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From left to right: Communication studies doctoral student Caleb Hubbard, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering doctoral student Morteza Heidari, Learning Sciences doctoral student and Fulbright scholar Murat Turk.
Virus opens research prospects Public information misconceptions, X-ray tech, celebrity influence: OU doctoral students study COVID-19 from three unusual angles
JANA HAYES @jana_allen21
As the coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of many OU students, it has also given others interesting research opportunities in multiple areas of study. Doctoral students in Norman are working toward unique findings about COVID-19 in their respective fields. Understanding misconceptions about the coronavirus and how those might change, learning how to detect COVID-19 in pneumonia patients and analyzing the pandemic’s effect on pop culture are just a few of the many OU-led research studies that have taken place since March. Murat Turk, a learning sciences doctoral student and Fulbright scholar, said even before OU and other U.S. colleges closed down for the spring semester, he began planning his research study. The study, led by Turk with a team of two others, focused on people’s
misconceptions about COVID-19 and how likely it was for them to change what they believed. “Back in February, we decided to think about those misconceptions because on social media, we realized that people were sharing lots of misinformation,” Turk said. “Those misconceptions about such serious issues like a pandemic may result in certain negative consequences.” Turk’s team surveyed 202 people — sourced through a mass email and social media posts — first asking them questions about the coronavirus to gauge their knowledge or beliefs about the virus. Then each person was given an informative passage that answered the questions they’d been asked; they were then given a second chance to answer the questions to analyze if any misconceptions changed after being presented with the correct information. One of the results from the study — which Turk hopes
t o h av e p u b l i s h e d i n t h e American Educational Research Association’s peer-reviewed journal AERA Open — showed people were more likely to experience conceptual change if they found the information personally relevant to them, Turk said. Those who thought the information conflicted with any part of their culture were less likely to experience conceptual change. Turk said these factors were determined by assessing cognitive engagement indicators, like personal relevance and culture, through the Conceptual Change Cognitive Engagement Scale. The scale was developed, tested and validated by OU’s Benjamin Heddy in 2018. Heddy was also on the team led by Turk. “That has lots of important implications for (educating the public),” Turk said. “Our personal relevance should be given some priority in terms of preparing those public education programs
or interventions. Because … then people become more likely to restructure their misconceptions.” For Turk, contributing to a body of knowledge is what he strives to do every day as a researcher, and he said it was especially important during the pandemic. “As part of this large (academic) family, I’m trying to do my best to contribute to that knowledge base through my scientific research,” Turk said. “My research is just a drop in the ocean, but that drop is what makes the entire ocean.” In the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, doctoral student Morteza Heidari led a team of five other researchers in studying how X-ray chest images could be used to detect COVID-19-infected pneumonia. The study, which took place from March to May, developed a new computer-aided diagnosis scheme that had 98.6 percent accuracy in detecting COVID-19infected cases.
The purpose of such programs is to provide radiologists with decision-making support tools, according to the study. Heidari’s main research focus during his Ph.D. has been studying how X-ray technology can predict breast cancer, inspiring him to do something similar for COVID-19. “A physician is a human,” Heidari said. “Maybe he’s tired, and that tiredness may influence his performance. But a computer is not like that — a computer all the time does the same thing over and over and over.” Heidari said his team chose to focus on X-ray imaging because these machines are cheaper and easier for doctors to have access to, especially in countries outside the U.S. “(When COVID-19 emerged), I was thinking about, ‘Is it possible that we as engineers can be helpful or not,’” Heidari said. “When I see COVID page 3
Sooners’ student section risks closure Opening day protocol violations leave fans’ futures uncertain MASON YOUNG @Mason_Young_0
While fans across Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the state of Oklahoma and the country raised their right index fingers for redshirt senior Stephen Johnson’s opening kick on the evening of Sept. 12, there was solace in the return of OU football. Briefly, Sooner Nation forgot about the raging COVID-19 pandemic that nearly overtook the sport it loved. But even as shouts of “Boomer” and “Sooner” and flashes of crimson and cream drowned infirmity and fear for 60 minutes of clock, the impact of an ever-present virus was obvious throughout. That Saturday night on the gridiron indicated football in Norman will be different for the foreseeable future. The Pride played at only one-fourth of its usual might, other spirit squads
were short-staffed and fan capacity was capped to a “sellout” of 22,700. Meanwhile, the game was in serious jeopardy before the Sooners took the field at 6 p.m., as 29 players — 17 in quarantine, 11 in isolation and one sick — were absent for the contest. While the depleted Sooners handle d the B ears w ith a 48–0 trouncing, it was clear Oklahoma’s student section couldn’t — or wouldn’t — handle the athletic department’s mask mandate and social distancing guidelines. Student ticket-holders ignored ushers in charge of enforcing department policies, prompting a swift reaction from OU athletics director Joe Castiglione. When the Sooners welcome Kansas State to Norman on Sept. 26, requirements for student attendees will be clear. “Unfortunately, we had too many fans fall short of expectations, and our message to those individuals is simple: We need you to do better,” Castiglione said in a statement the afternoon following the game. “We recognize wearing a mask for an extended period of time may not be easy
or comfortable. It’s not fun for us to enforce, either. However, right now it’s a necessity. For the health and well-being of everyone involved, we’re trying to set that standard.” The day after the game, OU’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 167 students in quarantine or self-isolation. By Saturday — one week later — that number rose to 527. A s i f i t w a s n ’ t a l re a d y , Castiglione made his standard into more than stern words Friday, as the athletic department levied an array of new policy changes. Seating is explicitly designated on student tickets to eliminate confusion, new concourse signage has been added to help students find their spots, seating clusters of two to 10 students have been established, and tape will flag off restricted seating areas. Furthermore, the department said it will amp up security presence at future home games and further failed compliance with COVID-19 mitigation policies could result in the “reduction or elimination” of student seats. Castiglione’s decision came three days after he said in a
webinar hosted by the Norman Chamber of Commerce that he’s optimistic about the possibility of increasing stadium capacity later this season. For that to still happen, fans will have to do their part to keep one another healthy and safe. The only current certainty about OU football is that the Sooners are scheduled to take on the Wildcats (0-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday. Whether Oklahoma will have enough players available to play, or if there will be a student section at any 2020 home game after that remains to be seen. OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler was less than optimistic when he spoke to members of OU’s SGA Undergraduate Congress on Sept. 16, voicing his dismay about the recent student section proceedings. “I think a lot of us were disappointed with some of the fan activity at the game,” Bratzler said. “Nobody should be surprised that we’re going to see person-to-person transmission if we don’t do the only public health interventions that we know help reduce the spread of the virus.” Bratzler also said in the
meeting he thinks OU will go to entirely virtual instruction after Thanksgiving break, adding to the need for students who wish to remain on campus — or attend home football games — to take personal responsibility on Saturdays. “We have a mask policy on campus and we’ve said from day one that we need people to wear their masks for their own safety as well as the safety of people around them,” Castiglione said in the Sept. 15 Norman Chamber of Commerce webinar. “And people can tell me all they want about ... they don’t think they should have to wear a mask, and I respect it. I respect the fact that it’s not comfortable. I respect all those things, but that’s our approach. And if we do a good job with it, we’re going to be able to have fans, and if we don’t, then we’re going to probably be forced to do something different.” Mason Young
mason.e.young-1@ou.edu