E-Scripture: The Impact of Technology on the Reading of Sacred Texts (2013)

The tradition of religious readers in transition is not new: Augustine expressed “amazement” that Ambrose read silently and not aloud, movable type in the fifteenth century made the Bible publishable without scribal work, and today, electronic pages have become interactive in ways scarcely imagined a short time ago. How readers of today imagine a page (now conceptualized as a ‘web-page’) and consequently, reading in general, has profound implications for the 21st century. Acknowledging the fact that “the significance of a religious book lies not only in the message of its content, but also in the form and self-presentation with which it makes itself available to worship and transmission,” this project assumes that a great deal of perspective is provided by looking at this current transition in light of the old. In virtually all previous reading transitions, a religious ‘pattern of reading technology’ can be seen, whose pieces are all well-known but have not been collectively applied to the current situation of e-reading. The pattern operates with a three part assumption: readers will initially use a new technology to perform the same functions as the old technology, only more quickly, with more efficiency, or in greater quantity. This early use of new reading technology, in other words, largely attempts to imitate the functions and appearance of the old format. The second part is that the old technology becomes sacralized or ritualized in the face of the new technology’s standardization. As this standardization occurs, the new technology develops its own unique and innovative functions, exclusive to that form and shedding some or most of the imitative appearance and functions of the old technology – the third part of the pattern. Reviewing these transitions of the past and present, it becomes clear that perhaps fear of the new technology – however relatable – proves somewhat unfounded. New reading technology does not prove ultimately inimical to the old formats, or to religion, and despite many initial practical concerns, actually provides a multitude of benefits in the reading of sacred texts

Navigating hotel operations in times of COVID-19

Published versio

How hospitality alumni are waiting out COVID-19

The days of sold-out nights, busy lobbies, and bustling ballrooms started to slowly dwindle. We thought we would be okay and be able to get through this. Then one day, we showed up to work and it felt like everything had changed, in just 24 hours. Occupancy started to drastically drop to a record low of 5-15%, events were canceled or postponed until the Fall or 2021, and the front desk agents were excited when there were people in the lobby. This was just the beginning of how hotels would see the effects of COVID-19. Our alumni share how they have come to terms with the pandemic and share recommendations on how to keep busy while at home, along with their hope for the future of the hospitality industry.Published versio

Walking Seven Walks : solitaries, spirit-mediums and matrilineal influence in Lisa Robertson’s poetics of soft architecture

“Walking Seven Walks” comprises a full-length manuscript of poems and an exegesis on Canadian poet Lisa Robertson’s poetics of soft architecture and her millennial poem Seven Walks. Entitled Song of the Year, my creative manuscript presents chronologically the results of a daily urban walking practice undertaken between 2017 and 2022. Informed by Robertson’s poetics of soft architecture, a counter-discipline that recomposes space via a feminist lens, my poems reconsider Charles Olson’s “composition by field” (1950), investigate open-form possibilities for reading poems, and pursue the lyric mode’s capacity for realising the temporary and everchanging constitutions of material space. My exegesis makes a literary-historical argument for Lisa Robertson’s Seven Walks as modelling a collective, feminist practice of urban walking that converses with the hidden labours of previous generations of women and confers prophetic possibilities for world- building. I argue Seven Walks, published between 1999 and 2003, represents what I call the “climate fin de siècle” in Robertson’s deployment of baroque aesthetics and the poem’s registration of late-industrial crises. Chapter One positions Robertson in a Romantic context, arguing that her figuration of the soft architect and guide as plural and gender-fluid walkers ironises Rousseau’s model of the “solitary walker” as depicted in Reveries of a Solitary Walker (1782). I demonstrate that an alternative and collaborative matrilineal genealogy, via the works of Mary Wollstonecraft and Dorothy Wordsworth, informs Robertson’s walking strategy, which registers and reflects on the effects of late-industrial capitalism, including accelerating financial economies and environmental destruction. Chapter Two argues that spirit-medium discourse is a significant line of matrilineal influence in Seven Walks. I analyse two key mediumistic tropes at work in Seven Walks: the figure of the guide and the spatial unit of the room. I argue that the guide opens the text to modes of more-than-human relating. I also argue that Robertson’s use of the room channels the spirit and influence of Virginia Woolf in “A Room of One’s Own” (1929) and beyond

Pilot Testing a Survey Instrument to Evaluate EAAT Professionals\u27 Views on the Effects of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies on Hope and Depression in Court-Involved Youth

Equine Assisted Activity and Therapy (EAAT) programs have proven beneficial for individuals with mental, physical and psychological ailments. Only in the last few years have court systems begun to utilize the complex nature of the human-horse relationship to benefit the lives of court-involved youth. Despite its novelty, the few existing studies in this field yield positive results (Frederick et al., 2015). To address the need for further research in this area, a pilot study was conducted. An exploratory survey was given to EAAT professionals to determine their views on the effects of EAAT programs on hope and depression in court-involved youth. The first survey questions are related to the EAAT professionals’ demographics, work style, and EAAT training. The remaining survey questions were based on the Adolescent-Domain Specific Hope Scale, the Major Depression Inventory, and existing literature. These questions asked EAAT professionals to reference their personal observations of court-involved youth who participated in an EAAT program to determine if the behaviors exhibited by the youth indicated increased hope and decreased depression. The results of this pilot study revealed that EAAT professionals observed signs of increased hope and decreased depression in court-involved youth who participated in an EAAT program. Additional benefits highlighted by participants were increased self-confidence, reduced anxiety, an improved ability of court-involved youth to relate to others, and greater success in other areas of life outside the EAAT program. This pilot study can be expanded in the future to conduct research aimed at helping EAAT professionals determine perceived success or failure of an EAAT program for court-involved youth

A Patient-Facing Dashboard to Promote Shingrix™ Vaccination in a Continuing Care Retirement Community: A Quality Improvement Project

BACKGROUND: Shingles is considered one of the most significant vaccine-preventable diseases of older adults based on its morbidity and public health burden, which increase drastically with age. Adult vaccine awareness and promotion programs are undervalued in the U.S.; in particular, educational programs targeting older adults are needed. Older adults have increasing rates of adoption of health information technology (HIT) to seek guidance and support for their medical needs. Leveraging HIT in the form of clinical dashboards is an option for providing reliable, safe and cost-effective vaccine education to older adults at high risk of vaccine-preventable disease. METHODS: The specific aims of this quality improvement project were to increase knowledge and uptake of recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix™) in older adults of a continuing retirement community (CCRC) through creation of a patient-facing clinical dashboard. The Four Pillars™ practice transformation program was used to guide implementation of the project including utilization of self-report surveys to determine baseline vaccination rates, perceptions of the dashboard and behavioral intention to receive future vaccination. The Patient Portal Acceptance Model (PPAM) was used as a theoretical framework to evaluate respondents’ perceptions of the dashboard across four domains: ease of use, usefulness, self-efficacy, and privacy/security. RESULTS: Respondents reported high levels of education and computer literacy. The majority reported using the internet for over 20 years and over 10 hours per week and 77.8% had used the internet to search for healthcare information within the past year. Baseline Shingrix™ vaccination levels in the CCRC were higher than national average but not at goal rates, and the majority of respondents eligible for vaccination did not plan to receive it. Respondents rated the dashboard moderately high on perceived ease of use, low on concerns about privacy/security, high on ability to use independently (self-efficacy), and low on perceived usefulness. DISCUSSION: The information provided by CCRC residents during development of this dashboard was valuable for elucidating motivators and barriers to HIT use in older adults, who largely view HIT as an adjunct to in-person interaction with a trusted provider. Improving older adults’ perceptions of HIT will be critical in the era of Covid-19, when many high-risk older adults are seeking alternatives to traditional provider visits. Respondents were willing and able to access and navigate the dashboard; however, shingles knowledge did not improve in this small sample. Improvements in the presentation of the material on the dashboard may improve perceptions of usefulness and comprehension of specialized clinical information. CONCLUSION: CCRC residents were receptive to receiving vaccine information via electronic dashboard and expressed interest in using this format as a source of other healthcare information. There is ample opportunity to expand patient-facing dashboards in the CCRC setting to provide a wide array of healthcare education for this population

Demetrios Constantine Dounis: the philosophy behind the methods

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityDemetrios Constantine Dounis was a concert violinist, mandolinist, conductor, and medical doctor. Above all, he was a teacher who developed some of the most innovative methods for violin playing of the 20th century. Dounis carefully observed the technique of the great masters of the violin, both privately and in concert, including Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, and Eugene Ysaye. His keen sense of observation played an important role in the development of his methods. Dounis's background in medicine helped to form the anatomical and physiological basis for his technical principles. Although it is often assumed that Dounis's teaching was exclusively technical, he referred to his technique as "Expressive Technique", signifying that a violinist without technical limitations is a violinist with inexhaustible expressive potential. An explanation of these principles are presented in this dissertation, according to Dounis's published works on technique, as well as the author's acquired understanding of the technique through the tutelage of former Dounis student, George Neikrug. This dissertation also explores Dounis's unique approach to teaching, his philosophy on practicing, as well as his methods of facilitating technical change for his students. The final chapter is an exploration into the cognitive aspects of achieving physical habit change in violin technique. The struggle to change the technical habits of violin playing is both physical and mental on many levels, and this difficulty is the main reason as to why Dounis's unique methods have often been met with resistance

Microstructural and tectonic applications of texturally-controlled Sm/Nd garnet geochronology

High precision 147Sm-143Nd geochronology of garnet is performed in two localities to solve problems in tectonics. In Chapter 1, the age of the basal amphibolite unit of the Ballantrae Ophiolite complex in Scotland is dated at 477.6 ± 1.9 million years old. This age constrains the duration of Grampian orogenesis to 12.6 ± 3.1 million years and allows us to conclude that classic metamorphism by overthickening of continental crust cannot account for the very short-lived event in this region. In Chapter 2, we report ages from a Variscan relict (318 ± 130 Ma) to a range of Cenozoic ages from 35.5 ± 2.1 Ma to 9 ± 10 Ma in the Betic Cordillera of southern Spain. This alone indicates prolonged orogenesis in the region. These ages are linked directly to a microstructure known as a Foliation Intersection Axis (FIA). Results are inconclusive, but they generally indicate that there may be a relationship between broad scale plate motion and FIA orientations at a regional scale

Hydrologic impacts due to land cover change in the Yellowwood Lake watershed

The Yellowwood Lake watershed in Southern Indiana has experienced land cover change due to forest harvest throughout the last century. A group of local stakeholders have identified sedimentation into the lake and surface erosion as major concerns for the watershed. The main objective of this study is to better understand how forest harvest methods applied within the watershed effect hydrologic and soil erosion processes. Such knowledge is required to develop a more comprehensive plan to protect the watershed. ^ The Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was used for this analysis. This is a physically based, distributed hydrology model that simulates the water and energy balance at the scale of the digital elevation model (DEM). The DHSVM sediment model also simulates hillslope erosion by overland flow and raindrop impact. A sensitivity study was conducted on the model to better understand the effect of forest thinning on the hydrology of the watershed, which was simulated by adjusting the user input fractional coverage parameter of the forest vegetation. Updates were made to the calculation of aerodynamic roughness to produce a more continuous change in displacement height with thinning forest density. Current harvest management, as prescribed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, was input to the model using a mixture of fractional coverage values to represent the change in canopy density due to harvest prescriptions throughout the watershed. The simulated output from the forest harvest scenario was compared to output produced using a non-harvested scenario for water years 1961-2013. The results indicate that harvest resulted in statistically significant increases to streamflow metrics related to high and low flow frequency. Flow magnitudes for 1.1 year return period flows also increased by as much as 12%. Results from the DHSVM sediment model showed that the annual sediment load into the lake increased after forest harvest. The watershed also experienced greater loss of soil in areas with steep slopes and under the clear-cut harvest prescription. It is recommended that the forest managers avoid a clear-cut prescription and harvesting on slopes steeper than 7.5% in order to reduce some of these effects