Digital Commons Network^™

Negotiations For Spooky Spaces During The Halloween Season: Trunk-Or-Treats In The Bible Belt South, Michael D. Sharbaugh

Anthropology Theses

The Halloween ritual, trick-or-treat, has compelled suburban residents in Atlanta, Georgia to parade throughout the shared public spaces of their communities’ streets for nearly a century. In recent years, however, privatized children’s rituals beyond the realm of the neighborhood seemingly compete for trick-or-treat’s participants: trunk-or-treats in church parking lots now rise in popularity. I parse the impetuses behind the construction of these innovative ritual spaces using in-depth interviews and participant observations alongside the Christian churches who host them and the parents and guardians who participate in them. Cursorily appearing solely as privatized defangings of otherwise venomous and pagan-aligned public rites, …

Comparison Of Risk Factors For Clostridium Difficile Infection Among Community Associated Cases And Healthcare Facility Associated Cases, September 2009- April 2011, Zirka Thompson

Public Health Theses

Background

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive bacteria found in the large bowel or colon that causes mild to severe intestinal conditions and sometimes death. The primary risk factors for development of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) include healthcare exposure and recent antimicrobial use. The purpose of this study is to compare risk factors associated with CDI occurring in the Community to those associated with Healthcare Facility Associated CDI in the metro Atlanta population from September 1, 2009 – April 30, 2011.

Methods

Patients were identified through C. difficile surveillance program of the Georgia Emerging Infections Program (EIP). Prospective, population based, laboratory …

Recovering Frances Virginia And The Frances Virginia Tea Room: Transition Era Activism At The Intersections Of Womanism, Feminism, And Home Economics, 1920-1962, Mildred H. Coleman

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Theses

ABSTRACT This work answers the question “Who was Frances Virginia?” by recovering the story of an Atlanta entrepreneur, Frances Virginia Wikle Whitaker, and her tea room foodservice business. It acknowledges “Frances Virginia,” as the public knew her; and focuses on her career as demonstrative of an under‐theorized form of women’s activism. Her education and proclivity in the once all‐female domain of home economics have important characteristics that are under‐ represented, and often misinterpreted, in today’s discourse. I use a womanist theoretical lens within a historical frame to examine her story as a home economist during the tea room movement of …

Recontextualizing Neglected Space In Community, Catherine L. Normoyle

Art and Design Theses

Neglected areas are everywhere. They are seen as foreclosed homes, commercial properties, rundown lots and even small spaces like broken signage and over-sized potholes. My investigation, Abandonment ex-plores how graphic design can be used to identify neglected areas and add meaning that challenges exist-ing perceptions of these areas. This becomes a way to suggest revitalization without actually redesigning a specific space. Abandonment matches carefully designed phrases, inspired by first hand research of community members, with neglected urban environments of Atlanta. The camouflaged environmental graphics, created by means of DOT signs, chalk drawings, and blackboards recontextualize environments to softly build curiosity, …

Changes In Sexual Risk Perception And Risk Taking Among Urban African American Adolescents, Rosa M. Steen

Public Health Theses

Background: Adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 acquire nearly half of all new STDs in the United States, yet they represent only 25% of the sexually active population. Young men and women in this age group have the highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, especially in the African American population. Adolescent risk factors include having a history of pregnancy or STDs, being arrested or incarcerated, substance abuse, early sexual debut and having 4 or more lifetime sexual partners. Protective behaviors such as parental involvement, school enrollment, and consistent condom use have been associated with decreased incidence …