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Rewriting the Narrative: Untold Stories from Beyond the Screen
No full textOn-screen representation of women in film and TV has been an ongoing conversation in Hollywood. As a result, the representation we see on-screen of women and people of color has been increasing and improving over the years. However, people who work behind-the-scenes in creative production roles such as directors, writers, and producers, tend to be left out of this conversation altogether. There is a considerable disparity in production roles, especially among women of color. Nonetheless, diversity off-screen, or a lack thereof, plays a huge role in the outcome of the content. In Rewriting the Narrative: Untold Stories from Beyond the Screen, the representation of women is explored as it pertains to those who work behind the camera. Twenty-two women who work full-time in TV and film production roles were virtually interviewed in order to share their perspectives on the barriers they faced throughout their careers in entertainment. This short documentary film seeks to push forward the narrative of the behind-the-scenes stories we do not get to hear as often, reveals the importance of perspective on storytelling, and highlights how hiring practices impact the content we consume as a society
K-12 Security System Final Project Report
Get PDFCurrent emergency technology for school shootings is very basic, relying largely on faculty training and basic alarm technology. Alarms are usually activated via emergency buttons arranged throughout the school or online programs requiring a log-in. These methods are cheap and easy to install, however running to an emergency button or logging into a computer program takes time and current school alarms provide very little information about the location of the threat. The K- 12 Security System Team proposes the design and implementation of a system to aid school authorities to minimize the risk posed to students and staff in case of gun threats in K-12 schools.
The system must be quick and unobtrusive to activate and should be able to locate and communicate the source of the activation. The system must also have two levels of alarm- a subtle alarm for pre-shooter situations where de-escalation may be possible and a blaring alarm for active shooter situations. The preliminary system design should also be cheap enough for a school to purchase, which our advisor recommended to be a total budget of around 1200 budget cap. The system also needs to be active for the entirety of the school day, so any mobile components should have a battery that lasts at least a semester or a rechargeable battery.
To satisfy the requirements the security team broke the project up into 3 subsystems. These subsystems include the central computing unit (CCU), portal beacon, and handheld fob device. Splitting up the project in this manner allowed for us to better track our progress and ensure that each subsystem can run on its own.
The team experienced time production slowdowns due to the pandemic keeping one of our three members off campus, winter storm delivery delays, and several faulty Arduino systems. Despite these limitations, the K-12 security team was able to build the fob, portal beacon, and CCU subsystems and successfully update a database using signals sent from a phone-sized, handheld fob. The prototype has multiple alarm levels and stores both the alarm level and ID number of the fob
Mobile Sensing Platform: Final Project Report
Get PDFThe Mobile Sensing Platform Team presents their final project report for the senior design project to create a mobile sensing platform for Dr. Nickels’ autonomy efforts. The sensing bed, or rover, is designed for mobility in extreme conditions in order to carry a payload of sensors and other equipment capable of collecting data into areas too dangerous for humans. The first step in achieving this goal was to create a prototype with functioning control and motor systems. As such, our design will operate using a control system that will be easily replaced for a more complicated computer.
Our team has been tasked with creating a rover (or mobile sensing platform) with the ability to navigate 30 degree inclines, a step of 25 cm, and a payload of 50 kg, similar to the weight of the sensors that a typical rover might carry. To meet these requirements, the following subsystems were designed: chassis, legs, motor assembly, power distribution, and control system. Recent changes to the composition of the group and several other external setbacks such as the winter storm and COVID-19 restrictions have hindered progress, and thus, production of this prototype has been delayed, with the remaining work to be completed by a future team.
The designed chassis and legs all withstood the required weight of the rover and payload of over 150 kg. The motor assembly was capable of supplying the necessary torque to ascend the hill, but struggled in dynamic tests under changing speeds and directions. While the power distribution system was delayed, the topology for the motor control was designed. Lastly the control system, which included the wireless controller, was manufactured and assembled, but never fully tested with the power distribution.
Overall, the mobile sensing platform team successfully identified the necessary design specifications to complete the prototype, but was unfortunately unable to finish manufacturing all of these designed subsystems. We learned so much over the course of this project, and while we wish we had been able to complete the rover as designed, we are proud of what we accomplished given the changing circumstances. The final project report to follow will detail the completed design of the rover and the design solutions engineered to meet our project requirements
Psychometric Properties of the Contextual Body Image Questionnaire for Athletes: A Replication and Extension Study in Female Collegiate Athletes
Get PDFBackground
Although the link between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder (ED) pathology is well-established in general female samples, less is known about contextual body image (CBI) among female athletes. CBI refers to female athletes’ body image concerns in two contexts: sport and daily life. The Contextual Body Image Questionnaire for Athletes (CBIQA) measures four dimensions of body image (Appearance, Thin-Fat Self-Evaluation, Thin-Fat Others’ Evaluation, and Muscularity) in both contexts. In a sample of female collegiate athletes, this study sought to A) investigate the psychometric properties of the CBIQA, B) examine the cross-sectional relation of CBI with ED pathology and negative affect, and C) assess the degree to which CBI prospectively predicts ED pathology and negative affect. Method
Using self-report data collected from a multi-site parent trial, we examined the psychometric properties of the CBIQA by confirmatory factor analysis. We assessed construct and criterion validity via cross-sectional bivariate correlation analyses with thin-ideal internalization, negative affect, and ED pathology. Using data from Time 1 and 6 months later (Time 2), we investigated the degree to which CBI prospectively predicted ED pathology and negative affect. Results
Results from the CFA largely confirmed de Bruin et al.’s (2011) original factor analysis. Two CBIQA dimensions (Thin-Fat Self and Appearance) in both contexts correlated with ED pathology and negative affect. Thin-Fat Others also correlated with ED pathology in both contexts and negative affect in the sport context. The Muscularity dimension was predominantly orthogonal with other measures. CBIQA dimensions were uncorrelated with thin-ideal internalization. When controlling for BMI and Time 1 scores, daily life and sport appearance concerns predicted ED pathology, whereas perceived evaluation of thin-fat by others in the sport context predicted negative affect 6 months later. Conclusions
Results support the psychometric validity of the CBIQA and suggest that it captures variance discrete from thin-ideal internalization. The Muscularity dimension largely was not related to other outcomes. Further, specific elements of perceived self- and other-evaluation in both contexts is relevant to risk for ED pathology and negative affect. Future research could examine the impact of dual body image between sports seasons and after transitioning out of sport
\u27Reading Strange Matters\u27: Digital Approaches to Early Modern Transnational Print History
No full textSedimentation across the Paraburdoo Spherule Layer: Implications for the Neoarchean Earth System
No full textLarge bolide impacts in the Phanerozoic produced global change identifiable in the postimpact sediments. Aside from a few isolated examples, however, evidence of postimpact change associated with Precambrian impacts is sparse. This study used the Neoarchean Paraburdoo spherule layer as a case study to search for impact-induced change in the sediments above the spherule layer. We found possible minor sedimentary changes that may have been due to either a disturbance by bottom currents or changing diagenetic conditions. Contrary to the trends found with several post–Great Oxidation Event large bolide impacts, we found no evidence of shifts in tectonic regime, sediment weathering and deposition, or paleoenvironment induced by the Paraburdoo spherule layer impact, for which the impactor is estimated to have been approximately three times larger than the Cretaceous–Paleogene bolide. This lack of a clear signal of climatic shift may be due to one or more mechanisms. Either the Paraburdoo spherule layer’s deposition in several-hundred-meter-deep water within the Hamersley Basin of Western Australia was too deep to accumulate and record observable changes, or the Neoarchean’s high-CO2 atmospheric composition acted as a threshold below which the introduction of more impact-produced gases would not have produced the expected climatic and weathering changes. We also report minor traces of elevated iron and arsenic concentrations in the sediments immediately above the Paraburdoo spherule layer, consistent with trends observed above other distal impact deposits, as well as distinctive layers of hematite nodules bracketing the spherule layer. These geochemical changes may record ocean overturn of the Neoarchean stratified water column, which brought slightly oxygenated waters to depth, consistent with the observation of tsunami deposits in shallower impact deposits and/or heating of the global oceans by tens to hundreds of degrees Celsius in the wake of the Paraburdoo spherule layer impact. Either or both of these mechanisms in addition to impact-induced shallow-water ocean evaporation may also have caused a massive die-off of microbes, which also would have produced a postimpact increase in iron and arsenic concentrations
COVID-19: Lessons from South Korean Pandemic Communications Strategy
Get PDFThere is a pressing need for evidence on effective COVID-19 pandemic mitigation efforts. The impact of the pandemic has been far-reaching, making management of the outbreak a daunting task for many countries. As the whole world continues to fight against the pandemic, a close examination of best practices of pandemic management is ever timely. Based on social marketing concepts, this paper reviews the system-level communication strategies used in South Korea in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea has received growing recognition for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides a noteworthy example of positive and effective pandemic communication. Applying a social marketing mix framework, the paper examines South Korean pandemic communication strategies and identified a high degree of transparency and coherence two major success factors. This paper contributes to the current and future healthcare management literature and practice by delineating factors underscoring successful public health crisis management
Disparate Impacts of Two Public Reporting Initiatives on Clinical and Perceived Quality in Healthcare
Get PDFPurpose: Transparency is increasingly viewed as a prerequisite for value-based health care that invites quality in the assessment of achieved value. However, nowadays the ability of transparency initiatives to enhance quality of care remains obscure, if not rejected. Thus, this study aims to investigate how transparency initiatives influence two types of quality of care: clinical and perceived quality.
Methods: First, factor analyses were conducted to construct three dependent variables: healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), 30-day readmission rates, and patient satisfaction. Then, the three quality models were compared by running ordinary least squares multiple regressions using STATA 14.1. The existence of heteroskedasticity was remedied by using robust standard errors.
Results: Examining general acute care hospitals in the US, the present study noted that the ability of public reporting to improve quality of care remains inconclusive and that the pursuit of transparency may lead to inadvertent results. The disclosure of all-payer claims data (APCD) was found to have the power to differentiate hospitals’ clinical and perceived quality, but it failed to reach the desired outcomes without market pressure. The impact of transparency on quality of care diverges depending on the unique characteristics of each transparency policy, even though they pursue the same ends through information dissemination. Furthermore, the same public policy showed starkly disparate impacts on clinical quality (eg, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and 30-day readmission rates) and perceived quality (eg, patient satisfaction).
Conclusion: Despite the theoretically acknowledged merits of transparency, the present study noted that its ability to enhance quality of care remains inconclusive, and the pursuit of transparency may even inadvertently harm quality of care. While hospitals may need to finetune their strategies for each quality measurement in order to cope with the new environmental pressure, it is health policymakers’ role to coordinate those quality metrics and improve the validity of patient experience measures and surveys
Market Performance of Spun-Off Subsidiaries: Effects of Board Independence and Directors’ Industry Experience
Get PDFThe goal of corporate spin-offs, as a corporate restructuring technique, is to create better value for both the divesting firm and its subsidiary/ division. These corporate transactions lead to the creation of independent, publicly traded entities, which are called spun-off subsidiaries. In this study, we examine the effect of board independence and directors’ industry experience on the market performance of spun-off subsidiaries by setting two main hypotheses. Our sample includes 123 completed U.S.-based spin-off events during a 14-year long time frame. According to our empirical analysis, we find support for both hypotheses, which appear to be significant and positive. In addition, our moderation analysis shows that the interaction effect of directors’ industry experience and board ownership is positive and significant. Based on the arguments of agency and resource dependence theories, this study contributes to the governance literature by proving the significant importance of board of directors (namely, their independence and industry experience) on the market performance of spun-off subsidiaries after being separated from their corporate parents. From the managerial contributions aspect, this study tells us that if the board is independent and includes directors with the same industry experience, these spun-off subsidiaries will experience positive change in their market performance. Our interaction effect also shows that if board members are offered more shares on the top of their industry experience, the change in market performance will be stronger