Bioculture Journal
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Transgender Vulnerabilities: State Issued Identity Documents and Third Gender Options
No full textMaster of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)Until recently the power to classify people by gender in the U.S. resided exclusively with the state and federal governments, both of which previously used the two binary gender options, female and male, and no others. Since 2017 this has begun to change as more states and cities have begun making third gender options available to those who do not identify as either. This represents a step forward towards greater acceptance of transgender, and particularly nonbinary identities within society. It is revolutionary in how the state administers "sex designations," along with your name as the foundation of an individual's legal identity in society. Trans people in both private and public spaces have to prove who they are as well as correct wrong assumptions, at times exposing themselves to public humiliation, exclusion, marginalization and even violence. These everyday situations give private citizens the power to analyze and pronounce judgment on everyone's identity acting as agents of the state. How do third gender options work, how did we get here and what does this mean for the ongoing debate about gender and how it relates to identity politics, public policy, feminist and queer theory
The Effects of Mobile Health Applications on Pediatric Dentists' Use of Fluoride Varnish for High-Caries Risk Patients
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Purpose: To assess the effects of mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) on the behaviors of pediatric dentists (PDs) regarding the use of 5% sodium fluoride varnish (FV) for the caries management of high-risk pediatric patients. Methods: An instructional dental mHealth app was developed as the intervention in this cross-sectional study. Two hundred and thirty licensed and actively practicing PDs were solicited to participate in a survey including questions regarding caries management protocols for high caries-risk patients under various scenarios involving at-home FV (AHFV) application. Responding PDs were divided in two randomized groups; one group was exposed to the mHealth app while the control group was not exposed. Results: A total of 116 PDs who fully completed the survey (50.4% response rate) were included in the study; n=57 for control group, and n=59 for the intervention group. The two groups showed no statistically significant differences regarding distribution by demographics for time in practice (age), gender, nor primary place of practice. For the age-based scenarios the distribution of PDs willing to give AHFV between control and intervention groups was not statistically significant for any scenario, nor significant overall. However, there was a trend regarding increasing willingness to give AHFV with increasing child age: a) child less than six years old, control n=17, intervention n=18 (p = 0.94), b) child between six to 12 years old, control n=20, intervention n=26 (p = 0.32), and c) child over 12 years old in braces, control n=26, intervention n=34 (p = 0.20). Overall 98.3% of PDs reported using FV on a regular basis, 22.4% stated they had previously given FV for at-home use, and between 29.8-57.6% reported that they would consider dispensing AHFV under various conditions. Additionally, PDs from both groups with a previous history of giving AHFV, male providers, and PDs working part or full-time in private practice were more likely to recommend at-home FV than their corresponding counterparts of no history of at-home FV (p < 0.001), female providers (p = 0.002), and PDs working 100% of their time in non-private settings, respectively (p = 0.026). Time in practice, and previous use of mHealth apps with patients did not show any significance between groups, nor overall. Conclusions: The results suggest that the presence of technology, such as mHealth apps, have no statistically significant influence on PDs to endorse a protocol outside of their regular routine to manage high-caries risk patients. However, one-fifth of respondents overall have already engaged in providing at-home use FV, and even more are willing to recommend the non-standard therapy. This suggests that PDs may be seeking newer medical model modalities. Ultimately, this study’s outcomes are encouraging for the expansion of teledentistry efforts since many PDs are willing to provide alternative, interactive therapies, and gave positive feedback about mHealth patient education efforts. These observations are promising for the addition of new technologies, and for expansion of the medical model within dentistry to treat the disease, not just the symptoms
Parental health literacy, barriers to care, and child hospital outcomes among hospitalized children
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Objectives: Parents with low health literacy (HL) are less likely to participate in shared decision-making with their child’s provider. We explored associations between parents’ HL and barriers to participation and clinical outcomes. Study design: We conducted a prospective cohort study using secondary survey and administrative data at a large pediatric hospital from 10/2014 through 12/2015. Parents of children admitted to a medical or surgical service who completed a two-phase survey were included. We used linear and logistic regression to estimate associations between low HL and patient outcomes (length of stay, unplanned readmission) and five parent-reported barriers, adjusting for confounders. Results: Of eligible families, 10.7% (391) had low HL. Children of parents with low HL stayed in the hospital 0.18 days longer than children of parents with adequate HL (95% CI=0.027–0.310) but were not more likely to experience unplanned readmission (OR=0.95; 95% CI=0.61–1.49). Parents with low HL had higher odds of cultural distance with their child’s provider (OR=1.38; 95% CI=1.03–1.84). We found a possible association between low HL and system barriers (OR=1.33; 95% CI=0.95–1.86), physician distrust (OR=1.46; 95% CI=0.92–2.33), and better partnership (OR=0.65; 95% CI=0.40–1.06), though the magnitude remains uncertain. Low HL was not associated with distrust in the healthcare system after adjusting for covariates (OR=0.91; 95% CI=0.66–1.27). Conclusions: HL was associated with longer length of stay and several parent-reported barriers to care. Strategies that better engage low-HL families could increase involvement in shared decision-making by reducing cultural distance, system barriers, and distrust, and might thereby reduce length of stay. However, HL is not the only (or most important) barrier families face
Multiple effects of ocean change on crustacean zooplankton: A coupled field-laboratory approach
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019In this dissertation I combine laboratory experiments and field observations across natural oceanographic gradients to investigate how crustacean zooplankton will be affected by ocean acidification (OA) and other co-occurring ocean changes. Anthropogenic emissions are increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and ocean, causing declining seawater pH, increasing ocean temperatures, and decreasing dissolved oxygen concentrations. These changes have the potential to influence the metabolism, growth, and survival of crustacean zooplankton, such as copepods and krill, that act as critical prey items for higher trophic levels. Puget Sound, WA is a large coastal estuary with a wide range of pH and oxygen levels present in different areas and seasons. By coupling laboratory methods and field observations, a wide range of drivers and mechanisms of ocean change can be considered, forming a powerful research approach. In Chapters 2 and 3, I characterized the pH exposure of the copepod Calanus pacificus and the krill Euphausia pacifica in Puget Sound and reared their eggs and larvae under a range of pH conditions in the laboratory. I found that krill larvae are sensitive to reduced seawater pH and may already be affected by pH conditions in some areas of Puget Sound. In Chapter 4, I investigated the effects of elevated CO2 on the phytoplankton-copepod trophic link at two different temperatures, using the marine cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina and the calanoid copepod Acartia hudsonica. I observed complex shifts in phytoplankton fatty acid content and evidence of direct effects of CO2 on copepods, as well as indirect effects mediated through changes in the phytoplankton. In Chapter 5, I used enzyme activities as physiological indicators of how adult E. pacifica are affected by pH and oxygen in controlled laboratory conditions and across natural oceanographic gradients in Puget Sound. To characterize the high inter-individual variability displayed by this species, I used an individual-based approach that had not previously been used with these indicators. In Chapter 6, I examined the use of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARS) activity in individual krill, explored the biochemistry underlying the assay, and suggested a modification to the method. This dissertation increases our understanding of how key zooplankton taxa are affected by seawater pH and the multiple pathways by which they can be affected. Additionally, this dissertation provides a basis for understanding how E. pacifica may be affected by OA in the future
Remote Visualization and Detection of Foreign Object Debris in Aerospace Manufacturing using a Low-Cost Depth Camera
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Performing work within limited access environments such as aircraft wings is ergonomically hazardous. Often, mechanics are required to crawl through a waist-sized access hole to perform work in a wing. Within these spaces, it is difficult to see and easy to leave behind Foreign Object Debris (FOD). FOD that is left in the aircraft after work is completed can cause expensive damage. Mechanics working in limited access environments are at a high risk of developing Muskuloskeletal disorders [1], and recent FOD issues at Boeing have led to rejection of product deliveries by customers [2]. This research explores remote visualization and automated FOD detection methods as a solution to these problems using a custom-built robot. It was found that remote visualization works well only for debris that is large or distinct in color from the background and that automated FOD detection performs very well when statistics are used to inform selection of the detection threshold. For minimal false positive detections, it was found that at least 40 depth images should be used for each of the initial and final sets of depth images. Detection capabilities were tested in an aircraft wing section using a variety of common debris and it was found that collars as small as 0.27 inches in diameter can be detected, even without visible light
Effects of Auditory Alerts for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Collision Warning Systems
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019Collision warning systems (CWSs) have shown great benefits in improving traffic safety by alerting drivers of potential collisions. However, some warning systems require information from nearby vehicles, which could be addressed uniquely by vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. Different alerting cues are needed given the type of threat, whether they can be obviously identified (lead vehicle slowing down) or more hidden in nature (intersection conflicts). However, a unified standard for designing and implementing the warning alert for these systems still does not exist. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the effectiveness of auditory collision warnings and identify their impacts on drivers’ avoidance performance. Two driving simulator studies with different V2V scenarios were conducted. The objective of the first study was to examine the effects of acoustic forward collision warnings (FCWs) on drivers’ avoidance behavior in a rear-end collision scenario (with an apparent threat). The findings showed that driving behavior, i.e. reaction time and response intensity differed given FCWs with different urgency levels. The objective of the second study was to identify the effects of intersection movement assist (IMA) warning messages on drivers’ avoidance behavior in a red-light-running (RLR) scenario (with a latent threat). The findings showed that drivers’ avoidance performance and eye movements were significantly impacted by the presented warning information and training of the system. Combined data from two studies, partial least squares (PLS) path models were developed to reveal the causal relationships among warning conditions, drivers’ avoidance behavior, and collision abatement. The models illustrated that the auditory warnings have both a direct and indirect effect on collision occurrence with the indirect effect playing a more critical role. Understanding the effects of warnings will help target the appropriate auditory characteristics and warning contents for different CWSs
Intracellular dynamics of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic particle imaging
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are a foundational platform for a variety of biomedical applications. Of particular interest is Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI), which is a growing area of research and development due to its advantages including high resolution and sensitivity with positive contrast and without ionizing radiation. Significant work has been previously accomplished in the area of in vivo optimization of SPIONs for MPI as well as their biodistribution in and clearance from the body. However, little is known about the dynamics of SPIONs on the sub-cellular level. It is important to understand how the magnetic signal from SPIONs in MPI is affected by internalization within cells as physical and magnetic properties of SPIONs may be subject to changes. Here considerations must be made for the complex and close-packed nature of organelles and cellular material inside of the cell membrane. This work shows a clear decrease in magnetic performance of SPIONs after internalization and a systematic consideration of applicable factors that affect SPION signal generation, including microstructure, environment, and interparticle interactions. It is observed that microstructure is unchanged after internalization and surrounding environment plays little to no role in magnetic response for the SPIONs studied here. Interparticle interactions described by magnetostatic coupling of SPIONs held in close proximity to one another after internalization are shown to be the dominant cause of decreased magnetic performance in cells. These conclusions have been drawn from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image analysis at relevant length scales, experimentally prepared and characterized SPIONs in varied environmental conditions, and theoretical modeling with Monte Carlo simulations. The addition of steric bulk to SPIONs is explored as an approach to recovering magnetic performance after internalization in cells. These results are promising for in vivo targeting, diagnostic, and cell tracking applications in MPI
Radar and Radar Imaging of Cooperative and Uncooperative Modulated Targets
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2019Radar and radar imaging technologies are widely used in the exploration of: (1) cooperative modulated targets that intentionally change their reflectivity to backscatter encoded signals, (2) uncooperative modulated targets that unintentionally modulate radar signals due to micro-motions, and (3) unmodulated targets that only reflect but do not modulate radar signals. In this work, a general model is proposed to encompass all three types of targets. This model unmasks the system frequency response when a general modulated target is included in the channel. It treats this target as a group of hypothesized point scatterers that modulate the radar signal with time-variant reflection coefficient values and time-variant point scatterer distribution. Additionally, the model accounts for stationary or moving radar platforms. This allows backscatter signals from different targets to be modeled and processed using the same framework. To use the model on cooperative targets, we first develop a low-cost X-band backscatter testbed and fabricate sensor tags used as cooperative targets. The system shows a good agreement between measured and simulated free-space path loss at up to 4.1 m and demonstrates a BPSK backscatter modulation at 10 Mbps. Then an extension of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques is proposed to enable simultaneous imaging of reflective objects (unmodulated targets), sensor tag (cooperative target) localization, and backscatter data uplink from multiple tags in a cluttered environment. SAR measurements are implemented at 10 – 13 GHz with unmodulated targets and two sensor tags that monitor temperature changes and encode data with balanced orthogonal SAR code words in each packet. The resulting point-spread functions (PSFs) of tags at ranges of 4.4 m and 4.7 m demonstrate a range resolution of 4.7 cm, a cross-range resolution of 9.1 cm, and a maximum localization error of 9 mm. In addition, 1-bounce multipath ghosts (from a large reflective plane) of the tags are predicted by using virtual point scatterers with a maximum error of 1.4 cm. To apply the model on uncooperative targets, backscatter signal features of an off-the-shelf quadcopter UAV are extracted to characterize the reflectivity, static and dynamic radar cross sections, and the micro-Doppler signatures of the quadcopter using a custom K-band (15 – 26.5 GHz) laboratory radar system. The exploration of micro-Doppler signatures includes interference analysis between multiple spinning propellers and Doppler spectra analysis based on controlled rotation rate measurements. The magnitude of Doppler frequencies and Doppler bandwidth differ, even for a fixed rotation rate, and depend on the propeller orientations relative to the radar unit. In the modeling of a single propeller, such differences are explained by correlations between the simulated backscatter signals and the measured receive signals in different orientations. With only twelve point scatterers modeling the propeller, several sets of reflection coefficient values are found to reconstruct the measurement results with a maximum root mean square (RMS) error of 8 dB across all harmonic components in the asymmetric upper and lower sidebands
Growth Management Planning’s Effects on Employment Trends in Washington State Rural Counties
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019About half of Washington State’s rural counties plan under the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) while the remainder do not. Part of Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) mandates comprehensive planning for rural areas to protect agricultural lands and concentrate new development within existing developed areas and townships. During a recent statewide review of the GMA, stakeholders in rural Washington State counties argued that the limitations set by GMA rural land use regulations have negatively affected the economic viability of rural counties. This research compares employment trends between rural counties that plan under the GMA to counties that do not. It begins with a case study comparing the employment trends in Stevens County, a rural county that voluntarily opted into following the GMA planning statute, compared to employment trends in Okanogan County, a rural county that chose not to plan under the GMA. This is followed by a comparison of combined employment data from multiple rural counties grouped by GMA planning or non-planning status. An interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) is conducted on quarterly data from 1993 through 2017 on county level employment for both Stevens and Okanogan counties, as well as groupings of rural GMA planning and non-planning counties. The ITSA tests if the 1997 enactment of RCW 36.70A.070(5) is statistically correlated to a change in employment trends. This statute designates what is allowed to be built in Limited Areas of More Intense Rural Development (LAMIRDs), a GMA rural land use planning option used in most Washington planning counties. This analysis is done to test if the claim that GMA rural land use regulations have negatively affected economic viability in Washington’s GMA planning rural counties compared to counties that do not plan. The results of the ITSA show that the enactment of RCW 36.70A.070(5) is statistically correlated to a negative change in employment trends in Stevens County which opted in to planning under the GMA. However, when Stevens County employment data is combined with data from the other GMA planning rural counties of Douglas, Pacific, and Franklin there is no correlation with employment change. This suggests that the employment figures in Stevens County are an outlier from the general trend of GMA planning rural counties. In fact, the average employment for the combined data from GMA planning rural counties has a consistent positive trend from 1993 to 2017. Compared to Okanogan, Lincoln, and Klickitat, the rural counties that do not plan used in this study, the GMA planning counties are preforming better in employment growth. The non-planning rural counties did not see overall growth on average employment even though they are not subject to state regulated growth management land use planning. This contradicts the argument that GMA land use planning is negatively affecting the economic viability of rural counties. The results of this study show that rural counties planning under the GMA are having better economic outcomes than rural counties that do not plan. Thus, the non-planning rural counties are not seeing comparatively stronger employment growth and they are not protecting their lands through growth management planning. However, this does not mean that the GMA rural land use policies are being effective at increasing employment. The ITSA model showed no correlation to employment change in either direction. For Washington State it is time to reevaluate how rural land use planning can be paired with rural economic development in order to promote new industry that is viable in exclusively rural counties. This should be done in order to encourage more rural counties in Washington to begin planning under the GMA to further protect the natural lands of the state in addition to supporting their economies and communities
Maintaining Memory: The Inclusion of Korean Hibakusha in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum
No full textOn the morning of August 6, 1945 Lieutenant Colonel Yi U was on his way to work when the Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy bomb on Hiroshima. He was found later that day and taken to a hospital where he died the following day. Yi was one of the many Koreans residing in Hiroshima in 1945 as the war drew to a close, but unlike the majority of Korean residents Yi was a prince of the Joseon Kingdom's Yi dynasty and nephew of Sunjong, the last Korean emperor before the peninsula was annexed by Japan in 1910. In 1967 a cenotaph was erected at the location where his body was found following the blast in memory of Korean victims of the bombing. This location was outside of the Hiroshima Peace Park, however, and came to be seen to embody the discrimination faced by Korean hibakusha and by Koreans in Japan more broadly, with Korean residents' groups later moving to have a cenotaph within the park. The cenotaph and its relocation along with the inclusion of the stories of Korean victims of the bombing within the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum are the two main controversies surrounding the role of the maintenance of the existence and memory of Korean victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which along with medical support has been the primary struggle of Korean hibakusha and will be the main. focus of this paper. As there has been both more written about the museum in Hiroshima and the controversies surrounding it as well as more Koreans present in Hiroshima at the end of the war, this paper will focus on Hiroshima, though Nagasaki does also have a museum and a park dedicated to the remembrance of the bombing and there is a memorial to Korean victims located there. Though a full explanation would likely fill volumes, this paper will begin by looking at a brief synopsis of the relations between Korea and Japan in the modern era and the status of Koreans in Japan in the twentieth century. This will be followed by a section on the normalization of Japan- South Korea relations and a section on the background of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum. Next will be a discussion on the controversies surrounding the aforementioned Cenotaph for Korean Victims of the Atomic Bombing and its eventual relocation. The third main section will focus on the inclusion of Korean, and more broadly non-Japanese, narratives in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum itself, followed by a section on Korean hibakusha in Korea and a comparison with comfort women. The final section will look at some ongoing questions surrounding the issue of Korean hibakusha before concluding. Though a full discussion of the relationship between Japan and Korea over the centuries. would take much more time and space than this paper allows, it has been, in a complete understatement and oversimplification, complicated. The statue of Yi Sun-sin, the admiral who rebuffed Japanese naval attacks ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in a planned invasion of Korea in the late sixteenth century, is one of two statues standing in Gwanghwamun square in central Seoul today. The other is of King Sejong the Great, who created the Korean alphabet, hangul, in the fifteenth century. During the following Edo Period in which Japan maintained the relatively isolationist foreign policy of sakoku, however, the Japanese and Korean governments maintained relations and continued to conduct trade with one and other. Following the forced opening of Japan by Perry in the mid-nineteenth century and a series of unequal treaties between Japan and Western powers, Korea became the target of Japan's own expansionist policy. Using the same form of gunboat diplomacy that had been used against it not long before, Japan concluded the Treaty of Kanghwa with Korea in 1876. Japan continued to increase its influence in Korean affairs in the following years, including orchestrating the assassination of Queen Min, consort to Gojong, and fighting two wars over influence on the peninsula, the Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895 and the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905