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Coping Flexibility And Academic Resilience Among Low-Ses College Students., Benjamin J. Calebs May 2022

Coping Flexibility And Academic Resilience Among Low-Ses College Students., Benjamin J. Calebs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students coming from a background of poverty may experience academic impairment due to their experiences of chronic economic adversity. However, despite the stressors associated with poverty and the potential deleterious consequences of this form of adversity, many low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) college students show high academic achievement. One predictor of resilient outcomes that has been studied outside of academic contexts is coping flexibility, the ability to use a range of different coping behaviors to meet the demands of different stressful situations. Coping flexibility has been found to be positively associated with psychological adjustment in a variety of populations, yet it …


The Experience Of Scanxiety In Survivors Of Pancreatic Cancer: A Phenomenological Study., Susan Winebrenner May 2022

The Experience Of Scanxiety In Survivors Of Pancreatic Cancer: A Phenomenological Study., Susan Winebrenner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surveillance scans can signify a crisis point in a cancer patient’s life, provoking fear and anxiety that negatively impact quality of life. Scan-related anxiety or scanxiety has been briefly discussed in the literature among lung cancer and lymphoma populations, but relatively few investigations have studied the psychological impact of routine surveillance scans during cancer survivorship. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the lived experience of scanxiety in survivors of pancreatic cancer who have undergone curative surgical resection. Hermeneutic phenomenology as applied by Heidegger provided the philosophical underpinnings for this study and van Manen’s methodological approach was used to …


Divided We Fall: Gender-Based Occupational Segregation In Kentucky’S Executive Branch 2012-2020., Hillary Mcgoodwin Abbott May 2022

Divided We Fall: Gender-Based Occupational Segregation In Kentucky’S Executive Branch 2012-2020., Hillary Mcgoodwin Abbott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fifty-eight years have passed since the Title VII of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 was signed into law, yet discrimination in employment still occurs; the Kentucky Executive Branch is no exception. This paper will use Theodore Lowi’s agency typology and EEOC categorical data from the 2012 and 2020 Kentucky Office of Diversity and Employment Training Semi-Annual Report on Female and Minority Employment (SAR) to identify gendered occupational segregation in three distinct Executive Branch agencies, address potential contributing factors and areas of change (Alkadry & Tower, 2006; Lowi, 1985; Newman, 1994; Escriche, 2007). Addressing any underlying discriminatory practices that may …


Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Inhibits Homologous Recombination Repair By Targeting Rad51 Paralogs In Human Lung Fibroblasts., Aggie R. Williams May 2022

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 …


Structural And Functional Myocardial Adaptations To Task-Specific Epidural Stimulation In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury., Harley D. Ledbetter May 2022

Structural And Functional Myocardial Adaptations To Task-Specific Epidural Stimulation In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury., Harley D. Ledbetter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality, and this is especially true in individuals with spinal cord injury. Decreased systemic blood pressure leads to cardiac deconditioning, thought to be related to the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this population. This study investigates effects of myocardial loading from epidural stimulation in a group of individuals with spinal cord injury to understand how changes in preload and afterload could lead to beneficial myocardial remodeling. The study conducted echocardiograms to describe the myocardial changes after training with two different types of epidural stimulation intervention: one designed to facilitate movement (Voluntary) and …


Plant-Pollinator Communities Responsive To Local And Landscape Level Factors In Grassland Restorations., Aaron Sexton May 2022

Plant-Pollinator Communities Responsive To Local And Landscape Level Factors In Grassland Restorations., Aaron Sexton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As humans continue to degrade natural ecosystems via greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction, many species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. In hopes to offset this degradation, habitat restoration attempts to restore ecosystem function to an improved state resembling intact, remnant values. This is a difficult, but important, undertaking with factors to consider at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The restoration and conservation of pollinator communities has garnered heightened attention because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. This dissertation investigates the local and landscape level factors of grassland restorations that influence plant-pollinator communities. I used a …


"Death Can't Touch Them Now": Aids Response And Memorialization In Louisville, Kentucky, 1982-1992., Olivia A. Beutel May 2022

"Death Can't Touch Them Now": Aids Response And Memorialization In Louisville, Kentucky, 1982-1992., Olivia A. Beutel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to address the role of the queer community in Louisville, Kentucky during the AIDS epidemic. Beginning with the first reported AIDS death in the city in 1983 throughout the 1980s, dialogue focused on those living with AIDS, specifically on education for prevention and aid to those afflicted by the disease. Individuals in the queer community—gay men, lesbians, bisexual men and women, transgender men and women, and others—created resources that were not being provided by the larger city government. Then, in the 1990s, national attention to the AIDS Memorial Quilt encouraged people to participate in rituals of commemoration, …


Critical Thinking Or Critical Creativity: Applying De Bono's Six Thinking Hats To Speech-Language Pathology Education And Practice., Samantha Hahn May 2022

Critical Thinking Or Critical Creativity: Applying De Bono's Six Thinking Hats To Speech-Language Pathology Education And Practice., Samantha Hahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Decision-making is a fundamental skill that health care professionals use daily which involves the interaction of many cognitive systems. Critical and lateral thinking are two approaches to decision-making often cited in literature. Critical thinking emphasizes reasoning and systematic analyzation, while lateral thinking encompasses imagination and creativity. Speech-language pathology (SLP) is a prime example of a profession that amalgamates creative processes with organized methodologies. Edward de Bono described six styles of lateral thinking – each style is equated to a colored “hat”. This study sought to determine if an association exists between a given SLP student’s level of clinical experience and …


Black Ads Matter: An Analysis Of Black Representation In Advertising., Elyssa Quinn Smith May 2022

Black Ads Matter: An Analysis Of Black Representation In Advertising., Elyssa Quinn Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the summer of 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) became a rallying cry throughout the United States and the world. At that time, many individuals and organizations reflected on how they could better support the movement for equality, equity, and inclusion, but some of the results were ingenuine, perceived as virtue signaling or woke washing. In this thesis I explore the Black representation in advertising from three prominent car brands from both pre- and post-summer 2020. I analyze ads from Acura, Buick, and Lincoln to determine if they are synergistic and include multi-dimensional Black representation, criteria Burgess et al.’s (2020) …


The Reading Of Sir Toby Belch: A Queer And Black Exploration Of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night., Jahi E Bogard May 2022

The Reading Of Sir Toby Belch: A Queer And Black Exploration Of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night., Jahi E Bogard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This MFA thesis explores queer, black representation in William Shakespeare’s drama and in the University of Louisville’s Department of Theatre Arts Fall 2021 production of an adaption of Twelfth Night (1601). Directed by Jennifer Pennington, the repurposed script and non-traditional casting targeted a modern audience. Cast as Olivia’s drunk uncle, Sir Toby Belch, I aimed to discover if my identify as a black, queer, cis man could be incorporated into Shakespeare’s text. Sir Toby Belch’s raucous, heterosexual, and sometimes violent, traits are often imagined today as innately masculine. I argue that Shakespeare’s plays can be appropriated by queer, black actors …


The Effect Of Telepractice On Vocal Interaction Between Provider, Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Pediatric Patients, And Caregivers., Abigail Betts May 2022

The Effect Of Telepractice On Vocal Interaction Between Provider, Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Pediatric Patients, And Caregivers., Abigail Betts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how telepractice affects a vocal interaction between a speech-language pathologist (SLP), deaf and hard-of-hearing children who received cochlear implants (n = 7), and caregivers as they engage in speech-language interventions conducted in-person and via telepractice (tele). Frequency of vocalizations, vocal turns, pause duration, fundamental frequency (F0) mean and range, utterance duration, syllable rate per utterance duration, and mean length of utterance (MLU) were examined. The SLP vocalized more during in-person than tele-sessions, opposite result for the mother. There were more SLP-child turns during in-person sessions than tele-sessions; opposite result for mother-child turns. …


A Content Analysis Of The Female Tiktok Influencer: How Smis Alter Their Image And Self-Presentation Based On Their Communities., Sydney R Dotson May 2022

A Content Analysis Of The Female Tiktok Influencer: How Smis Alter Their Image And Self-Presentation Based On Their Communities., Sydney R Dotson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Influencer marketing is a growing industry on social media platforms, like TikTok. Influencers have the power and authority to control the purchases and habits of their audiences, however, the communities of these followers can be just as influential. According to TikTok For Business (2021), “part of the excitement of [TikTok] is derived from people having the power to choose the spaces they want to be part of, and the content they want to interact with.” The purpose of this study is to determine if social media influencers alter their image and self-presentation based on their community. The study examines the …


The Impact Of Volume Of Tissue Activation On Cortical-Striatal Networks And Verbal Fluency Declines In Post-Deep Brain Stimulation Parkinson's Disease Patients., Alexander Luke Alley May 2022

The Impact Of Volume Of Tissue Activation On Cortical-Striatal Networks And Verbal Fluency Declines In Post-Deep Brain Stimulation Parkinson's Disease Patients., Alexander Luke Alley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the cortical-striatal networks of verbal fluency declines in 6-month, post-operative, deep brain stimulation Parkinson’s Disease patients. Nine Parkinson’s disease participants with implanted STN or GPi DBS systems were recruited for this study. Verbal fluency data was obtained from each patient preoperatively and 6- months post implantation. The stimulation-based volume of tissue activated area (VTA) of each target site (STN or GPi) was analyzed using Lead-DBS and Lead-Group. The white matter tracks intersecting each patient’s VTA, terminating in the pre-SMA, SMA, caudate nucleus, and anterior cingulate were investigated and correlated with verbal fluency declines. We found statistically significant …


Assessing Citizen Attitudes Towards Climate Change, Renewable Energy, And Solar Development In Kentucky., Ryan Patrick Lloyd May 2022

Assessing Citizen Attitudes Towards Climate Change, Renewable Energy, And Solar Development In Kentucky., Ryan Patrick Lloyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on public attitudes and perceptions of renewable energy development strategy, solar energy, and climate change using a statewide survey in the 23 counties of Kentucky (KY) where solar developments have been installed or will be installed soon. Results indicate a that the public has a complex view of renewable energy development (RED) and how best an energy transition should be carried out, if at all. Solar RED was generally perceived positively by members of the public, with rooftop or household solar being stated as the preferred model of development. Citizens were most concerned over the visual impact …


Betwixt & Between., Xuanyi Wang May 2022

Betwixt & Between., Xuanyi Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will discuss the process of learning, borrowing, and exploring the fusion between styles that emerged from the exchange of Eastern and Western civilizations. I will also use the process of transformation and merging of motifs to evoke my thoughts on the identity of immigrants. In addition, the essay will also discuss the similarities between traditional Chinese and Western designs metaphorically. This thesis will also explain why I use IUDs for pattern creation and provide views on the body ownership of women in the East and West. I will also consider the evolution and reflection of the …


Meat The Future., Xin Chen May 2022

Meat The Future., Xin Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the subtle relationship between human life, the environment, and other animals that we live among every day. Under the mainstream social background of capitalism and a commodity economy, animals are the victims of constant consumption and exploitation. However, meat is a basic substance for human nourishment, especially in certain cultures. As a result, meat becomes an important part of the commodity economy in capitalist societies, wherein the supply must be filled to accommodate society’s demand. This research formed an exhibition using glass and ceramic artwork using a playfully satirical tone to offer a crucial alternative: how …


Beyond A Divide: Reconceptualizing Digital Capital And Links To Academic Proficiency., Ryan Price May 2022

Beyond A Divide: Reconceptualizing Digital Capital And Links To Academic Proficiency., Ryan Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the digital inequality literature, the popular notion of a “digital divide” is frequently used to discuss digital inequality; however, this framework is overly simplistic and cannot adequately capture the complex nature of digital inequality. Some scholars have adopted a framework of digital capital to attempt a multidimensional approach to this social problem, but the literature lacks consistent empirical measurements. Using U.S. data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 Survey, I seek to propose, and validate, internally consistent principal components of digital capital among 15-year-old high school students in the US. I conduct a Principal Component Analysis …


On The Subject Of Loneliness., Isaac Raymond Smith May 2022

On The Subject Of Loneliness., Isaac Raymond Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Loneliness has been experienced since ancient times, but all were made acutely aware of the need for social interaction during the long periods of lockdown during 2020 and 2021. on the subject of loneliness draws inspiration from a variety of texts which examine the complex effects of loneliness from emotional, scientific, and spiritual viewpoints. Redactions and rearrangements of these texts form a new narrative which does not always follow a linear form or work toward a clear goal. The speaker’s internal dialogue formed from the disparate texts reflects the impact of loneliness on the music itself; only in retrospect do …


A Decade Of Car-Cyclist Collisions In Louisville: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis., Elizabeth Ferguson Greenwell May 2022

A Decade Of Car-Cyclist Collisions In Louisville: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis., Elizabeth Ferguson Greenwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis has considered factors of the built environment to discover if cay-cyclist collisions display any patterns that could be used to improve cycling safety. This thesis contains an introduction, a literature review, an overview of the study area and data, a description of the methods, results, and discussion and conclusion section. This thesis is significant because it has been the first study to consider cyclist volume as an explanatory variable of the spatiality of car-cyclist dependence for Louisville, Kentucky. Through descriptive and spatial statistics, trends in car-cyclists were identified. Collisions occur more frequently in the summer, during commute hours, …


Putting Colorism On Trial Intraracial Colorism And Its Impact On Crime Trajectory Among African Americans., Shaderica Ta'shawn Sibley May 2022

Putting Colorism On Trial Intraracial Colorism And Its Impact On Crime Trajectory Among African Americans., Shaderica Ta'shawn Sibley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of experiences of colorism on the crime trajectory of African Americans. It is qualitative in nature and utilizes semi-structured interviews with incarcerated African American people. As previous research has shown the painful impact of colorism on its victims, this study ultimately seeks to unearth if that pain translates into crime commission and trajectory. The primary purpose of this research is to contribute to the existing body of research that seeks to support “colorism healing” in the African American community. If this indicates that colorism contributes to crime trajectory, such an outcome would have practical implications: …


The Effects Of Previous Traumatic Experiences On Learning Outcomes: Perceptions Of Black Men Who Are Attending Community College, Willie Thomas May 2022

The Effects Of Previous Traumatic Experiences On Learning Outcomes: Perceptions Of Black Men Who Are Attending Community College, Willie Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic underachievement among Black students, particularly Black male students, is a troubling trend that has long attracted scholarly attention. The prevailing consensus is that the shortcomings of some Black male students in academic achievement may be attributable to traumatic experiences arising from environments of violent, inner-city poverty that disproportionately affect Black men. Traumatic experiences have been shown to negatively affect Black men’s self-perception, emotions, self-image, and social and cognitive skills, with consequences in the form of measured shortfalls in retention and graduation rates. My qualitative, phenomenological study sought to explore how previous traumatic experiences of Black men affected their academic …


Positive And Negative Deviant Counties: Identification Of Factors Associated With Health Outcomes, Olivia Egen May 2022

Positive And Negative Deviant Counties: Identification Of Factors Associated With Health Outcomes, Olivia Egen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rural counties in the United States vary drastically on metrics related to socioeconomic status and dominant economic industry as well as health behaviors and outcomes. This study sought to understand the underlying structural reasons why some rural counties have better or worse than expected health outcomes using a positive deviance (PD) approach. The study aimed to: 1) create an area deprivation index and divide counties into quartiles using the index; 2) identify positive, negative, and non-deviant counties using health outcome metrics; 3) analyze differences between deviance on a variety of local public health system metrics; and 4) analyze differences between …


Student Experiences Leaving Health Profession Interest Areas, Megan Roberts May 2022

Student Experiences Leaving Health Profession Interest Areas, Megan Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The undergraduate major change or declaration process can be cumbersome for students who find themselves in unknown territories when making decisions or seeking help during this transition. One of the most challenging groups of students to assist through this transition are those who are denied access to their intended program of study. These students are often pursuing selective degree programs with limited enrollment and competitive admission requirements. Research on students pursuing selective degree programs is largely outdated, with most studies being older than ten years. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how undergraduate students experience leaving selective …


Examining The State Of Substance Use Treatment Among Youth And Adults In The United States, Esther Adejoke Adeniran May 2022

Examining The State Of Substance Use Treatment Among Youth And Adults In The United States, Esther Adejoke Adeniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States (US), substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders are significant public health problems. Additionally, the difference between needing substance use treatment (SUT) and receiving treatment is becoming more pronounced. Therefore, the aims of this dissertation include, 1) to synthesize evidence of barriers and facilitators to integrating SUT into mainstream health care (MHC) after the Affordable Care Act was nationally implemented in 2014, 2) to examine the rate of treatment completion and dropout, along with its associated factors, among youth who received Medication-Assisted Opioid Therapy (MAT), 3) to determine the relationship between prior treatment episodes and length …


Expression And Functional Characterization Of Avocado Dgat1 And Pdat1 In Arabidopsis And Camelina, Josphat Kiunga May 2022

Expression And Functional Characterization Of Avocado Dgat1 And Pdat1 In Arabidopsis And Camelina, Josphat Kiunga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study is aimed to determine the role of avocado DGAT1 and PDAT1 in seed oil synthesis. Triacylglycerol (TAG) has a nutritional and industrial value and is essential for plant growth. DGAT1 and PDAT1 catalyze the final step of TAG Assembly. We hypothesized that both PaPDAT1 and PaDGAT1, although predominantly expressed in non-seed tissues, could contribute to oil accumulation in seeds. Agrobacterium transformants with PaPDAT1 and PaDGAT1 cloned in pCAMBIA were generated to test this. Subsequently, the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis mutant lines and camelina was carried out by floral dipping. The T1 camelina seeds …


Combating Frailty: Application Of A Modified Skeletal Frailty Index In Modern Military And Civilian Populations., Emily M. Frazier May 2022

Combating Frailty: Application Of A Modified Skeletal Frailty Index In Modern Military And Civilian Populations., Emily M. Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conceptualizing, quantifying, and evaluating frailty in human skeletal remains is critical to understanding and interpreting physiological health and stress among past populations. While many researchers focus on frailty in bioarchaeological samples, developing models for mortality risk and individual- and population-specific indices of stress, no current methods directly address frailty in forensic contexts. This study considers the applicability of a modified index for assessing frailty in forensic anthropology by comparing distributions of 8 biomarkers of stress (linear enamel hypoplasia; periodontal disease; caries; osteoarthritis; intervertebral disc disease; rotator cuff disorder; antemortem fracture; and surgical procedure) using the original skeletal frailty index (SFI) …


New Debiasing Strategies In Collaborative Filtering Recommender Systems: Modeling User Conformity, Multiple Biases, And Causality., Mariem Boujelbene May 2022

New Debiasing Strategies In Collaborative Filtering Recommender Systems: Modeling User Conformity, Multiple Biases, And Causality., Mariem Boujelbene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recommender Systems are widely used to personalize the user experience in a diverse set of online applications ranging from e-commerce and education to social media and online entertainment. These State of the Art AI systems can suffer from several biases that may occur at different stages of the recommendation life-cycle. For instance, using biased data to train recommendation models may lead to several issues, such as the discrepancy between online and offline evaluation, decreasing the recommendation performance, and hurting the user experience. Bias can occur during the data collection stage where the data inherits the user-item interaction biases, such as …


Public Health Contagion Of White Supremacy: Examining The Pipeline Of Attitudes About Racism And Racial History Education Among High School Students., Trinidad Jackson May 2022

Public Health Contagion Of White Supremacy: Examining The Pipeline Of Attitudes About Racism And Racial History Education Among High School Students., Trinidad Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We are living in compounded states of upheaval. Violence and exemption from it across socioecological levels have shaped how humans survive, thrive, and die. While different violence typologies exist, the U.S., prioritizes interpersonal violence as its primary target of intervention, often through structural means that foster and reinforce interpersonal violence. The omission of structural and cultural agents and outcomes of violence allows perpetrators to infiltrate and reproduce savage, dehumanizing ideologies in perpetuity. Instead of sustaining societal pillars that oppress and destroy, we must fertilize public health research, practice, and sociopolitical activism with pillars that both inform and activate liberatory consciousness …


The Water We Were Swimming In: Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students' Lived Experiences In Engineering., Natalie Saroff Oliner May 2022

The Water We Were Swimming In: Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students' Lived Experiences In Engineering., Natalie Saroff Oliner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies address the lived experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students in engineering. Grounded in critical trans politics (Spade, 2015), this dissertation contributes to the literature on TGNC students in engineering by examining their experiences negotiating their identities while navigating interrelated systems of oppression in a field dominated by White, heterosexual, cisgender men. Using a critical constructivism framework, I conducted a narrative inquiry to explore the lived experiences of five TGNC students in engineering programs. Participants experienced TGNC oppression at their universities, built LGBTQ+ and TGNC communities, and described more welcoming climates in non-engineering contexts compared to engineering. …


High-Probability Tasks And Task Completion Rates Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders., Amy R Hall May 2022

High-Probability Tasks And Task Completion Rates Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders., Amy R Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation into the effects of high-probability tasks on the task completion rates of three students diagnosed with an emotional and behavioral disorder. It begins with a close look into best practices verses common practices, examines students supports currently available in schools, and highlights gaps present in today’s educational system for students who exhibit significant challenging behaviors. The dissertation reviews literature available on the topic of high-probability tasks as a logical solution to combating gaps in behavior support and describes methodology used to investigate the strategy and its effects. It closes by presenting data, conclusions, implications, and …