Digital Commons Network^™

Cultivating Culturally Responsive, Equity-Centered, And Trauma-Informed Attitudes Among Educators, Jasmine Haynes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This qualitative study explored the influence of implementing a culturally responsive and equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series with educators. Seven middle school educators from various regions of the U.S. participated in a culturally responsive and equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series in the 2021-2022 academic year. Educators participating in the series received three live virtual two-hour trauma-informed modules highlighting racial trauma, race-related trauma triggers, and deficit versus asset-based perspectives of racially diverse students, along with case studies and critical discourse. Data collection included pre-and post-interviews (n = 14), participant journal reflections (n = 14), and intervention module case study reflection transcripts …

Advancing Medical Education By Optimizing The Use Of Formal And Informal Curriculum Resources, Ziana Bagot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Current and aspiring medical school students are inundated by curriculum resources. To optimize the curriculum resources that are offered in medical education, the present work examines both institutionally and commercially developed resources from the lens of various stakeholders through three separate, yet related, studies. The first study, a scoping review, synthesizes and recognizes gaps in scholarship regarding obstacles that underrepresented, pre-medical students encounter in applying to medical school, specifically focusing on the impact of access to commercial test preparation resources. A review of existing literature regarding this population's medical school admission difficulties yielded a majority of non-empirical, deficit-focused articles that …

Early Intervention Service Delivery Models' And Structures' Impact On Parents' Satisfaction With Services, Krisztina Weiszhaupt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Limited research has compared parents' perceptions of the benefits of the early intervention (EI) program across states. This study explored whether parents' perceptions of the EI program's benefits differed significantly based on two of the program's primary components: the lead agency's profile and the service delivery model. In addition, the researcher evaluated families' responses to individual items on the Family Outcome Survey-Revised (FOS-R) and provided insights into the findings. The researcher implemented a causal-comparative research design to compare parents' responses to Section B of the FOS-R. As a result of the purposive sampling technique, the researcher obtained data that had …

An Examination Of Florida's High Stakes Testing: A Post-Hoc Study Of The Academic Achievement Of Students With Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Rhonda Mcmahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study compares achievement of students with borderline intellectual functioning by investigating differences in Florida Standards Assessment results for those who received special education services and those who did not receive services. A review of the literature finds research focused on this population is limited with few effective strategies identified to help these students keep pace with the increasing demand of today's classrooms. This post-hoc causal-comparative study uses an analysis of variance to determine if there are statistically significant achievement differences in Florida Standards Assessment results in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students when examining the effect of the …

2022 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Proceedings Table Of Contents, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Table of Contents to the to the proceedings of the 11th Annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Promoting Covid-19 Vaccines Among Communities Of Color: An Analysis Of U.S. Minority Serving Higher Education Institutions’ Message Framing Strategies, Najma Akhther, Khairul Islam

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

This study examined how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States used framing as an issue management strategy in promoting COVID-19 vaccine. A content analysis of HBCUs’ (N = 268) COVID-19 vaccine-related messages showed that institutional leaders primarily used thematic frames over episodic frames. In other words, the COVID-19 vaccination was promoted as a community issue by emphasizing safety and well-being of the community. Black leaders’ vaccine communication mostly focused on background information, research data, and statistics related to vaccination and vaccine effectiveness. Such use of framing strategies may indicate black leaders’ trust and openness in vaccine …

Evolution And Effectiveness Of The Governmental Risk And Crisis Communication On Twitter In The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case Of Switzerland, Albena Björck, Audra Diers-Lawson, Felix Dücrey

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged the risk and crisis communication capabilities of governmental authorities: A new global phenomenon had to be managed and explained on a national and local level to protect public health. In the form of a single case study, the current research investigates this complex event as a cumulative crisis, the evolution of the communication strategies, and the effectiveness of messaging using Twitter in the context of Switzerland. The study identifies improvement potential in existing theoretical frameworks and provides a method for governmental authorities to track and assess their communication efforts.

Covid-19 News Frames In Sports Headlines In England: A Content Analysis, Yazeed Aljasser

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

This study examined the nature of sports reporting of COVID19 in England by employing framing analysis on a sample of five newspapers. Through a quantitative content analysis, this study revealed how sports news coverage framed the COVID19 virus in these newspapers: The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Mail, and the Sun. The findings revealed that Competition and Players and Staff frames were the Major frames in the headlines media news organizations reported on COVID19. Implications and future research needs are discussed.

Public Opinion In A Pandemic: Four Surveys Conducted With Americans Throughout The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lauri M. Baker, Chen-Xian Yang, Angela B. Lindsey, Ashley Mcleod-Morin, Ricky W. Telg, Anissa Zagonel, Sydney Honeycutt, Naik Wali, Shelli Rampold

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center) conducted a series of national public opinion surveys to examine the perceptions of Americans related to COVID-19. The PIE Center conducted four surveys with ~1,500 Americans per survey from mid-March 2020 to January 2021. The surveys sought to understand Americans’ perceptions of a range of topics including health and communication concerns, vaccination perceptions and acceptance, mask understanding and willingness, and compound disasters and stress. Presentations in this panel highlight key areas of research from this survey series and share how communicators can use this research to …

Spillover And Cascading Crises In Public Health And Water Systems: The Orlando Liquid Oxygen Shortage, Ronisha Sheppard, Shawn P. Mcelmurry, Matt W. Seeger

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

In August 2021, COVID cases spiked in Florida with over 24,000 breakthrough cases per day making Florida the state with the highest increase at the time. Florida saw an increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the last two weeks of August and became the 3rd state in the U.S. to exceed 3 million COVID cases. Not only did this impact public health, but it also created an unforeseen impact on the municipal water system. The surge in COVID cases created a surge in demand for treatment, one in which included liquid oxygen, used for respiratory therapy. Without liquid oxygen, ozone …

The Role Of Emotions On Stakeholders’ Perceptions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lisa Bergson, Thomasena Shaw

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Using Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model, the researchers explored the role of emotions on respondents' perceptions of a university during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the perceived level of engagement by the organization, the primary coping strategies of the stakeholders and the type of crisis and level of responsibility of the organization. This qualitative, phenomenological study explored how emotions experienced by faculty during the pandemic impacted their perception of the university. This study fills a gap in the crisis communication literature by focusing on stakeholder perspectives and proposes the addition of several emotions to the ICM model. It also details …

2022 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Program, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Program to the to the 11th Annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Limited Court Access V. Poor And Indigent, Chinyere Anunobi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In criminal cases, poor individuals must qualify as legally indigent to receive legal representation. In civil cases, poor and indigent individuals must find their own resources to support themselves since the government does not guarantee counsel. Without counsel, poor and indigent individuals are forced to find legal representation for these cases on their own, which can be difficult considering the expenses of fees and fines. Cognitive processes, including bias and stereotypes, create a barrier in advocacy because they cloud judgement of decision-makers, which can diminish the voice of this vulnerable community. Barriers like these create an invisible wall where limited …

The Effect Of Technological Advancements On Interactions In The Agricultural Commodities Market, Savannah B. Armas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this research is to find, if and how, real and financial technological advancements influence interactions in the agricultural commodities market. Statistical testing was conducted to identify potential correlation and any positive linear relationships in the price data between agricultural commodities and their complementary agricultural chemical producers. Testing if higher trade volumes in this industry result from higher technology usage were initiated by identifying shared linear growth between general index volumes and agricultural commodities, alongside their chemical complement stock volumes. The scientific development of chemical engineering mirrors financial technologies influencing trader behavior as a significant contributor to agricultural …

Cancer Survivors' Physical Activity Advice: A Guide For Assessment And Implementation For Nurses And Healthcare Workers, Kayla Burd

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Physical activity (PA) improves cancer-related symptoms (e.g., fatigue, sleep) in cancer survivors, although there is low adherence due to barriers. Cancer survivors are interested in participating in PA but healthcare providers feel they have inadequate knowledge in PA and lack guidance to provide PA support.

Purpose: Examine PA advice for cancer survivors and healthcare providers from cancer survivor interviews to understand cancer survivors’ PA and create an algorithm to help healthcare providers assess and provide PA advice to cancer survivors.

Method: Qualitative content analysis of twenty interviews with cancer survivors regarding PA.

Results: Cancer survivors advised health care providers …

Shift Or Stagnation:: Analyzing Changing Japanese Attitudes Towards Various Minorities, Aïcha M. Camara

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As nations economically prosper, do future generations undergo a steady shift in values? This thesis seeks to analyze the Post-World War II intergenerational shift in Japanese attitudes toward Japanese women and the LGBT, multiethnic, and indigenous communities. Centered around Ronald Inglehart's "Materialist" and "Post-Materialist" theories, this research seeks to contribute to current literature surrounding the development of contemporary Japanese values. Inglehart's "Materialist" theory consists of the idea that individuals pursued various goals in hierarchical order with their base necessities such as sustenance and safety gaining priority. After their base necessities are satisfied, Inglehart believed that people's values shifted, emphasizing belonging, …

The Impact Of Emotional Support On Identity In Breast Cancer Survivors, Sakinah Dewji

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact that breast cancer has on identity and how emotional support affects identity formation in women after cancer diagnosis and treatment. While there is much research on the medical treatment of breast cancer and the impact it has on women, there is a gap in research on the identity construction of women who have gone through breast cancer and the impact of emotional support for them during and after treatment. This is an important aspect of research as demonstrated by the rising number of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year. …

A Look Into Alzheimer’S Disease—Interventions At The Molecular Level, Priscila Feliciano Nieves

Honors Undergraduate Theses

There are puzzle pieces to the cure for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and such can emerge by inspecting the biomolecular interactions and their effects on neuronal cells. The upcoming presented literature review will cover the molecular changes caused by AD pathological progression, explore the relationship between non-AD molecules and AD molecules in the body, and analyze potential contributing factors in AD. In addition, the information to be provided will highlight medicinal alternatives respective to a particular stage in AD.

Methods For Characterization Of Cl-001 Derived Exosomes As A Stimulating Agent For Nk Cells For Immunotherapy, Ilana Gomez Diaz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The immune system is a complex set of cells in the body that work to prevent disease or infection by recognizing and eliminating foreign material or unhealthy cells. One essential type of immune cell that is part of the innate immune response are Natural Killer (NK) cells. These cytotoxic effector lymphocytes can detect certain unhealthy cells, such as cancer cells, that normal B and T cells would miss. For example, many tumor cells have evolved to bypass immune system surveillance by not expressing major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC class I), on their surface, reducing recognition by cytotoxic T …

Elaboration, Resolution, And Coping In The Covid-19 Narratives Of College Students: Relations To Identity Development, Maha Y. Halabi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Previous research has shown that talking about highly significant experiences in more elaborative ways and with greater meaning-making is related to better identity development in emerging adults (McLean & Pratt, 2006). Expressing personally significant experiences through narratives allows individuals to construct coherent autobiographical stories about the self, connecting their past, present, and future selves into a coherent whole, which ultimately contributes to healthy identity development (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999). In this research, we examined the Covid-19 narratives of college students in relation to identity development. Data was collected from 218 emerging adult college students, ages 18 and above, both males …

The Effect Of Young Blood Anti-Aging Treatment On Protein Markers Of Age And Huntington Disease, Sujena H. Koilpillai

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of a polyglutamine tract within the huntingtin (HTT) protein, forming mutant HTT (mtHTT). HD patients suffer from psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, and motor abnormalities, with death typically occurring 15-20 years after symptom onset. Currently, there are no treatments able to slow disease progression or delay onset. HD is a disease of aging. Despite the mtHTT protein being produced throughout life, symptoms do not typically appear until adulthood. Furthermore, many cellular effects of normal aging are also seen in HD, including altered intercellular communication and loss of proteostasis. Recently, our lab found …

Regulation Of The Protease Activity For The Mitochondrial Omi/Htra2, Simon Larson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Human High Temperature requirement A2 (HtrA2) also known as Omi, is a serine protease located in the mitochondria with an important function in both cell survival and death. My results show the proteolytic activity of Omi/HtrA2 varies under different conditions. I characterized the optimal condition for Omi/HtrA2 protease activity using an in vitro assay system. Additionally, I identified a new allosteric regulation of Omi/HtrA2 through interaction with a specific substrate, the MUL1 protein. MUL1 is a multifunctional E3 ubiquitin ligase anchored in the outer mitochondrial membrane with domains both inside mitochondria and in the cytoplasm. The data shown here strongly …

Sport, Masculinity, Race And Nation: A Case Of Fandom And The Football Industry, Paula Andreina Natera Benitez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Football (or soccer in America) is one of the most popular sports in the world, it is played worldwide from the United Kingdom to the Laos Islands. Usually called the beautiful game, fans' traditions are inherited from parents to children, and legendary players are venerated as demigods. However, with its growth, also came the growth of a billions-worth “non-profit” industry governed by FIFA. The love of the game is also used to explore the concept of “nation” and has a long history with dictatorships using “passion” to cover up their human rights violations as well as attempts to use it …

The Intertwined Relationship Of Stress And Sleep Quality Of Undergraduate Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jordan Nguyen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study aims to examine the relationship between stress and sleep of undergraduate students during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibly correlational relationship between these two parameters was determined with respect to how this population was faring during recent times, two years into the pandemic. The study also served to examine how this relationship changed over time based on three time frames: before the pandemic, during the advent of the lockdown (March 2020-May 2020), and during recent times. A survey was developed to collect data from the undergraduate participants for correlation and regression analysis to determine the relationship …

Internal State Language And Coping In Narratives Of Covid-19: Relation To Psychological Well-Being, Divya Pradipkumar Patel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Covid-19 pandemic had global consequences for billions of individuals, including high rates of mortality and morbidity, lost income, and prolonged social isolation. In the short and long term, this crisis will have an impact on people's lives and mental health. The current correlational study looks at how internal state language, stress, and coping are used in college students' narratives concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown experiences in relation to psychological well-being. A sample of 216 undergraduate students completed surveys that recorded their narrative experiences of COVID-19, psychological well-being, depression severity, and measure of how stressful occurrences in one’s life …

The Use Of Exogenous Acrp30 As A Promising Amelioratory Compound Regarding Insulin Resistance And Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus, Stephen L. Romero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As numerous bodies of research have characterized the adipocytokine adiponectin (ACRP30) as an anti-diabetic compound, this work serves as an analysis to partly elucidate the potential usage of supplementary adiponectin as a therapeutic compound in the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. In this work, a meta-analysis was conducted to centralize large amounts of data on adiponectin’s insulin sensitizing characteristics in conjunction with like-minded studies utilizing metformin treatment as the diabetic standard of care. Upon comparison of fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and glucose tolerance test area under the curve reduction percentages, it is quite clear that ACRP30 has significant insulin …

Self-Assessment Of Elementary Lesson Plans Through An Ecological Lens, Scott Edward Sebree

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Classrooms are ecosystems. Classrooms have well defined boundaries and host living and nonliving elements. These elements interact as classroom lessons and day to day ongoings occur. These interactions have potential to be synergized to increase learning outcomes. The purpose of this research is to develop a self-reflective instrument for teachers to consider the elements, interactions, and synergy of lessons. An instrument was developed based on models of other survey instruments (Cantu, 2015) (Appendix A). Content validity experts were recruited, and the instrument was refined as a self-reflective tool. As a self-reflective instrument teachers can use reflective practice to further intentional …

The Role Of The Prefrontal Cortex And Stress In Huntington Disease-Mediated Aggression, Kadambari Vyas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Huntington Disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. Although HD onset is determined by motor symptoms, psychiatric symptoms, like depression and aggression, can develop earlier, have a larger impact on quality of life, and are understudied due to stigma. Our lab has observed hyper aggression in our humanized HD mouse model (Hu97/18) compared to our knock-in HD mouse model (Q175FDN). We characterized these differences and found that the Hu97/18 mice overreact in neutral situations, behaving as if they are in threatening situations. We are now using this novel model of HD-related …

The Relationship Between Sarcopenia And Diabetes Among Different Ethnic Groups, Rachel K. Williams

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sarcopenia and diabetes are two conditions that reflect ongoing changes in global health trends: aging and obesity. Sarcopenia affects approximately 10-40% of the global population and type II diabetes affects around 415 million individuals (6.28% globally), with obesity contributing to a majority of the cases. Currently, approximately 9.3% of the population (727 million individuals) is aged 65 years or older; this number is predicted to reach 16% of the global population (around 1.5 billion individuals) in 2050. Many developed countries are undergoing demographic population pyramid rearrangements whereby an increasingly aging population must be supported by a shrinking youth cohort. Sarcopenia …

The Cost, Politics And Controversy Of Human Space Flight In Nigeria Or How To Put The First African Astronaut Into Space, Desiree Winns

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The most pressing barriers between reality and the dream of the first African astronaut in space are a lack of resources, cooperation, and support. However, Nigeria presently suffers from the threat of famine, intercommunal violence, and population displacement as a result of terrorism and food insecurity. The reliance upon humanitarian aid from countries such as the United States and international NGOs creates a question of whether Nigeria should even be considering exploration of space. It can be said that any investment into space should instead be granted to displaced people, water and food security, and cracking down on terrorism. Why …