Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 26821 - 26850 of 36199

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Genome Copy Number Profiles Of African-American And European-American Early-Onset Breast Cancer, Tyesha Latrece Farmer Jan 2009

Genome Copy Number Profiles Of African-American And European-American Early-Onset Breast Cancer, Tyesha Latrece Farmer

All ETDs from UAB

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death among women in the United States, surpassed only by lung cancer. It is estimated that over 200,000 women developed breast cancer and more than 40,000 died of the disease in 2008 alone. Although the overall incidence of breast cancer is lower in African-American women, the incidence of early-onset breast cancer is higher than that observed in European-American women. African-American women also have higher mortality rates due to this disease than those observed in their European-American counterparts. Breast cancer exhibits heterogeneity at the molecular, cellular, and clinical levels, and the …


Impact Of Health Care Coverage And Other Socio-Demographic Variables On The Follow-Up Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Colombian Women, Isabel Cristina Garces-Palacio Jan 2009

Impact Of Health Care Coverage And Other Socio-Demographic Variables On The Follow-Up Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Colombian Women, Isabel Cristina Garces-Palacio

All ETDs from UAB

In Colombia, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women with incidence (36.4/100,000) and mortality rates (18/100,000) much higher than those of the U.S. (7.7 and 2.3 respectively). About 70% of the Colombian population has health care coverage (HCC) through the subsidized regime (SR) which serves the poorest persons and the contributory regime (CR) which serves the working population. Our goal was to determine the role that HCC plays in cervical cancer screening follow-up among Colombian women. A population-based cross-sectional study of 24,717 women between the ages of 18 and 49, using the 2005 Demographic and Health Survey was …


Flexural Creep Of Long Fiber Thermoplastic Composites: Effect Of Constituents And Variables On Viscoelasticity, Venkata Sankaranand Chevali Jan 2009

Flexural Creep Of Long Fiber Thermoplastic Composites: Effect Of Constituents And Variables On Viscoelasticity, Venkata Sankaranand Chevali

All ETDs from UAB

Long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) composites are used primarily in various automotive and military applications. LFT mechanical properties are dictated by the polymer matrix and fiber reinforcements, and are affected by processing. As LFTs deform under moderate loads and moderate temperatures, flexural creep raises concerns about longevity. The present study is an analysis of creep as a function of constituents and variables, and the development of predictive estimation methods. Compressionmolded high-density polyethylene, nylon 6/6, and polypropylene and their 10 and 40 wt. % LFT composites were studied. The LFTs showed non-linear viscoelasticity, quantitatively described using an empirical model formerly used for …


The Protective Role Of Transglutaminase 2 In Ischemic Stroke, Anthony J. Filiano Jan 2009

The Protective Role Of Transglutaminase 2 In Ischemic Stroke, Anthony J. Filiano

All ETDs from UAB

Stroke is a leading cause of long term disabilities in the US. Currently, administration of thrombolytics is the only approved therapy. Due to the variability, small management time window, and lack of options for effective treatment, there is a clear need for new compounds to alleviate cell death post-stroke. Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) can decrease apoptotic signaling during stroke and lead to increased neuronal survival making it a potential target for therapeutic intervention. TG2, a multifunction enzyme that has both transamidase (TG) and GTPase activities, amongst others, has recently been shown to be upregulated in numerous neurodegenerative conditions, including stroke. In …


Occupational Stress, Dietary Self-Efficacy, Eating Habits And Body Composition In Police Officers, Rebecca Witten Grizzle Jan 2009

Occupational Stress, Dietary Self-Efficacy, Eating Habits And Body Composition In Police Officers, Rebecca Witten Grizzle

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity is a paramount public health threat in the U.S. as approximately twothirds of the adult population is overweight. Police officers have an even higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors. Police officers often attribute their above average cardiovascular disease risk to shift work, jobrelated stress, and poor dietary habits while working. Occupational stress is a major concern among police officers. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationships among occupational stress, obesity, and diet habits. However, few research studies have characterized these relationships in police officers. The specific aims of this study were to determine …


Comorbidity And Body Mass Index (Bmi) As Predictors Of Survival For African Americans And Caucasians Following Surgery For Adenocarcinoma Of The Colon, Robert B. Hines Jan 2009

Comorbidity And Body Mass Index (Bmi) As Predictors Of Survival For African Americans And Caucasians Following Surgery For Adenocarcinoma Of The Colon, Robert B. Hines

All ETDs from UAB

There is a survival disparity between African Americans and Caucasians having colon cancer. Among the reasons given as possible causes for the increased risk of death in African Americans following a diagnosis of colon cancer are comorbidity and body habitus. The primary question this dissertation sought to answer was whether or not comorbidity and/or BMI could account for any of the increased risk of death seen in African Americans with colon cancer. However, before answering this question, the matter of which comorbidity index to use in assessing the comorbidity burden in this population of colon cancer patients had to be …


Determinants Of Growth Hormone Receptor Downregulation, Luqin Deng Jan 2009

Determinants Of Growth Hormone Receptor Downregulation, Luqin Deng

All ETDs from UAB

Growth hormone (GH), a 22 kD polypeptide primarily produced in the anterior pituitary gland, is a key regulator of postnatal growth and affects carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Growth hormone receptor (GHR) is a single membrane-spanning type Ⅰ glycoprotein of the cytokine receptor family and is initially synthesized as a precursor and undergoes carbohydrate processing during transport through the Golgi. It has no intrinsic kinase activity. One molecule of GH binding to predimerized GHR on the cell surface induces the receptor conformational change activating the cytoplasmic domainassociated tyrosine kinase, Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2), which phosphorylates GHR, followed by the activation …


Erythrocyte Invasion By Plasmodium Falciparum, Matthew L. Jones Jan 2009

Erythrocyte Invasion By Plasmodium Falciparum, Matthew L. Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Malaria poses a severe threat to global public health, with the majority of the world’s population living in malaria-endemic settings. Plasmodium falciparum is a major cause of malaria, and is the predominant cause of fatal malaria. This parasite, like other Plasmodium spp., has a complex life cycle, but causes disease only as a result of a lytic life cycle phase that occurs within the erythrocyte. As development within the erythrocyte is fully responsible for disease pathology, it follows that a detailed molecular understanding of the process of erythrocyte invasion by P. falciparum parasites would allow the development of new and …


Information Theoretical Modeling Of Complex Communication Network Usage Patterns, Stanley Carl Thompson Jan 2009

Information Theoretical Modeling Of Complex Communication Network Usage Patterns, Stanley Carl Thompson

All ETDs from UAB

Today’s voice and data connectivity typically utilizes a complex system of networks of networks. The development of models for characterizing usage patterns in complex networks would be useful in projecting capacity requirements in growing systems. Simplified models applied to a complex network for timing and sizing algorithms would significantly reduce the amount of computations and storage necessary to produce forecasts of capacity requirements. This composition introduces a network usage pattern model based on decomposition by information transfer and verifies its application in real-life voice-data networks. Complex systems can be modeled and decomposed into sub-systems by observing the interactions among their …


Development And Implementation Of Knock-In And Bac-In Il-2 Reporter Mouse Models To Characterize Il2 Gene Regulation In Cd4 T Cells, Rita Jeanne Luther Jan 2009

Development And Implementation Of Knock-In And Bac-In Il-2 Reporter Mouse Models To Characterize Il2 Gene Regulation In Cd4 T Cells, Rita Jeanne Luther

All ETDs from UAB

Maintenance of immune homeostasis involves a balance between T cell effector responses to antigen stimulus and reciprocal downregulation of this response through peripheral tolerance mechanisms. Upon exposure to pathogen, cytokine production and signaling serve to tightly coordinate cell-mediated clearance of antigen followed by contraction of the immune response. Interkeukin-2 (IL-2) is a type I family cytokine critical for expansion of activated T cells in vitro and enhancement of T cell memory responses in vivo. Deficiency of IL-2 in vivo also revealed a critical role for IL-2 in immune tolerance through the maintenance of T regulatory cell populations (Treg) in peripheral …


The Significance Of Heavy Chain Cdr3 Diversity In The Antibody Response To Polysaccharides, Tamer Mahmoud Jan 2009

The Significance Of Heavy Chain Cdr3 Diversity In The Antibody Response To Polysaccharides, Tamer Mahmoud

All ETDs from UAB

An understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the generation of protective antibody responses to polysaccharides associated with pathogenic microorganisms is of importance for improving vaccine design. The heavy chain third complementarity-determining region (HCDR3) of an antibody molecule is at the center of its antigen-binding site and plays a determinative role in antigen recognition. The goal of this dissertation was to investigate the role of HCDR3 diversity and composition on the antibody response to the polysaccharide α 1→3 Dextran (DEX). In the first study, we investigated the role of TdT, a DNA polymerase that plays a major role in generating …


Localization And Function Of Electrogenic Na/Bicarbonate Cotransporter Nbce1 In Rat Brain, Debeshi Majumdar Jan 2009

Localization And Function Of Electrogenic Na/Bicarbonate Cotransporter Nbce1 In Rat Brain, Debeshi Majumdar

All ETDs from UAB

Na-Coupled Bicarbonate Transporters (NCBTs) are members of the bicarbonate transporter superfamily that play important roles in regulating intracellular pH (pHi) and extracellular pH (pHo) in the central nervous system. Electrogenic Na/bicarbonate Cotransporter 1 (NBCe1) is an NCBT that is expressed in different mammalian tissues including the brain. NBCe1 has three splice variants - NBCe1-A, -B and -C - that differ in the amino and carboxy termini. We have first performed a systematic characterization of the localization profiles of the three NBCe1 splice variants at mRNA and protein levels in rat brain. In these studies, we have used anti-sense probes and …


Mechanisms Of Growth Hormone Action In Skeletal Muscle, Mahendra Devaraj Mavalli Jan 2009

Mechanisms Of Growth Hormone Action In Skeletal Muscle, Mahendra Devaraj Mavalli

All ETDs from UAB

Growth hormone (GH) and insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) exert profound growth promoting actions during pre and postnatal skeletal muscle development. GH and IGF-1 seem to promote their anabolic actions by influencing skeletal muscle cell prolif-eration and fusion. However, because GH stimulates the production of IGF-1 from the liver and other GH-responsive peripheral tissues, including skeletal muscle, the individual contributions of these two growth factors to anabolic responses in skeletal muscle remains poorly defined. In this dissertation research, I sought to distinguish the mechanisms responsible for growth hormone's (GH) anabolic actions in skeletal muscle. To accomplish this, I analyzed the …


The Distinction Between First And Higher-Order Pregnancies Among Low-Income Adolescents, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery Jan 2009

The Distinction Between First And Higher-Order Pregnancies Among Low-Income Adolescents, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery

All ETDs from UAB

Rapid repeat pregnancy is defined as having a subsequent pregnancy within 2 years of the first. In the United States, approximately 30-50% of adolescent mothers will experience a repeat pregnancy within 12 to 24 months of the first birth (Sangalang, Barth, & Painter, 2006; Coard, Nitz, & Felice, 2000). The negative implications of adolescents having a first birth--most notably in the areas of "health, career, and economic conditions" (Khalili, 2005, p. 19)--are compounded when a second pregnancy occurs (Key, Barbosa, & Owens, 2001). This exploratory study addressed one of the primary gaps in the literature related to rapid repeat adolescent …


Physical Therapy And Chiropractic Use In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: Impact On Health-Related Quality Of Life, Michele Montgomery Jan 2009

Physical Therapy And Chiropractic Use In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: Impact On Health-Related Quality Of Life, Michele Montgomery

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study to was examine prevalence of physical therapy (PT) and chiropractic use in survivors of childhood cancer and which factors are associated with the use of these services. In addition, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of survivors with musculoskeletal and neurological chronic conditions who reported using either PT or chiropractic was compared to those survivors with the same conditions who did not use either service. This study was a secondary analysis of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) and included a subset of 9289 survivors who completed both the baseline and 2003 follow-up questionnaires. In …


Parenting Behaviors And Adolescent Obesity, Kathy Lynne Newman Jan 2009

Parenting Behaviors And Adolescent Obesity, Kathy Lynne Newman

All ETDs from UAB

PARENTING BEHAVIORS AND EARLY ADOLESCENT OBESITY KATHY NEWMAN SCHOOL OF NURSING ABSTRACT The incidence of adolescent obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years with the rate increasing from 5% to 17%. Approximately 17.0% of adolescents in the United States are obese with 4% being categorized as morbidly obese. Obesity disproportionately affects minority adolescent groups. Previous studies have examined relationships between parental behaviors and adolescent health risk behaviors, but few studies have compared these relationships across different racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between parental nurturance, parental involvement, family cohesion, and early …


The Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase Pin1 Promotes Nf-Kappab And Stat3 Signaling In Glioblastoma, George Prescott Atkinson Jan 2009

The Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase Pin1 Promotes Nf-Kappab And Stat3 Signaling In Glioblastoma, George Prescott Atkinson

All ETDs from UAB

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable tumor of the central nervous system (CNS). Over the past 50 years, little progress has made in improving the quality of life and median lifespans of patients who are diagnosed with this devastating disease. However, new insights into the aberrant signaling pathways at the root of GBM pathology are providing new targets for next generation cancer therapies. Two signaling pathways that are commonly upregulated in GBM are NF-kappaB and STAT3. Importantly, tumor models in which NF-kappaB and STAT3 signaling are inhibited have demonstrated the importance of these pathways to GBM growth and proliferation. Therefore, better …


Non-Shared Familial Environment As A Determinant Of Discordant Patterns Of Disordered Eating Behaviors Among Sibling Pairs In A Family, Suparna Bagchi Jan 2009

Non-Shared Familial Environment As A Determinant Of Discordant Patterns Of Disordered Eating Behaviors Among Sibling Pairs In A Family, Suparna Bagchi

All ETDs from UAB

Worldwide 15-40% of adolescents practice Disordered Eating Behavior (DEB). This study examined DEB development and the role of 1) shared familial factors among sibling pairs; and 2) non-shared familial experiences among discordant sibling pairs adjusted for individual and shared familial factors. The "National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health" data on 3274 adolescents were analyzed. The sample contained: twins (n=952), full siblings (n=1434), half siblings (n=418), and biologically not-related siblings (n=470). Multivariable regression analysis examined familial factors associated with DEB in the overall sample and sibling pair types. Adolescents engaging in DEB (~16%) were more likely to be white females with …


Oncostatin M-Induced Gene Expression And Regulation In Astrocytes And Microglia, Brandi Janece Baker Jan 2009

Oncostatin M-Induced Gene Expression And Regulation In Astrocytes And Microglia, Brandi Janece Baker

All ETDs from UAB

Astrocytes and microglia are specialized glial cells of the Central Nervous System (CNS) that modulate neural activity and regulate immunological and inflammatory events. These cells perform their functions, in part, through the secretion of soluble mediators such as cytokines and chemokines. However, in response to the same neurological insult or inflammatory stimuli, the responses of these cells can vary greatly. This notion of differential responses was examined in our studies using Oncostatin M (OSM). OSM is a member of the IL-6 family of cytokines, which can be produced by microglia, astrocytes, neurons, and infiltrating leukocytes in the CNS, and is …


Immunotherapy Of Cancer Employing Γδ-T Cells: A Study Examining Their Utility And Feasibility, Benjamin Hester Beck Jan 2009

Immunotherapy Of Cancer Employing Γδ-T Cells: A Study Examining Their Utility And Feasibility, Benjamin Hester Beck

All ETDs from UAB

Unlike antigen-specific alpha beta-T cells, gamma delta-T cells can recognize and lyse cancerous cells rapidly upon encounter in a manner that does not require the recognition of tumor-specific antigens. Given the well-documented capacity of gamma delta-T cells to innately kill malignant cells, efforts are now underway to exploit the antitumor properties of gamma delta-T cells for clinical purposes. Here, we present for the first time preclinical in vivo mouse models of gamma delta-T cell-based immunotherapy directed against breast cancer. These studies were explicitly designed to approximate clinical situations in which adoptively-transferred gamma delta-T cells would be employed therapeutically against breast …


A Functional Analysis Of The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sushma Jyotika Bhakta Jan 2009

A Functional Analysis Of The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sushma Jyotika Bhakta

All ETDs from UAB

The retroviral life cycle is separated into two distinct phases of infection. In the first phase, viral enzymes and proteins allow the virus to establish infection. The virus usurps host machinery in the second stage to produce infectious virus. In both phases of the replication cycle, the envelope (Env) glycoprotein (gp) is a key component of infectivity. Env plays a pivotal role in viral entry, by mediating attachment and facilitating fusion of the viral and cellular membranes, and during assembly, where Env must be incorporated into budding virions in order to produce infectious virions. The Env cytoplasmic domain (CD) interacts …


Parenting Second First Children: What Early Childhood Professionals Need To Know About Mothers Who Have Relinquished A Child For Adoption, Laura A. Bloom Jan 2009

Parenting Second First Children: What Early Childhood Professionals Need To Know About Mothers Who Have Relinquished A Child For Adoption, Laura A. Bloom

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to examine the experiences of birthmothers who relinquished a child for adoption and determine if this affected their subsequent parenting. The questions that guided the study were: (1.) How do birthmothers describe their experience of relinquishing a child for adoption?; (2.) How do birthmothers describe their experience of parenting subsequent children?; (3.) How do mothers who have relinquished a child for adoption perceive their parenting skills?; and (4.) What do mothers who have relinquished a child for adoption want early childhood professionals to know about their subsequent parenting experience? Three birthmothers who put …


The Effect That Intercollegiate Athletic Participation Has On The Grade Point Averages Of African American Male Student Athletes At A Four Year Public Institution In The Black Belt Region Of Alabama, William Earl Brophy Jan 2009

The Effect That Intercollegiate Athletic Participation Has On The Grade Point Averages Of African American Male Student Athletes At A Four Year Public Institution In The Black Belt Region Of Alabama, William Earl Brophy

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT There are many important factors that impact the grade point averages of African-American males at 4-year public institutions. Factors such as race, gender, SES, and ath-letic participation are potential influences that may have an effect on academic achieve-ment in a college setting in Alabama's Black Belt region as well. This study sought to de-termine if such factors coupled with other demands placed on African American male student athletes effected their respective academic achievement. Important questions an-swered in this study included how the variables above impacted the academic plights of the sample group that was examined. Research hypotheses examined the …


Neuroinflammation And Fragile X Syndrome: Regulation By Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3, Christopher Joseph Yuskaitis Jan 2009

Neuroinflammation And Fragile X Syndrome: Regulation By Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3, Christopher Joseph Yuskaitis

All ETDs from UAB

Neuroinflammation and Fragile X syndrome (FXS) are two particularly devastating neurologic conditions for which no adequate treatment exists and much is still unknown about the underlying cellular and molecular processes. Neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of many neurologic and psychiatric disorders, thus treatment of the underlying inflammation has broad implications. FXS is the most common cause of inherited intellectual and developmental delay and one of the few known genetic causes of autism. Neuroinflammation and FXS have potential links with glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) and its inhibitor, lithium. Therefore, the overall goal of this research was to examine the role of …


Involvement Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Acute Development Of Insulin Resistance Following Trauma And Hemorrhage, Lidong Zhai Jan 2009

Involvement Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Acute Development Of Insulin Resistance Following Trauma And Hemorrhage, Lidong Zhai

All ETDs from UAB

Hyperglycemia develops in the intensive care unit in many patients following injury, infection and critical illness. However, little is known about the mechanism of acute development of insulin resistance that causes this hyperglycemia, even though reducing or normalizing the elevated glucose levels has become a major therapeutic target in many ICUs. Using rodent models of injury, acute hepatic insulin resistance occurs within minutes and continues for at least several hours even following fluid resuscitation. We have previously reported that TNF-alpha; is necessary for the hepatic insulin resistance in the rat following resuscitation. However, whether TNF-alpha; plays a role in the …


Maintaining Healthy Eating Behaviors With Women After A Weight Management Program: A Grounded Theory Approach, Christie Zunker Jan 2009

Maintaining Healthy Eating Behaviors With Women After A Weight Management Program: A Grounded Theory Approach, Christie Zunker

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the process of how women maintain their weight and continue healthy eating behaviors after completing a weight management program, which emphasized low-energy density foods. This is important since many women regain weight after participating in weight management programs. Theoretical sampling strategies guided participant recruitment. Inclusion criteria were: self-reported African American or Caucasian women aged 30 and older who lost > 5% of their body weight during their participation in the EatRight weight management program at least one year ago or longer. Height and weight was measured. Participants that remained > 5% below their …


Polycistronic Lentiviral Vector For Hit And Run Reprogramming Of Mouse And Human Somatic Cells To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell, Chia-Wei Chang Jan 2009

Polycistronic Lentiviral Vector For Hit And Run Reprogramming Of Mouse And Human Somatic Cells To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell, Chia-Wei Chang

All ETDs from UAB

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent and, therefore, can differentiate into most if not all somatic cell types. Because of this characteristic, ES cells have great potential for medical therapies. Since the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was published in 1996 (1), several groups have successfully cloned other animals by the same nuclear transfer method (2). Isogenic ES cell lines can also be established from donor cells by the same technique (3). However, to date there has been no report of successful derivation of human ES cells by nuclear transfer. Based on the cell fusion (4) and nuclear transfer …


The Effect Of Zinc On Cytokine Release And Signal Transduction In Airway Epithelial Cells, Nai-Lin Cheng Jan 2009

The Effect Of Zinc On Cytokine Release And Signal Transduction In Airway Epithelial Cells, Nai-Lin Cheng

All ETDs from UAB

Zinc is an essential cation for life that is involved in numerous physiology and pathophysiology processes. Despite its wide use as a cytoprotective agent in medications, its cellular and molecular mechanisms of action have not been well established. In order to define the potential therapeutic benefit of zinc, I used several Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and non-CF human airway epithelial cell lines as models in my studies. Extracellular zinc caused release calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum though zinc-sensitive Gq-coupled receptor(s) that may subsequently modulate ion channels. In addition, zinc also exhibited anti-inflammatory effects. Zinc inhibited pro-inflammatory molecular TNFα-induced cytokine and chemokine …


Theoretical Context Of A Common Reproductive Health Behavior: Vaginal Douching Among A National Sample Of Young Adult Women, Disa Cornish Jan 2009

Theoretical Context Of A Common Reproductive Health Behavior: Vaginal Douching Among A National Sample Of Young Adult Women, Disa Cornish

All ETDs from UAB

Current research suggests that up to 75% of American women have engaged in vaginal douching during their lives. Prevalence of the behavior is disproportionately high among minority women (especially African American) and women of low SES. Two bodies of research present conflicting results regarding the benefits or risks to reproductive health that are posed by vaginal douching, although the majority of research on this topic suggests that douching is associated with negative health outcomes. Although studies have suggested prevalence rates, behavioral correlates, and biological associations of vaginal douching, very few studies have used behavioral theory when examining the practice. The …


We Don't Talk Like Dat! Perceptions Of Preparedness To Teach Language Diverse Students, Aubretta P. Curry Jan 2009

We Don't Talk Like Dat! Perceptions Of Preparedness To Teach Language Diverse Students, Aubretta P. Curry

All ETDs from UAB

A language barrier exists in schools across the United States, and it's not just with students from other countries. It is estimated that over 8 million African American students speak a language which is foreign to many classroom teachers. The dissonance between home and school language has had devastating effects of African American achievement, with regard to literacy and language arts instruction. With a focus on how teacher education programs in post secondary institutions in Alabama are preparing teachers to teach students with diverse dialects, this qualitative research inquiry provides a critical case study of the perceptions of eight early …