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Description
Achievement of many long-term goals requires sustained practice over long durations. Examples include goals related to areas of high personal and societal benefit, such as physical fitness, which requires a practice of frequent exercise; self-education, which requires a practice of frequent study; or personal productivity, which requires a practice of performing work. Maintaining these practices can be difficult, because even though obvious benefits come with achieving these goals, an individual's willpower may not always be sufficient to sustain the required effort. This dissertation advocates addressing this problem by designing novel interfaces that provide people with new practices that are fun and enjoyable, thereby reducing the need for users to draw upon willpower when pursuing these long-term goals. To draw volitional usage, these practice-oriented interfaces can integrate key characteristics of existing activities, such as music-making and other hobbies, that are already known to draw voluntary participation over long durations. This dissertation makes several key contributions to provide designers with the necessary tools to create practice-oriented interfaces. First, it consolidates and synthesizes key ideas from fields such as activity theory, self-determination theory, HCI design, and serious leisure. It also provides a new conceptual framework consisting of heuristics for designing systems that draw new users, plus heuristics for making systems that will continue drawing usage from existing users over time. These heuristics serve as a collection of useful ideas to consider when analyzing or designing systems, and this dissertation postulates that if designers build these characteristics into their products, the resulting systems will draw more volitional usage. To demonstrate the framework's usefulness as an analytical tool, it is applied as a set of analytical lenses upon three previously-existing experiential media systems. To demonstrate its usefulness as a design tool, the framework is used as a guide in the development of an experiential media system called pdMusic. This system is installed at public events for user studies, and the study results provide qualitative support for many framework heuristics. Lastly, this dissertation makes recommendations to scholars and designers on potential future ways to examine the topic of volitional usage.
ContributorsWallis, Isaac (Author) / Ingalls, Todd (Thesis advisor) / Coleman, Grisha (Committee member) / Sundaram, Hari (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Previous research indicates that difficulties in emotion regulation and greater dissociation from one's emotions are often observed among trauma survivors. Further, trauma survivors often show greater negative emotions such as anger, and diminished positive emotions such as happiness. Relatively less is known about the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, emotion regulation difficulties, and non-trauma related emotional experiences in daily life. This study examined whether greater reports of posttraumatic stress symptoms, difficulties in emotion regulation, and dissociative tendencies were associated with greater intensity of anger and lower intensity of happiness during a relived emotions task (i.e., recalling and describing autobiographical memories evoking specific emotions). Participants were 50 individuals who had experienced a traumatic event and reported a range of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Participants rated how they felt while recalling specific emotional memories, as well as how they remembered feeling at the time of the event. Results showed that dissociative tendencies was the best predictor of greater intensity of anger and, contrary to the hypothesis, dissociative tendencies was predictive of greater happiness intensity as well. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating a paradoxical effect of heightened anger reactivity among individuals with dissociative tendencies. In addition, researchers have argued that individuals with a history of traumatization do not report lower positive emotional experiences. The present findings may suggest the use of dissociation as a mechanism to avoid certain trauma related emotions (e.g, fear and anxiety), in turn creating heightened experiences of other emotions such as anger and happiness.
ContributorsTorres, Dhannia L (Author) / Robinson Kurpius, Sharon (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Courthouse dogs (sometimes referred to as facility animals) are expertly trained canines which may be used to assist individuals with psychological, emotional, or physical difficulties in a myriad of courtroom situations. While these animals are increasingly used to assist young witness to court, the jury is still out on whether or not they are prejudicial to the defendant. No known research exists in this area, although research is necessary to determine the possibly prejudicial nature of these animals. Using a mock trial paradigm involving a child sexual abuse case, the current study employed a 2 (Witness type: victim vs. bystander) x 3 (Innovation type: courthouse dog vs. teddy bear vs. none) fully-crossed factorial design. It was hypothesized that witness type and innovation type would interact to differentially impact jurors' judgments about the trial, defendant, and child witness. In addition, it was posited that emotions, such as anger and disgust, would also affect judgments and decision-making. Results indicate that courthouse dogs and comfort toys did impact jurors' decision making in some ways. In addition, emotions and witness credibility predicted sentencing, verdict, and other trial judgments.
ContributorsBurd, Kayla (Author) / Mcquiston, Dawn E (Thesis advisor) / Salerno, Jessica M (Committee member) / Schweitzer, Nicholas J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Wind measurements are fundamental inputs for the evaluation of potential energy yield and performance of wind farms. Three-dimensional scanning coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) may provide a new basis for wind farm site selection, design, and control. In this research, CDL measurements obtained from multiple wind energy developments are analyzed and a novel wind farm control approach has been modeled. The possibility of using lidar measurements to more fully characterize the wind field is discussed, specifically, terrain effects, spatial variation of winds, power density, and the effect of shear at different layers within the rotor swept area. Various vector retrieval methods have been applied to the lidar data, and results are presented on an elevated terrain-following surface at hub height. The vector retrieval estimates are compared with tower measurements, after interpolation to the appropriate level. CDL data is used to estimate the spatial power density at hub height. Since CDL can measure winds at different vertical levels, an approach for estimating wind power density over the wind turbine rotor-swept area is explored. Sample optimized layouts of wind farm using lidar data and global optimization algorithms, accounting for wake interaction effects, have been explored. An approach to evaluate spatial wind speed and direction estimates from a standard nested Coupled Ocean and Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) model and CDL is presented. The magnitude of spatial difference between observations and simulation for wind energy assessment is researched. Diurnal effects and ramp events as estimated by CDL and COAMPS were inter-compared. Novel wind farm control based on incoming winds and direction input from CDL's is developed. Both yaw and pitch control using scanning CDL for efficient wind farm control is analyzed. The wind farm control optimizes power production and reduces loads on wind turbines for various lidar wind speed and direction inputs, accounting for wind farm wake losses and wind speed evolution. Several wind farm control configurations were developed, for enhanced integrability into the electrical grid. Finally, the value proposition of CDL for a wind farm development, based on uncertainty reduction and return of investment is analyzed.
ContributorsKrishnamurthy, Raghavendra (Author) / Calhoun, Ronald J (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Kangping (Committee member) / Huang, Huei-Ping (Committee member) / Fraser, Matthew (Committee member) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This dissertation investigates the long-term consequences of human land-use practices in general, and in early agricultural villages in specific. This pioneering case study investigates the "collapse" of the Early (Pre-Pottery) Neolithic lifeway, which was a major transformational event marked by significant changes in settlement patterns, material culture, and social markers. To move beyond traditional narratives of cultural collapse, I employ a Complex Adaptive Systems approach to this research, and combine agent-based computer simulations of Neolithic land-use with dynamic and spatially-explicit GIS-based environmental models to conduct experiments into long-term trajectories of different potential Neolithic socio-environmental systems. My analysis outlines how the Early Neolithic "collapse" was likely instigated by a non-linear sequence of events, and that it would have been impossible for Neolithic peoples to recognize the long-term outcome of their actions. The experiment-based simulation approach shows that, starting from the same initial conditions, complex combinations of feedback amplification, stochasticity, responses to internal and external stimuli, and the accumulation of incremental changes to the socio-natural landscape, can lead to widely divergent outcomes over time. Thus, rather than being an inevitable consequence of specific Neolithic land-use choices, the "catastrophic" transformation at the end of the Early Neolithic was an emergent property of the Early Neolithic socio-natural system itself, and thus likely not an easily predictable event. In this way, my work uses the technique of simulation modeling to connect CAS theory with the archaeological and geoarchaeological record to help better understand the causes and consequences of socio-ecological transformation at a regional scale. The research is broadly applicable to other archaeological cases of resilience and collapse, and is truly interdisciplinary in that it draws on fields such as geomorphology, computer science, and agronomy in addition to archaeology.
ContributorsUllah, Isaac (Author) / Barton, C. Michael (Thesis advisor) / Banning, Edward B. (Committee member) / Clark, Geoffrey (Committee member) / Arrowsmith, J. Ramon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In the 1930s, with the rise of Nazism, many artists in Europe had to flee their homelands and sought refuge in the United States. Austrian composer Hanns Eisler who had risen to prominence as a significant composer during the Weimar era was among them. A Jew, an ardent Marxist and composer devoted to musical modernism, he had established himself as a writer of film music and Kampflieder, fighting songs, for the European workers' movement. After two visits of the United States in the mid-1930s, Eisler settled in America where he spent a decade (1938-1948), composed a considerable number of musical works, including important film scores, instrumental music and songs, and, in collaboration with Theodor W. Adorno, penned the influential treatise Composing for the Films. Yet despite his substantial contributions to American culture American scholarship on Eisler has remained sparse, perhaps due to his reputation as the "Karl Marx in Music." In this study I examine Eisler's American exile and argue that Eisler, through his roles as a musician and a teacher, actively sought to enrich American culture. I will present background for his exile years, a detailed overview of his American career as well as analyses and close readings of several of his American works, including three of his American film scores, Pete Roleum and His Cousins (1939), Hangmen Also Die (1943), and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), and the String Quartet (1940), Third Piano Sonata (1943), Woodbury Liederbüchlein (1941), and Hollywood Songbook (1942-7). This thesis builds upon unpublished correspondence and documents available only in special collections at the University of Southern California (USC), as well as film scores in archives at USC and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also draws on Eisler studies by such European scholars as Albrecht Betz, Jürgen Schebera, and Horst Weber, as well as on research of film music scholars Sally Bick and Claudia Gorbman. As there is little written on the particulars of Eisler's American years, this thesis presents new facts and new perspectives and aims at a better understanding of the artistic achievements of this composer.
ContributorsBoyd, Caleb (Author) / Feisst, Sabine (Thesis advisor) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In the past decade, research has demonstrated the relationship between higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of negative psychological outcomes. More recently, the concept of self-compassion has been explored within the context of various health behaviors. Very few studies have investigated the potential relationship between self-compassion and eating behaviors. Based on literature and the established relationship between negative self-evaluation and abnormal eating behaviors/eating disorders, the current study sought to examine correlations between self-compassion, eating behaviors, and stress in first time college freshmen. The study population consisted of 1478 participants; ages 18-22 years; females = 936 (63%), males = 541 (37%). Participants self-reported measures of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and the Self Compassion Scale (SCS). PSS score, the overall score and individual subscale scores of SCS, and the three subscale scores of the TFEQ (restraint, disinhibiton, hunger) were examined with Pearson correlations. Results of this study indicate significant (p = < .05) differences between males and females in PSS and all three negative SCS subscales. There was a strong and consistent correlation between the eating behavior of disinhibition and all three negative constructs of self-compassion (self-judgment, r = .29; isolation, r = .23; over-identification, r = .28) in females. The eating behavior of restraint was similarly correlated with SCS self-judgment in females (r = .26). More research is needed to understand differences in stress, self-compassion, and eating behaviors between males and females and to better comprehend the weak associations between eating behaviors and the positive psychological constructs of self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) for males and females. Additionally, future research should focus on the three subscales of disinhibition as they relate to the negative constructs of self-compassion. The preliminary results of this study suggest it would be beneficial, particularly to female college freshmen, to more fully understand the dynamics of the relationship between eating behaviors and self-compassion; this knowledge may help to better structure appropriate coping strategies for the prevention of disordered eating behaviors.
ContributorsJames, Darith (Author) / Sebren, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Swan, Pamela D. (Committee member) / Der Ananian, Cheryl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In recent years, an increase of environmental temperature in urban areas has raised many concerns. These areas are subjected to higher temperature compared to the rural surrounding areas. Modification of land surface and the use of materials such as concrete and/or asphalt are the main factors influencing the surface energy balance and therefore the environmental temperature in the urban areas. Engineered materials have relatively higher solar energy absorption and tend to trap a relatively higher incoming solar radiation. They also possess a higher heat storage capacity that allows them to retain heat during the day and then slowly release it back into the atmosphere as the sun goes down. This phenomenon is known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and causes an increase in the urban air temperature. Many researchers believe that albedo is the key pavement affecting the urban heat island. However, this research has shown that the problem is more complex and that solar reflectivity may not be the only important factor to evaluate the ability of a pavement to mitigate UHI. The main objective of this study was to analyze and research the influence of pavement materials on the near surface air temperature. In order to accomplish this effort, test sections consisting of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), Porous Hot Mix asphalt (PHMA), Portland Cement Concrete (PCC), Pervious Portland Cement Concrete (PPCC), artificial turf, and landscape gravels were constructed in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Air temperature, albedo, wind speed, solar radiation, and wind direction were recorded, analyzed and compared above each pavement material type. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the air temperature at 3-feet and above, regardless of the type of the pavement. Near surface pavement temperatures were also measured and modeled. The results indicated that for the UHI analysis, it is important to consider the interaction between pavement structure, material properties, and environmental factors. Overall, this study demonstrated the complexity of evaluating pavement structures for UHI mitigation; it provided great insight on the effects of material types and properties on surface temperatures and near surface air temperature.
ContributorsPourshams-Manzouri, Tina (Author) / Kaloush, Kamil (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Zhihua (Thesis advisor) / Zapata, Claudia E. (Committee member) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This document is intended to show the various kinds of stylistically appropriate melodic and rhythmic ornamentation that can be used in the improvisation of the Sarabandes by J.S. Bach. Traditional editions of Bach's and other Baroque-era keyboard works have reflected evolving historical trends. The historical performance movement and other attempts to "clean up" pre-1950s romanticized performances have greatly limited the freedom and experimentation that was the original intention of these dances. Prior to this study, few ornamented editions of these works have been published. Although traditional practices do not necessarily encourage classical improvisation in performance I argue that manipulation of the melodic and rhythmic layers over the established harmonic progressions will not only provide diversity within the individual dance movements, but also further engage the ears of the performer and listener which encourages further creative exploration. I will focus this study on the ornamentation of all six Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites and show how various types of melodic and rhythmic variation can provide aurally pleasing alternatives to the composed score without disrupting the harmonic fluency. The author intends this document to be used as a pedagogical tool and the fully ornamented Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites are included with this document.
ContributorsOakley, Ashley (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The objective of this study was to examine the potential effects of long term hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular autonomic nervous system responses to laboratory social stressors. The participants were 38 postmenopausal women, 18 using estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement therapy for at least 2 years and 20 control participants without hormone replacement therapy. All women completed orthostasis (standing and sitting), then speech and math tasks (speech and math were counterbalanced). Cardiovascular measures of sympathetic nervous system (pre-ejection period, PEP) and parasympathetic nervous system (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) along with heart rate were collected throughout all periods (baseline, orthostasis, and stressors). For orthostasis, results of mixed analyses of variance (ANOVAs) showed expected period effects for heart rate, RSA and PEP, but no group or group by period interaction was significant. For the psychological stressors, period main effects were significant for all three variables, suggesting that the tasks were effective at inducing stress. Also, there was a significant interaction between group and period for RSA, demonstrated by greater decrease during the psychological stressor period in the group using HRT. The interactions between group and period for heart rate and PEP were non-significant. These findings support the notion that HRT may slow age-related decreases in parasympathetic responsiveness. Furthermore, changes in vagal reactivity in relation to use of HRT appear to occur within mechanisms involving response and coping with psychological stressors, rather than mechanisms that accommodate basic physiological task such as orthostasis.
ContributorsValancova-Acevedo, Katarina (Author) / Burleson, Mary H. (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Newman, Matt L. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013