Meeting Inevitabilities: How Architecture Can Aid in Our Acceptance of Death and Improvement of Life

Meeting Inevitabilities seeks to explore design in relation to life, death, and memory. In the modern age, there is a significant lack of space for human interaction and connection surrounding the events of death, which further contributes to the divergence of death from life, life from memory, and memory from death. The designs aim to bring forth the divergence in one space, and explode the ideas and design outwards, where these three elements can be perceived together in a new way, in a reversible convergence

A New School: Alternative Learning Environments for the Future

The benefits of how educational architecture can leverage outdoor spaces and natural light to enhance learning, and promote sustainable learning is important to study for the future of the education system and how we can enhance our children?s future. Research will explore existing studies, analyze quality and subpar current projects, and explore additional sustainable factors that can help the educational environment. This research introduces a better understanding of how vital getting students in daylit and outdoor access environments is to shape the future of education and sustainable design

Expedition Interim: Projects on a Journey Towards Equity

As systemic local inequities continue to malform cities without official accountability, the options for architectural intervention seem limited. Not many artistic avenues exist to combat issues of unilaterally failing infrastructure; and to address an issue so thickly sown across modern cities may require intervention at an infrastructural scale. Additionally, what?s catalyzing displacement in one neighborhood may be different in another. This thesis explores how we could respond to the nuances of cities like Seattle, Chicago, or New York City. And how can a project have both a practical usage and convey a symbolic stance against inequity by simply being? This thesis proposes temporary installations of projects in various locations, the purpose and use of which can be decided by the everyday public, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), or locally appointed leaders. These projects aim to establish a new layer of public infrastructure which responds to everyone?s shifting needs for space rather than permanently planting projects with narrow solutions

Improving Caregiver Burden for Professional Caregivers of Dementia Residents

This practice improvement project examines the burden on professional caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD), aiming to enhance their well-being. With dementia significantly impacting cognitive functions, caregivers face heightened levels of stress, depressive symptoms, and physical health issues, more so than those caring for individuals with other conditions. Utilizing Roy's Adaptation Model (RAM) and the Theory of Caregiver Stress, the dissertation proposes comprehensive strategies to understand and alleviate the challenges faced by caregivers. The core of this practice improvement project aims to enhance the well-being of formal caregivers by implementing a comprehensive training session. This session was designed to equip caregivers with essential knowledge and skills for managing their roles effectively, including stress management techniques, behavior management, communication techniques, and an understanding of caregiver burdens. By addressing the significant challenges faced by caregivers the project highlights the importance of developing support systems and interventions tailored to the needs of both informal and professional caregivers. Objectives of the project include conducting an educational presentation, enhancing caregiver knowledge on dementia care, reducing caregiver burden, and establishing a caregiver support group within the facility. This approach, grounded in theoretical frameworks and focused on practical interventions, sought to alleviate caregiver burden, thereby improving the quality of care for dementia residents and enhancing caregiver well-being. This practice improvement project contributes to the field of dementia care by addressing the critical need for effective interventions and education for professional caregivers, highlighting the project's significance in improving both resident care and caregiver mental health. Data collected included a pre-and post-education knowledge questionnaire, and the PCTB scale scores pre-and one-month post-education. The results indicated there was a perceived positive change in knowledge post-education, and the PCTB scale indicated an improvement in burden over the one-month period. A total of 16 caregivers attended the educational sessions and 14 participated in the data collection surveys. Response rates varied for the knowledge surveys and burden scale post-education when compared to pre-education

Anthropogenic stressors on freshwater wetlands: a microbial perspective

Benthic microbial communities play fundamental roles in wetland ecosystems including nutrient and energy cycling, and the degradation and assimilation of pollutants. Because of these crucial roles, along with their short-life cycles and high diversity, microorganisms can also play an important role as indicators of environmental change, which is particularly relevant in the current climate of increasing anthropogenic stressors, including factors such as emerging pollutants and climate change. Consequently, understanding the responses of microbes to environmental change is critical. To assess the effects of anthropogenic stressors on microbial communities in wetland ecosystems, I examined the response of sediment microorganisms from North Dakota wetlands in both microcosm and field-scale studies. First, I used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze wetland microbial community responses to glyphosate treatments using an experimental microcosm approach. I found no significant differences in microbial communities among concentrations or treatments compared to controls, suggesting microorganisms in this region may have evolved glyphosate tolerance. Second, also taking an experimental approach, I measured methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide flux and porewater concentrations in microcosms to analyze net microbial production and consumption of greenhouse gases following glyphosate and/or 2,4-D treatment. I found high glyphosate concentrations significantly increased carbon dioxide emissions potentially due to increased microbial activity from the use of glyphosate as a substrate, or due to increased respiration as a stress response. Lastly, I used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to compare microbial communities in natural and restored wetlands across the North Dakota Prairie Pothole Region to assess the effects of a physical stressor, hydrologic restoration. I found no significant differences in microbial communities across wetlands, which may be due to the lack of direct sediment disturbance from restoration, or due to the ability of microorganisms to rapidly recover, thus showing no assemblage differences 25 years after restoration. Overall, I demonstrated that integrating microbial ecology with ecotoxicology and restoration ecology can be a beneficial and applicable research approach to understanding the impact of anthropogenic-induced environmental change on wetlands and show that the use of microbial metrics and mechanisms can provide valuable insight on pertinent issues of global concern

Healthcare Professionals' Education Regarding Human Trafficking Identification and Resources

Human trafficking is one of the largest illegal industries with over 40 million adults and children enslaved worldwide. The psychological and physical consequences of human trafficking are high and may impact a victim for their entire life. Approximately 88% of human trafficking victims report receiving medical care during their time captured, and a majority of these victims seek care in the emergency department (ED). Only 11% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) report receiving education on human trafficking. The purpose of this project was to determine if education regarding human trafficking influences HCPs including, nurses, physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), registration, education, case management, and technicians comfort level in identifying victims of human trafficking and then providing resources to the victim. This practice improvement project (PIP) consisted of two, one and a half hour educational in-services in-person or by Zoom to a level III healthcare system in the Midwest. Pre- and post-surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness in improving knowledge and confidence in identifying and providing resources to potential victims. Nine HCPs completed the pre- and post-surveys of the two educational in-services. An overall positive increase in HCP?s perceived knowledge of identification of potential victims and providing resources in this PIP. Two knowledge questions did not show improvement between the pre- and post-survey. Overall, there was a positive increase in HCP?s level of confidence in identifying potential victims and providing local, statewide, and national resources to victims. All participants agreed to finding additional education on human trafficking to be helpful in their job. The co-investigator of this PIP recommends that NPs and other HCPs be educated on human trafficking indicators and risk factors, as well as resources available for victims. The results of this PIP support the increase in perceived level of knowledge and confidence level in identifying and providing resources to victims of human trafficking. NPs and other HCPs can combat human trafficking by identifying potential victims and offering resources

The Impact of Media on Price Paid for Thoroughbred Horses at Auction

It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words, but the economic value of that picture for livestock sales transactions has not been quantified. The objective of this study aimed to evaluate the effect of the presence of media (photos and/or video) on sale prices of Thoroughbreds. Online auction sale data from two U.S. Thoroughbred auction sites were used to compare 18,221 horses that sold and 4,215 horses that failed to meet the minimum desired bid. Sellers that provided media of their horses at auction received approximately $25,000 more for weanlings,$74,000 more for yearlings, and $89,500 more for older horses versus horses without media representation. Additionally, sellers increased their ability to receive a desired sale price for their horse when media was available for prospective buyers. In conclusion, availability of media prior to sale at auction will result in a greater sale price at every life stage

Tourism and Sustainability: Strategies for Designing on the North Shore of Minnesota

The North Shore of Minnesota boasts vast natural beauty, a plethora of recreational activities, and a thriving tourism industry. In order to protect the North Shore?s natural scenery and tourism industry, sustainability and ecotourism must be heavily considered when designing here. This thesis will investigate sustainable design methods and ecotourism tactics that are specifically catered towards the North Shore. Through the design of sequential cabins, this thesis will provide a view of these methods and tactics in action. Two regions in the North Shore will be the subject of investigation, the Nearshore and Highlands, as these are the most common regions of travel from visiting tourists. The designs of these cabins will reflect the unique environment present is the Nearshore and Highland regions of North Shore, as to properly represent how these sustainable strategies can be implemented when designing while keeping tourism in mind. From literature review and case study examination, this thesis is a compiled list of methods and tactics that provide design options to reduce impact on natural scenery, are environmentally conscious, and benefit tourism

Emotion regulation moderates the prospective association between ERN and anxiety in early adolescence: An age-specific moderation of cognitive reappraisal but not expressive suppression

The increasing prevalence of anxiety problems during adolescence underscores the importance of a better understanding of the development of anxiety. While past research has highlighted a link between error responsivity, indexed by error-related negativity (ERN), and youth anxiety, the role of emotion regulation in the ERN-anxiety relationship remains unclear. We conducted a two-wave study with 115 healthy nine-12-year-olds, and found that expressive suppression (ES), an important emotion regulatory strategy, moderates the ERN-anxiety association. A larger T1 ERN predicted heightened T2 anxiety symptoms in those with higher ES. Interestingly, the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal (CR), another important emotion regulatory strategy, on the ERN-anxiety association was age-dependent; in older youths, the association between T1 ERN and T2 symptoms was significant only for those with lower CR. These findings offer novel insights into the differential age-related patterns in the moderating effects of emotion regulation, and inform future emotion intervention studies for youths

Semantic enrichment of database columns using generative language models for advanced query searches

This study introduces a novel application of natural language generation (NLG) models to improve database table retrieval. Unlike previous works primarily utilizing embeddings and natural language processing (NLP) models, this work explores using NLGs to generate database column descriptions to enhance search accuracy. The evaluation involves two main aspects: firstly, assessing the accuracy of AI-generated column descriptions compared to ground truth descriptions; secondly, examining the impact of these descriptions when integrated into existing search models to evaluate accuracy improvements. Results indicate improved semantic alignment when comparing generated descriptions to ground truth over column names alone and improved scores for established work