Italian Cream Cake

A recipe for Italian cream cake

Ubiquitous Libidinal Infrastructures Of Urbanism: The Fringing Benefits Of Rhetorics In Architecture

Big-box culture - generally thought of as sprawl - is often suppressed or ignored within architectural design curricula. The overwhelming pervasiveness of big-box culture threatens the foundation of our discipline. We turn away, though it generates the context for many lives to happily unfold in this country. We remain only partially engaged with big-box because we do not fully understand its complexity. We argue with it, but at cross-purposes. This trans-disciplinary project brings rhetorical scholarship to bear on big-box culture. Emphasizing pedagogy, it offers architects and urbanists opportunities to design with more awareness about the ubiquitous, what drives it, and why its there. The project advances the concept ubiquitous libidinal infrastructures, defined as the externalized (physical and/ or digital) manifestations of human desire-driven energy flows. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Orlando, Florida are used as primary subjects of investigation through which theories of Jean-François Lyotard and Gregory Ulmer are introduced into the field of urbanism. In turn, this material and spatial re-reading of Lyotard and Ulmer offers the field of rhetoric important and timely access into the fields of urbanism and architecture, pushing both disciplines toward more actionable research on urbanism in light of today\u27s digital and networked society. The project also includes an account of a research venture involving two designers who intervened within the animal rendering industry. The author\u27s close encounter with rendering serves as another subject matter by which the concept of ubiquitous libidinal infrastructures gets developed. This chapter reveals a side of America\u27s libidinal infrastructure that we are blissfully unaware of. Conversely, it importantly exposes the rendering industry as a vital infrastructure supporting the standards of living within American urbanism This project argues that deeper investigations into big-box culture require disciplinary invention and expansion. It demonstrates that rhetoric can help designers and planners include a fuller spectrum of urbanism within their analysis. This design research project doesn\u27t try to solve the problem of big-box. It seeks to tease out, by way of trans-disciplinary invention, what we do not yet fully understand about it in order to bear witness to new architectural idioms

Enhance Transition Care for Medically Complex Adolescents

Approved May 2020 by the faculty of UMKC in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing PracticeMedically complex adolescents with spina bifida and shunted hydrocephalus are living into adulthood and requiring healthcare as adults. For effective neurosurgical care to continue from a pediatric practice to an adult practice, a transition process is necessary and supported by evidence-based practice to minimize risks for discontinuing care, patient dissatisfaction, death, and increased hospitalizations and emergency room visits. Studies reveal effective transition care will lessen patient dissatisfaction and prevent death. Evidence reveals mobile applications improve patient satisfaction, knowledge of patient education, improve medication adherence, and improve disease management with follow-up visits. A quality, improvement project assessed transition importance and transition confidence with utilization of a Transition Readiness Assessment tool and the HydroAssist® Mobile Application for adolescents with spina bifida and shunted hydrocephalus. A one cohort project was conducted with seven adolescent participants at an outpatient pediatric clinical setting. Results revealed an increase in the transition importance and transition confidence scores. Development of a transition program for adolescents with complex medical conditions can improve the adolescent’s confidence and importance to successful transition process within adult practices

Classifying Dogs’ Facial Expressions: Implications for Human Cognitive Social Evolution and Cross-Species Communication

Facial expressions have been considered outward expressions of internal behavioral states. There is evidence that both dogs and humans subscribe to the social learning theory to acquire contextual information from past experiences in connecting facial expressions to behaviors. Previous research has shown that people are able to read dog facial expressions; however, the research is inconsistent on whether this behavior is innate or learned, as well as if this ability extends to dogs of different facial morphologies. The goal of this study was to understand the extent of humans’ ability to read facial expressions of dog breeds with different facial morphologies. Understanding how humans read dog facial expressions can provide insight into the evolution of human social communication, not just within our own species, but in other species as well. Additionally, this research can help individuals work more effectively with dogs in professions such as law enforcement, military operations, therapy, veterinary medicine, etc., and improve the human-animal bond. In the first phase of this study, photographs of dog facial expressions were obtained in positive, negative, and neutral conditions. In the second phase of this study, we recruited 138 college students, collected demographic data, and asked participants to identify positive and negative emotions in the dog facial expressions, as well as which physical features they used to identify the facial expressions. We will present correlational data on the relationship between the accuracy of responses and the following variables: experience level with dogs, level of attachment to dogs, level of empathy towards dogs, and knowledge of dog facial expressions. We will also present findings on participants’ level of agreement on whether dogs experience certain emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, etc., as well as participants’ perceptions on how easy/difficult it was to rate the dog facial expressions

Functional polymers: polyoxanorbornene-based block copolymers for the separation of f-elements and luminescent conducting metallopolymers

A new polymeric material with a polyoxanorbornene backbone and carbamoylmethylphosphine oxide, CMPO, ligand pendant groups has been synthesized, characterized, and studied. The ability of the material to selectively partition actinides utilizing a biphasic extraction strategy was tested. The polymeric materials had significantly higher (> 5-25 times) ability to extract Th4+ than the monomeric system. The molecular weight of the material affected the extraction and separation abilities. The lower molecular weight material extracted more ions, but was less discriminate for thorium(IV) over cerium(III), lanthanum(III), and europium(III), than the higher molecular weight material. Structural modifications to this system were made by creating block copolymers. The influence of additional functionalities, created by the addition of new polymeric blocks, was investigated. The ability of the material to selectively partition actinides utilizing both solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction strategies was tested. Extraction efficiencies comparable to liquid-liquid extractions were achieved in the solid-liquid extractions. The extraction behavior of the materials was significantly altered by the incorporation of new blocks. The incorporation of glycol chains into the system caused an increase in the uptake of thorium(IV) over the homopolymers. The incorporation of blocks of glycol chains and blocks of cross-linked hydroxcoumarian increased the selectivity significantly (XTh/Eu 2.3 – 4.5 times higher) over the homopolymer. These materials show tremendous promise as modular polymeric scaffolds. A novel emissive tetradentate platinum complex with electropolymerizable ethylenedioxythiophene groups has been synthesized and characterized. This material has been developed for use as the active layer in polymer light-emitting diodes. Electropolymerization offers ease of processing by depositing thin films directly onto an electrode during the polymerization process. Additionally because the emitter is covalently bound in the polymer, it cannot aggregate as is the case with some small molecule emitters. The platinum complex displayed emission peaks at 510 nm and 544 nm. Electropolymerization resulted in a conductive and emissive thin film, with an emission maximum at 453 nm.Chemistr

Social media guidance for British Geological Survey staff

Social media guidance for British Geological Survey staff Social media is a great way to communicate BGS science, activities, achievements and services. This guidance is for BGS staff using social media as a way to communicate BGS science and technology. It is based on the Social Media Guidance for Civil Servants (Cabinet Office, 2012) the NERC Electronic Communications Policy (NERC, 2013) and the NERC Code of Conduct. This guidance was first published in Broadcasting the science stories of the BGS: The British Geological Survey Communication strategy (Mitchell et al, 2014)

Changes in Epistemic and Ontological Cognition of Occupational Therapy Students During Fieldwork: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study was to represent occupational therapy students’ perspectives of their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, or epistemic and ontological cognition (EOC), before and after their first level 2 fieldwork experience. Twenty participants from four classes of entry-level Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) students who had successfully completed 18 months of didactic coursework provided written explanations of self-ratings on the modified Four-Quadrant Scale of Ontology and Epistemology and written responses to four open-ended questions. Four major themes emerged: 1) Concrete knowledge may have a specific right or wrong answer, 2) Knowledge can change depending on the client, the situation, personal experiences, and evolving evidence, 3) Sources of knowledge and ways to justify knowledge include personal experience, clinical reasoning, authority figures, and the client, & 4) Integrating multiple sources of knowledge helps occupational therapists reason and make decisions. Students’ ontological cognition varied, depending on the specific knowledge considered. There were similarities between students’ epistemic cognition post-didactically and post-fieldwork, with differences in emphasis on specific sources of knowledge, e.g., hands-on experiences, critical reasoning, and research. Post-fieldwork, use of multiple sources of knowledge was more widespread and strongly emphasized, suggesting the fieldwork experience may have promoted beliefs about knowledge that were more consistent with the profession’s practice epistemology. Educators who guide students in recognizing, evaluating, and using critical types of knowledge and multiple sources for justification may better prepare students to successfully solve practice problems. This study provides insight into changes in students’ beliefs about knowledge and knowing after their first Level II fieldwork experience and may inform educators seeking to prepare effective practitioners

Investigating Identity and Social Support Among Veterans Transitioning to Civilian Life: A Mixed Methods Study

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2018. Major: Psychology. Advisor: Moin Syed. 1 computer file (PDF); vii, 175 pages.Eriksonian perspectives on identity development assert that identity integration, or a sense of coherence and continuity of the self, is a fundamental prerequisite for psychological well-being (Erikson, 1968; Syed & McLean, 2016; van Hoof & Raaijmakers, 2003). However, the overwhelming majority of research and theory on identity integration focuses only on adolescents and young adults under age 30 (e.g., Crocetti, Beyers, & Cok, 2016; Marcia, 1966; Schwartz et al., 2015; Sedikides, Wildschut, & Grouzet, 2018). Research on identity development in adulthood is lacking, and relatively little is known about how identity adjusts to changes later in life. The purpose of the present study was to investigate identity disruption as a construct for conceptualizing identity change in adulthood, by a) describing and operationalizing identity disruption, b) examining its relations with psychosocial outcomes relevant to veterans’ adjustment, and c) determining whether any associations between identity disruption and outcomes of interest persist when controlling for participants’ expressed mental-health concerns and context changes. Taking a mixed-methods approach, I used data from an expressive writing intervention conducted with veterans reintegrating back into civilian life. At baseline, three months, and six months after enrolling in the study, 244 veterans completed measures of social support, PTSD symptom severity, satisfaction with life, and reintegration difficulty. They also responded to an open-ended expressive writing prompt four times within the ten days following their baseline measurement. The qualitative data were coded using thematic analysis methods (Braun & Clarke, 2006), and codes were used to generate quantitative variables capturing identity disruption, context change and continuity, and expressed mental health concerns, among other variables. These variables were then used as predictors in latent growth curve models to test for differences in social support and mental-health trajectories for individuals who reported identity disruption versus those did not. Qualitative analysis revealed four types of identity disruption: feelings of loss of meaning and purpose; disconnection between one’s past, present, and future selves; role dysfunction; and loss of self-worth. Veterans reporting identity disruption were younger on average (M = 37.31) than those not reporting identity disruption (M = 40.24). Quantitative analyses did not support the hypothesis that identity disruption would result in poorer social support and mental-health outcomes. Rather, positive and negative context changes, positive context continuity, and expressed mental-health concerns were significantly associated with mental-health outcomes and social-support trajectories. Post-hoc analyses suggested that identity disruption was significantly associated with “lack of structure,” a dimension of context change capturing broad cultural differences related to a lack of structure and predictability in civilian compared to military life. Recommendations for future research on the construct of identity disruption are discussed, including recommendations to develop a reliable quantitative measure of identity disruption, and to design studies that measure identity disruption before, during, and after the disruptive event in order to test the causal relations among life events, identity disruption, and psychosocial outcomes

Giving students an eDGE: Focusing on ePortfolios for Graduate Employability

Universities are placing increased attention on providing students with ePortfolios and online teaching platforms to enhance learning and employability. The aim of this paper is to investigate the views of dietetic students on the usefulness of PebblePad as a learning platform and ePortfolio tool for evidencing graduate competency and enhancing employability. This research was conducted within a multi-component design-based research framework. PebblePad was introduced to the [blinded] Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics four-year degree in 2016. Students in years 1 and 3 enrolled in courses utilising PebblePad in 2016 and 2017 were invited to complete an online survey at the conclusion of each course. Surveys were completed by 116 students (2016 n=50; 2017 n=66). Students perceived that PebblePad could impact on their employability through supporting their learning as well as assisting their understanding and competency development as a professional. This was more evident in Year 3 students than Year 1. The aspects of PebblePad perceived as most beneficial for employability were the ability to: 1) collate experiences and assessment; 2) evidence dietetic competencies via ‘tagging’; and 3) facilitate reflection. The least beneficial aspects were: 1) usability and navigation of PebblePad; 2) lack of clarity around using PebblePad to evidence employability; and 3) belief that required reflections were excessive. ePortfolios and learning platforms such as PebblePad are perceived by students to be useful for evidencing employability, with potential improvements in assessment design further enhancing their use