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Predictive Social Unrest Modeling from Heterogeneous Data
No full textPh.D.Social indicators are numerical measures that describe the well-being of individuals or communities; social indicators span multiple dimensions including food and water, safety, labor, infrastructure, transportation, etc. Taken as a time series, it is possible to use social indicator data for several predictive tasks including predicting social unrest, flow of refugees, and even armed conflict. Thus far, such indicators have been generated on a periodic basis by organizations such as the United Nations and The World Bank based on tedious and expensive data collection methodology. Due to the availability of massive amounts of open source data including social media, satellite data, commodity prices, traffic data, it should now be possible to (i) map data sources to indicators, (ii) generate social indicators in (near) real-time across the global, and (iii) develop models that capture the interaction of indicators for specific predictive tasks. It is critical to develop models that take as input these heterogeneous data sources and derive representations automatically, without relying heavily on heuristic feature engineering. The modeling task is challenging since: (i) event like social unrest and conflict, is due to multiple instigating factors and can rarely be attributed to a single factor and (ii) the diversity of data types (structured, unstructured, numerical, categorical), geospatial granularity, update rates, etc. Furthermore, while efforts have been made to improve the performance of predictive models in terms of accuracy, explanations are rarely provided. In this dissertation, we present a novel framework to combine heterogenous data sources to model social indicators covering multiple topics and data types, solve predictive tasks, and generate natural language descriptions which serve as the explanations. We focus on two specific tasks, namely, civil unrest prediction, and risk assessment and violence prediction. Extensive experiments and evaluation are presented for 3 cities/countries to illustrate the effectiveness of our approach.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Prototype Development and Behavior Tree Optimization for Swarm Robotic Search
No full textM.Eng.This thesis encapsulates the conceptual design, fabrication, and testing of a new cm-scale wheeled robot. Teams of small (mm-to-cm scale) robots, often known as swarm-bots, can provide unique functionality owing to their small form factor, distributed sensing capabilities, resilience to disruptions and losing an agent, and likely low cost. Such swarm-bots are being increasingly touted to support various indoor surveillance, hazard detection, and search and rescue missions. New swarm robots are developed around a modular platform, comprising snap-on (3D printed) structural components, a stepper motor actuated wheel system, a Raspberry Pi computing node, a wireless radio module, a Lipo battery, and proximity sensors; all components are readily detachable, thereby allowing reconfiguration flexibility. Through three design generations, a stable prototype offering >20cm/s speed and ~50 min endurance, was developed, assembled and tested. The goal of developing these new swarm robots is to find the source of a spatially varying signal in a complex obstacle-ridden environment. A swarm intelligence algorithm, inspires from particle swarm optimization is used to locate the source of the signal and to navigate through a cluttered environment, a rule-based obstacle avoidance algorithm was hand-crafted. To handle these switching between this modular algorithm, most efficiently behavior tree structure is used. Behavior trees allow encoding explainable and reliable behavior, aka state-to-action mapping that can guide the motion of robotic agents in an unstructured environment. Simulation-based optimization was carried out to achieve an optimized and generalized behavior tree that enables both obstacle avoidance (at the trajectory decision level) as well as the implementation of a swarm intelligence algorithm (at waypoint planning level). Taking an evolutionary robotics perspective, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize critical parameters of the behavior tree to this end, via a two-stage optimization process. Environment feedback is provided by running simulations in the V-Rep environment, which somewhat constraints the swarm sizes that can be simulated (for optimization) in reasonable computing time. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimized behavior tree tested in physical experiments in the swarm robots to shedding insights into its performance and reality gap implications.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
I Think It's in the Garage: Exploring the Domestic Garage Through Individual and Collaborative Design Methods
No full textM.Arch.The contemporary garage emerged from Henry Ford’s workshop, the place that built the first automobile; subsequently, this same workshop became the place where he stored this invention, the Quadricycle. A recent appendage to the house, the garage is a marginalized space that exists somewhere between the exterior and interior. This ambiguous position has given it a status different than proper house space. Specifically, it has become a repository for tools, overflow belongings, and seasonal items. One of the most interesting aspects of the garage is the way that objects are stored and displayed, inevitably reflecting the stories of people living in the adjacent home. At times this storage and display is carefully organized; more often, it is haphazard. This thesis explores the ways that storage and display in garages can influence the design of the garage itself, and, in particular, the design of garage walls. In tandem, it explores methods of developing individual design through collective input. A series of documented case studies, written narratives of those studies, and architectural representations are used to generate four behavioral types of the people who use garages. Two states emerge from these behaviors that reinforce the garage's position as an ambiguous space, one of storing objects and one of filtering objects. Each deal with the garage owner's position in life, fundamental use, and time. Throughout the thesis, design processes intentionally move between individual and group to find more thoughtful and varied insights on how stored things can inform the design of new wall configurations. These processes contribute to a set of design commentaries that speculate on changing conceptualizations of garage storage and display.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Strange Belly-Fellows: The Impossible Projects of Salvation and Subjecthood in James Joyce's Ulysses
No full textM.A.This investigation supposes a fundamental 'wound' in the Subject based in the theories of Lacan where the subject is separated from an experience of the Real due to the necessity to mediate self and Other through the vehicle of language. I argue that James Joyce's Ulysses is a reflexive text, the protagonists of which, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, as well as the text itself are aware that they are nothing more than characters on the page with no concrete selfhood. This paper tracks the systems of sublimation and demonization to which they subject the female characters around them in hopes of returning to an unmediated experience of themselves and the world represented by the mother's womb; however, it likewise follows that the repression of flesh and materiality, impotency, and death threaten to overturn such projects and inherently corrupt them. In fact, such projects are shown to be self-defeating paradoxes that fulfill that which they are the means to escape. Stephen and Bloom exist instead in a dialectic of synthesized contradictions best personified in the Greek goddess Hekate who, through her alignment with Ulysses' players and their plights and her haunting of Christian belief and Western literature, underscores an equally fraught visage of the Trinity.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
Niger-Congo Noun Classes: Reconstruction, Historical Implications, and Morphosyntactic Theory
No full textPh.D.One of the distinctive features of the Niger-Congo family of languages of Sub-Saharan Africa is the existence of large noun class systems. These noun class systems are probably best known from the geographically widespread Bantu group within Niger-Congo, but similar systems are attested in the majority of Niger-Congo groups. In fact, some form of noun class system is assumed by many specialists to have been a feature of Proto-Niger-Congo as well. This thesis represents the first systematic attempt to reconstruct this system.**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact [email protected]. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.*
The Impact of an Interdisciplinary Simulation Training on Provider Confidence and Competence in the Management of a Malignant Hyperthermia Critical Incident
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectMalignant hyperthermia (MH), a rare but life-threatening crisis, may occur when genetically
susceptible patients undergo anesthesia. During an MH crisis, patient survival depends on an
immediate and coordinated perioperative team approach. Because of the infrequency of MH,
potential exists that clinicians may be unprepared to manage the crisis. Research supports that
interprofessional simulation is an effective strategy in preparing clinicians for managing critical
incidents (CIs). The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Project was to examine
the impact of an MH CI simulation training session on clinicians working on an interprofessional
team at an ambulatory surgical center located in Western New York (WNY). The aim of the
project was to increase clinician confidence and competence in managing an MH CI as part of
the interprofessional perioperative team. The interprofessional team consists of surgeons,
anesthesia providers, Physician Assistant (PAs), perioperative nurses, and surgical technicians.
Clinicians were voluntarily recruited for project participation. Bandura’s Social Learning
Theory will provide context for this project. A mixed methods design using a pre-and postintervention
with two surveys, the National League for Nursing (NLN) Student Satisfaction and
Self-Confidence in Learning Questionnaire and an MH CI Questionnaire developed by the DNP
project student, were utilized to collect data. Data analysis was guided by a quantitative methods
expert on faculty in the School of Nursing at University at Buffalo (UB). The project was
implemented after gaining approval by the UB Institutional review board (IRB). Upon data
analysis, findings revealed a statistically significant increase in clinician confidence, perceived
competence, and true competence after completing the MH CI training
The Role of Emotional Intelligence on Decreasing Job Stress and Burnout and Increasing Professional Fulfillment among Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Working in a Hospital Setting
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectBackground and Significance: Nurse anesthesia is a stressful career path that demands providers to be cognizant of the physical and emotional needs of themselves, their patients, and their fellow colleagues. Stress not only contributes to adverse health issues, it also contributes to job stress, burnout, and turnover.
Purpose and Objective: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to examine the baseline level of EI among CRNA’s working within a Western New York (WNY) hospital organization to study the correlation between EI and job burnout and fulfilment.
Theoretical Framework: Sister Calista Roy’s Adaptation Model
Methods and Design: Approximately 50 CRNAs employed with an anesthesia group in a WNY hospital organization were invited to voluntarily participate in this project via email. A demographic survey and two questionnaires, the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Inventory and the Hay 360 EI Quiz, were utilized to collect data.
Results: An ANOVA analysis was performed through SPSS 25. The results indicated that there is not a significant relationship between EI and job burnout or fulfilment levels. Statistical significance of (p<.039) was found when correlating educational level to the Hay 360. This showed that Doctorate level CRNAs have less EI than CRNAs of other educational backgrounds.
Future Implications: Results could provide the foundation for projects exploring EI educational interventions for CRNAs, Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs), and other healthcare providers
Improving Patient Knowledge and Self-Confidence in Chronic Disease Management Through Team-Based Care
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectBackground and Significance. Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, leading to trillions of dollars spent annually on healthcare costs. When a patient is able to understand and manage their disease from home, it will reduce the risk of disease exacerbation, hospitalization, and complications related to their medical treatment, thus, in turn, reducing the financial strain on the healthcare system.
Purpose and Objective. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project focused on evaluating the impact that team-based care can have on knowledge and self-confidence among adults with chronic diseases in the primary care setting.
Theoretical Framework. The theoretical framework used is the Health Promotion Model. This theory is used to understand the significant determinates of health behaviors as a basis for behavioral health counseling to promote healthy lifestyles.
Methods and Design. This was a quasi-experimental study that used a pre-posttest design. The participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. The participants were asked to complete several questionnaires including the Patient Demographics Questionnaire, the Hypertension or the Diabetes Questionnaire depending on their chronic condition, and the Self-Confidence in Disease Management Questionnaire.
Results. Statistical significance was noted among the Team-Based Care Groups level of self-confidence in the post-test and the Standard Care Group was noted to have improve scores on the Hypertension Questionnaire. All other results were not statistically significant
Conclusion. The implementation of team-based care can improve the self-confidence in chronic disease management among adults in primary care. The results could provide the foundation for the implementation of team-based care in the primary care setting
Oncology Providers Assessment of Risks for Opioid-Related Adverse Events
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectIn light of the opioid epidemic, which is responsible for more than 47,000 deaths in 2017,
the need to improve the assessment of opioid event risks is a new clinical challenge, especially in
oncology patients. In 2018, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released
recommendations to screen oncology patients at risk for an opioid adverse event and coprescribing
Naloxone. The purpose of this project was to improve knowledge and self-efficacy in
oncology advanced practice providers and physicians in screening oncology patients at risk for
an opioid adverse event and indications for Naloxone. The design of this project was a quasiexperiment
with a pre/post-education survey method. The Plan-Do-Study-Act framework was
utilized as a guide to complete this study. The sample included oncology advanced practice
providers and physicians. The educational intervention was based on ASCO clinical
recommendations. The setting was a cancer institute with 66 prospective subjects. The study was
approved by the University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board (IRB) and letters of support
were obtained from the study site prior to initiating research (Appendix A). Results indicted a
significant increase in knowledge and self-efficacy after reviewing the educational intervention.
Implications encompass the improvement of risk-mitigation to prevent opioid overdose
mortality. The educational intervention improved knowledge and comfort to assess oncology
patients at risk for an opioid adverse event and indications to co-prescribe Naloxone. The
educational intervention should be used as a framework to develop a standardized inpatient tool
to improve efforts to better manage patients at risk for opioid adverse events
Enhancing Clinician Interpretation of Patients Quality of Life: Experiences in a Comprehensive Cancer Center Pain Clinic
No full textUB SON, DNP Research ProjectBackground and Significance: There are an estimated 16.9 million cancer survivors living within the United States. It’s imperative that providers continue to monitor patients physical and psychological functioning throughout their disease process, as this can greatly impact quality of life (QOL).
Purpose and Objectives: To evaluate QOL measures in patients with chronic cancer pain, identify common themes regarding patients’ perception of QOL, and evaluate how providers perceived and discussed QOL with their patients.
Theoretical Framework: The conceptual model of health-related quality of life was utilized as the theoretical framework for this DNP project.
Methods and Design: A mixed-methods approach for data collection was utilized via retrospective chart review of current patients Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) forms, individual patient interviews, and an email questionnaire was sent to providers within the pain clinic.
Results: A significant effect was noted between life support activity, age, and type of pain. Additionally, significance was noted between type of pain, mood, and relationships with others. Patients described feelings of change with a diagnosis of cancer as well learning to live with pain. Pain providers believed their team effectively discussed QOL and functioning with each patient.
Conclusion: Patients and providers reported that pain affected QOL, pain regimens were effective in improving QOL, and overall patients expressed satisfaction with their care.
Future Implications: As cancer survivorship continues to lengthen, management of chronic pain within this population may transition to primary care, making it essential for providers to understand the impact chronic cancer pain may have one’s QOL