Bioculture Journal
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Urban Forest Restoration and Park Design, A Study of Improvements in Habitat Conditions and Open Space Amenity in Kirkland, WA.
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2018Increasing development has contributed to the decreasing ecological health of our urban natural areas. Ecological restoration is one way to begin to reverse this trend and it is taking place in city parks throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Green Kirkland Partnership in Kirkland Washington is a city run program that realizes ecological restoration goals in its urban parks through the service of community volunteers. Restoration in urban parks brings new activities to parks with customary recreational uses. The focus of this research is the intersection of urban park design and natural area restoration. The belief that these two entities can become mutually beneficial is the founding principal for this exploration. Using case studies of four parks in the Green Kirkland Partnership this thesis aims to recognize patterns between existing park amenities, volunteer intervention, and changes in restoration site habitat based on the tree-iage matrix. The study finds three park features that could be beneficial to volunteer supported natural area restoration success: pedestrian paths through the site that connect to other pedestrian only routes, secluded benches, and educational signage. Natural areas in urban parks near to either one or all three of these features experienced a positive change in habitat composition
The Effect of Selective Attention on Error-Detection Abilities
No full textThesis (D.M.A.)--University of Washington, 2018This study evaluated the error-detection abilities of choral conductors while attending to variable quantities of simultaneously played vocal lines. The participants (n = 55) were provided 16 8-measure musical excerpts and were instructed to detect rhythmic and melodic performance errors as performed within the audio excerpts. For each excerpt, errors of pitch and rhythm were inserted systematically within one, two, three, or four of the vocal lines. During playback, all four vocal lines were present; however, participants were asked to attend only to the directed lines. It was hypothesized that a linear decrease in error-detection score would occur with the addition of two, three, and four attended vocal lines. Welch’s Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test indicated statistical significance of error-detection variability with increasing quantities of attended vocal lines, Welch’s F(3, 118.812) = 46.876, p < .001. Results indicated a non-linear decrease in error-detection score with the incorporation of additional attended vocal lines [one, M = 9.27; two, M = 6.49; three, M = 6.15; four, M = 5.81, respectively). Participants demonstrated an inability to accurately detect performance errors immediately upon attending to a second vocal line. These findings serve as a platform for which aural training must be modified to accommodate the detection of performance errors. Suggestions for an error-detection curriculum are provided to offset these deficiencies. Further research may be necessary to better understand and categorize the cognitive process of auralization during error-detection
Envisioning a Network for Pollinators in South Seattle
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2018Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths and beetles that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us almost every bite of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce most of the natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Without these animals, our ecosystem will totally collapse. These pollinating creatures travel from plant to plant, flower to flower, carrying pollen on their bodies in an important interaction that enables the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants. These plants which provide us countless fruits, vegetables, and increase carbon sequestration for our living space. However, this nearly invisible ecosystem service is a precious resource that requires attention and protection and in disturbing evidence found around the globe, is increasingly in danger. Many pollinator populations are in decline and this decline is attributed most severely to a loss in nesting and feeding habitats. Environmental pollution, the misuse of chemicals pesticide, infectious disease, and changes in global climatic patterns are all contributing to shifting and shrinking the pollinator populations. This pollinator network design responds to the issues of food shortages, climate change, urban biodiversity, and the desire to increase urban productive landscapes. Pollinators play an essential and indispensable role in urban agriculture and urban public spaces. As a result, this design thesis focuses on how to design a network for pollinators by means of connecting potential nodes, open spaces and a green belt in South Seattle, Washington. This network includes small-scale habitats, learning gardens, pollinator sanctuaries, community gardens and green infrastructure
Brechemin Piano Series February 8, 2018
No full textConcert ProgramConcert Program for Brechemin Piano Series February 8, 201
Organizational Factors Affecting the Successful Integration Between Physician Groups and Health Systems
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2018Amidst growing vertical integration, health care delivery is moving toward a state in which the lines of responsibility begin to blur. As health reform shifts the health care industry from volume to value, the market is calling for increased care coordination and management. This in turn calls for closer working relationships between physician groups and health systems, herein referred to as “physician-system integration.” Physician-system integration can be structured in a variety of ways, with the current trend shifting toward the most integrated structure, the employment model, in which physicians are employed by a hospital or health system and paid a salary. The evidence on the value of physician-system integration is mixed, however, putting into question the impact of current trends. This dissertation focused on the organizational factors affecting the success of integration between physician groups and health systems. The objectives of were two-fold: 1) to define what success means to different health systems, and 2) to answer the overarching research question: How is the success of an integrated delivery system affected by the degree and nature of physician-system integration? We applied a three-pronged approach – a systematic review with cluster analysis, qualitative interviews, and mixed methods – to collectively explain and predict the influence of physician integrating structures on the overall success of a health system. In Aim 1, we identified 29 empirical articles published in 2005-2016 that examined physician-system integration. Only 38% of the articles used organizational theory to guide their approach, which suggests an imbalance in past analyses and an underutilization of theory in integration research. Of the articles that did apply theory, bargaining-market power theory and transaction cost theory were the predominant ones used. We further identified 48 organizational factors that comprise the landscape of physician-system integration. In Aim 2, we interviewed 25 health executives across eight health systems in Washington State. Factors that made physician-system integration successful included: payment reform (how to compensate for care coordination activities), alignment between physician groups and hospitals (culture and leadership), and the establishment of more care coordination mechanisms (pre-service, point-of-service, and after-service). While all executives were proponents of increased integration, most stressed the importance of cultural and leadership alignment. We concluded that the landscape of physician-system integration is a complex array of 51 factors of the environment, physician group, hospital, care coordination, and integration success. In Aim 3, we found that tighter integration structures were associated with higher total facility expenses, with hospitals spending 833,000 for each “level” increase in integration. The trend was consistent with previous literature. However, we found that expenses were attenuated when care coordination mechanisms were considered as a mediator. This poses an opportunity for health systems to offset costs by strengthening care coordination. Executives were aware of integration costs and care coordination deficits but will continue to invest, seeking long-term reward. Through the three Aims, we put forth a theory-driven, practice-validated, and empirically-tested conceptual model – a tool for health executives, researchers, and instructors to more effectively address the complexities of integration. Our work indicates that physician-system integration is an amalgam of 52 factors of the internal and external environment. As trends continue to increase toward increased physician-system integration, our findings have the potential to inform regulatory policy on physician group and health system mergers and guide health systems in improving their performance and selecting their integration partners
1.5 Generation Black Jamaican Immigrant Journey of Self-Discovery and Ethnic Identity Development
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2018This qualitative study was designed to understand. how1.5-generation Jamaican Black immigrants develop their ethnic identity in the United States. As the Jamaican American, population continues to increase, it is important to understand how educational research masks the needs of this community immigrant community. Portraiture is the methodology used in this study collect, analyze, and interpret data from narrative interviews of six participants. This methodology’s analysis and interpretation procedure includes pre-analysis; sketching themes; constructing codes; testing codes for accuracy; and identification of common themes and ideas from these codes. The finding of this study focused on the how the participants navigated multiple cultural and linguistic norms related to race and ethnicity in the United States; the impact of schooling on, and the resources and strategies utilized, to develop their Black Jamaican American Identity. The analysis of the data revealed several themes that were organized in response to each research question. These themes are; (1) Culture shock and othering as catalysts for identity formation, Learning to use the “right language”; (2) Schooling devalue Jamaican and immigrant identity, Lack of curriculum representation impact on identity, Impact of non-curricular on identity, Race trumps national and ethnic identity in U.S., Identity formation: Moratorium of African American and Foreclosure of Jamaican identity; (3) Resist hiding their Jamaican identity, Codeswitching between identity boundaries, Ethnic Identity Achievement by Reimaging schemas. These 1.5-generation Black Jamaican immigrants also developed a deep understating of linguistic and cultural boundaries to develop their personal ethnic and racial identities. This research is potentially valuable for education because it recognizes the pluralistic frameworks that individuals use to navigate the U.S. identity matrix as well as the educational system. This has the potential for positive outcomes for students by developing culturally responsive pedagogy and school environments that are frameworks to assist marginalized Black immigrant population succeed in the mainstream educational system. Furthermore, the results of such research could expand the discourse related to race, power and identity
Immune repertoire sequencing with application to infectious disease
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2018B and T lymphocytes are the cellular effectors of the adaptive immune system and perform the learning and recall functions that are the basis of immunological memory. Immunoglobulin and T cell receptors enable the immune system to recognize an enormous set of exogenous and endogenous antigens. The vast majority of B and T cell clones possess a single unique heterodimeric receptor with a highly diverse binding domain generated through ordered somatic gene rearrangements known as V(D)J recombination. The combination of different (Variable, Diversity and Joining) gene segments, insertion and deletion of non-templated nucleotides at the junctions between segments and pairing of heavy and light chains control the specificity of recognition. As a result, the diversity of B and T cell receptors in the body determine an individual's ability to respond to new and previously seen antigens. In this work, I present a database of B cell receptor sequences that unites experimental and computational techniques to accurately estimate the richness of the naïve and memory B cell repertoires. I also present two studies exploring the diversity of the T cell repertoire in acute and chronic viral infections. To study the diversity of the T cell repertoire in response to an acute infection, I combine live-attenuated yellow fever virus vaccination and T cell repertoire sequencing to identify and track vaccine responsive clones longitudinally. Lastly, I explore the hypothesis that chronic cytomegalovirus infection in the elderly compromises immune function by reducing CD8+ T cell repertoire diversity. Together these studies further our understanding of the relationship between immune repertoire diversity and immune function
Catalytic fast pyrolysis of beetle killed lodgepole pine in a novel ablative reactor
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2018As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to rise, lignocellulosic biomass is further being investigated for their potential as a feedstock for alternative fuels. Beetle killed lodgepole pine (BKLP) is a lignocellulosic biomass that becomes hazardous from structural defects caused by an infection of the mountain pine beetle, prompting its need to be removed from the forest and repurposed. The fast pyrolysis of BKLP generates organic volatiles, and that condense producing a liquid oil (bio-oil). The bio-oil produced is incompatible with the current infrastructure because of its acidic, corrosive, and unstable nature associated to its high oxygen content. The high oxygen content also results in a low higher heating value as compared to gasoline. Here, we explore two different methods to target the production of aromatic hydrocarbons, which are gasoline additives. In the first method, we deposited palladium metal nanoparticles on the BKLP to produce more phenolic compounds that act as precursors to thetarget aromatic hydrocarbons. The second method involved adding a catalytic upgrade reactor downstream of an ablative reactor to upgrade organic volatiles into aromatic hydrocarbons
Co-creating MLIS Curriculum for Cultural Competence and Community-Driven Learning: Making Progress for the Future of Libraries
No full textThe University of Washington Information School's Gates Foundation-funded Distinguished Practitioner in Residence (DPIR) program is designed to make a more impactful connection between public libraries and the academy. During her tenure, Susan Hildreth, the inaugural DPIR, set out to develop a framework that would result in MLIS students prepared with the skills required to serve successfully in 21st century libraries and information centers. Using participatory design methods, Hildreth and her project team convened two workshops (first on cultural competence and the second on community-driven learning) to review MLIS curriculum. The workshop aimed to create a platform for the co-design of MLIS curriculum by faculty, library employers, and students. From both workshops, overarching themes emerged: need for community engagement and design thinking/participatory design as foundations in MLIS graduate education and library service planning; meaningful experiential learning to ground theory in practice; using a social justice/racial equity lens; and utilizing the power of the MLIS community to instill change in MLIS education and practice.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio
Behavioral Adaptations of Drivers to Autonomous Systems: Evaluating Intermediate and Carryover Effects
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2018Autonomous vehicle systems have elicited the attention of car manufacturers, consumers, policy makers, and the media as they offer societal, environmental, and economic benefits. However, prolonged exposure to these systems may lead drivers to adapt to these systems in ways not anticipated by the designer; resulting in unintended safety consequences. To explore this issue, a longitudinal driving simulator study was conducted to evaluate behavioral adaptations due to exposure to an active lane keeping system. In this study, performance before, during, and after exposure to the semi-autonomous system was compared. Forty-eight participants (30 treatment, 18 control) completed a series of eight drives across three separate days. Treatment participants were exposed to approximately 40 minutes of baseline [manual] driving, 80 minutes of semi-automated driving, and 40 minutes of post-automated [manual] driving. A control group was exposed to approximately 160 minutes of manual driving, but otherwise identical study procedures, in order to provide a reference for time on task effects. Changes in secondary task engagement (number completed and accuracy), driving performance (SDLP and TTC), cognitive workload (TDRT response time and miss rate) and eye glance behavior (mean glance duration, 90th percentile glance duration, total eyes-off-road time, and percent long glances) were modeled using generalized linear mixed models. Cluster analysis techniques were used to examine the effects of trust in automation on behavioral adaptations. The findings of this dissertation suggest that drivers began to rely on automation for support and experienced adverse effects when the system was removed. Moreover, drivers with higher self-reported trust in the autonomous system experienced the largest degradations in performance and were associated with inherently more risky driving habits. By identifying the associations between trust and behavioral adaptations over time, vehicle systems, infrastructure, and educational programs can be designed to support appropriate use and attention allocation, in order to minimize adverse effects during handover and takeover of vehicle control