Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Inhibits Homologous Recombination Repair By Targeting Rad51 Paralogs In Human Lung Fibroblasts., Aggie R. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)] is a known human lung carcinogen and general health hazard. The mechanism of carcinogenesis remains poorly understood, but chromosome instability (CIN) is the major theory in its carcinogenic mechanism. Homologous recombination (HR) repair is a DNA repair pathway that prevents CIN by repairing DNA double-strand breaks. RAD51, a key mediator protein of HR repair, along with the RAD51 paralogs (RAD51B, C, D, XRCC2, and 3) are required for HR repair. During HR, RAD51 loads and forms a helical nucleoprotein filament structure to promote DNA strand exchange and stimulate pairing activity of DNA. Cr(VI) exposures have been shown …

The Whale-Road To Road House: A Study Of The Contemporary Transmission Of Beowulf, Haley Grindstaff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores three versions of Beowulf: Gareth Hinds’s graphic novel Beowulf (2007), Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation Beowulf (2020), and Rowdy Herrington’s film Road House (1989). While Hinds and Headley fail to convey Beowulf as a cultural elegy by subtracting or misrepresenting significant scenes and characters, Road House superimposes the story of Beowulf onto 1980s America. Parallels between the plots of Beowulf and Road House and Road House’s interaction with the political underpinnings of the 80s (such as Reaganomics and the AIDS epidemic) make the film one of the best at capturing the elements of cultural elegy in the …

Nurses Leading In Bridging The Culture Gap: Communicating With The Deaf Community, Veronica C. Leftridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nurses provide patient care in clinics, hospitals, homes, churches, schools, communities, and military, as well as on emergency medical helicopters. When a nurse is assigned to care for a patient, the patient expects the nurse to be culturally competent, communicate effectively, and provide safe quality care. However, cultural incompetence is observed when nurses provide care for Deaf patients, but they are unfamiliar with Deaf culture. In addition, communication is a fundamental skill nurses learn in nursing school, but course content in nursing programs rarely touches on how to communicate effectively with Deaf patients. Of the approximately 325 million people in …

Identity And Resistance: Queer Puerto Rican Subjects, Pentecostalism, And The Shadow Of U.S. Imperialism, Jared Vázquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

James K.A. Smith argues that the first principle of Pentecostalism is that the same Holy Spirit described in the New Testament is !actively, dynamically, and miraculously present both in the ecclesial community and in creation” today. This ontological experience of the Holy Spirit transforms Pentecostalism into a hermeneutic thorough which Pentecostals interpret their social world. In his attempt to articulate a Pentecostal epistemology Smith leaves implied what this project seeks to make explicit: the emergence of subjectivity is mediated through the experiences of the body and is therefore affective and phenomenological in nature. I argue that pentecostal spiritual practices are …

Mitakuye Oyasin : Pedagogy And Design In Composition I, Jody Lee Rust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mitakuye Oyasin, an Oceti Sakowin (Lakota/Nakota/Dakota) phrase that translates as “All My Relations,” is a philosophy that means all things created on earth and in the universe are related and inhabit a shared space. Because all things are related and share space, they all have a purpose and a responsibility to discover and serve that purpose to ensure all of our relatives thrive in our shared space. This relational thinking influences the way the Oceti Sakowin interact with the world, including the way they teach. In this thesis, I analyze the way composition theories shape the curriculum and pedagogy of …

Hiv-1 Tat And Opioids: Implications For Stress-Related Psychopathology, Salahuddin Mohammed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overarching goal of this dissertation was to assess the interaction of HIV-1 Tat protein with opioids like oxycodone and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and develop novel therapeutic strategy to restore HPA dysfunction in adult HIV-1 Tat transgenic mice. In the past 3 decades, combined antiretroviral therapeutics (cART) has increased the life expectancy of HIV infected individuals, with a significant decline in the number of deaths. However, due the inability of cART to sufficiently target latent CNS viral reservoirs (predominantly microglia and astrocytes to a lesser extent), approximately 50% of the HIV+ infected population contends with neurological, neuropsychiatric and neuroendocrine …

Linguistic Expressions Of Pidgin In Nigerian Stand-Up Comedy, Jimoh Junior Braimoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the comics’ lexical choices and how they achieve their goals with words. The comics’ choice of words is far from being incidental, superficial, or supplementary. Performers’ choices of words show how their ideas are embodied in language. That is to say, the effect of how a comedian uses words and humor strategies is vital for understanding the contextual meaning of jokes and how they appeal to logic and reason. The objectives are to identify and categorize lexical choices and interpret their denotative, connotative, and affective meanings. Based on the Incongruity Theory (Attardo, 1994) Data …

Juntos Luchamos: A Postcritical Ethnographic And Photovoice Study On Latinx Student Civic Engagement Practices At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Liliana Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Situated at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), this postcritical ethnographic and photovoice study sought to explore how Latinx students define and practice civic engagement. Theoretically framed by Latino Cultural Citizenship (LCC), the study explored how current Latinx student civic engagement practices inform a Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ civic engagement efforts. Data collection took place over the 2021-2022 academic year and an exhibition of the study’s findings was made publicly available at the culmination of the study. Findings from the study indicate that Latinx postsecondary students define civic engagement as knowledge and resource sharing (KRS) and achieving success. Findings for how Latinx postsecondary students …

Program Evaluation Of Music Teacher Education In Ghana: Implications For Practice, Policy, And Research, George Blankson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The improvement of music teacher education programs is inevitably tied to improvement of the quality of music instruction in schools. As such, one of the essential avenues for improving educational programs is conducting regular program evaluations. Given the ever-evolving national standards for school music, along with the changing socio-cultural dynamics in Ghana, a corresponding review of the music teacher education programs is needed. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the music teacher education programs in Ghana. By overlaying the Content, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model as a conceptual framework, I sought the …

The Queer And Trans Ecologies Of Shakespeare's Ocean, Elijah Two Bears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis squarely approaches the overlooked theoretical nexus of early modern blue ecologies and LGBTQIA2S+ studies to argue that Shakespeare's ocean is a deeply queer space that inspires both queer and trans effects in his characters, plays, and audiences across time. I argue you can’t fully process Shakespeare’s aquatic environments, and the broader range of his more watery plays, without accounting for the queer destabilization and trans self-fashioning that is inextricably linked with encountering the ocean, whether it is through shipwreck, ship travel, or near-drownings. This project recreates a lost world using whatever small gems of textual and historical evidence …

The Relationship Of Hospital Ceo Gender And The Patient Experience: The Role Of The Mediating Effects Of Hospital Characteristics, Lanean M. Lang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this quantitative study, I investigated CEO gender and the patient experience in acute care hospitals in Texas for 2019. As the patient-experience has been the metric for quality patient care and hospital reimbursements, hospital CEOs play an important role in promoting positive patient experience as they lead the organization in strategic goals. The study is relevant as a shortage of experienced and qualified healthcare leaders is expected as baby-boomers retire. The lack of women leaders remains a challenging issue. The purpose of the study was to assess the gender differences of the CEO on the impact of patient experience …

The Invisible Language: Unintentional Patronage And Missions Practice In Contemporary Thailand, Samuel Burton Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patronage-clientelism is a current and important topic of discussion among the anthropological and missiological community. The effects of unintended patronage by Western missionaries in the context of Thai culture, however, are underexplored in academic research. In this study, I analyzed the effects of unintentional patronage among Western missionaries in a Thai cross-cultural ministry context. To do this I utilized a multiple case study method in which I compared four cases and analyzed for examples of how unintentional patronage is generated. I discovered that unintentional patronage was likely a result of insufficient missionary education regarding patronage-clientelism, as well as a lack …

The Influence Of Social Media On The Tourism Industry: A Content Analysis Of Culinary Tourism Brands Via Instagram, Angela White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The tourism industry in the United States is constantly changing and being influenced by social media, specifically Instagram. Culinary brands use Instagram to advertise their restaurants and dishes in a creative, visual way. As a result, Instagram is now being used as a tool by tourists and both potential and current customers to share their dining experiences and find these locations based on the visual appeal. This study provides a content analysis of Instagram account information and photo composition within eight popular culinary tourism destinations by examining the strategies used by the accounts. 50 randomly selected photos were used from …

The Construction Of Identity Through Tattoos: A Semiotic And Performative Exploration Of Trauma, Erin Lionberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this current historical moment, tattoos and tattooing have become a glorified cultural phenomenon that has been thousands of years in the making. The idea that tattoos can be used to express one’s identity is not a new concept — various fields, such as anthropology, cultural studies, and sociology, have studied the relationship between tattoos and identity. In this dissertation, I explore the signification and performative aspects of Auschwitz concentration camp tattoos and 9/11 memorial tattoos, while also considering the changes in meaning and interpretation that occur within and throughout space and time. Chapter one introduces the topic and provides …

Is Being Respectable Enough?: A Critical Investigation Of Code-Switching And The Lived Experiences Of Black Leaders Who Work At Nonprofits In Bridgertown, Ramona Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current literature on Black nonprofit leaders is scarce, causing little to be known about the experiences that they have encountered when navigating their roles and responsibilities. Even less literature is available on these Black leaders and their usage of code-switching strategies when attempting to navigate those same nonprofits. Based on themes uncovered during the literature review this study employs an in-depth narrative inquiry qualitative methodology. While using theories such as critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 200; Ladson-Billings,1998), the politics of respectability (Higginbotham, 1993) and the theory of capital (Bourdieu, 1985; 1996) the researcher examines the leadership experiences of …

Examining The Influence Of Mental Health On Expressions Of Verbal Aggression And Assertiveness, Juliet Aura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Recent reports in the media suggest an increase in the number of aggression cases in schools and the community. One of the forms of aggression experienced over the lifespan is verbal aggression. Verbal aggression has been considered a negative trait because of the harmful effects it has on the recipient. On the contrary, assertive behavior is a socially desirable trait and is considered a positive communication trait. The purpose of the study was to establish the effectiveness of psychological services and self-care in reducing verbally aggressive behavior. The study also aimed to determine how psychological services can improve assertiveness. …

Civil Religion And The Second Amendment, Shivaun Corry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American approach to legal hermeneutics emerged from the covenant theology of the Puritans. American civil religion understands the Constitution to be based in natural laws: a secularized conception of God-given rights. To change the text would collapse the epistemological framework of the nation. When a nation sees its constitution as a sacred text, then the answer to contemporary problems cannot be to change that text; rather, it must be to return to the text with an even more fundamentalist hermeneutic. Both gun rights advocate Charlton Heston, and gun control advocate Barak Obama, argued their cases using a fundamentalist hermeneutic, …

A Translingual Approach To The Theory And Practice Of Basic Writing., Rachel Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic justice and the treatment of language difference are of great concern to the discipline of rhetoric and composition. Yet, basic writing, arguably the field’s richest source of language variation, has not received the full benefit of what has been termed the “translingual turn” (Alvarez; Corcoran; Hall; Jackson; Kubota). This dissertation explores the role of language ideologies in the theory and practice of basic writing, culminating in a review and critique of current uptakes of translingualism in basic writing scholarship. Overall, I find that greater attention needs to be paid to the translingual potential of seemingly conventional language as well …

Defending Judge Roy Moore: A Case Study Of Persuasion Resistance Strategies., Stephen F. Brockman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored what kind of persuasive resistance strategies people used when faced with information that was contrary to their existing belief system. A typology of resistance strategies as articulated by Fransen, Smit, & Verlegh (2015), was used to guide the development of a coding system. I coded the public quotes of supporters of a political candidate after sexual misconduct allegations came to light. The first research question investigated was: What kinds of persuasion resistance strategies were Roy Moore supporters most likely to use? The second was: What kinds of persuasion resistance strategies used tended to co-occur? The most important …

Black Men Wanted: An Instrumental Case Study Exploring The Situational Factors Related To The Retention Of African American Male High School Teachers., Christopher Kevin Flores

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the nation’s high school student population becomes increasingly diverse, the declining number of minority teachers, particularly African American male teachers is becoming an area of concern. This instrumental case study of African American male high school teachers in the Fayette County Public School system in Lexington, Kentucky sought to identify the motivations for teaching, the barriers prior to and during teaching, as well as the roles these individuals are asked to fulfill in their schools. Using purposeful sampling, 10 individuals participated in semi-structured interviews aimed at providing insight to the three research questions related to motivations, barriers, and roles. …

The Tangled Roots Of The Holocaust: An Analysis Of The Evolution Of Colonial Discourse Through The Prohibition Of Sexual Relations And Marriages Between Races, Bianka Adamatti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Nazi violence did not have its origins only in the brutality of the First World War or radical nationalist ideologies, but also in European colonialism. Hence, the goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that colonial processes were fundamental to the origins of the Holocaust. To prove this, I applied the content analysis to detect colonial discourse (stereotype, ambivalence, and mimicry) in three legislations from different contexts, which prohibited sexual relations and marriages between races. The documents analyzed exemplified the segregationist thinking of each period of colonization. Portuguese laws from the beginning of modernity demonstrate the transition from religious …

“We Just Didn’T Talk About It:” Strategies Of Stigmatized Grief Management, Claire D. Selleck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of people who have lost loved ones due to socially stigmatized deaths. Drawing from eight individual interviews, the author argues that the stigma associated with death due to drug overdose, suicide, substance abuse, or murder can cause traumatic or prolonged grief and can complicate the way the bereaved talk about grief as a part of their healing process. With the mortality rate in the U.S. rising, there is an epidemic of disenfranchised grief affecting millions of bereaved individuals. Using Coordinated Management of Meaning and Communication Privacy Management theories, the author uncovers strategies the traumatically bereaved …

Character Influence And Brand Relationships: How Morally Ambiguous Characters Shape Brand Identity?, Jason Alexander Daugherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines morally ambiguous characters in television dramas and they represent their respect brand. The goal of the study is to examine how these MACs define their respective brands, specifically the brands, AMC and Showtime. Recent studies observed people chose brands based on their affective disposition and social cognition towards specific influencers. These theories could inform how people relate to characters from TV shows and brands. An observation and narrative analysis of four characters promotional videos from AMC were Don Draper (Mad Men), Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul) and from Showtime Jackie Peyton (Nurse Jackie) and Dexter Morgan (Dexter). …

“We’Re Sinking And We’Re Sinking Quick”: Family And Feeding Work During The Covid-19 Pandemic For Single, White, Middle-Class Mothers, Debora Garrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the work of single, white, middle-class women feeding and caring for their families during the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. The study draws from qualitative analyses of one-on-one interviews conducted with seven single mothers. After situating single mothers and family food provision in the academic literature, as well as and current knowledge about the pandemic in the U.S., the author explores ways that the pandemic disrupted family life. Findings indicated that the single mothers were keenly impacted by being cut off from child care, schools, and other social connections they needed to maintain employment. Further, their …

Warrior Dialogue In Samuel: Honor, Shame, And Divine Proxy, Robert A. Kranz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discourse between warriors plays a role in several battle scenes within the books of Samuel. The repartee is a way for the narrator to add color and depth to the narrative and develop essential themes. Social-scientific criticism has often examined these interactions through the cultural lenses of honor and shame. Peristiany, Bourdieu, and Pitt-Rivers are just some scholars who developed cultural frameworks based upon the importance of honor and shame in the Mediterranean region. Malina, extrapolating from North African cultural studies by Bourdieu, developed a challenge and response model for the acquisition of honor as depicted in the Bible. However, …

Maternal Hpa Axis Function During Parenting Is Associated With Reduced Brain Activation To Infant Cry And More Intrusive Parenting Behavior, Andrew Erhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research indicated that maternal cortisol function and maternal brain response to infant stimuli are separately related to differences in parenting behavior. Evidence from animal models have demonstrated that chronically high cortisol concentration alters brain structure and function, suggesting that studying these two mechanisms together may further improve understanding of parental behavior in human mothers. First time mothers of infants aged 1-7 months old (M age = 3 months) were recruited to participate. Mother’s cortisol concentration was measured during a naturalistic interaction with their infant and their behavior was coded for maternal sensitivity and nonintrusiveness. In a separate session using …

Out Of Time: Temporal Performativity And Resistance In Popular American Film, Television, And Theater, Meghan Johnston Aelabouni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that religious world-making in popular culture can reveal and resist hegemonic times. Taking as my primary case study the United States in the 2010s, particularly the shift from the Obama to the Trump era, I analyze cultural constructions of time—as sacred history, destiny, and “the times”—that reflect and shape national identity and belonging in the American imagined community. In this context, such temporal constructions have privileged whiteness and heteronormative masculinity, positioning those who embody or approximate this norm as “of the times,” while also displacing BIPOC, women, and queer people as “out of time.” I posit time …

Exiles, Knowledge, And Power: Utopian And Dystopian Worlds In Early Modern England, Jennifer Topale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project seeks to investigate the ways in which exiled early modern writers and literary characters engage with power and access knowledge, often through the creation of utopian and dystopian worlds, which either leads to their exilic identities and disempowerment or allows them to renegotiate their identities from the periphery to the center of power. The triadic relationship among the terms exile, knowledge, and power will be analyzed through postcolonial theory, identity politics, and feminist theory. Exiles can be defined as punitive, political, internal, and self-imposed, and some can inhabit more than one exilic identity. Each of these individuals …

The Ghost Town: An Autoethnographic Study On The Effects Of Loss And Trauma On A Saudi Arabian International Student’S Well-Being, Salman J. Alzowibi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We all have fought on grief’s battleground; some of us started at early ages, while others during their developmental age, teen’s years, or later in their adulthood. All of them are valuable resources and sites of knowledge that need to be explored. Yet, recent studies reduced grief into clinical psychological well-being. However, as I lived these experiences, trauma, loss, and grief impact all well-being dimensions. Grief intersects with large structures (e.g., social, economic, cultural, locations, etc.); all these components impact our way of grief how socially displayed (mourning). This dissertation encapsulates my personal experience elevating it to an academic work …

"Beyond The Lines": A Reassessment Of Civil War Prisons, Beth Kruse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Beyond the Lines”: A Reassessment of Civil War Prisons, challenges the historical interpretations of Civil War military prisons. Specifically, it analyses the political, social, and economic conditions of these systems by not only adding omitted gender, class, and race scholarship but flushing out the power dynamics between these group and military administrations. The re-examination of primary source material by reading against the grain to find overlooked insights reveals these sources not only provide a wealth of information about omitted groups, but that they have been misinterpreted. Additionally, applying the concepts of historical memory establishes how the Lost Cause shaped not …