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Authentication and Secure Session Establishment in Body Area Networks Using Multiple Biometrics and Physiological Signals
No full textA body area network (BAN) consists of wireless sensors and actuators attached to orimplanted in a patient’s body for real-time health monitoring and personalized medical care. Itis critical and challenging to secure wireless communications within a BAN in order to protectthe patient’s privacy and also to allow authorized personnel (e.g., doctors and nurses in anemergency room) to easily access and control the BAN without the patient’s involvement oreven when the patient loses consciousness. With the existing key agreement schemes, thedevices are based on a pre-installed secret or a physiological signal feature to authenticateeach other and to agree upon a cryptographic key for secure communications in the BAN. Theformer requires the patient’s involvement to access and configure the BAN, while the latter isnot sufficiently reliable and secure due to signal dynamics. These issues were the motivationfor designing a new key agreement scheme called Multi-Biometric and Physiological Signalbased Key Agreement (MBPSKA) in order to achieve a more secure and reliable authenticationand communication session between BAN devices, while not requiring the patient to providethe secret password. The proposed scheme incorporates reliable biometric traits and timevariant physiological signal features of a patient along with efficient fuzzy crypto-algorithmsand key distribution protocols. The devices use multiple biometric and physiological featuresfor mutual authentication and cryptographic key protection. In order to verify the efficacy ofthe proposed scheme, a number of security characteristics of MBPSKA were assessed, includingrobustness and reliability against various attacks (e.g. replay attack man-in-the-middle attack).The evaluation results using real-world datasets demonstrated that MBPSKA outperforms theexisting physiological signal-based key agreement schemes in terms of security, authenticationreliability, and accuracy. It not only enhances security but also enables flexible and securenetwork access and configuration without the direct involvement of the patient.Computer scienceBiometric-based Security, Body Area Network, Key Agreement, Physiological Signal, Secure CommunicationElectrical Engineering and Computer ScienceDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The Catholic University of Americ
Matthew’s Account of the Massacre of the Innocents In Light of its Reception History
No full textMatthew 2:16-18 records Herod’s massacre of infants and the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:15. Modern historical-critical and reader-oriented methods, which study the text’s historical origins and its modern readers respectively, fail adequately to address questions about the passage’s meaning and relevance by neglecting its long history of interpretation. A better method is needed to explore the depths of its meaning.Reception history is such a method. It is both a historical and a reader-oriented method that can be used to navigate critically through centuries of data. Scholars such as Ulrich Luz and Rachel Nicholls have applied Hans Gadamer’s concept of Wirkungsgeschichte to discover fresh and forgotten readings of Matthew’s Gospel. A reception-historical study of Matt 2:16-18 would benefit from Gadamarian principles that encompass non-textual interpretations (e.g. art) and refuse to prioritize modern critical readings.An initial christological and theodical reading of Matt 2:16-18, heavily influenced by recent scholarship, outlines the text’s potential (chapter 2). Subsequent chapters (chapters 3-5) present the major ways in which interpreters have exploited the text’s interpretative space, organized chronologically. Important readings from the second to the fifth century include the victims as martyrs and Herod as a symbol of evil rule, inviting actualization. The increasingly complex nature of reception history of the massacre is evident between the sixth century and 1516, as Herod, infants, and mothers are recontextualized in Apocalypse commentaries, liturgy, and drama. The period from 1517 onward presents formal, theodical, and hermeneutical challenges, as the massacre appears in lullabies, philosophical novels, and polemical works.Visual receptions of the massacre are treated separately in chapter 6, exploiting the potential of art to conflate events, intensify piety, and subtly promote controversy.This dissertation achieves several results. It illuminates how often modern readings of Matt 2:16-18 have been anticipated in the past, or are unduly shaped by the interpreter’s own tradition. In addition, it proposes that major reading strategies of Matt 2:16-18, such as juxtaposition, recontextualization, and actualization, deserve more recognition. This reception-historical study also reveals reception history’s potential for contemporary apologetics, and proposes that twenty-first century Matthean studies be broadened to include contemporary actualizations of the text.Biblical studiesTheologyActualization, Herod, Matthew 2:16-18, Rachel, Reception History, Visual ExegesisBiblical StudiesDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Biblical Studies. The Catholic University of Americ
Jonah in the Ethiopic Biblical Tradition
No full textThe twelve books of the Ethiopic Minor Prophets have relatively often been the subject of critical editions. Many of these editions, unfortunately, have been limited due to the lack of available manuscripts. An influx of previously unstudied manuscripts of the Ethiopic Minor Prophets makes it possible for new questions of text type and textual development to be answered. This dissertation analyzes one hundred and three manuscripts of Ethiopic Jonah in order to identify the earliest form of the book for which there is manuscript evidence as well as to describe the textual development and transmission history of the book from the fourteenth century through the twentieth century. This dissertation reconstructs five text types of Ethiopic Jonah and provides exhaustive lists of the passages in which each text type differs from the other text types. Four of these text types (Earliest Attested 1, Earliest Attested 2, Standardized, and Textus Receptus) trace back to a Greek vorlage, and each text type is a revision of the last. The later text types attest cross-pollination with other sources, such as the liturgy, other biblical texts, and an Arabic translation of the Syriac Peshitta. Despite this cross-pollination, the textual history of Ethiopic Jonah is characterized by a high degree of uniformity. These text types are not new translation efforts or comprehensive recensions. Rather, they are better understood as revisions of an earlier form of Ethiopic Jonah. The lone exception to this is the fifth text type: the Latin Vorlage. This text type is a translation that closely follows the Latin Vulgate and was produced by a different transmission process than that which produced all of the other witnesses to Ethiopic Jonah. This dissertation analyzes each of these five text types with exhaustive lists and commentary upon the distinctive readings of the text types. It also provides a critical edition of each of the five text types. These five critical editions make clear the variation that characterizes one text type against the others as well as show the uniformity within the tradition.Middle Eastern literatureAfrican literatureBiblical studiesEthiopic, Jonah, Minor Prophets, Semitics, SeptuagintSemitic and Egyptian Languages and LiteraturesDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures. The Catholic University of Americ
Integral Ecology, Eucharist, and the Scale of Values: A Contribution of Bernard Lonergan
No full textThis dissertation uses the thought of Bernard Lonergan—particularly his theology of history understood through the scale of values—to determine the Eucharistic contours of the church’s mission as understood through an integral ecology.It proceeds in three sections. The first section tracks the movement that began with the “human ecology” of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, that then led to the “integral ecology” of Pope Francis in Laudato si’, and that finally culminates in the doxological and Eucharistic interpretations of that integral ecology. It goes on to suggest that these particular interpretations of the integral ecology of Laudato si’ remain embryonic without an explanatory framework to account for the dynamics they begin to name. The second section accordingly develops the conceptual tools for this framework by explicating Bernard Lonergan’s theology of history, with a particular emphasis on the requisite social, cultural, and personal transformations correlative with the scale of values (especially as developed by Lonergan commentator, Robert Doran). The section concludes by employing Lonergan’s categories as a heuristic for explaining the general place of the Eucharist in the healing processes within history. The third section uses the conclusions of the second section to address the questions raised at the end of the first section. Thus, it returns to the integral ecology of Laudato si’ and constructively demonstrates the explanatory capacity of Lonergan’s theology of history for elucidating the role of the Eucharist for the healing required in this integral ecology.TheologyEcologyReligionDoran, Eucharist, Integral Ecology, Laudato si', Lonergan, Scale of ValuesSystematic TheologyDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Systematic Theology. The Catholic University of Americ
An evidence- based application of a stress reduction pilot project on first semester-associate degree nursing students
No full textAn Evidence Based Application of a Stress Reduction Pilot Project on First SemesterAssociate Degree Nursing Students: An Evidence-Based Practice Project Sharon M. Choma, DNP, APRN, AGNP-CDirector: Janice Agazio, PhD, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN Despite the increased popularity and available offerings for associate degree nursing (ADN) programs in the United States, an insufficient number of entry level registered nurses are available. Due to insufficient entry level registered nurse representation, the number of available trained caregivers are lacking to meet the demands of the U.S.’s aging population. Researchers, such as Jeffreys (2007a, 2007b, 2015), have noted that high attrition rates among first semester nursing students have resulted in empty classroom seats, thus resulting in fewer nursing graduates. High stress levels are a common identified factor, which impacts attrition and graduation rates in academically rigorous programs, specifically those that require simultaneous participation in clinical and didactic areas. Associate degree nursing programs are often community based, thereby allowing for increased participation of among non-traditional students who often have pre-existing financial and family obligations. Systematic reviews of studies on stress reducing interventions performed between 1981 and 2013 (Galbraith & Brown, 2011; Guillaumie, Boiral, & Champagne, 2016), identified multiple stress reduction approaches that aid in effectively preparing ADN students for the stressors associated with nursing programs. Such methodologies include guided imagery, meditation, laugh therapy, biofeedback, diaphragmatic breathing, and mentoring programs. The purpose of this project was to decrease first semester ADN student stress levels, through implementing an intervention that taught freshman students three different evidence-based stress reduction methodologies. The three selected evidence-based stress reduction methodologies were deemed as appropriate by the project director, as these interventions were situationally dependent (thus catering to the needs of various students) and dependent on the amount of student time allotted. The PICOT question that guided this project was, “What were the effects of a stress management intervention program (consisting of diaphragmatic breathing – DB, guided-imagery – GI, and student mentoring – SM) among first-semester nursing students enrolled in a community college nursing program?” The Project Director designed the project, which utilized the expertise of fourth-semester nursing students who presented an in-service, to freshman nursing students, regarding information that they believed would improve first year student successes during the beginning of the student’s nursing journey. Following the in-service, freshman participants were invited to participate in an intervention. Informed consent and demographics data were obtained following the in-service, from freshman students who chose to participate in the eight-week stress management intervention project. During the intervention, freshman students were instructed on the use of DB and GI, and assigned to a senior student mentor, who they interacted with for eight- weeks. The function of the student mentor was to reinforce strategies learned during the in-service and to provide support to the assigned freshman student through communicating via text message, phone call, or email. Perceived stress levels and coping methods (i.e., how often the student experienced certain behaviors/ feelings) data were collected using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Brief Cope Inventory (BCI), prior to instruction on DB, GI, and assignment to a senior mentor. Post-intervention, the aforementioned information was collected for analysis. Pre- and post-test data were analyzed and reported on through the use of descriptive findings (means and standard deviations) for the PSS and BCI subscales. To evaluate the perceived degree of helpfulness of the three different intervention strategies, participants ranked the degree of helpfulness of each intervention. A ranking and compiling of results performed on 17 participating freshmen found the highest number of participants (n=11) reported the student mentor experience as the most helpful of the three interventions. Mentor contact with students, ranged from four to 85 times (including texts), with the reported amount of time spent by the mentor in contacting, texting, or speaking with the freshman student ranging from 45 to 870 minutes. Eleven of the 17 participants reported the DB intervention as the second most helpful intervention, noting a reported frequency of use ranging from zero (one respondent) to ten times (two respondents). Guided imagery was the least frequently used intervention among all participants, with frequency of use being zero (n=2), to sixteen times (n=1). In response to the question, “Were there any areas in which you found having a mentor to be particularly helpful,” comments included; “found it very beneficial to have a cheerleader particularly following quizzes and exams”, “great to have someone give advice on how to cope with nursing school,” to the more practical “very helpful to have someone give tips on what books to take to which class, and how to study for the different courses.” Furthermore, greater than 75% (n=13) of the participants noted that they would participate in a mentorship program, if again provided the opportunity.Nursingassociate, degree, nursing, pilot, reduction, stressNursingDegree Awarded: D.N.P. Nursing. The Catholic University of Americ
Subgroup Differences in the Effects of a Universal Preventive Intervention on Risk for Future Suicide Attempt
No full textSuicide represents a significant public health problem for both adolescents and adults. The Good Behavior Game (GBG), a universal classroom-based preventive intervention directed at reducing early aggressive/disruptive behavior and improving children's social adaptation into the classroom, is one of the few universal preventive interventions delivered in early elementary school that has been shown to reduce the risk of suicide attempt by young adulthood. Given that the GBG is a universal preventive intervention delivered to broad-based populations that are inherently heterogeneous, there is likely variability in the GBG impact on suicide attempt due to individual differences in baseline risk. For the present study, latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify subclasses of first-grade children characterized by discrete patterns of externalizing (aggressive/disruptive behavior, inattention/concentration problems), internalizing (depressive and anxious symptoms), and social (peer rejection) risk, and to determine whether risk profiles were predictive of suicide attempt between ages 13 and 30. In addition, the variation in GBG impact on future suicide attempt across subgroups was examined. Data were drawn from an epidemiologically based randomized trial, which tested the GBG among two cohorts of urban, primarily African American first- and second-grade children. The application of LPA resulted in the identification of three distinct and meaningful latent classes in cohort 1 (n = 976). These classes were replicated using the cohort 2 sample (n = 873). The latent class characterized by high levels of aggressive/disruptive behavior, attention/concentration problems, and peer rejection in first grade was 2.64 times more likely to make a suicide attempt between age 13 and 30 compared to the class characterized by low levels of risk, and 2.13 times more likely to make an attempt compared to the class characterized by moderate levels of attention/concentration problems and peer rejection. These associations corroborate the value of the identified latent classes and may have prevention implications. Latent class membership was not found to moderate the impact of the GBG. Larger samples may be needed to provide adequate statistical power for examining subgroup differences in the GBG impact on suicide attempt.PsychologyGood Behavior Game, latent profile analysis, suicide attemptPsychologyDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Psychology. The Catholic University of Americ
Catholic Identity of Jesuit High Schools
No full textThere has been a declining sense of Catholic identity among American Catholics over the last fifty years and this decline is even more pronounced among Millennials. Because of this cultural shift, the Church has struggled to form young Catholics in light of new social realities. The Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in light of new challenges has made religious identity a key characteristic of a “Jesuit education.” This goal of forming students to be religious has been articulated in four foundational documents. They are The Characteristics of Jesuit Education, Ignatian Pedagogy: a Practical Approach, What Makes a Jesuit School Jesuit?, and Our Way of Proceeding: Standards & Benchmarks for Jesuit Schools in the 21st Century. Jesuit education was founded on the principle of engaging people where they are, and leading them into a new perspective founded in Christ. Therefore, one should ask if it is possible to identify success as it relates to forming Catholic identity in Jesuit schools. We must ask if Jesuit institutions committed to the apostolic vision of St. Ignatius Loyola are evangelizing and truly forming their students to become more religious. If they are, then they may serve as a model for other Catholic institutions to evangelize Millennials. Fairfield Preparatory High School in Fairfield, CT is the focus of this study, which has a population of 800-900 male students. Students were surveyed in order to evaluate incremental change during their academic career at Prep. The conclusions from this project are that Fairfield Prep continues to attract families that are committed to their faith and students report that liturgies, retreats and religious education are positive aspects of life at Fairfield Prep and deepen their sense of Catholic identity. The challenge to administrators is if they see Fairfield Prep as a resource for evangelizing young people or will the pressures of declining enrolment and limited financial resources force them to distance the institution from its religious foundation in the future.Religious educationTheologyCatholic Identity, JesuitLiturgical Studies/Sacramental TheologyDegree Awarded: D.Min. Liturgical Studies/Sacramental Theology. The Catholic University of Americ
