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Nutrition Care For The Transgender Population: A Retrospective Study To Investigate Relationships Between The Nutrition Care Process Model And Patient Outcomes, Alana Minnee Marrero Gonzalez

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important roles of the registered dietitian nutritionist is to provide medical nutrition therapy that is fitting to an individual’s culture, reality, ethnicity, and dietary preferences. A review of existing literature exposes the lack of information available on LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) health, for transgender communities. The purpose of this research was to generate knowledge of the nutrition-related problems and barriers to adequate nutrition and health, and their impact in nutrition assessment in a sample of Hispanic transgender adult patients living in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A retrospective observational study was conducted, data from 114 …

The Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Individuals Seeking Mental Health Treatment, Brice T. Marks

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) individuals are underserved in communities despite experiencing disproportionately higher rates of mental health distress. The cisheteronomativity of society creates chronic stressors that impact the mental health outcomes of TGD individuals. TGD individuals face the highest rates of discrimination in healthcare settings. Yet, little is known about the population's specific experiences seeking mental health care. Using a phenomenological approach, this study interviewed eight TGD individuals to understand the experience of seeking mental health care. There were six themes: facilitation of seeking behaviors, barriers, type of care, characteristics of providers, identity disclosure, and burden of advocacy and …

"I'M Just Very Open To Trying New Things": Past Sexual Experiences And Sexual Curiosity In Bisexual Women, Rosalyn Zacarias

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bisexuals make up a large percentage of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this, they remain invisible in the literature. Sexual curiosity is also a concept with limited and confusing literature. The purpose of the study is to look past sexual experiences and their influence on sexual curiosity in bisexual women. The contribution of this study aims to better understand how bisexual women make meaning out of their experiences and highlight the importance of sexual health research. Data was gathered with a sample of 6 bisexual women ranging from 19-29 years old using semi-structured interviews. Three superordinate themes and five subordinate themes …

Relation Between Parent Feeding And Emotional Overeating In Preschoolers As Mediated By Emotion Regulation, Lindsay Nicole Baker

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emotional overeating is defined as eating in response to negative emotions, and the shift from emotional undereating to overeating around the preschool years indicates environmental influences. Parent feeding practices such as using food to regulate emotions and behavior may impede children’s ability to regulate their emotions, leading to emotional overeating. This study analyzed the relation between parent feeding practices, child emotion regulation, and emotional overeating in 4- and 5-year-old children. For study 1, mothers of 4- and 5-year-old children completed online questionnaires through MTurk and Prolific. Questionnaires measured parent feeding practices, emotion regulation, and emotional overeating. Parent use of food …

Homecoming: Examining Built Relationships That Influence Historically Black College And University Student Experiences, Alvenia Effie Derban

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining and increasing student retention is a challenge for small institutions especially small private Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). There are factors which contribute to this problem of practice and solutions that could increase student retention given more research and analysis. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore and examine the campus professional-student relationships to better understand the first-generation/first-time college student’s experience and how these relationships may influence their retention. This study examined the experiences of three Edward Waters University students to understand a problem of practice experienced at Edward Waters University and many others, student …

Association Between Objectively-Measured Sedentary Time And Self-Reported Prescription Medication Use Among Adults: A Pilot Study, Ciarra Ashley Boyne

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Prescription medication use and extended sedentary time are independently related to poor health outcomes (e.g., diabetes, metabolic syndrome, mortality). Historically, survey methods have been used to obtain estimates of total sedentary time (ST), however, recent use of accelerometers avoids self-report bias and affords more characteristics of ST that may be factors in health outcomes (e.g., frequency and duration of sedentary bouts). The aims of this pilot study were to 1) examine the association between objectively measured ST via accelerometers and self-reported prescription medication use in adults and 2) examine the independent association of sedentary bout length and frequency with …

Towards A Prototype Paleo-Detector For Supernova Neutrino And Dark Matter Detection, Emilie Marie Lavoie-Ingram

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using ancient minerals as paleo-detectors is a proposed experimental technique expected to transform supernova neutrino and dark matter detection. In this technique, minerals are processed and closely analyzed for nanometer scale damage track remnants from nuclear recoils caused by supernova neutrinos and possibly dark matter. These damage tracks present the opportunity to directly detect and characterize the core-collapse supernova rate of the Milky Way Galaxy as well as the presence of dark matter. Current literature presents theoretical estimates for these potential tracks, however, there is little research investigating the experimental feasibility of this technique. At the University of North Florida, …

Lake Huron Microbial Mats: A Novel Anagnostidinema Species, A Cyanobacteria-Specific It's Motif Slicer, & A Multi-Marker Community Analysis, Callahan Mcgovern

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A region of Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan (U.S.A) includes karstic sinkholes with oxygen-poor, sulfur-rich ground water that contain vibrant microbial mats resembling life in early Earth’s shallow seas. We sought to document some of this unique ? diversity including the cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, and diatoms. Using culture-based investigations, we recovered strains of a novel cyanobacterium, Anagnostidinema visiae, and by employing a polyphasic approach we described this novel species from the Middle Island Sinkhole. In the processes of characterizing this novel species, the challenges of cyanobacterial systematics became evident. This led us to create a bioinformatics tool to help in …

A New Mindset: The Effects Of A Strategic Mindset On Women Under Stereotype Threat, Jessica A. Mckay

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women completing math tasks under stereotype threat underperform and experience increased negative outcomes compared to women under no threat and men. While previous interventions for stereotype threat focus on self-affirmation or role models as a means to reduce the effects of stereotype threat, the current study examines whether using a strategic mindset to increase self-reflection mitigates the negative effects of stereotype threat on women in math. Undergraduate women (N=149) were randomly assigned to read an article about the benefits of having a strategic mindset or taking cold showers. Participants were then randomly assigned to a stereotype threat condition (women perform …

The Perspectives Of Saudi Arabian Professionals Regarding The Most Important Soft Skills For Leaders To Possess In Telecommuting Environments During Crisis: A Q Methodology Study, Shatha Abdulghani Khalifah

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Q methodology study was to explore Saudi Arabian professionals’ perspectives regarding the soft skills they considered most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises.

Q methodology was developed to study human subjectivity and uses both quantitative and qualitative procedures to do so. As is the convention for a Q methodology study, a single question guided the research: What are the perspectives collectively held among Saudi Arabian professionals regarding the soft skills they consider most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises?

The researcher developed a 44-item Q sample of opinion …

Thermal Temperatures And Social Network Position In Bonobos, Dain Rust

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a variety of species, the maintenance of stable social connections is associated with lower levels of stress in individuals. Understanding how physiological stress responses interact reciprocally with social connections in bonobos, humans closest living relative, can provide useful information about both the emergence of social connections in our own species, as well as provide guidance for animal welfare procedures. Infrared thermography (IRT) has been shown to be a reliable non-invasive measure of stress response in some species, specifically non-human primates. The current study examines the relationship between baseline facial temperatures, social network position, and demographic variables in a population …

Eye Of The Tiger: Does Cultural Mismatch Affect The Evaluation Of Graduate Program Brochures?, Roshonda Bissainthe

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although first-generation college students (FGCS) are enrolling in graduate school at the same rate as continuing-generation students (CGCS), they are earning their degrees significantly slower or not at all. We add to the growing literature by examining whether the independent culture encouraged at many American universities clashes with the interdependent culture of FGCS. We hypothesized that when participants are randomly assigned to read an independently focused brochure, FGCS compared with CGCS will report a lower tendency to seek college resources, self-efficacy, and persistence. FGCS and CGCS read an independent or interdependent focused ecopsychology graduate program brochure and indicated their self-efficacy …

What Is Your Why? A Qualitative Study About Motivational Differences Of Latinos/Hispanics And African American/Black In A Computerized Cognitive Training Program To Prevent Alzheimer’S Disease, Lizbeth C. Vera Murillo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recruitment of diverse populations is a major barrier in advancing clinical research (Areán & Gallagher-Thompson, 1993; Areán & Alvidrez, 2003). The need to increase racial diversity is imperative due to the substantial growth of historically marginalized racial communities in the United States (Weinstein et al., 2017). Despite researchers’ efforts to increase racial/ethnic representation in clinical trials, there is still a lack of understanding of the best practices to recruit racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials. The current study explores the qualitative motivations of why research participants (aged 65+ years old) volunteered for an Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) prevention clinical trial. Racial/ethnic differences …

Effects Of Altering Physiologically Relevant Cholesterol Levels And Media Types On Porin Gene Expression In Klebsiella Pneumoniae And The Resulting Impact On Antibiotic Resistance, Megan R. Camden

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative, non-motile bacterium belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. K. pneumoniae is a rising threat in the clinical setting, as there has been a large increase in the presence of antibiotic resistant isolates. While much research is conducted on laboratory and clinical strains of bacteria, not much is known regarding the impact that human physiology can have on bacterial gene expression, and in response, to antibiotic susceptibility. The goal of this study is to determine if physiologically relevant cholesterol levels and media types impact porin gene expression and antibiotic resistance in K. pneumoniae. To accomplish this, …

Less Meat, Less Heat: Analyzing Meat Consumption Through The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Identity, Past Behavior, And Conservatism, Madeleine Powers

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Meat reduction is a largely underutilized means of combatting climate change that warrants further investigation. The current study utilized an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict intention to eat red meat. In addition to traditional TPB components of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, this study adds to the literature by including meat-eating identity, past meat-eating behavior, and conservatism as predictors of meat consumption intentions. 744 participants were recruited via Mturk and compensated $1 for completing surveys assessing the extended TPB constructs related to meat consumption. The sample was 57% men, and 81% white, …

The Effect Of Environmental Factors On Movement Patterns And Habitat Use Of Young-Of-The-Year Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks (Sphyrna Lewini) In The Tolomato River Nursery, Matthew Bernanke

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Various shark populations on the southeastern coast of the United States experienced declines in the late 20^th century, including the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini). Improved management strategies, implemented in the late 1990s, have helped these populations to recover, but they are still under threat from fishing pressure and habitat loss. In continuing to strive towards population recovery and conservation, it is important to identify Essential Fish Habitat, or habitats that are necessary for the spawning, feeding, breeding, or growth of marine organisms. One such habitat is that of the shark nursery habitat. Nursery habitats are those …

Making The Grade: Do Teacher-Created Grading Systems Result In Disparate Outcomes For High School Students?, Laura L. Mayberry

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lack of formal grading policies within individual schools and school districts results in differential grading across classrooms. In many secondary schools, an individual course may be taught by multiple teachers. This study aimed to determine if the existence of differential grading results in disparate outcomes for students based on their assigned teacher. Data about students (demographics, teacher-issued grades, and standardized test scores) was collected from four core content classes at one high school. Regression analysis was used to isolate the impact of students’ assigned teacher on their course grade after controlling for demographics and academic performance as measured by …

Through The Looking Glass: An Autoethnography, Jennifer Pryor Halter

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an autoethnography studying my experiences as a female high school principal in the south. Autoethnography is qualitative research that analyzes personal experiences to understand a particular culture (Ellis et al., 2011). I share my lived experiences in fictionalized composite examples to protect myself and others possibly implicated in the research (Law & Fine, 2004). Through analysis, I use feminist theories and metaphors to understand the school and community and the presence of southern culture in this school’s context. Through research, I found glass metaphors describing women in leadership roles and their obstacles (Simpson & Kurma, 2015). I …

New Principals: Experiences That Influence The Role, Marianne P. Simon

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology-informed study is to examine the lived experiences of new principals and to understand the experiences that have influenced their role as principal. Phenomenological research is “interested in an analytical and descriptive experience of phenomena by individuals in their everyday world” (Eddles-Hirsch, 2015). This framework is what drove the research study into the lived experiences of new principals and the experiences that have influenced their role. The study is qualitative in nature using three in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five new principals in a Northeast Florida school district for a total of 15 interviews. The research …

The Indirect Association Of Personality With Perceived Stress As Mediated By Humor In University Students During Covid-19, Jacqueline Sterghos

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Humor is known to be an effective coping strategy due to its stress-reducing capabilities (Overholser, 1992; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). However, more recent research into humor has revealed it can also lead to increased levels of stress (Fritz et al., 2017; Martin et al., 2003). Extraverts tend to have positive emotions and are better able to cope with stressful emotions (Ford et al., 2016). However, individuals higher in neuroticism are more likely to engage in maladaptive types of coping strategies and humor (Greengross et al., 2011), putting them at a higher risk for increased stress levels. The current research utilized …

The Role Of The United States In Advancing Democracy In Developing Countries: The Case Of Bangladesh, 2008-2020, Abdul Halim

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States has been working in close collaboration with the government of Bangladesh (GoB) to promote democratic norms and practices in the country. Over the past five decades, various US agencies have provided about $8 billion in foreign aid to Bangladesh (U.S. Department of State, 2022) with a significant percentage of these funds devoted to promoting democratic governance in the recipient nation. This study seeks to investigate the impact of US aid on democratization in Bangladesh from 2008 to 2020. Utilizing bi-variate statistical models, this essay analyzes four distinct measures of US-funded projects that directly promote democracy and their …

Investigations Into The Electronic And Magnetic Properties Of (Crps4)N Layers, Alexandria R. Alcantara

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

2D magnetic semiconductors have become of interest due to their magneto-optical effects in lower dimensionality. More specifically, CrPS4 has gained renewed attention due to its A-type AFM order and air stability prompting analysis and stability studies in its layered forms for use in scalable technology such as spintronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, we benchmark our approach using the SCAN meta-GGA functional used without U-parameterization on bulk CrPS4 to demonstrate the accuracy of our methodology to use as tools to go beyond current CrPS4 theoretical studies. We examine the 2D electronic nature and optical spectrum for use in experimental …

Gender And Race Influence Young Adults' Impressions Of People With Dementia, Angel Collie

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) are becoming more common among older adults around the United States, including African Americans, who are twice as likely to be clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Though it is counter-intuitive, young adults are important when examining the future projections of ADRD because they will be the future caretakers of older adults. The current study investigated whether impressions of people with dementia are influenced by the interaction of gender and race among young adults. In Phase 1, young adults (N = 157, ages 18-25, median age = 20) completed a reverse correlation task where they …

The Lie Algebra Sl2(C) And Krawtchouk Polynomials, Nkosi Alexander

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Lie algebra L = sl2(C) consists of the 2 × 2 complex matrices that have trace zero, together with the Lie bracket [y, z] = yz − zy. In this thesis we study a relationship between L and Krawtchouk polynomials. We consider a type of element in L said to be normalized semisimple. Let a, a^∗ be normalized semisimple elements that generate L. We show that a, a^∗ satisfy a pair of relations, called the Askey-Wilson relations. For a positive integer N, we consider an (N + 1)-dimensional irreducible L-module V consisting of the homogeneous polynomials in two variables …

Breast Density Classification Using Deep Learning, Conrad Thomas Testagrose

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast density screenings are an accepted means to determine a patient's predisposed risk of breast cancer development. Although the direct correlation is not fully understood, breast cancer risk increases with higher levels of mammographic breast density. Radiologists visually assess a patient's breast density using mammogram images and assign a density score based on four breast density categories outlined by the Breast Imaging and Reporting Data Systems (BI-RADS). There have been efforts to develop automated tools that assist radiologists with increasing workloads and to help reduce the intra- and inter-rater variability between radiologists. In this thesis, I explored two deep-learning-based approaches …

The Effect Of Testing On New Learning Of Related And Unrelated Text Sections, Katie Ingram

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When individuals are presented with a variety of materials, including word lists, face-name pairs, text passages, and more, the presence of a test between sections can enhance future section learning, a phenomenon called the forward testing effect (FTE). In addition to the FTE, studies have suggested that a decrease in the relatedness of the subject matter units can increase learning of the material. The current study examined the interaction between the presence of a test and the relatedness of material using text sections and cued-recall questions. Participants were 119 individuals assigned to a related test, related no-test, unrelated test, or …

Educator Perceptions Of Giftedness In Florida, Casey Leone

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educators, including teachers and administrators, have a responsibility to increase knowledge and achievement for all students. Gifted students who demonstrate increased abilities and proficiencies are often given less attention as schools continue to increase their focus on the lower quartile of students. To address this need, gifted programs are implemented to foster excellence in identified students. However, educational policies pertaining to identification and qualifications for gifted programs can serve as gatekeepers denying students that could potentially benefit from rigorous and enriching programs. In this quantitative study, the perceptions of educators in Florida towards gifted policy were explored through a series …

Apparent Contours For Piecewise Smooth Surfaces, Sarah Marie Jackman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The set of points on an embedded surface $M$ that are tangent to a set viewing direction $\mathbf{v}$ is called the contour generator of $M$. The projection of those points to an image plane is called a surface's apparent contour. Apparent contours hold certain properties that allow for reconstruction of the original surface using only the information of the apparent contour. In this paper, we explore the structure of the apparent contour through contact classes and singularity types. Additionally we examine the properties of apparent contours that allow for 3 dimensional reconstruction. Our goal is to extend the properties of …

Curriculum Strategy To Increase College Student’S Motivation, Ability And Opportunity Resulting In Reduction In Wasted Food, Sarah D. Brunnig

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about Food Loss and Waste (FLW) have been rapidly growing worldwide as it came to be understood how the loss of about one-third of the edible food produced globally leads to environmental damage, leads to loss of about USD 1 trillion and keeps food from hungry people. Consumers in developed countries account for the largest majority of food that is wasted. College presents an excellent opportunity to reach young adults as they are developing their identity, self-efficacy and life skills. Utilizing the Motivation-Ability-Opportunity Framework, this research’s overall goal was to find a Curriculum Strategy to engage allied health students …

Energy-Efficient Hmac For Wireless Communications, Cesar Enrique Castellon Escobar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis introduces the Farming Lightweight Protocol (FLP) optimized for energy-restricted environments that depend upon secure communication, such as multi-robot information gathering systems within the vision of ``smart'' agriculture. FLP uses a hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) to achieve data integrity. HMAC implementations, resting upon repeated use of the SHA256 hashing operator, impose additional resource requirements and thus also impact system availability. We address this particular integrity/availability trade-off by proposing an energy-saving algorithmic engineering method on the internal SHA256 hashing operator. The energy-efficient hash is designed to maintain the original security benefits yet reduce the negative effects on system availability. …