Abstracts

In recent years, some linguists have become focused on the diverse and fascinating way different languages and communities treat and perceive temperature. Studies have been carried out on Japanese and several European languages. These studies show remarkable differences in the number of distinct temperature terms they have and the nuances these encode, shedding light on the way humans perceive and interpret physical sensations. Here we present the first study of this kind on a Native American language, Eastern Ojibwe, referred to by speakers as Anishinaabemowin. Its complex word structures and requisite morphological encoding of temperature source provide a challenge for established theories in this field. Influenced by external cultural practices, the perception of temperature as something fully subjective and anthropocentric is shifting in Ojibwe communities, and a new perspective where temperature can be treated as an objective, abstract scale is taking hold.

Currently the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates more than 230 documented Intangible Heritage Elements across the world. None of these is from the United States. Examining the diverse cultural landscapes, current political climate, and economic elements involved in documenting intangible heritage, I will make a case for the U.S. becoming more invested in the UNESCO documentation system. Moreover, examples will be given of current cultural elements eligible for documentation, to prove that 1) the U.S. is home to wide-ranging cultural diversity; 2) elements of our complex immigrant heritage have developed into unique cultural identifiers; and 3) documenting these unique cultural elements not only fulfills a social obligation but will prove to be a means of financial gain for local communities.

This presentation highlights findings of a dissertation study that explored the culture of university-linked retirement communities (ULRC). One of the innovative ways that learning in retirement is being addressed is through the practice of ULRCs. ULRCs are designed and built for retirees who want to enjoy living near or on a college campus. Offering a retirement living experience focused on the scholarly and the social, the concept is one that can meet the needs of both retirees and the university community. This qualitative study utilized an interpretive, ethnographic approach with site visit observations conducted at three distinct ULRCs located in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern regions of the United States. Thematic findings were synthesized through thematic analysis of 55 in-depth resident interviews, shadowing residents in their communities, and attending ULRC activities. The presentation uses narrative from one particular community to highlight the distinctive and sometimes selective culture of academically-oriented retirement communities.

As different as the many ancient people of the European continent have been, there are almost always some striking similarities that transcend the obvious. An example is the personification of fate and destiny as a deity. Similar, too, are how each of these peoples handled that fate; how each conversed with their deities; and the regard with which each held such things as omens, curses, and prophecies; yet the similarities are kept in balance by each culture's own ability to develop relationships with their gods and goddesses. It is my goal to explore those similarities and differences as they pertain to the Greek and Roman people and mythology and the Germanic people of the Norse mythology. I will show these similarities and how the cultures, though far apart, are bound by them; then I will show the distinct differences that make each culture its own.

This creative project based on the research and Music Learning Theory (MLT) of Edwin E. Gordon further develops the work, 'Sing, Move, and Play!' presented in the 2009 Graduate Research Fair. The work includes primary chord progressions in all tonalities, a variety of rhythmic content, and careful attention to developing correct technique for beginners. Prior to the project, the researcher analyzed existing beginning violin methods, which were found lacking in basic MLT pedagogical elements. The only MLT-based method for particular instrument is Music Moves for Piano by Marilyn Lowe. The premise for this work is that music should move for all instruments.

One of Virginia Woolf's earliest attempts at fiction, Melymbrosia puts its own immaturity in sharp focus by closely tracing the evolution of a technique that comes to define the author's style. For while in Woolf's later work the inner minds of her characters are used as narrative lenses, they are here mostly left blank and inscrutable. Therefore, Melymbrosia might function as a means of sketching out the mind's features and borders. This elucidation of identity's components and composition is a parallel project to the plot's primary action: a voyage in which a young woman attempts to define who she is and how she fits into the world as she perceives it. Using the tools of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, I argue that in Melymbrosia Woolf proposes a model of identity in which one is defined by one's emptiness, silenced in one's attempted signification, and ultimately isolated and alone.

Free Enterprise gives voice to historically marginalized African American and Afro-Caribbean characters. Two prominent features of the novel are allusions to icons and narrative structures from the Western literary canon and motifs associated with the cultures of the Kongo. I argue that Cliff's text uses narrative form to destabilize the idea that there can be any official record at all. This paper addresses the function of the Ki-Kongo cosmogram as a structural element of the novel that disrupts and resists the Western literary and historical narrative put in place by the culture of the colonizer. I argue that the cosmogram not only contributes to the narrative construction of time but also helps the characters to (re)construct identities that were deconstructed through colonialism.

Bipolar disorder cycles between manic, euthymic, and depressed moods. One existing mathematical model of the disorder uses a deterministic modified Van der Pol differential equation. We add noise to this model in various ways to determine whether the times spent in each mood state are interrelated, a semi-Markov process, or some other stochastic model. We also explore the model for indications of rapid cycling. We expect a positive correlation between the times spent in each mood state but find that the Van der Pol equation produced a negative correlation. These correlations show that this model is not a semi-Markov process, and there were no indications of rapid-cycling. This suggests that the existing model may not accurately represent important aspects of bipolar disorder.

In a rapidly evolving and diverse world of manufacturing and production requirements, knowledgeable and educated choices of production strategies have become increasingly challenging. Production requirements, defined as 'Production Attributes' in this research, drive our strategy selection. Attributes including production volume, product complexity, product variation requirements, and resource availability are all necessary considerations in the selection of a production strategy. Production strategies have individual components as well, defined as 'Strategy Aspects' in this research. These aspects may include level of automation, utilization of lean, level of technology application, human resource usage, and so on. This research will work to relate Production Attributes to Strategy Aspects through a multivariate regression, offering the future production design architects a tool to assist in their production strategy selection.

It is estimated that 40% of people over the age of 65 experience age-related cognitive decline that impacts quality of life. With an increase in the aging population, this is an important issue to address. A number of biological pathways are thought to contribute to age-related cognitive decline, including the up-regulation in L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LVGCC). To determine the relative contribution of LVGCC up-regulation to age-related cognitive, our laboratory has developed a transgenic line of mice that over-express an LVGCC in the forebrain. We anticipate that the over-expression of LVGCCs in young animals will mimic the cognitive impairments observed in aged mice. We present a molecular characterization of this new line of mice. In the future, these mice will be used as a model of aging. This project will contribute to research leading toward development of pharmaceutical therapy to alleviate the symptoms of age-related cognitive decline in affected individuals.

In the last decade, health literacy research has demonstrated a strong link between health outcomes and educational interventions. Nursing is the primary source of health education for adults. Despite health literacy issues being identified as a priority in Healthy People 2010, there is little information on knowledge levels and awareness of health literacy among nurses. A descriptive study was conducted with 29 RN to BSN students in a southeastern Michigan university nursing program. The research questions are 1) What is the health literacy knowledge of RN to BSN completion students? and 2) Do RN to BSN students apply their knowledge in practice? Preliminary results indicate the majority of the participants have not received health literacy education at either school or work, and more than 80% do not assess patients for health literacy. The major implication of the study is that if nurses do not understand health literacy, they cannot teach patients appropriately.

While there are animal models of kidney disease, the mechanisms by which they act are not well understood. Here, we analyze an injectable compound, previously used as a cancer adjuvant, to investigate its role in causing reversible proteinuria. Intra-peritoneal injections of 40 mg/kg body weight/day resulted in massive proteinuria by day 2, which cleared after cessation of treatment. Tubular walls of the cortex appeared porous and diffuse when stained with H&E or Mason's Trichrome. SEM of visceral epithelial cells of the glomerular filtration barrier, known as podocytes, showed marked retraction and flattening, or effacement, following treatment for 3 days. Immunofluorescence demonstrated no discernable variation in the localization of slit-diaphragm proteins nephrin, neph1, and podocin in glomeruli of treated mice. Proteinuria is likely due to loss of adequate filtering at the podocyte junctions but may also indicate leakage from the tubules. It is unclear if the proteinuria and kidney damage observed is a primary result of acute treatment or secondary to animal sickness caused by the compound. We have not ruled out use of this compound as an inducer of proteinuria, but the mechanism of action must be better understood before it will prove useful as a model of disease.

The Ottoman decision to join the First World War on the side of Britain's enemies led within four years to total defeat and the end of centuries of Turkish rule over the Middle East. Though even postwar Turkish authors blamed a handful of politicians in Germany for the disastrous anti-British alliance of 1914, this presentation will show that the conflict was the culmination of decades of British encroachment on Ottoman sovereignty. Faced with a dangerous geopolitical situation and with broad backing among the educated Ottoman elite, the statesmen in Istanbul made a considered, but fatal, decision.

In response to the drastic climate changes, ever-increasing human population, and the potential depletion of natural resources, interior designers have started to practice in compliance with sustainable design principles, as buildings collectively generate one of the biggest impacts on Earth. Sustainable design is concerned with protecting environment and preserving natural resources for future generations. Therefore, it is imperative for designers to adopt green design concepts by using recycled or reclaimed materials, which can be separated, categorized, and transformed into new products such as wall treatments, flooring materials, and furniture. Moreover, using recycled or reclaimed materials not only helps to sustain our environment, but also has economic benefits including saving money, creating new jobs, and reducing construction waste. The study plans to examine recycled or reclaimed materials such as wood, metal, glass, and steel and to find new green design methods to use recycled resources effectively.

The concept of sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) played an essential role in cultural, environmental, and economical areas a long time ago. This concept has been applied in historical villages and traditional buildings as well. All of these dwellings and settlements are a treasure today. Therefore, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and The National Built Heritage Forum work hand in hand to renovate and restore these valuable resources under sustainability definition. The building materials most often used in these buildings were sustainable ones, such as stones and mud brick. In this presentation I will provide essential characteristics about mud, brick, and adobe, and why they are good examples of sustainable material.

This survey-based study was sparked by the well-known 'fact' that the orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) field has a 100% employment rate after graduation from a certified program. After searching various journals within the O&P field, no such study has been performed to research who is/is not employed or that address which residency was done first and correlated to the students' passing rates. Thus, this became a two-fold study correlating employment rates and graduation year/institution and choice of residency and passing rates of the American Board of Certification (ABC) exams. A 10-question survey via surveymonkey.com will be sent out via the O & P listserv and will be correlated accordingly. The hypotheses are that the employment rate will be close to 100% regardless of institution or year of graduation and that those who do their orthotics residency first will have a higher passing rate on their ABC exam.

This presentation addresses the thematic elements of children's moral/character development and how narrative is used as a tool to teach children moral lessons. More specifically, this review explains how literature is used in the moral education of children, ways that adult readers and writers communicate with children through narrative, existential questions that arise from the writings used, and related pedagogical approaches that act as companions to and/or reinforcement of perspectives and programs in book-centered character education.

Parents, educators, and other adults often use narratives and story telling as a way of socializing and guiding the moral development of children. This presentation is an examination of approximately 10 children's books that focus on truth telling and deception. Two examples of themes covered include 1) Lies do not go away on their own and 2) If you tell the truth, you will not experience consequences.

Aaron Copland, a great American composer of the 20th century, once said, 'A piano work, in my case, (is written) when I am stuck with ideas that have nowhere else to go." His Sonata for piano (1941) seems to be somewhat a foreshadowing of the then-imminent World War II, expressing certain characteristics of wartime. Written in a traditional sonata form, the piece embodies a feeling of anxiousness with its tragic opening, mournful melodies, open chords, and bell tolls.

This study investigated the effects of a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) on infant and toddler development that is often overlooked: the use of children by abusive intimate partners to victimize mothers. A community sample of 120 primarily low-income women participated in interviews at 1 and 2 years postpartum as part of an ongoing study on women's transition to motherhood. Preliminary t-test analyses revealed that children exposed during the first year of life to this particular type of IPV experienced significantly more social-emotional problems at 1 and 2 years of age, as well as more trauma symptoms at 2 years of age, than children not exposed to this type of IPV. There were no significant differences between groups in general development at age 1 or 2.