourse processing, instructional/ classroom/ helping professions discourse, and language as text/social action. Dr. Latavietz enjoys working with multicultural populations and her recent book chapters heavily hinge on sociocultural and sociolinguistic phenomena. Her latest research projects straddle over educational and counseling psychology, epistemology, and classroom discourse (e.g., disciplinary instructional discourses/gestures, teachers’ epistemic beliefs, empathy and mindfulness in the counseling language). 
 

Project Abstract:

Many of the phenomena that psychologists traditionally treated as internal mental processes are actually formed in discourse (Billig, 2003). This study approaches language and communication from a sociolinguistic/sociocultural perspective, where social meaning of communication is imbued with culture. Socialization patterns of different genders, cultures/ethnicities, and their beliefs about the nature of knowledge/knowing affect the ways students argue, put forward their ideas, demonstrate knowledge in more or less expressivist or assertive manners. Thus, this URCA-proposed project aims to explore the educational students/undergraduate preservice-teachers’ argumentative discourses in their audio-recorded dyadic sessions for epistemic assertiveness and credence marking as well as interpersonal communication competence, which may vary across genders and other socio-cultural features (ethnicity/race), plus their development over a semester-long instruction in the educational psychology context. The study uses pre/post-intervention design and mixed-methods analysis. While straddling over several disciplines, the project fills the niche in the educational psychology by providing insight into sociolinguistic/ sociocultural phenomena at the interface of epistemology. The posited relationship between teachers’ beliefs and language is important as may translate into different fosterage of students, their cognitions and psycho-social development, and in turn - learning outcomes. The findings will contribute to the theory and instructional praxis, argumentation, and interpersonal spoken communication (rather than writing, besides which is far better explored). The project will provide pedagogic implications for instructors serving ever more diverse populations, with dynamically changing academic, technological, and socio-psychological needs, which is especially important in the context of WSU status of the Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution.
Akmal Mirsadikov, Ph.D.- Investigating the Interactive Effects of Organizational Climates and Opposing Role Perceptions on Security Behaviors (FY24)

Headshot of Akmal Mirsadikov

Dr. Akmal Mirasdikov 
Assistant Professor of Information Systems 
Barton School of Business 
 
AKMAL MIRSADIKOV (akmal.mirsadikov@wichita.edu) is an assistant professor of information systems at Wichita State University. He received his Ph.D. in MIS at Iowa State University. His research interests include computer-mediated communication, deception detection, website credibility, information security and assurance, and information privacy topics. His work has appeared in the AIS Transactions on HCI, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, and Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, among others.
 

Project Abstract:

Deception is a pervasive issue in many domains, from legal proceedings and fraud investigations to online reviews and social media posts. It poses a significant risk in various contexts such as legal, financial, and national security. Detecting deception in text-based communication is a challenging task, and there is a need to understand the linguistic and cognitive cues involved in detecting deception. While most research on linguistic cues focused on sanctioned deceptive statements provided in lab experiments, mostly by undergraduate students, little is known about the effect of linguistic cues available in high-stake deception, with real-life consequences. This study investigates linguistic cues to deception in written real-life, high-stake accounts using eye tracking. Building on the theories of deception and reading, we offer a novel approach to investigate the relationships between the message veracity, linguistic cues to deception, reading patterns, and detection accuracy. The findings from this study will help us better understand how the reading behavior of veracity judges varies across honest and deceptive statements. The analysis using eye tracking technology will provide an objective measure and insight into the gaze behavior and its impact on detection performance. In particular, this study will help us explain the relationship between the message veracity, linguistic cues to deception, prominence of those cues, cognitive processing by veracity judges, and detection accuracy across honest and deceptive statements.

Jennifer Thornberry, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC - Animal Assisted Intervention with Nursing Students (FY24)  

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Dr. Jennifer Thornberry
Assistant Professor for the Graduate School of Nursing
College of Health Professions
 
Jennifer Thornberry, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, has been an Assistant Professor at Wichita State University for the Graduate School of Nursing since 2021. She teaches the courses FNP Primary Care Practicum, Advanced Nursing Practice Preceptorship, and Practice Management. She has practiced clinically as a family nurse practitioner in the areas of Family Practice, Urgent Care, Student Health, and Retail Health. Her research interests include best practices for advanced practice nursing student clinical and simulation experiences, immunization practices, and animal assisted interventions.
 

Project Abstract:

Animal assisted interventions have been investigated in many different settings for the effects on human stress, anxiety, and depression, but studies that utilize rescue animals awaiting adoption are lacking.  The purpose of this pilot study is to determine if students can experience stress reduction prior to an academic exam by interacting with a rescue animal. At an in-person event, an electronic survey will be used to screen for depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Then participants will interact in an open format with pets from a local rescue organization who have had preventive health care and temperament screening for safety. Participants will then repeat the stress screening tool. Blood pressures will be measured before and after the intervention.This research may demonstrate that faculty can safely utilize animal assisted interventions for students using screened rescue animals from the community. A feasible mental health program could be developed in collaboration with the animal rescue organization for ongoing programs on campus. Students impacted by the rescue animals may become future adopters when their living situations can accommodate pet ownership. Completed depression and anxiety surveys may earlier identify students in need of a mental health referral to Counseling and Preventative Services or Student Health Services.This study supports strategic enrollment and retention goals for the university by assisting students who need higher levels of support, fostering a wellness culture, facilitating faculty engagement for student success, and promoting connections with community supporters.
 
Kimberly Wilson, Ph.D. CCC-SLP - Relations among Emotional Reactivity, Regulation, Socioeconomic Status, and Literacy Skills in Young Learners (FY24)  

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Dr. Kimberly Wilson 
Professor of MAT 
College of Applied Studies 
 
Kimberly Wilson, PhD, CCC-SLP received her undergraduate from Wichita State University in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. She was a kindergarten teacher in USD 259 for several years. She then pursued her master’s degree from Wichita State in Communication Disorders and Sciences and was a speech-language pathologist in USD 259. She obtained her PhD from Florida State University, with an emphasis on language and literacy. Dr. Wilson is a Professor in the College of Applied Studies, Intervention Services & Leadership in Education where she serves as program chair for the Reading Specialist program, the graduate certificate in Dyslexia and Literacy, the Master of Arts in Teaching Early Childhood Unified program, and the Masters in Education -Special Education Early Childhood Unified program. She has secured over $14M in grant funding and has served as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on several longitudinal, multi-state grants. Her primary area of research focuses on psychosocial factors that impact youth outcomes.
 

Project Abstract:

This study seeks to explore the relations among variables that have been shown to be important to school success including emotional reactivity and regulation (ERR), socioeconomicStatus (SES),  and literacy skills (phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary, and reading comprehension). Participants will include 50 children entering grades K-2 recruited from partnership sites. Following informed parental consent, direct measures of literacy skills will be administered. Additionally, a parent report on SES and ERR and teacher observation of ERR will be administered. It is hypothesized that ERR, SES, and Literacy skills will be correlated, that ERR will predict performance on literacy tasks, and that ERR will mediate the relationship between SES and Literacy skills. Findings from this study will extend understanding of factors that are important for students’ school success and will provide much needed pilot data to drive larger scale studies examining these relations.
 
Julie Thiele, Ph.D. - TAPping into PDS Supports for Success in Alternative Certification Pathways (FY24)

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Dr. Julie Thiele 
Assistant Professor of TAP
College of Applied Studies 
 
Dr. Julie Thiele is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Apprentice Program (TAP) at Wichita State University.  She earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, with a focus in mathematics education, from Kansas State University. She teaches elementary mathematics methods, internship, assessment, and mentoring courses and is a Success Coach for TAP students. She also serves as the Instructional Coordinator for TAP, supporting adjunct instructors to provide rigorous learning opportunities for students. She is currently the Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics President, a member of the ATE Technology Committee, and serves on a variety of college and state level committees and offers professional development to numerous school districts to support the field of education in Kansas and the nation. 
 

Project Abstract:

This grounded theory research project will engage a team of university faculty and district stakeholders to uncover the effective strategies, processes, and initiatives that are vital to the success of alternative certification pathways for pre-service teachers. A Professional Development School (PDS) Model for Alternative Certification Pathways will be generated as a result of the initial and on-going research activities. Simultaneous renewal activities will follow the initial creation and dissemination of the PDS Model for Alternative Certification Pathway Teachers.

Chinyere G. Okafor, Ph.D. - New Concept for Gender and Human Equity (FY24)

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Dr. Chinyere G. Okafor 
Professor of English and Womens Studies 
College of Liberal Arts 
 
Dr. Chinyere G. Okafor is a professor of English and Women’s Studies. Her research is interdisciplinary intersecting literature, African, cultural, and feminist studies with the organizing principle of gender.  Lived experiences in Africa, America, and Europe promote her global outlook and enthusiasm for engaging global intercultural issues in local contexts. She inaugurated the annual Diverse Women’s Summit (DWS) and the Global Village Assembly (GVA) at WSU and serves as the Vice President of African Women Scholars (AAWS).  She collaborated with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to win the Jan Henri grant used for a collaborative event by students and local community to experience the Dockum Sit-in site in Wichita. She teaches Theories of Feminism, Writing by Women, and Women in Society (Issues). Okafor has ten published books and numerous articles in journals and edited volumes.
 

Project Abstract:

This project is part of the study of omumu as the basis of gender equity and unity in precolonial Igbo society. The concept of Omumu will be important in decolonizing the minds of the people, and it has the potential to dispatch its regenerative power for African peoples with similar cultural agency as the Igbo. Omumu connects mother, child (male, female, others) and the conceptual Earth Mother. This principle that propelled women to heights in pre-colonial times was grounded in the biologic of a female body that was not Othered or defective, but normative in Igbo communities that centered on Mother Earth culture. The principle empowered pre-colonial Igbo men and women to arenas of public authority in religion, economy, and politics. The marginalization of the concept in contemporary postcolonial society has influenced the diminished role of women in public office and increased the gender intolerance and hostility of the contemporary society. What exactly is omumu? Is it a relevant discursive constitution in liberating the African mind, opening new ways of thinking and engaging gender gap and inclusivity? By addressing these questions while clarifying the meaning of omumu, this project will fill a gap in feminist scholarship.
Alyssa Lynne-Joseph, Ph.D. - Medical, Civil, and Legal Expertise in Debates about Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Youth (FY24)

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Dr. Alyssa Lynne-Joseph 
Assistant Professor of Sociology 
College of Applied Studies 
 

Dr. Alyssa Lynne-Joseph (she/her pronouns) is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Wichita State University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of medical sociology, gender and sexuality studies, and global and transnational sociology. In addition to her research on healthcare bans, she is currently working on a book manuscript entitled Global Transformations in Transgender Medicine: How Clinicians, Patients, and Activists Create Gender-Affirming Healthcare. The book draws on four years of research in the U.S., Thailand, and virtual spaces to show how imperialism shapes medicine on a transnational scale. It argues that the standardization of care around Global North knowledge, and a hegemonic notion of white, binary transgender identity, stymies gender-affirming approaches to care in both the U.S. and Thailand. Dr. Lynne-Joseph received her doctorate in Sociology, a certificate in Gender in Sexuality Studies, and a Searle certificate in Advanced Teaching & Learning from Northwestern University. Her research has been published in Social Problems; Culture, Health, and Sexuality; and Social Science & Medicine. She has previously received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education (Foreign Language and Area Studies), and the Sexualities Project at Northwestern.

Project Abstact:

While social scientists have studied medicine’s intersections with law and media separately, few have examined the connections between medicine, law, and media concurrently. This research addresses this gap by investigating portrayals of medical, civil, and legal expertise in news media that reports on legislative activity surrounding the regulation of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth in the U.S. In recent years, the issue of gender-affirming healthcare for TGD youth has become a contentious and high-profile topic, with multiple U.S. states introducing bills aimed at either restricting or protecting such healthcare for minors. As of September 2023, 23 U.S. states have approved laws or administrative rules that restrict the provision of gender-affirming healthcare to TGD people under 18 years of age, and 11 states have passed laws protecting gender-affirming healthcare for minors. Drawing on content analysis of press releases, news articles, video media, and government documents, this project examines how the use of medical, civil, legal expertise in news media connects to legislative activity related to banning or protecting gender-affirming healthcare for youth. This research holds both academic and practical significance. It contributes to the field of medical sociology by shedding light on the role of media in interpretations of expertise. Additionally, the research has practical implications for TGD youth, their families, policymakers, and advocates, as it provides valuable insights into the complexities of gender-affirming healthcare policies across states and can aid in informed decision-making and advocacy efforts.