New Voices: Digital Description and Access: The Hugo L. Black Collection at the University of Alabama School of Law Library

The following paper was presented at the 2002 SELA/South Carolina Library Association Joint Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, as part of the “New Voices” program, sponsored by the University and College Libraries Section (UCLS) of SELA. The Southeastern Librarian is pleased to reprint the paper in its entirety. The Hugo L. Black Collection consists of an extensive book collection, various exhibits, personal correspondence, tapes and transcripts of interviews, descriptions of court decisions, office materials, biographical and bibliographical information, photographs, student papers, lecture notes, and personal memorabilia. Hugo LaFayette Black served two terms as a United States Senator, was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1937 until 1971, and “the most distinguished graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law.” Black died in 1971 soon after stepping down from the Court. Part of the Black collection is located in a replica of Justice Black’s Alexandria, Virginia study containing its original furnishings. I began processing the collection over two years ago and am nearing completion of the print materials

Material-based figure of merit for caloric materials

The efficient use of reversible thermal effects in magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, and elastocaloric materials is a promising avenue that can lead to a substantially increased efficiency of refrigeration and heat pumping devices, most importantly, those used in household and commercial cooling applications near ambient temperature. A proliferation in caloric material research has resulted in a wide array of materials where only the isothermal change in entropy in response to a handful of different field strengths over a limited range of temperatures has been evaluated and reported. Given the abundance of such data, there is a clear need for a simple and reliable figure of merit enabling fast screening and down-selection to justify further detailed characterization of those material systems that hold the greatest promise. Based on the analysis of several well-known materials that exhibit vastly different magnetocaloric effects, the Temperature averaged Entropy Change is introduced as a suitable early indicator of the material\u27s utility for magnetocaloric cooling applications, and its adoption by the caloric community is recommended

Compact and efficient elastocaloric heat pumps—Is there a path forward?

Elastocaloric cooling holds promise for energy-efficient heat pumping near room temperature with low environmental impact. Its adoption is, however, impeded by disproportionally large sizes of actuators compared with the active material volume. Taking magnetocaloric cooling as the baseline, the value of no more than 10:1 actuator volume to active material volume should lead to both size- and cost-effective solutions that may potentially be competitive with vapor-compression devices. With the goal to establish performance metrics that can lead to informed actuator selection for specific regenerator requirements, we analyze a wide range of elastocaloric materials and actuator technologies to find the best matches. We find that actuation with magnetic shape memory alloys meets all requirements; however, this technology is currently in early developmental stages and such actuators are not widely commercially available. Another promising and easily accessible option is standard rotary electric motors in combination with rotary-to-linear transduction mechanisms. A theoretical analysis of two case studies of elastocaloric systems using rotary electric motors with a Scotch yoke mechanism demonstrates the usefulness of our approach. Actuator requirements are based on two different regenerator configurations: one starting from zero strain without any mechanical energy recovery and another with 2% pre-strain and mechanical energy recovery to reduce the power and torque required from the motor. Our results indicate that the 10:1 target actuator to active material volume ratio can be met and feasibly lowered further, demonstrating that the proposed method for selecting actuators makes compact and efficient elastocaloric systems possible

What’s in a question? A Comparison of Student Questions in Two Learning Spaces

Active learning pedagogy is thought to allow more opportunities for student interaction. Given that students are more interactive, student questions may reveal how active learning pedagogy may enhance student learning outcomes. The purpose of this research was to investigate the frequency, distribution, and type of questions asked by students during class meetings in two instructional contexts: a traditional lecture classroom and an interactive learning space classroom. A neuroanatomy and neurophysiology for speech, language and hearing course was taught in the two spaces in subsequent semesters. A total of 99 enrolled students gave consent. Six 75-minute class meetings from each classroom were recorded; questions were transcribed, labeled for location and coded for depth: non-content, foundational knowledge, and application of knowledge questions. The results revealed that the frequency of student questions was similar in both spaces. However, the questions were more distributed in the interactive space. The highest proportion of questions posed were application questions in both spaces with more application questions in the traditional space but more non-content questions in the interactive space. Course design, immediacy, and student maturity may have influenced the types of questions observed. Instructors who implement active learning pedagogy may see more student engagement through questions

Students\u27 Perspectives Following Involvement in a Constraint Induced Aphasia Therapy Research Project

The purpose of this project was to provide a reflection on four students’ collaborative research experience implementing Constraint-Induced Aphasia Therapy and highlight the importance of student involvement in research opportunities. Guided reflections were completed and analyzed through a collaborative model to generate common themes of: 1) increased confidence in cuing and 2) adapting individualized treatment. Student engagement in clinical research enhances the quality of their educational experience by fostering clinical competence and confidence

Supporting Narrative Retells for People With Aphasia Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Photographs or Line Drawings? Text or No Text?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the interface design of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device influences the communication behaviors of people with aphasia during a narrative retell task. Method: A case-series design was used. Four narratives were created on an AAC device with combinations of personally relevant (PR) photographs, line drawings (LDs), and text for each participant. The narrative retells were analyzed to describe the expressive modality units (EMUs) used, trouble sources experienced, and whether trouble sources were repaired. The researchers also explored the participants’ perceived helpfulness of the interface features. Results: The participants primarily used spoken EMUs to retell their narratives. They relied on PR photographs more frequently than LDs; however, they reported both picture types to be equally helpful. Text was frequently used and reported as helpful by all 4 people with aphasia. Participants experienced similar rates of trouble sources across conditions; however, they displayed unique trends for successful repairs of trouble sources. onclusion: For narrative retells, LDs may serve as an effective visual support when PR photographs are unavailable. Individual assessment is necessary to determine the optimum combination of supports in AAC systems for people with aphasia

Supporting Narrative Retells for People with Aphasia using AAC: Photographs or Line Drawings? Text or No Text?

People with aphasia (PWAs) have demonstrated the ability to learn augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that employ traditional grid layouts to enhance their communication; however, the process is typically lengthy and yields limited generalization (Fox & Fried-Oken, 2001; Koul & Harding, 1998). In response, researchers have begun to investigate the use of visual scene displays (VSDs) to support the communication interactions of PWAs by capitalizing on their relatively intact episodic memory (Beukelman, Dietz, McKelvey, Hux, & Weissling, in press; Dietz, Beukelman, & McKelvey, 2006a; Dietz, McKelvey, Beukelman, Weissling, & Hux, 2006b; McKelvey, Dietz, Hux, Weissling, & Beukelman, 2007). High-technology VSDs may include various combinations of photographs, text boxes and speak buttons (see Figure 1); however, the specific elements of VSDs that best support the communication of PWAs is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the impact of personally relevant (PR) photographs and line drawings (LDs) as well as the presence of text on four AAC interfaces, on the communication of PWAs during a personal narrative retell task

Supporting Narrative Retells for People with Aphasia using AAC: Photographs or Line Drawings? Text or No Text?

People with aphasia (PWAs) have demonstrated the ability to learn augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that employ traditional grid layouts to enhance their communication; however, the process is typically lengthy and yields limited generalization (Fox & Fried-Oken, 2001; Koul & Harding, 1998). In response, researchers have begun to investigate the use of visual scene displays (VSDs) to support the communication interactions of PWAs by capitalizing on their relatively intact episodic memory (Beukelman, Dietz, McKelvey, Hux, & Weissling, in press; Dietz, Beukelman, & McKelvey, 2006a; Dietz, McKelvey, Beukelman, Weissling, & Hux, 2006b; McKelvey, Dietz, Hux, Weissling, & Beukelman, 2007). High-technology VSDs may include various combinations of photographs, text boxes and speak buttons (see Figure 1); however, the specific elements of VSDs that best support the communication of PWAs is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the impact of personally relevant (PR) photographs and line drawings (LDs) as well as the presence of text on four AAC interfaces, on the communication of PWAs during a personal narrative retell task

Personalizing AAC for People with Aphasia: The Role of Text and Pictures

Over time, and with intensive instruction, people with aphasia (PWAs) can learn to use grid-based, categorically organized, high-technology AAC layouts during structured tasks (e.g., Hough & Johnson, 2009). In an effort to reduce the training intensity required to teach PWAs to use AAC; researchers developed visual scene displays (VSDs), designed to complement the residual cognitive and linguistic abilities of PWAs by tapping their intact episodic memory. VSD interfaces incorporate personally relevant (PR) photos, text, and speech output (Dietz, McKelvey, & Beukelman, 2006; Weissling & Beukelman, 2006). VSDs appear to facilitate improved communication success (e.g., McKelvey, Dietz, Hux, Weissling, & Beukelman, 2007) as well as relatively efficient learning of system navigation with less instruction than reported for traditional grid layouts (McKelvey et al., 2007; Wallace & Hux, 2012). Figure 1 contrasts VSD and grid interfaces. The success of VSDs is frequently attributed to the PR photographs; however, investigators have not examined the impact of the various VSD elements on communication behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of PR photographs and the presence of text on a VSD interface on the communication behaviors of PWAs during a narrative retell task