To provide guidance to evaluators and stakeholders, evaluation scholars (i.e., those conducting research on program evaluation) have conducted numerous studies on the feasibility and effectiveness of using participatory and collaborative evaluation approaches in various contexts. While some participatory and collaborative evaluation approaches may involve youth in the evaluation of programs and interventions, few evaluations in this area have been formally documented and/or widely published. As a result, there remains a dearth of empirical research on participatory and collaborative evaluations involving youth. One such collaborative evaluation approach, empowerment evaluation (EE), appears to be well suited for engaging youth in program evaluation, as participants are co-evaluators. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, EE aims to teach program stakeholders, including beneficiaries, how to conduct their own evaluations. In this two-part mixed methods research project I sought to investigate and formally document: (a) the use of EE for programs targeting youth; and/or (b) the involvement of youth in EE of such programs. By investigating and documenting these areas, this study builds on the very limited body of empirical research on EE. As such, it provides important information to evaluators who are embarking on evaluations of programs targeting youth, so that they can make informed decisions about the use of EE and the involvement of youth in their evaluation activities. To address these goals, this study used a mixed methods case study approach and included two parts and multiple phases. Part 1 Phase 1 involved a survey of evaluators associated with particular Targeted Interest Groups (TIGs) of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) who are involved in evaluating programs that target youth. It determined the extent to which: (a) evaluators report using EE to evaluate youth programs; and (b) how evaluators report involving youth in EE of youth programs. Part 1 Phase 2 involved interviews with a select group of these evaluators and explored what factor(s) facilitate and hinder: (a) the use of EE to evaluate programs involving youth; and (b) the involvement of youth in EE of programs targeting youth. Part 2 then used observations from an EE with youth of their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focused educational outreach program to explore: (a) what an EE of a youth program might look like in practice; (b) how youth can be involved in an EE. Youth also took part in follow-up interviews to allow an examination of: (c) the strengths and limitations of using an EE to evaluate a program targeting youth; and (d) the strengths and limitations of involving youth in an EE of a program targeting youth. Overall, the findings show that the use of EE to evaluate programs involving youth may be limited, however, there are factors that can facilitate and hinder the use of EE and the involvement of youth in EE. The findings also demonstrate that an EE can be carried out in practice with youth acting as co-evaluators and that through EE youth may experience both positive and negative outcomes of using EE and of being involved in EE. In light of these findings, ways to improve the involvement of youth in the evaluation of programs that target youth using EE are discussed.

A complete understanding of high-intensity focused ultrasound-induced temperature changes in tissue requires insight into all potential mechanisms for heat deposition. Applications of therapeutic ultrasound often utilize acoustic pressures capable of producing cavitation activity. Recognizing the ability of bubbles to transfer acoustic energy into heat generation, a study of the role bubbles play in tissue hyperthermia becomes necessary. These bubbles are typically less than 50μm. This dissertation examines the contribution of bubbles and their motion to an enhanced heating effect observed in a tissue-mimicking phantom. A series of experiments established a relationship between bubble activity and an enhanced temperature rise in the phantom by simultaneously measuring both the temperature change and acoustic emissions from bubbles. It was found that a strong correlation exists between the onset of the enhanced heating effect and observable cavitation activity. In addition, the likelihood of observing the enhanced heating effect was largely unaffected by the insonation duration for all but the shortest of insonation times, 0.1 seconds. Numerical simulations were used investigate the relative importance of two candidate mechanisms for heat deposition from bubbles as a means to quantify the number of bubbles required to produce the enhanced temperature rise. The energy deposition from viscous dissipation and the absorption of radiated sound from bubbles were considered as a function of the bubble size and the viscosity of the surrounding medium. Although both mechanisms were capable of producing the level of energy required for the enhanced heating effect, it was found that inertial cavitation, associated with high acoustic radiation and low viscous dissipation, coincided with the the nature of the cavitation best detected by the experimental system. The number of bubbles required to account for the enhanced heating effect was determined through the numerical study to be on the order of 150 or less.

This qualitative study sought to understand how Emotionally Focused Therapists (EFT) apply the EFT model with couples that have experienced the death of a child. Criterion sampling and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants within the United States and internationally. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 participants, all of whom were women therapists. The data were analyzed using the Grounded Theory Method and two processes emerged. To convey and organize the processes and concepts of each, two diagrams of the actions and experiences noted in the interviews during analysis were created (Figure 1 and Figure 2). Figure 1 represents an external, multi-directional process of how EFT clinicians apply the EFT model with their clients. This figure encompasses 'how' clinicians adjust their approach to the model to meet the needs of their clients and work with couples that have experienced the death of a child. Figure 2 represents an internal process model of how applying the EFT model impacts the therapist on a personal level. This will be discussed through a self-of-the-therapist lens. / Master of Science

Histotripsy is a non-invasive and non-thermal focused ultrasound therapy that can be used to ablate tissue within the body while overcoming many of the limitations of thermal ablation. Histotripsy utilizes short-duration, high pressure ultrasound pulses to create a cavitation bubble cloud of numerous rapidly expanding and collapsing bubbles, which cause mechanical stress on the targeted region. Histotripsy contains multiple subtypes including intrinsic threshold, shock scattering, and boiling histotripsy, where intrinsic threshold histotripsy utilizes single cycle pulses focused to a single point to create a bubble cloud from the peak negative pressure (p- ≥ 25 MPa for water-based tissues). Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) uses perfluorocarbon-filled nanoparticles to create bubble clouds at lower pressures than that of the intrinsic threshold of histotripsy. Prior studies have shown that nanodroplets (NDs) and nanocone clusters (NCCs) both reduce the cavitation threshold, but further investigation on different parameters to optimize treatments have not fully been studied. Additional research is needed for the characterization of these nanoparticles with different pulsing parameters such as cycle number and frequency in order to better predict and understand the mechanisms underlying NMH. In this thesis, I investigate the ability of new nanodroplets and nanocone clusters to reduce histotripsy cavitation threshold with NMH. I also investigate the effect that multi-cycle pulsing parameters have on NMH and stable bubble formation from acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) for nancone clusters. The culmination of this thesis will advance our understanding of the behavior of acoustically-active nanoparticles when exposed to varied pulsing schemes and frequencies. This knowledge will allow for the further investigation of more efficient, effective, and safe methods for clinical focused ultrasound therapies. / Master of Science / Histotripsy is a non-invasive and non-thermal focused ultrasound therapy that can be used to destroy targeted tissue within the body. Histotripsy is currently being developed for non-invasive and non-thermal cancerous tissue destruction with the first-in-man trial having been conducted within the last year for the treatment of liver tumors. Histotripsy utilizes high-pressure, short-duration pulses focused to a single region to create a cloud of bubbles that are rapidly expanding and collapsing which causes mechanical damage to the targeted cells. Nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy (NMH) has been developed to utilize nanoparticles to reduce the pressure needed to induce cavitation. Despite many studies and advances in histotripsy, there are many areas within the topic that need additional research to better understand the capabilities of the treatment method. This additional research is crucial in allowing for the development of new nanoparticles, faster treatment times, and new parameters that could allow for more precision near critical structures. In this thesis, I investigate the ability of new nanoparticles to reduce histotripsy cavitation threshold with NMH. I also investigate the effect that multi-cycle pulsing parameters have on NMH and stable bubble formation for nanoparticles. The culmination of this thesis will advance our understanding of the behavior of acoustically-active nanoparticles when exposed to varied pulsing schemes and frequencies. This knowledge will allow for the further investigation of more efficient, effective, and safe methods for clinical focused ultrasound therapies.

Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue is the most abundant, accessible, and versatile tissue sample type available for genetic research and clinical applications. However, FFPE DNA extraction presents unique challenges and requires lengthy incubation periods, which can be impractical for certain applications. Here, we propose the use of focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) technology for improved DNA extraction from FFPE tissue. FUSE generates a dense bubble cloud of acoustic cavitation capable of ablating tissue into an acellular lysate. FUSE treatment was applied to de-paraffinized porcine pancreas FFPE scrolls, followed by heated incubation for formaldehyde-induced DNA-protein crosslink reversal. When applied for 30 minutes, FUSE was found to successfully extract DNA from FFPE tissue as defined by increased DNA yield and improved purity ratios compared to conventional methods. DNA extracted via FUSE showed comparable fragmentation to conventional methods, and three out of four samples successfully amplified via PCR, indicating suitability for downstream analysis. These findings suggest that FUSE has the potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of DNA extraction from FFPE tissue. Further development and optimization of this protocol could develop a streamlined, easy to use extraction method that would simplify FFPE DNA extraction methods and address the primary time constraints which currently make FFPE DNA extraction time-consuming and impracticable for high-throughput applications. / Master of Science / Formalin-fixed, paraffin embedding (FFPE) has historically been the most popular method of biological tissue preservation, as it allows tissue to remain shelf stable for decades. As such, FFPE tissue is the most abundant, accessible, and versatile tissue sample type available for genetic research applications. Here, we propose the use of focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) technology for improved DNA extraction from FFPE tissue. FUSE treatment applies rapid, focused ultrasound waves to tissue, resulting in the mechanical breakdown of cells and subsequent release of DNA. FUSE treatment was applied to pig pancreatic FFPE samples. When applied for 30 minutes, FUSE was found to successfully extract DNA from FFPE tissue as defined by increased DNA yield and improved purity compared to conventional methods. Three out of four DNA samples extracted via FUSE were successfully amplified, and DNA fragment lengths were comparable between FUSE and conventional methods, showing that FUSE did not fragment DNA beyond useful fragment lengths. These findings suggest that FUSE has the potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of DNA extraction from FFPE tissue. Further development and optimization of this protocol could develop a streamlined, easy to use extraction method that would simplify FFPE DNA extraction methods and address the primary time constraints which currently make FFPE DNA extraction time-consuming and impracticable for high-throughput applications.

Histotripsy is a noninvasive mechanical ablation method that uses focused ultrasound to disintegrate target tissues into acellular homogenate through the generation of acoustic cavitation and is currently being developed for numerous clinical applications. Histotripsy uses high-pressure (>10 MPa), short-duration (<15 cycles) pulses to cause the rapid expansion and collapse of nuclei at the focus resulting in large applied stress and strain in the adjacent tissue. At a sufficiently high pressure above the target medium's intrinsic cavitation threshold and an adequate number of applied pulses, cavitation "bubble clouds" create precise lesions with high fidelity to the region of the focus. Despite advances in histotripsy, additional research is still needed to better understand the acoustic cavitation nucleation process and its effects on therapies using focused ultrasound. This understanding is critical to better predict and control pulse dose for more rapid and efficient ablation procedures, to reduce off-target cavitation events for safer focused ultrasound therapies, and to localize ablation for high-precision procedures near critical structures or treatments without active imaging guidance. In this dissertation, I investigate the nucleation and dynamics of ultrasonically generated acoustic cavitation for novel applications of focused ultrasound. My Ph.D. thesis focuses on (1) investigating the effect of histotripsy pulsing parameters on bubble cloud cavitation nucleation, bubble dynamics, and ablation efficiency, (2) investigating the effect of nuclei characteristics on the threshold for cavitation nucleation and resulting bubble dynamics for therapeutic applications, and (3) developing methods alter select characteristics and dynamics of acoustic cavitation by adjusting pulsing parameters to optimize ablation efficiency in conventional and nanoparticle-mediated histotripsy. The culmination of this thesis will advance our understanding of the nucleation and behavior of acoustic cavitation from pulsed focused ultrasound and develop innovative systems to improve the efficacy, efficiency, and safety of clinical focused ultrasound therapies. / Doctor of Philosophy / Histotripsy is a noninvasive focused ultrasound method that precisely destroys target tissues such as tumors through the acoustic generation of cavitation and is currently being developed for numerous clinical applications. Histotripsy uses high-pressure, short-duration pulsed soundwaves to cause the bubbles to rapidly expand and collapse within a precise region called the focus. This rapid cavitation results in large mechanical strain in the targeted tissue. With increasingly higher pressure, numerous bubbles form in the shape of cavitation "bubble clouds" that create lesions, closely matching their shape, in the target tissue after a sufficient number of pulses have been applied. Despite advances in histotripsy, additional research is still needed to better understand the initiation of the acoustic cavitation process in histotripsy and its effects on focused ultrasound therapies. This understanding is critical to better predict and control ablation procedures, improve procedure efficiency, reduce off-target cavitation events for safer focused ultrasound therapies, and further increase ablation precision for procedures near critical structures or treatments without active image guidance. In this dissertation, I investigate the initiation, growth, and collapse of ultrasonically generated acoustic cavitation for novel applications of focused ultrasound. My Ph.D. thesis focuses on (1) investigating the effect of histotripsy pulsing parameters on bubble cloud cavitation initiation, bubble growth and collapse, and treatment efficiency, (2) investigating the effect of particle characteristics on the threshold for cavitation initiation and resulting bubble behavior for therapeutic applications, and (3) adjusting pulsing parameters to optimize ablation efficiency in conventional and particle mediated histotripsy. The culmination of this thesis will advance our understanding of the initiation and behavior of acoustic cavitation from pulsed focused ultrasound and develop innovative systems to improve the efficacy, efficiency, and safety of clinically focused ultrasound therapies.

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Sixteen couples in which one of the partners met criteria for Somatoform Disorder or Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder as determined by the SOMS and who scored less than or equal to 101 on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale participated in this study. These couples were randomly assigned to 8 sessions of emotionally focused therapy or to a 12-week wait list condition. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion focused therapy as a treatment of somatoform disorders. Results suggest that the intervention of emotion focused couples therapy (EFT) was not effective in the treatment of somatoform disorders. A significant effect (.023) was found in the increased reporting of symptoms at posttest. Implications for EFT and marriage and family therapy are discussed. / Ph. D.

The Web, containing a large amount of useful information and resources, is expanding rapidly. Collecting domain-specific documents/information from the Web is one of the most important methods to build digital libraries for the scientific community. Focused Crawlers can selectively retrieve Web documents relevant to a specific domain to build collections for domain-specific search engines or digital libraries. Traditional focused crawlers normally adopting the simple Vector Space Model and local Web search algorithms typically only find relevant Web pages with low precision. Recall also often is low, since they explore a limited sub-graph of the Web that surrounds the starting URL set, and will ignore relevant pages outside this sub-graph. In this work, we investigated how to apply an inductive machine learning algorithm and meta-search technique, to the traditional focused crawling process, to overcome the above mentioned problems and to improve performance. We proposed a novel hybrid focused crawling framework based on Genetic Programming (GP) and meta-search. We showed that our novel hybrid framework can be applied to traditional focused crawlers to accurately find more relevant Web documents for the use of digital libraries and domain-specific search engines. The framework is validated through experiments performed on test documents from the Open Directory Project. Our studies have shown that improvement can be achieved relative to the traditional focused crawler if genetic programming and meta-search methods are introduced into the focused crawling process. / Ph. D.