Art and the Human Condition: Incorporating Visual Analysis of Artworks into a Undergraduate Pre-Medicine Curriculum

This thesis project presents a sample class session for the course, The Human Condition: An Arts Perpective (ARTH 361), which will be a part of the optional Medical Humanities minor for the pre-medicine students at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Dr. Margaret Lindauer, Associate Professor of Art History at VCU has directed the development of this course. She oversaw the creation of the preliminary syllabus, which includes readings and assignments relevant to the course. The Tour presented in this thesis project provides a model for planning other class sessions, some of which will be developed by Museum Studies graduate students, some of whom might not have previous experience facilitating gallery tours. I assert that tours such as the one proposed in this project provide pre-medicine students with the opportunity to practice observational skills outside of the clinical setting. In looking at art, pre-medicine students approach the act of observation from a different angle and discussion about art objects often have valuable insight about the medical profession they are entering into. This thesis report accordingly offers brief summaries of research studies that were consulted while the aforementioned tour was developed. It also includes the author\u27s experiences working with a group of pre-nursing undergraduate student at VCU, and it includes a summary of the devloped tour as well as feedback provided by a VMFA Education Department staff member

Establishing Reasons and Recommendation on How to Increase Biomedical Technical Training in Alaska

Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCEThere is an acknowledgement in literature about the increasing healthcare needs, and the disparity among rural area healthcare needs. This project explores and establishes that there is a need for increased biomedical technical training in the State of Alaska. The need and recommendations are discovered through research of current methods within the State and in other locations and analyzes different ways they are currently obtained in Alaska, and suggest hiring locally as a way to increase the number of trained biomedical technicians in Alaska.Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Figures / List of Tables / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Literature Survey / Data Gathering & Analysis / Discussion & Conclusion / Reference

Characterization of the Broad-spectrum Inhibitory Capability of Alcaligenes faecalis and A. viscolactis against Potential Pathogenic Microorganisms

The recent rise of multidrug resistant microorganisms has grown from an isolated concern to a massive public health crisis. It has become imperative that scientists look for new ways to combat this issue. Due to the selective pressures of competition, bacteria and other microbes possess a host of defenses and weapons designed to exploit vulnerabilities in other microorganisms. Consequently, the study of these systems and microbial interactions has much to reveal in the search for novel antimicrobial treatments. Previous research from our laboratory has discovered that both Alcaligenes faecalis and Alcaligenes viscolactis, two rarely studied and generally non-virulent bacteria, exert a microbicidal effect on Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus, two pathogenic and frequently drug-resistant organisms. In this study, we confirmed that these effects are via a live-cell, contact-dependent mechanism and showed that both Alcaligenes species inhibit S. aureus at the attachment phase of biofilm growth. Additionally, we found that A. faecalis and A. viscolactis target Gram-positive bacteria outside the genus Staphylococcus and certain Gram-negative species as well as Candida glabrata. This study also provides novel evidence of a putative Type VI Secretion System in both Alcaligenes species, which may explain their antimicrobial phenotype. Despite efforts to identify the genetic elements involved via mutagenesis, the mechanism of these interactions remain elusive due to the difficulty of gene transfer in these organisms. We hope these results will increase current knowledge of Alcaligenes’ capabilities and genetic composition as well as establish the groundwork for future efforts to discover its inhibitory system and mechanisms

Cost benefit analysis of the federal tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle

This paper will present the results of a cost-benefit analysis performed to determine the public benefits of the $7500 federal tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle. A cost benefit ratio including air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, and oil dependence as components was created and applied to every county in the continental United States. The results suggest that the current tax credit is too high since it does not create$7500 worth of public benefits using the benefits included in the analysis. Benefits vary regionally due to sources of electricity generation and existing air pollution levels with counties in the northeast and on the west coast generally seeing higher benefits from EV use. The largest component of the benefits is from reducing oil dependence while it was also found that EV use in some areas could actually increase air pollution and CO2 emissions. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that the government should consider lowering the tax credit and that air pollution and CO2 emissions from the electric power industry need to be addressed before widespread EV use occurs in much of the United States

Leveraging Social Media to Support a Library Levy Campaign

In November 2015, voters in Washington County, Oregon, approved a 5-year replacement levy to support countywide library services (Measure 34-235), with 64 percent voting in favor of the measure. As a unique partnership between our county, nine municipalities, and two nonprofit organizations, Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) organized a successful levy education effort specifically for social media for its twelve member libraries. With the passing of Measure 34-235, WCCLS member libraries are now positioned to continue providing the best possible library service to our patrons for the next five years

Designing Supplemental Material for Science Engagement

Many outreach events target high school and middle school students in hopes of engaging them and inspiring them to pursue a career within a STEM field. Despite the efforts made by outreach scientists, students oftentimes leave events without any follow-up material and still do not have enough information to realistically consider a career in STEM. My individual project involves creating a supplemental outreach magazine that can be provided to students after outreach events. In addition to assisting with Latham Science Engagement Initiative (LSEI) outreach at the University of Iowa, I hope to make these materials publicly available, for other institutions throughout the country and world to manipulate and use as well