Freedom, Mystery, and Kinds of Desire: The Doctrine of Theosis and Free Will\u27s Intelligibility Question

Undergraduate Textual or Investigativ

Statistical Methods for Planning Diesel Engine Overhauls in the U. S. Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard has recently investigated new strategies to maintain cutter propulsion diesel engines. Reliability centered maintenance with statistical methods may allow the time between costly scheduled overhauls to be increased. One indicator of engine aging is the number of failures experienced with increasing operating hours. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the failure-time relationship of the ALCO 251 marine diesel propulsion engine operated on Reliance class cutters. This analysis used exponential, Weibull, and three-part composite Weibull failure density functions to model engine casualty data dating back to 1978. The data does not indicate the source of the engine failure, but every failure had a significant operational impact. Results indicate an increasing failure rate as the engine ages to the 24,000 hour overhaul time. The evidence indicates a constant failure useful life region, but the increasing failure rate from the Weibull models suggests that the periodic over-hauls do not prevent wearout failures. As a result, the Coast Guard should consider refining diesel engine overhaul policy in order to prevent increasing age-related failures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86221/1/Perakis3.pd

Felt deficits in time with children: Individual and contextual factors across 27 European countries

A sizeable portion of parents say they lack time with children—an important social problem given that time strains link to parental well-being. Extending perspectives on the demands and rewards of parenting beyond the individual level, we provide a contextual-level window onto mothers' and fathers' time strains. Based on data from the European Quality of Life Survey 2016/17 (n = 5,898), we analyze whether parents feel they spend enough time caring for their children using multilevel models. We first observe that country context matters in that perceptions of time only moderately or weakly relate to hours with children across countries, especially for fathers, suggesting varying social expectations across Europe. Second, in multivariate analyses examining micro- and macro-level factors, we show that at the individual level, feeling too little time with children is more frequent among fathers and those who work more hours, even when controlling for estimated weekly hours spent caring for children. At the country level, parents' time strain is higher in countries where employees have less time and place flexibility, typically in Central and Eastern as well as Southern Europe. Gender norms matter as well. Extending contextual perspectives, we argue that how gender-work-family regimes color felt time strain is a promising future research direction

Audiovisual Integration Under Different Conditions of Hearing Loss

In any listening environment, normal or compromised, humans integrate the auditory and visual cues provided, in comprehending speech. One unresolved question is how different forms of hearing loss differentially impact the integration process. The present study investigated how degradation of the auditory signal due to two types of hearing loss inhibited a listener’s ability to integrate. Ten adult listeners, with normal or corrected-to-normal vision and auditory thresholds at or better than 25 dB HL across all frequencies, were presented with everyday sentences produced by four different talkers from the HeLPs software by Sensimetrics, Inc. Each sentence was presented in audio-only, visual-only, and audio+visual modalities. Auditory input simulated a sloping hearing loss (55 dB HL at 1000 Hz) and the stimulus presented by an 8-channel cochlear implant. Results of testing suggest that sentences presented in the cochlear implant condition were more intelligible, while sentences in the sloping condition showed the greatest audio-visual integration. These findings raise a question about the fidelity of the cochlear implant simulation in the software, given that such a result is not likely in real-world situations. Results of the present study may have implications for development of speech-reading and aural rehabilitation programs in the future.The Ohio State University Undergraduate College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Research GrantNo embargoAcademic Major: Speech and Hearing Scienc

Photolysis of para-substituted styrene polymers

This thesis describes the photolysis of para-substituted styrene polymers. Poly(vinylacetophenone), poly(p-bromostyrene), poly(p-chlorostyrene), poly(p-fluorostyrene), poly(p-isopropylstyrene), poly(p-methoxystyrene), and poly(p-tert-butylstyrene) films have been irradiated with short-wave ultraviolet radiation (wavelengths less than 300nm) under high vacuum at 25°C. Poly(vinyl acetophenone) has also been irradiated with long-wave ultraviolet radiation (wavelengths greater than 300nm) under high vacuum at 25°C

Presuming the influence of the media: teenagers’ constructions of gender identity through sexual/romantic relationships and alcohol consumption

Using empirical data from group discussions and in-depth interviews with 13 to 15-year olds in Scotland, this study explores how teenagers’ alcohol drinking and sexual/romantic relationships were shaped by their quest for appropriate gendered identities. In this, they acknowledged the influence of the media, but primarily in relation to others, not to themselves, thereby supporting Milkie's ‘presumed media influence’ theory. Media portrayals of romantic/sexual relationships appeared to influence teenagers’ constructions of gender-appropriate sexual behaviour more than did media portrayals of drinking behaviour, perhaps because the teenagers had more firsthand experience of observing drinking than of observing sexual relationships. Presumed media influence may be less influential if one has experience of the behaviour portrayed. Drinking and sexual behaviour were highly interrelated: sexual negotiation and activities were reportedly often accompanied by drinking. For teenagers, being drunk or, importantly, pretending to be drunk, may be a useful way to try out what they perceived to be gender-appropriate identities. In sum, teenagers’ drinking and sexual/romantic relationships are primary ways in which they do gender and the media's influence on their perceptions of appropriate gendered behaviour is mediated through peer relationships

Fathers stepping up? A cross-national comparison of fathers’ domestic labour and parents’ satisfaction with the division of domestic labour during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted work and family life around the world. For parents, this upending meant a potential re-negotiation of the ‘status quo’ in the gendered division of labour. A comparative lens provides extended understandings of changes in fathers’ domestic work based in socio-cultural context–in assessing the size and consequences of change in domestic labour in relation to the type of work-care regime. Using novel harmonized data from four countries (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands) and a work-care regime framework, this study examines cross-national changes in fathers’ shares of domestic labour during the early months of the pandemic and whether these changes are associated with parents’ satisfaction with the division of labour. Results indicate that fathers’ shares of housework and childcare increased early in the pandemic in all countries, with fathers’ increased shares of housework being particularly pronounced in the US. Results also show an association between fathers’ increased shares of domestic labour and mothers’ increased satisfaction with the division of domestic labour in the US, Canada, and the UK. Such comparative work promises to be generative for understanding the pandemic’s imprint on gender relations far into the future

Are sexual media exposure, parental restrictions on media use and co-viewing TV and DVDs with parents and friends associated with teenagers' early sexual behaviour?

Sexual content in teenagers' media diets is known to predict early sexual behaviour. Research on sexual content has not allowed for the social context of media use, which may affect selection and processing of content. This study investigated whether sexual media content and/or contextual factors (co-viewing, parental media restrictions) were associated with early sexual behaviour using 2251 14–15 year-olds from Scotland, UK. A third (<i>n</i> = 733) reported sexual intercourse. In multivariable analysis the likelihood of intercourse was lower with parental restriction of sexual media and same-sex peer co-viewing; but higher with mixed-sex peer co-viewing. Parental co-viewing, other parental restrictions on media and sexual film content exposure were not associated with intercourse. Findings suggest the context of media use may influence early sexual behaviour. Specific parental restrictions on sexual media may offer more protection against early sex than other restrictions or parental co-viewing. Further research is required to establish causal mechanisms

System-level factors influencing refugee women's access and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services: A qualitative study of providers’ perspectives

Refugee women have poor outcomes and low utilization of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, which may be driven by access to and quality of SRH services at their resettled destinations. While healthcare providers offer valuable insights into these topics, little research has explored United States (U.S.) providers' experiences. To fill this literature gap, we investigate U.S. providers' perspectives of healthcare system-related factors influencing refugee women's access and utilization of SRH services. Between July and December 2019, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 17 providers serving refugee women in metropolitan Atlanta in the state of Georgia (United States). We used convenience and snowball sampling for recruitment. We inquired about system-related resources, facilitators, and barriers influencing SRH services access and utilization. Two coders analyzed the data using a qualitative thematic approach. We found that transportation availability was crucial to refugee women's SRH services access. Providers noted a tension between refugee women's preferred usage of informal interpretation assistance (e.g., family and friends) and healthcare providers’ desire for more formal interpretation services. Providers reported a lack of funding and human resources to offer comprehensive SRH services as well as several challenges with using a referral system for women to get SRH care in other systems. Culturally and linguistically-concordant patient navigators were successful at helping refugee women navigate the healthcare system and addressing language barriers. We discussed implications for future research and practice to improve refugee women's SRH care access and utilization. In particular, our findings underscore multilevel constraints of clinics providing SRH care to refugee women and highlight the importance of transportation services and acceptable interpretation services. While understudied, the use of patient navigators holds potential for increasing refugee women's SRH care access and utilization. Patient navigation can both effectively address language-related challenges for refugee women and help them navigate the healthcare system for SRH. Future research should explore organizational and external factors that can facilitate or hinder the implementation of patient navigators for refugee women's SRH care

Rapid adaptive optical recovery of optimal resolution over large volumes

Using a descanned, laser-induced guide star and direct wavefront sensing, we demonstrate adaptive correction of complex optical aberrations at high numerical aperture (NA) and a 14-ms update rate. This correction permits us to compensate for the rapid spatial variation in aberration often encountered in biological specimens and to recover diffraction-limited imaging over large volumes (>240 mm per side). We applied this to image fine neuronal processes and subcellular dynamics within the zebrafish brain