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Exploring the experiential learning of patient education for doctor of physical therapy students at an academic medical center : a qualitative single case study.
No full textPhysical therapists use recommended patient education techniques infrequently. Improper patient education decreases a patient's health outcomes and contributes to increased healthcare costs. To help combat this problem, global health initiatives have called upon healthcare professionals to include patient education training within their entry-level curricula. Student physical therapists' patient education training occurs in simulated and classroom environments. As such, student physical therapists report a lack of real-world experiential learning opportunities for patient education delivery. Since the entry-level physical therapy curriculum requires integrated clinical education experiences, experiential learning's role in improving student physical therapists' patient education delivery competency is unknown. Kolb's experiential learning theory guided this qualitative single-case study. I observed nine student physical therapists providing patient education during their experiential learning activity. I conducted follow-up semi-structured interviews and sent an open-ended online qualitative survey to collect additional data on their clinical experiences. The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program I selected had an established experiential learning experience in its curriculum. The study focused on specific ways the participants interacted in a cycle of learning when providing patient education. The purpose of the qualitative single case study was to explore DPT students' perceptions of their experiential learning cycle during an inpatient integrated clinical education experience. Findings indicated that student physical therapists found using recommended patient education practices effective during their experiential learning in an inpatient setting. My findings also demonstrated that student physical therapists moved through Kolb's cycle of learning when providing patient education; however, they had variable reflection opportunities and fluctuating learning applications, which may hinder learning patient education. DPT Clinical Education administrators need to adapt experiential learning curricula to include reflective prompts related to patient education and learning objectives for actively experimenting with new patient education concepts. Enhancing student learning can help future clinicians provide effective patient education to help reduce health inequalities and improve patient outcomes
"Past watchful dragons".
No full textThe following prospectus addresses the creative process behind creating a pilot for a Youtube channel featuring a portrayal of C.S. Lewis reading from some of his most famous works. The film and the accompanying paper are a part of the thesis requirements for a Master of Arts in Film & Digital Media from Baylor University. This prospectus is designed to address the creation of an original video and plans for its promotion. Included within this prospectus are my personal and professional goals for the project, influences on the video, an analysis of C.S. Lewis’s portrayal in other media, and the methods for creating the pilot. The purpose of this project is to find a way to examine part of Lewis often overlooked in other portrayals (i.e. Lewis as an artist more so than the oft-portrayed vision of Lewis as primarily an apologist) and to provide a plausibility structure for creativity which grows out of a curiosity redeemed by Christ
Finding power to balance the load : a qualitative single case study on the margin of Type III alternative educators within a trauma-impacted student population.
No full textType III alternative educators manage increased internal and external loads due to work environments that consistently expose them to trauma (Hernandez, 2022; Murphy, 2018). While research about Type III alternative educators has been limited (Afacan & Wilkerson, 2024), the few studies have described challenging working environments, such as innovative lesson planning, the need to manage students' emotional and sometimes violent behaviors, secondary stress, and compassion fatigue. This study built on previous research and explored the power-load margin of five Type III educators and their experiences working with students impacted by trauma, specifically in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
The study used a qualitative single-case study with McClusky’s (1970) theory of margin as the theoretical framework to collect and analyze data from Type III educators to understand how they continue to manage their loads and remain in the Type III alternative education setting. Following recruitment efforts, participants were selected through a process that included three sampling types: snowballing, criterion, and maximum variation. Data were collected from five participants through four cycles of journal responses and semi-structured interviews. Interviews were used to gain clarity and elaboration from the journal prompt entries. The data revealed how Type III alternative schools describe their power-load-margin while working with a student population impacted by trauma.
Findings revealed that educators in Type III alternative schools manage their power-load-margin while working with a student population impacted by trauma through maintaining a purpose greater than themselves, consistently implementing restorative practices, and surrounding themselves with a community of well-being. Alternative educators utilize skills such as insight, innovation, and resilience to work in challenging conditions and make a positive impact on students, thereby maximizing their potential. Whether personally or professionally led through self-care, alternative educators must disconnect and recover from the difficulties of their job to return the next day. They must also remain connected and aware of their purpose. Creating a community that values and models self-care, along with shared purpose, creates a greater margin for Type III alternative educators. The study contributes to the limited research on the experiences, particularly the margins, of Type III alternative educators
Caregiver implemented interventions to teach privately occurring daily living skills to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
No full textIndividuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often exhibit challenges in intellectual functioning, communication, and adaptive behavior, which in turn can hinder independence, especially when they age. As they age, they commonly require ongoing support from caregivers to engage in basic daily living skills, such as showering appropriately. Evidence-based practices, such as behavior analysis, are commonly used to help develop these skills. While behavior-analytic interventions have shown great effectiveness at enhancing daily living skills overall, there has been an insufficient emphasis on evaluating the impact of caregiver implementation on teaching basic hygiene skills (e.g., showering, menstrual care, dressing) to adults with IDD.
A systematic literature review was conducted to summarize current research on educational and behavioral interventions to support the acquisition of caregiver-implemented interventions to teach daily living skills to their child(ren) with IDD. The findings of the review highlight the lack of caregiver-implemented interventions to teach daily living skills to individuals with IDD. Though results show various caregiver-implemented daily living skills taught, very few studies have evaluated interventions targeting privately occurring hygiene-specific skills. Of the studies that did target privately occurring hygiene-specific daily living skills, none targeted these skills with individuals who were 18 years or older. Findings and implications can be found in Chapter Two. To address the gap within the literature, Chapter Three describes an experimental study that evaluates the use of an evidence-based behavior analytic intervention (e.g., video prompts) to teach privately occurring hygiene skills to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities 13 years or older. Results of the previously mentioned study are described in Chapter Four. Discussion of the results and implications for future research are provided in Chapter Five. Overall, caregiver implementation of animated video prompting improved private hygiene skills among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This study is not without limitations, and further research in this area is warranted
Towards a molecular perspective of native protein ionization during electrospray.
No full textElectrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) serves as a cornerstone of contemporary biomolecular analysis. When applied towards proteins in their native, folded forms, ESI has the striking characteristic of maintaining much native solution-phase structure as proteins transition into the gas-phase. Thus, native-ESI enables the access of biologically significant information beyond the molecular weight of a protein ion [1]. Despite widespread use of native-ESI to study protein structure, function, and interactions; a molecular level understanding of the ESI process itself has remained elusive given the experimental difficulties in studying the nano- to micro-scale in which electrosprayed droplets reside. The work here serves to assess how computational methods such as molecular dynamics (MD) can be modified to elevate the experimental realism of droplet simulations, and assist in providing a molecular perspective of the native-ESI process. By linking simulated insights with experimental data, insight is provided into the effect of experimental conditions on the evolution of electrosprayed droplets and the degree to which native-like protein structure is retained during native-ESI
Daughters as mothers : a new mother’s identity as a mother and daughter.
No full textWithin the framework of social identity theory and sensemaking theory, this study explores the experience of new mothers as they construct their mothering identity and learn to manage their existing daughtering identity. The goal of this study is to better understand not only how daughters make sense of their new mothering identity, but also what daughters say about their daughtering identity during the transition to motherhood. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted (N = 17) with new mothers to explore this transition. Three themes emerged regarding the topics of mothering or daughtering identity, and three themes emerged describing how new motherhood impacted the daughter-mother relationship. Findings revealed that new mothers form their identity through understanding the way their mother mothered them. New mothers often formed their identity based off the want to reciprocate that their mother gave to them. These findings underscore the significance of the transition to motherhood
Detection, quantification and prediction of interlaminar crack propagation in carbon-fiber reinforced polymers informed by high resolution ultrasonic testing.
No full textCarbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are widely used in aerospace, automotive, and industrial applications due to their advantageous properties such as, high strength-to-weight ratio and fatigue resistance. However, their susceptibility to delamination presents a significant challenge, particularly under fatigue and mixed-mode loading conditions. Mode II delamination is a critical failure mode in CFRPs due to flexural loading conditions (bending), which is more complex than Mode I opening conditions. Mode II delamination mechanisms comprise of fiber imprints, cusps, and striations, making them challenging to detect, quantify and predict. This is especially relevant in low-velocity impact-induced damage in CFRP specimens, where delamination initiation and propagation are primarily influenced by flexural bending stresses. Therefore, being able to detect and predict crack growth is of great importance to ensure continued safety and reliability of CFRP components.
Nondestructive testing (NDT), such as Ultrasonic Testing (UT), allows for the detection of such damage without exacerbating any damage, providing insights into the structural integrity of the component and providing real-time monitoring of the condition of the material. This dissertation develops an automated ultrasonic testing method to detect and quantify delaminations with high spatial and depth resolution in CFRP components, via the utilization of the full waveform (A-scan) analysis informed by user-defined thresholds, with results comparable to industry standard (X-ray CT) results. The average measurement difference between the two methods for the delaminated regions is 1.09%. Additionally, an automated UT depth analysis successfully located delaminations within one lamina interface. To improve fatigue life assessment, this study incorporates the UT-informed data of the initial crack front, to analytical models via beam theory, to correct theoretical crack length measurements, improving the validation of Mode II fatigue and quasi-static predictions thus better understanding crack growth behavior in CFRPs under flexural shear loading conditions. Finally, the study concludes with investigating the effects of symmetric and asymmetric cracks on fracture and fatigue behaviors in unidirectional CFRPs using the Virtual Crack Closure Technique-based finite element modeling. This study elucidates how delamination depth, thickness and initial crack length influences the effect of Mode I, Mode II and mode-mixity on crack propagation and fracture behavior in CFRPs
Principled tools for modeling and visualizing 2D vector fields.
No full textExisting statistical and mathematical programming languages often lack intuitive and efficient tools for modeling and visualizing vector fields and mathematical functions, limiting researchers’ ability to analyze complex spatial patterns and functional data. The ggvfields package addresses the need for rigorous vector field visualization and modeling by providing a comprehensive computational framework integrated into the familiar ggplot2 environment. ggvfields introduces foundational tools, including geom_vector() and geom_stream() for depicting individual vectors and streamlines; geom_vector_field() and geom_stream_field() for computationally derived vector and streamline fields; geom_gradient() for visualizing gradient fields from scalar data; and geom_potential() for recovering scalar potential fields from vector data. Advanced smoothing techniques such as geom_vector_smooth() and geom_stream_smooth() employ statistical methods—including generalized additive models, multivariate linear regression, and cokriging—to smooth noisy data, preserving directional structure while visualizing uncertainty through confidence ellipses and angular wedges. Complementing these vector-focused tools, the ggfunction package further extends the capabilities of ggplot2 by simplifying visualization of mathematical and statistical functions without manual data preparation. ggfunction offers intuitive geoms for univariate probability distributions (geom_pdf(), geom_cdf(), geom_qf()), parametric curves (geom_function_1d_2d()), scalar fields (geom_function_-2d_1d()), and vector fields (geom_function_2d_2d()). Together, the ggvfields and ggfunction packages integrate computational algorithms, advanced statistical modeling, and rigorous mathematical visualization methods within the familiar and widely adopted ggplot2 framework, offering researchers a robust, accessible, and extensible toolkit for mathematical exploration and statistical analysis
Bright ideas : nightlights and Vietnam.
No full textThe 2018–2019 U.S.–China trade war triggered both trade rerouting and manufacturing relocation. This study quantifies their relative contributions to Vietnam’s export surge to the U.S. by leveraging VIIRS nighttime lights data as a proxy for local economic activity. Using pre-tariff variation, province-level elasticities between lights and exports is estimated, then applied to post-tariff changes in lights to predict counterfactual export levels. Predicted values reflect production relocation; deviations from actual exports capture trade rerouting. Results show a sharp divergence beginning in 2018. Predicted levels track official data through 2017, but underpredict 2019 exports, implying rerouting activity equivalent to 16.7% of Vietnam’s total U.S.-bound exports that year. Spatial analysis identifies production growth concentrated in the Red River Delta and Southeast economic regions. These findings demonstrate how satellite data can isolate supply chain restructuring from opportunistic tariff circumvention
X-ray micro computed tomography-based characterization of bead microstructure in polymer composite large area additive manufacturing : analysis, simulation, and experimentation.
No full textDespite significant advancements in Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM), challenges persist in achieving material properties comparable to traditionally manufactured parts due to inferior material performance and significant mechanical anisotropy. Enhancing the mechanical performance of BAAM manufactured parts requires a comprehensive understanding of the microstructure, including micro voids, fibers, and the interactions between them, as these factors significantly influence the mechanical properties of the final parts. Researchers have addressed manipulating manufacturing process parameters resulting in diverse microstructures and subsequent variations in mechanical properties. Issues within the meso-structure, such as inter-bead voids and weak interlayer bead adhesion, have also been received some attention in the literature, however, despite extensive research, gaps persist, particularly concerning microstructural voids. This study aims to characterize the microstructure of Short Carbon Fiber reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (CF/ABS) extruded and deposited through Large Area Additive Manufacturing (LAAM) using Micro Computed Tomography (μCT), mechanical testing and numerical simulation. The objective of this research is to establish correlations between process parameters and microstructure and understand how microstructure influences the thermomechanical behavior of the final part. This objective will be achieved by evaluating the effects of various 3D printing process parameters on microstructural features. Subsequently, a comprehensive 2D thermomechanical finite element model is used for bead deposition. This model provides detailed insights into how the microstructure of beads influences thermal history, thermal stresses, and strains, with the potential to enhance understanding of void growth in the bead core