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Modeling, Design, And Testing Of Contact-Aided Compliant Mechanisms In Spinal Arthroplasty, Peter Andrew Halverson

Theses and Dissertations

Injury, instrumentation, or surgery may change the functional biomechanics of the spine. Spinal fusion, the current surgical treatment of choice, stabilizes the spine by rigid fixation, reducing spinal mobility at the cost of increased stress at adjacent levels. Recently, alternatives to spinal fusion have been investigated. One such alternative is total disc replacements. The current generation of total disc replacements (TDRs) focuses on restoring the quantity of motion. Recent studies indicate that the moment-rotation response and axis of rotation, or quality of motion (QOM), may have important implications in the health of adjacent segments as well as the health of …

Upper Elementary Boys’ Participation During Group Singing Activities In Single-Sex And Coeducational Classes, Zadda M. Bazzy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As boys in the upper elementary grades become increasingly influenced by peer pressure, many are less likely to participate in singing activities because singing is considered a "feminine" activity. The purpose of this research was to explore if there was an effect on upper elementary boys' level of participation during group singing activities when they attended music classes in a single-sex setting.

This study employed a true experimental design and a mixed method. Boys (N = 186) were videotaped during their regular coeducational music classes on two occasions to establish baseline data. Then the students were randomly assigned to …

Participatory Testing And Reporting In An Environmental-Justice Community Of Worcester, Massachusetts: A Pilot Project, Timothy Downs, Laurie Ross, Danielle Mucciarone, Maria Camila Calvache, Octavia Taylor, Robert Goble

Sustainability and Social Justice

Background: Despite indoor home environments being where people spend most time, involving residents in testing those environments has been very limited, especially in marginalized communities. We piloted participatory testing and reporting that combined relatively simple tests with actionable reporting to empower residents in Main South/Piedmont neighborhoods of Worcester, Massachusetts. We answered: 1) How do we design and implement the approach for neighborhood and household environments using participatory methods? 2) What do pilot tests reveal? 3) How does our experience inform testing practice?. Methods: The approach was designed and implemented with community partners using community-based participatory research. Residents and researchers tested …

Design Fiction: A Method Toolbox For Design Research In A Complex World, Simon Grand, Martin Wiedmer

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Current debates on design research, and its relation to other research fields and scientific disciplines, refer back to a fundamental distinction introduced by Herb Simon (Simon, 1996 (1981)): Design and design research do not primarily focus on explaining the world as it is; they share with engineering a fundamental interest in focusing on the world as it could be. In parallel, we observe a growing interest in the science studies to interpret scientific research as a constructive and creative practice (Knorr Cetina, 1999; 2002), organized as experimental systems (Rheinberger, 2001). Design fiction is a new approach, which integrates these two …

Lighting Design: Non-Visual Impacts And Its Influence On Employees’ Health And Well-Being Betina Tschiedel Martau, Paulo Sergio Scarazzato,, Betina Tschiedel Martau, Paulo Sergio Scarazzato, Maria Paz Loyhza Hidalgo, Iraci Torres, Clarice Luz

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In the last ten years, findings in medical science reveal that light plays important roles in maintaining optimum regulation of biological rhythms and hormones on a daily basis. Despite the decades of research, it was only in 2002 that David Berson discovered the connection between light and a third type of photoreceptor in the retina and this was the missing link in the description of the mechanism of biological effects controlled by the light and dark cycle. This discovery revolutionized the research on the spectrum, the intensity, the duration and the type of light that affects biological responses. This work …

I.H. V. Lutheran Home Topton

2010 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Volume 47, Number 46: July 07, 2010, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

The Alestle - Vol. 62 No. 40 - 07/07/2010, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

The Alestle

Vol. 62 No. 40

Dis/Ability Teaches Design!, Tom Bieling

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In our paper, we claim that general human and artificial communication systems might be enriched by acknowledging and adding specifics of different ways of communication, perception and locomotion that refer to bodily impairment (Bieling, 2009). Schillmeier (2009, 79ff) sees disability less as an effect of bodily impairment, but more as a phenomenon of social construction. Oriented towards Science, Technology and Society Studies (STS) he conceptualizes disability as a “heterogenic, material event”, which connects “social and non-social relations of human and non-human actors, of things, bodies, technologies, sensorical pratices” and becomes able to be experienced in the sense of disabling as …

Dynamique Forme-Lumière : Un Processus De Création Et D’Analyse De L’Espace Architectural Par Modèles Maquettes/Images, Karole Biron, Claude M.H. Demers

DRS Biennial Conference Series

La recherche propose un regard sur l’objet et la lumière à travers l’élaboration d’une méthode de design et d’analyse spatiale aidant architectes, designers et artistes dans leur exploration créative. Elle tente de réinitialiser le processus de création par des manipulations simples et directes avec la matière, et une expérimentation en maquettes et en images photographiques, deux médiums familiers des architectes et designers. Ces interventions minimales recèlent à la fois une grande richesse de relations spatiales et de nombreuses informations sur le phénomène lumière. Une collecte de plus de 200 compositions spatiales est soumise à l’analyse. Un lexique de paramètres est …

An Exploratory Study Of Scientists’ Perceptions Of Design And Designers, Alex Driver, Carlos Peralta, James Moultrie

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As part of a wider empirical study in to the potential role of industrial design in scientific research, a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with scientists to understand how their perceptions of design and designers might influence collaboration. This paper reports that scientists without prior experience of working with designers may be unclear as to their skills and areas of expertise, and may subsequently be missing out on collaborative opportunities. Scientists perceive a greater possible impact on applied research through engagement of professional design skills. It was revealed that design interventions could be suitable for many scientists as their …

A Comparison And Analysis Of Usability Methods For Web Evaluation: The Relationship Between Typical Usability Test And Bio-Signals Characteristics (Eeg, Ecg), Haeinn Lee, Ssanghee Seo

DRS Biennial Conference Series

A usability assessment is now widely recognized as critical to the success of interactive interface design including web design. In this paper, our research team used a variety of different biosignals such as Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electrocardiogram (ECG), and Electromyogram (EMG) to evaluate individuals’ emotional reactions to different web interface designs. At the same time, we conducted typical usability testing of the same web interface design to compare the results of these two methods, and conclude whether usability testing using biosignals is a good method to use for web evaluation.

Analyzing The Appearance And Wording Of Assessments: Understanding Their Impact On Students’ Perception And Understanding, And Instructors’ Processes, Stacie Rohrbach

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In the context of a design studio, the study presented in this paper investigates the effects that appearance and wording of assessment forms have on design students’ perception and learning. The project is motivated by hypotheses formed by a prior study, which revealed visual and textual components of assessment forms as possible influences on students’ perception and learning. Thus, the goal of this project is to investigate their impact on students and offer the study findings to educators to help them better understand and construct effective assessment tools. This paper argues that the appearance and wording of assessments convey meaning …

Implications Of Spatial Abilities On Design Thinking, Ken Sutton, Anthony Williams

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The relationships between various cognitive characteristics and design creativity provide the necessity for consideration for design education. It can be argued that constructive perception ability that combines perception and conception and basic ability in visual reasoning composed of visual analysis, synthesis and representation in iterative nature are equally related with creative design ability. This paper reports findings of the application of a Spatial Ability measurement tool to first year design students and considers the results across three parameters, gender, University entrance Score and students’ achievement in a first year Graphics course.

Thinking About Design Experience: A Semantic Network Approach, Donna Wheatley

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Social network analysis software has been used in this study to reveal individual and collective perceptions of space from different perspectives. The paper outlines how to analyse an ‘environment-response’ semantic network of a user group and that of the architect. The semantic network of the designer was found to be quite different from the users of their designs, a starting point from which to question how far designers of space are able to anticipate what impressions and reactions their designs elicit in users. Determining what thematic clusters or topics emerge (called ‘metatopics’ in the study) from the networks is a …

A Survey Of Definition And Its Role In Strengthening Design Theory, Robert Andruchow

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper argues that an essential task for managing complexity in design is clarification of key terms within the field, and most importantly the term that defines the field itself: Design. This position rests on the argument that theory—a key tool for managing complexity in design—is weakened by ambiguous terminology, and crucially, ambiguity of the word design. Although it has been well documented that design is a highly ambiguous term and that this is problematic for the field as a whole, many designers are resigned to this fact since it is unclear how one can resolve differences of opinion about …

Beyond The Designers’ View: How People With Autism Experience Space, Stijn Baumers, Ann Heylighen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Harnessing all different dimensions of space is an immense, if not hopeless task. Thus the design of space is challenged by a complexity of meanings. The meaning attributed to a certain physical environment depends to a large extent on the personal interpretation people attach to this environment, influenced by their personal interests, attention and perceptual possibilities, whatever the designer’s line of thought that generated this built environment. Aware of the diverse ways in which a designed environment can be received, this paper attempts to understand the built environment from another perspective. It reports on a study that starts from different …

Converting The Participants’ Verbal Expressions Into Design Factors, Neda Ghadir, Dawood M. Garavand, Ali Faraji

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The designers usually apply various qualitative and quantitative techniques in investigating users’ desires. Once such techniques are applied, they deal with the difficulties of making the outcome data comprehensible enough to be used in the subsequent steps. This paper presents some encountered complexities of a pilot survey titled “Designing and Implementing an Artificial Design Tool Based on Improved Kansei Engineering”, in an effort to describe the borderline between quantitative and qualitative methods and their transformation point, and a practical solution suggested as co-qual-quant model. Through conducted case study, we have used qualitative methods on the human side (e.g. PPP and …

Interdisciplinary Design: The Need For Collaboration To Foster Technological Innovation To Create Competitive And Sustainable Products., Peter Wehrspann, Lois Frankel

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores an integral relationship between industrial design, advanced technologies, science, economy, and the environment to realize a logical trajectory for the future of product design. Through an investigation of current literature, key aspects and critical factors of interdisciplinary collaborative work are explored. By realizing the benefits and obstacles, this paper suggests a framework in which scientists, engineers, and designers can work together successfully to create innovative solutions for product design. The paper discusses the possibilities of material synthesis through the scientific field of biomimetics. It also suggests that the Industrial designer’s role must evolve into a position of …

Engaging Complexity Through Collaborative Brand Design, Manuela Taboada, Leo Xc Dutra, Robert Haworth, Rebecca Spence

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In this research we used inductive reasoning through design to understand how stakeholders in the Waterfall Way (New South Wales, Australia) perceive the relationships between themselves and the place they live in. This paper describes a collaborative design methodology used to release information about local identities, which guided the regional brand exercise. The methodology is explicit about the uncertainties and complexities of the design process and of its reception system. As such, it aims to engage with local stakeholders and experts in order to help elicit tacit knowledge and identify system patterns and trends that would possibly not be visible …

Agriculture: A Review Of Federal And Indiana State Information Resources, Bert Chapman

Libraries Research Publications

Provides an overview of information resources on agriculture from the U.S. Government and Indiana State Government.

Shavian Self-Fashioning: Authorized Biography And Shaw's Superman, Cort H. Kirksey

Theses and Dissertations

George Bernard Shaw exercised an above-average level of authorial control, which even extended to his relationship with his biographers. Shaw crafts a persona, with the help of his "authorized" biographer Archibald Henderson, which displays a process of evolutionary development and progress along the lines of the Shavian philosophy of the Life Force and the Superman. In essence, Shaw is casting himself as a prototype for the Superman through the autobiographical manipulation of his biographers and aesthetic modes of self-fashioning.

Population Genetic Diversity And Fitness In Multiple Environments, Jeffrey A. Markert, Denise M. Champlin, Ruth Gutjahr-Gobell, Jason S. Grear, Anne Kuhn, Thomas J. Mcgreevy Jr., Annette Roth, Mark J. Bagley, Diane E. Nacci

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Background: When a large number of alleles are lost from a population, increases in individual homozygosity may reduce individual fitness through inbreeding depression. Modest losses of allelic diversity may also negatively impact long-term population viability by reducing the capacity of populations to adapt to altered environments. However, it is not clear how much genetic diversity within populations may be lost before populations are put at significant risk. Development of tools to evaluate this relationship would be a valuable contribution to conservation biology. To address these issues, we have created an experimental system that uses laboratory populations of an estuarine …

The Relationship Between Identity Development And Family History Knowledge, Clive Gordon Haydon

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between identity development in late adolescent university students and family history knowledge. The relationship was examined within both the individual developmental and family systems theoretical frameworks. It was proposed that identity development involves achieving personal autonomy from the family of origin and at the same time maintaining positive relatedness to the family of origin. Identity development was examined using exploration, commitment, autonomy, and relatedness as dependent variables. It was proposed that late adolescent's personal exploration of and commitment to roles and values may be influenced by knowledge of parent …

The Relationship Between Attachment Related Family-Of-Origin Experiences And Sexual Satisfaction In Married Couples, James G. Strait

Theses and Dissertations

This study of married couples examined the relationship between perceptions of attachment related family-of-origin experiences and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by marital quality. The sample consisted of 3,953 married couples who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). The nested model showed that more positive overall family-of-origin experiences and parent-child relationships were related to higher sexual satisfaction. When adding marital quality as a mediator, overall family-of-origin experience and the parent-child relationship were predictive of higher sexual satisfaction when mediated by marital quality but removed most direct effects to sexual satisfaction. There was a strong positive relationship between marital quality …

Victimization Among Individuals With Low Self-Control: Effects On Fear Versus Perceived Risk Of Crime, Casey Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fear of crime is an issue that has long been a part of mainstream society through politics and media. However, research on the specific mechanisms of fear and the effects on behavior is sparse. After considering the victim-offender overlap consistently found within the literature, the present study was based on the theory posed within Schreck, Stewart, and Fisher (2006) in which those who are low in self-control may have altered perceptions of fear or risk of crime that might increase the likelihood that the individual will be in risky locations conducive to victimization. The current study also included a novel …

Crosses, Flowers, And Toads: Classic Maya Bloodletting Iconography In Yaxchilan Lintels 24, 25, And 26, Kirsten Rachelle Steiger

Theses and Dissertations

The lintels of Yaxchilan Structure 23 seem to be a demonstrable case wherein specific symbols are singled out and deliberately used in an ordered sequence. Taken together as a unified series, Yaxchilan Lintels 24, 25, and 26 summarize the multi-step process of royal autosacrifice. An iconographic study of the huipil patterns depicted on these lintels yields a better understanding of complex bloodletting iconography and the way in which depictions of ceremonial autosacrifice reinforce Classic Maya beliefs relating to the divine role of Maya elite in eliciting communion with the gods and the subsequent rebirth of the cosmos. The rich iconography …

A Case Study Examining The Impact Of Adventure Based Counseling On High School Adolescent Self-Esteem, Empathy, And Racism, Chris Cale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of Adventure Based Counseling upon high school adolescents. The goals of this study were to (a) explore the effectiveness of ABC Counseling in increasing levels of self-esteem and empathy among adolescents; (b) study the efficacy of ABC counseling in reducing perceived racial discrimination, racist attitudes, or both; and (c) investigate the correlation between self-esteem, empathy, perceived racial discrimination, and racist attitudes as related to the effects of ABC counseling. In addition, the effects of ABC counseling on the school-related variables such as discipline, attendance, and academics, as well as possible outcome differences caused by demographic …

Modeling And Experimentation Of Micro-Scale Self-Assembly Processes, Gary Hendrick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-Assembly in the context of micro-scale integration refers to a developing set of techniques which exploit phenomena resulting in the spontaneous integration of micro-scale components into designed systems. Self-Assembly may be leveraged most effectively in parallel assembly processes. This thesis studies the modeling of micro-scale self-assembly processes as stochastic processes. The researchers propose that self-assembly processes may be modeled as Markov chains. In order to develop these models a Self-Assembly test system was created and trials were conducted using this system. Initial tests into the hypothesis that variables contributing to the transition probabilities include the kinetic energy of the assembly …

July 7, 2010, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.