Evangelical Perceptions on Linguistic Sexism in English

This study explores how evangelical Christians view connotatively and denotatively sexist language in English through a comparative study against non-evangelicals. Research on unnecessarily gendered language establishes English as contextually and denotatively sexist through falsely generic nouns, lexical asymmetries, and derogatory terms for females. Evangelical Christians have historically viewed gender roles as distinct from each other, however, little research has been done on how that affects perceptions of gendered language. Taking the stance that English unnecessarily prioritizes maleness, this study uses surveys and interviews to gather opinions on definitions of sexist language and asks participants to apply that definition in specific examples. The results are inconclusive in some examples, but a general trend shows that self-identified evangelicals do not see issue with what this study defines as linguistic sexism. This study also explores how belief systems correlate with why evangelicals view English differently than non-evangelicals. Since language influences how we perceive society, it is important to understand the influences linguistics holds in specific spheres. In this study, unnecessarily gendered language is the sphere examined

Dispersion of Radon-222 Gas in Air

Radon-222 is a heavy radioactive gas with a half-life of 3.8 days, often found in basements and other enclosed, underground spaces. It is produced by decaying deposits of uranium-238, and presents a significant health risk to those who encounter it in their homes and places of work. The only gas in the uranium decay chain, radon atoms work their way through layers of soil, usually to dissipate harmlessly into the atmosphere. In buildings, however, the gas accumulates and causes dangerous environmental radiation. Much work has been done to measure the transmission of the gas through water and solid materials, but very little is known about its behavior once it enters into the air of a contained space, besides larger scale statistical data. In this project, I will study how radon gas disperses horizontally and vertically over time in air and formulate a model for this dispersion. The model will benefit those working against the radon problem by providing a more efficient algorithm for evaluating radon\u27s presence in a space and for locating its points of entry

Flow field and heat transfer for developing flow of molten glass in a duct

The molten glass flow (temperature range 1300 to 1500°C) in the entrance region of a duct was investigated with numerical methods. The mathematical model was restricted by assuming: (1) two dimensional, steady state, (2) Newtonian fluid, variable viscosity, and (3) Rosseland approximation. In addition, appropriate use was made of the fact that the Reynolds number is small and the Eckert number is very small. The inclusion of temperature dependent viscosity and a Rosseland approximation for radiation produced from the mass, momentum, and energy equations a system of coupled, nonlinear, partial differential equations which were solved by an iterative finite difference approximation employing unequal step sizes. The computations involved calculating the velocity profiles assuming constant viscosity, calculating the temperature profiles using the velocities found in the constant viscosity flow, and iterating once by putting the nonisothermal temperature field into the momentum equation and recalculating the velocity profiles as evolved from variable viscosity. In addition to velocity and temperature results, conclusions were drawn from pressure gradients, heat transfer, and wall shear stress. Results indicated that the finite difference method involving unequal step sizes improved efficiency as compared to equal grid spacing for a given accuracy. In addition, one iteration of the energy-momentum equation coupling gave a good indication of actual results. Results showed that the velocity profile had only a minor influence on the temperature distribution, but the existence of convective terms was important. For the temperature distribution conduction played only a minor role. As a result of the coupling the variable viscosity almost doubled the relative magnitude of the velocity kinks found on both sides of the center axis near the entrance. The center line velocity for the variable viscosity case was found to increase and then decrease unlike the isothermal flow velocity, thereby making the variable viscosity development length greater than the isothermal development length --Abstract, pages iii-iv

Identifying a Typology of Emerging Adult Romantic Relationships: Implications for Relationship Education

Objective: Our objective was to use multiple romantic relationship dimensions to identify a typology of emerging adult romantic relationships. Background: Emerging adult romantic relationships vary in terms of their relational dynamics, emotional and physical intimacy, and commitment. Understanding the diversity in emerging adult romantic relationships is crucial for developing effective relationship education for emerging adults as they make decisions about their romantic partnerships. Method: Using data from 396 romantically involved but unmarried emerging adults, we used cluster analysis to identify a typology of romantic relationships based on relational dynamics (i.e., warmth and support and negative interactions), relationship duration, consolidation (i.e., number of nights and percentage of free time spent together), and commitment (i.e., likelihood of marrying partner). Results: The results indicated five types of relationships: (a) happily consolidated (30.8%), (b) happily independent (18.9%), (c) exploratory (17.9%), (d) stuck (23.0%), and (e) high intensity (9.3%). Demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, current cohabitation, and cycling within the current relationship varied between the relationship types. Conclusions: There appear to be meaningful and important variations among the types of romantic relationships that emerging adults pursue. The associations between relationship type and well-being depends on the interplay between relational dynamics, consolidation, and commitment. Implications: Individuals in different types of relationships may require targeted interventions to help them move out of problematic relationships or to help them build skills for developing and maintaining relationship quality. Suggestions for each type of relationship are provided

Culturing Our Community: A Memoir of Life Experiences in Costa Rica

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Costa Rica were the smells. As 1 set foot into the moist tropical air, I was immediately overwhelmed with humidity, the aroma of unfamiliar plants, and excitement for this unknown world. Everywhere I went for the first several weeks, I was welcomed with new sensations of something different in the air. Even now, after seven months of being back in the United States, the images, smells, flavors, and people remain ingrained in my senses and are present in my daily interactions and decisions. Due to such strong sensory, as well as emotional, experiences, I feel blessed with a new awakening and awareness in life. This, in turn, has brought new complicities to my understanding of human interactions and furthered my capacities of facing adversity

Exploring the associations between being single, romantic importance, and positive well-being in young adulthood

Objective: The goal was to explore if perceived romantic relationship importance moderated associations between single status and young adults\u27 positive well-being. Background: Singlehood is often framed within a deficit framework, with the expectation that being single during young adulthood may be costly for well-being. That approach, however, does not account for young adults\u27 romantic goals, which may shape how being single is connected to well-being. Method: Participants were 909 American young adults, ages 18–35 (M = 26.6, 51% female, 81% heterosexual, 58% White, non-Hispanic), who completed an online survey in December 2019. Results: Being single, compared to having a romantic partner, was associated with lower love life satisfaction, general life satisfaction, and flourishing. However, the associations with general life and love life satisfaction were attenuated by relationship dismissal. Conclusion: Although single young adults reported lower general and love life satisfaction and flourishing, when perceptions of relationship importance were taken into account, relationship dismissal ameliorated the effect of being single on love life satisfaction and general life satisfaction. Placing less importance on romantic relationships may be a promotive factor for single young adults\u27 positive well-being. Implications: These findings have implications for supporting young adults\u27 positive well-being, particularly by framing singlehood as normative and, in some cases, preferable to romantic involvement

Is breaking up hard to do? Exploring emerging adults’ beliefs about their abilities to end romantic relationships

Objective: We explored emerging adults’ beliefs about their ability to end romantic relationships (i.e., breakup beliefs) and identified demographic, personality, and romantic experience factors associated with breakup beliefs. Background: Emerging adulthood typically involves forming and dissolving multiple romantic unions. Thus, ending relationships is a key component of emerging adult romantic development. Method: 948 emerging adults, recruited from Qualtrics Panel Services, participated in a cross-sectional study of romantic experiences and health outcomes. Results: Most participants perceive they are able to carry out breakup related tasks. Most participants reported knowing when to break up, being able to do so appropriately, being able to accept it when someone breaks up with them, and not delaying breaking up. However, a sizable proportion of participants (23.5% to 47.1% depending upon the item) reported that they lacked the skills necessary to end romantic relationships. Beliefs about the ability to end relationships were most consistently associated with emerging adults’ general self-efficacy. Conclusions: Although most emerging adults in the sample appear confident in their abilities to break up, a sizeable minority of this sample may lack key skills to end relationships. Implications: Relationship education programs for emerging adults generally do not focus on relationship dissolution. Yet, the findings from this study suggest that some emerging adults may need opportunities to build skills that will help them exit relationships that are unhealthy, unsatisfying, or out of sync with their individual goals

Autonomous Golf Cart

Cedarville University’s Autonomous Golf Cart Senior Design Project’s mission is to provide engineering students with hands on experience with industry standard intelligent vehicle technologies, solve open-ended, multi-dimensional problems, and provide an autonomous transportation service to the greater campus community. Our autonomous technology will share the sidewalks; therefore, the public image of our autonomous routing service is critically linked with its technical performance. The autonomous golf cart has two major design areas: the cart’s hardware and its software. Within hardware, our team created functional braking and an H-Bridge for reversing. Within software, our team moved the codebase to a new software framework, implemented dynamic routing, and began obstacle avoidance using LiDAR