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Validation of a Novel Transition Frequency Eigenanalysis Approach in the Analysis of Eye-Tracking Data for Understanding Viewing Patterns of Multiple Representations
No full textEye-tracking has been increasingly used in educational research in order to gain insight into how we interpret information. Current analysis methods are limited in that they solely interrogate fixations or transitions, with the latter limited to only two areas on a page. In order to understand more complex gaze patterns, it is necessary to be able to quantify dominant viewing behaviors that couple three or more fixation areas. A novel approach to analyzing eye-tracking data will be discussed along with sample data that highlight differences in viewing patterns between different readers. This analysis is done using eigenvalue/eigenvector decomposition, which is the base algorithm found in Factor Analysis and Principal Component Analysis. In our group, we are interested in using this analysis method to understand an individual’s comprehension of the complexity in chemistry representations. Making use of the triplet relationship, we would be able to replicate the expert/novice study conducted by Kozma and Russell in 1997 by observing the variations in attention which a person gives several representations to differentiate between experts and novices
The Use of Debriefing Sessions in Emergency Room Nurses Experiencing Moral Distress
No full textMoral distress has been widely studied in certain areas of the healthcare field, such as critical care or oncology units. Less is known about this phenomenon in emergency departments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether debriefing sessions help reduce the amount of moral distress in emergency room nurses. Epstein and Hamric’s framework for the crescendo effect will be used as a foundation for this study. A convenience sample of emergency department nurses at an inner city, Midwestern hospital will be asked to complete a self-administered, online survey before and after a group debriefing session within two days of a stressful patient encounter. The Moral Distress Survey Revised (MDS-R) by Ann Hamric will be used to determine if the nurses’ degree of moral distress decreased after the debriefing session. Data will be analyzed using SPSSv22 and paired t-tests will be conducted to compare pre and post scores. Implications of the study include providing a debriefing session after stressful patient encounters for all care providers in the ED. Limitations of this study include the small sample size and a single site survey. Further research needs to be conducted on other interventions in the future. Results and conclusions are pending
Crystalline Channeling of MeV Ion Beams
No full textThin films of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) on single crystal magnesium oxide (MgO) substrate and strontium manganate (SrMnO3) also on single crystal MgO substrate are being considered for use in engineered superlattices. These superlattice structures exhibit unique properties which make them valuable in the semiconductor industry as well as applications which require a high sheering resistance. Crystal matching of the films to the substrates, which is essential for a low defect density, is indicated by effective channeling of ion beams through the lattice. Ion beam channeling, which occurs when the beam’s incident angle is parallel to crystal planes, can occur in well-ordered and pure crystals. With the addition of the ability to control the azimuthal angle as well as the altitudinal angle, two dimensional rastering of the incident angle is achieved. Comparison of the backscattering yields at different incident altitudinal and azimuthal angles shows a drop in yield as the channeling angle is approached. Channeling is seen in both the bulk SrTiO3 and MgO samples, although the yield suppression revealed structure around normal incidence. This structure is observed to be consistent between two MgO samples obtained from different suppliers and has different spacing in peaks than the SrTiO3 sample
Determining the Nuclear Structure of Unstable 25O
No full textOne of the primary goals of nuclear physics research is to better understand the force that binds nucleons. This can be accomplished by studying the structure of neutron-rich isotopes. For this experiment, excited 25O nuclei were formed by a collision between a 101.3 MeV/u 27Ne ion beam and a liquid deuterium target at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). One resulting reaction involved two-proton removal from 27Ne particles, which created excited 25O nuclei that decayed into three neutrons and an 22O fragment. The four-vectors for the neutrons and 22O fragments were determined, allowing the calculation of the decay energy for this process on an event-by-event basis. However, another reaction would also take place, in which an alpha particle was stripped from the beam, creating 23O nuclei that decayed into an 22O fragment and a single neutron. In order to distinguish between 22O fragments and neutrons from both 25O and 23O isotopes, members of the MoNA collaboration are conducting GEANT4 simulations of each decay process in order to uncover their distinguishing characteristics. By successfully correlating simulated decay processes to experimental data, the relative cross sections of the two decay processes will be determined, and their decay energies will reveal more about their nuclear structures
We\u27ve been Trumped! Personality Predictors of Voting Behavior
No full textUnlike political propaganda, sociological propaganda creates “an atmosphere that influences people imperceptibly without having the appearance of propaganda; it gets to [people] through [their] customs, through [their] most unconscious habits…as a result, [people] adopt new criteria of judgement and choice…” (Ellul, 1965, 66-73). Ellul continues, “It conditions; it introduces a truth, an ethic in various benign forms, which although sporadic, end by creating a fully established personality structure.” In essence, sociological propaganda insidiously activates personal traits to transform personality into ideology. While much attention has been given to demographic analysis of the electorate following the most recent election, this study proposes to explore the nuances of personality. Because traditional ideologies of liberal and conservative voting block interest groups fail to explain the outcome of the most recent election, this study asks: Are voting preferences predicted by personality traits, and if so, does personality become the basis for new ideologies? Specifically, how are perceptions of self (e.g., in-group identification, trust, paranoia, dogmatism and self-efficacy), understanding of others (e.g., authoritarian aggression, ambivalent sexism), perceived media realism and consumption, and cognitive style (e.g., need for cognition, evaluative consistency) related to voting behavior? Two hundred fifty college-aged, first time voters will complete an online survey comprised of existing personality trait scales and voting behavior questions. The implications of personality predictors on voting behavior will be analyzed within the framework of Ellul’s sociological propaganda. In a democratic political system, political ideology should transcend personality differences; if personality traits are found to predict voting preferences in the recent election, this is a serious concern. The implications of personality driving political ideology, and risks of susceptibility to direct propaganda will also be discussed
Media Games: The Non-Athletic Framing of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games by the American Media
No full textThis project aims to understand how American media framed the residents of Rio de Janeiro in their non-athletic coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Previous research conducted on media coverage of Olympic Games has approached the subject with a wider lens, merely mentioning that “other issues” are covered in addition to athletics. In contrast, this study adopts a narrow lens to unpack the cultural impact of the 2016 Olympics beyond athletics. Specifically, a qualitative textual analysis of new articles from June 2016 to August 2016 was conducted to understand the frames used to discuss the impact of the Games on the residents of Rio de Janeiro. Framing theory suggests that media shape how audiences understand topics. Although analysis is ongoing, preliminary results indicate that there is an even distribution of articles that prioritized how Rio de Janeiro’s cultural issues were a detriment to the Olympic Games and articles that centered on the well-being of the residents of Rio de Janeiro. Further, co-cultural theory will be used to analyze the quotes of Rio’s residents in the news articles to understand the communication strategies used by residents to articulate their opinion of the Olympics. The results from this analysis will aid in understanding the attitudes of Rio’s residents towards the Olympic Games and their government. Based on the literature, I expect that the residents of Rio de Janeiro will use communicative practices of emphasizing commonalities, developing positive face, avoiding, communicating self, and gaining advantage
Syrian Refugee Resettlement in the United States and Canada
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to examine the different factors that have led to Canada accepting more Syrian refugees than the United States. The conflict that began in Syria in 2011 has increasingly drawn international attention due to the escalating violence within the country. The conflict in Syria started as a branch of the Arab Spring uprising and escalated into an armed conflict after the government violently repressed protests for democracy. This armed conflict has caused a humanitarian crisis because Syrians have been forced to flee their homes due to persecution. The crisis in Syria has had an impact on the global scale because of security and humanitarian threats to the international arena. Specifically, Canada and the United States have been affected and in result have had to create policy to address the needs of the refugees fleeing from Syria. Both of the countries are similar in many ways but have different histories of immigration that have impacted their approach to the current problem with Syrian refugees. Prime minister Justin Trudeau of Canada originally promised to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees by January 1st, 2016. However, Canada did not achieve this goal and the deadline was moved back to March 1st, 2016. Overall, from November 4th, 2015 to January 29th, 2017 there have been 40,081 Syrian refugees admitted into Canada. On the other hand, President Obama and the United States government set a goal to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees for fiscal year 2016. From October 1st, 2010 to August 31st, 2016 the United States accepted a total of 12,623 Syrian refugees. This data shows that there is a higher percentage of Syrian refugees living in Canada than in the United States. Therefore, this comparative study aims to explain the key factors that have caused Canada to approach the Syrian refugee crisis in a more hospitable way than the United States. It will take into account the impact of the public opinion and the history of immigration and security on the admittance of Syrian refugees. Ultimately, this will provide an explanation of the facilitators and barriers for countries to intervene and to what extent when there is a humanitarian threat
Assessment of Oxygen Deficit in Collegiate Runners During Steady State Exercise
No full textOxygen deficit (OD) for the same absolute workload intensity decreases with aerobic training through improved aerobic metabolism and likewise increases with detraining. It is unclear if the amount of increase in OD with detraining is the same in middle distance (MD) and long distance (LD) runners and what training related OD changes occur in these groups with subsequent retraining. In order to compare and contrast the changes in OD values of collegiate MD and LD runners which accompany a post-competitive season cessation of training and subsequent endurance retraining, fourteen members of the collegiate track team (7 MD and 7 LD) runners completed a steady-state treadmill test (SS) at their gender-specific mean 5k velocity (15.3 kph for females and 18.5 kph for males) at the conclusion of their track season followed by 3 additional SS tests at 2-week intervals. Participants did not train between SS1 and SS2 and performed identical prescribed training programs between SS2 and SS4. VO2 steady state was identified as the breakpoint of the second phase of the OD curve. OD area under the curve comparisons were made using a 2x4 repeated measures ANOVA. We found that MD demonstrated a significant decrease in VO2 at SS pace over the 6-week study resulting in a reduction in their mean OD (6.4%) versus LD (-0.5%) (P\u3c .01). Mean anaerobic contributions to reach SS were greater in LD than MD (36.9% vs. 32.2%) at the end of 4-weeks of retraining (P\u3c .01). In conclusion, there are differences in OD patterns that accompany both detraining and endurance retraining in collegiate MD and LD runners. LD runners were more aerobically challenged than MD to maintain SS velocity after detraining and may require a greater volume of anaerobic training than MD runners during the early retraining phase in order to retain a faster training pace
Predictive Validity of Mate Standards
No full textResearch is scarce regarding the circumstances under which implicit and explicit mate preferences predict people’s partnering behaviors. Whereas explicit preferences may operate in more deliberate contexts (Eastwick, Eagly, Finkel, & Johnson, 2011; McNulty & Olson, 2015), the details of implicit preferences’ situational functioning remain unclear, particularly in ongoing relationships, even though they may be important in early face-to-face interactions. The present study examines implicit and explicit mate preferences and their effect on present and future relational outcomes. Using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as our recruiting platform, unmarried individuals (n=197) completed an online series of three SC-IATs (Karpinski & Steinman, 2006), representing three major trait dimensions: physical attractiveness/vitality, warmth/trustworthiness, and status/resources. Participants also completed a questionnaire assessing their explicit mate standards, partner’s characteristics, and relationship evaluations. Participants were contacted 3 months later and invited to complete a questionnaire similar to that used at T1. Results revealed a weak positive correlation between implicit and explicit preferences for warmth/trustworthiness only at T1 (r=.18, p\u3c .05) and no significant correlations were found for attractiveness/vitality and status/resources at either time point. Regression analyses showed predictive validity only for the warmth/trustworthiness dimension. Specifically, greater correspondence between people’s implicit preferences and their partner’s traits predicted greater relationship satisfaction at T1 (p\u3c .05). Furthermore, greater correspondence between people’s explicit preferences and their partner’s traits predicted greater relationship satisfaction at T2, and this explicit preference-partner match was moderated by mate availability, such that preference-partner correspondence was more predictive for individuals with low perceived mate availability (p\u3c .05). Perceived mate availability also moderated preference-partner match for status/resources: implicit preference-partner match was a better predictor of T1 relationship satisfaction among individuals with low than high mate availability (p\u3c .05). For attractiveness/vitality dimension, perceived mate availability did not moderate preference-partner match
Disability in Literature: A Girardian Perspective
No full textThis project embodies the culmination of the 2016 summer research I conducted at Hope College regarding the intersection of Disabilities Studies, Mimetic Theory, and Young Adult Fiction. This research utilizes a corpus of five recent novels: Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003), Francisco X. Stork’s Marcelo and the Real World (2009), Jennifer Roy’s Mindblind (2010), Vicky Martin’s M is for Autism (2015), and Aaron Cully Drake’s Do you think this is strange? (2015). Each work includes a narrator on the autism spectrum, has achieved success in the public sphere over the last 15 years, and falls under the umbrella of Young Adult or crossover fiction. My research uses these examples to assert that the increase of first-person narrators with intellectual disabilities has functioned to give a voice to this marginalized population. By applying Mimetic Theory, one better understands the inner-workings of the scapegoating and bullying that people with disabilities face. The mimetic concept of identifying with the victim then opens up a dialogue about the social constructions, medical symptoms, and misconceptions that work together to disable individuals with intellectual disabilities. Finally, the research’s study of conscious and unconscious forms of mimesis help readers better understand the cognitive function of both neurotypical and non-neurotypical individuals. Overall, this research seeks to prove that applying a Mimetic Theory lens to this popular form of YA literature provides the beginning solutions to forms of persecution by explaining how literature functions as a guide to support marginalized people through advocacy and understanding