Caring for Humanity: Non-Profit Elderly Law

This Capstone was an internship that focused on care in Humanity at Legal Services for Seniors. There is a journal that includes the observations of care in the law office. I focus on how attorneys care for each clients humanness while they are working on their cases. Attorneys may be doing work that can be quite intimidating, but the care they give is quite extraordinary

Sodium Alginate Toughening of Gelatin Hydrogels and Elucidation of Possible Mechanisms

Hydrogels are soft materials used in several important biomedical applications such as drug delivery, wound dressing, tissue phantoms, and tissue engineering. Gelatin hydrogels, in particular, have several properties which would make them ideal materials, however, their poor mechanical and thermal properties often require enhancement to be viable. This report focuses on the addition of sodium alginate, another common biomacromolecule, to gelatin hydrogels and the resulting viscoelastic properties of these hybrid materials. Initial data collected using a parallel plate compression-to-failure testing setup suggested the hybrid samples had a larger toughness while showing a negligible change in the elastic modulus, an important parameter for biomimickry. Stress relaxation tests were performed in an attempt to characterize the linear viscoelastic properties of these materials along with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to elucidate the underlying mechanism responsible. Additional failure tests were conducted while varying pH to determine what effect, if any, electrostatic interactions between neighboring macromolecules, a common source of viscoelasticity, had on the overall mechanical properties. An additional set of failure tests was performed using a spherical indenter and confined sample geometry in order to confirm the previously observed toughening effect while mitigating several sources of error inherent to the parallel plate test. These two experiments gave conflicting results regarding the bulk toughness of these samples. However, qualitative differences observed during these experiments, in conjunction with sessile drop contact angle measurements, may point towards a change in the surface characteristics, the hydrophilicity in particular, of these materials as a potential cause for the previously observed toughness enhancement

Cochlear implants in the deaf community: Current circumstances of cochlear implant users among the deaf youth in Sweden’s educational system

Sweden has maintained an environment of equal opportunities and inclusive disability policies for its citizens. In Swedish education, a bilingualism method of Swedish Sign Language and spoken Swedish is used in teaching deaf children. The cochlear implant device is considered an advanced form of hearing technology and is used with deaf youth to assist with speech development. Several medical experts and researchers support the language development theory that there is a critical period for a deaf person to acquire natural language and speech development at a young age. Some experts believe that in order to achieve this language acquisition of the spoken language, deaf children are encouraged to get implants as early as possible. The focus of this thesis is to examine how the emergence of cochlear implant technology impacts Sweden\u27s environment toward existing disability policies and procedures in education, health care, and organizations serving deaf people. This thesis will be addressed in the following 3 ways: 1. Provide current documentation of criteria and processes for obtaining a cochlear implant. 2. Gather existing policy statements on cochlear implants from major organizations serving deaf people. 3. Collect historical and current statistical data of the deaf population who have cochlear implants or hearing aids in compulsory education including special schools (first grade to ninth grades). To explore the current circumstances of cochlear implant use in the educational environment in Sweden, an in-depth literature review was conducted about Sweden\u27s history and background of cochlear implant use. Surveys were distributed to five major community organizations and agencies serving deaf people as well as six community hospitals about the process and procedures for obtaining cochlear implants in Sweden. This research process collected information that occurred predominantly mostly in 2007 followed by interpretations, analysis of the survey results, and new findings

Do Androids Dream of Improvisation?

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College

Pesticide Effects in a Simulated Soil Ecosystem

The screening of pesticides to determine which were most inhibitory to bacteria was accomplished by testing the effects of 10 pesticides on 9 different organisms using the disk assay method. Results showed that Gram positive bacteria were more sensitive to all pesticides tested than were the Gram negative bacteria. In addition, the hormone herbicides were found to be the most inhibitory to these bacteria and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), a hormone herbicide, was chosen for subsequent in vivo studies. A soil perfusion apparatus was used to determine the effects of 2,4-D in a typical soil ecosystem. Bacterial plate counts and nutrient analyses were used to determine the effects of the chemical on the soil bacteria and on their metabolic processes. Results shoved that 2,4-D significantly reduced bacterial populations and nitrate production within 2 weeks of application. Nitrate production was reduced to the point where none of the soil nitrogen found in the soil perfusate was present as nitrate

Transgenerational Patterns of Communication Orientations and Depression Among Mothers and Adult Children

This study investigated intergenerational transmissions of conversation orientations, conformity orientations, and depressive symptoms among 235 (N = 470) mother–child dyads. The analysis revealed that mothers’ reports of conformity orientation in her family of origin positively predicted her child’s report of conformity orientation and conversation orientation. Moreover, maternal depressive symptoms predicted child reports of family communication climates, which in turn predicted child depressive symptoms. A mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect from maternal depressive symptoms to child depressive symptoms through child reports of conformity orientation. Implications for transgenerational patterns of family communication climates and depressive symptoms are discussed

Kinematic and stochastic surface topography of machined tial6v4-parts by means of ball nose end milling

Ball nose end mills are usually applied during 5-axes machining of high functional parts especially in the aerospace industry. The systematical study of the relationship between process forces and kinematics, surface topography and subsurface properties is fundamental to ensure a high surface integrity. This paper deals with the topography of machined surfaces of TiAl6V4 parts by means of ball nose end milling. The machined surface has been analyzed and the kinematic topography, influenced by the process parameters and the geometry of the cutting tool, has been computed. By subtracting the surface measurements from the computed topography, the stochastic topography of the machined surface, e.g. roughness and cracks, can be determined. Furthermore, an approach is given for predicting the stochastic topography based on the process forces during machining of TiAl6V4. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.DFG/CRC/87