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Beverage Bottle Capacity, Packaging Efficiency, And The Potential For Plastic Waste Reduction, Rafael Becerril-Arreola, R. E. Bucklin

Faculty Publications

Plastic pollution is a pressing issue because authorities struggle to contain and process the enormous amount of waste produced. We study the potential for reducing plastic waste by examining the efficiency with which different polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles deliver beverages. We find that 80% of the variation in bottle weight is explained by bottle capacity, 16% by product category, and 1% by brand. Bottle weight is quadratic and convex function of capacity, which implies that medium capacity bottles are most efficient at delivering consumable product. Local data on PET bottle sales and municipal waste recovery validate the findings. A 20% …

Introduction 13(6) Independent And Essays With Special Issue, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Case Studies Of Japanese Universities’ Collaborations With Asean, China, And Mongolia

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Understanding International Joint And Dual Degree Programs: Opportunities And Challenges During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Opportunity In The Complexity: Recommendations For Equitable Climate Resilience In East Boston, Patricio Belloy, Antonio Raciti, Katsyris Rivera-Kientz, Rebecca Herst

Sustainable Solutions Lab

East Boston is a diverse, working-class, coastal neighborhood of the City of Boston that is currently undergoing rapid gentrification. At the same time, local environmental problems – such as air and noise pollution from the operation of the nearby Logan International Airport – continue to harm residents, particularly the most marginalized communities. In addition to housing pressures and the pollution from Logan Airport, technical and scientific assessments warn that a large part of the neighborhood is at risk of being severely affected by climate change impacts such as sea-level rise, storm surges, and heatwaves. City-led planning efforts and climate resilience …

Comparing The Water-Tight Closure Of Barbed And Conventional Suture Under Static And Dynamic Conditions In An Ex-Vivo Human Knee Arthrotomy Model., Yale A Fillingham, John P Matonick, Vivienne Mendoza, Javad Parvizi

Rothman Institute Papers

Background: Barbed suture has become popular for closure of the arthrotomy and overlying tissues in total knee arthroplasty. STRATAFIX Symmetric PDS Knotless Tissue Control Device, a unique and novel barbed suture, with barbs formed integral to the suture core provides greater suture strength than the more common cut barbed suture designs. It is the only barbed suture commercially available with an indication in high tension areas, such as fascia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of this novel barbed suture in the formation of a water-tight arthrotomy closure, using a continuous suture pattern, compared to conventional …

Crooked Politicians: Elusive Criminal Punishments And Paths To Accountability, Pedro Gerson

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Incubation Task Characteristics On Idea Generation, Adrian Abellanoza

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

The effect of short breaks on creativity and idea generation, referred to as “incubation”, has had a considerable body of work devoted to its causal mechanisms. Despite this, many issues persist in the research literature, including difficulty in testing between similar competing theoretical frameworks, mixed findings regarding incubation effects, as well as measurement and practicality issues related to the use of non-expert human raters. Therefore, the present study combines methods used in recent research to evaluate which proposed mechanisms are supported. Additionally, to explore potential solutions to rater issues, a novel research methodology is explored using text mining methods and …

In The Mood For Creativity: Exploring Exposure To Humor And Creative Output, Sarah Lee

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of these three studies was to replicate prior findings, namely, that positive moods can improve creative performance (Baas et al., 2008) as well as to test whether humor provides a creative advantage relative to a neutral emotional state. Three studies were conducted using sets of ten memes as the mood induction stimuli. Participants were assigned to either a positive, humor, or neutral condition in study one. Study two added an irony condition and study three added four parallel explanation conditions (i.e., positive explain, humor explain, neutral explain, irony explain). Participants were assigned to either a positive, humor, neutral, …

The Game Of Life: How Playing Gamified Interactive Narratives Affects Career Planning In Cambodia, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Sparks, Sheila T. Murphy, Lizzie Goodfriend, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

To improve economic opportunity in Cambodia, we used social cognitive theory to develop gamified, interactive narratives using mobile phones. Participants guided their chosen character toward their “dream job” goal while encountering a series of barriers along the way. Participants (N = 1,625) were randomly assigned to one of four message frequency experimental conditions: a no-play control condition or playing the interactive narrative one, two, or five times. Compared with not playing the interactive narrative (control), those who played showed higher perceived self-efficacy, response efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Playing more times was associated with less attentional focus and enjoyment, but greater …

Autonomous Guidance Of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles In Basic Fighter Maneuvering, Jeffery G. Dean

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Basic fighter maneuvering, or BFM, is the dynamic engagement of two or more aircraft in close-range air combat. The relatively recent introduction of advanced unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) has opened the possibility for automated systems to be players in this arena of air-to-air combat, which has thus far been limited to manned aircraft. In order to design an unmanned system that could fight and win a BFM engagement, the system must include an advanced system for guidance. This dissertation leverages techniques from gain scheduling and incorporates adjustable aimpoint guidance, in order to address the capability for UCAVs to execute …

Investigation And Discovery Of Novel Transition Metal Cysteamine Systems With Halogens From The First Principles Calculations, Noura Dawas Alkhaldi

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Cu-cysteamine (Cu-Cy) is a material that has the cysteamine bonded with Cu. It is a molecular photosensitizer which can be activated by visible, ultraviolet light, and X-rays to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cu-Cy has been used in various applications such as solid-state lighting, radiation detection, and as treatment of both shallow and deep cancers. Hence, it is important to study the stability, electronic and optical properties of Cu-Cy as well as finding other possible cysteamine systems. The first principle theoretical investigations of novel transition metal cysteamine systems with halogens are performed by density functional theory. In the first part …

Orbital Evolution Studies And Radio Searches Of Extra-Solar Moons, Marialis Rosario-Franco

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Exoplanetary research has undergone a great deal of development and growth. Achievements in theoretical studies and detection techniques have led to the discovery of 4,000+ exoplanets in ~3, 000 planetary systems to date. Despite this great success, and though candidates have been proposed, the confirmation of the first exomoon is yet to be accomplished. Understanding the constraints under which extrasolar moons form around exoplanets can provide insight into the overall formation of the system, the host planet’s habitability, and could even aid the process of drawing out the best observational candidates for exomoon searches. This work entails the use of …

Barriers To Resource Access: The Need For Social Workers As Cultural Brokers In Hispanic Immigrant Communities, Leslie Noemy Reyna

Social Work Theses - Archive

Although the U.S. has more immigrants than any other country in the world (Budiman, 2020), there exists inequality in resource access among U.S. born and immigrants. The inequality has been created and maintained by the development of barriers such as idealization assimilation, forced acculturation, anti-immigrant sentiment and the limitations developed within immigrant serving organizations. Immigrants have tried to overcome these barriers through brokering by brokering through assimilation, brokering through their children and brokering through community health workers known as promotoras. Although the possibility of brokering exists, the question remains: how can immigrants achieve access to resources in a society designed …

The Demands Of Encounter In A Globalized Community Of Scholars: Shedding Light On The Place Of Trust In The Ritual Of Knowledge Creation, Simonmary A. Aihiokhai

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

As institutions of learning become more diverse in their members and their curricula offerings, it has become necessary to articulate the demands of encounter. A distinction must be made between meeting and encounter. The former refers to a choreographed proximity of bodies. The latter refers to the totality of what it means to be human – a being intricately linked to other beings through life-giving webs of relationships. Therefore, transformative education must be grounded in the ritual of encounters because such a ritual allows for the possibility for new discourses that lead to knowledge creation. Such discourses allow for a …

The Almost Forgotten History Of Claver College, Katrina M. Sanders

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

This essay examines Claver College, an African American Catholic College located in Guthrie, Oklahoma, from 1936-1942. The author argues that while there is still much that is unknown about the short-lived college, the institution provided an opportunity for African Americans west of the Mississippi River to access higher education and served as an entre for the Catholic Church into an African American community.

Directional Spectral Solar Energy For Building Performance: From Simulation To Cyber-Physical Prototype, Joseph Del Rocco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The original research and development in this dissertation contributes to the field of building performance by actively harnessing a wider spectrum of directional solar radiation for use in buildings. Solar radiation (energy) is often grouped by wavelength measurement into the spectra ultraviolet (UV), visible (light), and short and long-wave infrared (heat) on the electromagnetic spectrum. While some of this energy is directly absorbed or deflected by our atmosphere, most of it passes through, scatters about, and collides with our planet. Modern building performance simulations, tools, and control systems often oversimplify this energy into scalar values for light and heat, when …

The Social And Behavioral Influences Of Interactions With Virtual Dogs As Embodied Agents In Augmented And Virtual Reality, Nahal Norouzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) have been researched for years and recently many of these IVAs have become commercialized and widely used by many individuals as intelligent personal assistants. The majority of these IVAs are anthropomorphic, and many are developed to resemble real humans entirely. However, real humans do not interact only with other humans in the real world, and many benefit from interactions with non-human entities. A prime example is human interactions with animals, such as dogs. Humans and dogs share a historical bond that goes back thousands of years. In the past 30 years, there has been a great …

Fragmentation And Judicialization Of International Commercial Arbitration: Expedited Arbitration And The “Arbitral Trial”, Ylli Dautaj

Arbitration Law Review (2009 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Academic Resilience, Student Engagement, And Academic Achievement Among Black Male Undergraduates At Predominantly White Institutions, Henry C. Mccain Iii

Dissertations

The proportion of Black men enrolled in college is representative of the Black male population in the U.S. (Toldson, 2019). However, an investigation of the 2010 college entry cohort of Black men showed that only 34% graduate within six years (National Center for Education Statistics; NCES, 2019). The disparity in Black male graduation rate is clearer when compared to other races such as White men (61%), Hispanic men (50%), and Asian men (70%) (NCES, 2019). Within-group disparities also exist in that Black women graduate at a rate of 44% (NCES, 2019). Much of the literature on Black undergraduates has been …

Intragroup Marginalization Among Latinx Migrant Farmworker College Students, Annette Calvario Perales

Dissertations

The Latinx population is the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States (U.S.) (Passel et al., 2014). There are nearly 2 million migrant families in the U.S. (Tippett, 2020). Most migrant families live below the poverty level, and children often provide significant supplemental income to that of their parents’ (Zalaquett et al., 2007). Many migrant families are faced with various challenges, such as secluded living conditions, financial instability, physical and mental health barriers, and educational barriers (Dreby, 2015; Thompson et al., 2002; BPHC, 1995). In addition, migrant students frequently find themselves in a dilemma between providing financial assistance to …

An Evaluation Of The Mini-Cex In Clinical Teaching Of Chinese Medicine, Tsung-Ju Li, Yu-Chen Lee, Lun-Chien Lo, Wen-Chao Ho, Hen-Hong Chang

Journal of Medical Education

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX) as a formative assessment tool among teaching hospital residents practicing Chinese and Western medicine. We explored how the mini-CEX affects practical aspects of postgraduate clinical teaching of Chinese Medicine and the impact of this tool upon learning. Methods: Mini-CEX assessments covering the period from January 2016 through December 2018 were collected from the Chinese Medicine Department in China Medical University (Taichung, Taiwan) and included 12 residents and 8 associates. A total of 163 mini-CEX assessments occurred in Chinese medicine and 49 in Western medicine. Results: The …

Aku Research 2021, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Content

- Foreword

- Research projects

- COVID-19 Research

- University updates

How Might The Pandemic Change Medical Education?, Pete M. Ellis

Journal of Medical Education

Despite high expectations of change in medical education post-pandemic, a historical review suggests that, at best, pandemics are associated with acceleration of existing trends in medical education rather than creating new changes per se. However, the advent of medical education units, information technology and considerable research in the last fifty or so years may provide more potential for change now than in the past. Seven key issues in medical education are identified (clinical experience; communication skills; pedagogical approaches; learning environment; course objectives; national/local assessment; assessment for learning vs assessment of learning) and the impact of the pandemic on each of …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Institutional Financial Aid Programs And Four-Year Graduation Rates, Dawn Herrod

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Institutions are increasingly searching for strategies for using institutional financial aid awards to improve graduation in four years. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between institutional award programs with graduation in four years. Furthermore, there was investigation into any interaction that existed between ethnicity, Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and the type of award on graduation in four years. Covariates were tested from a theoretical framework that included elements from sociological and economic theories, academic components, and the concept of liquidity constraints. Data was queried from the student information system at the selected site for students who …

Bringing Instagram Posts Into Being: A Study Of Fyc Students' Self-Sponsored Posting Practices And Transfer Opportunities, Jessica Kester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Social media platforms have offered students—and all of us—more opportunities for self-sponsored writing. In response to calls from researchers to explore students' 21st-century writing practices and their relevance to college writing instruction, this dissertation articulated and applied a feminist teacher research methodology and a mixed-methods research design to explore first-year composition (FYC) students' self-sponsored writing practices, attitudes, and transfer opportunities on a popular, albeit under-examined, social media application: Instagram. This study found that students have developed elaborate, rhetorical, multimodal composing processes that include planning, drafting, evaluating, selecting, and styling images as well as planning, drafting/revising, and styling captions. Additionally, though …

Inheritance, Kenneth Noguera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Inheritance follows the journey of a boy finding himself through the discovery of family secrets and his own sexuality. This hybrid work, part poem, part essay, explores a boy transitioning to adulthood while unearthing secrets about himself and where he comes from. He finds solace in the retelling of stories passed down from within his family and encounters creatures which shift, morph, and lie. In this surreal world, people commune with spirits, the dead find a voice, and a boy breaks and remakes himself. The work divides into three parts, beginning with memoiresque poems from the speaker leading to an …

Design Of Miniaturized Antipodal Vivaldi Antennas And A Microwave Head Imaging System For The Detection Of Blood Clots In The Brain, Farhana Parveen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Traditional brain imaging modalities, for example, MRI, CT scan, X-ray, etc. can provide precise and high-resolution images of the brain for diagnosing lesions, tumors or clots inside the brain. However, these modalities require bulky and expensive test setups accessible only at specialized diagnostic centers, and hence may not be suitable or affordable to many patients. Furthermore, the inherent health risks limit the usability of these modalities for frequent monitoring. Microwave imaging is deemed a promising alternative due to its being cost-effective, portable, non-ionizing, non-intrusive. Therefore, this work aims to design an effective microwave head imaging system for the detection of …

Using Peptide Design To Engineer Polyelectrolyte Complex Biomaterials, Sara Tabandeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The self-assembly of oppositely charged polymers provides a versatile platform to design materials for diverse applications in biology and medicine. Electrostatically-driven phase separation of oppositely charged polymers in aqueous solution gives rise to the formation of a polymer-rich phase called a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). PECs can be in the form of liquid droplets (complex coacervates) or amorphous solid precipitates. Unlike synthetic polymers, peptides are good candidates for developing tailor-made formulations and structure-property relationships due to their biocompatibility, precise control over sequences, and ability to program hydrogen bonding interactions. However, little is known about the effect of combining additional molecular interactions …

Leveraging Multimodal Learning Analytics To Understand How Humans Learn With Emerging Technologies, Elizabeth Cloude

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Major education and training challenges are plaguing the United States in preparing the next generation of the future workforce to meet the demands of the 21st Century. Several calls have been released to improve education programs to ensure learners are acquiring 21st century knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). As we embark on the digital and automation ages of the 21st century, it is essential that we move away from traditional education programs that define and measure KSAs as static constructs (e.g., standardized assessments) with little consideration of the actual real-time deployment of these processes, missing critical information on the degree …