First Year Students Use of OAS Services in Fall 2020

This presentation provides information about the first year student use of OAS services--particularly the tutoring and SI services during the Fall 2020 semester.https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/flc_first_year_students/1000/thumbnail.jp

Understanding Students’ Typing Skills: Evaluating the Effects and Efficiency of a Typing Intervention for Elementary School Students

Common Core State Standards require elementary school students to have sufficient keyboarding skills. Specifically, students are expected to use computers to produce a written composition in a single sitting. Despite Common Core State standards, students are not performing proficiently on computer-based writing assessments. Research suggests computers are not being used in writing instruction and comparisons of typed and handwritten assignments for elementary school students revealed that students type significantly less than they handwrite. Therefore, students may not have pre-requisite typing skills necessary to compose a quality typed composition. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effects of an online typing intervention on fourth- and fifth-grade students’ writing performance

Application of Scanning Probe Microscopy for New Physical Measurements and Studies of Surface Chemical Reactions of Materials at the Molecular Level

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) provides unique capabilities for surface visualization and measurements that reach atomic and molecular dimensions. My research focus is directed toward applying and developing new measurements for analytical and surface chemistry with SPM. Two distinct goals based on studies with atomic force microscopy (AFM) will be described within this dissertation. The primary goal was to develop and apply a new AFM imaging mode for ultrasensitive measurements of the superparamagnetic properties of proteins. Magnetic sample modulation (MSM)-AFM, has capabilities to investigate and map the magnetic response of nanomaterials with unprecedented spatial resolution. The second goal was to apply high resolution AFM to probe the scaling and magnitude of corrosion of copper surfaces as a function of selected chemical parameters. Characterization of the magnetic properties of nanomaterials using a new AFM imaging mode will be described in the first part of the dissertation. Ferritin is a model nanomaterial for SPM studies because of the superparamagnetic iron-oxide (Fe2O3) core and ultra small dimensions of the protein, as described in Chapter 3. Periodic arrays of ferritin architectures were fabricated on surfaces and used as test platforms for measurements with magnetic sample modulation (MSM), for mapping the magnetic domains of ferritin are described in Chapters 4 and 5. The new MSM approach combines contact mode AFM with electromagnetic modulation of samples to measure the vibration and motion of nanomaterials. Proof-of-concept results demonstrate the capabilities for selective mapping of individual ferritin molecules through vibration of the superparamagnetic iron cores. Corrosion by-products from copper plumbing that are released into tap water are known to impact water quality and are detrimental to consumer health. The second part of this dissertation (Chapter 6) presents results for surface changes caused by water chemistry parameters typical of domestic water supplies. In this study, AFM was used to characterize nanoscale changes in surface morphology caused by chemical treatments at the earliest onset of copper corrosion as a function of pH, solution concentration and immersion intervals of copper substrates. Conclusions and future directions for the work of this dissertation will be summarized in Chapter 7

Young Journalists Today: Journalism Students’ Perceptions of the Ever-evolving Industry

Today’s journalism students are learning in a time in which new technology innovations, including online news sites, blogs, and social media, have become a prominent part of the journalism industry. Whether it’s newspapers, public relations, or broadcast, technology has become a part of every area of journalism. While several studies have focused on how journalism classes should be taught in lieu of this change, how students are learning and how they feel about this changing industry has yet to be shared. This research uses both a survey of 203 current, undergraduate pre-journalism students at a large, Southwestern university, as well as focus group interviews with several subgroups of 11 of those students. The results show, not surprisingly, that journalism students are heavy users of technology and social media. They also show that a majority of journalism students prefers consuming media online. However, although students use technology and social media frequently, and also consume media online, there is evidence that suggests that they would rather learn face-to-face with an instructor than take online classes. In addition, they feel positive about their future in the changing industry

Physiology and Lateralization of Swallowing: a Comparison Between Young and Old Adults.

Age-related changes in discrete swallows have been well researched, but few studies have investigated sequential swallowing with little emphasis on age-related changes. It is also unclear whether the cortical representation of swallowing is lateralized to one hemisphere or is bilaterally represented. As such, the aims of this research were to examine deglutitive biomechanics of sequential straw swallowing (Experiment I), and study swallowing lateralization using a dual task paradigm in healthy, young and old adults (Experiment II). Thirty-eight right-handed men (young = 20, old = 18) were studied. Experiment I: Videofluoroscopic swallow samples of two 10-second straw drinking trials were obtained. Hyolaryngeal complex (HLC) movement patterns, leading bolus edge location, airway invasion, number of swallows, and volume per swallow were determined. Experiment II: Subjects were examined at baseline and with interference. Baseline conditions were continuous straw drinking, finger tapping right and left hand, word repetition, and visuospatial processing. Interference tasks, including finger tapping right hand, finger tapping left hand, silent repetition, and silent visuospatial processing were completed with swallowing. Experiment I: Three distinct patterns of HLC movement were identified during sequential straw drinking: (1) an opened laryngeal vestibule between swallows, (2) a closed laryngeal vestibule between swallows, and (3) a mixed movement pattern characterized by interchangeable opened and closed movements. The bolus was frequently in the distal pharynx at swallow onset during consecutive swallowing. This location was strongly associated with a closed laryngeal vestibule. No age-related changes were identified with these patterns. Penetration appeared to be a normal variant in sequential straw swallowing and was associated with a closed laryngeal vestibule and hypopharyngeal bolus location. Penetration was uncommon in the younger adults but occurred more frequently in the older adults. Experiment II: Findings indicated that both the right and left hemispheres contribute to swallowing. Right and left finger tapping, which selectively activates the left and right hemispheres respectively, interfered with swallowing. Silent repetition, which primarily activates the left hemisphere, and visuospatial processing, which primarily activates the right hemisphere, also interfered with swallowing when performed concurrently. Results suggest that bilateral cortical input is critical in the mediation of swallowing

Showcasing the contribution of social sciences to health policy and systems research

Background: This Special Issue represents a critical response to the frequent silencing of qualitative social science research approaches in mainstream public health journals, particularly in those that inform the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), and the study of equity in health. Methods: This collection of articles is presented by SHAPES, the thematic working group of Health Systems Global focused on social science approaches to research and engagement in health policy and systems. The issue aims to showcase how qualitative and theory-driven approaches can contribute to better promoting equity in health within the field of HPSR. Results: This issue builds on growing recognition of the complex social nature of health systems. The articles in this collection underscore the importance of employing methods that can uncover and help explain health system complexities by exploring the dynamic relationships and decision-making processes of the human actors within. Articles seek to highlight the contribution that qualitative, interpretivist, critical, emancipatory, and other relational methods have made to understanding health systems, health policies and health interventions from the perspective of those involved. By foregrounding actor perspectives, these methods allow us to explore the impact of vital but difficult-to-measure concepts such as power, culture and norms. Conclusion: This special issue aims to highlight the critical contribution of social science approaches. Through the application of qualitative methods and, in some cases, development of theory, the articles presented here build broader and deeper understanding of the way health systems function, and simultaneously inform a more people-centred approach to collective efforts to build and strengthen those systems.publishedVersio

Bentonite permeability at elevated temperature

Repository designs frequently favour geological disposal of radioactive waste with a backfill material occupying void space around the waste. The backfill material must tolerate the high temperatures produced by decaying radioactive waste to prevent its failure or degradation, leading to increased hydraulic conductivity and reduced sealing performance. The results of four experiments investigating the effect of temperature on the permeability of a bentonite backfill are presented. Bentonite is a clay commonly proposed as the backfill in repository designs because of its high swelling capacity and very low permeability. The experiments were conducted in two sets of purpose-built, temperature controlled apparatus, designed to simulate isotropic pressure and constant volume conditions within the testing range of 4–6 MPa average effective stress. The response of bentonite during thermal loading at temperatures up to 200 °C was investigated, extending the previously considered temperature range. The results provide details of bentonite’s intrinsic permeability, total stress, swelling pressure and porewater pressure during thermal cycles. We find that bentonite’s hydraulic properties are sensitive to thermal loading and the type of imposed boundary condition. However, the permeability change is not large and can mostly be accounted for by water viscosity changes. Thus, under 150 °C, temperature has a minimal impact on bentonite’s hydraulic permeabilit

Conservation practice could benefit from routine testing and publication of management outcomes

Effective conservation requires a step change in the way practitioners can contribute to science and can have access to research outputs. The journal Conservation Evidence was established in 2004 to help practitioners surmount several obstacles they face when attempting to document the effects of their conservation actions scientifically. It is easily and freely accessible online. It is free to publish in and it enables global communication of the effects of practical trials and experiments, which are virtually impossible to get published in most scientific journals. The driving force behind Conservation Evidence is the need to generate and share scientific information about the effects of interventions

Carbon exchange between a shelf sea and the ocean: The Hebrides Shelf, west of Scotland

Global mass balance calculations indicate the majority of particulate organic carbon (POC) exported from shelf seas is transferred via downslope exchange processes. Here we demonstrate the downslope flux of POC from the Hebrides Shelf is approximately 3-to-5-fold larger per unit length/area than the global mean. To reach this conclusion we quantified the offshore transport of particulate and dissolved carbon fractions via the “Ekman Drain”, a strong downwelling feature of the NW European Shelf circulation, and subsequently compared these fluxes to simultaneous regional air-sea CO2 fluxes and on-shore wind-driven Ekman fluxes to constrain the carbon dynamics of this shelf. Along the shelf break we estimate a mean offshelf total carbon (dissolved + particulate) flux of 4.2 tonnes C m−1 d−1 compared to an onshelf flux of 4.5 tonnes C m−1 d−1. Organic carbon represented 3.3% of the onshelf carbon flux but 6.4% of the offshelf flux indicating net organic carbon export. Dissolved organic carbon represented 95% and POC 5% of the exported organic carbon pool. When scaled along the shelf break the total offshelf POC flux (0.007 Tg C d−1) was found to be three times larger than the regional air-sea CO2 ingassing flux (0.0021 Tg C d−1), an order of magnitude larger than the particulate inorganic carbon flux (0.0003 Tg C d−1) but far smaller than the DIC (2.03 Tg C d−1) or DOC (0.13 Tg C d−1) fluxes. Significant spatial heterogeneity in the Ekman drain transport confirms that offshelf carbon fluxes via this mechanism are also spatially heterogeneous. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved