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Enability: How Architecture Can Enable the Disabled
Get PDFEnability is designing with empathy from the very beginning of a design. It incorporates design strategies for a variety of disabilities, as well as tackling the difficulties that are known to disproportionately affect those with disabilities, such as employment and access to childcare. It features a community center, located in Rochester, Minnesota, that incorporates a full restaurant and childcare center with the goal of providing both services as well as employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities in the area. By considering as many aspects as possible it is hoped that this community center can be an example of how architects can move beyond the ADA requirements and choose to truly reimagine how the disability experience is transformed through their designs
Versatile Venue: How Can the Acoustics of a Space Be Optimized for Varied Performances?
Get PDFLive music and performance have been an integral part of the entertainment industry for decades. This research focuses on how the live experience can be enhanced, to benefit both the performer and audience. Utilizing historically effective design strategies, material choices, and acoustic comparisons in the design process to create a venue like no other.
The hall is designed with the optimization of acoustics in mind. This is focused within un-amplified performance halls which have the capability to transform into amplified halls. Simulations of the halls determined the acoustic capability within each, and what kinds of performances can take place. This allows for more versatility within the space, and more use than one singular venue can offer
Beyond Memory: A Person-Centered Approach to Dementia Design
Get PDFAt some point in each of our lives, a loved one or even ourselves will end up in some assisted living facility. Today, there is a negative connotation behind senior care facilities; they are portrayed by having drab interiors mixed with the faint sounds of squeaky wheelchairs that echo long, stale hallways. The population of older adults in the world is constantly growing, and a profound number of them have a form of memory loss like Alzheimer?s. How can we design a senior living center that makes those with Alzheimer?s feel safe and keep their minds active? How can we use simplistic wayfinding to find a home that effortlessly directs residents to give them a feeling of independence? How do indoor and outdoor spaces for socialization and activities keep minds and bodies moving? The elderly population is a vulnerable generation that does not get the attention they deserve, and most do not have the strength or voice to ask for the help they need
Healthier Homes: Integrating Emerging Design Strategies into Affordable Housing
Get PDFThis research focuses on healthy building materials and sustainable practices and how to
integrate those practices into an affordable housing development in Duluth, MN. I will be
investigating new sustainable materials to potentially be integrated as well as different
approaches to integrating the materials. The objective of this thesis will be to design a two-family
dwelling that integrates the sustainable practices and healthy materials researched. The
dwellings are to be used in the creation of an affordable housing development in Duluth,
Minnesota. I would like my research to be used as a reference for future affordable housing
developments in Duluth and surrounding areas
Inclusive Office Design: Addressing the Neurodiversity Spectrum in the Workplace
Get PDFWhen most people think of inclusive design, they think of those with physical disabilities. As architects, we strive to create inclusive spaces that can be experienced the same no matter if someone is differently abled, but what about those that have neurological disabilities that are not seen as obviously or as often? This project expands the typical understanding of what an inclusive workplace should look like by implementing the idea that the key to success is to focus the human experience. Hospitality-oriented offices provide an opportunity to personalize the journey you take throughout the workday. Expanding the range of available accommodations offered in an office setting can help create a closer community and find employees with a greater range of diverse skills
The Future of Education: Combining Libraries and Museums
Get PDFArchives and their specializations have existed within our societies for hundreds of years, adapting alongside their communities until the advent of the digital age where their physical presence was thrown into question. Can archives such as libraries and museums be integrated through a system that overlaps these specializations in way beyond sharing a structure? In modern times, these spaces compete with businesses in providing a neutral location to further oneself outside of the context of work or home. Exacerbated through problems in American developments lacking third places, especially free to access ones, what facilities that are accessible may be able to be reassessed to increase the effectiveness of public archives and businesses alike. Analyzing precedent cases, historical uses, and artwork, a new combination system is created to integrate library shelves into spaces shared with museum exhibits. Creating a space that elevates the modern understanding of learning, socialization, and recreation
School Counselors' Use of Movement in Small Group and Individual Counseling Sessions
Get PDFAlthough there is a research base for incorporating movement into teaching and classroom lessons, there currently is a lack of research on incorporating movement into school counseling practices. The present mixed methods exploratory study aimed to identify school counselor attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding the use of movement in individual and small group counseling sessions. A concurrent embedded strategy was utilized to survey practicing school counselors in the United States. By sharing requests through the ASCA Member Community and state school counselor association communications, study participants were invited to complete an anonymous survey online. Study participants indicated they find incorporating movement useful in individual and small group sessions. Although participants self-report higher levels of knowledge on incorporating movement into counseling sessions at schools, most participants had not received any training on the topic. Recommendations include providing training for practicing school counselors and school counselors-in-training regarding how to incorporate movement into sessions and its benefits. Focus of training should also include advocacy efforts and how to address identified barriers
An Examination of Selected Chinese Ethnic Choral Music from Inner Mongolia, Yunnan Province, and Central Plains Area
Get PDFThe landscape of choral music in modern China is characterized by a rich and varied repertoire, despite its relatively brief history within the nation. Diverging from the trajectories of traditionally Christian countries, the evolution of Chinese choral music has been shaped by unique historical, social, religious, and folk music traditions. This paper embarks on an examination of selected Chinese ethnic choral music, commencing with an overview of the development path of Chinese choral music in Chapter One. It then delves into an analysis of choral traditions across three distinct ethnic regions in the following three chapters. Each of them is dedicated to a specific ethnic region, namely Inner Mongolia, Yunnan province, and Central Plains area. The analysis starts with introducing the geographical, social, and folk music backgrounds. Subsequent sections explore the characteristic musical elements of each region, offering in-depth examinations of selected representative repertoire. Furthermore, this study aims to provide valuable insights into rehearsal suggestions and performance practices tailored for non-Chinese speaking choral groups.
This disquisition draws upon primary sources, such as unpublished Chinese choral music scores, and a spectrum of secondary sources including scholarly works, dissertations, journal articles, encyclopedic entries, and online resources authored by both Chinese and non-Chinese scholars regarding this research topic
Developing a modified diabetes education project in a global health setting
Get PDFT2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) is a global health challenge, with Latinos, particularly Mexicans, facing a significantly higher risk. Mexico ranks among the top ten countries in terms of T2DM prevalence, with 12.8 million adults living with the condition. In rural Mexican communities, health disparities and challenges associated with social determinants of health often impede effective T2DM management. This highlights the need for targeted interventions and research initiatives.
The project aimed to increase participants? knowledge about T2DM management, assess their perceptions of their diagnosis and management, and distribute evidence-based dietary management information in a resource-constrained setting in Ensenada, Mexico. To assess the participants? beliefs and perceptions about T2DM, the T2DM Empowerment Scale (DES), a questionnaire consisting of 28 items developed by the University of Michigan T2DM Research Center, was administered. Other studies have utilized the DES and it has been proven to be reliable (Cronbach?s alpha = 0.96) and valid.
Post-session, all participants felt very prepared in making healthy carbohydrate food choices. Two-thirds of the participants felt very prepared to identify sugary drinks and foods to avoid. All respondents strongly agreed that they could set meaningful goals. However, two participants identified lack of knowledge and lack of medical care access as significant barriers.
Given the enthusiastic participation of the younger population and the trend of younger onset of type 2 T2DM, future projects should consistently offer educational classes within similar communities. The project highlighted the importance of social support and hope in managing T2DM. Therefore, future studies should focus on broadening the target audience and fostering social support networks.
The project underscores the critical need for targeted T2DM interventions in Mexico, particularly in resource-constrained settings. These insights should guide future research and interventions, emphasizing the need for educational classes, fostering social support networks, and nurturing hope among similar communities. This approach could significantly improve T2DM management and health outcomes in these high-risk populations
Evaluation of Blackbird Damage to Sunflower and the Relationship to Producer Damage Estimates
Get PDFSunflower producers face profit losses due to crop depredation by migrating blackbirds (Icteridae). Blackbird damage to sunflower in North Dakota is highly localized, where economic loss to some sunflower fields is severe (loss >20%), others face negligible loss (<5%). To mitigate conflict between producers and blackbirds, an understanding of severity and distribution of bird damage is essential. We investigated blackbird damage to sunflower using estimates collected in the field and estimates gathered from producers through a written survey and direct contact. Damage estimates indicate a state-wide loss of US$10.3-33.5 million. Our comparison of estimates from 2020 indicate that blackbird damage is higher when reported by producers (i.e., survey and direct contact) when compared to infield estimates. The disparity of estimates and unpredictability of bird damage warrants investigation into estimation practices by both biologists (i.e., improved field and survey methods) and farmers (e.g., yield monitors) to achieve accurate estimates of damage