Does a Web-first Tailored Design Method Work with Rural Populations?

Considering rural populations are historically difficult to reach, an important component of this research revolves around improving survey techniques in rural areas. To address this issue, a web-first Tailored Design Method (TDM), utilizing a mixed-mode of internet and postal mail surveys, was adapted to research the quality of life experienced by rural families. Aided by the Iowa State University Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology – Survey Research Services, data were collected from 62 rural counties in Arkansas. Socioeconomic-demographic factors were examined regarding survey response mode (i.e. mail vs. web) with some differences found. Logistic regression results demonstrated males were less likely to use web only responses compared to females. Similarly, higher education and income levels were associated with an increased likelihood of utilizing web response methods opposed to the mail-only response mode. Overall, the web-first TDM approach seems effective for garnering responses from harder to reach populations and should be considered when surveying rural populations

The Time to Act Is Now: Addressing the Challenges of Being a Student, Staff, or Faculty Member at DU While Also Being a Parent to Young Children

The growing number of undergraduate and graduate students who are simultaneously raising children while attending school requires the attention of institutions that want to support their students through the completion of their intended program. Compared to traditional students, these students have greater time and financial restraints, lower graduation rates, and require accommodation, support, and resources to help them maintain their academic standing. This issue is not isolated to just students however. Staff and faculty at academic institutions are also balancing their family and work responsibilities. With an increase in the number of households where one or two adults work full time, more institutional employees are having to negotiate issues of childcare, parental leave, and the ways in which their family responsibilities are perceived by colleagues and employers. In 2017, it was found that many DU community members were struggling with issues of childcare, a child friendly environment at work, and institutional policies related to childcare at the University. These findings led to a study, conducted by the Applied Anthropology class of 2018, aimed at identifying solutions and recommendations for the aforementioned challenges. The study was exploratory and utilized mixed qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The class conducted interviews, surveys, and archival research and used thematic analysis techniques to identify overarching themes that informed the findings and suggestions of this project. Through this research three major needs were identified: clear communication of policies, accommodations for students, and on-site day care. Respondents from this and previous studies at DU identified that classroom policies, policies regarding parental leave, available childcare, and Fisher were being communicated either ineffectively or inaccurately. This has led to confusion, frustration, feelings of job insecurity, and unmet expectations regarding what resources and support DU actually offers parents. There is also a lack of policies in place for student parents, which makes creating schedules and fulfilling academic requirements more challenging for these nontraditional students. The most significant issue identified however was the lack of childcare at DU and the desire for an on-site daycare center. Respondents explained that Denver has a limited number of available, convenient, and affordable daycare options, that Fisher is not meeting their needs, and that they would like to see a facility designed specifically for DU students, staff, and faculty. In response to these challenges, this study suggests the assemblage and dissemination of accurate and clearly communicated childcare related policies, the creation of policies for student parents, and an on-site daycare facility for the DU community. Research and efforts to understand and alleviate these challenges have occurred at DU since the 1970s, and many of the identified needs and desired solutions have not changed over the past fifty years. However, because previous efforts have been powered by those in need of services, the momentum behind each effort has inevitably dissolved. A way to accomplish and sustain these suggestions and actively work towards making DU a more child and family friendly campus is by creating a permanent employee position at DU to handle these issues. This would help centralize information and policies, assist with their clear communication, and focus consistent and sustainable efforts towards helping DU students, staff, and faculty balance their work and family life

Student Recitals

A senior recital presented at the UNT College of Music Main Auditorium

Autonomous Campus Mobility Platform

This Major Qualifying Project (MQP) is based around the development of a robotic vehicle for use in improving mobility. The main objective was to create an autonomous vehicle capable of navigating a person or cargo back and forth from Higgins Laboratory on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) main campus to the Robotics Laboratory located at 85 Prescott Street, approximately 0.6 miles away. An autonomous robot was uniquely designed as a personal mobility platform to navigate its environment using onboard navigation and sensing system

Zinc Sorption by a Bacterial Biofilm

International audienceMicrobial biofilms are present in soils, sediments, and natural waters. They contain bioorganic metal-complexing functional groups and are thought to play an important role in metal cycling in natural and contaminated environments. In this study, the metal-complexing functional groups present within a suspension of bacterial cell aggregates embedded in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were identified in Zn adsorption experiments conducted at pH 6.9 with the freshwater and soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida. The adsorption data were fit with the van Bemmelen−Freundlich model. The molecular speciation of Zn within the biofilm was examined with Zn K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The Zn EXAFS data were analyzed by shell-by-shell fitting and linear least-squares fitting with reference spectra. Zinc sorption to the biofilm was attributed to predominantly Zn−phosphoryl (85 ± 10 mol %) complexes, with a smaller contribution to sorption from carboxyl-type complexes (23 ± 10 mol %). The results of this study spectroscopically confirm the importance of phosphoryl functional groups in Zn sorption by a bacterial biofilm at neutral pH

Zinc Sorption by a Bacterial Biofilm

Microbial biofilms are present in soils, sediments, and natural waters. They contain bioorganic metal-complexing functional groups and are thought to play an important role in metal cycling in natural and contaminated environments. In this study, the metal-complexing functional groups present within a suspension of bacterial cell aggregates embedded in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were identified in Zn adsorption experiments conducted at pH 6.9 with the freshwater and soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida. The adsorption data were fit with the van Bemmelen−Freundlich model. The molecular speciation of Zn within the biofilm was examined with Zn K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The Zn EXAFS data were analyzed by shell-by-shell fitting and linear least-squares fitting with reference spectra. Zinc sorption to the biofilm was attributed to predominantly Zn−phosphoryl (85 ± 10 mol %) complexes, with a smaller contribution to sorption from carboxyl-type complexes (23 ± 10 mol %). The results of this study spectroscopically confirm the importance of phosphoryl functional groups in Zn sorption by a bacterial biofilm at neutral pH

Ensemble Concerts

A guitar ensemble concert performed at UNT College of Music Kenton Hall

SCoBi Multilayer: A Signals of Opportunity Reflectometry Model for Multilayer Dielectric Reflections

A multilayer module is incorporated into the Signals of Opportunity (SoOp) Coherent Bistatic Scattering model (SCoBi) for determining the reflections and propagation of electric fields within a series of multilayer dielectric slabs. This module can be used in conjunction with other SCoBi components to simulate complex, bistatic simulation schemes that include features such as surface roughness, vegetation, antenna effects, and multilayer soil moisture interactions on reflected signals. This paper introduces the physics underlying the multilayer module and utilizes it to perform a simulation study of the response of SoOp-R measurements with respect to subsurface soil moisture parameters. For a frequency range of 100–2400 MHz, it is seen that the SoOp-R response to a single dielectric slab is mostly frequency insensitive; however, the SoOp-R response to multilayer dielectric slabs will vary between frequencies. The relationship between SoOp-R reflectivity and the contributing depth is visualized, and the results show that SoOp-R measurements can display sensitivity to soil moisture below the penetration depth. By simulation of simple soil moisture profiles with different wetting and drying gradients, the dielectric contrast between layers is shown to be the greatest contributing factor to subsurface soil moisture sensitivity. Overall, it is observed that different frequencies can sense different areas of a soil moisture profile, and this behavior can enable subsurface soil moisture data products from SoOp-R observations

SCoBi Multilayer: A Signals of Opportunity Reflectometry Model for Multilayer Dielectric Reflections

A multilayer module is incorporated into the Signals of Opportunity (SoOp) Coherent Bistatic Scattering model (SCoBi) for determining the reflections and propagation of electric fields within a series of multilayer dielectric slabs. This module can be used in conjunction with other SCoBi components to simulate complex, bistatic simulation schemes that include features such as surface roughness, vegetation, antenna effects, and multilayer soil moisture interactions on reflected signals. This paper introduces the physics underlying the multilayer module and utilizes it to perform a simulation study of the response of SoOp-R measurements with respect to subsurface soil moisture parameters. For a frequency range of 100–2400 MHz, it is seen that the SoOp-R response to a single dielectric slab is mostly frequency insensitive; however, the SoOp-R response to multilayer dielectric slabs will vary between frequencies. The relationship between SoOp-R reflectivity and the contributing depth is visualized, and the results show that SoOp-R measurements can display sensitivity to soil moisture below the penetration depth. By simulation of simple soil moisture profiles with different wetting and drying gradients, the dielectric contrast between layers is shown to be the greatest contributing factor to subsurface soil moisture sensitivity. Overall, it is observed that different frequencies can sense different areas of a soil moisture profile, and this behavior can enable subsurface soil moisture data products from SoOp-R observations.</jats:p