Division 8 is a prototype single player adventure game that challenges players to solve a story in a sci-fi fantasy world. Based on an Afrofuturist framework, Division 8 is designed to educate, engage and inform players on the affordable housing crisis. The concept of Division 8 is to parallel the section 8 housing vouchers system. In the United States, housing choice vouchers (popularly known as “Section 8”), subsidizes families’ rental payments so they can lease housing that they would otherwise not be able to afford.[1] Unlike games like the Redistricting game and the Westchester game that attempt to capture the housing crisis and housing history of the United States, Division 8 utilizes an interactive narrative to integrate players traveling through the reality of the public housing system. The objective of the game is to explore the convoluted paths and unravel the incentives of characters in the affordable housing crisis. Players will click through different character interactions and dialogue boxes to investigate, analyze and garner information. In making moves, players must consider not only the stories that will assist in solving the puzzle of surviving the housing system, but also the inherent knowledge and subtle clues that are embedded within the game’s framework. The end-state is reached once the player discovers the incentives of characters and ultimately, what decisions lead to the unsuccessful policies of the public housing system.

No description available.

This thesis is a study of architecture on how to improve the life of homeless animals through strengthening the relationship between us, humans and the animals we live among. There are millions of shelter animals being killed every year which is both dreadful and expensive. This number can be decreased greatly if people acted more responsibly towards the creatures they have domesticated. It is true that most people enjoy taking care of animals, they usually feel a strong emotional connection with them, specially those who share their homes with their pets. The problem is that many find the animal shelters a depressing place filled with sick unwanted animals. How can we, design professionals, encourage people to interact more with animal shelters? How can the design affect both physical and emotional health of these animals? Can architecture raise awareness about the creatures in our urban civilization? This project explores a few design approaches that can teach people about shelters and urban animals and how physically different we are from them. The building is also a study of an animal shelter as a system that can improve their day-to-day life to become healthier and happier. It is proposed that these architectural changes would aid the adoption rate as well as creating a happier pet and owner. / Master of Architecture

The history of the human-canine relationship and the human-canine bond is longstanding and has grown and developed throughout the years. Today, dogs are considered part of the family and are beneficial in impacting people across the United States. Introducing the community to dog safety education may strengthen the awareness and confidence of dog lovers across the state of Florida and hopefully reduce the number of preventable dog emergencies. This research suggested the reasons for dog ownership and the importance of protecting our beloved canines by presenting a literature review covering the evolution of the human-canine relationship, human-canine bond, positive effects of canines on humans, history of humane education to demonstrate the importance of dogs in the lives of American citizens and an overview of community education and the importance dog safety community education. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the current state of dog safety community education in Florida and to introduce the need for policies and procedures for dog safety training for adults, if needed based on the research. This topic was analyzed through a needs assessment administered through a Parks & Recreation department in south Florida and online through social media. Ten key informants were selected to interview for an in-depth understanding of their perspective on this topic. Document analysis was conducted to see if results of the needs assessment were addressed in brochures and other media locally. The participants were community members of Florida who were also dog owners. Participants were adults over the age of 18. The participants’ anonymity was protected, as no names were collected from the survey. After carefully examining data collected from 10 interviews, document analysis, and surveys of 150 participants who are dog owners in Florida, the researcher of this study revealed factors that show substantial value that dog owners place on their dogs and interest in educational opportunities to protect their safety. The significance of this study presented additional research dispelling a misconception that dog safety education as easily accessible and available in Florida based communities. This study was also significant because it contributes to the literature by identifying the value dog owners place on their dogs, as demonstrated in both survey and document analysis. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Employee engagement in the mission of the organization is a critical component of success. In fact, it strongly contributes to the workers’ satisfaction levels and motivation. Moreover, it forms the atmosphere in the organizations. Therefore, employee engagement is a critical concept met not only in management but also in sociology and psychology. Focusing on the human factor, the current research is aimed at examining the factors affecting historically black colleges and universities’ (HBCU) staff engagement. The research question for the study is, are employees who have favorable views of their career development opportunities more likely to be engaged than other employees? Three research hypotheses were defined accordingly to answer the research question. The quantitative approach was helpful in determining the areas that were interrelated. The interviews with 20 members of an HBCU staff were conducted online. With the chosen methods and statistical analysis, the evidence proved that career development opportunities increased the level of employee engagement at HBCUs. The results did not show any significant correlation between the employees’ engagement and communications. The perception of the organizational change was not an essential contribution to employees’ devotion. Thus, it is evident that the improvements in career management and planning could become effective to increase the satisfaction of employees with their work organization. The study was limited, as it relied on the results from only one university. It did not reveal the meaningful correlation between engagement and communications. However, the answers of the participants showed that the process of information distribution, planning, explaining, and executing organizational changes at HBCU are important. Therefore, it is highly recommended to investigate the same variables in different contexts and expand the research to be able to generalize the data. Paying attention to different positions and experience of the workers can also influence the results relying on the interviews conducted with more people.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of acceptable use of social media among teachers, students, and parents. In doing so the researcher touched on generational factors, communication, instructional practice with social networking and the perceptions of what was acceptable among these 3 groups within a middle school setting. This qualitative study examined how students, parents, and teachers perceived the use of social networking. 30 subjects were randomly chosen and interviewed: 10 students, 10 parents and 10 teachers. There were 4 emerging themes: (a) types of social networking preferred and the reason, (b) relationships and acceptable usage, (c) uncertainty of safety of social networking, and (d) the positives in being able to communicate. Research suggests that the generations that were interviewed lean toward different types of communication. The Baby Boomers prefer to communicate via email, telephones, and face-to-face. Generation Xers use email but also include Instant Messaging and mobile phones. Generation Y prefers to text prefers to text or use cell phones as does Generation Z which has yet to be identified and uses these forms as well as all forms of social networking (Entrepreneur Magazine, 2009) Through interviewing and coding the researcher found that each subgroup identified that communication was essential to survival. What differed was the type of communication and the safety involved in that type. It was also found that the research on this subject is limited but is growing with advances. The research has changed to include more positives on this subject. With this, the implication for further study in this area is definite. Recommendations for further study include but are not limited to: looking at a study like this in a larger area, opening the subject group to different demographics, looking into how this will affect school systems in the future.

The field of equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) is growing in popularity as an alternative healing approach. However, there is a paucity of peer-reviewed research on the horses who serve as equal partners in EAAT. The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover the impact of equine-facilitated therapeutic activities on the temperament of horses, and to determine how to select a better human-to-horse therapeutic match when providing EAAT services. The theoretical framework for this research drew from Romanes' theory of animal intelligence, which predicts that temperament would change as a result of prolonged participation in specific work (EAAT in this case) that would cause the horse to reflect its associate's temperament. The study explored whether horses used in EAAT programs exhibit unique traits, whether the use of horses in an equine-human development program with clients diagnosed with health disorders affects the temperament of the horses over time, and whether a relationship exists between EAAT horses and positive therapeutic outcomes for clients. Sixty-four horse handlers in EAAT and 75 in control programs completed the Horse Personality Questionnaire (HPQ) designed to assess horse temperament. Temperament traits were then compared between EAAT and control horses, for horses participating at EAAT programs for different durations of time, and for horses that were more effective in treatment. Significant differences in temperament traits were present between horses in EAAT and control programs, as revealed by t-tests. The results identified traits of the most effective EAAT horses. This study contributes to social change by providing EAAT with a comprehensive horse temperament assessment that can inform efforts to unify and extend the field.

Hepatozyten sind von großer Bedeutung in Klinik und Forschung. Da sie derzeit nicht kultiviert werden können wird vielfach versucht sie aus Vorläuferzellen zu generieren. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Entwicklung von zwei Stammzelllinien in einem xenogenen Transplantationsmodell mit immundefizienten Mäusen untersucht. Verwendet wurden Stammzellen aus humanem Nabelschnurblut und vordifferenzierte humane Monozyten, sogenannte Neohepatozyten. Es wurden jeweils 750.000 dieser Zellen in die Leber von NOD/SCID-Mäusen transplantiert und die Lebern im Verlauf explantiert. Die Identifikation der transplantierten Zellen im Gewebeschnitt gelang durch den Membranfarbstoff CM-DiI. Zur genetischen Charakterisierung wurde eine in situ Hybridisierung mit human- bzw. mausspezifischen Gensonden etabliert. So konnten die transplantierten Zellen sicher in den Mauslebern detektiert werden. Im Weiteren wurde immunhistochemisch humanes Albumin in Mauslebern nachgewiesen. Humanes Albumin diente als Differenzierungsmarker und zeigt eine Entwicklung der transplantierten Zellen in Richtung Hepatozyten an. Interessanterweise wurden bei der Analyse beider Zelllinien zwei Typen Humanalbumin-positiver Zellen beobachtet: Typ I Zellen traten meist in Gruppen auf, waren kleiner als Hepatozyten und trugen einen dichten, dezentral gelegenen Kern. Sie lagen im Parenchym oder in kleineren Gefäßen und waren in der Lage, wie Hepatozyten, Glycogen und Eisen zu speichern. Typ II Zellen traten einzeln auf und glichen in ihrer Form exakt den Hepatozyten. Durch die Kombination von Immunhistochemie und in situ Hybridisierung konnten die Humanalbumin-positiven Zellen genetisch charakterisiert werden. Typ I Zellen trugen einen menschlichen Kern. Ihre Entstehung kann durch Teildifferenzierung der Stammzellen erklärt werden. Typ II Zellen wiesen einen Mauskern auf. Ein möglicher Entstehungsmechanismus ist der horizontale Gentransfer nach Zerfall der transplantierten Zellen im Zuge einer Immunreaktion. Der formale Nachweis eines solchen Phänomens steht noch aus.

Qual a produção possível a partir das conexões entre trabalhadores participantes de uma rede social na internet? Esta foi a questão norteadora desta tese que teve como objetivo apreender tais conexões e analisar suas possibilidades enquanto veículo de produção cooperativa do trabalho e de si em contexto de trabalho imaterial. A rede escolhida foi a Rede HumanizaSUS (RHS), um blog coletivo vinculado às propostas da Política Nacional de Humanização da Atenção e Gestão do Sistema Único de Saúde (PNH). A RHS constitui-se como uma rede de cooperação e articulação da inteligência coletiva, reunindo trabalhadores, gestores ou não, usuários e demais interessados no tema da saúde. Acompanhei esta Rede em um percurso cartográfico, método que consiste no mapeamento de territórios psicossociais, seguindo as linhas de força que os constituem. Atenta aos processos que compõem a subjetividade e que se passam entre os estados instituídos, a cartografia busca abarcar a complexidade da vida, resistindo às tendências reducionistas de métodos simplificadores. Este processo teve início em uma leitura flutuante, de reconhecimento dos temas, dos participantes, das tendências, dos desvios etc. A partir daí, estabeleci dois movimentos. O primeiro consistiu na alteração da forma de ler. Menos desprendida do que no primeiro momento, esta foi realizada com a lupa do objetivo de pesquisa. Neste movimento, percorri todos os posts que figuraram na página principal da RHS desde seu início, em fevereiro de 2008, a julho de 2011. O segundo movimento consistiu no esquadrinhamento dos 630 posts publicados na página principal da RHS no ano de 2010. Estes dois movimentos possibilitaram a constatação da produção cooperativa que se evidenciou em dois planos complementares. O primeiro plano contempla a produção dos serviços de saúde, envolvendo os elementos que favorecem a realização do trabalho com relação aos conhecimentos, às experiências e aos modos de colocar o saber em prática, abrangendo comunicação, criatividade e afeto, aspectos típicos do trabalho imaterial. O segundo plano enfoca a produção do coletivo a partir dos laços estabelecidos na Rede, das interações favorecidas pelas tecnologias da informação e comunicação que produzem outros modos de subjetivação. Estes planos são sustentados em pontos de adensamento nas conexões, os nós da Rede, compreendidos mais pela sua força na composição de sentidos do que por uma rigidez. A partir de tais nós, encontrei a possibilidade de produção coletiva na Rede. Mais ainda, me deparei com a produção coletiva de um coletivo produtor, contrastando com o modo indivíduo valorizado contemporaneamente. Na RHS são estabelecidas novas relações com as práticas de saúde e com outros trabalhadores, afetando os sentidos atribuídos ao trabalho-vida, demonstrando potência do encontro na esfera online para produzir saúde, saudavelmente, reforçando as conquistas mas também reconhecendo os desafios. / What is the possible production from the connections between workers participating in a social network on the internet? This was the guiding question of this thesis aimed to grasp such connections and analyze its possibilities as a vehicle for cooperative production of the work itself and in the context of immaterial labor. The network chosen was “Rede HumanizaSUS” (RHS), a group blog linked to the proposals of the National Policy of Humanization of Care and Management of the Health System. The RHS is as a network of cooperation and coordination of collective intelligence, bringing together workers, managers or not, users and other stakeholders in the health theme. I followed this path in cartography, a method that consists in mapping psychosocial territories, following the lines of force that constitute them. Aware of the processes that form the subjectivity and that pass between the states established, mapping seeks to embrace the complexity of life, resisting the trends simplistic reductionist methods. This process began in an initial reading, recognition of the topics, participants, trends, deviations etc. From there, I established two movements. The first was the change of how to read. Less detached than the first time, this was accomplished with the magnifying glass of the research goal. In this movement, went through all the posts that figured in the RHS home page since its inception in February 2008 to July 2011. The second movement consisted in scrutinizing the 630 posts published on the homepage of the RHS in 2010. These two movements made possible the realization of cooperative production that was evident in two additional planes. The first plan includes the production of health services, involving the elements that favor the completion of work in relation to knowledge, experience and the ways to put knowledge into practice, including communication, creativity and affection, typical aspects of immaterial labor. The second plan focuses on the production of the collective from the links established in the network, the interactions favored by information and communication technologies that produce other modes of subjectivity. These plans are supported at points of density of connections, the nodes of the network, included more for its strength in the composition of the senses than by rigidity. From these I found the possibility of collective production in the Network. Moreover, I stumbled upon the collective production of a collective producer, contrasting with the way the individual valued contemporaneously. In the RHS are established new relationships with health practices and with other employees, affecting the meanings attributed to work-life, demonstrating the power of the online sphere meeting in order to produce health, healthy, reinforcing the achievements but also recognizing the challenges.

Submitted by Ana Carla Almeida (ana.almeida@ucsal.br) on 2016-11-16T14:30:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_final.pdf: 2273906 bytes, checksum: dd311014679afb54d9c3828a5dcd9979 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rosemary Magalhães (rosemary.magalhaes@ucsal.br) on 2017-01-13T17:58:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_final.pdf: 2273906 bytes, checksum: dd311014679afb54d9c3828a5dcd9979 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-13T17:58:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_final.pdf: 2273906 bytes, checksum: dd311014679afb54d9c3828a5dcd9979 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-25 / A inter-relação familiar/acompanhante e membros da equipe de enfermagem tem sido apontada como um importante aspecto para uma assistência humanizada. Assim, o estudo buscou analisar a interação familiar/acompanhante e equipe de enfermagem de uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, na perspectiva do cuidado humanizado, à luz da teoria de Joyce Travelbee. A pesquisa, de natureza descritiva e abordagem qualitativa, foi realizada em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva de uma Instituição Pública Hospitalar do município de Santo Antônio de Jesus-BA. Para a coleta dos dados foi utilizada uma observação direta no ambiente da UTI, a realização de entrevista semi-estruturada e observação complementar simultaneamente a essa última, sendo contemplado 20 familiares acompanhantes, 14 enfermeiros e 26 técnicos de enfermagem, utilizando-se na análise do material empírico a Teoria de Joice Travelbee e a análise de conteúdo segundo Minayo. Os resultados mostraram que apesar da interligação que deve existir entre o familiar acompanhante e membros da equipe de enfermagem no tocante à humanização assistencial, ainda é significativamente presente a dicotomia do fazer técnico e do fazer humanizado, existindo óbices que interferem diretamente nessa relação. Assim, notou-se em alguns momentos dificuldade em reconhecer situações integras e singulares que tornavam a interlocução do familiar acompanhante com a equipe de enfermagem mais harmônicas, ocasionando barreiras no reconhecimento das diferentes necessidades de ambos. Isso devido à identificação de alguns aspectos limitantes da integração como o número insuficiente de profissionais no cenário intensivista, as múltiplas jornadas e sobrecarga de trabalho, o lidar com o sofrimento humano, a própria estrutura física tecnoassistencial da UTI, além do conhecimento científico dos profissionais para pôr em prática ações humanizadas junto aos familiares acompanhantes. Nesse sentido, a partir da teoria pessoa-pessoa de Joyce Travelbee ficou evidenciado que a enfermagem para cuidar do ser humano de forma integral precisa tirar as armaduras do modelo vivente profissional e ver a família no seu mundo, considerando as questões sociais e culturais, pois só é possível humanizar a UTI mediante a própria humanização dos membros que a compõem em sua totalidade. / The families / caregivers interrelation and members of the nursing staff has been identified as an important aspect of humanized care. Thus, the study investigates the families / caregivers interact and nursing staff of an intensive care unit, from the perspective of humanized care in the light of the theory of Joyce Travelbee. The research, descriptive and qualitative approach was performed in a intensive care unit of a hospital Public Institution of Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia. For data collection a direct observation in the ICU setting, conducting semi-structured interviews and further remark that while the latter was used, 20 being contemplated accompanying family members, 14 nurses and 26 nursing technicians, using the analysis of empirical material Theory Joice Travelbee and content analysis Minayo. The results showed that despite the interconnection that must exist between the companion and family members of the nursing staff regarding the care humanization, is still significantly present the dichotomy of making technical and humanized do exist obstacles that interfere directly in this regard. Thus, it was noted at times difficult to recognize and intact natural situations that made the dialogue the companion familiar with the nursing staff of more harmonics, causing barriers in recognition of the different needs of both. This is due to the identification of some limiting aspects of integration as the insufficient number of professionals in the intensive scenario, multiple shifts and work overload, dealing with the human suffering, the physical structure of technical care ICU, beyond the scientific knowledge of professionals to implement humane actions with accompanying family members. In this sense, from the theory of person-person Travelbee Joyce became evident that nursing care for the human being in full armor of the need to take professional model living and to see his family in his world, considering the social and cultural issues, as is only possible to humanize the ICU itself by humanizing the members who compose it in its entirety.