Outcome Expectations and Environmental Factors Associated with Engineering College-Going: A Case Study

Family, school, and community contexts each link to secondary school enrollment, yet these factors have been comparatively examined only in limited ways. A holistic examination of contextual factors will be particularly important for engineering where college enrollment patterns vary by demographics. To begin explaining patterns of engineering college-going at different high schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia, we answered the following research questions: Within a single school system and from a socializer’s perspective, what outcome expectations and environmental factors influence students’ engineering-related postsecondary educational plans? How are these factors the same and different between high schools within a school district? Using a single-case-study approach and in-depth interviews with socializers (teachers, administrators, and counselors), we examined similarities and differences in outcome expectations and environmental factors at three high schools within a single school district. By integrating the results regarding outcome expectations and environmental factors, three important findings emerged: (1) relationships between outcome expectations and environmental factors vary across schools within the same system, (2) proximity to a postsecondary institution is not just about physical distance, and (3) messaging regarding career pathways matters. Each of these has practical implications but can also set the foundation for future research

Social Constructivism in Learning: Peer Teaching & Learning

Social constructivism is an educational theory that can be applied in collaborative ways to facilitate student peer teaching and learning. University faculty may be unfamiliar with how to plan, structure, and instruct students in peer teaching and learning projects while providing an emotionally supportive environment. This article will identify characteristics of course activities that promote peer teaching and learning. Two student examples of a three-component peer teaching module will be highlighted along with the grading rubric. This article also describes an assignment module that was offered in a face-to-face second-year course in a professional allied health program. These assignment guidelines could also be utilized in general education courses and upper level courses in various colleges within the university. The peer teaching and learning model could also encourage student engagement in online synchronous or asynchronous learning

Safety and Improvement of Movement Function After Stroke with Atomoxetine: A Pilot Randomized Trial

Background: Intensive, task-oriented motor training has been associated with neuroplastic reorganization and improved upper extremity movement function after stroke. However, to optimize such training for people with moderate-to-severe movement impairment, pharmacological modulation of neuroplasticity may be needed as an adjuvant intervention. Objective: Evaluate safety, as well as improvement in movement function, associated with motor training paired with a drug to upregulate neuroplasticity after stroke. Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 12 subjects with chronic stroke received either atomoxetine or placebo paired with motor training. Safety was assessed using vital signs. Upper extremity movement function was assessed using Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Wolf Motor Function Test, and Action Research Arm Test at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Results: No significant between-groups differences were found in mean heart rate (95% CI, –12.4–22.6; p = 0.23), mean systolic blood pressure (95% CI, –1.7–29.6; p = 0.21), or mean diastolic blood pressure (95% CI, –10.4–13.3; p = 0.08). A statistically significant between-groups difference on Fugl-Meyer at post-intervention favored the atomoxetine group (95% CI, 1.6–12.7; p = 0.016). Conclusion: Atomoxetine combined with motor training appears safe and may optimize motor training outcomes after stroke

Safety and Improvement of Movement Function After Stroke with Atomoxetine: A Pilot Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND: Intensive, task-oriented motor training has been associated with neuroplastic reorganization and improved upper extremity movement function after stroke. However, to optimize such training for people with moderate-to-severe movement impairment, pharmacological modulation of neuroplasticity may be needed as an adjuvant intervention. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate safety, as well as improvement in movement function, associated with motor training paired with a drug to upregulate neuroplasticity after stroke. METHODS: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 12 subjects with chronic stroke received either atomoxetine or placebo paired with motor training. Safety was assessed using vital signs. Upper extremity movement function was assessed using Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Wolf Motor Function Test, and Action Research Arm Test at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. RESULTS: No significant between-groups differences were found in mean heart rate (95% CI, -12.4-22.6; p = 0.23), mean systolic blood pressure (95% CI, -1.7-29.6; p = 0.21), or mean diastolic blood pressure (95% CI, -10.4-13.3; p = 0.08). A statistically significant between-groups difference on Fugl-Meyer at post-intervention favored the atomoxetine group (95% CI, 1.6-12.7; p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Atomoxetine combined with motor training appears safe and may optimize motor training outcomes after stroke

Gradient lithography of engineered proteins to fabricate 2D and 3D cell culture microenvironments

Spatial patterning of proteins is a valuable technique for many biological applications and is the prevailing tool for defining microenvironments for cells in culture, a required procedure in developmental biology and tissue engineering research. However, it is still challenging to achieve protein patterns that closely mimic native microenvironments, such as gradient protein distributions with desirable mechanical properties. By combining projection dynamic mask lithography and protein engineering with non-canonical photosensitive amino acids, we demonstrate a simple, scalable strategy to fabricate any user-defined 2D or 3D stable gradient pattern with complex geometries from an artificial extracellular matrix (aECM) protein. We show that the elastic modulus and chemical nature of the gradient profile are biocompatible and allow useful applications in cell biological research

THE EXPERIENCE OF MEDITATION, AND ITS EFFECTS ON ATTENTION, FOR ADULTS WITH STROKE OR ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: A THREE-PART DISSERTATION WITH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE

Impairment of attention is common after stroke; is a defining characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and has been shown to correlate significantly with difficulties in daily life for individuals with these conditions. More research is needed to establish effective interventions addressing impaired attention in such cases. Meditation is not a standard-of-care intervention for this purpose but may have therapeutic potential. Meditation has been broadly defined as an activity which has self-regulation of attention as its main aim. In other words, it can be considered a training of attention. To shed light on the therapeutic potential of meditation, including its objective effects on impaired attention due to stroke or ADHD, the author of this dissertation conducted three original studies. Study 1 was a qualitative phenomenological investigation of the experience of meditation after stroke. Participants were individuals aged 18 or older who self-reported that they were in the chronic stage of stroke recovery and had participated in meditation (broadly defined) after stroke. A main utility of the Study 1 findings was to lay groundwork for generating testable hypotheses about how clinical and research protocols may be tailored to afford participation in (or targeted outcomes of) meditation in cases of impaired attention after stroke. Study 1 findings can also serve as an intervention-design resource on meditation after stroke. For example: findings indicated that while participation in meditation after stroke can be afforded by non-traditional elements (e.g., chair seating as opposed to the tradition of sitting cross-legged on the floor), traditions may also enhance participation in meditation after stroke (e.g., candle-lighting; a consistent time for meditation). Findings such as these speak not only to practical feasibility but also tenets of occupational therapy that explicitly designate routines as structures by which life is organized and health may be promoted; and rituals, as meaningful actions that contribute to a client’s identity (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020). Study 2 used a quantitative, non-concurrent, multiple-baseline, across-subjects, single-case design. The main objective was to test whether mantra meditation would have a therapeutic effect on impaired sustained attention for adults between the ages of 18 and 70 with attention impairment in the chronic stage of recovery after right-hemisphere ischemic stroke. Mantra meditation was operationalized as audible utterance of the syllable um by the subject for 30 consecutive minutes per intervention day. For each subject, the study comprised 11 one-hour days evenly spaced throughout four consecutive weeks, which included time for not only intervention but also testing. Results showed evidence in favor of a therapeutic effect for one out of a total of three enrolled subjects. Thus, further research is recommended to support more than limited clinical use of Study 2’s mantra meditation to target impaired attention after stroke. Practitioners who employ the protocol of Study 2 based on its anecdotal and incidental evidence should monitor attention and related functional status during treatment as well as consider modifying the salience-related aspects of the meditation in keeping with clinical judgement and client preferences. Study 3 was a phase II, single blind, randomized controlled superiority trial with two arms (active versus comparison). The main objective was to evaluate the effects of mantra meditation on sustained attention impairment for adults with ADHD. Active mantra meditation was operationalized as having the subject say the syllables sa ta ma na out loud at a comfortable pace and volume while touching the thumb to each successive fingertip in time with the syllable’s intonation. Mantra meditation in the comparison condition was designed to be more motorically passive than active mantra meditation. Specifically, subjects in the comparison condition were instructed to sit quietly with thumb touching index fingertip while attentively listening to an audio recording of the continual sound of the syllable om repeated over ambient background sound. For all subjects, the assigned dose was 15 minutes, once per day, for six consecutive days. Because results of Study 3 indicated significant promise that mantra meditation can improve impaired attention in adult ADHD, they support the judicious application of either the active or the comparison protocol as interventions to remediate impaired attention due to adult ADHD. Overall, findings from this dissertation may be used to inform future research related to meditation, occupation, neuroplasticity, and rehabilitation for adults with pathologically impaired attention. More specifically, future mixed-methods investigation of associations between meaning- or salience-related variables of mantra meditation (e.g., ascribed meaning; complexity of enunciation); neurophysiological and behavioral indices of attention; and functional outcomes for adults with impaired attention due to stroke or ADHD is recommended

The roles of socializers in career choice decisions for high school students in rural central Appalachia: "Who's doing what?"

Students from low social economic status (SES) groups remain underrepresented in higher education and particularly in STEM fields. From existing literature, we know some of the barriers in promoting STEM careers among people in low SES groups include a lack of role models, understanding or misconceptions of STEM careers, and knowing about STEM career opportunities. The purpose of our research is to explore the potential influence of socializers on students as they make career choice decisions (primarily in science and engineering) from student's and educator's perspectives. We focused on students from Appalachia because they typically come from lower SES, are often first generation college (FGC) students, and are underrepresented in STEM fields, making their college and career choices particularly important to understand. We framed our research in Eccles' Expectancy Value Theory using data from an on-line informational questionnaire with educational stakeholders and in-person interviews with high school students from rural central Appalachia. Consistent with EVT, our findings reveal that students consider their parents and their educators as valuable socializers. Educators, however, value outreach activities provided by professionals to help students explore engineering career choices. This is consistent with a reported lack of confidence in ability to talk with students regarding engineering careers. By comparing the perspectives of students and educators, we begin to address the potential gaps of "who's doing what" with respect to assisting students as they navigate career choice decision making in high school