Distributed And Scalable Video Analysis Architecture For Human Activity Recognition Using Cloud Services, Cody Wilson Eilar

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This thesis proposes an open-source, maintainable system for detecting human activity in large video datasets using scalable hardware architectures. The system is validated by detecting writing and typing activities that were collected as part of the Advancing Out of School Learning in Mathematics and Engineering (AOLME) project. The implementation of the system using Amazon Web Services (AWS) is shown to be both horizontally and vertically scalable. The software associated with the system was designed to be robust so as to facilitate reproducibility and extensibility for future research.

Investigation Of Whether Determining A Patients Personality Results In Better Patient Communication And Oral Health, Cynthia E. Chavez

Dental Hygiene ETDs

One of the dental psychosomatic territories is the link between personality traits and oral health treatment. This present study aims at investigating whether determination of patient personality types leads to enhanced communication between dental hygienists and patients resulting in improved oral health. Some hypothesize that determining patient personality traits results in enhanced communication between the patient and the dental hygienist. Similarly, it is hypothesized that determination of a patient’s personality trait can result in better oral health.

The Acute Effects Of Weighted Vest Running On Substrate Utilization And Energy Expenditure, Troy M. Purdom Mr.

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

This study evaluated the effect of weighted vest running (WVR) on fatty acid oxidation (FAox) and caloric expenditure at pre-designated exercise intensities (60,65,70,75,80% VO_2max). Seventeen recreationally trained runners (9 men and 8 women) performed four separate graded exercise tests (GXT) separated by 24 hours each. The first graded exercise test (GXT) was performed to establish the workloads at specific exercise intensities. The following three GXTs tested WVR with a control (no vest), 5% body mass (BM) vest, and 10%BM vest, using 3-minute incrementally increasing steady rate stages. Indirect calorimetry was used to measure both FAox (g/min) and caloric …

A Case Study Of Non-Native English-Speaking International University Students Participating In A Community Of Practice, Linka G. Crosby

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The social identity construction of international students studying in the United States is important to the field of second language learning and the study of identity. A Social Identity and Communities of Practice (CoP) framework were used to understand how participation in a CoP informed the identity of non-native speaking university international students studying in the U.S. The focus of this study was to investigate how participation in a CoP informed the identity of non-native speaking international university students studying in the U.S. I proposed that these frameworks provided a foundation for understanding how participation in a CoP for non-native …

Discourse, Power, And The Language Of Racism: The Establishment Of The Racial Contract In New Mexico, Jesse A. Romero

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Abstract

Words are not neutral. Language, and the meaning and legal implications attached to it, are politically and ideologically driven. The manipulation of discourse are hallmarks of white supremacy. In a historical context, language has been used to frame the colonial legal discourse establishing white supremacy and racially defining the white polity who established it. This unearned power to establish legal discourse and a common narrative for whites as the superior racial group and people of color as inferior racial groups is pervasive in society. The trajectory this placed on people racially, politically, socio-economically, and educationally can still be seen …

Black Women's Search For Meaning: An Existential Portraiture Study On How Black Women Experience The 4 Existential Givens, Tamiko Lemberger-Truelove

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how select Black women experience the four ultimate concerns of existence, including freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death. Existential psychology, from which the four existential givens emerge, is deeply grounded in existential philosophy, which rarely connects key principles and tenets of existentialism to the experiences of Black women. The existential givens have been posited as a universal framework and yet because Black women are faced with multiple forms of marginalization the current study operates from the assumption that universal experiences are filtered through patently Black experiences. To explore how the existential …

How Do Faculty At The University Of New Mexico Use Humor In Online Teaching, John T. Granato

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Humor is a ubiquitous experience that facilitates learning, social coordination and wellbeing. This study examined how the faculty at the University of New Mexico used humor in its online courses. The process involved faculty interviews, a focus group of instructional online designers, questionnaires and documentation to collect data, and then used thematic analysis and code development to arrive at its findings. The study found that the humor pedagogy at the University of New Mexico has fallen into disuse for online courses because of (1) a hesitation (fear) to use humor, (2) fear of what students would think, and (3), hesitation …

Hegemony In A Globalized World: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The G8-Broader Middle East And North Africa Partnership From 2004-2013, Abdulaziz S. Abumilha

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study addresses current educational, political, and social challenges that many marginalized countries face, especially nations in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region. The study examines the types of hegemony and its effects by addressing political, social, and educational ramifications. It scrutinizes the political, educational, and social history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and uses it as an example for the region because of its political influence on the region. The study engages in a critical analysis of globalization alongside its tools to highlight its advantages and disadvantages to marginalized countries. It discusses the spread of …

Effect Of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation On Recovery Of Performance And Muscle Damage, & Autophagy And Heat Shock Protein Response, Trisha Vandusseldorp

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Purpose: To investigate: 1) if branched-chain amino acid supplementation (BCAA) enhances recovery from acute, eccentric resistance exercise as measured by indirect markers of muscle damage, and 2) the impact of acute, eccentric resistance exercise on markers of autophagy and heat shock protein during recovery. Methods: Twenty resistance-trained males were randomly assigned to eight days of BCAA or PLCB and adhered to a diet consisting of 1.2 g/kg/d protein. On day five, all subjects completed 10x8 eccentric squats at 70% one repetition maximum (1RM), followed by 5x20 split jumps. Plasma creatine kinase (CK), erythrocyte glutathione, vertical jump (VJ), maximal voluntary isometric …

Harness Suspension Stress Physiological And Safety Assessment, James Marc Beverly

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Background: No robust trials including imaging or biomarkers have been performed to evaluate the possible stress of hanging motionless in a harness (harness suspension stress -HSS). Untoward effects are from case reports and sparsely documented data, leaving the topic open to debate. No cause-effect relationship has been established, therefore providing no guide to diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic evaluation or treatment for possible detrimental effects of HSS. Expert opinion provides the majority of the literature concerning HSS. Many of the effects of HSS have been correlated to other syndromes or causes, but none have been excluded, and none have been established. …

English Language Learners In Title I Programs In New Mexico Public Schools, Gabriel C. Baca

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) and subsequent reauthorizations require the United States Department of Education to distribute funding to states that ultimately goes to local school districts for the purpose of improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged students, including English Language Learners (ELLs). In New Mexico, 64% of public school students participate in Title I programs, and 16% of all New Mexico students are ELLs. However, no studies to date have explored how New Mexico public school districts are implementing Title I with respect to English Language Learners. Therefore, …

"We Walk That Boundary. It's A Tightrope." : A Grounded Theory Approach To The Experiences Of Direct Support Professionals Who Work With People With Intellectual Disability And Possibly Sexualized Challenging Behavior, Jason Buckles

Special Education ETDs

Matters of sexuality and concepts of risk have played a central role in the development of systems of supports for people with intellectual disability (ID) in the United States during the past 150+ years. As community based programs have risen in prominence since the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s men and women working as Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) have been tasked with a myriad of responsibilities which may at times include enacting supports or limitations on the sexual or possibly sexual actions of people with ID. How DSPs experience their jobs, understand, and make decisions regarding sexuality is an area …

A Grounded Theory Pilot Study Exploring The Female Process Of Becoming A Survivor After Experiencing Sexual Assault, Angela Catena

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This pilot study utilized constructivist grounded theory to explore the process of identifying as a survivor among women who have been sexually assaulted. An overwhelming majority of research available on survivors of traumatic events, such as sexual assault, focus primarily on the psychological, and sometimes physical, reactions. The literature fails to investigate personal influences, experiences, and processes on a more individual level; rather it discusses symptomology and treatment modalities used to alleviate symptoms related to various clinical diagnoses. Seven women were interviewed twice exploring their specific journey and processes to identifying as a survivor after victimization. Six theoretical phases emerged …

The Importance Of Leadership: An Investigation Of Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Middle School Students Intrinsic Motivation And Expectancy-Value In Physical Education, Minhyun Kim

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The leadership practices exhibited by physical education teachers have been found to have a significant impact on promoting students learning. The main purpose of this study was to explore: (a) differences on middle school students' perception regarding expectancy-value and intrinsic motivation according to their grade, gender, and ethnicity, (b) the relationship between physical education teachers' transformational leadership and middle school students' expectancy-value and intrinsic motivation. To conduct this study, three questionnaires were employed: transformational teaching questionnaire (Beauchamp et al., 2010), expectancy-value questionnaire (Duncan & Tammen, 1989), and intrinsic motivation index (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995). A total of 295 middle school …

The Lived Experiences Of Counseling Professionals Conducting Suicide Risk Assessments For Youth: A Phenomenological Approach, Christine Abassary

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study explored the lived experiences of counseling professionals conducting suicide risk assessments for youth kindergarten through 12th grade receiving a suicide risk assessment recommendation. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized to capture the perceptions of the participants in this study. Fifteen (15) in depth, semi-structured interviews and a focus group with seven (7) returning participants were the primary sources of data for this study. Five (5) themes emerged: Care, Supervisory Relationship, Challenges, Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma and Transcendent Growth Experiences. Implications for the counseling profession may encompass enhanced organizational development, supervision, training and clinical preparation for counseling professionals providing …