Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Hope And Resilience Among Mississippi Adolescents, Kristie Vail Schultz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hope theory involves the way in which individuals perceive their abilities in relation to three factors: 1) clearly defined goals, 2) the specific strategies necessary to obtain those goals (called “pathways”), and 3) the sustained motivation necessary to use those specific strategies (called “agency thinking”) (Snyder et al., 1991; Snyder, Lopez, Shorey, Rand, & Feldman, 2003). Hopeful thinking is defined as a belief that an individual can find the pathways to reach a desired goal and the belief that one can use those designated pathways effectively (Snyder, 2002; Rand & Cheavens, 2009). Research shows that hope in adolescents is positively …

Representation Of The American South In Marvel Comics, 1963-2016, Katherine Gill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work tracks the role of the American South and Southern characters in Marvel Comics, from 1963 to 2016. This thesis spring from a simple question: how stereotypical does this Northern industry portray the American South? To achieve this goal, I read a lot of comics, applying literary theory (such as Patricia Yeager and Tara McPherson) as well as American cultural studies (1980s televangelism and the history of human trafficking in America) to my findings. After reading multiple comic books from multiple sources, I settled on four different texts, each with a unique approach to portraying the South: the portrayal …

Influence Of Plant Species, Location, And Seasonality On Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities In Freshwater Wetlands, Hakchul Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant-associated microbes influence plant functions, including development and growth and abiotic stress tolerance. Rhizosphere microbial communities have been shown to vary according to differences in wetland vegetation. Owing to the complexity of factors influencing soil microbial community structure, a greater knowledge of the relationship between rhizosphere microbial communities and different types of plant species will lead to a deeper understanding of plant-microbe interactions in wetlands. Thus, the purpose of my research was to determine the influence of plant species on rhizosphere microbial communities from different freshwater wetlands. The spatial variability, associated with different wetland sites, of rhizosphere microbial communities was …

Biochemical Composition Of Caribbean Gorgonian Corals And Their Symbiosis Under Ambeint And Stressful Conditions, Kartick Prakash Shirur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gorgonian corals are the dominant benthic fauna on Caribbean reefs. Unlike scleractinian corals, gorgonian abundance on these reefs has remained stable or has increased. Therefore, to predict how climate change will affect the reef community, it is essential to understand gorgonian physiology under ambient and stressful situations. Under ambient conditions, eight gorgonian species hosted different clade B Symbiodinium, and in two gorgonian species in which the bacterial microbiomes were investigated, two distinct communities were found. In the eight gorgonian species, skeletal content varied from 75-96%, with those having more tissue also having more Symbiodinium density within their branches. The composition …

Decolonizing Revelation: A Spatial Reading Of The Blues, Rufus Burnett Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Decolonizing Revelation: A Spatial Reading of the Blues demonstrates that the cultural phenomenon of the blues is an indigenous way of knowing that offsets the hidden logic of racialized dominance within modern Christian understandings of revelation. In distinction from the Christian, Religious, and racialized understandings of the blues, this dissertation focuses on the space in which the blues emerges, the Delta Region of the United States. By attending to space, this dissertation shows how critical consideration of geography and region can reveal nuances that are often veiled behind racialized and theologized ways of understanding the people of the Delta Region. …

A Genetic Programming Approach To Solving Optimization Problems On Agent-Based Models, Anthony Garuccio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present a novel approach to solving optimization problems that are defined on agent-based models (ABM). The approach utilizes concepts in genetic programming (GP) and is demonstrated here using an optimization problem on the Sugarscape ABM, a prototype ABM that includes spatial heterogeneity, accumulation of agent resources, and agents with different attributes. The optimization problem seeks a strategy for taxation of agent resources which maximizes total taxes collected while minimizing impact on the agents over a finite time. We demonstrate how our GP approach yields better taxation policies when compared to simple flat taxes and provide reasons …

Lifting The Veil Of Invisiblity: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Of Student Perception As Related To Resiliency, Jennifer Mann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This interactive phenomenological study was an attempt to understand how marginalized, low socioeconomic students in a predominately white suburban school were able to succeed to graduation and beyond. Six students were interviewed using semi-structured questions in an audio-recorded interview while the researcher annotated body language, emotions, and pauses of the participant. The perceptions of the students were examined in relation to Buber's existential I-Thou relational theory as well as other care-oriented educators such as Freire, Dewey, and Nel Noddings. Also informing the conceptual framework of the study were Milstein and others regarding resiliency.

Significant themes emerged from the participants' narratives; …

Utilization Of Fluorescent Chemosensors To Quantify Pb2+ In Aqueous Media, Aria Parangi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently the detection of environmental lead samples requires time and material intensive methods. Recently, through the development of small fluorescent lead sensors, it may be possible to detect lead in the environment quickly and efficiently. A specific fluorescent chemosensor, Leadglow (LG), has shown promise in detecting low levels of lead in a rapid manner with little sample preparation or training. Leadglow and a naphthalene derivative were successfully synthesized and purified. The lead binding properties of Leadglow and the naphthalene derivative were studied and optimized. The use of Leadglow on several portable devices was also studied.

The Relationship Between Healthcare Services And Financial Burden Among Families Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Us Perspective, Darshini Dhanraj Shah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: The research was designed to determine the financial burden among families of children with ASD and to identify the predictors of financial burden

METHODS: Children with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD were identified in the Interaction Autism Network Registry. Multiple regression analyses was used to determine the association between financial burden and coordination of care, quality of healthcare interactions, adequacy of insurance, and adequacy of medical insurance coverage

RESULTS: Families of children diagnosed as having ASD reported higher financial burden as compared to other developmental disorders. The financial burden was significantly associated with various facets of healthcare provision

CONCLUSIONS: …

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Marshall Mcluhan And Communication Ethics: The Taming Of Americanitis, Julie A. Cramer Hunsberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1880 neurologist George Miller Beard identified the diagnosis of neurasthenia. Popularly referred to as Americanitis, Beard treated an increasing number of people for symptoms of anxiety, malaise and gastric discomfort. Per Beard, the illness resulted from the rapidly changing mechanical landscape of modernity. Similarly, contemporary Media Ecology literature suggests that Americanitis continues amidst our current digital moment. Manifest as narcissistically anxious nervous exhaustion, digital Americanitis results due to technological encouragement of existential and communicative closure, thereby negatively implicating the human condition, human communication and communication ethics practices. As such, this project considers Marshall McLuhan’s Media Ecology to examine the …

Vico's Narrative Art: From The Forests To The Academies, Ariana Ragusa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I argue that Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), most famously considered a philosopher of history, is above all a philosopher of narration. I unfold Vico’s narrative response to and rejection of traditional philosophical discourse; through relating the story of himself and the story of mankind, Vico demonstrates that storytelling gives birth to the human self and world. Furthermore, I emphasize the ontological import of narrative, often overlooked, in his two major works, The Autobiography of Giambattista Vico and The New Science. Finally, I conclude by showing the relevance of Vico’s pedagogical call to cultivate the child’s narrative imagination in …

Every Parent's Worst Nightmare: Surveillance Of Criteria-Based, Rampage School Shooters, 1995-2015, Paul Lomax

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rampage School Shootings are a violation of one’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of individual happiness. Little children, school teachers head out to school, only to never return home at the end of the day. Idiosyncratic psycho-social behaviors drive Rampage School Shooter (RSS) violence. The fact of the matter remains true; Rampage School Shooters don’t “… ‘just snap’… They plan” (U.S. Secret Service, 2002, p. 11). This descriptive, exploratory study consists of RSS cases (N=59) derived from triangulated, retrospective, historical accounts (1995-2015). A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed.

The purpose of this epidemiological (i.e., descriptive, exploratory, predictive) …

The Ethical Analysis Of The Connection Between Hope And Fertility Preservation, Leah Jeunette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fertility preservation has many different indications and covers a wide variety of demographics. One major motivation for the use of fertility preservation is hope. When discussing fertility preservation, healthcare professionals present several options, but choosing which type of fertility preservation to pursue is a difficult decision. This dissertation will argue not only that hope is one of the basic drivers for making a decision regarding fertility preservation, but also the current methods for fertility preservation create a reliance on hope. Hope can determine if a patient chooses the safest option or seeks out more radical experimentation or whether to delay …

A Decade (2005-2015) Of Unconventional Shale Gas Development In Washington County, Pennsylvania, And Its Environmental Impact, Colleen Nolan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unconventional shale gas extraction has grown significantly over the past decade in Washington County, Pennsylvania; 1362 unconventional wells had been drilled by the end of 2015. This study analyzed ten years of industry data to generate an overview of development and assess the resultant environmental impacts. Analyses of industry data obtained from PADEP and DCNR indicate well longevity may be overestimated while land and water usage is underestimated. To evaluate possible water quality impacts, a survey was conducted, with 99 ground and surface water samples collected and analyzed. 82% of samples exceeded at least one EPA (S)MCL, with iron exceeded …

Perception And Language: Using The Rorschach With People With Aphasia, V. Terri Collin Dilmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the use of the Rorschach with eight individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate fluent or non-fluent types of aphasia to consider the extent to which the Rorschach captured aspects of language impairment not otherwise probed by traditional neurolinguistic measures. A ninth participant, with Wernicke’s aphasia, produced non-scorable responses and was therefore left out of all analyses. Of primary interest was whether the Rorschach, historically understood as a projective psychological instrument, would allow individuals living with language impairment to recognize, retrieve and coherently express words that reflected their thoughts. At the same time, this study sought to explore …

The Importance Of Differentiating Between Traits Of Autism Spectrum Disorder And Callous And Unemotional Traits, Kristen Parys

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study assesses the apparent similarities and underlying differences between traits of autism spectrum disorder and callous and unemotional traits, and problematic sexual behaviors that can result in involvement in the juvenile justice system. The need to differentiate between these traits and better understand their impact on response to treatment within treatment facilities for offenders is highlighted. This research investigated the presence of individuals with traits of autism spectrum disorders and callous and unemotional traits in adolescent males in a residential treatment program for sexual offenses, and whether instruments that are typically used to identify these characteristics were effective in …

Novel Traf6-Protein Interactions And The Molecular Mechanisms By Which They Regulate Traf6 Dependent Signaling, An-Jey Andrew Su

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

TRAF6 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is unique among TRAF family proteins in both its structure and protein-protein interaction specificity. It is further distinguished by its ability to transduce a multiplicity of receptors in varied biological systems. Although TRAF6 activity is induced by these receptors, the mechanisms by which TRAF6 is activated under these stimulating conditions remain largely unclear. To address this, standard molecular biological techniques were used to gain insight into the interplay of three proteins with TRAF6: 1) Syntenin-1 (Syn); 2) SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 4 (Sox4); and 3) IL-1 receptor associated kinase 1 (IRAK1). These …

Surface And Ground Water Quality Within The Cross Creek Watershed, May 2015-2016, Tyler Umstead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unconventional shale gas extraction in the Marcellus has expanded throughout Pennsylvania since 2005, and poses potential risks to water resources. This study investigated water quality in Cross Creek County Park (CCCP), Washington County, Pennsylvania, surface waters and nearby residential water wells. Twenty-five wells have been drilled within CCCP over the past 8 years. Six sites were monitored bi-monthly for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity, as well as selected anions, cations, and light hydrocarbons. Detection of methane and ethane, surfactants, and other water chemistry parameters (e.g., mass ratios) suggest water quality has been impacted for sites Cross Creek 1, Streams …

Accounting For Correlation In The Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials With Multiple Layers Of Clustering, Adam Baumgardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A common goal in medical research is to determine the effect that a treatment has on subjects over time. Unfortunately, the analysis of data from such clinical trials often omits several aspects of the study design, leading to incorrect or misleading conclusions. In this paper, a major objective is to show via case studies that randomized controlled trials with longitudinal designs must account for correlation and clustering among observations in order to make proper statistical inference. Further, the effects of outliers in a multi-center, randomized controlled trial with multiple layers of clustering are examined and strategies for detecting and dealing …

The Ethical Justification Of Extending Holistic Care To Complementary And Alternative Medicine, Kaneen Bree Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The doctoral project presents an argument for the inclusion of complementary and alternative medicine in the provision of holistic care. Over the course of history the practice of medicine has evolved with developments in science and technology and transitioned into away from its holistic origins to a more fragmented practice. The project includes relevant literature on shortcomings of conventional medicine that are in part a catalyst for the trends of increasing complementary and alternative medicine utilization. The doctoral project concludes that the benefits of complementary and alternative medicine's inclusion in care, and more specifically holistic care, is of value and …

Multifaceted Traumatization: Direct And Vicarious Exposure Of Ems Personnel Who Responded To A Suicide Where Loved Ones Of The Deceased Were Present, Mallory Rae Wines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel experience direct traumatic exposure that can leave a lasting negative impact. However, little is known about the vicarious exposure that EMS personnel experience at challenging calls when family and loved ones are present at the scene. Additionally, there is minimal research that has looked at the experiences among paramedics and EMTs who arrive to mental disturbance calls or completed suicides. In order to add to the substantial body of literature on EMS personnel and traumatic exposure, this study explored their experiences of multifaceted traumatization; the lived experiences of paramedics and EMTs who have responded to …

Characterization Of Streptomyces Coelicolor Parh In Development-Associated Chromosome Segregation, Metis Hasipek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

S. coelicolor uses an active chromosome partitioning system for developmentally-regulated genome segregation, which is associated with spore formation. There are four known trans-acting segregation proteins (ParA, ParB, ParJ and Scy) and cis-acting centromere-like sites (parS). parA encodes a Walker-type ATPase that is required for efficient DNA segregation and proper placement of the ParB-parS nucleoprotein complexes. A paralogue of ParA is encoded by the S. coelicolor genome, SCO1772 (named ParH), that has 45% identical residues to ParA. In S. coelicolor aerial hyphae, a ∆parH mutant produces 5% of anucleate spores. In this study, ParH was identified as a novel interaction …

Development Of A Microfluidic Platform For Trace Lipid Analysis, Andrew Paul Davic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of lipidomics encompasses the study of pathways, networks, and functionality of cellular lipids in biological systems. The lipid subclass, primary fatty acid amides, are crucial to nervous system signaling, receptor function, and numerous other physiological roles. Chapter 1 details these bioactive properties of several well-studied primary fatty acid amides as well as their biosynthesis, degradation, and most common analysis techniques. As these bioactive lipids are endogenously present in trace and ultra-trace abundancies, the field of microfluidics presents an attractive alternative analysis system to incorporate minimization of sample and reagent usage, analysis cost reduction, highly sensitive detection pairing, and …

The Neuroethical Case Against Cognitive Memory Manipulation, Peter Angelo Depergola Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An increasingly blurred understanding of the moral significance of accurate and authentic memory reconsolidation for an adequate apprehension of self, other, and community suggests a critical need to explore the inter-relationships shared between autobiographical memory, emotional rationality, and narrative identity in light of the contemporary possibilities of neurocognitive memory manipulation, particularly as it bears on ethical decision making. Grounding its thesis in four evidential effects – namely, (i) neurocognitive memory manipulation disintegrates autobiographical memory, (ii) the disintegration of autobiographical memory degenerates emotional rationality, (iii) the degeneration of emotional rationality decays narrative identity, and (iv) the decay of narrative identity disables …

Variations In Health Services Utilization By Patients With Prostate Cancer, Roberta Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among men living in the United States, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death, and, excluding skin cancers, it is the cancer diagnosed most frequently. While incidence and mortality rates have been declining, the American Cancer Society estimated that there were 220,800 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 27,500 prostate cancer deaths in 2015. Various patient-level and community-level factors have been shown to influence the differential patterns of diagnosis, care, and outcomes for men with prostate cancer. Detailed information regarding the utilization of health services by prostate cancer patients, particularly those with higher propensity for …

Taxonomy Of Affective Curriculum For Gifted Learners, Derek Cavilla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teaching and learning in the current milieu of standards-based accountability has resulted in a near-exclusive focus on academic growth and development for students in today's schools. This is particularly acute for gifted students, whose label inherently focuses on superior intellectual capacity and aptitude for academic success. However, there is a growing demand for equal support of social-emotional learning (SEL) across the globe. In the United States, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has shed significant light on the power of affective development for school-aged children, indicating that, without it, students are limited in their ability to reach …

Perspectives On Creativity: Theoria, Praxis, And Poiesis, Kathryn Bryan-Bethea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical perspectives on creativity encompass ideas such as risk, inquiry, resistance to conformity, and attraction to complexity. In response to these philosophical tenets I have organized my dissertation into three distinct but related manuscripts that explore creativity through theoria (knowing), praxis (doing), and poiesis (making). These manuscripts present an integrated approach to creative pedagogy. 1. The first manuscript is a review of literature with the aim to: provide a brief overview of creativity theories; consider an imbricated definition of creativity; and evaluate current empirical research. Research in creativity should provide a spectrum of methods that reflect the complex nature of …

The Biotic Effects Of Tertiary Geoclimatic Change In The Southern Hemisphere, Stuart Val Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I explore how pre-Quaternary geoclimatic phenomena and geographical heterogeneity influenced sub-continental speciation processes and contemporary biogeographic patterns across the Southern Hemisphere, with particular focus on two regions that have experienced elevated levels of ongoing aridification – sub-Saharan (particularly Southern) Africa and Australia. I used standard methods from the molecular phylogeneticists’ toolbox (e.g. tree building using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, haplotype networks, uncorrected p-distances) combined with environmental niche modeling, morphometric principal components and fossil calibrated molecular dating analyses in order to ascertain the role that Miocene geo-climatic events played in promoting lineage accumulation and diversification through time. I found a …

Biophysical Characterization Of A Proline Mutant Of Neural Cadherin, Keshia S. Dykes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cadherins are calcium dependent glycoproteins whose homophilic interactions mediate cell-cell adhesion in solid tissues. They are comprised of an extracellular region, a transmembrane region and a cytoplasmic region. The extracellular region plays a critical role in cadherin-mediated cell adhesion, and has five tandemly repeated ectodomains (ec1-ec5), with three calcium binding sites situated in each interface between the domains. Dimerization of cadherin occurs through formation of adhesive interactions between extracellular domains of cadherins from neighboring cells. Adhesive interaction occurs at the interfaces of ec1 domains of two molecules originating from different cell surfaces. Dimerization is critically dependent on the binding of …

Bone Mineral Density, Preventative Behaviors And Risk Factors In African American And Caucasian Mother-Daughter Pairs, Mary Haskins Haskins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is expected that by 2030, elderly minorities will comprise 20.2 million of the total 72.8 million population of Americans over 65 years (pollard, 2013). For African American women over the age of 50, 5% have osteoporosis and an estimated 35% have low bone mass (nof, n.d.). It is estimated that while over 40% of African American women over 80 years meet criteria for treatment, yet less than 12% are actually treated (Cauley, 2011). Striking disparities exist between African American and Caucasian women's likelihood for dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (dxa) referral, the measurement tool that is used to diagnosis osteoporosis. (Hamrick, …