Browsing by Subject "Healing"
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Item Between the borderlands of life and death : a spiritual and intellectual journey towards developing conocimiento(2013-05) Dominguez, Victoria Ashley; González-López, Gloria, 1960-The personal is political, the political is personal. This mantra has inspired feminist thought for decades because of its emphasis on disclosing the personal in the name of consciousness raising, an important form of feminist activism focused on making what is invisible visible in the spirit of bringing about radical change. Feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa's inspirational writings epitomize the transformative power of incorporating the personal in academic theorizing. Her work has encouraged us to not only reimagine what counts as knowledge, but to "risk the personal" in our own writing. My thesis contributes to the burgeoning field of Anzaldúan studies by asserting the value of "risking the personal" in academic writing. I open up, immerse in, and expose my wound as I contend with the greatest rupture in my life yet. On January 23, 2011, merely two years ago, a single phone call broke my heart and soul. My 48 year-old mother was dead. My thesis is an autohistoria-teoría that aims to examine the suffering consciousness that arises when we experience traumatic ruptures that shatter our worlds. Specifically, I use Anzaldúa's theory of conocimiento as an epistemological framework to map my movements in consciousness as I write about my mother's unexpected death. I offer my personal account of grief to shatter the silence around death, revealing the complexity that surrounds and defines loss by giving voice to the marginalized experience of losing a mother as a young woman. I then write about the role of writing in the face of ruptures, arguing that writing is a powerful tool in developing conocimiento. After descending into my wound, I begin my spiritual activism by examining the power of opening ourselves to alternative ways of knowing. I immerse myself in Tibetan Buddhism, embracing its perspectives and contemplating impermanence. All of this in the service of developing conocimiento, a revolutionary mindset dedicated to constant transformation. This transformation is a process of personal and collective healing that acknowledges our interconnectedness. We all experience similar journeys of rupture, pain, and growth. Let us use this connection to improve ourselves, our communities, and our world.Item Comparison of fatigue analysis approaches for predicting fatigue lives of hot-mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) mixtures(Texas A&M University, 2006-08-16) Walubita, Lubinda F.Hot-mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) mixture fatigue characterization constitutes a fundamental component of HMAC pavement structural design and analysis to ensure adequate field fatigue performance. HMAC is a heterogeneous complex composite material of air, binder, and aggregate that behaves in a non-linear elasto-viscoplastic manner, exhibits anisotropic behavior, ages with time, and heals during traffic loading rest periods and changing environmental conditions. Comprehensive HMAC mixture fatigue analysis approaches that take into account this complex nature of HMAC are thus needed to ensure adequate field fatigue performance. In this study, four fatigue analysis approaches; the mechanistic empirical (ME), the calibrated mechanistic with (CMSE) and without (CM) surface energy measurements, and the proposed NCHRP 1-37A 2002 Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) were comparatively evaluated and utilized to characterize the fatigue resistance of two Texas HMAC mixtures in the laboratory, including investigating the effects of binder oxidative aging. Although the results were comparable, the CMSE/CM approaches exhibited greater flexibility and potential to discretely account for most of the fundamental material properties (including fracture, aging, healing, visco-elasticity, and anisotropy) that affect HMAC pavement fatigue performance. Compared to the other approaches, which are mechanistic-empirically based, the CMSE/CM approaches are based on the fundamental concepts of continuum micromechanics and energy theory.Item Employing handicrafts to communicate the course of trauma : a test in using handicrafts as an explanatory method(2010-05) Willman, Lisa Anne; Olsen, Daniel M., 1963-; Hall, Peter A.This report contains discussion of four design projects aimed to investigate the ability of handicrafts to communicate complicated subject matter. In this exploration, handicrafts are used to present the experience of recovering from a traumatic experience by challenging commonly held stereotypes about handicrafts. By breaking the trauma and recovery process into four distinct stages, each stage can be discussed in detail via the corresponding design piece. Consequently, each stage also allows for new opportunities to apply handicraft practices in new ways. Through this line of questioning, the four pieces expand upon the imagery, materiality, subject matter, and formal creation techniques typically used in handicraft projects. This collection adds to a greater body of work that intersects traumatic experiences with art and design and that explores the power of design as a communication tool. It opens the door for further investigation into the application’s potential as a teaching tool for trauma victims, nontraditional applications of the craft, its ability to aid in the recovery process, and the potential risk and benefit victims have from such work being done and from creating such pieces themselves.Item The healing subconscious: refocusing the historiography of psychology and religion through the Emmanuel Movement(2009-12) Ozanne, Rachel Lauren; Abzug, Robert H.; Tweed, Thomas A.The Emmanuel Movement is frequently cited by scholars of the history of religion and psychology in the United States. While the story of the movement has been told many times, scholars have missed key ideas about the movement that become clear when we compare the various historical approaches to the movement. I review the Emmanuel Movement’s ideas, taking note of its intellectual influences, its relationship to other liberal Protestant traditions, and its place in turn-of-the-century culture. By reviewing the ideas of the movement, I observe that the Emmanuel Movement brings into focus previously obscure intellectual figures in the history of the movement, foreshadows late-twentieth century cooperation between medicine and religion through mindfulness movements, and highlights a strand of liberal Protestantism that originates in a Jamesian psychology of the healing subconscious. This new look at the Emmanuel Movement thus provides new avenues of inquiry for students of religion and psychology.Item An integrated approach to measure and model fatigue damage and healing in asphalt composites(2014-08) Karki, Pravat; Bhasin, Amit; Machemehl, Randy; Prozzi, Jorge A.; Zhang, Zhanmin; Li, WeiThis study presents a test and analysis method to determine both damage and healing characteristics of asphalt composites using the same test specimen. The test involves applying multiple stretches of load cycles, each separated by a period of zero load introduced at several different levels of reduced stiffness. The analytical procedure involves (1) using modified correspondence principles to transform the time-dependent physical quantities (stress, strain and energy density) into time-independent pseudo-elastic quantities, and then (2) using viscoelastic continuum damage mechanics to quantify damage and healing properties of the material based on the transformed quantities. The results obtained using two different asphalt mortars subjected to uniaxial and shear load cycles confirmed the findings from the previous researchers that the characteristic pseudo stiffness versus damage relationship for a given material is independent of testing conditions. More importantly, this study demonstrated that the aforementioned relationship was also independent of the rest periods introduced intermittently during the cyclic tests. Results also show that healing defined in terms of the change in the internal state variable for damage represents the true healing potential of a material. Furthermore, healing properties obtained using the proposed test method (a) agreed with the properties obtained using a more rigorous protocol with multiple test specimens, and (b) were independent of the loading conditions used to induce fatigue damage. These observations strongly suggest that the proposed method can be used to predict damage and healing properties for any arbitrary loading condition from properties determined using the proposed protocol.Item Measurement of material properties related to self-healing based on continuum and micromechanics approach(2011-08) Palvadi, Naga Sundeep; Bhasin, Amit; Smit, Andre de FortierThe ability of an asphalt mix to heal is an important property that influences the overall fatigue performance of the mix in the field. Micro damage healing in an asphalt mix is a function of several factors such as the physical and chemical properties of the binder, properties of the mixture, level of damage prior to the rest period during which healing occurs, duration of the rest period, temperature, and pressure. This thesis presents details from a two-part study that addresses the following aspects. In the first part of this study, a DSR based test method was developed to measure inherent healing in asphalt binder and a modified form of the Avrami equation was used to model it. In the second part of this study, an experimental and analytical method based on viscoelastic continuum damage theory was developed to characterize the healing in an asphalt composite (fine aggregate matrix) as a function of the level of damage prior to the rest period and the duration of the rest period. The intrinsic healing of three different asphalt binders was measured at three different temperatures and two aging conditions and it was further demonstrated to be the sum of two components: instantaneous strength gain immediately upon wetting and time dependent strength gain. The intrinsic healing results obtained from the DSR tests were demonstrated to be in agreement with the hypothesis that time dependent intrinsic healing increases with an increase in temperature and decreases with aging of the asphalt binder. The overall healing was measured in four different fine aggregate matrix (FAM) asphalt mixes and various tests were performed to quantify overall healing at isothermal and short term aged test conditions. Additionally two different verification tests were also conducted to demonstrate that the percentage healing measured using the proposed method are independent of the sequence of loading or rest periods. Finally, the overall healing results were demonstrated to support the hypothesis that the healing characteristics determined using the proposed test method can be treated as a characteristic material property.Item Music and HIV/AIDS : the performance of gender, identity, and power in Tanzania(2010-05) Ndomondo, Mathayo Bernard 1963-; Erlmann, VeitThis dissertation investigates the intersection between music, gender, religion, and state agencies in the war against HIV /AIDS in Tanzania. The dissertation explores how music, gender and sexuality, religion, and state agencies impact one another in the creative process of musical and dramatic performances that address the education and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The ethnographic data, which focuses on musical and dramatic performance groups in Bukoba Urban and Rural Districts in Kagera Region, and Dar es Salaam Region, was collected from September 2008–May 2009. The dissertation views performance from multiple perspectives: as an avenue for the production of diverse types of knowledge such as musical, biomedical, religious, and localized or indigenous knowledge about healing in the context of HIV/AIDS; as a space in which gender and religious ideologies and identities are displayed and contested; and finally, as the space in which the manifestations of negotiations of power relations take place. The dissertation shows that health is at the center of music and dramatic performances as they are concerned with the maintenance of individual and community health. By doing so, performances serve as the hub of the social agency in preventing ill health and in restoring the well-being of the individual and communities at large. With regard to music, gender, and sexuality, the dissertation demonstrates that music performance is not only considered an avenue that provides one of the best contexts for observing and understanding the gender structure of any society. Performance is also a space for public discourse on sexuality in the context of HIV/AIDS. The state and religious ideology affect the creative process by either attempting to control meanings or by preventing certain performance. However, such attempts are not always successful. Finally, the dissertation demonstrates that performance is more than space for message-oriented or crowd-attracting activity but serves as a site upon which readings of the social transformation of gender roles through performance can take place.Item Physiological and psychological recovery from muscle disruption following resistance exercise : the impact of chronic stress and strain(2009-08) Stults, Matthew Alan; Bartholomew, John B.A large body of evidence supports the notion that chronic stress and strain may impact healing from physical trauma. However, no evidence exists to substantiate whether chronic stress impacts recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. In this study, a group of 31 undergraduate weight-training students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Undergraduate Stress Survey (USQ, a measure of life event stress) a series of fitness tests and then returned 5 to 10 days later for an exhaustive resistance exercise stimulus (E-RES) workout. This workout was performed on a leg press to the cadence of a metronome to ensure a strong eccentric component of exercise. Participants were monitored for 1 hour after this workout and every day for 4 days afterwards. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) multi-level growth curve analyses demonstrated that stress measures were related to recovery from maximal resistance exercise for both functional muscular (maximal isometric force, jump height, and cycling power) and psychological (perceived energy, perceived fatigue, and soreness) outcomes. Stress was not related to outcomes immediately post-workout (except maximal cycling power) after controlling for pre-workout values. Thus, the effect of stress on recovery is not likely due to magnitude of disruption from maximal exercise. After controlling for significant covariates, including fitness and percent disruption from baseline, individuals scoring a 10 on the PSS at their first visit reached baseline 288% (2.88 times) faster than individuals who scored a 19 at this same time point. There were significant moderating effects of stress on affective responses during exercise. Feeling (pleasure/displeasure), activation (arousal), muscular pain and RPE (exertion) trajectories were moderated by stress. Exploratory analyses found that stress moderated physical recovery, but not psychological recovery in the first hour after the E-RES workout. Also, stress was related to the increase in IL-1[beta], a pro-inflammatory cytokine, in the 48 hour period after exercise for a sub-set of participants. These findings likely have important theoretical and clinical implications for those undergoing vigorous physical activity. Those experiencing chronic loads of stress and mental strain should include more rest time to ensure proper recovery.Item Social violence, social healing : the merging of the political and the spiritual in Chicano/a literary production(2012-05) Lopez, Christina Garcia; Cordova, Cary, 1970-; Limón, José Eduardo; Lieu, Nhi; Perez, Domino; Cox, JamesThis dissertation argues that spiritual and religious worldviews (i.e. Mexican Catholicism, indigenous spiritualities, and popular religion) have historically intersected with social and political realities in the development of Mexican origin communities of the United States. More specifically, as creative writers from these communities have endeavored to express and represent Mexican American experience, they have consistently engaged these intersections of the spiritual and the material. While Chicano/a criticism has often overlooked, and in some ways dismissed, the significant role which spiritual and religious discourses have played in the political development of Mexican American communities, I examine how the works of creative writers pose important questions about the role of religious faith and spirituality in healing the wounds of social violence. By placing literary texts in conversation with scholarship from multiple disciplines, this project links literary narratives to their historical, social, and political frameworks, and ultimately endeavors to situate literary production as an expressive cultural product. Historical and regional in approach, the dissertation examines diverse literary narratives penned by writers of Mexican descent between the 1930s and the current decade. Selected textual pairings recall pivotal moments and relations in the history of Mexico, America, and their shared geographical borderlands. Through the lens of religion and spirituality, a broad array of social discourses emerges, including: gender and sexuality, landscape and memory, nation-formation, race and ethnicity, popular traditions, and material culture.Item The effect of communal orientation, type of help, and equity on relationship satisfaction and well being in social networks(Texas Tech University, 1997-12) Thornton, S. PatrickNinety participants pre-selected as high or low on the Communal Orientation Scale (Clark, Ouellette, Powell, & Milberg, 1987) recorded 12,934 total instances (TI) of help. Prompted by 40 examples of help, participants recalled instances of help that occurred in the previous month and identified the social network members involved in giving or receiving in each instance. TI was calculated at the social network level as the sum of instances involving all network members and all types of help. Exploratory analyses examined the effect communality at the level of the network and within 13 help and relationship classifications. Results uncorrected for family-wise error rate showed that participants low in communality differed from those high in communality by reporting: (a) more TI involving family members, and casual and substantial personal assistance involving family members; (b) more TI received from family members and more substantial assistance received from family members; (c) giving casual assistance to a greater number of family members; (d) the perception that emotional assistance provided to friends was more spontaneous (e) the belief that emergency assistance provided by friends was given more spontaneously; (f) the perception that most types of help involving most types of relationships both given and received was less important; and (g) a lower level of relationship satisfaction across the network and involving friends and family. The pattern of results is discussed in relation to Nadler and Fisher's (1982) cluster of recipient defensive reactions.Item Therapeutic healing center: a holistic healing experience(Texas Tech University, 2004-05) Burkey, Britni Renea; Schellhase, ScottProject Statement To create an architecture free of inner contradictions in the form of a therapeutic medical facility located on the Health Science Center Campus in Lubbock, Texas. Form Statement In order to be perceived as appropriate and fitting, architecture should be free of inner contradictions. It possesses the ability to impact formal and personal feelings of conflict, and, therefore, plays an important role in the healing processes. Facility Statement A therapeutic medical center should be a healing environment that provides an escape from worldly conflict and an assurance of comfort and privacy in order to allow physical and emotional therapeutic relief to medical patients. Context Statement The Healing Center is to be located in the 3700 block of Fourth Street on a lot adjacent to the Health Sciences Center, The Garrison Geriatric Education and Care Center, and the new Rawls Golf Course. Scope Statement The Healing Center will be an approximately 7,500 square foot facility, encompassing wellness rooms, a meditation chapel, a therapy pool, and a multimedia theater among its other provisions.