The Experience of Men After Miscarriage

Miscarriage is a relatively common event that occurs in approximately 15 to 20 percent of identified pregnancies (Maker & Ogden, 2003). Men and women often view miscarriage as a real and meaningful loss (Johnson & Puddifoot, 1996; McCreight, 2004). The vast majority of research focused on the experience of miscarriage has emphasized the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of women (Conway & Russell, 2000; McCreight, 2004). However, minimal research exists focused on men’s experience after miscarriage (Rinehart & Kiselica, 2010). The present phenomenological study examined the experience of men after miscarriage including aspects such as responses (e.g., emotions and behaviors), coping, meaning-making, and perspectives of masculinity and gender roles. Data were collected through individual, in-person, interviews with nine men affected by miscarriage. Men also completed two measures examining their perspectives on masculinity and gender roles. I organized the data that were represented by all participants into five superordinate themes: men’s emotional and behavioral expressions, men’s views of their partners’ emotional and cognitive expressions, coping, meaning reconstruction, and men’s perspectives on masculinity and gender roles

An Exploration into Two Solutions to Propagating Web Accessibility for Blind Computer Users

A model is presented depicting the driving forces (Web industry, consumers, U.S. federal government, and technology) promoting an accessible Web and potential solutions within those forces. This project examines two distinct solutions, lawsuits (a consumer-driven solution) and AcceSS 2.1 transcoder (a technology-driven solution) to provide more information on two under-researched methods that could have far-reaching impacts on Web accessibility for the blind. First, an evaluation of the intraclass correlation (ICC) between homepage Web Accessibility Barrier (WAB) scores and WAB scores of levels 1-3 found that the homepage is not sufficient to detect the accessibility of the website. ICC of the homepage and average of levels 1-3 is 0.250 (p=0.062) and ICC of levels 1, 2, & 3 is 0.784 (p < 0.0001). Evaluating the homepage and first-level pages gives more accurate results of entire site accessibility. Second, an evaluation of the WAB scores of the homepage and first-level pages of websites of five companies sued for alleged inaccessible websites found mixed results: lawsuits worked in two cases, but didn't in three. This is seen through an examination of accessibility and complexity of the websites for years surrounding the lawsuits. Each sued website is compared to a control website within the same industry and to a random group of websites representing the general Web. Third, a usability study of the AcceSS 2.1 transcoding intermediary found that technology can increase users' efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction in Web interaction, regardless of universal design. The study entails a within-subject cross-over design wherein 15 users performed tasks on three websites: one universally designed, one non-universally designed, and one reference site. Paired t-tests examine the effect of AcceSS 2.1 on time, errors, and subjective satisfaction and mixed-model analysis examines the effect of study design on outcomes. Results show that users perform tasks faster, with fewer errors, and with greater satisfaction when accessing pages via AcceSS 2.1, but users where less satisfied with the universally designed website and significant differences were found in the universally designed website and not the non-universally designed website. Website usability and ease of navigation are more important to users than simple accessibility

The European Perception of the Native American, 1750 - 1850

The thesis on which I have based my research proposes that while the European perception of the Native American from 1750 to 1850 came to be mediated via all the visual arts, it was specifically via the graphic media that the proliferation of imagery concerning the Native American developed certain iconic and representational conventions and that these consistently overwhelmed other sources of information, from experience to written interpretation. The ubiquity of certain modes of presentation, of figure-types, and of synecdoches which stood for the Native American (e.g. feather decoration or the tomahawk) resulted almost entirely from graphic methods of visual elucidation. The tyranny of such visual types lies not only in their effective re-constitution of known, familiar imagery but also in the qualitative characterization of the Native American figure. In their reduction of the figure to symbolic and emblematic patterns of content, these few visual tokens belied the greater, complex reality of Native American existence, and left the European perception of it in a static position. It is only through the collation and analysis of all the various modes of visual expression, both graphic and ‘high’ art instances, that these tokens of the visual representation of the Native American can be discerned and their proliferation be analysed as a determinant in the ‘construction’ of the Native American.University of Exete

Commonly Used Intra-Articular Medications Affect Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Growth and Viability

The objective of this work was to describe bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation and characterization after expansion with the common intra-articular medications polysulfated glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronic acid, or hyaluronic acid with chondroitin sulfates C4 and C6 with N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in vitro as an initial screening for combination therapy treatment of degenerative joint conditions in the horse. MSCs were isolated from bone marrow, then expanded in basal culture media (BCM) or BCM supplemented with a test solution (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG); hyaluronic acid (HA); hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfates C4 and C6, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GAGHA)). Viability was assessed with colony forming unit counts (CFU-F), while proliferation assessments included total cell counts, evaluation of growth kinetics with generation tracking intracytoplasmic dye, and culture evaluations of confluency and debris. Characterization by immunophenotyping for surface markers CD29, CD44, CD45, and MHCII, evaluation of differentiation ability into adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts, and morphology scoring in culture was performed. Investigation of immunomodulatory activity was assessed by quantification of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) concentration in media supernatants, and senescence was evaluated as a follow-up test in cells expanded with PSGAGs or SF treated media with β-Galactosidase staining (n = 1). Results of total cell counts, growth kinetics assessment, and culture evaluations for confluency and debris indicated decreased cellular proliferation 72 hours after supplementation with PSGAG, GAGHA, and SF. Viability was decreased in CFU-F cultures supplemented with GAGHA and SF, while colonies failed to form in PSGAG supplemented cultures. Viability was increased in CFU-F cultures supplemented with HA. After 120 hours of expansion with test solutions, there were no significant differences in trilineage differentiation, immunophenotype, or PGE₂ assays. SF cultures stained positively for β-Galactosidase activity and osteogenesis after 10 days of incubation (n = 1). MSCs expanded with PSGAG, GAGHA, and SF had decreased proliferation and viability in vitro, while proliferation of MSCs cultured with HA was not different from controls. MSC viability and proliferation is inhibited in the presence of PSGAG in vitro. In contrast, viability of MSCs may be improved in the presence of HA, and proliferation is not adversely affected. The results of this study warrant in vivo evaluation

Evaluation of Serbian commercial corn hybrid tolerance to feeding by larval western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) using the novel difference approach

Since the discovery of the pest in 1992, western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (WCR)) populations in Serbia have successfully been kept low with crop rotation. This has reduced the efficiency of screening for WCR resistance. A cooperative project between Iowa State University and the Maize Research Institute, Zemun Polje evaluated 13 Serbian commercial corn varieties in Ames, Iowa over a two-year period. Corn hybrids were planted on trap crops where high WCR populations were assumed. Hybrids were evaluated for WCR resistance using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Treatments were paired rows arranged in split plots with one row in each pair treated with insecticide and the other row left untreated. WCR injury was evaluated using a rating of root size and root regrowth (1-6 scale), root injury (0-3 Node Injury Scale), root mass, lodging, and yield. The results indicated significant differences among the Serbian hybrids in the presence of moderate-to-high levels of western corn rootworms. The relative benefit of insecticide treatments for maize lines was a useful tool in evaluating resistant germplasm. However, conducting analyses on relative differences between insecticide treated and untreated plots was not as effective at detecting differences as comparing the plots independently

Stephanie Peterson Honors Portfolio

Stephanie Peterson\u27s honors portfolio captured in November 2017

Corporate history and curatorial practice at Buffalo Trace distillery.

This work seeks to explore curatorial integrity in public museums and corporate history institutions by discussing historic preservation and display at The Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY. The history of curatorial narrative in public museums begins with elitist displays of state treasures in 16th century Europe and develops over centuries into publicly held, education based institutions. Emerging in the form of factory tours during the Industrial Revolution, many corporations today have moved beyond basic advertising and toward meaningful positioning of their company, not only in the market place, but also within community and national identities. A National Historic Landmark, Buffalo Trace Distillery is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States. As such, it boasts a rich history with connections to early settlement, industrial revolution, Prohibition, and modern innovations in distilling. As the Archivist at Buffalo Trace, my first curatorial responsibilities began with a collaboration to develop educational interpretation of the Old Taylor House, a historic home at the distillery, and populating expanded areas of the Visitor Center with historic materials. The combination of historic preservation with new construction expansion provides a unique backdrop to discuss integrity and narrative in corporate museums. Many doubt the voice of corporate history institutions, expecting persuasion in the place of authenticity. However, Buffalo Trace Distillery, like many museums, collects, preserves, and interprets their collection in hopes of using its materials to share its rich history with the public. I hope to demonstrate through research and methodology that theseinstitutions value accurate historical narrative, not solely as a marketing tool, but as a way to connect with their community and build knowledge about long-standing institutions within local, regional and national history. By connecting the Old Taylor House and Visitor Center displays to exhibition standards developed by the American Alliance of Museums committee, the National Association for Museum Exhibition, and demonstrating that the facility qualifies as a corporate museum by Victor Danilov’s standards. Finally, by making this claim I hope to call for increased recognition of corporate museums through the accreditation process by AAM. Though AAM has made great strides to become more inclusive in recent years, increased acceptance of corporate museums would benefit both corporations and the museum field as a whole

Students with Problems of Professional Competency and their Impact on Proficient Students in Counseling Programs

Students with problems of professional competency (PPC) issues enact a negative toll on proficient students and require increased faculty attention. While there are resources aimed at supporting students with PPC, we will explore proficient students’ experience of stress and needed supports as a result of classmates with PPC

A Qualitative Study of Interracial Dating Among College Students

We present the results of a qualitative research study involving interracial dating on a university campus. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 college students (10 couples) who currently were involved in interracial dating relationships. Participants repeatedly told us of experiences they had relating to public interaction. These involved dynamics relating to religion, friends and acquaintances, and prejudice and discrimination incidences. Additionally, themes emerged relating to the couple’s interpersonal relationships. These included their own reactions to discriminatory behavior, being thick-skinned about their interracial status, interracial sensitivity experienced by the African-American partner, and experiences of shared culture connectedness. Finally, the couples related common suggestions for future couples who consider interracial dating

Frameworks for Measuring Innovation: Initial Approaches

In January 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report, Innovation Measurement: Tracking the State of Innovation in the American Economy (DOC, 2008), which recommended "a stronger framework for identifying and measuring innovation in the national economy." As part of that work, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) requested that the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) explore the business perspectives of innovation. The resulting report, Measuring Innovation and Intangibles: A Business Perspective (Stone et al., 2008,) created a compendium of the logic and methods businesses use to measure and monetize innovation. It also identified sources for, and gaps in, innovation data and outlined critical areas for future research. This report extends that work and presents two alternative frameworks for measuring innovation. The first framework focuses on measuring innovation activities at the firm/organization level. The second takes a broader macro-level look at the fundamental investments that allow firms and other organizations to carry out innovation activities