Digital Commons Network^™

Designing For Dissemination: Lessons In Message Design From "1-2-3 Pap", Elisia L. Cohen, Katharine J. Head, Margaret J. Mcgladrey, Anna G. Hoover, Robin C. Vanderpool, Colleen Bridger, Angela Carman, Richard A. Crosby, Elaine Darling, Mary Tucker-Mclaughlin, Nancy Winterbauer

Communication Faculty Publications

Despite a large number of evidence-based health communication interventions tested in private, public, and community health settings, there is a dearth of research on successful secondary dissemination of these interventions to other audiences. This article presents the case study of "1-2-3 Pap," a health communication intervention to improve human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and Pap testing outcomes in Eastern Kentucky, and explores strategies used to disseminate this intervention to other populations in Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Through this dissemination project, we identified several health communication intervention design considerations that facilitated our successful dissemination to these other audiences; these …

An Analysis Of Tools For Online Anonymity, Stephanie Winkler, Sherali Zeadally

Information Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible explanations for the slow adoption and development of online anonymity technology. The ability to remain anonymous while engaging in different activities, online is increasingly sought after by consumers with privacy concerns. Currently, the only way to maintain online anonymity is through the use of technology. This paper reviews and analyzes the tools currently available to consumers to maintain online anonymity. There are only four tools available to consumers to ensure online anonymity: anonymous remailers, rewebbers, The Onion Router (Tor) and the Invisible Internet Project (I2P). These tools provide the …

Female Athlete Triad Review, Hannah Harrison, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This article defines the female athlete triad and discusses long-term consequences for adolescents and women symptoms related to the triad. The pillars of the female athlete triad consist of menstruation disruption, decreased bone mineral density, and disordered eating (energy availability). We will discuss the problems that can arise from each of the three pillars of the female athlete triad and the relationships among them. There are different treatments for the triad based on the needs of the individual and new treatments are being researched. Finally, the need for more informed coaches, parents, and medical professionals is discussed.

Effective Youth Suicide Prevention: Evidence From Kentucky, Dessi Slavova, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

In 2013, Suicide was the second leading cause of death among U.S. young adolescents (15-19 years of age), accounting for 18.4% of all deaths in this age group. According to a nationally representative study on the lifetime prevalence of adolescent suicidal behaviors, 12.1% of U.S. adolescents experience suicidal ideation, 4.0% develop a plan, and 4.1% attempt suicide. The same study estimated that approximately 60% of young people with a suicide plan will attempt suicide, and most of the adolescents who subsequently make an attempt do so within the first year after the onset of ideation.

These findings support the importance …

Starting Off, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This book is really a reflection of the past 15 years of work with teens and suicide prevention in the state of Kentucky. The work to establish the "Stop Youth Suicide Campaign (SYS)" has resulted in contact with many young adults and we have found that the most important thing for all of them, was finding a caring person they trust and can talk to. Because of the constant need, the SYS went from a goal of one year awareness campaign to a major community resource, to work with the state and local governments and state legislators to add as …

Self-Cutting And Suicide In Adolescents, Donald E. Greydanus, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a common and typically secret phenomenon in adolescents, especially females that involves two main features—self-derogation and negative emotionality. Causes of non-suicidal self-injury include attempts to get help from professionals, express disgust or self-anger, resist suicidal thoughts, and correct episodes of dissociation. DSH is associated with eating disorders and alcohol abuse, as well as other illict drug abuse. Fortunately, most self-cutters are not at high risk for eventual suicide; however, all those with DSH histories should be carefully assessed for suicide as well as offered comprehensive management. Programs for prevention of suicide should be implemented for adolescents …

Impact Of Kentucky Vaccination Exemption Laws On Pertussis Incidence, Katherine Blain

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Purpose: According to CDC statistics, prior to pertussis vaccine development in the 1940’s, about 200,000 children contracted pertussis annually. Today, although this number has decreased drastically, pertussis cases began trending upward again in the 1980’s. There are several proposed contributory factors, including vaccination exemption. In Kentucky, there are both medical and religious exemptions to mandatory school vaccines. The purpose of this study was to examine possible correlations between reported school vaccination exemptions and pertussis incidence in Kentucky counties between the years 2004-2012.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed data from 120 Kentucky counties between 2004-2012. The Commonwealth of Kentucky School Annual …

Fatal Injuries Among Young Workers In Kentucky, 2005-2014, Allison Christian

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: Young workers have been more vulnerable to fatal and nonfatal work injuries. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the injuries that led to fatalities in younger workers, the goal of this study was to compare characteristics of young worker fatal injuries in those aged 16-24 to all workers aged 25 and older in Kentucky using a descriptive analysis.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of fatalities among workers under the age of 25 compared to workers aged 25 and older was performed over a ten-year period from 2005-2014 using Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program data.

Results …

Trends In Drug Use During Suicide, 2005-2012, Kentucky, Jacqueline Seals

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Objective

With high rates of suicides worldwide more research on suicide is necessary for improved prevention strategies. This study examines the trends of positive drug tests at the time of suicide in Kentucky with respect to region, time, and intrapersonal violence.

Methods

Data from the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System was used to look at all suicides in Kentucky from 2005 to 2012 amongst individuals 10 or older (n= 4691). Trends of opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, benzodiazepine, and barbiturates were examined. The relationship of a positive drug test and time and intrapersonal violence were evaluated with an ANOVA test and …

Variation In Colorectal Screening Rates In Kentucky Since The Development Of The Colon Cancer Screening Program In 2008, Pranav Rane

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Objective

The purpose of this study is to analyze colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates post-enactment of KRS 214.540 through 214.540. More specifically this study seeks to highlight the variation in CRC screening rates post-policy vs. pre-policy among the target population: uninsured individuals between the ages of 50 – 64.

Methods

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was utilized to obtain individual-level data regarding CRC screening in Kentucky from 2004-2012. Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 9.1 was utilized to compile data and the variables for home blood-stool and for sigmoid/colonoscopy were combined into one variable to identify individuals who had received …

Outbreak Severity Index: The International Response To The Global Outbreaks, Mohamed A. Abofaye

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Outbreaks are emergency situations that carry hazards of death, disability, loss of home and property, and variety of other calamities. With technological advancement, not only people and commodities are easy to transfer but also disease outbreaks. However, outbreaks are dealt with by different countries based on the differences in their healthcare systems and their ability to achieve effective control of the outbreak. SARS, MERS, and Ebola are example of such outbreaks that traveled around the globe and successful control was different according to the virulence of outbreak agent and to the effectiveness of local health system control measures. This capstone …

Organizational Effectiveness Frameworks In Public Health Nonprofit Systems: A Case Study, Morgan Floyd

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Problem: Nonprofits, especially in public health, have become more and more prevalent in recent years. With that increase in support, come greater awareness from stakeholders evaluate nonprofits as effective and impactful on the communities they serve. Frameworks of Organization Effectiveness allow investigators to predict how effective an organization might be in their work. The aims of this study were to identify key Organizational Effectiveness frameworks that could be used to evaluate Nonprofits and use them in practice. Therefore, individuals wishing to become involved with effective nonprofits will be empowered to make good investments of volunteer time and donations

Method: This …

Using Commercially Available Picture Activity Schedules And System Of Least Prompts To Teach Lego Assembly, Lauren A. Sherrow

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study investigated effects of commercially available picture activity schedules (PAS) and system of least prompts (SLP) to teach recreation skills to four high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and intellectual disabilities using Lego sets. Results were evaluated through a multiple probe across participants design and indicate that a combination of PAS and SLP was effective for teaching the students to build Lego sets. All students improved their ability to build and were able to generalize the skill to novel sets after the completion of intervention. Limitations and implications for future practioners are discussed.

Steroid-Dependent Regulation Of The Oviduct: A Cross-Species Transcriptomal Analysis, Katheryn L. Cerny

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Reproductive success depends on a functional oviduct for gamete storage, maturation, fertilization, and early-conceptus development. The ovarian-derived sex steroids estradiol and progesterone are known to affect functionality of the oviduct. Advances in microarray and NanoString technology allow for gene expression analysis to increase understanding of processes critical for fertility. Studies were conducted to investigate mechanisms regulating oviductal function in cattle and mice by using the Bovine Gene 1.0 ST array and the Mouse Gene 430-2.0 arrays (Affymetrix Inc., CA), respectively.

For the first study, oviducts were collected from heifers assigned to luteal or follicular phase groups. In the second study …

New Models Of The Unilateral Presidency, Yu Ouyang

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Though scholars have assessed the unilateral presidency with renewed interests, the literature remains weak in three important areas. What relation, if any, exists between the public and presidential unilateral actions? What impact does the judiciary have on unilateral presidential power? To what extent do presidents use the many tools in the unilateral policy toolchest? The three essays in this dissertation address each of these questions in term. Results have implications for both the unilateral presidency and broader works in executive decision-making and democratic governance.

Leaping Language And Cultural Barriers With Visual Legal Rhetoric, Michael D. Murray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article discusses the scholarship of popular culture, cognitive studies and brain science, data visualization studies, modern argument theory in rhetoric, the rapid development of technology in the production of documents, and technology in the reading and reception of documents, which all point to one outcome: the tools of legal education and law practice must become more visual by following principles of visual legal rhetoric and visual narrativity. Visual has become the "new normal" in communication, and legal rhetorical communication in law school and law practice must not let itself fall behind the times.

Diffuse Optical Measurements Of Head And Neck Tumor Hemodynamics For Early Prediction Of Chemo-Radiation Therapy Outcomes, Lixin Dong

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Chemo-radiation therapy is a principal modality for the treatment of head and neck cancers, and its efficacy depends on the interaction of tumor oxygen with free radicals. In this study, we adopted a novel hybrid diffuse optical instrument combining a commercial frequency-domain tissue oximeter (Imagent) and a custom-made diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) flowmeter, which allowed for simultaneous measurements of tumor blood flow and blood oxygenation. Using this hybrid instrument we continually measured tumor hemodynamic responses to chemo-radiation therapy over the treatment period of 7 weeks. We also explored monitoring dynamic tumor hemodynamic changes during radiation delivery. Blood flow data analysis …

The Effect Of Cholesterol On The Osteoblast Responsiveness To Hydrodynamic Pressure Stimulation, Kristen Lough

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for osteoporosis but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Previous evidence suggests that osteoporosis results from an impaired regulation of osteoblasts by fluid pressure fluctuations in the bone matrix. Recently, our laboratory showed that enhanced cholesterol in the cell membrane, due to hypercholesterolemia, alters leukocyte mechanosensitivity. We predict a similar link between osteoblasts and hypercholesterolemia leading to osteoporosis. Specifically, we hypothesize that extracellular cholesterol modifies the osteoblast sensitivity to pressure. MC3T3-E1 cells were exposed to hydrodynamic pressures regimes (mean=40mmHg, amplitude=0-20mmHg, frequency=1Hz) for 1-12 hours. To assess the impact of membrane cholesterol enrichment, cells were pre-treated with …

Mechanical Behavior Of Grouted Sands, Ryan C. Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Grouting techniques have been in used for many years, but several new grout materials have surfaced in recent decades that have re-defined the boundaries of the limitations of grouting programs. Typically these applications are used for seepage control in earthen impoundments, but strength of these earthen impoundments should be considered where there is potential for movement in the grouted soil mass. This study investigated initial conditions that could affect grout application effectiveness. The initial conditions in question were soil grain size and in situ moisture content. Two grouts were used, ultrafine and acrylate, and variations in pure grout properties were …

Urdu Resultive Constructions (A Comparative Analysis Of Syntacto-Semantic And Pragmatic Properties Of The Compound Verbs In Hindi-Urdu)‎, Razia A. Husain

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Among Urdu’s many verb+verb constructions, this thesis focuses on those constructions, which combine the stem of a main content verb with another inflected verb which is used in a semantically bleached sense. Prior work on these constructions has been focused on their structural make-up and syntactic behavior in various environments. While there is consensus among scholars (Butt 1995, Hook 1977, Carnikova 1989, Porizka 2000 et al.) that these stem+verb constructions encode aspectual information, to date no clear theory has been put forward to explain the nature of their aspectual contribution. In short, we do not have a clear idea why …

Perceptual Dialectology Of New England: Views From Maine And The Web, Benjamin Graham Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Research into the dialects of the New England states (Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont) has traditionally split the region into distinct geographic regions based upon variations in production, primarily along an East-West border. Generally, such regions have been considered relatively stable in terms of their variation (Labov, Ash and Boberg 2006); however, recent work in the area has found that the traditional dialect boundaries have begun to shift (c.f. Stanford, Leddy-Cecere and Baclawski 2012). Such research has focused on very specific regional changes in production, ignoring the perceptual salience of the features observed to be in …

Save Our Republic: Battling John Birch In California's Conservative Cradle, James A. Savage

Theses and Dissertations--History

Previous accounts of the development of the New American Right have demonstrated the popularity and resonance of the ideology in Southern California. However, these studies have not shown how contention surrounded conservatism’s ascendancy even in regions where it found eager disciples. “Save Our Republic” uses one conservative Southern California community as a vehicle to better understand the foundations of a wider movement and argues the growth of conservatism was not nearly as smooth as earlier studies have suggested. Santa Barbara, California, experienced a much more contentious introduction to the same conservative elements and exemplifies the larger ideological clash that occurred …

For The Love Of Robots: Posthumanism In Latin American Science Fiction Between 1960-1999, Grace A. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

Posthumanism—understood as a symbiotic relationship between humans and technology—is quickly and surely becoming an inextricable part of daily life. In an era where technology can be worn as an extension of—and an enhancement to—our bodies, traditional science fiction tropes such as robots and cyborgs resurface and reformulate questions on critical aspects of human experience: who are we and what do our (imagined) technologies say about our world? Such questions are far more complex than they appear. Their answers should not come from one source alone, as humanness is experienced differently across time and cultural systems. In this sense, it is …

A Public Duty: Medicine And Commerce In Nineteenth-Century American Literature And Culture, Heather E. Chacon

Theses and Dissertations--English

Using recent criticism on speculation and disability in addition to archival materials, “A Public Duty: Medicine and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture” demonstrates that reform-minded nineteenth-century authors drew upon the representational power of public health to express excitement and anxiety about the United States’ emerging economic and political prominence. Breaking with a critical tradition holding that the professionalization of medicine and authorship served primarily to support and define an ascending middle class, I argue that the authors such as Robert Montgomery Bird, Fanny Fern, George Washington Cable, and Pauline Hopkins fuse the rhetoric of economic policy and public …

Partial Minds: The Strategic Underrepresentation Of Consciousness In Postwar American Novels, Nathan A. Shank

Theses and Dissertations--English

Partial Minds argues that contemporary American novels strategically break conventionally-defined norms for the representation of fictional minds to highlight unusual character thoughts. Certain states of mind—including traumatic experiences, conflicting feelings, some memories, and the simultaneous possession of multiple identities—are more difficult to represent than others, and so some authors or narrators reject conventional cognitive representations, such as naming feelings, if they seem poor tools for effectively communicating that character’s exceptional quality to the reader. For example, the trauma of Marianne in Joyce Carol Oates’s We Were the Mulvaneys is represented by the narrator, her brother Judd. But in attempting to …

State Violence, Mobility And Everyday Life In Cairo, Egypt, Christine E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

State violence in Egypt is an embedded part of daily life and popular culture, and well documented in social and news media. The uprisings of January 11, which took place in Egypt were organized in large part against violence and torture regularly delivered by police forces. In this dissertation I examine the implications of chronic state violence on everyday life for low-income Egyptians. In doing so, this dissertation provides analysis of how violence shapes forms of intimacy within social life, how it shapes urban landscapes and the politics therein and how it informs individual piety and banal practices of security. …

Regulating Urban Belonging: China's Hukou System As Intra-National Bordering Process, Leif Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In China's urban metropoles, the hukou system of household registration regulates one of the largest movements of people in human history. While rural-urban migrations are reshaping societies worldwide, the migrants who make up a great portion of urban China's low-wage labor force and burgeoning population face unique legal and social challenges. Although the trajectories of their migration do not cross international boundaries, most are legally prevented from ever gaining the within China's hukou system of household registration. The functions of this system parallel those of national citizenship policies, and are difficult to explain through standard conceptions of sovereignty and national …

Should We Stay Or Should We Go?: A Study Of Indian It Migrants In Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina: Deciding To Stay In The United States Or Return To India, Andrew Robert Patrick Ashley

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Over the past two decades, an increasing number of IT professionals from India have been migrating to the United States on temporary H-1B or F-1 visas. This thesis offers a case study to address how migrants on such temporary visas decide whether to seek further residency in the United States or return to India. Based on interviews conducted in 2013 and 2014 in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, I examine the factors migrants consider, as well as how the struggles presented through the visa programs may effect these considerations. I also analyze how mass migration from India has changed …

Rediscovery Of A Native American Cultural Landscape: The Chickasaw Homeland At Removal, Michael D. Walls

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Little information beyond generalities exists regarding the cultural landscape of the Chickasaw Indians in their ancestral homelands prior to Removal in the late 1830s. This dissertation evaluates one possible archival source for specifics of Chickasaw land use, the field notes and survey plats compiled as part of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). The process of original survey following land cession treaty divided the ceded area up into the familiar square-mile rectangular system of townships and ranges that extends from the Mississippi Territory westwards, in the so-called public land states.

The research compiles all cultural observations made by the surveyors …

Hispanic Religious Outreach In The Upper U.S. South: Missionary Outreach, Strategies, And Institutional Praxis Among Mainstream Denominations, John Benitez

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Hispanic religious ministry provides a way for long established mainstreams to stay afloat in the face of the demographic realities in the U.S. today. Unfortunately, the lack of literature, particularly in geography, precludes the examination of elements of contemporary Hispanic religious outreach, including such considerations as strategies, their effectiveness, and institutional praxis among mainstream religious denominations in the U.S.

Using a hybrid methodology that relies on several techniques, I examine Hispanic religious ministry in the Upper U.S. South, which geographers tell us is America’s newest Hispanic destination. I, thereby, develop and present here a case study to compare Hispanic religious …