Social Justice Attitudes and Health: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Increasingly, social justice is being considered as a key factor associated with health outcome. In addition, there is growing interest in exploring perception of discrimination in healthcare settings. This study explored perceptions of social justice, health care discrimination, health care status and utilization of healthcare resources. The investigators predict a significant association between the level of social justice awareness and healthcare utilization based on the hypothesis that those who are cognizant of social inequities are more likely to be informed self-advocates in healthcare settings. Methods: First, a survey was created based on a review of existing literature. The survey assessed attitudes toward social justice, experiences of perceived discrimination the health care setting, and socio-demographics. The study was approved by the University of Rhode Island’s (URI)s institutional review board (IRB). A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted, and URI students were recruited via email and word of mouth. Interested students provided informed consent online and then were directed to the survey via Qualtrics, an online survey tool. Results: In total, 31 participants have completed the survey. The survey assessed attitudes toward social justice (Social Justice Scale, SJS), experiences of perceived discrimination in the healthcare setting, and socio-demographics. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. A T-test identified a significant difference in mean SJS score by1st-generation college student status. The significance for testing was

Relationship of attachment security to shame in young adults

Examines the relationship between early maternal attachment security and shame in young adults. The findings of this study have significant implications for parenting, including providing support for the importance of a secure relationship between mother and child and the developmental consequences of warm and secure caregiving experiences for their child

Analysis and experimental exploration of a nanofiltration membrane system, in the context of potential urine treatment processes.

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014.Abstract available in pdf file

Construction Vibration Monitoring in the Charleston, South Carolina Area

Vibrations generated during construction often affect adjacent and surrounding buildings and disturb neighboring residents in tightly spaced urban environments. These vibrations can lead to structural damage, especially to older structures. In Charleston, South Carolina, construction vibrations are of special concern due to the tight spacing, age, construction, and historic significance of many of the city’s buildings. Of particular interest are the vibrations generated from pile driving activities. Due to the nature of the lower coastal plain soils in the Charleston, SC area, the majority of new commercial structures are being founded on driven pile foundations bearing within the underlying Cooper Marl Formation. This paper presents the development of vibration threshold levels for both historic and modern structures in Charleston, SC and the case histories of five construction projects in which the developed criteria was used. Vibration data, pre and post-construction surveys, and crack monitoring device data collected during these construction projects were then analyzed to evaluate the vibration criteria

Pile Driving Vibration Energy-Attenuation Relationships in the Charleston, South Carolina Area

Vibrations generated by driven pile installation often affect adjacent and surrounding buildings in tightly spaced urban environments. These vibrations can lead to complaints from neighboring residents and businesses and/or cause structural damage to adjacent structures, especially older and historic buildings. Pile driving vibrations are of particular interest in the Charleston, South Carolina area since the majority of new structures are founded on driven pile foundations bearing within the underlying Cooper Marl Formation. By knowing the vibration attenuation relationship of a project area (i.e. the decrease in vibration amplitude with distance), it is possible to develop pile installation plans that minimize discomfort to residents and the risk of damage to adjacent structures. In addition, knowledge of the vibration attenuation relationship for a site can assist in determining the limits for pre-condition surveys to document the existing conditions of adjacent structures prior to pile driving operations. This paper presents the case histories of vibrations monitored during seven driven pile and one vibratory pile construction projects in the Charleston, South Carolina area. The vibration data was then analyzed to evaluate the energy-attenuation relationships for the individual sites. Comparisons of these analyses were then made in an effort to determine typical energy-attenuation relationships for driven piles within the Charleston, SC area

Atmospheric Energy Deposition Modeling and Inference for Varied Meteoroid Structures

Asteroids populations are highly diverse, ranging from coherent monoliths to loosely-bound rubble piles with a broad range of material and compositional properties. These different structures and properties could significantly affect how an asteroid breaks up and deposits energy in the atmosphere, and how much ground damage may occur from resulting blast waves. We have previously developed a fragment-cloud model (FCM) for assessing the atmospheric breakup and energy deposition of asteroids striking Earth. The approach represents ranges of breakup characteristics by combining progressive fragmentation with releases of variable fractions of debris and larger discrete fragments. In this work, we have extended the FCM to also represent asteroids with varied initial structures, such as rubble piles or fractured bodies. We have used the extended FCM to model the Chelyabinsk, Benesov, Kosice, and Tagish Lake meteors, and have obtained excellent matches to energy deposition profiles derived from their light curves. These matches provide validation for the FCM approach, help guide further model refinements, and enable inferences about pre-entry structure and breakup behavior. Results highlight differences in the amount of small debris vs. discrete fragments in matching the various flare characteristics of each meteor. The Chelyabinsk flares were best represented using relatively high debris fractions, while Kosice and Benesov cases were more notably driven by their discrete fragmentation characteristics, perhaps indicating more cohesive initial structures. Tagish Lake exhibited a combination of these characteristics, with lower-debris fragmentation at high altitudes followed by sudden disintegration into small debris in the lower flares. Results from all cases also suggest that lower ablation coefficients and debris spread rates may be more appropriate for the way in which debris clouds are represented in FCM, offering an avenue for future model refinement

Clear the Air: Moving towards a more supportive, welcoming, Tobacco-free Clark University

The deleterious health effects of the consumption of tobacco products, especially for youth, have been documented thoroughly and are nearly universally recognized. Numerous federal, state, and local regulations, coupled with health education and tobacco cessation initiatives have been launched to address these effects. Although these pushes have done much to reduce the rates of preventable health conditions and death due to the usage of tobacco, there remains much work to be done at the local level to discourage and disrupt patterns of substance use and abuse. The mission of Clark Clear the Air is to propose various and creative ways in which Clark University can work to reduce the rates at which tobacco products are used in our community, including a tobacco-free policy on campus, while simultaneously fostering a welcoming and supportive space and a community-based approach to accountability with this policy