-
Prospective Students
-
Faculty and Staff
-
Current Students
-
Alumni and Friends
Si/C composite materials have attracted enormous research interest as the most promising candidates for the anodes of next-generation lithium-ion batteries, owing to their high energy density and mechanical buffering property. However, the major disadvantage of materials with ultra-high capacities, such as Si-based materials, is the significant volume change during cycling, which further leads to mechanical and electrochemical degradation. A comprehensive computational model is indispensable in the developing process of the excellent performance of anode material due to the low realizability, inconvenience, and high cost of experiments, which also provides powerful tools for fabrication guidance of novel Si/C composites designs. Hence, this study explores the multiphysics behavior of Si/C anodes material from the atomic level to cell level using DFT modeling and FEA methodology, systematically revealing the coupling mechanism among various physical fields, as well as providing efficient and powerful tools in the design, development, and evaluation of high energy density lithium-ion batteries.
The purpose of this narrative qualitative study was to explore how artist-teachers perceive themselves, their strategies for maintaining a balance of the artist-teacher dual identity and their perceived benefits for students. This study included eight participants with a minimum of five years of teaching art in a K-12 public school and considered themselves an artist-teacher. The analyzed data resulted in the following findings:
K-12 artist-teachers perceive themselves as having a dual identity of both an art educator and practicing artist, that early artmaking experiences and past art teachers were influential in their identity formation and that in addition to teaching, personal artmaking is needed for their job satisfaction and life fulfillment. Findings also include:
K-12 artist-teachers maintain the balance of their dual identity by having a designated place for art making, prioritizing and scheduling time for their art practice and connecting with other creative individuals or groups for accountability and collaboration. Additionally, this study’s findings demonstrates that K-12 artist-teachers perceive their dual identity benefitting students by infusing excitement and energy from their own artistic practice into their teaching, building strong connections through shared experiences and explorations, and readily integrating and introducing students to diverse and relevant contemporary artists. Implications include increased professional development for art educators in opportunities for collaboration, knowledge of new media and techniques and methods for integration of diverse and contemporary artists Additional implications include increased training for preservice art educators on attaining and sustaining the balance of the artist-teacher identity .
Maternity leave policies in the United States have begun to shift in recent decades, often offering women more maternity leave and parental bonding time than in the past. Whereas women were once expected to leave the workforce after the birth of a child, modern women often return to the workforce to continue their careers, prompting organizations to align their benefits to needs of expecting and/or new mothers. Using a human capital lens, this dissertation aimed to understand the experiences and perceptions of women who took longer than the 12 weeks of maternity leave protected by FMLA. Utilizing qualitative methodology, semi-structed interviews were conducted with women who took longer than 12 weeks of leave upon the birth of their child. The findings from this project suggest women do experience their leaves as ‘long’ and women often describe their leave as compared to others in their social network. The women in the study often found themselves navigating policies alone, completing the planning for their leave alone, and being contacted while on leave for business questions. The findings in this study have various practical, theoretical, and methodological implications.
Patients with patellofemoral pain (PFP) experience pain during or after physical activities. According to recent researches, they are at risk of developing patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PFOA). Isolated PFOA is also considered a marker for future development of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (TFOA), which is recognized as knee osteoarthritis. Researchers found feedback motion retraining to be an effective mode of intervention to alter movement patterns. However, there is no research synthesizing the efficacy of feedback motion retraining for patients with PFP. Therefore, in Chapter 2, we assessed the efficacy of feedback motion retraining by summarizing relevant scientific evidence. Diagnostic ultrasound (US) is a cost-effective imaging tool to assess morphology of soft tissue, but it is rarely used for evaluating cartilage health in individuals with PFP. Therefore, our aims were to evaluate femoral cartilage health in patients with PFP using US. We identified significant correlations between patient-reported outcomes and echo intensity following loading conditions. We also identified statistically significant differences of femoral cartilage image quality between individuals with and without PFP which indicates increased risk of osteoarthritis in individuals with PFP.
This research portrays a personal journey of a middle school language arts teacher working with LGBTQ+ students. Using autoethnography as the method, this study interprets personal narratives about the researcher’s adolescent identity development in connection with current culturally relevant teaching practices, specifically for LGBTQ+ students. As the subject of my own study, I focused on the relationships and cultural immersion experiences of my personal identity development. This qualitative research method invites the reader to gain insight into the subculture of this study through the experiences of the author. Perspective, being a root of the study, is unique to the author as well as the reader. Through this autoethnography, the reader is able to gain insight into the formation of a classroom teacher’s identity that shape attitudes and practices within the classroom. This study represents the seeds planted to grow the tree that fosters a culturally sustained classroom.
Many communities use the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Tool (VI-SPDAT) to determine which individuals and/or households experiencing homelessness are most vulnerable and therefore prioritized for the limited housing resources available. Because of the tool’s widespread use and implications for housing, the present study examined the reliability and validity of the second version of the VI-SPDAT for Single Adults with a sample of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in Charlotte, NC. Results suggest that the VI-SPDAT is strongest in measuring areas associated with psychological symptomatology and/or mental health, but that the scale had significant limitations in its internal consistency, ability to adequately measure the construct of vulnerability, and convergent, concurrent, and predictive validity. Furthermore, findings raise concerns related to the VI-SPDAT’s ability to adequately reflect the complex and dynamic behavioral, social, and medical needs of those experiencing chronic homelessness. Taken together, the findings from this study point to issues with the VI-SPDAT’s reliability and validity and provide actionable information to help inform areas that should be strengthened and/or modified to better capture the needs and vulnerability of individuals experiencing homelessness. It is hoped the findings from this study can inform local efforts for assessing the needs and functioning of individuals experiencing homelessness and, more importantly, provide information that can be used to ensure equitable allocation of services in the homeless service system.
The mental health and well-being of college students has become a growing concern for colleges and universities. Research has shown that prevalence rates of mental health in colleges students is growing and there are multiple complicating impacts of mental health on student well-being and academic success. Resident advisors play a crucial role in campus life as student employees that live amongst students and have a high level of responsibility as first responders to emergencies and rule enforcers. Despite their importance, there is little research on the mental health of resident advisors and how different aspects of the resident advisor role impact their mental health.
The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between resident advisors and undergraduate residential students on measures of mental health, burnout, and perceived stress. The study also examined how different aspects of the resident advisor position may impact resident advisor mental health, burnout, and stress and if resilience had a mediating impact on these variables. A total of 551 college students (including 84 resident advisors) were included in this research study. Participants completed an online survey, which included the Mental Health Inventory, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Scale of Protective Factors, and a demographic questionnaire. The multivariate analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between resident advisors and undergraduate residential college students on mental health, burnout, and perceived stress. A multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that there was not a significant difference between the groups on the combined dependent variables after controlling for resilience. The findings of the present study suggest that resident advisors and residential college students are experiencing symptoms of mental health, burnout, and perceived stress. Results suggest that university staff who work with students should be aware of the mental health challenges of students and work to find ways to support them.
Prescription drug expenditures and utilization are the fastest and most widely varying expenditures within Medicaid programs across US states. The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 and the subsequent Medicaid state expansions resulted in very large coverage gains among several demographics at the state level. A number of studies prior to ACA highlighting determinants of health utilization and expenditures have been identified and studied discreetly, however, the relationships among these determinants, and the latent constructs of policy, access, enabling health system and predisposing characteristics have not been tested concurrently in relation to drug expenditures
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS), US Department of Labor , Department of Education, and state Medicaid programs were merged to create a balanced panel data (n=350 observations and 53 variables over a seven ( 7) period from 2009 to 2015); and was analyzed using random effects (RE) panel regression analysis to estimate a model for drug expenditure across US state Medicaid programs.
Based on Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services, and using a Structure Equation Modeling the study also examined the relationships between and tested the hypothesized effects of policy, access and predisposing factors on State Medicaid expenditures. Findings on effects of cost containment policies, ACA expansion, access to health care facilities and demographic distribution within Medicaid and an econometric model that estimates state drug expenditures are included followed by discussions, limitations and future directions for research
Step voltage regulator (SVR) has been utilized in the power distribution systems for decades. The induced arc from the conventional SVR tap change and the voltage instability from the renewable energy penetration impose constraints on the conventional SVRs’ lifetime. With more distributed power generation and renewable energy penetration, voltage fluctuation and power generation variation can be observed more frequently in the modern power distribution network.
Motivated by the issues mentioned above, several PE-assisted arcless tap change topologies are proposed to reduce the contact erosion rate of tap changers in SVR. The system efficiency is the same with the conventional SVR in normal operation, while the converter power rating is only 0.3% of the total system power, which also reduces the system cost compared with the full power electronics solutions. Based on the proposed arcless tap change mechanism, a hybrid voltage regulator is proposed. Stepless load voltage regulation is achieved while the tap changer mechanism remains in the system, which helps to promote the upgrade to the existing power distribution systems.
