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This dissertation aimed to investigate the impact of technology use in preschool classrooms on student motor skill development. The study involved analyzing the pass/fail Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) scores of students and whether their preschool classroom used technology or not. A chi-square test was performed on two variables for 3 school years (2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021). The results of the study showed that there were different outcomes for each school year. In 2019, the null hypothesis was rejected due to weak negative statistical significance. In 2020, the null hypothesis was supported as there was no significant difference. However, in 2021, the null hypothesis was once again rejected as there was a strong negative statistical significance. The study was analyzed through the lens of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to help understand the complex relationships between technology use and student motor skill development. Overall, the findings suggest that technology used in preschool classrooms may have a negative impact on student motor skill development. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Drinking alcohol to excess is one of the largest modifiable causes of morbidity in middle-aged adults with a third of drinkers aged 45-64 years drinking above the UK low-risk guidelines (14+ units per week). Social-ecological frameworks suggest that alcohol behaviour is driven by both individual factors and wider level contexts. Evidence gaps for understanding risk alcohol use in this age group were identified for trends in intake, individual, transitional and regional associations and an age-relevant understanding of income and alcohol expenditure. The current middle-aged literature was found to be limited by inconsistent risk alcohol intake thresholds, a lack of late middle-aged adults in birth cohorts, and lack of adjustment for the wider determinants of health. This thesis addressed these research gaps using three independent but linked studies. The first study used cross-sectional data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) from 1998 (20,871 n pooled) to consider trends and demographic, socioeconomic and co-risk factors associated with exceeding the former UK guidelines (21/14+ units per week) and binge drinking (8/6+ units on heaviest day). The second study used two waves from Understanding Society (USoc), a UK panel study (12,737 n), to determine if transitions in socioeconomic or social status between waves were associated with binge drinking patterns. The final study used USoc longitudinally over 7 waves (17,407 households) to assess the relationship with income and household composition factors associated with expenditure on alcohol. Each study used multilevel regression modelling to account for shared characteristics of individuals within regional living areas, as Government Office Regions (GOR), and account for the nonindependence and correlation in repeated measures panel data. Non-drinkers were excluded from each study to avoid abstainer bias. Data from the HSE found a gender convergence in exceeding the former weekly guidelines with binge drinking increasing in both sexes since 1998. Exceeding the guidelines was associated with smoking, higher income and education, retirement, cohabiting marital status and having no children in the household for both sexes. Binge drinking was associated with smoking, higher body-mass index, higher income, divorced marital status, no religious belonging and urban residence in both sexes with associations for having friends and no educational qualifications in men only. Entering or leaving a relationship were both associated with maintaining binge drinking over time in men compared to a stable relationship status but not in women. Moving to a rural area in both sexes, changing to no reported friends in men only, becoming a non-smoker in women only and entering employment in women only, were all negatively associated with maintaining binge drinking. Living in the North East and North West of England contributed to increased binge drinking in men independently of individual characteristics and was associated with higher household expenditures on alcohol. A £100 increase in income was associated with a £0.40 increase in alcohol expenditure in middle-aged headed households, accounting for household composition factors including household size, child status, sources of income and housing tenure. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature on excessive alcohol use by providing age and sex-specific analyses of a previously under-researched age group, discovering multiple risk factors associated with acute and chronic risk from alcohol use and spending on alcohol. These findings make use of multilevel modelling to account for regional contexts and individual trajectories of binge drinking and household spending over time, demonstrating the utility of secondary data to explore changing health behaviours.

Interpreters enable police to gather key evidentiary information during interviews with victims, witnesses, and suspects who are foreign language speakers. However, words and phrasing in one language do not always have direct interpretations, and interpreted interview evidence can be liable to distortions. To date, as far as is known, an extremely limited body of research has examined the impact interpreters have on the quality and accuracy of interpreter-assisted investigative interviews (IAIIs) and interpreted evidence. This PhD research breaks new ground by examining the impact the presence of an interpreter has on the quality and accuracy of interpreted evidence, both in the interview room and in the courtroom, utilising multiple data sources and methodologies, and highlighting the impact interpreter bias can have on the investigative and prosecution process. Furthermore, this PhD scrutinises how legislation concerning the provision of interpreters has impacted the work of criminal justice interpreters, while exploring explore how trauma and emotion during investigative interviews has further affected interpreted investigative interviews. Previous research has suggested that the interpreter is likely to be a factor influencing the quality of the evidence provided, particularly interpreter emotion, but this has not been explored empirically until now. Results from the four studies in this thesis indicate that discrepancies in police officers’ and interpreters’ expectations during IAIIs can negatively impact the quality of the interview. While both police officers and interpreters recognise emotions as a factor likely to impact the quality of the interview, currently little is done to actively prevent it. Results suggest that highly complex, traumatic crimes increase the likelihood of interpreting errors, which has significant implications for certain major crimes that are likely to involve both foreign language speakers and emotional trauma. Finally, the findings emphasise a lack of understanding on the role, function, and importance of interpreter quality, suggesting a need for changes in government policy regarding public service interpreting and make suggestions for improving interview training for both police officers and interpreters.

Studying warning coloration and mimicry is an effective way to understand predator-driven selection and phenotypic diversity. The presence (sympatry) or absence (allopatry) of a toxic model plays a role in shaping mimetic phenotypes. However, the impact of edge sympatry and allopatry on predation of mimetic phenotypes is not well understood. We studied coralsnake mimicry to test how edge sympatry and allopatry affect predation on mimetic phenotypes. Specifically, we tested 1) if overall attack rates varied with edge sympatry of coralsnakes 2) which color patterns conferred a fitness advantage 3) which specific mimetic signal components are important in driving predatory attacks and 4) whether selection patterns varied temporally. We deployed clay replicas that utilized a cryptic pattern, two different signal components (red and white), and a tricolor pattern that included both signal components. We found that overall attacks did differ between edge sympatry and allopatry, with higher attack rates in allopatry. All mimetic phenotypes in 2019 had higher attack rates than cryptic phenotypes in edge sympatry, with a similar but nonspecific pattern in allopatry. Replicas with red and bands received more predatory attacks in edge sympatry than those without, once again with a similar pattern in allopatry. There was also a difference in attack rates and patterns between years, indicating temporally variable selection such as frequency-dependent selection. These results suggest that mimetic phenotypes may not have a fitness advantage in areas of edge sympatry or allopatry. This suggests the role of sympatry and allopatry may be more complex than previously thought, particularly in how sympatry may interact with extraneous factors such as behavior and frequency of phenotypes.

The performance of extracellular matrix (ECM) biological scaffolds for the treatment of volumetric muscle loss (VML) has shown promising results with regenerating native muscle in animal models and human patients. However, the limitations of these scaffolds include non-specific characteristics based on the original parameters of the muscle that is lost and this is why our group chose to characterize human skeletal ECM. By understanding the characteristics of the native human skeletal ECM, more desired queues for the biological scaffolds being used to treat VML can be provided. Upper limb and lower limb skeletal muscles were commercially obtained, decellularized using common techniques, and underwent biochemical and physical assessment. The presence of collagen and glycosaminoglycans were identified within the human skeletal ECM. The mechanical strength and overall alignment of the human skeletal ECM was also evaluated. The human skeletal ECM supported an in-vivo degradation assessment and showed signs of tolerance within the in-vivo model. The results of the current study suggest that the location and gender of the original muscle indeed plays a significant role between the two ECM muscle types within some of the characterization tests. We believe we are the first group to characterize human skeletal muscle ECM with the intent to mimic these parameters. A future direction for this project would be to incorporate these parameters found within this study into our engineered ECM being produced within our lab.

Contemporary art can pose a particular challenge for museum visitors to interpret, and psychological literature suggests that such challenge to self-efficacy may lower interest (Hong & Lin, 2013; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Schunk & Usher, 2008). This study sought to explore museum visitors’ interpretive strategies, feelings of self-efficacy, and interest. Factors including prior knowledge, interpretation support (e.g., labels), and challenge of artwork were also considered. Results discuss suggestions for museums when displaying works that may be perceived as challenging or unapproachable. Participants included visitors to the Blanton Museum of Art and students at the University of Texas at Austin who were pre-screened for prior knowledge of museums. Sessions occurred during the fall of 2014 and included completing questionnaires while viewing three works in the contemporary galleries. Students also participated in focus groups. Both quantitative and qualitative results confirmed predictions that interpretive self-efficacy and interest are related. Provision of labels did not show significant difference for self-efficacy or interest, but high prior knowledge of art did show increased levels of self-efficacy. A search for meaning and aesthetic observation and preference typically drove participant interpretations; most were highly personal. With low self-efficacy, participants struggled to interpret works and even considered pieces arbitrary. However, they enjoyed being challenged to interpret the work on their own before viewing the label. Participants responded particularly well to the idea of using interactive interpretive devices as a means of building understanding for works to which they may not otherwise be drawn. Overwhelmingly, low-prior-knowledge infrequent visitors wanted clear explanations of the artist's motive for creating the work and wanted the ability to visualize or even mimic the artistic process for creating each piece. Museums striving to increase interest in contemporary art for visitors should prioritize building self-efficacy through supportive interpretive strategies.