The e-Portfolio: Providing a Showcase for Student Accomplishments for Potential Employers and Evidence of BSN Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this project was to allow the graduating nursing student to make an e-Portfolio that would not only showcase the essentials of the job search such as a resume and cover letter, but also provide evidence of how each program learning outcome was met and provide expressions of student’s unique skills and accomplishments (Garrett, MacPhee, & Jackson, 2012)

Moving from Good to Great: DeWitt School of Nursing: A Historical Perspective

As a part of the social sector, DeWitt School of Nursing (SON) has always met society’s goal, based on the SON mission, vision and values. Using the “Good to Great” framework assists the SON to rigorously assess and assemble evidence, quantitatively and qualitatively, to track the progress on meeting society’s needs

When the bough bends: lived experiences of perinatal anxiety

In this thesis, I present qualitative critical feminist research that explores the lived experiences of women who identify as having perinatal anxiety. Perinatal anxiety is a highly prevalent mental health issue that has implications for women's morbidity and mortality, and for the physical, social, emotional and developmental wellbeing of their children. Dominant diagnostic custom has seen perinatal anxiety overshadowed by a focus on postnatal depression, resulting in a scarcity of research that considers perinatal anxiety as a standalone mental health issue. This research thus makes an important contribution to the academic discussion about perinatal mental health care. The lived experiences of women with perinatal anxiety are largely absent in the literature; as a result, women continue to experience this debilitating condition in silence. I approached this critical feminist research using qualitative methods to collect and analyse the everyday narratives of women with perinatal anxiety to develop rich understanding of the experiences of perinatal anxiety and how they are influenced by dominant ideologies. I carried out in-depth interviews with women who identified as experiencing perinatal anxiety, and with multidisciplinary perinatal practitioners. The interviews were conducted over a two-year period and were audio-taped and transcribed for a thematic analysis of the themes present in the data. The narratives and perspectives of the women and practitioners led me to identify four overarching themes: 'Good Motherhood', 'Warning Signs and Cries for Help', 'Mental Health Literacy' and 'Strengths and Support'. These themes reflect the complex context of motherhood and mental illness and connect the everyday lives of women with perinatal anxiety to a broader institution of oppression, silencing and control. The research sheds light on directions for future investigations and practice, including holistic and coordinated practice that considers the unique experiences of women with perinatal anxiety. This research recognises gaps in the mental health care approach for anxious mothers, including the mental health literacy of both practitioners and the women they treat. In this thesis, I make a call for social work to play a central role in providing care that recognises the multilayered biopsychosocial needs of women with perinatal anxiety, and that works to improve mental health literacy for consumers, practitioners and the broader community. Finally, I argue for the importance of a critical feminist approach to understanding the lived experiences of perinatal anxiety if meaningful change is to be achieved

Screen Printing Silver Stretchable Conductive Paste to High Density Synthetic Fabric

This project investigated the viability of screen printing stretchable silver conductive paste directly onto fabric and how the resistance changed under cyclic mechanical loading. The paste tested was DuPont™ PE873 stretchable silver conductive paste, which forms a stretchable conductive path by suspending silver flakes in elastomer that can be elastically strained along with the underlying substrate. The silver pastes were printed directly onto two different high-density synthetic fabrics of different weaves. Other samples were prepared by first printing a base layer between the silver paste and the fabric. One base layer was a solvent-based dielectric (DuPont™ ME776) and a stretchable carbon conductor (DuPont™ PE671). This project determined that printing onto either base layer had a significantly smaller change in resistance under cyclic tensile tests than printing onto the fabric directly. Bend tests also revealed the possibility that the rate of change of strain had a higher impact on the change in resistance than the strain itself

Methodology for Analysis of Diet Grit Size on Molar Attrition for Fourche Maline and Caddo People

Using the Murphy (1959) system for scoring the degree of dentin exposure, Fourche Maline (Woodland) molars show a greater attrition rate than Caddo (Mississippian) molars. Archeological evidence suggests that this differential in attrition rates is caused by the use of stone grinders for food preparation in the Fourche Maline culture and their absence among the Caddo. Analysis of scratches on the occlusal surface of molars from these samples confirms this hypothesis. Several techniques for observing these scratches and reconstructing the grit sizes and grit particle frequencies responsible for this differential abrasion are evaluated

Developing and Piloting a Design Guide for Outdoor Classrooms in Utah

The outdoor classroom design guide can help applicants successfully apply for the Utah Outdoor Classroom Grant introduced by the Office of Outdoor Recreation (OOR) in 2021. The design guide includes case studies, design resources, and critical information for community involvement from statewide locations and will serve as a free public resource

Postmenopausal Women With Greater Paracardial Fat Have More Coronary Artery Calcification Than Premenopausal Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Cardiovascular Fat Ancillary Study.

BackgroundVolumes of paracardial adipose tissue (PAT) and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) are greater after menopause. Interestingly, PAT but not EAT is associated with estradiol decline, suggesting a potential role of menopause in PAT accumulation. We assessed whether volumes of heart fat depot (EAT and PAT) were associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) in women at midlife and whether these associations were modified by menopausal status and estradiol levels.Methods and resultsEAT and PAT volumes and CAC were measured using electron beam computed tomography scans. CAC was evaluated as (1) the presence of CAC (CAC Agatston score ≥10) and (2) the extent of any CAC (log CAC Agatston score >0). The study included 478 women aged 50.9 years (58% pre- or early perimenopausal, 10% late perimenopausal, and 32% postmenopausal). EAT was significantly associated with CAC measures, and these associations were not modified by menopausal status or estradiol. In contrast, associations between PAT and CAC measures were modified by menopausal status (interaction-P≤0.01). Independent of study covariates including other adiposity measures, each 1-SD unit increase in log PAT was associated with 102% higher risk of CAC presence (P=0.04) and an 80% increase in CAC extent (P=0.008) in postmenopausal women compared with pre- or early perimenopausal women. Additional adjustment for estradiol and hormone therapy attenuated these differences. Moreover, the association between PAT and CAC extent was stronger in women with lower estradiol levels (interaction P=0.004).ConclusionsThe findings suggest that PAT is a potential menopause-specific coronary artery disease risk marker, supporting the need to monitor and target this fat depot for intervention in women at midlife

Circular dichroism of four-wave mixing in nonlinear metamaterials

Metamaterial engineering offers a route to combine unusual and interesting optical phenomena in ways that are rare or nonexistent in nature. As an exploration of this wide parameter space, we experimentally demonstrate strong cross-phase modulation and f