Digital Commons Network^™

Hands On Painting, Matthew Yaeger

Theses and Dissertations

How can we know something through how it is sensed? Making anthropomorphic, three-dimensional paintings through a set of basic, at-hand materials, I’m interested in how empathy, modesty, and doubt can mediate a tangible experience of an object. Challenging notions of perception, I want to create a heightened sense of awareness in which the intangible can be seen or felt.

Race & Non-Racial Characteristics In Sentencing Length And Sentencing Type Disparity, Davis A. Estes

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing data from the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SISCF) 2004, this research investigates the possibility that African American drug offenders receive lengthier prison sentences and are imposed more range of time or indeterminate sentences as opposed to flat sentences based on race and/or non-racial characteristics; specifically parole status prior to sentencing, plea agreement status, prior criminal history, education status prior to arrest, employment status prior to arrest, and parental incarceration. While regression analysis revealed racial sentencing disparity for length of sentence and type of sentence (p< .05 and p< .001 respectively), among non-racial characteristics, only education status prior to arrest proved a significant predictor for length of sentence (p≤ .001). African American drug offenders were more likely sentenced to indeterminate sentences as opposed to flat sentences and were less likely to receive short sentences of 0 to 4 years or medium sentences of 4 to 10 years as compared to long sentences of 10 or more years. Potential research implications include the necessity for additional research regarding racial sentencing disparity as length or type of sentences as opposed to disparity as a numerical or a percentage difference between racial groups as well as the utilizing of inmate data that encompasses recent changes in drug sentencing laws, e.g. crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. Future research might also consider the evolution of marijuana laws in the United States and the potential impact on racial sentencing disparity.

Boston Marathon Bombing And Experiences Of Solidarity: The Race To Understanding, Caitlin M. Price

Theses and Dissertations

Near the Boston Marathon’s finish line on April 15, 2013, an innocent looking backpack disguising a pressure-cooker bomb full of shrapnel detonated. Seconds later, another explosion happened amidst crowds of marathon spectators. Despite being one of the worst attacks on United States soil, an outpouring of positive and pro-social behavior occurred. Communities come together after disasters. Solidarity was felt between victims, first responders, and the community but with varying experiences. Through a content analysis of 12 oral histories collected by the WBUR Our Marathon Collection, three distinct kinds of solidarity experiences were uncovered: visceral, care-work, and virtual. This case study …

The Immersive Media Library @ Vcu, Michael Rosenthal-Mix

Theses and Dissertations

Answering the call issued by John Underkoffler in 2010 about the future of UI, I have imagined the Immersive Media Library (IML) as an annex of the main VCU library, offering a concentration of visually immersive spaces to compliment the space the university is already building in the renovated Cabell Library. The design is new in that the emphasis is placed on the collaboration between librarians and visitors in creating new work. Focusing on the interpersonal might be unexpected from program with such an emphasis on new technology - but I see it as vital part of the new computing …

Postcession, Evan D. Pomerantz

Theses and Dissertations

This is a series of daily writings. Each day consists of a new topic and is closed at the end of the day. The ideas presented are philosophical, humorous, rambling, lamentations, incantations, doubt-ridden, aesthetic pep talks which combine into an affective representation of my studio practice’s becoming. There will be little congruency, some stories, and a lot of parallels because that is who I am.

One Script, Two Perspectives: Generation Me And The Staging Of Really Really, Kirstin R. Hensley

Theses and Dissertations

Really, Really, by Paul Downs Colaizzo, is loosely based on the 2006 Duke University sexual assault scandal resulting from what proved to be a false accusation of rape made against three members of the men’s lacrosse team. After individually reading the play, Jorge Burmudez and I both arrived at differing opinions of who was the true victim, in turn inspiring this thesis, which is an exploration of two separate productions of the play demonstrating contrasting perspectives/outlooks regarding sex crimes within sports organizations in the university setting. It will describe our process from conceptualization to a post-mortem talking about particular …

Curricular Goals, Music And Pacing: The Case Study For Hip Hop Music In Children's Educational Television, Creshema R. Murray, Cynthia Nichols

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

As an answer to the McCollum and Bryant (2003) charge for scholars to use the pacing index that they created to measure the pace of current children's programs, this paper examines the use of Hip Hop music in a children's television show, Hip Hop Harry, and the relationship that this show has with the eighty-five shows that were analyzed in McCollum and Bryant's initial study. Hip Hop Harry is an Emmy award nominated show on The Learning Channel, which prides itself on using Hip Hop culture and music as a medium to educate preschoolers from diverse backgrounds. Through content analysis, …

Hip Hop Culture In A Small Moroccan City, Brian Seilstad

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

This paper explores Hip Hop culture by tracing its development from the global level through the Arab world to finally its manifestation in Morocco. Hip Hop culture is defined broadly as a wide range of artistic expressions-rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, etc.-and also a mind-set or way of life. The focus on the Moroccan context starts at the national level, pointing out some of the key artists, issues Moroccan Hip Hop faces, and how this has been explored by scholars of Hip Hop. The paper focuses on an ethnographic exploration of Hip Hop culture in Ifrane, a small Moroccan city. An …

Hip Hop On Film: Performance Culture, Urban Space, And Genre Transformation In The 1980s, Renette Smith Mccargo

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Book review of Hip Hop on Film: Performance Culture, Urban Space, and Genre Transformation in the 1980s, by Kimberly Monteyne (2013).

Curricular Goals, Music And Pacing: The Case Study For Hip Hop Music In Children's Educational Television, Creshema R. Murray, Cynthia Nichols

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

As an answer to the McCollum and Bryant (2003) charge for scholars to use the pacing index that they created to measure the pace of current children's programs, this paper examines the use of Hip Hop music in a children's television show, Hip Hop Harry, and the relationship that this show has with the eighty-five shows that were analyzed in McCollum and Bryant's initial study. Hip Hop Harry is an Emmy award nominated show on The Learning Channel, which prides itself on using Hip Hop culture and music as a medium to educate preschoolers from diverse backgrounds. Through content analysis, …

Constructing The 1889 Baist Atlas Of Richmond, Va: Building Blocks For Digital Projects, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The beautiful end product of a digital cultural heritage project is a wonderful thing. But building collaborative digital projects is challenging. VCU Libraries created an interactive 1889 atlas with ideas both old and new about use, access, engagement and collaboration.

Poster Description

The focus of this poster is two-fold. First, the collaborative effort to repair, digitize, preserve, plan and create an interactive website and digital representation of the 1889 Baist Atlas of Richmond will be documented. http://labs.library.vcu.edu/baist-atlas/

Second, the details of the iterative process and various approaches related to feedback, design, outreach, use, access and assessment portions of launching and …

Can You Spare 2 Hours? Target Your Audience With Customized E-News, Bettina Peacemaker, Patricia D. Sobczak, Martha Roseberry, Sue Robinson

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

E-newsletters (built in an affordable or free online mail platform) allow librarians to reach faculty with pointed, subject-based information. This poster features a sample from a series of e-newsletters created by liaison librarians, as well as tips for producing custom newsletters and discussion of impact.

Show Me The Data: Analyzing Item Level Metrics From Contentdm Reports To Aid Digital Collection Assessment, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries recently launched several initiatives to increase the accessibility and enable greater discovery of our digital collections. Like many other organizations, we are interested in creating a standardized assessment approach to determine how these initiatives may help grow the impact of our digital collections, as well as demonstrating their overall value and use.

CONTENTdm reports are part of that standardized assessment. This session will provide an overview of how we are using Excel to quickly import, identify, track and report trends derived from CONTENTdm reports at the item level. This working approach has been used for small …

A Tale Of Two Digital Projects: Open Source Tools For Awesome User Engagement, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

What do public media and Flickr have in common with Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries? Both provided the means for VCU to build upon open source tools and create new ways for users to engage with our digital collections.

This snapshot session will discuss the use of NPR's Quotable tool in partnership with the Richmond community featured in an oral history project, and will also showcase how the CONTENTdm to Flickr uploader tool built by VCU's web team was used to further user engagement with a unique digital atlas project.

Reflective Curiosities, Mary O. Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

Artist Statement

My craft work and paintings reflect my life experiences and personal curiosities, particularly those associated with the natural world. Every day, I am bombarded with a constant flow of visual impressions and ephemeral experiences. There are some that demand attention by virtue of their sheer power, such as the repetition of line in a plowed field, the color of nautical landscape at twilight, or the intelligent behavior of crows. Like a tourist who buys a souvenir to capture a moment, I try to capture instances of profound experiences. I interpret these moments through a process-oriented approach to media. …

Social Studies, Donna B. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Artist Statement

In my mixed media work, I focus on people who are in the process of being uprooted and exiled from their home. My work reflects the limbo refugees experience while they search for balance and a new place to settle. The cultural diaspora affects the transplanted individuals as well as the host communities. Everyone experiences and needs to adapt to change.

My abstracted images are created by manipulating layers of acrylic paint, photo gel transfers, gel medium, and tempera paint. I combine human forms with layers of English and foreign text while exploring concepts of displacement. I use …

Exploring Dimensions Of Well-Being Among Spouses Of Active-Duty Service Members, Lisa A. Gray

Theses and Dissertations

During an era when the United States has been engaged in the longest waging wars in U.S. history, military families have been exposed to extraordinary amounts of stress and have had to learn to adapt in a culture where repeated deployments, recurrent family separations, and frequent relocations have become the norm. A surge in research in recent years on the families of Service members has brought increased attention to the unique challenges and demands of spouses, raising concerns about how to best meet their needs. Despite the increased attention, few studies have focused on spousal well-being. Acknowledging this lack of …

African American Women’S Perceptions Of Hiv Prevention Communication With Their Reproductive Health Providers, Valerie Burge-Hall

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of a decline in HIV incidence rates among African American women, they still bear the most significant disease burden among U.S. women. Findings from numerous studies indicate probable explanations for the disparity, such as the impact of poverty, limited healthcare access, low literacy, and living in areas with high HIV rates. Additionally, many study results provide insight regarding prevention strategies. However, the aim of this study is to explore African American women’s perceptions regarding what HIV prevention communication, if any, occurred with their reproductive health providers (RHPs). In this study, 20 African American women with unknown HIV status …

Sex Offender Management Policies And Their Unintended Cosequences: A National Survey Of The Perceptions Of Professionals, Corey Call

Theses and Dissertations

The mid-1990s brought sex offenders to the forefront of policy issues due to several highly publicized cases of abduction, sexual assault, and murder involving children. Following these cases, a number of sex offender management policies were passed to quell public concern over the safety of children due to sex offenders. Most notably, these new sex offender management policies mandated the creation of publicly available registries of sex offenders and enacted residence restrictions that forbid sex offenders from residing within certain distances from areas where children commonly congregate.

Although current sex offender management policies have been revealed to be largely ineffective …

Investigating The Effects Of Obesity Prevention Campaigns, Courtney C. Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

Public health campaigns might not be universally helpful and could have detrimental consequences. The current investigation explored the effects of obesity prevention campaigns. Their impact was assessed using an experiment in which participants were randomized to view either weight focused obesity prevention campaigns or obesity prevention campaigns that did not use weight related terms. Results demonstrated that compared with campaigns without weight related terminology, weight focused campaigns increased negative perceptions of obesity and decreased self-efficacy for health behavior change. No differences in body satisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, state anxiety, or frequency of positive health behaviors were found based on the type …

An Exploration On The Michael Chekhov Technique In Rehearsal, Performance And The Classroom, James P. Stover

Theses and Dissertations

• The Michael Chekhov Technique is a unique approach to acting that has been successfully used by professional actors for many years. This thesis explores finding a strong understanding of the technique as well as discovering ways to incorporate it into an undergraduate actor training program. The examination aims to further my aesthetic both as theatre teacher and practitioner. It includes training with master teachers in the technique, incorporating Chekhov exercises into undergraduate acting and movement classes and use of the technique on a production of Pride & Prejudice.

Effects Of Hiv-1 Tat On The Enteric Nervous, Joy Ngwainmbi

Theses and Dissertations

More than 1.2 million people are estimated to be currently living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States of America. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is both a major target and an important component of HIV pathogenesis. The GI processes that are dysregulated during HIV infection are controlled by the enteric nervous system (ENS). Indeed, both clinical and experimental studies have implicated the ENS in HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) pathogenesis. In addition to direct viral effects, the HIV virus also indirectly affects the GI tract via cellular and/or viral toxins released by infected cells. Trans-activator of …

Oasis Link, Sarah Baugh

Theses and Dissertations

This document is written from the perspective of the Oasis Link community, a group of dissidents who have resettled in the Mojave Desert sometime in the near future. It is a speculative design document.

Surface is what is visible. It’s the crust of the earth and the face of a meteorite—the coat of a jackrabbit and the waxy skin of a Mojave Prickly Pear. Surface is superficial, but it also reflects and defines the underlying structure of something—it makes the hidden visible.

The Effect Of Dexamethasone On Il-33-Mediated Mast Cell Activation, Oksana I. Chernushevich

Theses and Dissertations

Dexamethasone has been shown to inhibit IgE-mediated mast cell activation, and the present research investigated its role in suppressing IL-33-mediated mast cell activation. We have found that micromolar concentrations of Dexamethasone are capable of suppressing IL-33-mediated mast cell cytokine production, on several genetic backgrounds, and in not only bone marrow derived mast cells, but also peritoneal mast cells. Intracellular staining demonstrated that Dexamethasone significantly reduces expression of the IL-33 receptor, T1/ST2, in mast cells; however, the cytokine suppression is independent of T1/ST2 downregulation. At the same time, Dexamethasone pretreatment significantly reduced ERK phosphorylation, but our data suggests that inhibition occurs …

Visual-Audio Media: Transformation And Communication, Alexander Bruno

Theses and Dissertations

Designers are often concerned with communication through the visual; we focus on the printed object, images on screens, furniture, spaces, and other visual experiences. We should also be cognizant of audio and its communicative properties, especially when contextualized with visual content. Pairing visuals and audio can make a greater impact upon a viewer/listener than each media might make alone. My research focuses on a practice of working within strict sets of rules and boundaries to create visual-audio work. This visual-audio work not only communicates a concept or idea, but also lives as a research artifact of my design processes.

Femtosecond Laser Beam Propagation Through Corneal Tissue: Evaluation Of Therapeutic Laser-Stimulated Second And Third-Harmonic Generation, William R. Calhoun Iii

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most recent advancements in laser technology is the development of ultrashort pulsed femtosecond lasers (FSLs). FSLs are improving many fields due to their unique extreme precision, low energy and ablation characteristics. In the area of laser medicine, ophthalmic surgeries have seen very promising developments. Some of the most commonly performed surgical operations in the world, including laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), lens replacement (cataract surgery), and keratoplasty (cornea transplant), now employ FSLs for their unique abilities that lead to improved clinical outcome and patient satisfaction.

The application of FSLs in medical therapeutics is a recent development, and although …

Polycultural Interactions: Fuzzy Identity, Xi Lu

Theses and Dissertations

“Robin D.G. Kelley coined the term polyculturalism as an alternative to multiculturalism, ‘since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture.’ ”

Polyculturalism assumes the whole world’s cultures are interactive and fluid instead of independent and static, and individuals’ relationship to cultures are complex and cannot be categorized. Yet an individual constitutes multiple cultures, and individual identity embraces the various forms of culture in all aspects of one’s life.

My research examines how polyculturalism affects aspects of communications among people who hold a multiplicity of voices. It …

Risperidone And Its Deconstructed Analogs: Functional Effects On The 5ht2ar, Sneha Shah

Theses and Dissertations

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven-transmembrane domain receptors that sense extracellular signal and activate intracellular signaling pathways. The serotonin 5HT2A receptor (or 2AR) is one of the GPCRs coupled to Gq proteins, activating PLC and hydrolyzing PIP2. This hydrolysis causes a diffusion of bound PIP2 away from the channel binding site resulting in G protein-gated inwardly rectifying K⁺ channel (GIRK) inhibition and a downstream stimulation of Ca²⁺ release from endoplasmic reticulum stores. Previous experiments have demonstrated that the serotonin 5HTA receptor is a target of serotonergic psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, and partially mediates the action of many …

Investigating The Role Of Bptf In Immunoediting In Breast Cancer And Melanoma, Kristen N. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, we explore the effects of NURF depletion on the growth of tumors in immune-competent mice. NURF depletion in tumors results in reduced tumor growth in immune-competent mice, suggesting enhanced anti-tumor immunity. Analysis of the tumor microenvironment by flow cytometry revealed a significantly elevated CD8 and progressively elevated activated CD8 phenotype in Bptf KD tumors, possibly contributing to the increase in cell death and decrease in tumor weight observed. Examination of antigen presentation was evaluated using the OT-1 and Pmel-17 models, though no significant difference in cytotoxicity was observed as measured by LDH and/or IFNγ assays. This indicates …

An Evaluation Of The Raise 5 Project: Preventing Hiv And Substance Abuse Among African American College Students, Joshua K. Brevard

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans have been disproportionately affected by HIV since the beginning of the epidemic and the disparities have worsened over time (CDC, 2013a). African Americans comprise about 12% of the U.S. population but represented about 44% of all new HIV infections in 2010 (CDC, 2014a). Young people (age 13–24) accounted for 26% of all new HIV infections in 2010, despite persons in this age range comprising just 17% of the population (CDC, 2014c). Young African Americans (age 13-24) are affected in particular. In 2010, they comprised 57% of infections in this age range (CDC, 2014c). Substance use is a major …