Bioculture Journal
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Electronic Waste Recycling Programs in the United States: A Comparative Analysis
No full textProper recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) allows reuse of finite resources and prevents toxic materials in e-waste from causing harm to humans and the environment. The United States is the only Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country without national e-waste recycling policies. Currently, 25 States have e-waste recycling policies, and 19 impose landfill disposal bans. Without federal regulations, laws differ from state-to-state, making it difficult to control and measure outcomes. This analysis applies a framework to compare three different types of state e-waste policy program models including: 1) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); 2) Consumer-based Advanced Recovery Fee (ARF); and an 3) electronic recycling education program. Program success was measured by the amount of e-waste recycled by weight and product category per capita (volume); the number of permanent collection sites; the number of collection events; who bears the costs (convenience); and if rewards or penalties are established, (incentives) to encourage recycling. This analysis suggests convenience, cost and incentives are the main contributing factors to program success and increasing recycling volumes. This analysis also identifies the need for consistent reporting of e-waste data in all states to provide greater transparency, and more accurate and consistent data regarding the amount of e-waste recycled. Furthermore, policies at the federal level are needed to address trans-boundary movement of e-waste across state lines
System and Analog Front-End Design for Wireless Optogenetics and Marine Mammal Science
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2014The first part of this thesis will present a low-noise, low-power Analog Front-End (AFE) for acoustic and ocean pressure detection used in marine mammal science applications. First, the design of a test chip consisting of three AFE variations with a common two-stage amplifier will be analyzed. The primary goal for the first iteration chip was to explore the tradeoffs between noise and power as well as to perform basic interfacing with a hydrophone sensor; this in preparation for the second iteration system. The measured test results of this fabricated chip are discussed in detail. Second, a deployable system built upon the test chip and improved with several features such as power-gating, variable gain, and frequency scaling will be presented. This system includes digitization of sonar and pressure signals through an 8-bit successive approximation ADC. An SPI interface was added to the design in order to be compatible with a System-on-Chip developed by a collaborative team from the University of Virginia. In the second part of this work, a system for wireless optogenetics will be presented. First, an overview of the optogenetics science will be covered, as well as a brief description of the state-of-the-art stimulation systems used in this field. Next, a high-level overview of the proposed system will be presented followed by a detailed description of the main blocks. The last section will contain applicable metric measurements and the results obtained from an in-vivo experiment conducted using our system
Clustering users of public access venues: Analysis results featuring the Global Impact Study
No full textThis paper examines the application and subsequent findings from the use of cluster analysis on data from the Global Impact Study. Specifically focusing on the user survey data, the results successfully show that complex and interesting structure exists in this data. Making connections between features of the data is an exciting and integral part of analysis. Using cluster analysis as an exploratory analysis tool, additional insight is gained into the complicated relationship between usage patterns and perceived impact for users of public access venues. Additional insight is also gained into the ongoing debate about constructive uses of ICTs, and whether gaming and related activities have solely a detrimental effect. These findings are useful in providing insight beyond that gained by tables and crosstabs, and at the very least, suggest areas for discussion or further study.
The data the cluster analysis was performed on and that is referenced in this paper can be found at tascha.uw.edu/publications/global-impact-study-user-survey-data-csv-format/
Transforming our Roles as Co-Educators; A parents guide to meaningful engagement.
No full textMaster of Social Work (MSW)When schools and families support each other, students of all backgrounds and various abilities achieve at higher levels. Research indicates levels of parental engagement tends to decline as children progress through the educational system. Parents need to understand and transform their roles to become collaborative co-educators as their children transition from elementary to middle school in order to improve academic outcomes. This intervention, a summer workshop series for parents of children in or approaching middle school, aims to increase home-based and school-based activities and strategies which foster parental engagement. Participants will attend four workshops and be provided interactive workbook to guide and encourage engagement efforts throughout the academic year. This intervention assists parents in transforming their roles in order to remain engaged as their children progress through education system and their needs change. Parents will be able to create and customize new strategies and activities that can be implemented at home to foster learning environments and become aware of existing strategies and activities currently available through their child's school. The overall goal is to increase active participation, communication, and collaboration to educate the whole child to ensure student academic achievement. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Toni Stallman, MSW. Email:[email protected]
The hydrodynamic costs of spination in zoea
No full textThe benefits of spines in zoea and other crustaceans have been documented in numerous studies as a form of anti-‐predatory behavior. This study examined the potential costs of having spines using three different methods. Drag forces on spines were calculated using hydrodynamic equations and compared between zoea models with long and short spines; clay models were used in corn syrup sinking rate experiments to measure drag coefficients; and zoea models were created in FreeCAD and ran through a shear simulation in MATLAB to examine their stabilities. The study found that the presence of spines increased the drag forces on the models both through calculations and through direct measurements in corn syrup. Moreover, the presence of spines made models more susceptible to tumbling under shear when the spines were flared. However, if long spines were held in typical positions, the zoea models were actually more stable than the short spined model. This study highlights some of the plausible costs associated with spines and further studies are needed to examine the relative importance between hydrodynamic costs in spines versus decreased risk in predation
Reliability of the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC) and the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ)
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2014Research suggests that psychological type affects one's status in social groups. This, in turn, may impact performance in the classroom when students are required to participate in cooperative learning. At the same time, research on the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure psychological type in children and adolescents is almost non-existent. In order to decrease this gap between theory and practice, a systematic literature review was conducted for studies that used the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC) or the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ) to measure psychological type in children and adolescents. Reliability estimates were extracted and compared in order to determine which instrument provided adequate reliability. Results clearly indicated that the revised MMTIC (2008) yielded the strongest internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates, although differences in reliability existed between scales
Detection of protein targets associated with survival in malignant pediatric brain tumors
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2014University of Washington Abstract Detection of protein targets associated with survival in malignant pediatric brain tumors Sarah Leary Chair of Supervisory Committee: Beth Mueller Department of Epidemiology Background: Brain tumors are the leading cause of pediatric cancer death. Specific protein detection by immunohistochemistry may predict patient survival and identify opportunities for targeted therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of selected protein markers to prioritize targets for further therapeutic study. Procedure: We studied a single institution cohort of pediatric patients who had pathologic diagnosis of malignant brain tumors at Seattle Children's Hospital between the years 2000-2011. EGFR, ERBB2, pS6, KIT, pERK, and PDGFRA were evaluated in tissue microarrays (TMA) by immunohistochemical staining. Clinical data were obtained from the electronic medical record. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test and multivariable Cox regression. Results: One hundred thirty eight patients met inclusion criteria. Sixty-one patients with samples obtained at diagnosis were included in TMA studies including medulloblastoma (n=28), ependymoma (n=17), high grade glioma (=10) and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (n=6). Thirteen of these patients had paired tumor samples analyzed from the time of relapse. The majority (89%) of tumors obtained at diagnosis and 100% of tumors at relapse were positive for at least one of the six proteins studied. Five-year survival was 20% for subjects with EGFR positive tumors, compared to 81% for EGFR negative tumors (p0.05). The associations between positive status and poor survival persisted after adjustment for tumor histology, age and extent of resection. Conclusions: Potential therapeutic targets were detected by immunohistochemistry in the majority of newly diagnosed malignant pediatric brain tumors. EGFR, PDGFRA and pS6 positivity at diagnosis were each found to be associated with poor survival
Informing integrated interventions for trauma and smoking: The role of gender from childhood to adulthood
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014Integrated interventions for trauma and substance use often overlook smoking despite evidence that interpersonal traumas and smoking are related. When integrated treatments are specifically designed to address smoking and trauma they are based upon primarily male samples with combat related stressors and it remains unclear if these interventions will be as effective with women who experience differing forms of trauma and have different risk factors for smoking. This dissertation examined the life course and potentially, gendered relationship between child maltreatment, partner violence victimization and smoking behavior across four developmental periods (childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and adulthood) by capitalizing on existing longitudinal data from the Seattle Social Development Project, a 30-year prospective cohort study. Chapter 1 investigated whether a commonly used measure of partner violence, the Conflict Tactics Scale, is consistent in its measurement of victimization across gender and time. Chapter 2 explored gender similarities and differences in the relationship between partner violence and smoking behavior in young adulthood and adulthood (ages 24 to 33). Chapter 3 examined the influence of child maltreatment on smoking onset, adolescent smoking duration and becoming a high-risk smoker in young adulthood in the context of other risk factors among those people who have ever smoked and whether this differs for men and women. Findings suggest that these two issues are consistently related from childhood to adulthood, for both men and women, and remain significant even after controlling for important risk factors. Directional findings support a bidirectional relationship where interpersonal traumas influence a wide array of smoking behaviors (onset, adolescent duration, smoking type and high risk smoking in young adulthood and adulthood ) and smoking in young adulthood uniquely increases the risk for later interpersonal victimization in adulthood. The strong connection between interpersonal traumas, a prominent theme in the lives of women, and the identification of gender-specific risk factors for smoking underscore the need for considering gender in future integrated intervention development. Collectively, findings provide information of use to those designing gender-informed primary and secondary prevention efforts which ultimately will contribute to reducing the large public health burdens of both smoking and interpersonal violence
Automated Grammar Engineering for Verbal Morphology
No full textThesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2014This study examines the cross-linguistic potential for the automatic analysis of verbal morphology and creation of implemented formal grammars using the Grammar Matrix customization system and the rich linguistic resource of interlinear glossed text (IGT). Each grammar is automatically customized from the LinGO Grammar Matrix core grammar, with a focus on the morphotactics, morphosyntax, and morphosemantics of verbal forms for the target languages. Each step of the process is evaluated for two low-resource languages, Turkish and Tagalog, with data from the Online Database of Interlinear Glossed Text, and over a specially curated set of IGT of the French verb faire
Retributive Hatred as a Reactive Moral Attitude
No full textThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014Philosophers' attention to negative attitudes has grown in recent decades. However, whereas philosophers have offered a number of descriptions of, and justifications for, attitudes like resentment and contempt, hatred is usually met with antipathy even when we might be inclined to be sympathetic to the hater. In this dissertation I offer a sustained examination of hatred I and make a rather startling claim: There are cases of hatred that are morally justifiable. The kind of hatred I defend is what some philosophers have called retributive hatred. This is hatred adopted in response to wrongdoing and in which hostility is driven by a retributive notion of moral desert. To make my case I argue that retributive hatred is distinguishable from such attitudes as prejudicial hatred, malice, and spite--attitudes with which it is often confused--and that it is not liable to the kinds of criticisms that can be levied against these types of hatred. I then show that retributive hatred should be classified among the reactive attitudes. Thus there are conditions governing when retributive haters can be understood as properly representing their targets as hateful and I argue that these conditions can be met. I then argue that non-instrumental hostility in retributive hatred can be justified because it uniquely captures desert claims in some situations