bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social problem solving and psychological distress in caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities
Authors:   , Mirra Alicia Fiore , Nezu Christine M.
Published: July 2021

Caregivers are a crucial component of service provision for individuals with intellectual disabilities, responsible for the well-being and in many ways, quality of life, of those they serve. As a result, they are faced with a myriad of challenges and problems that can affect the psychological health of both caregiver and care recipient. Research suggests that the inability to solve such problems can lead to burnout, job dissatisfaction and staff turnover. A wealth of literature shows a strong relationship between stress, from both general stressful life events and stressors more specific to the caregiving role, and psychopathology. It also has been demonstrated in a variety of caregiving populations that problem solving deficits can lead to higher levels of psychological distress, although this has yet to be examined in non-familial caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities. The current study aims to investigate whether social problem solving abilities moderates the relationship between stress and psychological distress in caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
An Exploration of Dance/Movement Therapy for Asian American Clients with Depressive Symptoms
Authors:   , Cuccaro Julia Lynn , Schelly Hill Ellen
Published: July 2021

The research objective of this thesis was to describe the dance/movement therapy (DMT) process as it developed with a Chinese American client with depressive symptoms. One participant was recruited to participate in this qualitative case study, which was comprised of an initial interview process, three DMT sessions with subsequent journaling and discussion time, and a final interview to obtain the participant's reflections on her experience with the DMT. Five sources of data were collected, including the researcher's notes from the initial interview; researcher field notes, participant journal entries, and a transcription of the discussions between researcher and participant from each of the three DMT sessions; and then a transcription from the final interview. The study found 6 themes, including: (a) the development of the therapeutic relationship, (b) the importance of dedicating time to understanding, (c) DMT as a support in expressing and accepting feelings, (d) valuing and experiencing relaxation and release, (e) the preference for a structured and solution-based therapeutic approach, and (f) Chinese culture and views on mental health. The findings suggest that dance/movement therapy may be a culturally congruent form of therapy for Chinese Americans with depressive symptoms and that it may provide an alternative method for expressing and releasing feelings that are discouraged from being verbalized.
Religious coping, depression, and quality of life in people living with HIV/AIDS
Authors:   , Lee Minsun , Nezu Arthur M.
Published: July 2021

Although religious coping is an essential part of dealing with the unique stressors related to HIV, surprisingly little research exists in this population. Particularly, the impact of negative aspects of religious coping in people with HIV has received little attention. The aims of this study were to examine the differential effects of positive and negative dimensions of religious coping on depression and quality of life, and to investigate the mediating role of benefit finding in the link between religious coping and psychological outcomes. One hundred and ninety eight individuals with an HIV or AIDS diagnosis in the eastern urban area of Philadelphia were included in the study. Positive and negative religious coping styles, depressive symptoms, quality of life, and benefit finding were measured in addition to demographic and clinical characteristics including ethnicity, education, religious affiliation, current mental treatment, CD4 cell count, and time since diagnosis. As hypothesized, negative religious coping was significantly associated with a high level of depressive symptoms and a lower level of quality of life after controlling for relevant demographic and clinical variables. Positive religious coping was significantly associated with positive domains of outcome measures such as positive affect, life satisfaction, and provider trust, although there was no significant association between positive religious coping and overall depressive symptoms or quality of life. A mediation analysis revealed that benefit finding fully mediates the relationship between positive religious coping and positive affect as well as life satisfaction. Furthermore, benefit finding significantly suppressed the positive association between positive religious coping and overall depressive symptoms, which is why positive religious coping was not significantly associated with overall depressive symptoms. Results suggest that positive and negative religious coping may have differential effects on psychological adjustment in people with HIV: Negative religious coping may contribute to adverse effects on general emotional distress and maladjustment, whereas positive religious coping may facilitate positive aspects of psychological adaptation. The finding that benefit finding mediates the effects of positive religious coping on increased positive psychological aspects, but suppressed emotional distress, implies that people with HIV may benefit from interventions that incorporate benefit finding in addition to spirituality.
Transport in fuel cell ion exchange membranes: molecular mechanisms and mathematical modeling
Authors:   , Mace Erich J. , Elabd Yossef A.
Published: July 2021

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising as high-efficiency energy conversion devices, but the need for expensive noble metal catalysts such as Pt has hindered commercialization. An alternative is the alkaline membrane fuel cell (AMFC), which intrinsically possesses faster kinetics at the cathode, enabling noble metals to be replaced by Co, Ag, Fe, or Ni. In order to compete with PEMFCs (i.e. achieve 1.0 W/cm2 power density), AMFCs require improved membranes. In particular, membranes must achieve conductivities of ~0.1 S/cm and be thermally, chemically, and mechanically stable. The membrane mass transport phenomena governing conduction should be clearly understood in order to efficiently develop new materials. In particular, there is need for an improved, molecularlevel understanding of the relationship between membrane water content and membrane conductivity, as well as an elucidation of the kinetic mechanism causing membrane carbonation. The dependency of conductivity on membrane water content is explored using Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy with twodimensional correlation techniques, and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The particular role that specific water cluster states play during transport is elucidated, and the transient behavior associated with membrane carbonation is explored.
An automated wound identification system based on image segmentation and artificial neural networks
Authors:   , Song Bo , Sacan Ahmet , Papazoglou Elisabeth S.
Published: July 2021

Chronic wounds are a global, ongoing health challenge that afflicts a large number of people. Effective diagnosis and treatment of the wounds relies largely on a precise identification and measurement of the wounded tissue; however, in current clinical process, wound evaluation is based on subjective visual inspection and manual measurements which are often inaccurate. An automatic computer-based system for fast and accurate segmentation and identification of wounds is desirable, both from the standpoint of improving health outcomes in chronic wound care and management, and in making clinical practice more efficient and cost-effective. As presented in this thesis, we design such a system that uses color wound photographs taken from the patients, and is capable of automatic image segmentation and wound region identification. Several commonly used segmentation methods are utilized to obtain a collection of candidate wound areas. The parameters of each method are fine-tuned through an optimization procedure. Two different types of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and the Radial Basis Function (RBF) with parameters decided by a cross-validation approach, are then applied with supervised learning in the prediction procedure, and their results are compared. Satisfactory results of this system suggest a promising tool to assist in the field of clinical wound evaluation.
Large-scale document labeling using supervised sequence embedding
Authors:   , Bespalov Dmitriy , Shokoufandeh Ali
Published: July 2021

A critical component in computational treatment of an automated document labeling is the choice of an appropriate representation. Proper representation captures specific phenomena of interest in data while transforming it to a format appropriate for a classifier. For a text document, a popular choice is the bag-of-words (BoW) representation that encodes presence of unique words with non-zero weights such as TF-IDF. Extending this model to long, overlapping phrases (n-grams) results in exponential explosion in the dimensionality of the representation. In this work, we develop a model that encodes long phrases in a low-dimensional latent space with a cumulative function of individual words in each phrase. In contrast to BoW, the parameter space of the proposed model grows linearly with the length of the phrase. The proposed model requires only vector additions and multiplications with scalars to compute the latent representation of phrases, which makes it applicable to large-scale text labeling problems. Several sentiment classification and binary topic categorization problems will be used to empirically evaluate the proposed representation. The same model can also encode relative spatial distribution of elements in higher-dimensional sequences. In order to verify this claim, the proposed model will be evaluated on a large-scale image classification dataset, where images are transformed into two-dimensional sequences of quantized image descriptors.
High-performance image registration algorithms for multi-core processors
Authors:   , Shackleford James Anthony , Kandasamy Nagarajan
Published: July 2021

Deformable registration consists of aligning two or more 3D images into a common coordinate frame. Fusing multiple images in this fashion quantifies changes in organ shape, size, and position as described by the image set, thus providing physicians with a more complete understanding of patient anatomy and function. In the field of image-guided surgery, for example, neurosurgeons can track localized deformations within the brain during surgical procedures, thereby reducing the amount of unresected tumor. Though deformable registration has the potential to improve the geometric precision for a variety of medical procedures, most modern algorithms are time consuming and, therefore, go unused for routine clinical procedures. This thesis develops highly data-parallel registration algorithms suitable for use on modern multi-core architectures, including graphics processing units (GPUs). Specific contributions include the following:Parallel versions of both unimodal and multi-modal B-spline registration algorithms where the deformation is described in terms of uniform cubic B-spline coefficients. The unimodal case involves aligning images obtained using the same imaging technique whereas multi-modal registration aligns images obtained via differing imaging techniques by employing the concept of statistical mutual information. Multi-core versions of an analytical regularization method that imposes smoothness constraints on the deformation derived by both unimodal and multi-modal registration. The proposed method operates entirely on the B-spline coefficients which parameterize the deformation and, therefore, exhibits superior performance, in terms of execution-time overhead, over numerical methods that use central differencing. The above contributions have been implemented as part of the high-performance medical image registration software package Plastimatch, which can be downloaded under an open source license from www.plastimatch.org. Plastimatch significantly reduces the execution time incurred by B-spline based registration algorithms: compared to highly optimized sequential implementations on the CPU, we achieve a speedup of approximately 21 times for GPU-based multi-modal deformable registration while maintaining near-identical registration quality and a speedup of approximately 600 times for multi-core CPU-based regularization. It is hoped that these improvements in processing speed will allow deformable registration to be routinely used in time-sensitive procedures such as image-guided surgery and image-guided radiotherapy which require low latency from imaging to analysis.
Plasma dissociation of hydrogen sulfide
Authors:   , Gutsol Kirill A. , Fridman Alexander A.
Published: July 2021

Plasma dissociation of hydrogen sulfide has been studied by kinetic and thermodynamic modeling and experimentally in four different discharges: AC corona, dielectric barrier, streamer, and contracted glow discharge. The performance of corona discharge and DBD was studied in the initial gas temperature range of 300 - 1200 K. A robust reactor was created to perform the above studies in pure H₂S with high degree of reproducibly. A specific energy requirement (SER) was calculated as function of energy input for each type of the discharge and compared with earlier experimental results and modeling. The results showed that discharges at high E/n and low specific energy release (corona, dielectric barrier, and streamer) perform significantly worse than contracted glow discharge at low E/n where specific energy release was high and gas temperature was elevated. The SER for non-thermal dissociation was 12 - 14 eV/molec and went down to 2.4 eV/molec in the case of the glow discharge with elevated temperature. Experiments confirmed that an electrical discharge in H₂S allows obtain SER close to the predicted by thermodynamic equilibrium modeling if the discharge has gas temperature that is high enough. Further reduction of SER in a plug flow reactor is not possible because of the absence of chemical chain processes and energy recovery mechanisms.
Traumatic brain injury and its relationship with executive functioning and social problem solving
Authors:   , Haggerty Kyle , Nezu Christine M.
Published: July 2021

Traumatic brain injury affects the lives of millions of Americans and costs billions of dollars. For this reason, it is an important task for researchers to gain an understanding of variables that are related to traumatic brain injury and social outcomes in patients who have suffered one. This study reviewed the research literature in an attempt to gain an understanding of variables that have been identified as strong predictors of social outcomes in this population. The purpose of this study was to replicate the findings of some of the research; specifically that social problem solving mediates the relationship between executive functioning and community integration within a TBI population. It was also examined if social problem solving was significantly related to the quality of life of TBI patients. Results supported the hypothesis that social problem solving was correlated with self-reported quality of life in patients who had suffered a TBI. However, the data did not support the hypothesis that social problem solving mediated the relationship between executive functioning and community integration. While executive functioning was related to community integration, there was no significant relationship between executive functioning and social problem solving.
Breast Cancer Screening Behaviors Among Women in Pennsylvania from 2000-2010
Authors:   , Hatia Rikita , Lee Brian K.
Published: July 2021

BACKGROUND: Prevention is instrumental to decreasing the mortality and morbidity of cancer. Since 1991, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program helps detect breast and cervical cancer early among uninsured and low income women. OBECTIVES: The study aims to examine how health insurance coverage and annual household income have impacted mammography utilization. Furthermore, temporal changes of late stage breast cancer rates in Pennsylvania will be analyzed to assess the impact of the statewide preventive initiatives. METHODS: A multivariate analysis was conducted of mammography screening rates in Pennsylvania from 2002 - 2010 for women aged 40 - 64. Multivariate analysis was also used to analyze breast cancer stage of diagnosis from 2000 - 2009 using Pennsylvania Cancer Registry to determine change over time. RESULTS: Compared to 2002, the rate of mammography utilization has steadily decreased. Mammography utilization is correlated significantly with health insurance and annual household income. Both individual and environmental factors appear associated with breast cancer diagnosis, with African American women having a higher odds of late stage cancer diagnosis, and the southeastern part of Pennsylvania having a higher rate. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the critical role of economic disadvantage on detection, and the importance of a program geared to low-income women, such as the HealthyWoman Project (HWP). The decreasing trend in late stage breast cancer diagnosis over time suggests a positive effect of HWP. Future studies should seek to better understand how factors influence the trajectory of breast cancer, and should investigate additional surveillance outcomes of the HWP.
Unnecessary Roughness?
Authors:   , Laverty Brian E. , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

The National Football League has instituted blackouts on its games since 1961. A blackout is the restriction of a games broadcast, enforced only when an NFL franchise cannot sell out its stadium. Unsold tickets represent a loss to NFL owners, and thus the blackout serves as encouragement to the local fan base to sell out the stadium or else they cannot watch the game on television. In July 2012, the blackout rule was revised so that franchises can choose a set capacity level (minimum of 85%) that their stadium ticket sales must meet in order for a blackout to be avoided. Blackouts are intended to protect game day revenues, not only ticket sales but all other ancillary revenues from concessions, parking, programs, and merchandise. But do they merely impose unnecessary restrictions resulting in total societal loss? This study explores the impact of blackouts and proposes a paid viewing alternative be made available to fans. If the intention of blackouts is to protect gameday revenues, then the paid viewership will make-good the NFL franchise in revenues equaling that of a sellout. The Oakland Raiders are used as a case study, as they have been blacked out in 80 of 144 home games since moving to Oakland in 1995 (Gutierrez, 2012). Utilizing Nielsen overnight ratings and the Fan Cost Index for the Oakland Raiders, this study determines the costs to the viewer that will make-good the stadium when it is not sold out and also the local broadcast station that suffers ratings decreases when it is forced to air alternate programming during blackouts. This price is compared with survey data on willingness to pay, specifically by Raiders fans. The study finds that at a 20% buyrate (meaning if 20% of the viewers that normally watch the Raiders when they are televised also purchased the right to watch the team when it is blacked out), the price to stream a Raiders game on the internet when it would otherwise be blacked out is $31.16 per household (for the 2010 NFL season). For pay-per-view that price increases to $50.72. Survey data suggests fan willingness to pay is $13.23. While that is a considerable gap between willingness to pay and pay-per-view, the streaming price appears more palatable. Adding exclusive sideline footage instead of commercial breaks as part of the purchase, Raiders fans may be enticed to pay the additional dollars. Finally, the study explores the implications of the 2012 revision to the NFLs blackout policy from a franchise perspective and compares it to a paid viewing alternative solution. While the revision allows blackout avoidance at a minimum 85% stadium capacity instead of the original 100%, it also penalizes franchises for selling tickets beyond their chosen capacity level. Due to the unpredictable nature of ticket sales on a game-by-game basis, teams often incur penalty fees, and the set capacity level they chose before the season started is not optimal in minimizing penalties. Under a paid viewing alternative solution, franchises avoid penalty fees and allow the fans to control whether or not they see the game.
Essays on Jobless Recovery
Authors:   , DeNicco James Patrick , Laincz Christopher A.
Published: July 2021

In this dissertation I focus on the topic of jobless recovery, which explores the speed of recovery in unemployment rates post-recession, controlling for GDP growth. Chapter one furthers the empirical studies on the time series properties of the United States unemployment rate. Using vector auto regression models and controlling for changes in GDP, the unemployment rate and changes in the unemployment rate, I find structural breaks in 1959 and 1984 indicating that following a recession, the rate of decrease in the unemployment rate significantly slowed over time. Chapter one substantiates the phenomenon of jobless recovery in the United States and uses the timing of the structural breaks to review the possible causes and related theory, including industry composition, participation rates, entitlements and labor laws. Chapter two uses a representative, forward looking firm in capital and labor decisions to introduce separation costs into a discrete, dynamic, efficiency wage model in order to determine the effect of separation costs on both steady state unemployment rates and the hiring process following a negative productivity shock. I find higher separation costs cause higher steady states rates of unemployment and sclerosis of labor dynamics both in separations and hires following a recession. These findings provide a better understanding of the dynamics of post recession unemployment rates and show how firing costs may contribute to jobless recovery. In Chapter three, I study the effects on jobless recovery of diminishing the power of an employer to fire an employee through Employment-At-Will Exceptions (EWEs). I do so by using a dynamic panel with quarterly data ranging from 1976 to 2010 for the 50 states in the United States. I test both changes in state unemployment rates and state-weighted GDP growth in single variable regressions and VAR regressions. My contribution to the literature is threefold. First, I show two of the three EWEs contribute significantly to jobless recovery in the U.S. Second, I lend support to the predictions of theory that increased firing costs decrease the rate of hiring during recoveries. Third, I resolve differences in the various sources documenting the three types of EWEs in different states.
Two Essays on Trade Agreements
Authors:   , Huang Liming , Syropoulos Constantinos A. , Yotov Yoto V.
Published: July 2021

In the first chapter we study the consequences of regional free trade agreements (FTAs) for global free trade. In the context of a three-country, two-good general equilibrium trade model, we derive stable Nash equilibria of two coalition formation games of trade liberalization: One in which FTAs are ruled out, and another in which countries have the option to form FTAs. Our analysis reveals that there exist circumstances under which the option to form FTAs may facilitate the attainment of global free trade (building blocks). However, there also exist circumstances under which FTAs stand in the way of global free trade ("stumbling blocks"). Two important determinants of these possibilities are relative country size and the structure of comparative advantage. In the second chapter we examine the effect of the formation of FTAs on non-FTA countries tariffs using detailed data on tariffs and trade flows for the US, Mexico, and China from 1992 to 1997. We find that an increase in an FTA members tariff discrimination against a non-member leads to a reduction in the non-members tariffs. We also find that an increase in the non-members size relative to its FTA-member competitor (which competes with the non-member because they have the same comparative advantage) causes a rise in its tariffs. The relative strength of the two effects, determines whether the FTA acts as a building block or stumbling block to a non-members trade liberalization.
Effects of Prekindergarten Attendance on Boys and Girls Standardized Reading Achievement Scores in Third and Fifth Grade
Authors:   , Sugra Jennifer Lynn , Gullo Dominic F.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effect of prekindergarten attendance on boys' and girls' standardized reading achievement scores in third and fifth grade. The thrust for more emphasis on increased information regarding the impact that prekindergarten has on standardized test results, both short-term and long-term, is pertinent to educators. This study is critical in a time when meeting "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) has become increasingly more difficult for school districts, because proficiency level requirements continue to rise. In addition, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has proposed the new multiple measures evaluation system, which includes performance data from standardized test results from students as a factor into the teacher's performance evaluation. Existing research suggests that early learning experiences, like prekindergarten, positively impact a child's social, emotional and educational learning capacities. The long-term impact is relevant for parents and educators alike, in understanding the importance of learning opportunities from birth to age five. This understanding is relevant in helping to make informed decisions regarding prekindergarten enrollment. A causal comparative study was conducted to analyze standardized test results in reading achievement for 170 children residing in southeastern Pennsylvania. The results from this study will be helpful to various stakeholders keeping a watchful eye on early childhood education. Teachers, parents, administrators, school board members as well as political officials will develop a better understanding of how prekindergarten may affect children's long-range reading achievement. The research conducted identifies the level of attention that should be allocated for early learning initiatives and partnerships between districts and prekindergarten providers. Results from this study will aide school district personnel and early childhood advocates across the state to strategize recruitment initiatives regarding enrollment in prekindergarten. The research question associated with this study was: What is the effect of prekindergarten attendance on boys' and girls' standardized reading achievement test scores in third and fifth grade?
Interfacial Engineering for Polymer Nano-Composites with Tailored Properties
Authors:   , Amspacher Lucas , Li Christopher Y.
Published: July 2021

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a unique class of materials that exhibit a mechanical action under an applied external stimulus. The past several years have witnessed significant advances in SMP nano-composites, new recovery triggering mechanisms, and applications development. This work explores the effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) nano-hybrid shish kebabs (NHSKs) as the filler material in a shape memory epoxy (SME) nano-composite. CNTs decorated with poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PEcoPAA) single crystal lamellae were synthesized for improved chemical functionality, dispersion, wetting behavior and mechanical reinforcement. Bulk SME nano-composites were produced using a solvent evaporation and in situ epoxy polymerization technique with multi-walled CNT NHSK fillers. These composites showed a Young's modulus increase of 16.7% at 2.5 NHSK wt.% (0.5 MWCNT wt.%), but were limited by NHSK/epoxy phase separation, synthesis difficulties and NHSK purity. Single-walled CNT NHSK composites were also explored by impregnating buckypaper-like NHSK films with SME. NHSK film scaffolds were produced with improved CNT distribution and exfoliation from NHSK functionalization. The composite films showed an astounding 644% increase in Young's modulus and their high conductivity enabled an electro-active shape memory stimulus mechanism. Complete shape memory recovery was achieved in seven seconds using an electric potential of 120 volts DC. Applications are anticipated in actuators, sensors, deployable devices, selfrepairing structural materials, smart coatings and robotics.
Hierarchically Ordered Polymer Nanofibers for Biomimetic Applications
Authors:   , Khan Nasreen , Li Christopher Y.
Published: July 2021

Traditionally, bone replacement technologies are designed to overcome deficiencies from a micro or macro-scale. However, at the nanoscale bone has a hierarchical structure comprised of ordered collagen fibers with regularly spaced mineralized regions. Macroscopic features are dependent on the ordered structure of the collagen-fiber, mineral, and organic protein complex. By optimizing bone replacements material from the nanoscale, better regenerative therapies for diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and other disease can be found. The motivation of this project is to develop a bone-replacement composite that mimics the ordered structure of bone from the nanoscale up. Poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) is an ideal candidate for this purpose due to its high strength, biocompatibility, and bioresorbable properties. By combining electrospinning and polymer solution crystallization techniques, hierarchically-ordered polymer structures called nanofiber shish kebabs (NFSK) can be created. For the first time tunable PLLA NFSK were successfully created. These were effectively mineralized to fabricate a nanoscale PLLA-hydroxyapatite (HA) composite, where the distribution of the mineral nanocrystals can be controlled. The resulting structures exhibit nanoscale periodicity, increased crystallinity, and enhanced 3-D porosity, all of which are ideal for bone applications.
Social Problem Solving as a Predictor of Attitudes Towards Seeking Psychological Care and Medical Care Among Veterans
Authors:   , Segal Andrea Gail , Nezu Christine M.
Published: July 2021

Attitudes towards seeking health care, particularly mental health care, are significantly affected by stigma. Research has shown that increased levels of stigma contribute to more negative attitudes about seeking health care, and less willingness to seek care. Stigma surrounding mental health care is a particularly poignant issue for military Veterans. Military culture encourages the attitudes of self-sufficiency and toughness, often yielding to increased perceptions of stigma surrounding seeking health care. Importantly, more and more Veterans are returning home from war in need of health care services, particularly mental health care. Social problem solving has been shown to play a significant mediating role in the stress-distress relationship, with poorer problem solving abilities correlating with significant distress in the face of a stressor, such as an illness. The present study aimed to investigate whether social problem solving plays a role in perceptions of stigma, and subsequent attitudes towards seeking both psychological care and medical care among Veterans. It was hypothesized that the adaptive problem solving domains of positive problem orientation (PPO) and rational problem solving style (RPS) would be associated with less stigma and more willingness to seek psychological care and medical care, whereas the maladaptive domains of negative problem orientation (NPO), impulsive/careless style (ICS), and avoidant style (AS) would be associated with greater stigma and less willingness to seek both types of care. It was also hypothesized that social problem solving would predict attitudes towards seeking care. The sample consisted of 118 male and female Veterans between the ages of 21 and 75 years. Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires: the Social Problem-Solving Inventory - Revised: short form (SPSI-R), Military Stigma Scale (MSS), Inventory of Attitudes Towards Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS), and Attitudes Towards Seeking Medical Care Scale (ASMCS). As hypothesized, negative problem orientation was negatively correlated with both IASMHS and ASMCS total scores, impulsive/careless style and avoidant style were negatively correlated with ASMCS total score, and rational problem solving style was positively correlated with ASMCS total. Additionally, social problem solving was found to be a significant predictor of psychological openness, a subscale of the IASMHS assessing the extent to which one is open about recognizing a problem and seeking help for that difficulty. These findings suggest that programs aimed at improving social problem solving skills may help Veterans seek necessary care.
AOL & Time Warner
Authors:   , Harrington Roberta W. , Salas Philip W.
Published: July 2021

In 2001, AOL and Time Warner came together in the midst of the rise of the internet to become, as the annual filing stated that year "the world's first fully integrated, internet-powered media and communications company." The company would "undertake a number of business initiatives to advance cross-divisional activities, including cross promotions of the Company's various businesses, cross-divisional advertising opportunities, and shared infrastructures." (Annual 10K Filing. March, 2001) However, the nearly decade long relationship between the two was tumultuous at best, and never panned out as the architects had hoped. (Arango, 2010) As the .com era bubble started shrinking and bullish targets were not met, the wishful synergies between the two began to collapse. An even bigger problem between the two companies was that... "Both sides seemed, to hate one another." (Arango, 2010) Not only were the two companies businesses entirely different from one another making it difficult to agree on anything, the executives at the top were having trouble implementing synergistic practices. From the time merger went through, it seemed almost immediate to everyone involved that there were going to be significant problems. In the years to come, AOL Time Warner suffered a tumultuous relationship that caused monetary loss across the board. (Klein 2003) AOL and Time Warner were about to meet a fate that no one saw coming, which was an historic blow to the media industry and Wall Street alike. The "Deal of a Century" (Times Online, 2009) quickly became the worst deal in history. (Arango, 2010)
Emerging from the Daddy Issue
Authors:   , Inniss David Ricardo , Bureau W. Edward
Published: July 2021

Perceptions about fatherhood and the importance of the father role have changed significantly over time. This phenomenological study explored how experiences of father absence or paternal apathy impact behaviors among men and exert influence over their ability to effectively father their sons. It examined participants views on the meaning of transitioning to manhood in a father-absent household, the intersection between fatherhood and masculinity, and the impact of their history of fatherlessness on their approaches to fathering. The researcher drew on the phrase Daddy Issue to describe the lack of emotional and psychological balance (Gibbs, Blackman, Painton, & Willwerth, 2007, p. 3) and depression of cognitive performance (Chapman, 1977) associated with the experience of fatherlessness, the abuse of a paternal relationship, or paternal undependability. Existing studies on fatherlessness are predominantly quantitative with few qualitative studies investigating outcomes of resiliency and restoration of those who experienced fatherlessness. The researchers worldviews as a pragmatist, social constructivist, and advocate (Creswell, 2007) place importance on the youth experience that may shape mens adult lives. The thoughts and feelings of 36 adult males were evaluated through the theoretical lens of Paternal Involvement, the Masculinity-Fatherhood Linkage, and Resilience. Thirteen of those men participated in semi-structured individual interviews, while 24 participated in two separate focus groups. Analysis of the data captured yielded thematic clusters that led to textural descriptions of participants experiences. From these textural descriptions, a structural description of the essence of fathering sons after experiencing fatherlessness was derived. The key findings in this study centered on the modeling of fatherhood, the perceived impacts of father absence, beliefs about the transition to manhood, the intersections between masculinity and fatherhood, and the pursuit of emotional closure. These findings were the foundation of practical recommendations as well as suggestions for future exploration into tangential phenomena.
Evaluation of Strain Effects on Grain Boundary Engineering Mechanisms Using In Situ TEM
Authors:   , Leff Asher Calvin , Barsoum Michel W. , Zavaliangos Antonios
Published: July 2021

Measurement of localized strain states on the nanoscale is of a field of interest in materials science because the information is vital to futhering the understanding of the processes of microstructural development. There are a variety of existing techniques that are capable of nano-scale strain measurement to one degree or another, however, in order to use this information in real time to inform the visualization of microstructural evolution processes such as boundary migration, an ideal technique would be one that could be carried out in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Although techniques such as geometric phase analysis have been developed to do just that, they have limitations for some applications. For that reason, there is a demand for a new technique for the measurement of localized strain that can be carried out automaticalIy in TEM and used on a variety of sample types ranging from single crystal thin films to bulk polycrystalline materials. In this study, a technique is proposed to measure local misorientation gradients in TEM as an approximation of strain in the form of gwmetrically necessary dislocation density that is analogous to similar approaches used to treat electron backscatter diffraction data. The utility of the proposed technique is tested through its implementation in conjunction with an in situ TEM heating study on grain boundary migration and twin formation in copper. However, the mechanisms that result in the GBE microstructure are still unclear. In this study oxygen-free electronic copper was characterized in TEM both ex situ and during in situ annealing experiments in order to local strain effects on twin boundary generation and migration. The proposed strain mapping technique was used to measure local orientation gradients before and after processing. The technique was validated by comparison with visible defects as well as a comparison with geometric phase analysis (GPA). The spatial resolution of the strain maps produced was an order of magnitude larger than for GP A, showing strain values averaged across the step area, due to the spot size of the instrument used.
Modulation of Plantar Circulation in Physiological Loading
Authors:   , Furmato James Andrew , Wheatley Margaret A.
Published: July 2021

Plantar skin ulceration is a complication facing 15 percent of diabetic neuropathic individuals. In the United States (US), diabetic ulcers lead to over 80,000 amputations annually with the cost of treatment exceeding $10 billion. Current literature has not established a link between gait and ulcer development. Stiffer soft tissue mechanics, differences in gait dynamics and decreased sensation in the soles of the feet suggest gait may arrest plantar microcirculation. We hypothesize: if we apply a load simulating gait to the plantar foot and measure microvascular function, diabetic individuals will demonstrate an increased delay in reestablishing microvascular flow compared to healthy individuals. We challenged plantar microcirculation of the hallux by applying pressure and simultaneously assessing for blood flow. We developed a prototype device to test microvascular reaction to continuous and pulsed loads. Three diabetic individuals with a high risk of ulceration and five non-diabetic, non-neuropathic healthy controls enrolled in the study. The new device applied 90 seconds of controlled loading at levels adjusted for blanching in each individual, followed by 180 seconds of refractory time. Time values for response to occlusion were determined for each load/unload cycle. We found mean latency between end of compression and initiation of response for each of two loading protocols: continuous in the diabetic group (0.479 seconds) versus healthy (0.055 seconds) and pulsed (at 1.0Hz) in diabetics (119.475 seconds) compared to (69.650 seconds) in the healthy. This study showed the effectiveness of the prototype in sequencing microvascular response to simulated gait loads demonstrating different reactions between the two groups. It also suggested a relationship between latency and elasticity in soft tissue. This study sheds new light on microvascular function in the diabetic foot. We theorize that gait modulation of microcirculation causes skin hypoxia that goes unnoticed by the diabetic individual resulting in skin ulcers. The study may allow for improved understanding of diabetic ulceration etiology and suggests the need for further investigation into microvascular function.
Assessing the Transport of Receptor-Mediated Drug Delivery Devices Across Biological Barriers
Authors:   , Brewer Erik C. , Lowman Anthony M.
Published: July 2021

Administering therapeutics through the oral route or to the central nervous system presents significant challenges for large-molecule drugs, primarily due to the diffusive barriers and efflux mechanisms present in the cellular lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and blood brain barrier (BBB). Receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME) has been extensively studied as a method for augmenting the transport of therapeutic devices across these barriers. These devices range from simple ligand-therapeutic conjugates to complex ligand-nanoparticle systems. Customarily, characterizing the uptake of these carriers relies on their comparisons to the native therapeutic, which provides no understanding of ligand or cellular performance. Therefore, the focus of this research is to investigate the transport potential of the RME pathway itself, so that ligands can act as suitable benchmarks for success. To better understand the pharmacokinetics of the RME pathway, a model for barrier transport was designed based on the endocytosis cycle of transferrin, a ligand often used in RME drug-delivery research. This model established the correlation between apical receptor concentration and maximum transport capability. Experimental studies confirmed this relationship, demonstrating an upper transport limit independent of the applied dose. This contrasts with the dose-proportional pathways native therapeutics rely on for transport. Thus, the direct comparison of these two transport mechanisms can produce misleading results that change with arbitrarily chosen doses. Furthermore, transport potential was hindered by repeated use of the RME-cycle. Commonly, nanoparticles are incorporated to amplify the payload capacity of RME-devices despite the burden they pose to the cell. The response of size and the size distribution of nanoparticle-ligand formulations on the cell were tested and contrasted to their increasing payloads. These results demonstrate that size has a major influence on nanoparticle transport, and future studies should base the success of this technology not on the performance of the therapeutic itself, but on the capabilities of the cell. Using receptor-binding studies, we were able to demonstrate how these capabilities can be predicted and potentially adopted for high-throughput screening methods.
An Examination and Analysis of the Adaptation of the Chinese TV Documentary Industry in a Commercialized Media Environment
Authors:   , Feng Huanhuan , Salas Philip W.
Published: July 2021

This thesis examines change and innovation in the Chinese documentary television industry in an increasingly commercial China's media market. As the economic system in China has evolved from that of Planned Economy to Market Economy, media markets have become much more open than before and are till expanding at a rapid pace. TV documentaries are struggling to adapt to this environment by innovating themselves in various aspects. This thesis takes the recent TV documentary A Bite of China as an example, exploring how this series succeeded on a national scale under the current market situation. It reveals the challenges TV documentarian face in content design, narrative style, marketing and branding to fulfill their social responsibility as well as to meet market needs.
Millennial Media Consumption and the Birth of the Anytime, Anywhere Television Viewing Experience
Authors:   , Gould Andrea M. , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the major media consumption characteristics of the millennial generation and the impact that these characteristics have on the entertainment/media industry. The unique media consumption characteristics of this generation have not only contributed to the development of new trends but have presented challenges to many programmers and networks. The main challenge has been the creation of compelling content that will attract and engage millennials as viewing continues to become more fragmented and personal. By understanding and identifying the key media consumption characteristics of millennials, programmers/networks are given the chance to develop new opportunities that will help prepare for the next generation of viewers. The research presented herein will highlight the importance of understanding the viewing audience on a more intimate level in order to meet their needs. Previous research studies/reports on millennial characteristics and media consumption habits were evaluated to gain perspective on the topic. Additionally, a survey was issued to a select population of millennials to gain further insight. This study further concludes that the creation of entertaining and interactive content is what will engage both the millennial (18-34) and plural (those persons born from 1997 to the present day) generations. Millennials still participate in the consumption of "old" media. Programmers/networks need to develop a balance between "old" and "new media" to meet the new viewing expectations of millennials and plurals.
Thinking Outside the Box
Authors:   , Rankova Zlatina K. , Tedesco Albert S.
Published: July 2021

Managing a television network is no longer just about building a linear programming schedule that appeals to the target audience and is interrupted by commercial breaks that support the business. Television channels are now multi-media companies that juggle many different platforms and revenue streams while trying to survive rigorous competition from hundreds of other networks which invest in high quality and specialized programs. This study goes deep into the structure of Fuse Networks and through in-depth interviews draws insights from experienced top level management professionals in order to shed more light on the mechanisms of operating a multi-platform business. The study outlines the structure and operations of the Programming and the Multiplatform departments, gives a detailed look into the opportunities created by the emergence of new distribution models and explains how operating a complex media structure has become an industry requirement. It sketches some of the challenges faced by multi-departmental structures in building a cohesive and successful branding strategy, and discusses some of the flaws that mark an ever-changing media landscape like lacking a universal measurement tool across platforms.