V is for Violin - an Original Playscript

As and MFA playwrighting candidate, I was given the opportunity to witness a fully realized production of my work. For this academic opportunity I chose the V is for Violin. I will discuss the genesis of the idea, the evolution of the play, research conducted, and what I learned in the production process of the show

Development of a Depression Screening Protocol for At Risk Patients Based on the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased risk for adult depression. Utilization of the Patient Health Questionnaire Nine (PHQ-9), in combination with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSMV) criteria, aids in the diagnosis of comorbid depression and assessment of severity. Objectives: To standardize the process of screening new adult patients at a specialty care clinic for ACEs. Then, implement a depression screening protocol based on ACE criteria to identify adult patients with comorbid depression. Methods: Demographic, ACE score, PHQ-9 score, and protocol implementation data collected and analyzed by the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student during initial new patient visit, as well as subsequent visits (if applicable). Results: Of the 105 patients, 104 (99%) were appropriately screened for ACEs, and if applicable depression via the PHQ-9. Following protocol implementation, 15 patients were identified and diagnosed with comorbid depression with appropriate follow-up completed in 93%. Conclusions: Depression screening in at risk patients demonstrating significant childhood trauma leads to an increase in diagnosis comorbid depression. Implications: Depression screening in adults, following assessment of childhood trauma via the ACE questionnaire, aids in the identification of patients with comorbid depression

Phases of systematic brain processing differentially relate to cognitive constructs of attention and executive function in typically-developing children: a latent variable analysis

2017 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The series of studies presented in this dissertation examines the complex interrelationships between brain measures, cognitive abilities, and simple behaviors in typically-developing children. Much recent research has been dedicated to understanding the interaction between neural processing and behaviors across development. However, the field continues to rely on simplistic statistical approaches (e.g., correlations, t tests, ANOVAs), which 1) are unable to simultaneously examine multiple interrelationships among variables of interest, and 2) are easily confounded by sources of measurement error. The result is weak relationships between brain and behavioral measures. In this series of studies, we progressively demonstrate how more sophisticated statistical approaches, namely structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, can be utilized in order to improve researchers' ability to detect brain-behavior relationships in children. All three of the present studies utilize event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral data collected from a sample of typically-developing children ages of 7- to 13-years-old during two separate sessions. In Study 1, we explore the interrelationships between the E-wave component of an ERP, two trait behavioral measures of attentional processing, and simple reaction time (RT) measures during the ERP task. Whereas simple bivariate correlations indicated that the E-wave and RT only shared 7.9 – 9.6% of their variance, a latent variable approach using E-wave and trait attention measures successfully predicted 47.7% of the variance in RT. However, the predictive coefficient from brain-to-behavior was still weak (β = .23), suggesting that there may be neural influences in addition to the E-wave that contribute to the variance in RT. Thus, in Study 2 we elaborated on this model and explored whether the full time-course of an averaged ERP could be conceptualized as a sequence of phases that represents stimulus-to-response decision-making processes. Specifically, we tested a latent variable path model in which one ERP component predicted the next in chronological order, with the full stream of neural processing ultimately predicting RT during the task (N1 → P2 → N2 → P3 → E-wave → RT). Age served as a control variable on each phase of processing and on RT. Results indicated strong predictive relationships from one component to the next (β's = .59 - .86), with the full stream of processing significantly predicting RT (β = .45). The model was fully-mediated, underscoring the importance of the full time-course of the ERP for understanding behaviors during the task. In addition, there were significant age effects on the N2, P3, and RT latent variables (β =.28, -.48, & -.42 respectively). Given the nature of path analyses, the findings suggested that "age" was likely a multifaceted construct representing maturation within multiple domains of cognitive or motor functioning. Study 3 explored the differential relationships between two developmentally-sensitive cognitive constructs and each of the phases of neural processing, effectively replacing "age" with more substantive definitions of maturational effects in the model. The two cognitive constructs captured aspects of attention and executive function processing. Indeed, the findings indicated that each phase of neural processing was differentially influenced by each of the two cognitive constructs. The data suggested that children with better, more matured abilities within a specific cognitive domain tended to have smaller amplitude ERP components from the N1 through the P3, and larger amplitude E-wave components. Conceptually, children with more matured cognitive abilities were able to process the ERP task more efficiently (or with less effort), and engaged in greater anticipatory processing leading to the task behavior when compared to children with less matured cognitive abilities. Of note, the full model did still significantly predict RT during the task, and to a much greater extent than was found in Study 2 (β = .92). The series of investigations in this dissertation demonstrate the utility of SEM approaches for understanding brain-behavior relationships in typically-developing children. Namely, the studies showed that 1) latent variable approaches are helpful in reducing measurement error in ERP and behavioral data, which may impede the detection of brain-behavior relationships when using more simplistic statistical approaches; 2) conceptualizing the full time-course of an ERP preceding a task behavior is not only helpful, but necessary to successfully predict behaviors; and 3) we can further elucidate unique influences of maturation on neural processing within multiple cognitive domains when we embrace advanced statistical approaches like SEM. Implications of the findings and import to the field are discussed in the final chapter

Symptoms And Treatment Perceptions Of Patients With Dairy Hypersensitivities

This is a conference abstract for the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). It intends to summarize the proposed research designed in an IRB proposal regarding dairy hypersensitivities. It is intended for the FNCE review board.https://dune.une.edu/an_studedres/1111/thumbnail.jp

Emotional Intelligence, Pain Knowledge, and Pain Attitudes of Nursing Students

Effective pain assessment is a primary concern for nurses, who begin learning about pain as students. Pain knowledge and emotional intelligence may increase effectiveness of nurses’ pain assessments. Few studies have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and pain knowledge and attitudes in nursing students. This non-experimental, correlational study addresses this research gap by examining associations between emotional intelligence and the pain knowledge and attitudes in nursing students. The study is guided by the Emotional Intelligence Theory and uses convenience sampling of sophomore (year one) and senior (year three) level undergraduate students. The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) and The Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) measure pain knowledge/attitudes and emotional intelligence and are analyzed with independent t-tests. A total of 54 nursing students (26 year one students and 28 year three students) completed the questionnaire. Year three students had higher emotional intelligence scores (M = 125.39, SD = 8.71) than year one students (M = 124.69, SD = 11.76), but the year could not be significantly correlated to the level of Emotional Intelligence (t = .257, p = .798). Year three students also scored higher on the KASRP test (M = 27.52, SD = 2.3) than year one students (M = 25.9, SD = 3.05), and this was found to be a significant correlation (t = 2.26, p = .028). These results differ from earlier iterations of this study and the implications of those differences are discussed

K-12 Security System Final Project Report

Current emergency technology for school shootings is very basic, relying largely on faculty training and basic alarm technology. Alarms are usually activated via emergency buttons arranged throughout the school or online programs requiring a log-in. These methods are cheap and easy to install, however running to an emergency button or logging into a computer program takes time and current school alarms provide very little information about the location of the threat. The K- 12 Security System Team proposes the design and implementation of a system to aid school authorities to minimize the risk posed to students and staff in case of gun threats in K-12 schools. The system must be quick and unobtrusive to activate and should be able to locate and communicate the source of the activation. The system must also have two levels of alarm- a subtle alarm for pre-shooter situations where de-escalation may be possible and a blaring alarm for active shooter situations. The preliminary system design should also be cheap enough for a school to purchase, which our advisor recommended to be a total budget of around $3,200. Since this is a proof of concept, our prototype stayed well under that constraint as well as Trinity’s own$1200 budget cap. The system also needs to be active for the entirety of the school day, so any mobile components should have a battery that lasts at least a semester or a rechargeable battery. To satisfy the requirements the security team broke the project up into 3 subsystems. These subsystems include the central computing unit (CCU), portal beacon, and handheld fob device. Splitting up the project in this manner allowed for us to better track our progress and ensure that each subsystem can run on its own. The team experienced time production slowdowns due to the pandemic keeping one of our three members off campus, winter storm delivery delays, and several faulty Arduino systems. Despite these limitations, the K-12 security team was able to build the fob, portal beacon, and CCU subsystems and successfully update a database using signals sent from a phone-sized, handheld fob. The prototype has multiple alarm levels and stores both the alarm level and ID number of the fob

Employment First* (not only)

Do you know your preferred employment outcome? Many of you reading this editorial may not have a disability, but if you do and you qualify to receive employment services, your options are being limited as you read this because of a policy known as Employment First. This approach sets “community-based, integrated employment – which pays at least the minimum wage – [as] the first option for employment services for youth and adults with significant disabilities” (Scaglione, 2015). Employment First is a federal policy that has been adopted in many states, and is currently being set in New York State after Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order establishing an Employment First policy commission in September 2014 (Executive Order No. 136, 2014). To understand how this policy has come about, it is crucial that we understand its origins in the evolving definition of inclusion