Abq Free Press, December 28, 2016, Abq Free Press

ABQ Free Press

No abstract provided.

Curricular Analytics In Higher Education, Ahmad Slim 3589498

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The dissertation addresses different aspects of student success in higher education. Numerous factors may impact a student's ability to succeed and ultimately graduate, including pre-university preparation, as well as the student support services provided by a university. However, even the best efforts to improve in these areas may fail if other institutional factors overwhelm their ability to facilitate student progress. This dissertation addresses this issue from the perspective of curriculum structure. The structural properties of individual curricula are studied, and the extent to which this structure impacts student progress is explored. The structure of curricula are studied using actual university …

What Affects Parents’ Choice Of Milk? An Application Of Bayesian Model Averaging, Yingzhe Cheng

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

This study identifies the factors that influence parents’ choice of milk for their children, using data from a unique survey administered in 2013 in Hunan province, China. In this survey, we identified two brands of milk, which differ in their prices and safety claims by the producer. Data were collected on parents’ choice of milk between the two brands, demographics, attitude towards food safety and behaviors related to food. Stepwise model selection and Bayesian model averaging (BMA) are used to search for influential factors. The two approaches consistently select the same factors suggested by an economic theoretical model, including price …

African Dreams Of America: Diaspora Experience In The Writing Of Aidoo, Adichie And Cole, Gbenga Olorunsiwa

American Studies ETDs

This study explores four African diasporic texts against a backdrop of the African dream of America, diasporic experience, post-colonialism and racism in the U.S. as portrayed in the writings of Ama Ata Aidoo’s The Dilemma of a Ghost (1971), Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah (2014), and Teju Cole’s Open City (2012) and Every Day Is for the Thief (2014). I argue that the African dream of America is different but also exemplary of the American experience and therefore a privileged lens for understanding “America.” During the course of this research project, I found that while the writings of Adichie and Aidoo are …

On Frequency Variation Of Dynamic Resting-State Functional Brain Network Activation And Connectivity With Applications To Both Healthy And Clinical Populations, Maziar Yaesoubi

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

One of the earliest and fundamental observation in scientific study of the brain was discovering the relation between activities in different local regions of brain and some core functions of the brain. This was later followed by observing that not only local activities of regions but also synchronous activities between distributed brain regions play a key role in high-level brain functions. Synchronous activity related to the functions of the brain is commonly referred to as functional connectivity (FC) and is studied in the form of connectivity states of the brain which measure degree of interactions between distributed parts of the …

Mitigating The Impacts Of Human Land-Use Change On Biodiversity: With A Focus On Large Migratory Herbivores, Kina Rebekah Murphy

Biology ETDs

Land-use change, commercial over-harvesting of species, and climate change are recognized as the main drivers of biodiversity loss. As a result, it is estimated that 30% of the planet’s biodiversity may go extinct by 2050. This dissertation focuses on how to mitigate the impacts of land-use change on biodiversity. I focus on large migratory herbivores because they are among the most heavily impacted by global change due to their large home range requirements. Habitat fragmentation, illegal hunting, and human-wildlife conflicts are among the biggest threats to large herbivores and result from land-use change. For this reason, my first chapter focuses …

Data Curation And The Arts: How Do Musicians Curate Their Data?, Amy S. Jackson, Jon Wheeler, Todd Quinn

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Professional musicians were surveyed to determine how personal, amateur recordings of performances are shared with students and colleagues. Sharing files on social media is common, with Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo used most frequently. Although these are popular social media platforms, they do not have enhanced format support and robust metadata. Additionally, licensing terms for each platform differ, and may be not in the best interest of the musician. Although recordings are not traditionally considered data, data curation principles can be applied to these types of files, and the library is positioned to become an active participant in this process.

Ambivalent Subjects In Neoliberal Times: Non-Governmental Organizations And Binational Same Sex Couples In The United States, Jara M. Carrington

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation is a critical examination of the increasingly intimate relationship between the neoliberal state, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and their constituents through the lens of NGO-produced advocacy for “binational same sex couples” in the United States. I analyze how neoliberal political and economic ideologies are reconfiguring the role of NGOs, entities traditionally understood as outside state power, as well as the aspirations of their constituencies, within the United States. In particular, I interrogate how NGOs are an increasingly important site in the (re)production of normative gay and lesbian subjects, and illustrate how LGBTQ-identified individuals negotiate these conditions as they seek …

Abq Free Press, November 30, 2016, Abq Free Press

ABQ Free Press

No abstract provided.

Human Attention Detection Using Am-Fm Representations, Wenjing Shi

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Human activity detection from digital videos presents many challenges to the computer vision and image processing communities. Recently, many methods have been developed to detect human activities with varying degree of success. Yet, the general human activity detection problem remains very challenging, especially when the methods need to work “in the wild” (e.g., without having precise control over the imaging geometry). The thesis explores phase-based solutions for (i) detecting faces, (ii) back of the heads, (iii) joint detection of faces and back of the heads, and (iv) whether the head is looking to the left or the right, using standard …

Mass Condemnation Of Gender Violence Leads To Regional Protests On Unprecedented Scale, Johanna Marris

NotiSur

No abstract provided.

At Climate Talks, Caribbean Seeks To Refine €˜Loss And Damage’ While Fears Of U.S. Exit Loom, Gregory Scruggs

NotiCen

No abstract provided.

Aloha In The Desert: Ideologies Of Ka ʻŌlelo HawaiʻI A Mēheuheu, Violet Lovelena Witt

Linguistics ETDs

My study involved sociolinguistic interviewing and the gathering of ethnographic data collected to inform a discussion of three interlaced topics; Language and Culture, Language Ideologies, and Language Maintenance. These topics are discussed through the exploration of ka ʻōlelo hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language) in the cultural context of Hula. Hula is defined as a dance with referential movements and gestures that was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the original settlers (Stillman 1998:1). The goal of this study is to build on previous studies of Hawaiian Ideologies (e.g., Wong 1999, Hall 2005, Malone & Shoda-Sutherland 2005, Halualani 2007, and Snyder-Frey 2013), …

Chicana Feminist Acts: Re-Staging Chicano/A Theater From The Early Twentieth Century To The Present, Natalie M. Kubasek

English Language and Literature ETDs

Chicana Feminist Acts intervenes in the patriarchal forces that negate the historical presence and social agency of Chicanas on the stage of U.S. literature by recovering the transformative power of Chicana drama to enact feminist change. I position early playwrights Josephina Niggli, Estela Portillo Trambley and Teatro Chicana, alongside contemporary feminist playwright Cherríe Moraga, as part of the rich and varied history of feminist cultural production in the U.S. that challenges the systematic sexist oppression of Chicanas. My thesis is that Chicana theater stages a series of feminist “acts” that continuously re-stage Chicana subjectivity to resist fixed patriarchal and nationalist …

Learning And Memory Abnormalities In Mice Deficient In The Rna-Binding Protein Ksrp, Sarah L. Olguin

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Post-transcriptional regulation plays a critical role in the function and development of the nervous system; especially in the control of specific subsets of mRNAs localized to dendrites and axons. One such regulatory mechanism is the stabilization or disruption of mRNA through association of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) such as the KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP). We have previously shown that loss of KSRP results in dysregulation of GAP-43 and increased growth of hippocampal neurons in vitro. Therefore, KSRP-/- and KSRP+/- animals were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests including Novel Object Recognition and Trace Fear Conditioning to assess hippocampal …

Performance Of Gender Social Status: Social Identity Through Clothes, Fanny M. Hamon

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

I focus on the study of the role of the ball gowns in fairy tales, and I argue that Donkey Skin and Cinderella’s civilization process happens through their clothes. I demonstrate that the garments bear considerable historic values in the narratives. The performance they put in place is allowed by the wealth of their dresses.
I apply Butler’s performance theory to show that the performance of the two heroines is the inherent necessity to their social ascent and social recognition. For both heroines, the performance is a strategy to overcome the punitive aspects they underwent in their animal state. The …

Searching Neuroimaging Biomarkers In Mental Disorders With Graph And Multimodal Fusion Analysis Of Functional Connectivity, Hao He

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Mental disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar (BD), and major depression disorders (MDD) can cause severe symptoms and life disruption. They share some symptoms, which can pose a major clinical challenge to their differentiation. Objective biomarkers based on neuroimaging may help to improve diagnostic accuracy and facilitate optimal treatment for patients. Over the last decades, non-invasive in-vivo neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been increasingly applied to measure structure and function in human brains. With functional MRI (fMRI) or structural MRI (sMRI), studies have identified neurophysiological deficits in patients’ brain from different perspective. Functional connectivity (FC) analysis …

Trans/Formations: A Photovoice Assessment Of Transgender People’S Wellness, E. Ricky Hill

Communication ETDs

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand ways transgender and gender non-conforming people living in Albuquerque, New Mexico are communicating about and understanding their health and wellness needs and the health and wellness needs of their community. Partnering with the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, I used a community-based participatory approach to work on a Photovoice project that identified health and wellness related needs as defined by the community. Emergent themes identified by the participants highlighted various challenges and strengths to health and wellness for transgender and gender non-conforming people. I identify five core cultural premises …

The Right To City In Argentina: Building Capacity Through Hecho En Buenos Aires, A Street Newspaper, Keira Philipp-Schnurer

Architecture and Planning ETDs

As the new millennium unfolds, many activists and scholars have responded to enduring inequality in urban environments by embracing French philosopher Henri Lefebvre's writings on the "right to the city" as a "rallying cry and demand." In an effort to contribute to this dialogue, this thesis explores the concept of the "right to the city" by operationalizing it as a theoretical framework rooted in Lefebvre’s original writings and applying it o a grounded examination of the street newspaper Hecho en Buenos Aires to examine the intersection of "right to the city" theory and practice. This investigation finds that the organization …

Settler Social Order: The Violence Of Policing In New Mexico, Elisabeth R. Ehlert Perkal

American Studies ETDs

This thesis argues that in order to understand how and why police violence happens in the U.S., it is necessary to situate these interactions within a framework of settler colonialism. The police exist to maintain social order and, in the case of the U.S., this social order is defined by hegemonic structures of power including settler colonialism. Thus, the police fabricate and enforce settler social order that requires subjugating and eliminating Native people in order to preserve settler sovereignty. This thesis intervenes into monolithic critiques of policing in the U.S. and argues that critiques of police violence are most productive …

Investigation Of Whether Determining A Patients Personality Results In Better Patient Communication And Oral Health, Cynthia E. Chavez

Dental Hygiene ETDs

One of the dental psychosomatic territories is the link between personality traits and oral health treatment. This present study aims at investigating whether determination of patient personality types leads to enhanced communication between dental hygienists and patients resulting in improved oral health. Some hypothesize that determining patient personality traits results in enhanced communication between the patient and the dental hygienist. Similarly, it is hypothesized that determination of a patient’s personality trait can result in better oral health.

The Acute Effects Of Weighted Vest Running On Substrate Utilization And Energy Expenditure, Troy M. Purdom Mr.

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

This study evaluated the effect of weighted vest running (WVR) on fatty acid oxidation (FAox) and caloric expenditure at pre-designated exercise intensities (60,65,70,75,80% VO_2max). Seventeen recreationally trained runners (9 men and 8 women) performed four separate graded exercise tests (GXT) separated by 24 hours each. The first graded exercise test (GXT) was performed to establish the workloads at specific exercise intensities. The following three GXTs tested WVR with a control (no vest), 5% body mass (BM) vest, and 10%BM vest, using 3-minute incrementally increasing steady rate stages. Indirect calorimetry was used to measure both FAox (g/min) and caloric …

Discourse, Power, And The Language Of Racism: The Establishment Of The Racial Contract In New Mexico, Jesse A. Romero

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Abstract

Words are not neutral. Language, and the meaning and legal implications attached to it, are politically and ideologically driven. The manipulation of discourse are hallmarks of white supremacy. In a historical context, language has been used to frame the colonial legal discourse establishing white supremacy and racially defining the white polity who established it. This unearned power to establish legal discourse and a common narrative for whites as the superior racial group and people of color as inferior racial groups is pervasive in society. The trajectory this placed on people racially, politically, socio-economically, and educationally can still be seen …

New Approaches For Estimating Hemispheric Lateralization From Resting State Fmri Data With Relationship To Age, Gender And Mental Disorders, Oktay Agcaoglu

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Lateralization is specialization of the brain hemispheres in certain tasks, such as language, mathematics, cognition and motor skills. It is one of the most queried topics related to the human brain. After the invention of modern medical imaging techniques including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientific research about the human brain, including lateralization, gained huge momentum. There have been a remarkable numbers of studies about lateralization and most of these studies focused on investigating which part of the brain dominates in which tasks. However, there have been very few lateralization studies on brain intrinsic activity, i.e., resting state activity where …

Black Women's Search For Meaning: An Existential Portraiture Study On How Black Women Experience The 4 Existential Givens, Tamiko Lemberger-Truelove

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how select Black women experience the four ultimate concerns of existence, including freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death. Existential psychology, from which the four existential givens emerge, is deeply grounded in existential philosophy, which rarely connects key principles and tenets of existentialism to the experiences of Black women. The existential givens have been posited as a universal framework and yet because Black women are faced with multiple forms of marginalization the current study operates from the assumption that universal experiences are filtered through patently Black experiences. To explore how the existential …

God Dogs And Education: Comanche Traditional Cultural Innovation And Three Generations Of Tippeconnic Men, Eric Tippeconnic

History ETDs

ABSTRACT

In my dissertation, “God Dogs and Education: Comanche Traditional Cultural Innovation and Three Generations of Tippeconnic Men,” addresses two interconnected themes: it provides a biography of three generations of Comanche men, Tippeconnic, John Tippeconnic and Norman Tippeconnic, and it offers an examination of the Comanche cultural principles, or ethos, that guided each of them through three different historical eras in the years, 1852-1987. In this research I examine the transition that Comanche people made from their origins as Shoshone people to a distinct group that controlled the majority of the southern plains. I argue that that the Comanche ethos …

90 Calories. 0 Drama: How Tv Advertising Is Bolstering Gendered Food Identities And Promoting An Unhealthy Food Culture In The United States., E A. Lilo

Posters and Presentations

Presented at: National Communication Association 102nd Annual Convention; November 10-13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA.

How Do Faculty At The University Of New Mexico Use Humor In Online Teaching, John T. Granato

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Humor is a ubiquitous experience that facilitates learning, social coordination and wellbeing. This study examined how the faculty at the University of New Mexico used humor in its online courses. The process involved faculty interviews, a focus group of instructional online designers, questionnaires and documentation to collect data, and then used thematic analysis and code development to arrive at its findings. The study found that the humor pedagogy at the University of New Mexico has fallen into disuse for online courses because of (1) a hesitation (fear) to use humor, (2) fear of what students would think, and (3), hesitation …

Sex Ed To Go- An Analysis Of Comprehensive Sexual Education Mobile Phone Applications, Kerstin M. Kalke

Communication ETDs

The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates among developed countries and the numbers of STIs have increased during the last few years. Mobile phone applications constitute a promising platform to disseminate sexual health information and to reduce adverse health outcomes, particularly among teens. In order to be effective, apps have to follow a comprehensive approach to sexuality education, include concepts of behavior change theories, and adhere to health literacy principles.

This study used a mixed-methods approach consisting of a quantitative content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis to assess the quality of sexual education apps available to …

Abq Free Press, November 9, 2016, Abq Free Press

ABQ Free Press

No abstract provided.