Digital Commons Network^™

Everywhere And Nowhere: Public Art Interventions In Qatar, Barbara Charrue

Theses and Dissertations

Qatar is rapidly becoming an internationally renowned art hub not only through the construction of numerous museums and galleries, but also through the development of public art projects.

I strongly believe that Qatar can be more than a place to work; it can be a space where art is part of public spaces. But how can we fully and effectively integrate art into public space in Qatar? How can Qatar be more than a place where we work, eat, sleep, and go to the mall from time to time? How can public art involve / benefit the community and local …

Gender And Sexual Health: Applying Gender Role Theory To Men And Women’S Intention To Engage In Sexual Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Ariella R. Tabaac

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to examine the pathways between gender and behavioral intention to engage in sexual HISB through application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It was found that feminine and masculine gender role stress differentially influence perceived behavioral control and behavioral attitudes, and that intention to engage in HISB was higher among women than men. Attitudes and PBC significantly predicted behavioral intention in this model. Further, women in the sample were more likely to search for sexual health information, with online sources being the most frequently reported resource. Additionally, past HISB was a significant …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Motivations For The Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Drugs In A National Sample Of Young Adults, Tess K. Drazdowski

Theses and Dissertations

Young adults are most at-risk for the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) and many of its associated negative consequences. Understanding this population’s motivations for use can help to inform efforts to reduce NMUPD. Past research has been limited in scope, consisting primarily of cross-sectional work with college students focusing on prescription stimulants. The current study researched how motivations for NMUPD changed over young adulthood using three waves of data from a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of 14,990 19 to 24 year olds in the Monitoring the Future study cohorts collected between 1976 to 2013. Prescription stimulants, central nervous system …

A Comparative Case Study Of The Relationships Between Policy Context, Design, And Implementation Of P-20 Educational Reform Movements In Texas And Tennessee, Stefani L. Thachik

Theses and Dissertations

More people are striving for increased levels of educational attainment as a result of a global shift towards a more knowledge based economy. Schools and communities have adjusted to this societal change by seeking alignment along the educational pipeline from preschool (P) to graduate school (20), otherwise known as P-20 reform. This reform often develops with the collaboration and guidance of specific P-20 leadership councils that exist at both the local and state levels. The main purpose of this qualitative study was to go beyond the mere descriptions of P-20 councils to examine the policy pathways chosen by P-20 councils, …

Embodiment Of Empathy: Experiencing Disease Through Design, Noha Fouad

Theses and Dissertations

Today, more than 400 million individuals around the world have diabetes. This number is expected to grow to more than 600 million by 2023. However, diabetes is more than just a statistic. It is an incurable, psychologically nuanced disease, with daily battles and far-reaching complications. The lives of those afflicted undergo permanent physical and psychological changes.

Reading the stories of diabetics, or hearing them share their experience may elicit an immediate yet often fleeting sense of realization. How, then, can this brief moment of awareness be prolonged? How can a non-diabetic feel diabetes? More importantly, why should they? This research …

Adaptability In A State Of Flux, Yasmeen Suleiman

Theses and Dissertations

“[that] which does not change does not endure” – Henri Bergson

Numbers only quantify the development Qatar is experiencing. In Doha, the city is a physical manifestation of these changes. The general approach to development follows a ‘tear down, build new’ model. Potential value is lost in what is discarded, despite necessity and convenience. This study addresses the topic by dispelling the assumed need to destroy in order to build. In doing so, it examines existing vernacular spaces that are often overlooked. The main application is analyzed through agents of space, such as buildings and the urban environment with varied …

Design And Structure-Activity Relationship Of Small Molecule C-Terminal Binding Protein (Ctbp) Inhibitors And Investigation Of The Scope Of Palladium Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Pd-Mwcnt) Catalyst In C–H Activation Reactions, Sudha Korwar

Theses and Dissertations

C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) are transcriptional co-repressors involved in developmental processes, and also implicated in a number of breast, ovarian, colon cancers, and resistance against cancer chemotherapy. CtBP is a validated novel potential anti-cancer target. In this project we sought to develop potent and selective small-molecule inhibitors of CtBP. Using a combination of classical medicinal chemistry and modern computational approaches, we designed a potent inhibitor HIPP (hydroxyimino-3-phenylpropanoic acid) that showed an IC₅₀ of 0.24 μM against recombinant CtBP. Further elucidation of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of HIPP led to the design of more potent inhibitors 3-Cl HIPP (CtBP IC …

Perception Of Profile Appearance As Judged By Peers Using 3d Video Imaging, Megan G. Schuler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social perceptions of subjects with differing lip position and facial convexity in three dimensions. A 3dMD camera (3dMD, Atlanta, GA) was used to capture 3D images of 9 subjects’ faces. The images were altered to have ideal lip position and ideal convexity, ideal lip position and Class II convexity, Class II lip position and ideal convexity, and Class II lip position and Class II convexity. 400 laypersons rated their perceptions of the subjects’ athletic ability, popularity, leadership, and intelligence on a VAS scale. Subjects with ideal lip position relative to the …

"They Believe That Because They Are Women, It Should Be Easier For Them." Subtle And Overt Sexism Toward Women In Stem From Social Media Commentary, Katherine Hall

Theses and Dissertations

This study implemented a social media based content analysis to examine the subjective experiences and the current public perceptions of sexism in STEM fields. Participants included men and women who a) identified as either in STEM or not identified as in STEM and b) commented through Facebook on HuffPost Women articles about women in STEM. The analysis indicated that sexism remains an issue for women in STEM careers. Women in STEM identified several gender-based challenges that they have experienced; some participants discussed how they handled those challenges. Men both in and not in STEM were less likely to acknowledge and …

Role Of Free Fatty Acid Receptors In The Regulation Of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels In The Enteric Glial And Endocrine Cells, Reem M. Alkahtani

Theses and Dissertations

Recent deorphanization of several G-protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) as endogenous receptors for free fatty acids (FFAs) has increased our understanding of these nutrients as signaling molecules and the integral role of gut microbiota in the regulation of host defense mechanisms, energy metabolism, gastrointestinal motility and secretion. There are five distinct FFA receptors (FFRAs: FFAR1, FFAR2, FFAR3, FFAR4 and GPR84) that differ in molecular structure, ligand specificity, expression pattern, and functional properties. FFARs are grouped according to the chain length of FFAs that activate each FFAR.

Enteric glial cells and enteroendocrine cells play a pivotal role in the secretion of gliotransmitters and …

Resolution Of Inflammation Rescues Axon Initial Segment Disruption, Nicholas M. George

Theses and Dissertations

Axonal domains are required for proper neuron function. These domains are unstable and degenerate concurrent with the inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and the inflammatory disease models experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammation. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that the axon initial segment (AIS) is maintained independently of the presence of myelin, but that AIS disruption is seen in MS as well as EAE and LPS-mediated inflammation. AIS loss can be interrupted in the early stage of EAE using the anti-inflammatory drug Didox. However, the potential for Didox directed repair of the AIS in later …

Longitudinal Relations Between Parental And Peer Support For Violent And Nonviolent Responses To Conflict And Early Adolescent Dating Aggression, Rachel C. Garthe

Theses and Dissertations

High prevalence and the negative legal, health, and psychological consequences of adolescent dating aggression underscore the need to identify risk and protective processes associated with this type of aggression. Studying dating aggression in early adolescence is important, as this is the developmental time frame when most youth are establishing attitudes, beliefs, and norms for dating behaviors. The current study investigated longitudinal associations between perceived parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses to conflict and dating aggression perpetration among middle school students. Participants included 1,399 adolescents (52% female) in the sixth (n = 466), seventh (n = …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Image, Text, And Social Commentary In Victor Ekpuk's Cartoons For The Daily Times Of Nigeria, 1989-1998, Kaleb W. Jewell

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides an analysis of the cartoons produced by Victor Ekpuk for The Daily Times newspaper of Nigeria from 1989 through 1998 and the artist’s use of ancient nsibidi script to “hide in plain sight” his social commentaries on sociopolitical and economic issues in Nigeria. Victor Ekpuk’s original cartoons within the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art are examined in the context of indigenous masking practices and other indirect methods employed by indigenous comedians to protect themselves. Moreover, the cartoons’ use of caricature and their nsibidi scripts within are argued to provide a connotative …

Twitter Analysis Of The Orthodontic Patient Experience With Braces Versus Invisalign, Daniel A. Noll

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the orthodontic patient experience with braces compared to Invisalign^® by means of a large-scale Twitter sentiment analysis. A custom data collection program was created to collect tweets containing the words “braces” or “Invisalign.” A hierarchal Naïve Bayes sentiment classifier was developed to sort the tweets into one of five categories: positive, negative, neutral, advertisement, or not applicable. Among the 419,363 tweets applicable to orthodontics collected, users posted significantly more positive tweets (61%) than negative tweets (39%) (p-value = ^® tweets (p-value=0.4189). In conclusion, Twitter users express more positive than negative sentiment …

Interhouse: A Place For Growing Up And Growing Adults, Nilufar Makhamatova

Theses and Dissertations

Society has become increasingly segregated by age which lessens the opportunities for communication between generations. Before the Internet, children and adolescents typically learned through traditional means - their parents, school teachers, and life experiences. Adults believed they were capable of recognizing and addressing the needs of children and adolescents. (Strom & Strom, 2012) Now, the global media is widely accessed by people of all ages which gives it the ability to influence a large population in different ways. This has led to children and adolescents being more heavily influenced and educated by the media than other traditional sources. Adolescents, in …

Novel Small Airway Model Using Electrospun Decellularized Lung Extracellular Matrix, Bethany M. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic respiratory diseases affects many people worldwide with little known about the mechanisms diving the pathology, making it difficult to find a cure. Improving the understanding of smooth muscle and extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction is key to developing a remedy to this leading cause of death. With currently no relevant or controllable in vivo or in vitro model to investigate diseased and normal interactions of small airway components, the development of a physiologically relevant in vitro model with comparable cell attachment, signaling, and organization is necessary to develop new treatments for airway disease. The goal of this study is to …

Climbing Mt. Rainier, Kathleen O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

My work addresses notions of the American landscape through image, memory, and experience. Using found images, video, and a variety of materials to make objects I investigate the intersection of external representations of landscape in American culture and internalized desires of landscapes.

Characterization Of Poly(Dimethylsiloxane) Blends And Fabrication Of Soft Micropillar Arrays For Force Detection, Thomas J. Petet Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Diseases involving fibrosis cause tens of thousands of deaths per year in the US alone. These diseases are characterized by a large amount of extracellular matrix, causing stiff abnormal tissues that may not function correctly. To take steps towards curing these diseases, a fundamental understanding of how cells interact with their substrate and how mechanical forces alter signaling pathways is vital. Studying the mechanobiology of cells and the interaction between a cell and its extracellular matrix can help explain the mechanisms behind stem cell differentiation, cell migration, and metastasis. Due to the correlation between force, extracellular matrix assembly, and substrate …

Atm Phosphorylates Subunit A Of Pp2a Resulting In Its Nuclear Export And Spatiotemporal Regulation Of The Dna Damage Response, Amrita D. Sule

Theses and Dissertations

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a serine-threonine protein kinase and major regulator of the DNA damage response (DDR). One critical ATM target is protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) known to regulate diverse cellular processes such as mitosis and cell growth as well as dephosphorylation of many proteins during the recovery from the DDR while returning the cell to normalcy. Interestingly, ATM and PP2A are known to form an auto-regulatory yin-yang kinase-phosphatase relationship. Herein, we show that the phosphorylation of the PP2A-Aα structural subunit at S401 by ATM results in nuclear export, which regulates the DDR at multiple levels and affects genomic …

Is Your Student Fit For That College? A Study Of The Factors That Contribute To Students’ Academic Performance In College, Abdulaziz A. Alotaibi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to expand the extent of available literature in regard to the factors that contribute to students’ academic performance in college. It focused on a neglected segment of the student population, which is Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States. This study utilized a nonexperimental quantitative research design in order to investigate the relationship between the independent variables (the characteristics of the student, the characteristics of the program, and the academic and social integration between the student and the program) and the dependent variables (degree GPA, ability to graduate within academic program time frame, …

Measurement Of Rare Earth And Uranium Elements Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs) In An Aerosol System For Nuclear Safeguards Applications, Ammon N. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to develop an applied technology and provide an assessment for remotely measuring and analyzing the real time or near real time concentrations of used nuclear fuel (UNF) elements in electrorefiners (ER). Here, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in UNF pyroprocessing facilities was investigated. LIBS is an elemental analysis method, which is based on the emission from plasma generated by focusing a laser beam into the medium. This technology has been reported to be applicable in solids, liquids (includes molten metals), and gases for detecting elements of special nuclear materials. The advantages of applying the …

The Netflix Effect And Defining Binge-Watching, Brenna C. Davis

UROP Posters

With the accessibility of television programs provided by popular streaming platforms, like Netflix, consumers can watch episodes or seasons of their favorite programming in just one sitting. This new practice of watching television has been referred to as binge-watching, and is defined by Netflix as watching two to six episodes of the same show in one sitting. Netflix’s definition is the most widely used definition of binge-watching, but does not account for the varying lengths of episodes for the different types of programming. There is a lack of standardization in what constitutes a television binge, like the standards that exist …

How And Why Has American Media Shifted The On-Screen Image Of Asian Americans From Stereotypical Roles To Lead Roles?, Sohail A. Syed

UROP Posters

Growing up as an Asian American, I never really had a role model of sort that I could relate to entirely. There were the general characters in movies that I looked up to but there was never that one character that I could possibly see myself as because there was never any lead characters that looked like me. Every time an Asian character was showed on-screen they were never a normal relatable person; they were always rather a living stereotype or unrealistic. Asians are always portrayed as intellectuals that are very awkward and geeky or one who has a very …

New Profile Of A Virginia High School Graduate: A Research Brief, David Naff

MERC Publications

Guided by recommendations from the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee - a group of educators, policymakers, and community members charged by the Virginia Secretary of Education with furthering PK-12 education in the Commonwealth - the Virginia General Assembly has recently passed legislation through House Bill 895 and Senate Bill 336 directing the Board of Education to redefine the “Profile of a Virginia Graduate.” The legislation indicates that beginning with the freshman class of 2018, students receiving a diploma in the state of Virginia must adhere to new graduation standards that include life skills that could potentially enhance the academic, civic, …

Documenting Student Connectivity And Use Of Digital Annotation Devices In Virginia Commonwealth University Connected Courses: An Assessment Toolkit For Digital Pedagogies In Higher Education, Laura Gogia

Theses and Dissertations

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is implementing a large scale exploration of digital pedagogies, including connected learning and open education, in an effort to promote digital fluency and integrative thinking among students. The purpose of this study was to develop a classroom assessment toolkit for faculty who wish to document student connectivity in course-related blogging and microblogging (“tweeting”) activities. Student use of digital annotation devices, including hyperlinks, embedded images, mentions, and hashtags, were studied in four university courses as potential indicators of student connectivity, defined as the ability to connect current thoughts and experience with other concepts and people across space …

“I Just Need To Get Myself Supervised:” Exploring Transformative Learning In The Development Of Professionalism Among Physicians In The First Year Of Graduate Medical Education, Elizabeth P. Marlowe

Theses and Dissertations

The study explored the learning experiences of first-year resident physicians during the first year of graduate medical education. The experiences of four intern physicians in the first year of residency training at an urban academic health system provided the site for the research. An exploratory case study research design was employed to examine the learning experiences of these new physicians. A qualitative approach was used to analyze data from interviews and ethnographic observations. The findings of this research study provide evidence surrounding how and what these physician trainees learned regarding professionalism during the first year of residency training.

The findings …

Celecoxib Enhances Sorafenib/Sildenafil Lethality In Cancer Cells And Reverts Platinum Chemotherapy Resistance, Timothy A. Webb

Theses and Dissertations

The present studies sought to determine whether the lethality of the drug combination [sorafenib + sildenafil] could be enhanced by the anti-inflammatory agent celecoxib, using ovarian cancer and other tumor cell lines as models. Also, in a dose dependent fashion celecoxib enhanced [sorafenib + sildenafil] lethality in multiple ovarian cancer cell lines. In a dose dependent fashion celecoxib enhanced the ability of [sorafenib + sildenafil] to reduce expression of multiple chaperone proteins in parallel with lower levels of the drug efflux pumps ABCB1 and ABCG2. Over-expression of GRP78 and HSP27 maintained pump expression in the presence of drugs. Cell killing …

Viewing Victorian Prisoners: Representations In The Illustrated Press, Painting, And Photography, Lauren Boasso

Theses and Dissertations

Victorian prisoners were increasingly out of sight due to the ending of public displays of punishment. Although punishment was hidden in the prison, prison life was a frequent subject for representation. In this dissertation, I examine the ways Victorian illustrated newspapers, paintings, and photographs mediated an encounter with prisoners during a time when the prison was closed to outsiders. Reports and images became a significant means by which many people learned about, and defined themselves in relation to, prisoners. Previous scholarship has focused on stereotypes of prisoners that defined them as the “criminal type,” but I argue prisoners were also …

Jamaican Revolts In British Press And Politics, 1760-1865, Thomas R. Day

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the changes over time in British Newspaper reports covering the Jamaican rebellions of 1760, 1832 and 1865. The uprisings: Tacky’s Rebellion, the Baptist War and the Morant Bay Rebellion respectively, represented three key moments in the history of race, slavery and the British Empire. Though all three rebellions have been studied, this work compares the three events as moments of crisis challenging the British public discourse on slavery, race and subjecthood as it related to the changing Atlantic Empire. British newspapers provided the most direct way in which popular readers and the growing literate public examined and …

Drug And Vaccine Development For Neisseria Gonorrhoeaea, Devin R. Cash

Theses and Dissertations

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of the STI gonorrhea, is not preventable by vaccination and is rapidly developing resistance to antibiotics. One important strategy for gonococcal survival in the host is iron acquisition in the face of nutritional immunity. To overcome iron limitation, the gonococcus expresses TonB dependent transporters (TdTs), outer membrane proteins that facilitate nutrient acquisition. Of the TdTs, the transferrin (Tf), lactoferrin (Lf), and hemoglobin (Hb) receptors hijack iron directly from host proteins, and studies have already shown that the Tf receptor is essential for the initiation of human infection. Given that the TdTs are virulence factors, …