Advertisements Effects on Childhood Obesity

Junk food advertisers spend billions of dollars every year on advertising aimed at children. These foods are known to be major contributors to the obesity epidemic, a growing problem around the world. Food advertising should be regulated to exclude advertisements that appeal to those under twelve as these children do not have fully developed cognitive defenses. This paper investigates the effects of cartoon characters, packaging, and branding in television advertisements on childhood obesity by analyzing various pieces of literature related to obesity, cognitive defenses, home environments, and advertisements. Advertising and branding overcome children’s cognitive defenses and thus negatively influence childhood obesity and the adiposity levels of children. There are many factors that determine the cognitive defense level of the children including the food environment created by the family, family situation, and modeled behavior. Children respond to advertisements differently than adults and are more susceptible to food branding and advertisements due to their low level of cognitive defense. Children’s cognitive defenses are not fully developed, even at the ages of seven or eight, and thus they cannot evaluate advertisements like adults can. Children create food brand bonds at incredibly early ages and are drawn in for life, creating a cycle of bonding that is hard to break. Various factors influence children’s defenses and response to advertisements including the effects of food environments created by parents on food behaviors. Overweight children may also have lower cognitive defenses than children at a healthy weight level and are thus more vulnerable to the advertising and branding targeted at them. Parents may not be aware of the effects their behaviors have on their children’s eating habits and often do not discuss critical thinking with their children. Advertisements aimed at children take advantage of these low levels of cognitive defense and the factors that lead to these low levels of cognitive defenses and should thus be regulated.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1114/thumbnail.jp

Oral Minimal Model for Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is one of the most common issues that a pregnant woman encounters that could result in harm to both the woman and child. Due to this issue, the woman’s glucose and insulin levels should be carefully monitored throughout her pregnancy to assess the need for prescribed diabetic medication to help regulate those levels. In this research, the objectives is to develop a MATLAB computer program of the Oral Minimal Model, which is a model that can be used to estimate a person’s insulin sensitivity from an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) where plasma glucose and insulin levels are determined from blood samples collected from subjects at seven different time instants of 0, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. As of this moment, the program has been completed, tested, and then applied to patient data collected by Dr. Katie Ingram’s research team, producing some promising results on estimating their individual glucose effectiveness (Sg), insulin sensitivity (Si), and rate constant (k3) characteristics

Oral Interview with Marta*

This oral history project was very beneficial and I feel like I learned a lot. I met Marta when I volunteered at Education Matters. She goes there to learn and practice English so that she can eventually apply for a job in Cincinnati. Marta is from Mexico, but she came to the United States because her husband was offered a job here. He is fluent in English and can offer the company what they were looking for in Cincinnati. At first, Marta was not sure if she wanted to leave Mexico because all of her family lives there, but the opportunities in the United States were what she was hoping and looking for. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to interview Marta about her history because she helped me to learn more about the community in Mexico and how it compares to the community that we have here in the United States. She is a very loving and positive person who looks at her life as opportunities and she can really see the love in the world

Government and Social Media: A Case Study of 31 Informational World Cities

Social media platforms are increasingly being used by governments to foster user interaction. Particularly in cities with enhanced ICT infrastructures (i.e., Informational World Cities) and high internet penetration rates, social media platforms are valuable tools for reaching high numbers of citizens. This empirical investigation of 31 Informational World Cities will provide an overview of social media services used for governmental purposes, of their popularity among governments, and of their usage intensity in broadcasting information online.Comment: In Proceedings of the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 1715-1724). IEEE Computer Society, 201

A Reflective Practitioner Case Study Approach to Researching Verbatim Theatre

The Reflective Practitioner Case Study (RPCS) methodology, as defined by John O’Toole in Doing Drama Research (2006), is situated within the broader category of qualitative practice-led research, with a focus on inducing practice based data for analysis and research. This article details my application of the RPCS methodology when researching the process and impact of verbatim theatre practice within the context of writing and performing the verbatim play bald heads & blue stars. I provide examples of the triangulated documentation of the creative process, demonstrate strategic planning for the induction of data in order to research the values that influence practice, and the approach used to explore the impact that being involved in a verbatim theatre process has on the interview subjects. While elsewhere I have published the findings of my research into the verbatim theatre process, values and impact of the bald heads & blue stars project, this article focuses specifically on the strategic implementation of various RPCS methods, such as interviewing, critically reflective journals (both written and audio recorded) and the archiving of external and integral materials related to the practice of writing and performing a verbatim play. This article systematically outlines the comprehensive and triangulated approach for inducing data and documenting a creative project when conducting practice-led research using a Reflective Practitioner Case Study

Velocity, Distance and Shoulder Range of Motion in Two Throwing Programs

Success in baseball pitching is determined by throwing velocity and accuracy. Strength conditioning, as well as repetitive throwing programs, are used to improve the pitch. Recently, a weighted ball program has been developed and is believed to increase ball velocity with less potential injury. However, there is limited research examining the impact of this program on performance. The purpose of this study was to compare a traditional long toss program versus a weighted ball program. Baseline throwing velocity and distance as well as shoulder range of motion (ROM) were measured in collegiate baseball players. Participants were then randomized to either a six-week-long toss throwing program or weighted ball program. Following training, throwing velocity, distance, and shoulder ROM were measured again. Both training methods significantly improved throwing distance. However, throwing velocity did not change from pre-training measurements. All measurements of shoulder ROM (flexion, abduction, and external rotation) significantly improved in both groups, with abduction showing the greatest improvement in the long toss group. Our results suggest both training programs are beneficial for baseball performance

Reading Regina: Revisiting the Education of Upper-Class Women In the Middle Ages

UMKC Honors Colleg

Alternative Method for Posterior Lumbar Discectomy and Development of Associated Bench Top Test

A discectomy is a common surgical procedure performed to remove the fibrous disc material between adjacent vertebrae in the spine, known as vertebral disc. Current methods and tools used in discectomies are time consuming and potentially dangerous, with opportunity for human error. There is a need for a new method of disc removal that can improve clinical results by reducing surgical times, preventing damage to surrounding anatomy, and more thoroughly removing the vertebral disc. A reduction in surgery times and increase of effective disc removal will help to increase success, recovery, and spinal fusion rates. This project aims to provide a prototype instrument and associated bench top test focused on providing a more streamlined and successful discectomy procedure from the posterior approach while mitigating the risks associated with human error. Collaboration with industry experts resulted in the modification of commonly-used pituitary rongeurs to include in-line aspiration through surgical tubing. This development improves upon the current surgical technique by eliminating the need to remove the instrument from the patient, thus reducing time requirements and preventing the need for additional training. Current discectomy methods require up to three hours for a full disc removal under optimal conditions. This method aims to reduce that requirement by approximately half. In addition, research into synthetic disc material, coupled with available 3D printing technology, has yielded a bench top test that can be used in regulatory validation and proof of concept. This test aims to recreate disc anatomy without requiring access to expensive and single-use cadavers.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1195/thumbnail.jp

Bald heads & blue stars: a theory, model and impact of verbatim theatre practice

The aim of this practice-led research is to investigate the creative practice of a verbatim theatre process. Verbatim theatre involves interviewing a community about a topic or event, recording these conversations and using the resulting stories as stimulus for the creative development of performance. I have made a significant contribution to theatre-making knowledge by articulating a theory and model of practice and investigating the impact of verbatim theatre practice on a community of storytellers. I engaged in a rigorous Reflective Practitioner Case Study to write and perform in bald heads & blue stars, through interviewing 15 women from the Queensland Alopecia community and translating their stories into performance. Across this process I facilitated a triangulated documentation of practice, to induce rich data sets that were integral to articulating a key outcome for the research: the Engaged Verbatim Theatre Praxis model and theory of practice. Current research has focused primarily on debates around truth and authenticity, leaving a distinct absence of engagement with the artistic practice of verbatim theatre. Within the framework of the Engaged Verbatim Theatre Praxis model I name and define key creative practices within the verbatim theatre process, such as Community Immersion, Listening for Aesthetics and Voicing Stories. Analysing and naming these practices provides a new and considered language around the artistic process of verbatim theatre, contributes to the knowledge and understanding of theatre making and is a step towards understanding the impact of creative practice on the storytelling community