The following report on ARC 696: Advanced Architectural Design Studio: Alley Flat Initiative, at the University of Texas at Austin in the Spring of 2010 taught by Prof. Louise Harpman and visiting Prof. Sarah Gamble asks how new knowledge is acquired through the in-depth study and reconstruction of documentary recordings taken from a semester of the studio. The recordings were made of the activities that transpired as a result of the educational studio design process, interactions with educators, reviewers, community partners, clients, professional architects, contractors, citizens and the unique sites that were chosen for consideration. The narrative of the studio was then reconstructed into the language of film and supervised by Anne Lewis of the Department of Radio Television and Film at the University of Texas. Through observation, I have recorded the process by which the Alley Flat Initiative attempts to create a unique educational experience for students by exposing them to real life actors in the creation of housing that is affordable, green and mitigates the forces of gentrification. In the recording process, I documented the initial design question posed to the studio, the formation of design partnerships between students, the collaborative engagement of students and clients, faculty and community reviews, stumbling blocks in the process, the negotiations between the concepts of affordability and sustainable design, interactions between the students and stakeholders, and student reflections on their experiences as participants in the Alley Flat Initiative studio. The focus of film is to create a body of research that is easily transmitted on the student’s ability to learn design through exposure to real clients, a real site and a chance that their design might be built. Further, the research seeks to make recommendations that can be implemented into the organizational language of future Alley Flat Studios in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. This report will: (1) lay the groundwork for the methodology that was incorporated into the recording; (2) review existing literature on the subject of filmmaking as a means to conduct research; and (3) reveal the findings of the research and implications for future service learning projects. Therefore, the report will serve to contextualize elements of the research that were not able to be addressed by the film. / text

In the fast growing online social networks, one of the most commonly observed phenomena is the diffusion of information contents, behaviors or products through network members’ interactions. In this thesis, I study the diffusion phenomenon by examining the individual-level adoption decision, both theoretically and empirically. In the three essays, I study the effects of the strength of the interpersonal tie and the social network characteristics on a potential adopter’s decision-making, and investigate the measurement of network members’ influences. / text

This thesis presents the CfAIR2 data set, which includes over 4000 near-Infrared (NIR) \(JHK_s\)-band measurements of 104 Type Ia Supernovae (SN Ia) observed from 2005-2011 using PAIRITEL, the 1.3-m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. While the discovery of dark energy and most subsequent supernova cosmology has been performed using optical and Ultraviolet wavelength observations of SN Ia, a growing body of evidence suggests that NIR SN Ia observations will be crucial for future cosmological studies. Whereas SN Ia observed at optical wavelengths have been shown to be excellent standardizeable candles, using empirical correlations between luminosity, light curve shape, and color, the CfAIR2 data set strengthens the evidence that SN Ia at NIR wavelengths are essentially standard candles, even without correction for light-curve shape or for reddening. CfAIR2 was obtained as part of the CfA Supernova Program, an ongoing multi-wavelength follow-up effort at FLWO designed to observe high-quality, densely sampled light curves and spectra of hundreds of low-redshift SN Ia. CfAIR2 is the largest homogeneously observed and processed NIR data set of its kind to date, nearly tripling the number of individual \(JHK_s\) band observations and nearly doubling the set of SN Ia with published NIR light curves in the literature. Matched only by the recently published Carnegie Supernova Project sample, CfAIR2 complements the large and growing set of low-redshift optical and NIR SN Ia observations obtained by the CfA and other programs, making this data set a unique and particularly valuable local universe anchor for future supernova cosmology. / Astronomy

Efter andra världskriget ställdes Sverige inför en ekonomisk tillväxt och urbanisering vilket startade den tidsperiod som kallas rekordåren. En miljon bostäder byggdes på tio år och kritiserades tidigt för brister i miljön. Miljonprogrammet förde med sig en högre bostandard men kunde inte garantera en stimulerande utemiljö. Centrumanläggningen skulle istället förse invånarna med förnödenheter. Andersberg i Gävle är ett typiskt miljonprogramsområde som är under förnyelse. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om den pågående förnyelsen som bostadsbolaget Gavlegårdarna genomför är ett steg i rätt riktning mot en trivsam miljö eller om utemiljön är i behov av komplettering. Med hjälp av observationer och en inventering av miljön samt en enkätundersökning har det framkommit att grönytor, fler mötesplatser, upprustning och komfortabla detaljer som bänkar och grönska är vad som kan förbättras. Trots att miljonprogrammen förknippas med negativt rykte framkom det i studien att tryggheten är god i området samt att befolkningen generellt trivs. Studien visar även att de negativa egenskaper som miljonprogrammens miljö för med sig även är tillgångar. Det fortsatta arbetet i Andersberg bör succesivt förnyas med mindre komplement i utomhusmiljön, t.ex. med fler bänkar och en inbjudande gestaltning. Miljonprogrammen var en stor satsning, men det framtida arbetet måste ske succesivt med en involvering av invånarna. Inför framtida studier är ett arbete om hur invånare bättre kan involveras i planeringsprocessen ett viktigt komplement. / After the Second World War, Sweden was facing a strong economic growth and urbanization, which led to the time period of time called the record years. One million housing units were built in ten years. Shortcomings in the environments created were strongly criticized. The center facility was instead a facility that would provide residents with necessities. Today, central squares and common areas are in need of renovation to guarantee a stimulating environment. The Andersberg neighborhood in Sweden is typical for the so called Million homes programme and is currently undergoing renovation. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the ongoing renewal created by the housing company Gavlegårdarna is a step in the right direction and if the outdoor environment in this community needs further development. An observation study of common space, environment, and a survey of residents was performed to investigate the area. The results revealed that common meeting places, such as green space, playground and the local square needs supervision and improved design. Although many of the Million homes programme have bad reputations, the results of this study indicated that perceived safety of residents is good, and overall satisfaction with the environment. Also the study indicates that the negative qualities of these areas can be assets. The Million programs was a big investment, however future environment improvements in Andersberg should take small steps such as adding more benches and improved site design. A study of citizen participation in the planning process in Andersberg would be an important follow-up to this study.

This thesis makes contributions to the statistical research field of causal inference in observational studies. The results obtained are directly applicable in many scientific fields where effects of treatments are investigated and yet controlled experiments are difficult or impossible to implement. In the first paper we define a partially specified directed acyclic graph (DAG) describing the independence structure of the variables under study. Using the DAG we show that given that unconfoundedness holds we can use the observed data to select minimal sets of covariates to control for. General covariate selection algorithms are proposed to target the defined minimal subsets. The results of the first paper are generalized in Paper II to include the presence of unobserved covariates. Morevoer, the identification assumptions from the first paper are relaxed. To implement the covariate selection without parametric assumptions we propose in the third paper the use of a model-free variable selection method from the framework of sufficient dimension reduction. By simulation the performance of the proposed selection methods are investigated. Additionally, we study finite sample properties of treatment effect estimators based on the selected covariate sets. In paper IV we investigate misspecifications of parametric models of a scalar summary of the covariates, the propensity score. Motivated by common model specification strategies we describe misspecifications of parametric models for which unbiased estimators of the treatment effect are available. Consequences of the misspecification for the efficiency of treatment effect estimators are also studied.

This thesis is a case study centred around a professional development workshop, developed to teach video self modelling techniques using video self modelling to teachers and other professionals, evaluated from a practitioner researcher‘s perspective. Observational learning, social learning, social cognitive and self model theories are discussed as they relate to video self modelling and professional development and informed the structure and delivery of the workshop. The empirical literature base of video self model is documented. The thesis concludes with a discussion of learning that has accrued throughout this study. This learning relates to the use of VSM and the experiential learning that the author, as both researcher and practitioner has gained from the work carried out in developing, using, and evaluating the workshop to support VSM. The six participants were successful in completing a video self model. The thesis recognises and discusses the complexity of interactions between empirical and theoretical investigation. In a similar way it discusses the complexity of interactions between traditional forms of research and practitioner research.

This thesis consists of four papers that are related to commonly used propensity score-based estimators for average causal effects. The first paper starts with the observation that researchers often have access to data containing lots of covariates that are correlated. We therefore study the effect of correlation on the asymptotic variance of an inverse probability weighting and a matching estimator. Under the assumptions of normally distributed covariates, constant causal effect, and potential outcomes and a logit that are linear in the parameters we show that the correlation influences the asymptotic efficiency of the estimators differently, both with regard to direction and magnitude. Further, the strength of the confounding towards the outcome and the treatment plays an important role. The second paper extends the first paper in that the estimators are studied under the more realistic setting of using the estimated propensity score. We also relax several assumptions made in the first paper, and include the doubly robust estimator. Again, the results show that the correlation may increase or decrease the variances of the estimators, but we also observe that several aspects influence how correlation affects the variance of the estimators, such as the choice of estimator, the strength of the confounding towards the outcome and the treatment, and whether constant or non-constant causal effect is present. The third paper concerns estimation of the asymptotic variance of a propensity score matching estimator. Simulations show that large gains can be made for the mean squared error by properly selecting smoothing parameters of the variance estimator and that a residual-based local linear estimator may be a more efficient estimator for the asymptotic variance. The specification of the variance estimator is shown to be crucial when evaluating the effect of right heart catheterisation, i.e. we show either a negative effect on survival or no significant effect depending on the choice of smoothing parameters.   In the fourth paper, we provide an analytic expression for the covariance matrix of logistic regression with normally distributed regressors. This paper is related to the other papers in that logistic regression is commonly used to estimate the propensity score.

This thesis develops techniques for adjusting for selection bias using Gaussian process models. Selection bias is a key issue both in sample surveys and in observational studies for causal inference. Despite recently emerged techniques for dealing with selection bias in high-dimensional or complex situations, use of Gaussian process models and Bayesian hierarchical models in general has not been explored. Three approaches are developed for using Gaussian process models to estimate the population mean of a response variable with binary selection mechanism. The first approach models only the response with the selection probability being ignored. The second approach incorporates the selection probability when modeling the response using dependent Gaussian process priors. The third approach uses the selection probability as an additional covariate when modeling the response. The third approach requires knowledge of the selection probability, while the second approach can be used even when the selection probability is not available. In addition to these Gaussian process approaches, a new version of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator is also developed, which follows the conditionality principle and relates to importance sampling for Monte Carlo simulations. Simulation studies and the analysis of an example due to Kang and Schafer show that the Gaussian process approaches that consider the selection probability are able to not only correct selection bias effectively, but also control the sampling errors well, and therefore can often provide more efficient estimates than the methods tested that are not based on Gaussian process models, in both simple and complex situations. Even the Gaussian process approach that ignores the selection probability often, though not always, performs well when some selection bias is present. These results demonstrate the strength of Gaussian process models in dealing with selection bias, especially in high-dimensional or complex situations. These results also demonstrate that Gaussian process models can be implemented rather effectively so that the benefits of using Gaussian process models can be realized in practice, contrary to the common belief that highly flexible models are too complex to use practically for dealing with selection bias.

Background: Examinations with the intent to assess neurological functions and level of conciousness are common in neurocritical care, but the effect on the patient is not entirely researched. Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the patient’s situation at the neurological wake-up test concerning the environment, nursing interventions and the possibility given the patient to become awake, and if these conditions affect the outcome of the wake-up test. Methods: A quantitative observational study took place at a neurocritical care unit, where 20 patients were observed from interruption of sedation to the neurological assessment, which was performed by a neurosurgeon or a specialized critical care registered nurse. Nursing interventions, environmental factors and physiological parameters were documented. Result: Twelve intervention varieties to control patients’ physiological parameters were used. CPP > 80 mmHg was found in 90 % of observations. Adjustment of the patient’s body position was found in 45 % of observations. The patients were considered sufficiently awake for the neurological assessment in 74 % of observations. The level of consciousness at the point of the neurological assessment was different depending on if it took place in the mornings, performed by neurosurgeons or in the afternoon, performed by nurses. The patients were not agitated and 60 % of patients appeared pain-free. Conclusion: The observed patients were given good conditions concerning environmental factors and nursing interventions for a neurological wake-up test with a fair neurological assessment. NWT as a method didn´t generally cause the observed patients discomfort, such as pain or agitation. / Bakgrund: Undersökningar för att avgöra neurologisk funktion och medvetandegrad är vanliga inom neurointensivvården, men hur patienten påverkas av undersökningarna är relativt utforskat. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva förhållandena kring patienten vid neurologiskt wake-up test med avseende på miljö, åtgärder som utförs och möjligheten patienten ges att bli tillräckligt vaken, samt om dessa förhållanden påverkar utfallet i wake-up-testet. Metod: En kvantitativ observationsstudie genomfördes på en neurointensivvårdsavdelning, där 20 patienter observerades från sederingsstopp till bedömning av neurologisk status, vilken utfördes av neurokirurg eller intensivvårdssjuksköterska. Omvårdnadsåtgärder, miljöfaktorer och fysiologiska parametrar dokumenterades. Resultat: Tolv varianter av omvårdnadsåtgärder användes för att hålla patienternas fysiologiska parametrar inom gränsvärden. Högt CPP > 80 mmHg förekom i 90 % av observationerna och den omvårdnadsåtgärd som noterades vid flest observationer var justering av patientens kroppsposition (45 %). Vid 74 % av bedömningarna av neurologisk status ansågs patienten ha hunnit vakna tillräckligt mycket. Vakenhetsgraden vid bedömning av neurologisk status skilde sig åt beroende på om bedömningen utfördes på morgon av läkare eller på eftermiddag av intensivvårdssjuksköterska. Patienterna var inte agiterade och bedömdes vid 60 % av observationerna inte visa tecken på smärta innan bedömning av neurologisk status. Slutsats: Patienterna i studien gavs goda förutsättningar med avseende på miljö och omvårdnadshandlingar för ett neurologiskt wake-up test med rättvisande bedömning av neurologisk status. För de observerade patienterna var NWT en metod som generellt sett inte verkade orsaka obehag som smärta eller agitation.

Introduction: In 2007 Ontario implemented a grade 8 quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccination program targeting the virus that causes cervical cancer. Despite being 6 years post-implementation, few post-licensure studies have assessed the safety of the qHPV vaccine in this adolescent population. Since autoimmune disorders are often targeted for post-marketing surveillance by regulatory agencies, it is important to assess the risk of developing an autoimmune disorder post-qHPV vaccination. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis were to assess the risk for developing an autoimmune disorder following qHPV vaccination, assess for effect modification by the presence of predisposing risk factors, identify the period of highest risk and explore the risk for individual autoimmune disorders. Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort of girls eligible for Ontario’s qHPV vaccination program was identified using population-based databases. The risk of autoimmune disorders following qHPV vaccination was ascertained using the self-controlled case series method. Results: The risk of developing a new autoimmune disorder, adjusted for age, seasonality, concurrent vaccines and infections was 1.28 (95% CI: 0.87 – 1.89), and this association was independent of a history of immune-mediated disorders (p=0.39). The risk was not increased during days 7-24 post-vaccination (adjusted RR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.43 – 1.74), but appeared to increase thereafter (adjusted RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 0.77 – 2.41 and RR = 1.62, 95% CI 0.94 – 2.78 respectively, for days 25 – 42 and days 43 – 60), although these differences were non-significant. The risk may be increased for certain disorders including Bell’s palsy (RR = 2.30, 95% CI: 0.67 – 7.95), systemic autoimmune rheumatic disorders (RR = 1.84, 95% CI: 0.42 – 8.02), Hashimoto’s disease (RR = 1.39, 95% CI: 0.46 – 4.22), and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (RR = 1.31, 95% CI: 0.83 – 2.08), although none of these associations were statistically significant. Conclusion: This thesis demonstrated that no statistically significant increased risk for autoimmune disorders following qHPV vaccination was detected. However, there remains some uncertainty about the safety of the qHPV vaccine for a subset of the autoimmune disorders. The results from this analysis need to be pooled with those of other studies to confirm whether these are true safety signals. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-23 22:30:41.428