Abstracts highlight the relationship between the changing silhouettes of women’s fashion in the 1950s1970s, and the feminist movement. The transition of the fashionable silhouette for women from the feminine ‘New Look’ of the 1950s to the sexually ambiguous styles of the 1970s has linkages to the second wave feminist movement through literature, the fashion cycle, and cultural changes.
Vector-Borne Disease Forecasting Mallory Jessica Harris, Foundation Fellow Dr. John M Drake, Ecology, Odum School of Ecology Especially in resource-depleted areas, costly control efforts are often abandoned when case abatement is mistaken for true elimination. Resurgent epidemics can reverse decades of progress in disease elimination. Resurgence may be defined as a shift between two stable states: elimination and epidemic. We propose a nonparametric disease forecasting software that would detect a threat prior to the first resurgent outbreak and mobilize preemptive responses. These methods draw from the theory of critical slowing down, which states that as a system approaches the tipping point of disease resurgence, its ability to recover from slight perturbations decreases. This behavior results in characteristic changes in statistical indicators, including lag-1 autocorrelation, variance, and the first difference of variance, which can be detected as early warning signals of an approach to criticality. We apply the proposed techniques to several vectorborne disease systems. First, we develop a theoretical framework using stochastic modeling to predict the trajectory of each indicator. We quantify each test’s sensitivity as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Then, we validate our predictions by testing a monthly malaria data set for early warning signals of a 1993 resurgence event in Kericho, Kenya. We find that variance and the first difference of variance are promising indicators of critical transitions in vector-borne disease systems. Finally, we generate a simulation of the campaign to eliminate malaria from Haiti by the year 2020 and demonstrate how spatial early warning signal testing could facilitate more targeted, efficient interventions.
Do Transparent Whiteboards Promote Learning from Online Lectures in STEM? Brendan Harris Dr. Logan Fiorella, Educational Psychology and Institutional Technology, College of Education The current study tested the effectiveness of the Learning Glass technology, which allows instructors to write a lecture while maintaining face-to-face contact with students using a transparent whiteboard. How do instructional methods using transparent whiteboards affect student learning in STEM subjects? To help address this question, 80 college students were asked to view a 10-minute video lecture about the human respiratory system. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Students in the conventional whiteboard group viewed the instructor draw diagrams on a conventional whiteboard, which requires the instructor to frequently turn his/her back to the camera throughout the lesson. Students in the transparent whiteboard group viewed the instructor draw the diagrams on a transparent whiteboard, which allows him/her to face the camera throughout the lesson. Participants were assessed on their understanding of the lesson both immediately and after a one-week delay. We also assessed their feelings of motivation and social engagement with the instructor. We predicted that the transparent whiteboard group would outperform the conventional whiteboard group on immediate and delayed tests of understanding. We also expected the transparent whiteboard group to report higher levels of motivation and social engagement. There is growing research that supports the idea that a direct view of the instructor may offer benefits for learning in STEM by establishing a stronger sense of social partnership with the instructor and providing better access to the instructor’s eye gaze. This project will increase our understanding of how students learn from social cues in multimedia lessons.
Understanding the Determinants of Seeking Medical Attention for Injury Emma Harrison Dr. Cathleen Brown Crowell, Kinesiology, College of Education Multiple determinants may influence athletes to seek medical attention. However, it is unknown if athletes seek medical attention based on previous injuries. Our objective was to determine if there is 106