Perception of Emotional Invalidation as Related to Behavioral Inhibition

Emotional invalidation (EI) occurs when an individual degrades or does not acknowledge another individual’s emotions (Linehan, 1993). While much of the literature emphasizes a relationship between childhood EI and BPD, the current study examined the relationship between childhood EI and behavioral inhibition (BI) as a symptom of anxiety. In a counterbalanced order, participants watched three videos in which an individual was invalidated, validated, or received a neutral emotional response. Following each video, participants completed the modified Perceived Emotional Invalidation Scale (PIES). Participants then completed the following measures: Invalidated Childhood Environments Scale (ICES), Adult Measure of Behavioural Inhibition (AMBI), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI): Perspective Taking (PT). The main hypothesis stating that characteristics of trait behavioral inhibition and self-reported childhood emotional invalidation would predict current perceptions of emotional invalidation in each video condition was not supported. Results demonstrated that participants were able to identify the presence or absence of emotional invalidation in each condition, but their perceptions could not be predicted based on the other variables examined. Possible explanations for these unexpected findings are discussed

An Evaluation of an Auditory Neurophysiological Model

Individuals with normal hearing are adept at understanding speech in the presence of noise, such as other speakers or environmental sounds. In contrast, individuals with hearing loss struggle to understand speech in the same adverse conditions. Neural processing in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the brainstem appears to contribute to the ability to separate simultaneous competing sounds. A computational model developed in the Sinex lab reproduces the responses of IC neurons to complex sound mixtures. It seems likely that the model can be applied to improve the processing of speech in noise. The computational model\u27s effectiveness at improving the processing of speech in noise is evaluated through a perceptual experiment which uses the model to process sentences that are then presented to listeners. The experiment\u27s data are analyzed to evaluate the pattern of errors. The analysis shows that low frequency speech features are being accurately transmitted by the model while high frequency speech features are not. This pattern suggests ways in which the computational model may be improved. Possible technological and clinical applications of the computational model for individuals with hearing loss will also be discussed

Development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis models to evaluate the effects of impact injury on joint health for clinical disease treatment and prevention

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common, debilitating, musculoskeletal diseases in the world. Currently, there is no cure. It is well-known that a traumatic, joint injury increases the risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Therefore, in order to improve clinical treatment and prevention strategies for post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), a series of translational studies were conducted to develop research models to evaluate the effects of impact injury. The first section of this dissertation (Ch. 1-2) provides a comprehensive introduction and literature review related to both clinical PTOA as well as previous research investigations of PTOA. The second section of this dissertation (Ch. 3-6) describes the methodology of optimizing a servo-hydraulic test machine to deliver a controlled impact injury (Ch. 3) as well as subsequent studies using this device to injure articular cartilage (Ch. 4) and cartilage-bone explants (Ch. 5-6). Further, the effects of dynamic, compressive loading to mimic walking after impact injury of cartilage-bone explants was investigated (Ch. 6). The third section of this dissertation (Ch. 7-8) details the development of an impactor device that may be used for pre-clinical, animal models. Many significant findings were discovered through this dissertation work. Specifically, by using the proportional-integral-derivative (40, 0, 0) values, a large (25kN) servo-hydraulic test machine may be used to deliver a controlled impact injury to explants (Ch. 3). Biomarkers glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were elevated after cartilage impact injury with PGE2 having the highest mechanosensitivity than any other biomarker (Ch. 4). Energy absorbed during cartilage-bone injury is dependent upon trauma severity; PGE2 and monocyte attractant protein (MCP-1) were elevated following cartilage-bone injury (Ch. 5). Dynamic, compressive loading retained cell viability in non-impacted cartilage-bone explants and mitigated GAG release in impacted explants; GAG and PGE2 were elevated due to cartilage-bone injury whereas matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were elevated due to injury plus dynamic, compressive loading (Ch. 6). The development of a 8mm diameter impactor does create articular cartilage damage (Ch. 7), albeit a smaller, 2mm diameter impactor creates higher impact stresses and may be used arthroscopically for pre-clinical animal models (Ch. 8).Includes bibliographical references

A Jury of One: Opinion Formation, Conformity, and Dissent on Juries

Approximately 6 percent of criminal juries hang. But, how many dissenters carry the jury, hang the jury, or conform to the majority’s wishes? This article examines the formation of individual verdict preferences, the impact of deliberation, and the role of the dissenter using data from nearly 3,500 jurors who decided felony cases. Jurors were asked: “If it were entirely up to you as a one-person jury, what would your verdict have been in this case?” Over one-third of jurors, privately, would have voted against their jury’s decision. Analyses identify the characteristics of jurors who dissent, and distinguish dissenters who hang the jury from dissenters who acquiesce. Deliberation procedures, juror role expectations, their evidentiary views, and their sense of fairness affected the likelihood of dissent. Contrary to previous research, deliberations play a vital role in generating juror consensus and shed new light on the debate over the requirement that juries be unanimous in their verdict

A Jury of One: Opinion Formation, Conformity, and Dissent on Juries

Approximately 6 percent of criminal juries hang. But, how many dissenters carry the jury, hang the jury, or conform to the majority’s wishes? This article examines the formation of individual verdict preferences, the impact of deliberation, and the role of the dissenter using data from nearly 3,500 jurors who decided felony cases. Jurors were asked: “If it were entirely up to you as a one-person jury, what would your verdict have been in this case?” Over one-third of jurors, privately, would have voted against their jury’s decision. Analyses identify the characteristics of jurors who dissent, and distinguish dissenters who hang the jury from dissenters who acquiesce. Deliberation procedures, juror role expectations, their evidentiary views, and their sense of fairness affected the likelihood of dissent. Contrary to previous research, deliberations play a vital role in generating juror consensus and shed new light on the debate over the requirement that juries be unanimous in their verdict

The Effect of Virtual-Learning on the Cultural Awareness of Nursing Students

This Capstone Project examined the effect of virtual-learning on the cultural awareness of nursing students. A convenience sample of 125 students enrolled in the advanced health assessment course in the Registered Nurse to Bachelor in Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) Program were included in the sample for this project. Of the 125 students, 53 completed pre-test surveys were submitted, resulting in a response rate of 42%, and 43 completed post-test surveys were submitted, resulting in a response rate of 34%. Descriptive statistics and measures of central tendencies were used to compare the overall mean score for the responses of students to the Cultural Awareness Student (CAS) pre-test and post-test surveys. Overall total CAS mean scores, of perceived cultural awareness of students, demonstrated to not be statistically significant in awareness in relationship to the virtual-learning experience. However, students rated their general experiences of cultural awareness significantly higher

Mindfulness-based approaches for Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Caregivers: Do these Approaches Hold Benefits for Teachers?

Parents and teachers who care for and educate young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique challenges associated with their roles. In this review we investigated the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing stress and increasing positive behaviours in young people with ASD and their caregivers: parents and teachers. Nine studies on the topic were located, showing that the research base in this field is in the infancy stage. Each study illuminated the transformational change caregivers and young people experience after practicing mindfulness training (MT). The results also highlighted the interdependent relationship between the caregivers’ level of mindfulness and their child’s pro-social behaviours. We recommend that future researchers focus on understanding mindfulness as a relational practice as well as how the practice can support teachers who care for and educate students with ASD

Statistical modeling of earthquake damage

The purpose of this study was to build a statistical model of the economic damage that arises from earthquakes in order to better predict losses from future earthquakes. Though earthquakes are essentially a random event and cannot be fully anticipated, analyzing historical data and creating a statistical model can provide researchers with a more accurate estimate of future losses. The data set from which this model was built incorporated earthquakes occurring worldwide from 1915-2015 in which the total damage was recorded. The final model was a multiple linear regression model explaining total damage resulting from an earthquake through four independent variables: whether or not a tsunami occurred (tsunami_dummy), whether or not the earthquake occurred in a developed nation (developed_dummy), intensity (intensity), and number of injuries (total_injuries). Statisticians, specifically those at insurance companies, can use these results to provide rough estimates of potential losses after an earthquake occurs. This model is just a starting point for statisticians, however; more accurate and representative models can be created from insurance companies’ historical losses in order to better estimate future losses

The Decision to Award Punitive Damages: An Empirical Study

Empirical studies have consistently shown that punitive damages are rarely awarded, with rates of about 3 to 5 percent of plaintiff trial wins. Using the 2005 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Civil Justice Survey, this article shows that knowing in which cases plaintiffs sought punitive damages transforms the picture of punitive damages. Not accounting for whether punitive damages were sought obscures the meaningful punitive damages rate, the rate of awards in cases in which they were sought, by a factor of nearly 10, and obfuscates a more explicable pattern of awards than has been reported. Punitive damages were surprisingly infrequently sought, with requests found in about 10 percent of tried cases that plaintiffs won. State laws restricting access to punitive damages were significantly associated with rates of seeking punitive damages. Punitive damages were awarded in about 30 percent of the plaintiff trial wins in which they were sought. Awards were most frequent in cases of intentional tort, with a punitive award rate of over 60 percent. Greater harm corresponded to a greater probability of an award: the size of the compensatory award was significantly associated with whether punitive damages were awarded, with a rate of approximately 60 percent for cases with compensatory awards of $1 million or more. Regression models correctly classify about 70 percent or more of the punitive award request outcomes. Judge-jury differences in the rate of awards exist, with judges awarding punitive damages at a higher rate in personal injury cases and juries awarding them at a higher rate in nonpersonal injury cases. These puzzling adjudicator differences may be a consequence of the routing of different cases to judges and juries

Judge-Jury Agreement in Criminal Cases: A Partial Replication of Kalven and Zeisel\u27s The American Jury

This study uses a new criminal case data set to partially replicate Kalven and Zeisel\u27s classic study of judge-jury agreement. The data show essentially the same rate of judge-jury agreement as did Kalven and Zeisel for cases tried almost 50 years ago. This study also explores judge-jury agreement as a function of evidentiary strength (as reported by both judges and juries), evidentiary complexity (as reported by both judges and juries), legal complexity (as reported by judges), and locale. Regardless of which adjudicator\u27s view of evidentiary strength is used, judges tend to convict more than juries in cases of middle evidentiary strength. Judges tend to acquit more than juries in cases in which judges regard the evidence favoring the prosecution as weak. Judges tend to convict more than juries in cases in which judges regard the evidence favoring the prosecution as strong. Rates of adjudicator agreement are thus partly a function of which adjudicator\u27s view of evidentiary strength is used, a result not available to Kalven and Zeisel, who were limited to judges\u27 views of the evidence. We find little evidence that evidentiary complexity or legal complexity help explain rates of judge-jury disagreement. Rather, the data support the view that judges have a lower conviction threshold than juries. Local variation exists among the sites studied. The influences of juror race, sex, and education are also considered