The Anthropological Study of Human Play

Paper by Edward Norbec

Development of radiofrequency pulses for fast and motion-robust brain MRI

This thesis is based on three projects and the three scientific articles that were the result of each project. Each project deals with various kinds of technical software development in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The projects are in many ways very different, encompassing several acquisition and reconstruction strategies. However, there are at least two common denominators. The first is the projects shared the same goal of producing fast and motion robust methods. The second common denominator is that all the projects were carried out with a particular focus on the radiofrequency (RF) pulses used. The first project combined the acceleration method simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) with the acquisition method called PROPELLER. This combination was utilized to acquire motion-corrected thin-sliced reformattable T2-weighted and T1-FLAIR image volumes, thereby producing a motion robust alternative to 3D sequences. The second project analyzed the effect of the excitation RF pulse on T1-weighted images acquired with 3D echo planar imaging (EPI). It turned out that an RF pulse that reduced magnetization transfer (MT) effects significantly increased the gray/white matter contrast. The 3D EPI sequence was then used to rapidly image tumor patients after gadolinium enhancement. The third project combined PROPELLER’s retrospective motion correction with the prospective motion correction of an intelligent marker (the WRAD). With this combination, sharp T1-FLAIR images were acquired during large continuous head movements

What\u27s hope got to do with it? A narrative inquiry into the hope levels of high school students diagnosed with soft disabilities

This two-phase qualitative study was designed to explore the hope levels of high school students receiving special education services for mild intellectual disabilities or emotional/behavioral disabilities using a narrative inquiry approach. In order to better understand how student participants perceived their special education experiences and how their individual perceptions related to their hope levels, the Adult Hope Scale (AHS) was administered to seven students and scored during the study’s first phase. Semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted with five high school students chosen from the original group for the study’s second phase. Interviews were reported in narrative form and key common themes were identified. Since researchers have demonstrated hopeful thinking is a precursor to multiple positive outcomes, including significant academic achievement, more resistance to pain, increased happiness, and improved sports performance, the rationale for this study arose from a desire to improve students’ lives by finding ways to increase their hope levels. Five key findings emerged after analysis of the data. First, the hope levels of participants in this study were positively influenced by the accommodations they received through special education services. Second, interviewed participants described hope in terms of future goals, paths to those goals, and motivation to reach those goals. Third, interviewed participants viewed their special education experiences in a mostly positive light. Fourth, the narratives shared by the students explained their AHS scores by describing their daily struggles with depression, anxiety, anger, and various other obstacles to hope. Lastly, the narratives shared by the students converged with the scores they received on the AHS. Recommendations derived from this study include making general education classes more adaptable to students with emotional disabilities by providing them with more academic challenges in supportive settings, ensuring the continuation of special education services for those students who would otherwise become high school dropouts, and using the Adult Hope Scale as a screening device to identify low-hope high school students who might need extra emotional support in order to succeed at school

A Simple Kinetic Analysis of Syngas During Steam Hydrogasification of Biomass Using a Novel Inverted Batch Reactor with Instant High Pressure Feeding

A newly designed inverted batch reactor equipped with a pressure-driven feeding system was built for investigating the kinetics of syngas during the steam hydrogasification (SHR) of biomass. The system could instantly load the feedstock into the reactor at high temperature and pressure, which simulated the way to transport the feedstock into a hot and pressurized gasifier. Experiments were conducted from 600 °C to 700 °C. The inverted reactor showed very high heating rate by enhancing the carbon conversion and syngas production. The kinetic study showed that the rates of CH4, CO and CO2 formation during SHR were increased when the gasification temperature went up. SHR had comparatively lower activation energy for CH4 production. The activation energies of CH4, CO and CO2 during SHR were 42.8, 51.8 and 14 kJ/mol, respectively

Health Insurance Literacy Impacts on Enrollment and Satisfaction with Health Insurance

Health insurance literacy (HIL) contributes to the lack of understanding basic health insurance (HI) terms, subsidies eligibility, health plan selection, and HI usage. The study is one of few to address the existing gap in the literature regarding the exploration of the relationship between HIL, individuals\u27 HI enrollment, and individuals\u27 satisfaction with their HI. The theoretical framework selected for this study was the prospect theory, which describes the behavior of individuals who make decisions. In this cross-sectional correlational study, secondary data set from the third Quarter 2015 Health Reform Monitoring Survey was used. Binary logistic regression models were used to test hypotheses of four predictive relationships between (a) HI enrollment and HIL with HI terms; (b) marketplace enrollment and HIL with HI terms; (c) satisfaction with HI and HIL with HI access to care; and (d) satisfaction with HI and HIL with HI cost of care. Results indicated that participants with high HIL with HI terms had 4.2 times higher odds that those with low HIL to be enrolled in HI and 81% higher odds than those with low HIL to be enrolled in marketplace HI. The most significant relationship indicated that participants with high HIL with HI activities had 12.8 times higher odds than those with low HIL to have high satisfaction with access to care and 8.8 times higher odds than those with low HIL participants to have high satisfaction with cost of care. The finding that low HIL is associated with lower enrollment and lower satisfaction with HI has implications for social change. Policymakers may have the opportunity to utilize this study to promote policies that promote higher HIL, which may lead to increased HI enrollment and improved satisfaction with HI selection

The Luti, an Outcaste Group of Iran

Paper by Sekandar Amanolahi and Edward Norbec

The Relationship between Teacher Retention and Original Career Goals, Teacher Efficacy and Empathy: A Study of Teach For America Alumni

Retention of urban teachers is important in order for students attending high-poverty schools to achieve significant academic and social gains (Boyd et al., 2008). This quantitative study sought to determine if a relationship existed between teacher retention and original career goals, teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, and self-reported level of empathy. Seven cohorts of Teach for America (TFA) alumni who completed their program between 2011-2017 in the same urban region were surveyed to learn about the TFA experience and specific career decisions after their two-year program ended. Lent, Brown and Hackett’s (2002) Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was utilized as the theoretical framework to better understand the complexities behind career decision making of TFA alumni. The results of a survey taken by 131 alumni provided answers to four research questions. In the first question, chi-square analysis indicated that original career goals had a relationship with teacher retention. Results of independent samples t-tests indicated that teacher efficacy did not have a relationship with teacher retention, nor did empathy, although all alumni rated themselves high in both the teacher efficacy measure (TSES, Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001) and in the empathy measure (IRI – Davis, 1980). The results of logistic regression in the final question initially showed a significant relationship with an original career goal of being a teacher with retention. However, that significance did not carry over into the full logistic regression model, yet being an alumni of color and entering the TFA program after pursuing other work opportunities were both significant predictors of teacher retention. The findings from this study showed that 73% of the sample remained in the teaching profession after the TFA program concluded. Recommendations for the local TFA region and the national TFA region include making teacher retention a program goal, continue recruiting alumni of color and continue recruiting individuals with prior work experience. Recommendations for further research include conducting more regional TFA studies to examine retention rates and the different reasons for remaining a teacher. Exploring the constructs of teacher efficacy and empathy with both traditionally trained and alternatively certified teachers new to the education profession also warrants research

CMS (LHC) Measurements and Unusual Cosmic Ray Events

At the LHC, for the first time, laboratory energies are sufficiently large to reproduce the kind of reactions that occur when energetic cosmic rays strike the top of the atmosphere. The reaction products of interest for cosmic ray studies are produced at small angles, even with colliding beams. Most of the emphasis at the LHC is on rare processes that are studied with detectors at large angles. It is precision measurements at large angles that are expected to lead to discoveries of Higgs bosons and super symmetric particles. CMS currently has two small angle detectors, CASTOR and a Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC). CASTOR, at $0.7^{\circ}$ down to $0.08^{\circ}$, is designed to study "Centauro" and "long penetrating" events, observed in VHE cosmic-ray data. As a general purpose detector it also makes measurements of reaction products at forward angles from p-p collisions, which provide input for cosmic ray shower codes. The ZDC is small, 9 cm. wide, between the incoming and outgoing beam pipes out at a distance of 140 m. The ZDC measures neutral objects that follow the direction of the beam at the interaction point. If the long penetrating objects are spectators they could be seen in the ZDC if their charge to mass ratio, Z/A, is less than 0.2.Comment: Invited talk presented at the XVI International Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions, ISVHECRI 2010, Batavia, IL, USA (28 June - 2 July 2010). 4 pages, 5 figure

The Study of Religion

Paper by Howard Wimberley and Edward Norbec