Bioculture Journal
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Observed oxygen concentrations and a possible implication behind the Muchalat inlet subsurface oxygen maximum
No full textSenior thesis written for Oceanography 445[author abstract] It is expected to find the water column in Muchalat inlet to display strong stratification due to the influx of freshwater from sources like the Gold River layering on top of the denser seawater that enters from Nootka Sound and the open ocean. This stratification limits vertical mixing, denying highly oxygenated surface waters to sink below a certain depth. However, after measuring the oxygen concentrations during the 2016 Senior Thesis Cruise (TN334), a layer of relatively higher oxygen was found at a depth that was not expected of that oxygen level. Since vertical mixing through different densities is unlikely to occur, the most likely explanation for this inflow of oxygen is that it originates from a source outside of Muchalat Inlet, more specifically the open ocean. Using nutrient data as a tracer to follow the same circulation pattern as oxygen, it was inferred that the tracers could not have tracked in the hypothesized pattern because the density gradient connecting Muchalat inlet and the open ocean did not contain the same values. Therefore, the open ocean is concluded to be an unlikely source for the influx of oxygen.University of Washington School of Oceanograph
Housing Metanoia: Accommodating the Modern Family’s Changing Spatial Needs Through Flexible Design
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-12The goal of this investigation is to understand how architecture can respond to the existing housing stock to accommodate a more family/ community-centered living opportunity through flexible spaces. The design will allow residents to incrementally expand or contract their living spaces through a modular approach thus: bring families back into urban neighborhoods through thoughtful multi-generational housing design, create a community of diverse ages, encourage a sustainable lifestyle, and address affordability in desirable urban neighborhoods
Manipulators and Manipulation in high dimensional spaces
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12Hand manipulation is one of the most complex form of biological movements. Despite its significance in multiple fields such as biomechanics, neuroscience, robotics and graphics, our understanding of dexterous manipulation is quite superficial and far from being reproducible. The unique capabilities of the human hand have long inspired roboticist in their pursuit to develop manipulators with similar dexterity. Simple and isolated tasks such as grasping can of course be accomplished by simpler devices. Nevertheless, if robots are to perform a wider range of tasks in less structured environments than what is currently possible, they are likely to need manipulators approaching human levels of dexterity. The primary goal of this thesis is to realize dynamic dexterous manipulation on physical hardware. The thesis makes following contributions towards this goal Design and development of “ADROIT Manipulation Platform” – a 28 degrees of freedom arm-hand system capable of hosting dexterous dynamics manipulation, thanks to the custom designed fast, strong and compliant pneumatic actuation system. Behavior synthesis techniques – that are capable of synthesizing the details of dynamic dexterous manipulation in high dimensional manipulators – and scalable approaches that bridge the wide divide between what’s possible in simulation and what works on the physical hardware under real world conditions
Marriage Timing, Gender Context, and Early Family Formation
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12University of Washington Abstract Marriage, Gender Context, and Early Family Formation Kerry L.D. MacQuarrie Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Stewart Tolnay Department of Sociology This dissertation explores marriage timing, the gender context, and early family formation in Asia through three separate but related studies. The first study uses trends, bivariate regression, and survival analysis to investigate trends in marriage age and the first birth interval over time in seven countries—four in South Asia and three in Southeast Asia. Specifically, it examines the association of gender context and socio-demographic characteristics with (1) marriage age and (2) the first birth interval, along with shifts in these associations over time. Data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are used from two points in time over approximately a 10-year period to examine changes in these dynamics over time in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Marriage age increased and the first birth interval decreased (except in Cambodia) significantly, albeit at varying rates. Varying rates of change over time contribute greater disparities in marriage age and greater homogeneity in duration of the first birth interval across a range of socio-demographic characteristics. Most gender context measures and socio-demographic characteristics are associated with both outcomes at both points in time. This second study uses multivariate hazard and multivariate decomposition models to investigate the influence of marriage age and the gender context on the first and second birth intervals over time. It uses DHS data from the same South and Southeast Asian countries. Later marriage is associated with shorter first birth intervals but longer second birth intervals. Marriage age remains the most consistent influence on the first birth interval after controlling for birth cohort, gender context, and women’s and husbands’ characteristics. Compositional shifts toward later marriage contribute substantially (38%-89%) to shortened first birth intervals in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, while the effect of marriage age has changed in India and Nepal. Marriage age continues to influence the second birth interval, after controlling for the first birth interval and other covariates. The third study is a qualitative inquiry into the social context of early childbearing in Bangladesh. This study conducted in-depth interviews with 30 women age 15-22 who had married before age 18 in Khulna division, Bangladesh. The study was motivated to investigate why young, married women bear a first child at a young age. The study finds that women enter into marriage suddenly and without knowledge of contraception. Young women want to delay a first pregnancy, but still want a birth within adolescence. Spousal communication and women’s decision-making are low and young women defer decisions on childbearing and contraception to others. Women’s fertility desires are frequently discordant with those of their husbands, their in-law family, or both. Women, their husbands, and their family members are all concerned with the health consequences of early childbearing. However, concerns about the health effects of contraception discourage long term use and promote early pregnancies. Thus, women’s abilities to meet their fertility aspirations are challenged by discordant childbearing aims, limited options for contraceptive methods, and discontinuation of contraception due to side effects and concerns about infertility
Mortality and perinatal infectious complications following home birth in Washington State: 2003-2013
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06Planned home birth is defined as a pregnancy in which the mother intends to deliver at home. Washington State has one of the highest proportions of home births in the United States (2.3%), more than double the national average. Despite the rapid rise in popularity of the home birth movement over the last decade, controversy remains over the safety of this practice and how women should best be counseled regarding their decision on where to give birth. We conducted a population based cohort study of births in Washington State from 2003-2013, with the planned place of care at the onset of labor as the exposure of interest (planned delivery in hospital versus planned home delivery) as defined by the Washington state birth filing form. The primary endpoint was all cause mortality during the first 28 days of life. The secondary outcome was a composite variable indicating hospitalization for a neonatal infection in the first 28 days after birth, obtained from linked hospital records data. After exclusions, 12,590 planned home births and 44,739 planned hospital births were included in analyses. The risk of neonatal death among infants born to women who planned to give birth at home was double that of infants whose mothers had planned a hospital delivery (RR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2, 3.6). Compared to planned hospital births, home births were associated with fewer infant hospitalizations for infection within 28 days of delivery (RR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4, 0.8), as well as with a lower risk of induced labor (RR 0.05, 95% CI 0.05, 0.06), maternal laceration (RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3, 0.5), and neonatal ICU admission (RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3, 0.4). Prolonged labor was also more common in the planned home birth group (RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5, 1.9). The most common specific neonatal infectious etiologies requiring hospitalization were urinary and respiratory tract infections. While neonatal mortality was a rare event in our study, it is concerning that the relative risk of death remains elevated among a highly selected population of women choosing to give birth at home. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of increased neonatal mortality associated with planned home birth and to replicate our findings regarding the disparity in infectious diseases between planned home and hospital births
Chronology, Lithology and Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of the Penultimate Ice-Sheet Advance into the Puget Lwoland, Washington
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-12University of Washington Abstract Chronology, Lithology and Paleoenvironmental Interpretations of the Penultimate Ice-Sheet Advance into the Puget Lowland, WA Kathy Goetz Troost Chair of Supervisory Committee: Dr. Derek B. Booth Earth and Spaces Sciences Stratigraphic nomenclature and chronology has been a problem for geologists seeking to understand the Quaternary history of the Puget Lowland of Washington State for over one hundred years. Accurate identification of deposits, and accurate age assignments for those deposits, can help us to better understand the paleoclimate of the region, the physical characteristics of deposits encountered during infrastructure projects, the timing of tectonic deformation and recent seismicity, and our geological history. Each of these has profound consequences on our daily lives. In this dissertation I have established a stratigraphic framework for the last million years of geologic history in the Puget Lowland, based on global climate patterns, abundant new absolute dates, and detailed mapping that synthesizes my work and the work of others over the last century. Two decades of detailed field mapping, absolute and relative dating, and analyses have identified new geologic units and clarified and expanded our understanding of many others that had been previously identified but imprecisely described or understood. The techniques I have made use of include luminescence dating, paleomagnetic correlations, radiocarbon dating, fission-track and Ar/Ar dating, palynology, macrofossil identification, provenance, and field-measured sections. My data suggest that the Vashon stade (representing the regional advance of the Marine Isotope Stage 2 ice sheet) ended quite abruptly, nearly simultaneously in the north and south Lowland. The prior MIS 4 ice sheet advance, named the “Possession glaciation,” was of similar extent to that of the Vashon stade, extending to within about 25 km of the Vashon limit. MIS 4 fine-grained glacial deposits are abundant in the Puget Lowland. The Whidbey Formation (MIS 5) and Double Bluff Drift (MIS 6), previously recognized only north of Seattle, have now been newly identified in the southern Puget Lowland, over 60 km from their type section on Whidbey Island. Newly identified stratigraphic units include deposits from the MIS 7 interglacial period, informally named the “Hamm Creek formation” for 200-ka pumice deposits in Seattle; deposits from the MIS 8 glacial period, collectively named the “Defiance drift”; and the “Gig Harbor gravel,” which may be part of MIS 8 or even older. In addition, reversely magnetized deposits, assumed to be older than 780 ka based on limiting luminescence ages, have been identified in multiple locations along the Tacoma and Gig Harbor coastline. Many unconformities exist in the Pleistocene record of the Puget Lowland, making stratigraphic correlation difficult even with absolute dating. Each time-stratigraphic unit is an unconformity-bounded sequence with widely distributed but discontinuous deposits. Glaciotectonic and tectonic discontinuities further confound correlations. With diligence and knowledge, however, we can continue to improve our geologic understanding. Society’s future economic progress and human well-being in the Puget Lowland region depends in large measure on our ability to predict and plan for global climate changes, geologic hazards, and the complexity of the ground beneath us. Understanding the relatively recent geologic history of the region, of which this dissertation is a contribution, is a necessary step in that process
Objective Methods for Characterizing Physical Exposures which may contribute to Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agricultural Workers
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08US Migrant farmworkers perform physically-demanding work but are less likely to report poor working conditions, which exposes them to greater risk for musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., prolonged non-neutral postures, repetitive motions and forceful exertions). Technology such as harvest-assisted mobile orchard platforms can increase worker efficiency, but the potential impact on musculoskeletal health effects is unclear. The existing methods to assess ergonomic risk factors are not suitable to examine agricultural work due to the variability observed in the field. The goal of this dissertation is to develop methods to characterize these musculoskeletal health risk exposures using objective measures including kinematic (arm movements) and physiological (muscle fatigue and muscle activity) data collected in the field using inclinometer and electromyography, respectively. Subjective measures are also collected using the Borg RPE and Borg CR10 scales to assess perceived overall body exertion and local body part fatigue, respectively. These exposure assessment methods are used to evaluate and compare different apple harvesting methods in Washington State. The relationship between the objective and subjective measures are examined to assess whether objective measures, which are cumbersome to collect, can be replaced with subjective measures. The findings suggest that mobile platforms could reduce the kinematic measures of musculoskeletal health risk exposures but may not reduce physiological impact observed in muscles. Subjective measures provided different results from objective measures; therefore, one could not replace the other. The potential benefits of this research relate to improve work environment for farmworkers, which will ultimately improve their overall health and well-being
Negotiating Community and Nation in Chợ Lớn: Nation-building, Community-building and Transnationalism in Everyday Life during the Republic of Việt Nam, 1955-1975
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06My dissertation examines everyday life of Chinese communities during the Republic of Việt Nam based on a variety of sources in Vietnamese, Chinese, French and English, most notably rare and rarely-used Chinese-language newspapers from Chợ Lớn. Focusing on social life ordered around markets, native place congregations and temples, schools and work places, hospitals and medicinal halls, sports clubs and restaurants, private homes and public leisure places, my dissertation provides a rich tapestry of Chợ Lớn's Chinese community, particularly its middle class, and the changes it underwent over time. I situate Chợ Lớn in multiple relations: as one center of greater Sài Gòn, economic conduit for the southern Vietnamese hinterlands, socio-cultural hub for Chinese communities throughout Indochina, nodal point in transnational Chinese exchanges linking San Francisco, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore, and contributor to Cold War-era and Taiwan/ROC-centric sinophone articulations. The dissertation is organized into four main chapters: 1) Chợ Lớn’s built environment and human geography, its lived and shared spaces; 2) Education from kindergarten to adult learning between local and transnational networks and the state; 3) Sports and competitions over disciplining bodies and controlling social time; and 4) young adulthood, women in the public sphere, and socialization into multi-layered networks through marriage, work, philanthropy, and other ways of accumulating and spending social capital. Here Chợ Lớn emerges as a site of contestation between diasporic community interests, a “nation-building” Vietnamese state, and the transnational Chinese world not easily negotiated by individuals and further complicated by war, violence, and ideological divisions. My dissertation makes significant contributions to a variety of fields: social history (and here everyday urban life) of which Việt Nam Studies are still desperately starved, to the growing body of studies on the Republic of Việt Nam (and a rare one where the RVN simply “is” rather than “fails”), to conversations about diasporic/minority communities with multiple identities in Việt Nam (and elsewhere), and to knowledge of overseas Chinese and the dynamic currents in the Cold War-era transnational Chinese world
Slope effects on liquefaction potential and pore pressure generation in earthquake loading
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-12Loose, saturated sand or silt deposits can often be susceptible to liquefaction deformations during earthquakes. If these deposits are also on or near slopes or embankments, liquefaction events can lead to damages from lateral spreading or embankment failures. The mechanical study of slope effects and initial static shear stresses on liquefaction resistance is still in development. Furthermore, the literature regarding semi-empirical or Factor of Safety approach to liquefaction site analysis is complicated and presents contradictory results, which often leads professionals to ignore slope effects in engineering liquefaction analyses. However, the standards for characterizing earthquake loading has progressed significantly in the past decades and equipment advances have now made it possible to simulate earthquake loading in soil shear testing. Thus, in addition to summarizing the current standards of liquefaction analyses, this report presents a parametric laboratory study of initial static shear stress on liquefiable sands (with minor emphasis on vertical effective stress, and density). This database is intended to be used as control experimental data on earthquake loading for the development of liquefaction models as part of Next Generation Liquefaction (NGL) project. The parametric program includes a total of 24 simple shear tests on Nevada sands with transient seismic loading on an electromechanical dynamic cyclic simple shear device (EMDCSS). The static shear stress factor (K_α) used in the Simplified Procedure for liquefaction (Seed and Idriss 1975) is empirically investigated under transient loading conditions and corrections for earthquake loading proposed through a regression analysis