Case Studies of the Attainment of Insight in Dream Sessions: Replication and Extension

To replicate and extend the Hill, Knox, et al. (2007) case study of a client who attained insight in one session of dream work, the authors examined two additional single-session cases: one in which a client gained insight and another in which a client did not. The observations across all three cases suggest that the two clients who acquired insight had positive attitudes toward dreams; were motivated and involved in session; and were nonresistant, trusting, and affectively present but not overwhelmed. The client who did not gain insight questioned the value of dreams and was resistant, untrusting, andf emotionally overwhelmed. Therapist adherence and competence using the dream model, ability to manage countertransference, and effective use of probes for insight distinguished the therapists whose clients gained insight from the therapist whose client did not

Assessing Accommodation Suppliers’ Perceptions of Climate Change Adaptation Actions on Koh Phi Phi Island, Thailand

Koh Phi Phi Don is among the most visited island tourism destinations in Thailand. Due to the island’s topography and development patterns, most accommodation suppliers on the island are likely to be exposed to a range of climate change impacts, particularly sea-level rise, which can pose a severe risk to the local tourism operations. This study aimed to explore perceptions of climate change adaptation actions in response to impacts typically associated with climate change. This study, furthermore, investigated possible obstacles, barriers, and incentives influencing decision-making processes of accommodation owner-managers (the private sector) to adapt to climate change. The investigation builds on 81 surveys and 12 in-depth interviews. The findings provide evidence that most of the sampled businesses already implemented (consciously or not) climate change adaptation measures, such as insurance coverage, water treatment appliances, and staff training on emergency responses. Through a concentration of power on the island, their action is hindered, which creates a barrier to a sustainable and climate risk-informed development pathway

Advancing Spatiotemporal Modeling of Access to Healthcare – A Methodological Perspective

Modelers apply system dynamics (SD) modeling in various fields for different purposes including policy analysis, however, they need to integrate SD with other methodologies to facilitate the inclusion of spatial factors and study their influence on the system’s behavior. We investigate the combination of SD modeling with Geographic Information Systems using healthcare data to facilitate the study of both spatial and systemic factors for more effective policy design. We propose an algorithm for integrating these methodologies and explain one of its applications in the complex health systems—Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to primary care (PC). Our results reveal insights and information that were not available through merely SD modeling; this approach provides the opportunity for policymakers to learn about the influence of spatiotemporal factors on health outcomes in a complex health system, and identify the areas with a high need for PC providers

Overbuilt and Underserving: An Evaluation of Patterson St. in Eugene, Oregon

Two-lane one-way streets like Patterson St. in Eugene, Oregon are overbuilt to support car users and underserve a significant market of community members who cannot, or do not want to drive. The public right-of-way on two-lane, one way, streets is designed to maximize the throughput of automobiles and detracts from other street users’ ability to use alternative modes of transportation like walking, biking, and busing. In this study, an evaluation of Patterson St. was conducted to understand if the two-lane, one-way, streets with parking on either side enhances the mobility, accessibility, and quality of life of those who live adjacent to it and travel it frequently. The evaluation included a street user count, a survey distributed to Spencerview Apartment residents and YMCA members, and a focus group. The street user count showed that Patterson St. is dominated by car users (93% of users). The survey showed that people would rather take more trips by biking, walking, and busing, but choose to drive for safety and convenience reasons. Survey takers and focus group participants identified that Patterson St. is a barrier to accessing their community and if the street supported more suitable transportation options, they would take more trips by biking, walking, and busing, and be less dependent on their car. Focus group participants noted that they were forced to adapt to the infrastructure on Patterson St. by buying cars and biking on the sidewalk. Most notably participants thought that their quality of life would significantly improve if their transportation needs and preferences were supported by the transportation infrastructure on Patterson St

AUTOMATIC OPTIMIZATION METHODS FOR PATIENT-SPECIFIC TISSUE-ENGINEERED VASCULAR GRAFTS

Surgical intervention is sometimes necessary in cases of Coarctation of the Aorta (CoA). The post-repair geometry of the aorta can result in sub-optimal hemodynamics and can have long-term health impacts. Patient-specific designs for tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) allow greater control over post-repair geometry. This thesis proposes a method for automatically optimizing patient-specific TEVGs using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and the ANSYS Fluent adjoint solver. Our method decreases power loss in the graft by 25-60% compared to the native geometry. As patient-specific graft design can be challenging due to incomplete or uncertain flow and geometry data, this thesis also quantifies the robustness of the optimal designs with respect to CFD boundary conditions derived from imaging data. We show that using velocity conditions that deviate by more than 20% of the measured peak systolic velocity, our method produces grafts with deviations on the order of 5% in predicted power loss performance. Lastly, as one way to accelerate the optimization process, we demonstrate and compare how some established machine learning models (K Nearest Neighbors and Kernel Ridge Regression) predict reasonable starting points for an optimizer on a 2D bifurcated pipe dataset

The Psychophysiology of Self-Defining Memories

Throughout the past 15 years, researchers have explored self-defining memories within the larger category of autobiographical memories (Conway, Singer, & Tagini, 2004; Singer, 2005; Singer & Salovey, 2003; Wood & Conway, 2006). Other researchers have examined the physiological reactions to various stimuli, some related to autobiographical memory (Gross & Levenson, 1997; Levenson & Gottman, 1983; Philippot, Schaefer, & Herbette, 2003; Schaefer & Philippot, 2005; Schwartz, Weinberger, & Singer, 1981). The present study is the first experiment to investigate the relationship of physiological correlates to self-defining memories. This study had participants generate their own self-defining and autobiographical memories, and recall them, while attached to electrodes measuring heart rate and skin conductance one week later. The current study separated memories into four categories: positive and negative self-defining memories and positive and negative autobiographical memories. Change in skin conductance was greatest for negative self-defining memories. Further results showed that self-defining memories had more words and higher importance than did autobiographical memories pre-recall, and self-defining memories differed in intensity and emotion ratings from autobiographical memories post-recall

Assessing Preschool Children’s Knowledge of Compounds from a Logico- Semantic Perspective

Research in First Language Acquisition investigates three broad questions: What do children know about language? When does this knowledge emerge? How is children’s knowledge of language different from adults’ knowledge of language? This study adds to previous research in FLA by investigating the interaction between logic and meaning in child language. This study examines preschool children’s comprehension of the logical relation between a compound and its head noun in comparison to adult’s logico-semantic interpretation of compounds