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The role of built environment in fostering the safety of children with autism in public primary schools
Get PDFBackground: A wide body of evidence shows that children with autism spectrum disorders encounter many struggles in public education system especially in the developing countries like Egypt, including exposure to problem behavior and limited resources. It can consequently be hypothesized that the school design and space planning can have a considerable impact on enhancing the physical and psychological safety of ASD students through logical school zoning, bullying suppression, and facilitated wayfinding.
Methods: This study utilized a mixed method approach to further understand how school design can foster the safety of ASD children. First, the spatial layout of two primary public schools, in Egypt and the United States were analyzed and compared to examine: (1) the schools’ zoning and space planning, (2) the natural surveillance provided by the schools’ buildings’ design through space syntax analysis using DepthmapX software, and (3) the space organization of the schools and how that affects the wayfinding. Second, a survey (n=312) was conducted to understand the perspectives of teachers, in Egypt and the US, regarding the safety of children with autism in public schools.
Results: The study findings showed that multiple design elements in the Egyptian school would result in suppressing the natural surveillance and wayfinding of children with autism like (1) concealed nooks, (2) corridors with limited widths, (3) multiple exits, (4) low-transparency classroom windows, and (5) dispersed classrooms zones and restrooms’ locations. Unlike the examined school in the US, the design helped foster natural surveillance and facilitated wayfinding in many ways which consequently would foster the safety of ASD students. Further, the teachers discussed multiple themes when asked to identify affect the safety of ASD children either positively or negatively. Among the identified themes: (1) Bullying, (2) Elopement, (3) Un-monitored Exits, (4) Sensory rooms, (5) Safe places, (6) Wayfinding, and (7) Un-educated teachers. Unexpected findings were also identified to affect the safety of ASD children in public schools according to the teachers’ responses including, (1) routine, (2) types of bullying, (3) Walking distance, (4) Exclusion, (5) communication boards, and (6) shortage of staff. In conclusion, major findings in literature and identified through the study analysis were utilized to suggest implications for practitioners toward designing safer schools for children with ASD
Sad eyewitnesses and jurors' perceptions of their believability
Get PDFEyewitness testimony is heavily relied on in court, and there is a large amount of research on how an eyewitness's and defendant's behavior and emotion can influence a jury's verdict decision. The emotional victim effect occurs when a distressed victim is deemed as more believable, compared to victims that display a calm demeanor with a lack of emotional display. The current study tested three hypotheses. First, this work sought to establish the emotional eyewitness effect, with Hypothesis 1 predicting that an adult non-victim eyewitness would be deemed more believable than an adult eyewitness displaying a neutral emotional demeanor. Secondly, this work tested two possible mechanisms underlying this effect. Hypothesis 2a predicted that the juror's empathy would lead the emotional eyewitness effect, and Hypothesis 2b predicted that the juror's belief in the sad eyewitness would be driven by a misconception that emotional memories are more accurate than neutral memories. Participants watched either a sad or neutral eyewitness give a deposition regarding an attack she witnessed. Participants then rated how much they believed the eyewitness (on a scale of 1 to 5), completed a state empathy measure (Shen's State Empathy Scale), and rated how accurate they felt her memory was. Results indicated that participants believed the eyewitness more when she appeared sad than when she appeared neutral, showing support for Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2a was also supported; the emotional eyewitness effect was driven by the participant's state empathy. Hypothesis 2b was not supported; belief that emotional memories are more accurate than neutral ones was not driving the emotional eyewitness effect. However, the participant's belief in the accuracy of the memory did play an independent role in predicting believability. The results of this research have important implications for lawyers, jurors, eyewitnesses, and the general public. Educating the general public of the potential effects of emotional biases on decision-making may help reduce their impact in a court room, but also in everyday life. Future research could examine how other emotions influence empathy and believability, and how this effect translates to a more realistic environment (e.g., a full mock trial or real trial video)
A Theoretical and Topical Analysis of Cécile Chaminade's Concertino op. 107 for Flute and Piano
Get PDFOf her many works, the Concertino, op. 107 for flute and piano has experienced an enduring popularity amongst flutists. This popularity is evident based on its inclusion in Schirmer’s Flute Music by French Composers collection, a volume that has been cemented in the canon for all performing flutists. In the 1990’s, an article was published which attributed a story of unrequited love to the piece. This story, though doubtful to its authenticity, has taken root and morphed the work into a sort of “coming of age” piece for flutists who play it. This unfortunately has become a part of Chaminade’s biography when performed, despite little evidence she intended the work to be perceived in this way.
In my analysis of the Concertino, I examine the ways in which Chaminade manipulates the form of a rondo to create a work that is musically effective and expressively rich. I will argue that a tonal problem created by the juxtaposition of A and A# is played out through the lens of the pastoral genre. I show how Chaminade frames the Concertino in the pastoral expressive genre through her employment of musical topics. In my conclusion, I propose a new narrative that removes Chaminade’s supposed love, restores her agency, and defers the narrative to the artist performing the work instead of the one that wrote it
Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments: implications of the toxic triangle on moral disengagement, ethical sensemaking and ethical decision-making
Get PDFLeadership research contributes to our understanding of organizational and societal successes and failures as well as subordinate behavior, however, much of this literature focuses on positive leaders. While the literature on destructive leadership is growing, the field often fails to address the compounding effects of a destructive leader, susceptible follower and conducive environment and lacks empirical evidence of this relationship. The current study provides novel, empirical evidence for the Toxic Triangle perspective of destructive leadership (Padilla, et al., 2007) on the critical outcomes of moral disengagement, ethical sensemaking and ethical decision-making through the evaluation of destructive leaders, self-uncertain followers and environmental accountability. Results indicate that some of the moral disengagement mechanisms, ethical sensemaking variables and ethical decision-making components are affected by a destructive leader individually but can be exacerbated when evaluated in the presence of a self-uncertain follower and organization accountability. The empirical evaluation of this three-way process contributes a novel framework to the literature and provides quantitative evidence for the Toxic Triangle model. Results and implications of these findings are discussed
The Intersection of Radar and Communications: A Study on Spectrum Management for Addressing RF Interference
Get PDFThe radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a fruitful yet competitive frontier that enables technologies like 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, long-range telescopes, microwave ovens, radar, and more. With finite supply and increasing demand, the RF spectrum is highly contested for both government and private use. Industry innovators need an increasing stake in the spectrum to keep up with modern data consumption needs, yet governments around the world require the same spectrum for important issues like national defense. This duality in demand often results in highly congested bands of frequency that host both stakeholders in dense configuration, increasing interference and difficulties in managing the spectrum. Interference of radar signals by communication waveforms, like orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), is on the rise and can greatly impact system performance. This thesis introduces a novel interference mitigation algorithm that leverages the known structure of OFDM waveforms to estimate and subtract interference from a pulse-Doppler radar system. The proposed technique can significantly improve radar performance in the face of OFDM interference and quantify interference metrics to inform new regulations pertaining to spectrum management
Impact of humidity on latent print processing and recovery
Get PDFThe goal of this study was to determine if environmental factors impact the quality of detail in latent prints on non-porous and porous surfaces. Specifically, this study focused on how humidity impacts latent print processing, development, and analysis on tile and paper. Latent prints are prints deposited on surfaces in sweat (James, Nordby & Bell, 2014). As humidity is water vapor in the air, it is expected that increased humidity would have a noticeable impact on the quality of latent prints. To date, no research has been conducted comparing how humidity impacts latent prints on porous and non-porous surfaces at consistent temperatures. In this study, latent prints were deposited on a non-porous surface (white tile) and a porous surface (paper) and subjected to 30%, 50% and 90% humidity at a consistent temperature range (70-74 degrees Fahrenheit) to assess if humidity causes a noticeable change in the quality of latent prints. Once collected, prints were uploaded into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which was set to automatically mark minutiae. Minutiae were then edited by an experienced latent fingerprint examiner to ensure accuracy. The edited minutiae count generated from AFIS was used to determine what category each print fell under: low quality (0-6 minutiae), moderate quality (7-12 minutiae), or high quality (13 and above minutiae). Multiple statistical tests were performed to determine statistical significance between different variables. This included comparing tracked humidities, tracked temperature ranges, overall minutiae count between humidities, and change in minutiae count over time. Based on the results, humidity did appear to have an impact on the quality of the prints over time for both surfaces, porous and non-porous. Overall, quality decreased with increased levels of humidity. At each humidity, a decrease in quality was also observed over time. The only prints that deviated from this were the prints on the tile at 90% humidity tile. These prints stayed at a consistent low quality. This leads to the conclusion that prints recovered on white tile with black powder and prints recovered on paper with ninhydrin decrease in quality with increased levels of humidity and also decrease over time at set humidities
The relationship between resistance training body composition and self-esteem in adolescents
Get PDFIntroduction: Childhood obesity and mental health continue to be a growing concern. Today, children are exposed to technology and other gadgets increasing their opportunities to be sedentary thus, children’s lack of physical activity, could increase negative self-esteem reports. Because of this, engaging in an active lifestyle may help improve self-esteem in adolescents. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess how body composition and physical activity relates to self-esteem within adolescents. Methods: The study was completed following 15 weeks. A total sample of 44 (28 boys, 16 girls) subjects gave assent and parental consent to be included in the study. Students participated in various weightlifting classes in which they completed three mesocycles of resistance training during the semester. To test pre and post variables, Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzers (BIA) were used to assess body composition (BC). Self-esteem (SE) was measured by the Rosenburg Self-esteem Scale. A Digital Hand Dynamometer was be used to assess the effect of resistance training on student’s handgrip strength (HGS). Results: Due to unequal sample-sizes between genders, the primary statistics of this study were assessed as an independent t-test (collapsed across gender). Results revealed no significant difference for BC or HGS (p = 0.171 – 0.619), however, there was a significant difference between pre and post-test for SE (p = 0.001). Pre versus post SE mean was 26.68 and 30.36 respectively. Additionally independent t-tests were assessed per gender. For females, no significance was observed for any variables (p = 0.059 – 0.729). For males, no differences were seen for FM or HGS (p = 0.161 – 0.687), however, there was a significant difference for SE (p = 0.004). Lastly, a Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to examine the relationships between FM, HGS and SE. Results from Pearson Correlation Coefficient test revealed no significant differences (p = 0.281 – 0.455) or effect sizes (-.116 - .100). Conclusion: The present findings suggest that structured physical activity, can have a positive outcome on high-school aged self-esteem values. While no significant differences were observed for body composition, or hand grip strength, it is possible that engaging in structured physical activity can increase adolescents’ self-esteem. Statistics suggest that males positive SE could be attributed to structured physical activity, however, more studies are needed to support this theory
Indigenous-Settler Partnerships in the American West, 1875-1975
No full textBetween Reconstruction and the early Cold War, Indigenous communities in Oklahoma faced an existential crisis. Over the course of the nineteenth century, the United States applied intense pressure on Indigenous communities in the path of US settlers to relocate to Indian Territory, an unincorporated US territory at the center of the continent. US officials offered the “promise” – as US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch famously termed it in his groundbreaking opinion for McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) – that Indian Territory would be Indigenous land forever. In 1889, those same officials reversed themselves and began opening parts of the territory to American settlers. Faced with disaster and bereft of resources, many Indigenous people formed strategic relationships with White settlers to survive and thrive in an otherwise hostile environment. Drawing stories and perspectives from Comanche, Southern Cheyenne, Cherokee, Absentee Shawnee, Choctaw, Seminole, Kanza, Citizen Band Potawatomi, Chickasaw, Mvskoke (Muscogee Creek), Mississippi Choctaw, Sac and Fox, Kiowa, Plains Apache, Kansas Kickapoo, and Prairie Band Potawatomi communities, this dissertation follows a suppression and resurgence of Indigenous sovereignty across Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, the 1920s, the Great Depression, World War II, the early Cold War, and finally the Red Power era. Over this broad swath of time, Indigenous-settler relationships varied in scope and scale, evolved, and were shaped by race, class, gender, and a host of other factors. Gradually, these partnerships became more sophisticated and involved larger groups of people. Still, Indigenous-settler relationships were never ideal; Indigenous people formed ties with White settlers as a stand in solution after the federal government suppressed their systems of self-governance during Reconstruction. Until they were able to rebuild their tribal governments, they did the best they could with the resources that they had. With the assistance of their allies, Indigenous communities in Oklahoma revitalized their governments from the 1970s onward but retained a skillset of making alliances
Ultra-miniaturized and high-Q embedded loaded coaxial cavity resonators and filters
Get PDFThe rapid development in modern wireless communication systems and remote sensing and their applications towards portable and compact systems are inevitable. Microwave filters are critical components in the RF front-ends for band selection and unwanted signal rejection. These filters generally occupy a large area in the RF front-ends. In addition, RF filters’ in-band losses significantly impact the overall system performance, such as noise figure and dynamic range. Thus, compact and high-quality factor RF filters are greatly desirable.
Embedded coaxial substrate integrated waveguide filters have shown great potential
compared to competing technologies in terms of high-Q, compact size, planar form, and wide spurious free region. This dissertation develops the theory and design of ultra-miniaturized high-Q embedded loaded coaxial substrate
integrated waveguide filters with potential application in modern communication systems.
In this research, high-Q and compact embedded loaded coaxial substrate
integrated waveguide (ELCSIW) resonators are designed and investigated. Integrating
air-filled parallel plate capacitive loading into an embedded coaxial
cavity enables the achievement of a highly miniaturized resonator with a
99 % miniaturization factor compared to the conventional substrate integrated
waveguide resonator. In-depth analysis of the resonant frequency, miniaturization
factor, and unloaded quality factor is presented. A second-order embedded loaded coaxial substrate
integrated waveguide filter with a resonant frequency of 1.1 GHz is developed and implemented. The filter obtains a simulated insertion loss of 0.26 dB and a wide spurious free stopband up to seven times its resonant frequency. The overall ELCSIW filter
size is 0.07λg × 0.26λg. The proposed ELCSIW filter demonstrates superiority in compactness, quality factor, and stopband rejection compared to other miniaturized counterparts. Moreover, the proposed ELCSIW filter showed a
high power handling capability of 113 Watts through theoretical investigation.
A mixed (electric and magnetic) inter-resonator coupling mechanism is developed and integrated into the ELCSIW filter to generate a transmission zero to improve the stopband rejection. The arbitrary location of the transmission zero
is determined by the intensity of each coupling mechanism. Moreover, a novel post-fabrication frequency tuning mechanism for the embedded loaded coaxial substrate integrated waveguide filter is developed. The tuning mechanism is
constructed of additional embedded capacitive loading strip lines that can be altered to compensate for fabrication tolerances. The circuit model and the working mechanism of the tuning circuit are explained and illustrated. The novel tuning method shows a capability of a post-fabrication tuning range of 10 % for the proposed ELCSIW filter.
This research illustrates the feasibility of designing and integrating low-loss, compact, low-cost, and lightweight filters for future communications and radar systems
Forgiveness, Revenge, and the Shape of a Life
Get PDFDissertation Summary—Mark Taylor
My dissertation explores forgiveness and revenge within a narrative conception of human lives. In Chapter One, I lay out an account of human life stories and argue for its advantages in understanding the value of redemption. In particular, I suggest that the goods we care about in our lives depend on their integration into the way we see ourselves as persons who exist through time. Forgiveness and revenge can recontextualize moments from our past and infuse them with a new meaning. Building on Peter Goldie’s work, I identify unity, purpose, direction, and truth as qualities of life stories toward which forgiveness contributes. I examine some of the psychological literature to understand the role our internal narrative plays in making sense of the world (and the lack of sense when that narrative fails). I conclude by defending against a well-known objection from Galen Strawson against narrative analysis.
In Chapter Two I take up a qualified defense of the rationality of revenge. My motivation in doing so is a link in the logic between revenge and forgiveness. If revenge is always straightforwardly irrational, forgiveness is undermined. My strategy to defend revenge is to give a taxonomy characterizing it and then pick out its most justifiable form. I argue that revenge at its best is a form of caring about one’s past, or the past of a loved one. I defend this form of revenge against various objections, especially that it is pointless or involves a rational error about one’s own untouchable value as a person. I argue that the point of revenge is to ‘change the ending’ of the offender and victim’s relationship. I also argue that focus on objective value misses the point: what is threatened is not the victim’s objective value as a person, but the value of a life story worth having.
In Chapter Three I lay out my own account of forgiveness. I first provide several characteristic features of forgiveness, and then describe two camps in the literature that disagree about whether forgiveness is primarily a private matter of the heart or a public matter of treatment. I then argue for what I call ‘inaugurated forgiveness’ as a synthesis between these emotional and behavioral views. I suggest that forgiveness begins with a commitment toward the offender, but takes time to come to its emotional culmination. The nature of that commitment is a second-order endorsement of the desires of love over the desires of resentment. I also highlight the importance of hope as the operative forward-looking virtue rather than trust. Forgiveness involves committing oneself to openness to eventual redemption and reconciliation, but does not require the unjustified trust that the offender can be redeemed or reconciled at the moment of forgiveness.
In Chapter Four I examine the underlying reasons for forgiving and avenging. I argue that personal reasons have a legitimate role to play in these practices, rather than merely impersonal considerations. Impersonal reasons, such as generic respect for personhood, or desert, play a dominant role in the literature where a major concern is to find a justification of forgiveness within a moral justice conception. Personal reasons are tied to the basic cares and commitments of a life, and these projects are what the life is about as a whole. There is thus an important connection between the narrative direction of a life and its ground projects. Forgiving for personal reasons is a way of giving appropriate weight to the particular life one has. I argue that personal reasons give us a way of understanding how forgiveness is elective and generous. I conclude by using this analysis to briefly outline some strategies for arguing for forgiveness over revenge. For example, I suggest that arguments against revenge need to begin from the victim’s ground projects, such as each person’s commitment to seeing the world truly, or the desire for one’s community to flourish; I suggest that forgiveness usually allows better epistemic access, and better protects one’s intimates