Immaterial Traditions: Evolving Values in the Practice & Preservation of Bhutanese Calligraphy

Lying somewhere between art, craft and document, the place of calligraphy in Bhutanese culture is difficult to singularly define: individual practice and motivation conform to the predetermined aesthetic of alphabets, and creativity serves the pragmatic end of documentation. In Bhutan\u27s ancient history, the art of handwriting developed out of necessity, used for religious records and correspondences Bhutanese society, given the convenience of digital text. While cultural preservation has been a political imperative in Bhutan since the 1960\u27s, the preservation of traditional crafts is mostly limited to those that appeal to increasing tourist market. While the active preservation of Bhutan\u27s unique cursive script is evident in recent efforts to program masterful handwriting into computer fonts, this method of preservation neglects the other elects of calligraphic art in its traditional form. The entire cycle of production, once in the control of the individual artist, has become standardized, and thereby incongruous with both traditional and modern intentions. Through discussion with calligraphers involved in the preservation of Bhutan\u27s cultural heritage, this study examines the question: what exactly should be preserved? This study also provides detailed documentations of traditional material manufacture, in an attempt to illuminate the inexorable nature of calligraphic form and content. Can one isolate the product from the material, the material from the practice, the practice form the individual? What in this cycle is culturally extraneous, and what is worth preserving

A Model-Based Approach to CubeSat Propulsion and Payload Analysis

Currently, there are only limited ways to increase mission success of CubeSats in terms of component and mission compatibility. The Payload Analysis Tool (PAT), developed by Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) students, combines the power of multiple tools to analyze payload compatibility on a single CubeSat bus. The PAT simulates a CubeSat mission with a variety of payloads to better understand how the payloads interact with the bus in terms of power, data rate, and memory, but it lacks a propulsion system. This thesis research advances the PAT by including a propulsion system which allows for increased mission time and unearths the issues CubeSats face after being in space for an extended period

Practical methods of health behavior change: A discussion of two interventional studies

Programs designed to improve health outcomes do not always result in meaningful positive behavior change. Their efficacy may be limited by clinical resources and variation in motivation and learning style between patients. This presentation compares two studies: one aimed at improving the average daily step count of faculty and staff at the College of Saint Benedict through text message or social media encouragement, and one aimed at improving the bone health of female students through an online video or one-on-one provider-patient intervention. Both studies provide interesting comparisons of health interventions across different age groups, and between education versus motivation based behavior change. Both studies address the importance of applying research to the clinical setting. In the faculty/staff population, despite the absence of significant behavior change, 70.4 percent of participants who completed the post intervention survey reported text message and social media encouragement helped them be more active. Participants identified accountability as the main motivator for behavior change. Technology based health interventions may be important in making desirable health outcomes more accessible to patients and reduce the burden on health professionals. No gains in student learning in the education based intervention led to corresponding changes in behaviors. This provides some insights into the discordance between knowledge and behavior in college students, indicating a motivation instead of education based intervention may be more effective in this population. When considered together, the results of these two studies provide important insights for future research towards accessible behavior change

Women's experiences with migration in Nicaragua : connections between globalization and local health

Economic globalization is characterized by increased liberalization, privatization and deregulation of national economies, principally imposed via the International Monetary Fund’s and World Bank’s structural adjustment programs and poverty reduction strategies. The rationale for these strategies includes reducing the inflation rate, generating income to service debt payments, and increasing growth to combat poverty. Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been under structural adjustment and poverty reduction strategies since 1991. Forty-eight percent of the country is under the nationally defined poverty line. Under- and unemployment are a combined 60%. Migration is an oft-used survival strategy, with 7 out of 10 Nicaraguan migrants choosing to go to Costa Rica. The Nicaraguan Migration Network estimates a minimum 350,000 Nicaraguans in Costa Rica at any one time. Women bear a disproportional burden of the health inequalities that globalization- induced, employment-seeking migration causes. While there is already evidence showing that their health is negatively affected, there is no documentation in their own words of how they experience and understand these impacts. A qualitative study using interpretive description conducted 12 interviews and 2 participatory group activity sessions to explore how women understand their migration experiences and its health impacts. Results show structural and personal level causes and both beneficial and harmful effects. Explanations of causes include structural and cultural reasons. Migration affects women in particular ways due to gendered social and cultural roles within a polarized economic environment. It was difficult for participants to identify if the costs of migration were worth the benefits. A document analysis of structural adjustment agreements and poverty reduction strategy papers was also undertaken. Results show consistent limitations on the Nicaraguan government’s social spending budget, increased privatization and liberalization requirements, and specific amounts for debt service payments. The country’s currency is regularly devalued and there are limits on tariff barriers. In conclusion, it is clear that women are absorbing the cost of SAPs and PRSs at the household level and that migration is negatively affecting their health

From Organizations to Individuals: Psychoactive Substance Use By Professional Programmers

Psychoactive substances, which influence the brain to alter perceptions and moods, have the potential to have positive and negative effects on critical software engineering tasks. They are widely used in software, but that use is not well understood. We present the results of the first qualitative investigation of the experiences of, and challenges faced by, psychoactive substance users in professional software communities. We conduct a thematic analysis of hour-long interviews with 26 professional programmers who use psychoactive substances at work. Our results provide insight into individual motivations and impacts, including mental health and the relationships between various substances and productivity. Our findings elaborate on socialization effects, including soft skills, stigma, and remote work. The analysis also highlights implications for organizational policy, including positive and negative impacts on recruitment and retention. By exploring individual usage motivations, social and cultural ramifications, and organizational policy, we demonstrate how substance use can permeate all levels of software development.Comment: 11 pages + 2 for citations, 4 Tables. Preprint of a paper that will be published in the International Conference of Software Engineering (ICSE, 2023

An Examination of the Clarinet Music of Luigi Bassi

This dissertation focuses on the clarinet music of Luigi Bassi (1833-1871), an Italian clarinetist and composer. Biographical information and performance history for Luigi Bassi are included. Bassi wrote 27 works for clarinet, including 15 opera fantasies or transcriptions. Most of his works are housed in the Milan Conservatory library. This document provides analysis of all but two of Bassi's 27 works. For Bassi's pieces with ties to opera, I identified his source material and discussed the ways in which he manipulated the material. A brief synopsis of each opera is included. This study serves as a performance guide for those seeking to perform Bassi's clarinet works

Responsive neurostimulation for people with drug-resistant epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder

PURPOSE: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have comorbid epilepsy at much higher rates than the general population, and about 30% will be refractory to medication. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) should be referred for surgical evaluation, yet many with ASD and DRE are not resective surgical candidates. The aim of this study was to examine the response of this population to the responsive neurostimulator (RNS) System. METHODS: This multicenter study evaluated patients with ASD and DRE who underwent RNS System placement. Patients were included if they had the RNS System placed for 1 year or more. Seizure reduction and behavioral outcomes were reported. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. RESULTS: Nineteen patients with ASD and DRE had the RNS System placed at 5 centers. Patients were between the ages of 11 and 29 (median 20) years. Fourteen patients were male, whereas five were female. The device was implanted from 1 to 5 years. Sixty-three percent of all patients experienced a \u3e50% seizure reduction, with 21% of those patients being classified as super responders (seizure reduction \u3e90%). For the super responders, two of the four patients had the device implanted for \u3e2 years. The response rate was 70% for those in whom the device was implanted for \u3e2 years. Improvements in behaviors as measured by the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Improvement scale were noted in 79%. No complications from the surgery were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the authors\u27 experience in this small cohort of patients, the RNS System seems to be a promising surgical option in people with ASD-DRE

Efficacy of Electromyography and the Dead Bug Exercise

The Dead Bug exercise is performed in physical therapy clinics to restore lumbar spine stability and core strength in patients with lower back pain (LBP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using electromyography (EMG) feedback to enhance proper mechanics during the Dead Bug exercise. Sixteen healthy, college age students volunteered as subjects for the study. Subjects performed the Dead Bug (Fig. 1a.) with and without visual EMG cues and were given instructions on how to execute the exercise. Data was recorded using a BTS FREEEMG Analyzer and signal processed and data analyzed using the BTS SEMGanalyzer software (BTS Bioengineering, Brooklyn, NY). Electrodes were placed on the right rectus abdominis (RA) and right rectus femoris (RF) of each subject of the agonist and antagonist muscle of the movement, respectively. Subjects performed two trials of the exercise on two test days with two weeks in between testing. EMG data were normalized using subjects’ maximum voluntary contraction. Students’ paired t-tests were used for statistical analysis with a p \u3c 0.05 used for significance. The averages of the normalized EMG data (ND) between both visual trials for RA and RF, mean + standard deviation, were 0.302 ± 0.158 and 0.118 ± 0.094, respectively. The averages of the normalized EMG data between both nonvisual trials for RA and RF were 0.284 ± 0.146 and 0.084 ± 0.049, respectively. No significant differences were found for visual and nonvisual trials for agonist and antagonist muscles (Table 2). After evaluation of the study, the study protocol was determined to not be identical to a typical physical therapy setting which utilizes continuous feedback to the patient. Therefore, pilot testing of two subjects was performed on the Dying Bug exercise (Fig. 1b&c.) with continuous visual, biomechanical, palpation, and verbal feedback. As anticipated, a positive trend was shown in mean visual values relative to nonvisual values for the targeted muscles (Table 1)

The Use of EMG as a Physical Therapy Learning Aid

The purpose of this study was to compare the muscle recruitment of an agonist and antagonist muscle during the step up physical therapy exercise with and without visual electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback. 15 healthy, college-aged subjects were recruited to participate in the study. Subjects performed the step up with and without visual feedback in two separate sessions over a four week period. Muscle activity was recorded from the Vastus Medialis (VMO) of the target leg and Medial Gastrocnemius on the contralateral leg. EMG recordings were collected using a BTS FREEEMG system and data was processed using BTS SEMGanalyzer software (BTS Bioengineering, Brooklyn, NY). Results: Average Gastrocnemius muscle activity during visual sessions was .340 mV (SD .141) and .310 mV (SD .138) during non-visual sessions. Average VMO muscle activity was .309 mV (SD .097) during visual sessions and .299 mV (SD .139) during non-visual sessions. A paired t-test was used to determine statistical significance between visual and non-visual sessions. Values were considered significant with a p\u3c.05. No significant difference was observed between visual and non-visual trials for the agonist and antagonist muscles. Two subsequent trials were conducted while visual, verbal and palpation feedback was given throughout the entirety of the exercise. The results showed greater muscle activity in the agonist muscle and less activity in the antagonist muscle when the subject received biofeedback. These findings support the conclusions of previous studies (Holermann, Taian, Vieira, Taskiran, Ekblom, One-Bin), suggesting that EMG biofeedback can be used as a tool for proper muscle recruitment during physical therapy exercises

Reactions of selected pupils on inquiry forms and by personal interviews seeking to discover present interests and attitudes in the science of their own age level

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit