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The Role of Core Values, Parent Engagement, and Community-Based Relational Trust in a Waldorf-Inspired School: Village Forest School
No full textLeadership and Learning in Organizations capstone projectThe Village Forest School (VFS) is a Waldorf-inspired, nature-based school in rural Italy founded by families seeking refuge from the pandemic in 2020. Exponential growth (from 2 to 60 families in three years) has led to challenges with funding, governance, enrollment, and community relations. Discrepancies and a lack of clarity about school identity, mission and vision, and core values have been recurring issues for parents and staff. VFS leadership seek to develop more effective school-parent engagement strategies that the organization's core values, set clear and appropriate expectations for prospective families, engage parents as meaningful partners, and better unite the school community. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to develop a conceptual framework based on relevant theories to examine how the VFS administration and faculty can build and leverage community-based relational trust to increase social capital and more effectively engage parents (Warren et al., 2009). Positive outcomes including developing parents/guardians as civic actors, increased trust in the school community, and improved educational outcomes can be attributed to strong partnerships between schools and families (Walker et al., 2010). A mixed method approach was used which included semi-structured interviews and surveys. Qualitative surveys comprised of open-ended, Likert scale, and multiple choice questions were distributed with members of the VFS staff, administrators and parents (20 responses). Qualitative data, including open-ended survey responses and other data provided by the organization (prior survey conducted in 2023 and panel discussion transcript from 2024) were thematically coded and analyzed. The project focused on 4 questions (1) How clearly does the VFS administration currently define core values for the organization? (2) How are these core values communicated to incoming and/or prospective families? (3) How can VFS engage parents effectively as meaningful partners? (4) What strategies should VFS prioritize in building community-based relational trust? Key findings of the project include: Respondents indicated that core values is a key driver in what draws them to the school, yet these components of the organization are not reported to be clearly defined. Core values were also reported to be "somewhat clear" when communicated to incoming/prospective families, leaving room for improvement for both defining and communicating. Themes emerged around a desire for more transparency from administration and increased involvement from parents. Relationships between school and families were rated highly, indicating a strong foundation for community-based relational trust
Impact of a Priori Decision-Making and Response-Guided Decision-Making on Obtained Effect Sizes
No full textThis dissertation consists of two studies. Study 1 was a quantitative study consisting of twelve SCDs. Study 2 consisted of a survey to evaluate expert perspectives regarding SCD practices. These studies evaluated the impact of response-guided decision-making on outcomes compared to a priori decisions. They also explored researchers' perspectives on pre-established decision-making within the framework of SCDs. Findings suggest that research decisions should primarily be influenced by design and resource-related factors rather than relying solely on the perceived advantages of response-guided decision-making. Future research is needed to understand the generality of these results better
Axes of oppression in the classroom: A statewide analysis investigating disparities in academic outcomes among students with intersectional identities in alternative learning centers
No full textRelative Effects of Immediate Contingent Instruction Versus Reinforcement-only Procedures When Teaching Expressive Labels in Korean
No full textAs researchers, we still do not know the extent of the effectiveness of using punishers. This study aims to expand our knowledge of how effective punishment procedures are in early childhood education. We hope the results will add literature regarding the relative effects of immediate and delayed punishment versus reinforcement-only procedures when teaching expressive labels in Korean. Further, the research question will provide insight into whether children may prefer to be told they are incorrect in replacement of using a reinforcement-only approach. We used an adapted alternating treatments design to assess relative effectiveness and a concurrent operant procedure to assess preference.
Research Question: Does reinforcement plus error correction result in faster acquisition of Korean vocabulary for preschool-age students compared to differential reinforcement for correct responses, differential reinforcement for attempts, and differential reinforcement for attempts with delayed instruction?
Secondary: Do preschool-age children prefer reinforcement-only procedures or reinforcement-plus punishment procedures
Intravenous arachnoid granulation volume changes in patients with Parkinson disease
No full textWe apply novel deep learning algorithms to T2-weighted MRI to test hypotheses regarding
arachnoid granulation (AG) hypertrophy in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Using this method, we
identify AG protruding into the superior sagittal sinus, which may serve as a site of CSF egress. Results
from statistical analyses suggest a significant increase in total AG volume in patients with PD compared
to age-matched healthy controls, potentially indicating reduced neurofluid clearance efficiency. Further
correlational analyses revealed revealed significant relationships between total AG volume and
MiniBEST, as well as significant relationships for AG number with MiniBEST and SDMT. Actigraphy
data indicate a negative relationship between total AG volume and sleep efficiency and a positive
relationship between AG volume and number of awakenings, but no significant relationships with other
actigraphy sleep measures. Finally, sleep efficiency was strongly negatively correlated with AG number
before correcting for false discovery rate. Chronic sleep disturbance may contribute to AG hypertrophy as
a compensatory mechanism for a dysregulated glymphatic system in patients with PD to clear waste.Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Honors Program in Psychological Science
NONINVASIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF OTITIS MEDIA WITH IMAGE-GUIDED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY
No full textOtitis Media (OM), an inflammatory disease of the middle ear, is the most common pediatric diagnosis and the leading cause of outpatient antibiotic use for children. It is a complex disease that progresses through unique phases with varying severity. Overlapping symptomologies between different forms of OM cause challenges in proper diagnosis and treatment. Current methods to diagnose OM rely on visual inspection of the eardrum, resulting in low diagnostic accuracy and inappropriate prescription of antibiotics. This work summarizes an effort toward the pre-clinical translation of Raman Spectroscopy (RS), an inelastic light scattering technique, to noninvasively identify spectral signatures related to OM. Initial in vivo RS feasibility measurements collected from children presenting with OM were first evaluated, which prompted a component-level characterization of middle ear components using a physiologically relevant in vitro model. To address the identified optical design challenges in implementing an RS system specific for clinical use, technological development of the RS system was conducted to minimize the acquisition time of measurements to promote clinical adoption. A noncontact fiber optic probe was fabricated with image guidance features to measure spatially-specific signals in the ear. This RS device is designed to measure both fingerprint (FP) and high-wavenumber (HW) regions of the Raman spectrum, as each region provides unique but complimentary chemical signatures to identify the presence and composition of middle ear fluid that accumulates during OM. Finally, the optimized RS system was utilized in a clinical feasibility study to understand the operational requirements for applying RS within the middle ear. Results demonstrate that RS can detect the presence of middle ear fluid with 93% accuracy, and can differentiate fluid type with 76-86% accuracy
A Novice-Friendly Networked Educational Robotics Simulation
No full textDespite its potential for STEM education, educational robotics remains out of reach for many classrooms. Physical robots have an upfront purchase cost, maintenance requirements, storage space, and many more costs and logistical challenges involved in their use. Through simulation, many of the barriers to entry present in physical robots can be reduced or eliminated. This work presents RoboScape Online, a browser-based networked educational robotics simulation platform that aims to make robotics education more accessible while simultaneously expanding the breadth and depth of topics taught through it.
RoboScape Online has several features that make it a valuable tool for educational robotics. It provides cloud-hosted virtual robotics simulations, enabling distant students to not only participate, but collaborate and compete in real-time. RoboScape Online is built on top of existing robotics support in NetsBlox, a block-based programming environment designed for distributed computing education. The scenarios available in the simulator are entirely implemented as NetsBlox projects, allowing students to create their own. Additionally, tools have been created to assist students in creating their own scenarios. This both expands the domain of projects available and provides a clear demonstration to students of the capabilities and flexibility of the programming language.
The potential of simulation includes the addition of new sensors and actuators otherwise infeasible for classroom use. To enable these new devices, a second contribution focuses on a NetsBlox metaservice which automatically generates web service interfaces coherent with the existing ones students use for other tasks in NetsBlox, based on a description provided by the device itself.
A series of classroom case studies have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of RoboScape Online in an educational setting. Primarily, two studies done with the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt are featured. These studies found that use of this new platform in the classroom can improve students’ computational thinking skills and attitudes towards STEM subjects
Implementation of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Dynamic Strain Monitoring in Carbon Fiber Launch Vehicle Airframe Sections
No full textThe reliance on Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs) is expected to increase as the space launch industry works towards reducing launch costs while focusing on sustainability. Monitoring the structural health of launch vehicle airframe sections, especially those sustaining high dynamic loads and potential structural complications, is essential for re-flight certification. The objective of the current studies is to examine dynamic strain in rocket vehicle sections subjected to high loads during blast-charge-based separation events. In this context, multiplexed surface mounted Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) offer high spatial resolution, mass savings, simplified sensing architecture, and better performance in hostile environments compared to Resistive Strain Gauges (RSGs). In this study, the dynamic performance of FBG sensors and their comparison with RSGs is presented for dynamic impact and blast-based separation event studies on carbon fiber composite airframes
The interplay between verbal and visual information: How repetition and photos influence belief
No full textNumerous research studies have shown that repeated statements are perceived as more true than new statements, a phenomenon known as the illusory-truth effect. In addition to repetition, photos also influence truth. When statements are presented with semantically related and unrelated photos, perceived truth increases and decreases, respectively. The related condition is known as the truthiness effect, whereas the unrelated condition is referred as the falsiness effect. Both of the repetition and photo effects are attributed to the ease of processing (fluency). We tested whether repeating statements with different types of photos would amplify or reduce the effects of repetition (interaction effect). Across two studies (total N = 352), participants rated the truth of trivia statements (Exp 1) and political headlines (Exp 2), in which they were presented with a related, unrelated, or no photo. Repetition increased perceived truth, but the photos did not influence the truth ratings. Critically, repeating the statements with related and unrelated photos did not make them more or less believable
Development of Hemocompatible, Zwitterionic Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) Surface Coatings by ARGET ATRP for Extracorporeal Applications
No full textSurface modification of blood-contacting medical devices is essential to prevent complications such as thrombosis and to prolong their usable lifetime, thus improving patient outcomes and reducing the need for potentially risky replacements. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines have some of the largest artificial (non-endothelialized) surface area over which significant volumes of patient blood continuously flow. Unlike native blood vessels, these surfaces present contacts that lack the ability to mitigate blood coagulation. Hence, the materials are often modified to expose anticoagulant biomolecules that can inhibit clotting factors and/or biocompatible polymers that can physically prevent platelet and protein adhesion. In this work, zwitterionic antifouling poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) coatings were applied to two brands of commercially available medical-grade extracorporeal polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing using an atom transfer radical polymerization process initiated by activators regenerated by electron transfer. The effects of initiator immobilization reaction conditions were investigated to establish favorable conditions for consistently producing polySBMA coatings, with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy employed for measuring differences in coating thickness. Plasma recalcification time assays were conducted to establish the antithrombogenic performance of the coatings via coagulation cascade activation times in the absence of platelet effects. Generated polySBMA coatings on PVC yielded prolonged clotting times under static conditions, albeit with some variability, demonstrating the potential of this approach. Future work involving dynamic coagulation testing would offer a more comprehensive assessment of the utility of polySBMA-coated PVC tubing in extracorporeal circuits