Using boundaries to find smooth norms

The aim of this paper is to present a tool used to show that certain Banach spaces can be endowed with $C^k$ smooth equivalent norms. The hypothesis uses particular countable decompositions of certain subsets of $B_{X^*}$, namely boundaries. Of interest is that the main result unifies two quite well known results. In the final section, some new corollaries are given.Comment: 14 page

Smooth and polyhedral approximation in Banach spaces

We show that norms on certain Banach spaces $X$ can be approximated uniformly, and with arbitrary precision, on bounded subsets of $X$ by $C^{\infty}$ smooth norms and polyhedral norms. In particular, we show that this holds for any equivalent norm on $c_0(\Gamma)$, where $\Gamma$ is an arbitrary set. We also give a necessary condition for the existence of a polyhedral norm on a weakly compactly generated Banach space, which extends a well-known result of Fonf.Comment: 12 page

Applications of Geographic Information Systems for the Analysis of Apartment Rents

This study is the first to incorporate comprehensive regional factors into the analysis of the variations of apartment rent in a particular metropolitan area. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) procedure is developed to generate regional variables for the analysis. Results show that not only the individual apartment's characteristics, but also the regional factors are important in determining apartment rents.

Collaboration with Consultants Drives Intrinsic Motivation

Collaboration across disciplines leads to powerful learning experiences. To drive intrinsic interest in content, we crafted a project experience for the students of CST 150 and ART 343. The students of ART 343 served as art and design consultants for educational game projects devised in CST. The students of the different classes collaborated in a synergistic way to both develop art resources and fine tune important design aspects such as modes of interaction and appealing to a specific user audience. This experience was successful and will lead to collaborations between diverse student the CS and Art programs

The Influence of Heteronormativity on Sexual Health Disparities in Queer and Heterosexual Women

This research focuses on identifying how heteronormativity moderates links between individual and interpersonal processes (i.e., communication self-efficacy, safe sex behaviors) that influence comprehensive sexual health (CSH) disparities among queer and heterosexual cisgender women. The World Health Organization (2019) defines CSH as well-being across physical, emotional, and social domains; yet, the extant literature often fails to consider determinants of, or disparities in, CSH. The first aim was to validate a measure of CSH and test its validity across online survey samples of queer and heterosexual women (N = 246) using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis in MPLUS. Data fit the model (RMSEA= 0.06, CFI= 0.93) and some moderation was present. The second and third aims examined how heteronormativity moderates the links between communication self-efficacy, safe sex behaviors, and CSH in queer and heterosexual women, respectively. Among queer women, results suggested strong model fit (n=110; TLI=.96, CFI=.97, RMSEA=.04) and moderated, partial mediation was present. This also held true for heterosexual women (n=188, TLI=.96, CFI=.98, RMSEA=.04). Taken together, the latent construct of CSH can be measured parsimoniously, and it appears that the individual process of communication self-efficacy has a stronger direct effect on CSH compared to interpersonal processes. Heteronormativity moderated this relationship, particularly for women with high internalized heteronormativity. Thus, results provide a level of evidence explaining some impact of heteronormativity on CSH disparities among diverse women

Cutting It

I stumbled over a clod of hard dried dirt and staggered for a few steps. The heavy black soil pipe was biting into my shoulder, and with each stumbling step it cut deeper and deeper..

Sepsis Identification in the Long-Term Care Facility

BACKGROUND: Each year approximately 1.7 million people in the United States develop sepsis, and an estimated 270,000 Americans die from this disease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). Early recognition, and identification is essential in decreasing potential for mortality in this population. METHODS: During a two-week period six individual sessions via a one-hour presentation was provided on evidence based best practice of sepsis recognition. A pretest was utilized to determine prior knowledge of sepsis recognition. A post-test was provided to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational material. Finally, a survey was conducted to provide input for further educational endeavors. RESULTS: With a small sample size the power of \u3e0.55 did not achieve a power of \u3e0.8 which made it difficult to achieve a true effect. Using a Fisher’s exact test each question showed an increase in knowledge post education, indicating sepsis identification was achieved. DISCUSSION: The population of this study varied in educational levels with participants including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants. The anonymity of this project prevented identifying knowledge increase in each individual group but showed an increase overall. CONCLUSIONS: This study was not intended to show a decrease in sepsis, but increased awareness for early identification. Although the sample size was low there was evidence that the increased knowledge of early identification of sepsis was achieved. Further research is needed to show if educational impact significantly reduces septic shock and mortality in the long-term care facility

Hooking Up, Romantic Relationship Self-Efficacy, and Attitudes Toward Marriage

This quantitative study sought to describe general and penetrative hookup behavior among college attending emerging adults aged 18-22, and to understand the relationships between hookup behavior, romantic relationship self-efficacy, and intent to marry. Cognitive behavioral theory viewed through a feminist lens grounded the study. The convenience sample consisted of 38 respondents (32 females, 6 males) from a midsized northeastern university. Respondents were asked to answer an online survey that asked about hookup behaviors, partner types, emotional experiences, feelings of romantic relationship self-efficacy, and intent to marry. Frequencies revealed that respondents prefer to engage in hookups with partners they know and that the majority of respondents felt emotional satisfaction and emotional closeness half the time or less after engaging in hookups. T-tests and correlations were used to analyze the data. Men (M=19.17, SD=20.98) reported engaging in general hookup behavior more frequently than women (M=6.16, SD=3.97), t(38)=-3.38, p\u3c.01. Further, hookup behavior (both general and penetrative) was not related to feelings of romantic relationship self-efficacy or intent to marry suggesting that hookup behavior has become normative on college campuses. Implications and future research are discussed

Novel applications of and extensions to linear regression methods for the biomedical and materials sciences.

In this work we present three topics, each of which centered on either the application or modification of various linear regression methods. Our work with respect to the “Materials Genome” project while undermined by oversimplification and data integrity issues in its early stages, provides a sound platform from which the project can proceed successfully. Building upon a growing body of knowledge around the use of Weighted Generalized Estimating Equations (WGEE), our second investigation proposes an extension to that framework intended to address the inherent bias present in the analysis of clustered longitudinal data with potentially informative cluster sizes and temporal observation profiles. Having demonstrated the utility of our marginal WGEE’s with respect to mitigating induced bias our final investigation presents a comparison of our marginal WGEE’s to model estimation via Joint Likelihood maximization in certain simulation models. We find, as would be in line with expectation, comparable performance with a loss of efficiency in the marginal WGEE setting