bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Body mass index and disordered eating in adolescent females with Type 1 Diabetes
Authors:   , Markowitz Jessica Tuttman , Lowe Michael R.
Published: July 2021

Obesity is one of the top ten global health problems as recognized by the World Health Organization and is an epidemic in the United States. Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which disordered eating and overweight can cause significant medical comorbidities. The prevalence of overweight and some eating disorders are greater in adolescent females with type 1 diabetes than in those without the disorder. The development of type 1 diabetes may be affected by elevated body mass index (BMI). In addition, the management of the disorder (and associated risk factors) can be affected by disordered eating as well as elevated BMI. This study aimed to examine the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and overweight with a number of self-report variables. These included attitudes toward food, weight and dieting history, and diabetes treatment variables. The purpose of the study was to better understand this population and begin to develop effective interventions. Data were collected at one pediatric endocrinology clinic and three summer camps with the final sample yielding data from 90 females, ages 12-19, with type 1 diabetes. The current sample had a significantly higher BMI that that of a non-diabetic comparison sample. A significant positive relationship was found between eating disorder characteristics and cognitive restraint, BMI, and weight suppression. Those participants who reported a history of dieting scored higher on a measure of eating disorder characteristics than those without a history of dieting. A significant positive relationship was found between BMI and appetitive responsiveness to the food environment, disinhibition, and BMI category at first diagnosis. Participants who reported never being overweight displayed less eating disorder characteristics than those who were overweight prior to diagnosis and those who were overweight after diagnosis. While these results are correlational and not causal, they indicate that there are some easily recognized characteristics of adolescent females with type 1 diabetes that may predict the likelihood of problems with disordered eating attitudes or behaviors or problems with overweight. The data may be used to inform future research, as well as have implications for the development of effective healthrelated interventions with this population.
Biomarkers of coagulation and fibrinolysis in primary graft dysfunction in lung transplant recipients
Authors:   , Robinson Nancy , Allen Fred D.
Published: July 2021

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a severe acute lung injury syndrome following lung transplantation.1-3 In the lung transplant clinical and research community, PGD has received much attention as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and is the primary cause of almost half of lung transplant deaths in the first 30 days. There has been increasing recognition that impaired fibrinolysis plays a role in pathogenesis of acute lung injury. Furthermore, inherent donor and recipient characteristics may play an important role in determining risk of PGD in laboratory models and clinical studies, suggesting that this variation may partially be due to differing susceptibility to lung injury in recipients and donors. The focus of this thesis was the role of biomarkers in the coagulation and fibrinolytic pathways in the development of PGD in human lung transplant recipients. Plasma levels of Protein C and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor "PAI-1" pre-transplant, immediate post-transplant, 24, 48, and 72 hours post-transplant were measured in 131 lung transplant recipients. The primary outcome was PGD, defined as International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Working Group definition of PGD, Grade 3. Potential confounding effects of clinical variables were also evaluated using logistic regression models.15% of subjects were identified as PGD, Grade 3. Lower levels of Protein C and higher levels of PAI -1 were associated with the PGD cases. Recipient's diagnosis and procedure type as well as the administration of blood products within 24 hours post transplant and Pulmonary Arterial Systolic Pressure (PASP) were all determined to be statistically different between the PGD and Non-PGD groups. The association of both, Protein C and PAI-1, with PGD were independent of all potential confounders. This research provides evidence that decreased levels of Protein-C and increased levels of PAI-1 in circulating plasma contribute to the development of PGD in lung transplant patients. The goal of this research was to present insight into the mechanisms of progression to PGD, to aid in potential prediction of PGD, and to put forward justification for novel therapeutics (Protein C), aimed at preventing PGD prior to full onset or death.
Corporate governance dynamics in strategic decisions
Authors:   , Choi Seunghee , Szewczyk Samuel Hideyo
Published: July 2021

This dissertation examines the role of cooperate governance dynamics in influencing the decision process. I define corporate governance dynamics in two ways; (1) manipulation, interplay and interaction among governance mechanisms including CEO power and attributes, internal governance, managerial compensation, and external control by bidders, and (2) the changes in corporate governance structure as a response to the economically significant outcome of a strategic decision. In the first essay, "Explaining the choice of major acquisition: Evidence of corporate governance dynamics", examine firms that ratify and implement major acquisitions. Major acquisitions are strategic bets that reflect the firms' strong commitment to strategic change but do not necessarily guarantee economic gain, as they carry significant risk of economic loss. I present evidence that the decision to implement a major acquisition is significantly driven by CEOs' attributes and compensation. In general, CEOs of firms making major acquisitions are younger, are recently hired as CEOs, and are in an environment that is amenable to risk taking. Managerial compensation is less sensitive to performance and more sensitive to firm-size expansion. Those boards ratifying major acquisitions are not necessarily less independent or less efficient in any meaningful way; however, their oversight committees tend to be less independent. Firms with superior long-term stock performance also favor risky choices. I also find the presence of outside blockholders reduces the propensity to take strategic bets. In the second essay, "Cooperate GovernanceDynamics in Strategic Decisions: Evidence from Major Acquisitions and Large Loss Acquisitions", examine firms making major acquisitions resulting in large losses and major acquisitions resulting in large gains and identify weaknesses and strengths in their respective governance structures. Large loss bidders are characterized by entrenched and powerful CEOs facilitated by weak monitoring systems, internal and external. Their boards of directors are less independent, as are their oversight committees, and less efficient. They are more insulated from the market for corporate control. The compensation of their CEOs has high option intensity, implying CEO confidence, and is designed to reward firm-sales-volume expansion. On the other hand, I find firms making major acquisitions resulting in large gains are characterized by greater independence in their boards and committees and by higher board efficiently. They have higher managerial ownership and the compensations of their CEOs have high bonus incentive and low option incentive. Consequently, their CEOs incur a higher fraction of the cost of poor decisions. Finally, I present evidence of the corporate governance dynamic triggered by a large loss acquisition. I find that firms experiencing large losses in major acquisitions improve their internal governance structure over the subsequent three years by raising the level of on their boards as well as the board's independence.
A search for autoprosopagnosia in schizophrenia
Authors:   , Irani Farzin , Chute Douglas L.
Published: July 2021

Introduction: Converging evidence from rare neurological and psychiatric cases, and findings from normative, neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies reveal a dissociation between processing of self and other types of familiar faces. When the ability to distinguish your own face is comparatively impaired, we call it "autoprosopagnosia." Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by impairments in social interactions, a capacity that is influenced by the ability to accurately process faces of others and perhaps oneself. Experimental and anectdotal evidence of self-processing deficits in other physical domains (e.g. self-voice, self-hand) makes schizophrenia a valuable model for investigation of self face recognition efficiency. The current study extended prior research that provided preliminary evidence for a self-face recognition deficit in 20% of patients with schizophrenia (Irani et al., 2006). Methods: A sample of 21 patients with schizophrenia, 19 first degree relatives and 21 age, sex and race matched controls made 'unfamiliar', 'familiar' and 'self' decisions about a series of randomly presented faces. The impact of demographic variables, clinical rating scales, schizotypal personality traits (relatives) and performance on computerized neuropsychological tests was investigated. Results: Irrespective of age, patients were slower than controls and relatives when recognizing facial images. There was a trend for patients to take longer to identify self versus other familiar faces. Accuracy rates were generally high, but reduced in patients due to 5 patients who were unable to recognize their own faces. These "autoprosopagnosia" patients were defined by their inability to recognize their own faces despite above chance accuracy for familiar (70% accurate) and unfamiliar (78% accurate) faces. These patients had more severe deficits in abstraction and spatial functioning as measured by neuropsychological tests, and lower levels of social functioning and education. Discussion: Results are discussed with regard to a self-face deficit spectrum ranging from transitory phenomena in neurologically normal individuals to neurological/psychiatric conditions complicated by self-face recognition deficits (e.g. mirror misidentification, prosopagnosia, Capgras delusion) to the autoprosopagnosia effect observed in the current study. Taken together results raise questions about a functional double dissociation between self and familiar face recognition. The putative role of a right frontoparietal network in self-face recognition is discussed.
Prefrontal cortical function during interpersonal inclusion and exclusion in borderline personality disorder
Authors:   , Ruocco Anthony Charles , Chute Douglas L.
Published: July 2021

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition characterized by interpersonal difficulties and hypersensitivity to rejection. Inefficient recruitment of the prefrontal cortex in persons with BPD has been demonstrated in functional neuroimaging studies involving affective processes, although little is know regarding the neurocognitive basis of interpersonal function in BPD. The present investigation used functional near infrared spectroscopy to examine levels of evoked cerebral blood oxygenation in nine females with BPD and 10 healthy female participants during conditions of interpersonal inclusion and exclusion. BPD participants demonstrated relative decreases in hemodynamic oxygenation of right prefrontal cortex during the inclusion condition compared with healthy controls. During the exclusion condition, all participants reported very high levels of rejection; however, no differences in rejection ratings or cerebral blood oxygenation were observed between BPD and healthy groups. Higher levels of oxygenation in right prefrontal cortex during the inclusion condition were associated with gregarious-extraverted personality traits, whereas lower levels of oxygenation in this region were associated with aloof-introverted traits and fears of abandonment. These findings suggest a role of prefrontal systems in negotiating the relationship between characterologic interpersonal function and social difficulties in BPD, possibly related to deficits in reciprocal social interaction, interpersonal engagement, and awareness of self and others.
Nesting ecology of Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles on Arribada nesting beaches
Authors:   , Honarvar Shaya , Spotila James Robert
Published: July 2021

Historically, the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) arribada at Playa Nancite, Costa Rica, was one of the largest arribadas in the eastern Pacific with 70,000 nesting females in a year. Recently that arribada drastically declined. We hypothesized that the decline at Playa Nancite could be due to low hatching success as a result of the high density of nests on the beach, such that recruitment to the population was insufficient to balance losses. To test this hypothesis, we examined density-dependent effects on hatching success and their underlying mechanisms by experimentally manipulating nest densities on the nesting beach. Experimental nest densities affected hatching success with highest density having lowest hatching success. Higher nest density led to lower O2 levels and higher CO₂ levels in the nest, with greater changes in the latter part of the incubation. Highest temperatures occurred in high nest density areas. Bacterial diversity and richness were higher in the high zone of the beach on Playa Nancite. Bacterial diversity and richness were also studied at another arribada beach, Playa La Flor in Nicaragua. Bacterial diversity and richness were higher in the high zone of the beach on Playa La Flor. Bacterial abundance was not different in different zones of the beach or in different nest densities at both Playa Nancite and Playa La Flor. Bacterial diversity and richness may be important in affecting hatching success of olive ridley eggs. Long term failure in production of hatchlings due to historically high densities probably contributed to the decline of arribadas on Playa Nancite. The effects of egg harvest on olive ridley sea turtle nesting beaches have been debated for decades. In order to more effectively manage the beach at Playa La Flor, Nicaragua, and potentially other nesting beaches, we developed an experimental protocol to measure the impact of egg harvest on this beach. Management strategies have traditionally involved the removal of eggs that are predicted to have less chance of survival, despite a lack of experimental data supporting this approach. Our findings indicate that even controlled egg harvest has a negative effect on nest hatching success and total hatchling production.
Evaluating legal learning
Authors:   , Kalbeitzer Rachel A. , Goldstein Naomi E. Sevin
Published: July 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court case, In re Gault (1967), afforded juvenile suspects the due process rights to silence and counsel. However, nearly 40 years later, it remains unclear as to whether adolescents benefit from these rights. Previous research suggests that youth younger than 15 years, as a class, do not demonstrate adequate understanding of their rights, fail to appreciate the consequences of waiving their rights, and are at an increased risk, compared with adults, of offering a false confession. To address these issues, an educational curriculum was developed to teach youth ages 10 through 16 years about their rights to silence and counsel. The current dissertation is the second part in a two-part study examining the long-term effectiveness of the curriculum. Fifty-seven students participated in pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments to determine cognitive (i.e., ability to acquire factual knowledge of rights) and psychosocial (i.e., ability to weigh short- and long-term consequences of legal decisions) capacities at various developmental stages. Findings revealed significant changes in participants' factual understanding of their rights from pre- to post-test, with changes maintained one year later. A similar pattern of results was found for appreciation of Miranda rights from pre- to post-testing, but only the 13 and 14 year olds continued to show these improvements one year later, at follow-up testing. Changes in scores on measures of psychosocial abilities were less linear, and they appeared to be less related to information presented in the curriculum than did scores on measures of cognitive abilities. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Essays on foreign bank penetration in emerging economies
Authors:   , Wu Ji , Jeon Bang Nam , Luca Alina C.
Published: July 2021

Foreign bank penetration in emerging economies has been rising rapidly since the 1990s. This thesis examines its effects on host macroeconomic stability, the transmission of monetary policy through the bank lending channel, and its effects on the output in the host countries. The first essay develops a general equilibrium model to address the propagation of external and internal shocks and the effectiveness of monetary policy in two alternative scenarios: an economy dominated by domestic banks and an economy dominated by foreign banks. By applying numerical simulation methods, we find that an economy with the foreign bank-dominant banking sector is associated with lower loan interest rates, more credit, and higher output, wage and employment, compared to a domestic bank-dominant economy. Moreover, the foreign bank-dominant economy is shown to be less responsive to changes in domestic monetary policy. Overall we conclude that foreign banks play the role of a stabilizing force in the host economies, but the effectiveness of monetary policy is reduced due to the presence of foreign banks in these foreign bank-dominant economies. The second essay examines empirical evidence of the bank lending channel of the monetary policy by comparing the responses of domestic and foreign banks to domestic monetary policy shocks at the individual bank level. We find evidence for the existence of an active bank lending channel across domestic and foreign banks. Foreign banks are shown to be less responsive to domestic monetary policy shocks. This lower sensitivity to domestic monetary policy by foreign banks can be explained by foreign banks' access to the internal capital market of their parent banks. The evidence from aggregated data also shows that the effects of monetary policy tend to be buffered in economies with higher foreign bank penetration level. The third essay examines the implications of foreign bank penetration on economic growth though resource allocation in host countries. It finds some evidence that foreign banks tend to have capital better allocated to more productive sectors. The effect of capital growth on output is higher in economies with more pronounced foreign bank penetration level.
Cusp singularity in nonlinear dynamical systems
Authors:   , Wei Chengeng , Gilmore Robert
Published: July 2021

In three dimensional dissipative dynamical systems with one stretching and one squeezing direction, chaos is often generated by stretching and folding processes. In a well-defined limit of high dissipation, the fold singularity A₂ (logistic map) provides the backbone describing formation of a Smale horseshoe. In four dimensions with two stretching and one squeezing directions, and in the same well-defined limit, the cusp singularity A₃ (cusp map) provides the backbone for processes creating chaos. Just as features of the logistic map, such as period doubling cascades and systematically sized windows, enable experimentalists to recognize the presence of three dimensional chaotic flows, the typical features of the cusp map will enable experimentalists to recognize the presence of higher dimensionalflows with more than one unstable direction. In this work the systematic organization of "windows" associated with the cusp map is described and analyzed.
Multi-phase switching in distribution grids with unbalanced loads and distributed energy resources
Authors:   , Segal Nicole Urim , Miu Karen Nan
Published: July 2021

Distributed Energy Resource integration is ongoing. A popular and government subsidized choice is solar power. These installations are often residential and/or small commercial in type; hence, single-phase. In addition, the locations of the installations are not controlled with respect to a system viewpoint. Consequently, the photovoltaic generators will contribute to network imbalance throughout the network. These unbalanced contributions were not originally planned for by electric distribution companies. Therefore, new techniques to balance networks across phases are needed. This work defines metrics to quantify the level of imbalance, proposes a new switch model, formulates a new multi-phase network reconfiguration problem to correct phase imbalance at bus and examines a switching algorithm to correct the phase imbalance at buses.
Engineering a multifunctional scaffold for spinal cord repair
Authors:   , Comolli Noelle Kristine , Lowman Anthony M.
Published: July 2021

Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects approximately 10,000 individuals in the United States every year. SCI occurs most commonly in young adults, leaving them seriously disabled for the remainder of their lives. Several potentially useful therapeutic strategies have emerged over the last decade including the use of scaffolds and bridges, delivery of neurotrophic factors, other therapeutic peptides and use of marrow stromal cells to promote neuronal regeneration and functional recovery. However, none of the current strategies have shown enough effect to move to clinical trials and no major efforts have been undertaken to test a combination of these strategies, which can potentially be synergistic, and lead to greater therapeutic effect. Therefore, a need exists to develop a multifunctional construct which can integrate multiple, promising therapeutic strategies. We propose to develop a novel, injectable scaffold containing stem cells (either adult messenchymal lineage or fetal neural lineage) and neurotrophic factors. The polymeric scaffold is a branched copolymer of poly (N-isopropylacrilamide) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PNIPAAm-PEG), which exhibits a phase transition typically between 29-320C. We hypothesize that localized, sustained, simultaneous delivery of multiple therapeutic proteins into the CNS along with an injectable polymeric-cellular scaffold creates a synergistic effect by synchronously modulating the injured environment and activating different signaling pathways. The delivery of nuerotrophic factors (specifically, NT-3 and BDNF) can be controlled by encapsulating them within biodegradable microparticles made from poly-lactic acid (PLA). By engineering this injectable hydrogel and cellular based scaffold to mimic the host tissues we can create a novel platform technology with applications in treatment of SCI and other tissue engineering applications.
On spherical nanoindentation stress-strain curves, creep and kinking nonlinear elasticity in brittle hexagonal single crystals
Authors:   , Basu Sandip , Barsoum Michel W.
Published: July 2021

Despite the fact that they can accurately delineate the onset of the elasto-plastic transition of solids, spherical nanoindentation, NI, experiments are less common than sharp indenters. Herein a novel, robust technique to convert NI load-displacement to stress-strain curves was developed and applied to fused silica, aluminum, iron and the hexagonal single crystals: ZnO, LiNbO3, GaN, sapphire and mica. In all cases, the NI stress-strain curves clearly showed the onset of yield and subsequent strain hardening. We also show, by Weibull analysis, that the pop-in stresses are stochastic in nature and depend on the presence of dislocation-nucleating defects. The ability to calculate the NI or mean stress in real time allowed us to run, for the first time, constant NI stress experiments, which, in turn, was exploited to quantifythe room temperature creep of A-oriented ZnO single crystals. Analyses of the results clearly showed that the creep is a power law creep, with an exponent of ~ 3 and athreshold stress that was a function of time. Repeated cyclic NI experiments, in the same location, were used to successfully demonstrate the fully-reversible hysteretic nature of kinking nonlinear elastic, KNE,solids, indirectly confirming the presence of incipient kink bands, IKBs, in these materials. Our recently developed micro-scale model, based on the reversible dislocation motion in the form of IKBs, shows excellent agreement with the nonlinear hysteretic behavior of C-oriented LiNbO3 single crystals. Combining the NI stress-strain results, we show that the energy dissipation per unit volume per cycle in KNE solids increases with increasing c/a ratios, as well as increasing domain sizes. In summary this work shows that spherical NI stress/strain curves are a powerful tool for quantifying and understanding the elastic-plastic transition in materials,especially brittle solids, where bulk uniaxial compression/tension experiments are not possible.
Semantics-based language models for information retrieval and text mining
Authors:   , Zhou Xiaohua , Hu Xiaohua
Published: July 2021

The language modeling approach centers on the issue of estimating an accurate model by choosing appropriate language models as well as smoothing techniques. In the thesis, we propose a novel context-sensitive semantic smoothing method referred to as a topic signature language model. It extracts explicit topic signatures from a document and then statistically maps them into individual words in the vocabulary. In order to support the new language model, we developed two automated algorithms to extract multiword phrases and ontological concepts, respectively, and an EM-based algorithm to learn semantic mapping knowledge from co-occurrence data. The topic signature language model is applied to three applications: information retrieval, text classification, and text clustering. The evaluations on news collection and biomedical literature prove the effectiveness of the topic signature language model. In the experiment of information retrieval, the topic signature language model consistently outperforms the baseline two-stage language model as well as the context-insensitive semantic smoothing method in all configurations. It also beats the state-of-the-art Okapi models in all configurations. In the experiment of text classification, when the size of training documents is small, the Bayesian classifier with semantic smoothing not only outperforms the classifiers with background smoothing and Laplace smoothing, but it also beats the active learning classifiers and SVM classifiers. On the task of clustering, whether or not the dataset to cluster is small, the model-based k-means with semantic smoothing performs significantly better than both the model-based k-means with background smoothing and Laplace smoothing. It is also superior to the spherical k-means in terms of effectiveness. In addition, we empirically prove that, within the framework of topic signature language models, the semantic knowledge learned from one collection could be effectively applied to other collections. In the thesis, we also compare three types of topic signatures (i.e., words, multiword phrases, and ontological concepts), with respect to their effectiveness and efficiency for semantic smoothing. In general, it is more expensive to extract multiword phrases and ontological concepts than individual words, but semantic mapping based on multiword phrases and ontological concepts are more effective in handling data sparsity than on individual words.
Direct plasma interaction with living tissue
Authors:   , Fridman Gregory , Friedman Gary G.
Published: July 2021

For some time, plasma has been used in medicine to cauterize or cut tissue using heat and mechanical energy. In the recent decade, some researchers around the world have started to investigate how gas jets that pass through thermal plasma can be employed in medicine. This thesis presents the first investigation of biomedical uses of non-thermal plasma discharge which comes in direct contact with living tissue. It is demonstrated that the direct application of non-thermal plasma in air can cause rapid deactivation of bacteria on surfaces of tissues without causing any visible tissue damage. Medical need for such a device is discussed. Construction and operation of various types of non-thermal plasma power supplies and many types of treatment electrodes are presented as well. Application of this plasma to living organisms is shown to be safe from both the electrical perspective and from the biologicalperspective. Biological safety is revealed through a series of differential skin toxicity trials on human cadaver tissue, live hairless mouse skin tissue, live pig skin tissue, and finally in an open wound model on pigs. Direct non-thermal plasma in air is shown to deactivate bacteria about 100 times faster than indirect application using jets. A series of experiments reveal that this effectiveness is due to the ability of direct discharge to bring charges to tissue surfaces. It is demonstrated that neither ultraviolet (UV) radiation nor neutral active species such as hydroxyl radicals or ozone produced in plasma are responsible for the main effect on bacteria. Although much additional work remains on establishing detailed mechanism by which chargesfrom plasma achieve this effect, the work carried out in this thesis clearly demonstrates that direct application of non-thermal plasma in air can be a very useful tool in medicine.
Investigation of allelopathy in an invasive introduced tree species, Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.)
Authors:   , Rich Elizabeth Lesley , Kilham Susan Soltau
Published: July 2021

Plants and their propagules have been deliberately and accidentally transported around the world by human activity since human populations began to migrate. Occasionally an introduced species will behave invasively in a new region and replace native species, possibly to the point of local extirpation or even extinction. Several mechanisms for successful invasion have been identified. Among themis allelopathy, which occurs when a plant interferes with the growth of its neighbors via chemicals. A plant that is not apparently allelopathic in its home range may become so in a new region. A. platanoides is an invasive introduced tree in many parts of the United States, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey. There are few other plants growing under its canopy and very few of them are native species. In this study, I looked at species richness and diversity of native and introduced species as a function of A. platanoides influence and found that native species richness diminished in response to increasing A. platanoides influence, while introduced species were unaffected. I also looked for signs of allelopathy occurring in A. platanoides at three different life stages using three native shade tolerant species as phytometers. The experiments took place in a forest, a mesocosm and a greenhouse. The native species were grown in close proximity to A. platanoides with and without activated carbon in the soil. Activated carbon was used to neutralize potential allelochemicals by adsorption. The life stages of A. platanoides studied were seedling, sapling and mature. The experiment took place during a summer that had unusually high temperatures and little rainfall. This stress has been shown to enhance allelopathic effects in some cases. Despite the wide range of experimental conditions, no evidence of growth interference by allelopathy on the part of A. platanoides was detected. Though these experiments do not completely eliminate the possibility of allelopathy occurring, they do demonstrate that any allelopathic effect on plant growth is probably very small.
Acculturation and nonverbal interaction patterns in the relationship between parents and their young adult children in Chinese-American immigrant families
Authors:   , Duh Sheau-Ling , Goodill Sherry W.
Published: July 2021

Two Chinese-American families, Family J and Family K, both with young adultchildren, were studied in this mixed method collective case study. This study focuses onthe nonverbal interactions between parents and their adult children in Chinese-Americanimmigrant families. The specific purpose of this study is to derive a holistic description ofthe family's functioning through systematic observation of the nonverbal interactionpatterns, using the Nonverbal Assessment of Family Systems (NVAFS), and the familymembers' responses to the self-report questionnaire: FamilyAdaptability and CohesionEvaluation Scale IV (FACES IV). Observational data from the NVFAS and the self-reportquestionnaire FACES IV were considered in relation to parents' and adult children's levelsof acculturation as measured by the General Ethnicity Questionnaires, available inChinese (GEQC) and American (GEQA) versions. The research question: What is therelationship between levels of acculturation, intergenerational family functioning, andnonverbal communication patterns in Chinese-American families?
Understanding the Impact of Transition or Change via an Event in Emerging Adults Lives Through Art making with a Transpersonal Lens
Authors:   , Bruno Marilyn Elizabeth , Haslam Liz
Published: July 2021

The challenges of the developmental period of emerging adulthood, ages 18-25 may be the lack of meaning and purpose, possibly resulting in depression and or lack of direction in their lives. A phenomenological design was used in order to understand how healthy emerging adults found meaning and purpose in their lives from a significant event(s) that led to transition or change, and what impact this event had. The subjects were asked to draw their significant event(s) and attempted to understand the event through a transpersonal lens. The researcher attempted to answer the following research questions: In what way did the significant event(s) have an impact on the subjects' lives? Did the artwork help the subjects' to understand the meaning behind the event? The objectives of this phenomenological study were to explore the subject's lived experience of transition or change through a significant event and what this event meant in their lives through artwork. This study included two participants. Participant one was an Asian-American male age 24, and participant two was a Caucasian female also age 24. The subjects' were asked to draw about a significant event that led to transition or change. The subjects' artwork represented religious and or relational significant events. Both ofthe subjects went through a period of anxiety, doubt, and fear in their lives before their significant event took place. It appeared natural for the subjects to assign meaning to their chosen events in order to make sense of the change. The results implied that creating artwork helped the subject's to remember the event easier, tell the story of the event by referring back to the picture, and the artwork brought forth unconscious elements around the event as well. The findings may suggest that emerging adults may benefit from discussing how they make meaning in their lives because they are at the age where they are laying their life's foundation and making important decisions for adulthood. Based on the identified limitations of the study, the small number of subjects, the limited age range, and lack of Native American, African American or Hispanic subjects could be addressed in a future study. Recruiting a more diverse group of subjects may provide additional support for the major themes in this study. A study that possibly focuses on more research involving psychopathology between 18-25 years of age may be beneficial in understanding important issues and what direction to take therapy. Another study could focus on how male and female subjects differ when creating meaning in their life. What aspects of life do males find meaningful and what aspects of life do females find meaningful. A study that compares the two sexes may be beneficial.
Assessment in Dance/Movement Therapy Practice
Authors:   , Powell Megan Andre , Goodill Sherry W.
Published: July 2021

The specific objective of this study was to survey dance/movement therapists and how they assess their client's psychosocial functioning in the context of their clinical practices. The problem that was addressed is the insufficient understanding of how patients are being assessed throughout the field of dance/movement therapy (DMT). The ambiguity regarding the use of assessment tools creates difficulties in recognizing how the field is sufficiently or insufficiently understanding patients. It is important to address this problem because assessment is integral to creating a baseline for treatment and determining the direction in which therapy should progress. In addition, there are ethical implications with regards to standards of practice. In DMT, as in all health care fields, it is necessary for practitioners to know what assessment methods their colleagues are using in order to engage in evidence-based practice. This study consisted of a web-based survey of dance/movement therapists currently working in the field. The survey addressed aspects of their clinical work regarding background information, a clinical service description, and clinical DMT assessment information. Dance/movement therapists throughout the world, 1,025 potential respondents, were invited to respond to this survey. There were 62 survey responses. The majority of respondents reported that they assess their patients and do so through an ongoing process. In addition, the majority of respondents reported that they use formal assessment methods as opposed to informal means. The results of this study suggest that respondents may have had an unclear perception of the need for systematicassessment as well as what this should entail. Because there is little research validating the existing assessment tools, as well as the great deal of time necessary to complete many of these instruments, the field of DMT is currently without a standardized assessment process. This author submits that without this, the growth and validity of the field are compromised and steps should be taken to address this problem as the field continues to mature.
The Integration of Computerized Art Making as a Medium in Art Therapy Theory and Practice
Authors:   , Kuleba Barbara A. , Gerber Nancy E.
Published: July 2021

The following research question provided the framework for this study: How can computerized art making be integrated as a medium in art therapy theory and practice? The method that was used to explore the current utilization of computerized art making in art therapy theory and practice was a survey that was developed and distributed to credentialed practicing art therapists in the United States. The purpose of the survey was to elicit information relevant to the current utilization of computerized art making in art therapy theory and practice, to determine the interpersonal, cognitive and emotional effects on the client of computerized art making in art therapy, and to determine the nature of the therapeutic relationship while creating computerized art. The study resulted in 208 participants responding who were credentialed practicing art therapists in the United States. Overall, participants who were using computerized art making in art therapy concluded that the therapeutic relationship and the effects of using a computer to create artwork in therapy are the same as with traditional media. Those participants who were reluctant to use computerized art making in therapy expressed their lack of training and experience relating to the computer hardware and software. These participants also expressed concern relating to the unique sensory qualities of a computer to create artwork. The majority of the participants reported that computerized art making should be part of the curriculum in graduate studies which supports the findings that if art therapists were knowledgeable and trained with using a computer for art making, they may be more likely to use this medium in therapy. The literature supports the findings of this study in which art therapists are not using computers in art therapy due to their lack of experience and training, and also possibly due to the lack of research relating to the implications of its use. Further research is recommended to determine the benefits and effectiveness, if any, of using a computer as a medium in art therapy theory and practice.
Acceptance and commitment therapy for psychiatric inpatients with psychotic symptoms
Authors:   , Gaudiano Brandon A. , Herbert James D.
Published: July 2021

Cognitive behavior therapy has been demonstrated in a number of randomized controlled trials to be efficacious for the treatment of psychosis. Emerging evidence suggests the usefulness of related mindfulness/acceptance-based approaches for this population. The current study was designed to replicate and extend previous findings by Bach and Hayes (2002). Psychiatric inpatients with psychotic symptoms were randomly assigned to enhanced treatment as usual or enhanced treatment as usual plus individual sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Results revealed greater improvements in the ACT group at post-treatment on clinician-rated affective symptoms and global improvement, and self-rated distress associated with hallucinations and impairment in social functioning. Overall large effect size improvements were demonstrated in both groups pre- to post-treatment, with medium effect sizes differences between groups favoring the ACT condition. In addition, significantly more participants in the ACT condition reached clinically significant improvements in overall symptoms at posttreatment. At 4-month follow-up, 45% of participants in the ETAU only group had been rehospitalized compared to only 28% of those in the ACT group. Results suggested that believability in hallucinations mediated the relationship between symptom frequency and distress. Improvement in believability of hallucinations over time was only observed in the ACT condition, and change in believability predicted change in associated distress after controlling for change in frequency of hallucinations. Results are viewed as largely consistent with the findings of Bach and Hayes and warrant future investigations with larger samples. Future research should continue to investigate possible mechanisms of action in effective psychosocial treatments for psychosis.
Utilizing Art Therapy in the Exploration of Body Image, Attitudes Toward Food, and Perceptions of Physical Beauty Amongst Women of Different Ethnicities within the United States
Authors:   , Keffner A. Brooke , Gerber Nancy E.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this study was to explore potential risk factors for developing eating disorders in ethnically diverse women by exploring the meanings and values attached to body image, physical beauty, and attitudes toward food as experienced by women of different ethnicities. The study utilized the concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. A review of the literature included information on the topics of body image including psychological and socio-cultural aspects, as well as the role of ethnicity, and existing assessments; attitudes toward food including the roles of psychology, socio-cultural factors, family, and ethnicity; perceptions of physical beauty including historical, biological, cultural, and ethnic components; eating disorders including theory, body image, attitudes toward food, perceptions of physical beauty, the role of the family, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options; and art therapy theory including multicultural art therapy, and art therapy with eating disorders and body image related concerns. Three healthy female participants of different ethnicities signed consent forms and participated in this study. They each identified themselves as one of the following: African American, Asian American, or Caucasian American. They were each asked to respond to a series of self-report questionnaires, followed by the creation of three original drawings, and an open-ended responsive interview in order to capture an in-depth description of their personal experiences of body image, attitudes toward food, and perceptions of physical beauty. Following the mixed methods analysis, it became apparent that there were a number of differences and discrepancies between the quantitative and qualitative data. When the two data sets were contrasting or seemed to need further clarification, the artwork became an effective mediator between the verbal and questionnaire data sets. This speaks directly to the importance of in-depth qualitative research approaches for use in the assessment of these phenomena, such as art therapy, for body image and other eating disorder related issues. In response to the research questions, the three participants in this study did seem to have very different experiences of body image, attitudes toward food, and perceptions of physical beauty. Interestingly, this did not seem to be so much connected with their specific ethnicities, however, but more with their families, environment, and personal experiences. Also, some similarities were identified, which may be connected to those experiences that are more universal in regard to the topics being explored.
The Use of Metaphor in Art Making for Acceptance and Change with People who Experience Chronic Pain
Authors:   , Braun Rachel M. , Gerber Nancy E.
Published: July 2021

This study was designed to explore the use of metaphor in art making in order toinvestigate the concepts of acceptance and change with people who experience chronicpain. The primary question for this qualitative collective case study was: How does theuse of metaphor in art making help people with chronic pain express the experience ofacceptance and change? The research utilized a qualitative collective case study design tocollect and analyze the data obtained through: responses to the Chronic Pain AcceptanceQuestionnaire and the Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire; the creation of two art tasks,the first being "Draw a picture of yourself in a storm" and the second "Draw a picture ofa bridge going from one place to another place"; an open-ended responsive interview;and a validation interview. Medical records were obtained for additional sources of datathat included: diagnosis, treatment, duration of pain condition, and demographicinformation. The results of this study suggested that although each participant's experience ofexploring metaphor in art making was unique, there was some overlap in meaning, andcommon themes emerged. It appeared that the use of metaphor in art making can helppeople who experience chronic pain express the concepts of acceptance and change in thefollowing manner: 1) by introducing an opportunity for the openness to, or avoidance of asituation, including the art making experience; 2) by providing a safe distance with whichto face a challenging situation; 3) through the metaphoric objectification of a situation,allowing for assessment, clarity and wise decision-making; 4) by providing the means forcommunication about the degree to which security and protection are implemented intheir lives; 5) by providing a way to explore personal and professional relationships; 6)by providing a way to reflect the influence of past experiences on present and futuresituations; and 7) through the discovery of a non-linear, meaningful and relaxing mode ofexpression. Although further research is required, this study seems to suggest that the useof metaphor in art making elicits a wealth of information regarding the concepts ofacceptance and change with people who experience chronic pain, and may not only proveto be an affordable and beneficial brief art therapy treatment, but also a clinicalevaluative instrument with which to assess treatment goals.