Digital Commons Network^™

Estimating Short-Term Human Intent For Physical Human-Robot Co-Manipulation, Eric Christopher Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

Robots are increasingly becoming safer and more capable. In the past, the main applications for robots have been in manufacturing, where they perform repetitive, highly accurate tasks with physical barriers that separate them from people. They have also been used in space exploration where people are not around. Due to improvements in sensors, algorithms, and design, robots are beginning to be used in other applications like materials handling, healthcare, and agriculture and will one day be ubiquitous. For this to be possible, they will need to be able to function safely in unmodelled and dynamic environments. This is especially true …

The Effect Of Transit-Oriented Development Siteson Residential Home Pricing, Bradley S. Randall

Theses and Dissertations

For a number of years residential and commercial development has grown surrounding railways stations in many cities across the United States. One of the trends that has occurred in a number of cities relates to positive property value correlations between real estate values near transit stations and transit-oriented development (TOD) sites as compared to their counterparts not located near a railway station or freeway access. Many cities have noted that homeowners are willing to pay more to be near a TOD site and being near a site can represent a statistically significant factor in determining where to purchase a property. …

Effects Of Conversational Modalities On Driving And Speaking Performance, Katy Glenn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional effects of simulated driving and conversations using different speaking modalities. Participants included 30 males and 30 females with no history of speech, language or hearing disorders. The participants were divided into three age groups: 20s, 40s, and 60s. They completed a driving simulation task in isolation and also while speaking on a hand-held or hands-free cell phone or with a passenger in the car. Speech measures included speaking time ratio, mean, and standard deviation of intensity, as well as mean and standard deviation of fundamental frequency in semitones. Driving measures …

Are Cardiovascular Disease Inflammatory Markers Elevated In Those With Nonspecific Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Compared To Nonpain Case Controls?, Jeffrey Ray Tolley

Theses and Dissertations

CONTEXT: Recent studies have considered the role of inflammation in the development of both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and musculoskeletal conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Studies suggest that inflammation plays a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease. In conditions of chronic pain, as with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation has also been noted through elevated levels of inflammatory markers. There are currently no studies that examine the possible connection between inflammatory markers related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and nonspecific chronic musculoskeletal pain (NCMP). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether urinary levels of microalbumin (MA) and …

Decellularization And Recellularization Processes For Whole Porcine Kidneys, Nafiseh Poornejad

Theses and Dissertations

Concern over kidney disease has increased dramatically in recent years within the medical community. It is estimated that approximately one in fifteen Americans, nearly 20 million people, experience chronic kidney disease with most of those diagnosed progressing to kidney failure. The ultimate treatment available for end stage renal failure is whole kidney transplantation. However, there are very few kidneys available for patients to receive and those patients who are fortunate enough to receive an organ must remain on immunosuppressive medication for the remainder of their lives. The United States Department of Health & Human Services have reported that 18 people …

Balancing Technical And User Objectives In The Design Of Improved Biomass Cookstoves For Developing Regions Of The World, Kendall Steven Thacker

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade a large amount of research has been dedicated in academic literature to improving the technical capabilities of improved cookstoves; primarily the performance efficiency and reduction of emissions. Unfortunately, as published literature has highlighted, the trade-offs that result from placing such a concentrated emphasis on these technical objectives is that improved cookstoves lack the same level of usability as traditional cookstoves. Thus, users often return to using their traditional stoves and the potential impact of the improved cookstoves is never fully realized. In order for improved cookstoves to have greater impact, there must be better balance between …

Principles And Insights For Design For The Developing World, Amy Eleanor Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation collects principles and insights from various sources related to design for the developing world. These principles and insights form part of the foundation that can guide other engineers working in this area. The sources are the published literature, practitioners, non-governmental organizations, and our own field studies. From the engineering literature, we identified nine principles to guide engineers as they design poverty alleviating products for developing communities. Each principle is articulated, supporting literature is described, an in-depth example from the literature is given, followed by suggestions for how the principle can be applied to day-to-day engineering activities. Next, the …

"How In This Cruel Age I Celebrated Freedom": Aesopian Subversion In Nikolai Ulyanov's Painting For The 1937 Pushkin Centenary, Annilyn Marie Spjut

Theses and Dissertations

Painted in 1937 as part of the centenary celebration of the death of Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Ulyanov's A. S. Pushkin and his Wife, N. N. Pushkina at the Imperial Ball has been lauded as the quintessential example of Soviet history painting. Modern scholars have followed the lead of Soviet critics, who praised the painting for its insight into the psychology of the brilliant poet repressed by the tyrannical tsarist regime. According to this interpretation, Soviet viewers in the 1930s were to ponder on the tragedy of Pushkin's demise and rejoice that the victory of Socialism had freed them from such …

Selling The American Dream: The Comic Underdog In American Film, Anne Glenisla Hart

Theses and Dissertations

Placing archetypal "underdogs" or "losers" in the roles of protagonists allows and encourages the viewer to identify with them or understand them as an idealized Other, though the audience may differ from the failure protagonist in social class, gender, or any other condition. In film, one of the most persuasive and ubiquitous media of the 20th century, underdog and weakling characters germinated in early popular comedies such as those by Charlie Chaplin and the other silent clowns. Using Chaplin's filmography to illustrate the underdog's ironic supremacy, this thesis aims to unravel the initial values and expectations inherent in Hollywood underdog …

The Redemption Of The Literary Diva: The Role Of Domestic Performance And The Body In Harriet Beecher Stowe's The Minister's Wooing, Chrisanne Schraedel

Theses and Dissertations

An exploration of Harriet Beecher Stowe's The Minister's Wooing as viewed through the lens of performance studies and domesticity. Previous tales of fallen women, both in novels and operatic form, deprived the coquette of the agency to change her societally determined route of personal destruction as previously shown in the studies of Catherine Clément. Stowe's unique tale of a French coquette overturns the typical plot of the fallen woman, as demonstrated in Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette, by giving the coquette agency to redeem herself through key performative, domestic and, according to Judith Butler, transformative acts. Such treatment of …

Development Of Word Recognition Materials For Native Cebuano Speakers, Sarah Mickele Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

Within recent decades speech audiometry materials have been developed in various languages in order to more accurately identify and evaluate hearing impairment in native speakers. This advantage, however, is not available to native Cebuano speakers. The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Cebuano bisyllabic word lists for use in measuring word recognition ability. This process began with recording 260 commonly used bisyllabic Cebuano words by a native speaker noted for his quality and pleasantness of speech in his native tongue. These recordings were then evaluated by 20 normally hearing native …

Solitary-Pretend Play In Children With Language Impairment And Their Typically-Developing Peers, Mallory Paige Scofield

Theses and Dissertations

Children with language impairment (LI) are more likely to be socially withdrawn than their typically-developing peers. This withdrawal can lead to negative outcomes later in life. This study focuses on a subtype of withdrawal labeled as solitary-pretend play, which involves parallel play and solitary-dramatizing. The effectiveness of the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS) to measure the construct of solitary-pretend play was considered in a group of 256 children. First, confirmatory factor analysis was used on the entire sample to assess the TBRS questions. The TBRS ratings of 128 children with LI and 128 typically developing peers were then compared, with …

Cost Outcomes For Major Depressive Disorder And Bipolar Disorder Across Professional License Types And Modalities, Julia H. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes for patients with Bipolar Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder based on severity of diagnosis. This study also compared psychotherapy providers and therapy modalities on total cost, number of sessions, and dropout. Our data set (N=136,439) came from Cigna, a national health care company. Results showed significant differences by severity of diagnosis. The comparison of providers showed that psychologists had higher costs and session numbers, while the other providers were not significantly different. However, all providers successfully provided low cost treatment on both MDD and BD. There is no support for the …

Development Of An Effective International Medical Disaster Relief Team: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Nicolette Broby

Theses and Dissertations

Natural and manmade disasters are occurring at an unprecedented rate. Injuries and sickness are among the most widespread types of suffering caused by disasters, making medical aid essential. However, medical response depends on multiple factors to be timely and effective. The process of building a competent international medical disaster relief organization is complex, yet many well-intentioned, charitable organizations react hastily after a disaster, sending medical teams without truly understanding what an effective response requires. Consequently, in their genuine effort to help, they may end up hindering the response effort more than helping. Meanwhile, successful organizations implement principles conducive to an …

Social Withdrawal And Psychological Well-Being In Later Life: Does Marital Status Matter?, Melanie Mei Serrao

Theses and Dissertations

Personality researchers have described dispositional traits to typically show stability over the life course and yet one such trait, shyness, has rarely been examined in later life. Shyness as a global trait has been linked negatively to multiple psychological indices of childhood well-being, including loneliness. Despite the fact that older adults may be already at risk for experiencing heightened loneliness, regret, or decreased fulfillment, research has not assessed these experiences in relation to personality in later life. In recent years, withdrawal research has begun to move past shyness as a global trait to examine the motivations behind socially withdrawn behavior. …

Smartphone Usage And Religiosity In Lds Young Adults, Matthew R. Fereday

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify any smartphone usage with significant positive or negative relationships with the religiosity of LDS young adults, with the hypothesis that smartphone usage would indeed have significant relationships with religiosity, both positively and negatively. Over 1,000 BYU students were surveyed for their usage of 36 popular and religious apps and of 33 different categories of content consumption, their content sharing, and compulsive use. That data was compared with their private religiosity (prayer, scripture study, and thinking seriously about religion) and religious experience (strength of beliefs, feeling the Spirit, finding strength through their faith, etc.) BYU students' …

Women In Community Corrections In New York City: Hiv Infection And Risks, Nabila El-Bassel, Phillip Marotta, Stacey Shaw, Mingway Chang, Xin Ma, D Goddard-Eckrich, Tim Hunt, Karen Johnson, Sharun Goodwin, Maria Almonte, Louisa Gilbert

Faculty Publications

Although the incidence of HIV among women on probation, parole and alternatives to incarceration programs is significant to public health, drivers of this concentrated epidemic among women under community corrections remain understudied. This study examined prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections and the associations between substance use, sociodemographic factors and the prevalence of biologically-confirmed HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among a sample of 337 substance-using women recruited from community correction sites in New York City. Prevalence of HIV was 13% and sexually transmitted infections was 26% (Chlamydia, trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea). After adjusting for covariates, HIVpositive women were …

Using Patient-Centered Care After A Prenatal Diagnosis Of Trisomy 18 Or Trisomy 13: A Review, Shelly Haug, Mitchell Goldstein, Denise Cummins, Elba Fayard, Allen Merritt

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Patient-centered care (PCC) has been advocated by the Institute of Medicine to improve health care in the United States. Four concepts of PCC align with clinical ethics principles and are associated with enhanced patient/parent satisfaction. These concepts are dignity and respect, information sharing, participation, and collaboration. The objective of this article is to use the PCC approach as a framework for an extensive literature review evaluating the current status of counseling regarding prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 18 (T18) or trisomy 13 (T13) and to advocate PCC in the care of these infants.

OBSERVATIONS Extensive availability of prenatal screening and …

Comparison Of Early Literacy Ipad Applications: Children's Engagement, Shawnii Lyman

Theses and Dissertations

The presence of digital mobile applications (apps) designed to promote early literacy skills has surged in the last few years. This study explored children's affect and engagement as they interacted with three apps: Endless Reader, Hideout: Early Reader, and Preschool Matching Game: Rhyming Words. The study consisted of 12 children, age 4 to 5, who interacted in pairs with each of the apps while their classroom teacher facilitated the experience. The researchers examined videos and transcripts of the children's actions and nonverbal expressions as they encountered the apps. Transcripts included verbal and nonverbal information with codes assigned …

A Perpetually Interrupted Interbasin Water Transfer As A Modern Greek Drama: Assessing The Acheloos To Pinios Interbasin Water Transfer In The Context Of Integrated Water Resources Management, Hristos Tyralis, Tegos Aristoteles, Anastasia Delichatsiou, Nikos Mamassis, Demetris Koutsoyiannis

Open Water Journal

Interbasin water transfer is a primary instrument of water resources management directly related with the integrated development of the economy, society and environment. Here we assess the project of the interbasin water transfer from the river Acheloos to the river Pinios basin which has intrigued the Greek society, the politicians and scientists for decades. The set of criteria we apply originate from a previous study reviewing four interbasin water transfers and assessing whether an interbasin water transfer is compatible with the concept of integrated water resources management. In this respect, we assess which of the principles of the integrated water …

A Geospatial Model For Characterizing The Fish Resources Of The Similkameen River, British Columbia, Canada, Ning Liu, Andrew Harwood, James Kells, Karl-Erich Lindenschmidt

Open Water Journal

A geospatial model was been developed in order to rapidly characterize fluvial geomorphological features associated with the fish resources in a river system. The model uses four easily-quantified geospatial attributes – channel width, plan view sinuosity, longitudinal slope and fractal dimension – for classifying a stream channel into geomorphic response units (GRUs), which are the key working elements of the geospatial model used in this work. Using the geospatial model, a total of five GRUs were defined along the river channel. The model framework was tested using data from a 1983 fish survey conducted along the Canadian portion of the …

Myobservatory - An Information Management System For Supporting Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships, Yoram Rubin, Christopher Michaelis

Open Water Journal

This paper provides an overview of myObservatory (myO), a free (for non-profit use) web-based information management system that specializes in multi-stakeholder, geospatial projects. myO important features include rich graphic and interactive data display, multiple data entry modes, user-access control tools, project-management tools, built-in and user-defined quality assurance tools, thorough and comprehensive documentation, and flexibility in customizing the system (e.g., by embedding user-defined algorithms) to meet special project needs.

Front Matter, Vol. 77 No. 1

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Effects On Nursing Alumni: Assessing A Course In Public And Global Health, Sheri P. Palmer, Karen Lundberg, Karen De La Cruz, Cheryl A. Corbett, Sondra Heatson, Shelly Reed, Mary Williams

Faculty Publications

The impact of a cultural awareness course among nursing students may affect the particular person for years to come. Cultural awareness can be taught via many methods, often requiring study abroad and/or extreme investment of time, money and effort. There is little research on sustained effects on nursing alumni from such a course. The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to determine the long term outcomes of a cultural awareness course and 2) compare the long term effects between alumni who went abroad and those who chose to complete the course locally. One hundred and twenty-one nursing alumni completed …

Evaluation Of Endangered Lakesucker Rearing In Tributaries To Upper Klamath Lake By Use Of X-Ray Imaging, Molly F. Hayes, Josh E. Rasmussen

Western North American Naturalist

Two species of endangered, primarily lake-dwelling sucker are endemic to the Upper Klamath Basin in southern Oregon: shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) and Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus). A third unlisted species, Klamath largescale sucker (Catostomus snyderi), also occurs in the basin. Apart from a small group of adult Lost River suckers documented in a tributary to Upper Klamath Lake in the late 1990s, it is generally believed that though the listed sucker species spawn in tributaries, the larvae out-migrate within days of swim-up, and therefore, there is no juvenile residence in the tributaries. We …

Are Our Policy Makers On Board? What Policy Makers Think Of The Social Determinants, Health Disparities, And Health In All Policies, M. Lelinneth B. Novilla, Michael C. Goates, Spencer Calder, Tabetha Ellis, Kraymer Eppich, Laura A. Galvao, Noyra Melissa Quintana, David Mateos

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: We impact our health by “how we manage our affairs in society.”¹ The unequal distribution of power, money, and resources creates a collective social milieu with disparities in health between and within countries. Tackling health inequities require addressing the health implications of the “toxic combination of poor social policies and bad politics.”¹ But how do U.S. policy makers view the social determinants of health?

OBJECTIVE: Determine U.S. policy makers’ awareness for the social determinants of health, health inequities, and health in all policies; identify the social determinants of health perceived as legislative priorities; list factors identified/perceived …

American Prosperity Faces The Music, Douglas E. Archibald

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

If music influences people, what influences music? Intuitively, it is inspired by cultural traditions, changes in technology, and the zeitgeist of nations. On an even deeper level, it is inspired by demand. People will not buy music that does not give them utility. Now, how can someone know what type of music is in demand, or will be in demand? What factors influence music demand, and by studying these can future music trends be predicted? The purpose of this study is to discover how the economic well-being of a nation influences the demand for certain types of music, and if …

Let’S Find Out! Motivating Motivational Interview Evidence-Based Practice In Tr, Lora Hughes, Neil Lundberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Diseases related to aging, developmental disorders, mental illnesses, acquired physical disabilities, and traumatic events cause untold human suffering each year. Many professionals seek to alleviate such suffering, including the discipline of therapeutic recreation (TR), which uses a holistic process of targeted interventions, leisure education, recreation participation, and experiential learning to encourage positive change in clients. When working with clients, recreation therapists (RTs) need evidence and direction for using the best practices in therapeutic communication¹. One such type of therapeutic communication, Motivational Interviewing (MI), has become popular since the 1970s, especially within mental health and substance abuse fields^{2 …}

Combating Obesity Through Gut Microbiome Targeted Bacteriophage Therapy, Jeffrey Gongze Zhao, Laura C. Bridgewater

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2017

Obesity has become a serious health issue in the world (Ogden 2012), and its correlation to the human gut microbiota has been studied extensively since 2007 (Cani 2007). In 2013, researchers identified Enterobacter cloacae B29 from an obese patient’s gut and demonstrated its causal relationship to the host’s obese symptoms( Fei & Zhao 2013). However, there have not been many methods developed to alleviate obesity symptoms through eliminating pathogenic endotoxin-producing bacteria (such as E. cloacae B29), from the host’s gut flora. In this research, I propose a new strategy for treating obesity by using gut microbiome targeted bacteriophage therapy. …

Natural Selection In Samoan Metabolic Pathways, Sage Wright, John Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

One of the leading causes of death in Pacific Islanders is diabetes or other metabolic diseases [cdc]. This may be due to the idea that the thrifty genotype hypothesis contributes to the increase in type 2 diabetes [Southam]. The thrifty genotype hypothesis suggests that certain genes that encourage an increase in body fat were beneficial for our ancestors in times of famine. During periods where food was plentiful, these genes would act so that they would deposit fat in order to better survive during famines. It allows individuals to store nutrients that they would need when food was no longer …