Digital Commons Network^™

Temperature Effects On Prevalence Of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among At-Risk Female Sex Workers In India, Rajshri Suresh

Master's Theses

Vulnerability to climate change varies depending on the baseline climate, sensitivity to given exposure, and the presence of social, political, cultural, and institutional inequalities that influence access to essential resources of livelihood, particularly among informal labor market participants. Within the risky informal labor market, the transient nature of sex work implies that sex workers suffer disproportional losses in health, income, protection, and other aspects of general well-being as a result of the effects of climate anomalies. In this paper, I investigate the effect of temperature on the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in a high-risk population of female sex workers …

Geographic And Ontogenetic Variation In The Trophic Ecology Of Lingcod (Ophiodon Elongatus) Along The U.S. West Coast, Bonnie Brown

Master's Theses

Dietary studies of fishes provide an understanding of predator-prey interactions and may be used to inform resource managers about food web dynamics. Along the West Coast of North America, Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) are top marine predators in rocky-reef habitats and support an economically important fishery. In this study, gut content and stable isotope analyses were used to evaluate differences in the diets of Lingcod collected in U.S. waters from Alaska to Southern California during 2016 and 2017. Overall, Lingcod consumed a wide variety of prey and exhibited both generalist and opportunist feeding strategies. Significant variability in Lingcod diets was driven …

Misogynoir: Undergraduate Experiences By Black Women, Briettny Curtner

Master's Theses

The Black female voice whispers within literature because of the limited focus on their lived experiences, specifically of undergraduate Black women. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how Black women in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree navigate racism and sexism. Additionally, this study explored participant resonance with the characteristics and perceived conflicts of the Strong Black Women (SBW) schema. Six Black women from a comprehensive public university in the West participated in a qualitative interview and member checking. The following are emergent themes found as a result of this study: oppositional framing, navigation of intergroup comparisons, inferiority …

Wicked Problems: Understanding How Cities And Counties In California Are Tackling Climate Change And Homelessness, Guadalupe Michelle Franco

Master's Theses

California continues to endure the detrimental effects of climate change, such as poor air quality, flooding, and heatwaves. Concurrently, the state has seen an increase in the number of unhoused communities due to various ramifications such as rapid urbanization, failed political leadership, and restricted housing policies. While unhoused communities fight to access basic services, they must also now adapt to the looming impacts of climate change. Unhoused populations are especially vulnerable to climate change as they have limited access to shelter, spend the majority of their time outdoors, and lack the economic ability to adapt. While cities and counties are …

Lived Experiences Of College Football Fans In The Southeast United States: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Rosemarie Rachel Pacitto

Master's Theses

While a number of sport-related studies have explored sport fandom and its effects quantitatively, there is a lack of research that exists surrounding the lived experiences of fans, and thus any potential health-related benefits derived through fandom. The present study qualitatively explored the lived experiences of college football fans in the Southeast United States with aims to identify any potential health related benefits derived through fandom experiences. Eight participants were interviewed utilizing semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed via interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results are discussed within the context of positive psychology and identity theory and suggest that participants experienced phycological and …

The Language Of The Creative Person: Validating The Use Of Linguistic Analysis To Assess Creativity, Sana Tariq Ahmed

Master's Theses

Creativity is most commonly assessed through methods such as questionnaires and specific tasks, the validity of which can be weakened by scorer or experimenter error, subjective and response biases, and self-knowledge constraints. Linguistic analysis provides researchers with an automatic, objective method of assessing creativity, free from human error and bias. This study used 419 creativity text samples from a wide range of creative individuals (Big-C, Pro-C, and Small-c) to investigate whether linguistic analysis can, in fact, distinguish between creativity levels and creativity domains using creativity dictionaries and personality dimension language patterns in the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text …

The Colonial Marginalization Of Filipino And Filipino American Soldiers In The Us Army During World War Ii, Corey Joseph Tinay

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the structural paradigms in place within American society as multifaceted tools of colonialism and how they impacted the experiences of minority and colonized soldiers in the United States Army during the Second World War. The history is analyzed through the postcolonial lens, observing factors in place such as; denial of place in history, identity, and recognition of service. The research questions that this thesis addresses are as follows: What are the colonial implications in the experience of Filipino and Filipino American soldiers experience during the Second World War? Are colonial soldiers treated as more expendable than white …

The Right To Education At The Gates Of The University: The Role Of The University Of San Francisco In The Transformation Of Bay Area Schools, Maximilian Cordeiro

Master's Theses

The right to education, understood from a lens of transformational human rights, is not being fulfilled for youth of color in the Bay Area, particularly in historically Black neighborhoods like the Western Addition and Hunters Point, where high school and college graduation rates are significantly lower for Black and Latino students than for their white counterparts. The systemic barriers to educational attainment for people of color are rooted in legacy of Jim Crow-era segregationist policies, but they only exist today because they have been preserved in contemporary “race-neutral” policies and practices. This ongoing racial inequality in education has incurred a …

Glial Endothelial Brain Cell Co-Cultures For Testing Signaling Response And Delivery Of Novel Materials Across Blood Brain Barrier, Neela Prajapati

Master's Theses

The brain accounts for 20% of overall energy metabolism in the body though it just comprises 2% of the total body mass but has a limited capacity of storing energy unlike other critical organs in the body such as the heart and liver. This energy along with oxygen and nutrients is supplied by cerebral blood flow (CBF), any interruption of which can cease the brain function within seconds with a potential irreversible neuronal injury, within minutes. Vascular cells along with astrocytes and neurons are a part of a recently developed concept known as the Neurovascular Unit responsible for Neurovascular coupling …

Women In The Outdoors: Navigating Fear And Creating Space For Spiritual Inspiration 2021, Morgan Costello

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fear and spiritual inspiration for women in the outdoors. Specifically, this study looked at participants from SUNY Cortland’s Outdoor Education Practicum, a core course in the Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies Department that culminates with a two-week outdoor experience, with the goals of teaching outdoor skills and building community. This was a mixed-method study, with quantitative data collected according to pre(mid)post design and qualitative data coming from journal entries over a 5-day period. Testing was conducted using the Outdoor Situational Fear Inventory to measure fear, and the Nature Relatedness …

Developing An Adaptive Rock Climbing Curriculum For Suny Cortland Outdoor Pursuits 2021, Rebekah Mills

Master's Theses

SUNY Cortland Outdoor Pursuits opened in August of 2015 with the completion of the newly constructed Student Life Center. Outdoor Pursuits is a smaller department within the Recreational Sports Department. Outdoor Pursuits offers rock climbing services at its facility located in the Student Life Center. Currently, Outdoor Pursuits offers Bouldering and Top Roping services only when the Student Life Center is open, these hours are typically 3-10 pm. Monday-Friday and Saturday-Sunday 2-8 pm. These services are only provided to eligible SUNY Cortland faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other affiliated members. As the facility has grown in popularity during its operation, …

The Role Of Med12 In Adipogenesis, Caroline Helen Rinderle

Master's Theses

In order for any function to occur within a cell, transcription factors must be able to interact with genes. When this occurs, genes are expressed, and ultimately, proteins are translated and perform the specific function that needs to be done within the cell. In order for this to occur, genes must interact with transcription machinery. The Mediator complex recruits transcription factors to genes in order to promote cell-type specific gene expression. The Mediator complex is a multi-protein complex consisting of four modules: head, middle, tail, and kinase. The kinase module is known to dissociate from the rest of the complex …

Remaking Divinity In Aldous Huxley’S Brave New World 2021, Sebastian Vignone

Master's Theses

Humanity is an experience. Shaped through both individual and collective encounters, we understand the self and the world around us as an amalgamation of interactions over the course of our lives. Arguably, one of the most common experiential archetypes is religion, and more specifically the relationship one has with a divine being as it has been framed by a religious institution. While the United States does not have an official religion, there is a host of people who refer to the U.S. as a “Christian nation,” and it is therefore irresponsible to elide the panoply of inequities that run through …

Relationship Between Jump Tests And Their Influence On Multidirectional Ground-Reaction Forces In Baseball Pitchers, Ryan Lis

Master's Theses

Jump tests are effective, valid, and reliable methods to examine lower body power and possibly influence ground reaction forces (GRFs) in baseball pitching. Purpose: To determine relationships between drive leg and stride leg GRFs and fastball velocities while pitching from the wind-up and stretch to 1) drive leg and stride leg GRFs of unilateral countermovement jumps (UCMJ) and bilateral countermovement jumps (BCMJ), 2) BCMJ, and drive and stride leg UCMJ height as well as bilateral broad jump (BBJ) and drive and stride leg unilateral lateral to medial jump (ULMJ) distances, and 3) BBJ estimated peak power. Methods: Nineteen Division I …

Relationship Between Kinetics Of Countermovement Jump And Proximal Mechanics Of Collegiate Baseball Pitching, Motoki Sakurai

Master's Theses

Purpose: To identify how countermovement jump (CMJ) kinetics influence kinematics and momentum of the baseball pitching motion with a focus on lower body and proximal movement. Methods: Nineteen Division I collegiate pitchers (age = 19.9 ± 1.5 years; height = 1.86 ± 0.06 m; weight = 90.7 ± 13.8 kg) performed a bilateral CMJ test and threw 5 strike fastballs from the stretch with a slide step on a custom-made pitching mound built for a laboratory setting. A 3D motion capture system tracked whole-body kinematics at 240 Hz from 29 reflective markers. Two force plates recorded ground reaction forces (GRFs) …

Assessing And Comparing Quality Of Life Scores In Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea, Irritable Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Constipation, And Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Mixed, Hailey Rentz

Master's Theses

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 10 people globally (Black & Ford, 2020). Since IBS is such a common GI disorder worldwide it is important to understand that impact it has on quality of life. This study assessed the differences in the effects of IBS on the quality of life in patients with each of the three types of IBS: IBS-D, IBS-C, and IBS-M. Potential respondents were recruited via social media using an online survey, which collected demographics and assessed the effects of IBS on quality of life. The survey …

Effects Of Bacterial Metabolites In Conditioned Media On Colon Cancer Proliferation, Hunter Panier

Master's Theses

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States with colorectal cancer (CRC) being the third most common type. Available treatments include a combination of surgery and chemotherapy but have debilitating side effects. These also have limited effectiveness in some cases, creating the need for additional treatment options, or supplementary treatments to increase their effectiveness. This is leading scientists to consider the microbiome to fix this shortcoming. Current research is focusing on the microbiome and its interactions with certain diseases, which could lead to pro- or prebiotic therapies. This work aims to establish specific bacterial species can …

An Examination Of Average Pretrial Risk Assessment Scores Between Drug And Violent Offenders, Annaliese Engler

Master's Theses

With an overwhelming number of offenders in prison for a drug-related offense (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2020), evidence-based practices are as important as ever to help properly determine incarceration. Prior literature has shown that pretrial release decisions impact the final outcome of the case and tools used for such a decision should be evaluated and scrutinized (Johnson et al., 2014; Oleson et al., 2014). It seems that although violent offenders pose more of a physical threat to the community than drug offenders, the pretrial risk assessment tools cater towards pushing drug offenders towards a higher risk score. Using data from …

Postural Stability In Unilateral Transtibial Amputees Using Two Suspension Systems: Smartpucktm Vs Lock And Pin, Ashley Alunan

Master's Theses

The number of individuals with lower limb amputation is growing. Individuals with transtibial amputation (TTA) face an increased risk of falling. Center of pressure (COP) is measured during quiet stance to assess postural stability and fall risk. The purpose of the present study was to examine postural stability of individuals with TTA using two suspension systems: SmartPuck™ (PUCK) and lock and pin (PIN). Four participants with TTA (71.34 ± 41.52 kg, 1.39 ± 0.08 m; 49.2 ± 27.79 years, K3 - K4) performed 30 seconds of quiet standing for four different conditions with each suspension system: (a) rigid surface eyes …

The Effects Of Mindfulness Interventions On Undergraduate Students' Math Anxiety, Elysia Garza

Master's Theses

This study attempted to examine the relationship between math anxiety and mindfulness using an experimental design. The aim of this study was to learn if a brief daily mindfulness practice (yoga or meditation) could increase participants’ levels of perceived mindfulness and decrease their reported math anxiety. Participants (n=24) were assigned to an intervention group (i.e., meditation, yoga, control) and their mindfulness and math anxiety were measured pre, during-, and post-interventions. While small sample size and large attrition leave inferential statistics impossible to analyze, this research did show an increase in mindfulness and decrease in math anxiety throughout the study for …

Evaluating Changes In Reactive Oxygen Species (Ros) As A Plausible Mechanism Underlying The Effect Of Noise On The Dopamine System In The Hub For Central Auditory Processes, Bridget Doe

Master's Theses

Excessive exposure to noise leads to hearing loss but the mechanism by which this happens remains unknown. Presently, dopamine, a neurotransmitter widely known for its involvement in learning and reward-based actions, has also been linked to auditory processes in the inferior colliculus, a principal integration center for hearing and related processes. Preliminary data from our research laboratory, has demonstrated that exposure to deafening noise leads to decreased dopamine release in the inferior colliculus, thus implicating the dopamine system in hearing loss. One plausible mechanism underlying this noise-induced alteration in dopamine neurotransmission could be via excessive production of reactive oxygen species …

Synthesis Of Functionalized Ionic Liquids For Coal Dissolution And Pretreatment, Michael Franklin

Master's Theses

Brown coal (lignite) is a bulk organic mixture of conjugated hydrocarbons that are complexed together via hydrogen bonds. Coal [partial] dissolution is essential to the better utilization of low-rank coal for power sources because the direct combustion of brown coal is not energy efficient. To break hydrogen bonds of low-rank coal and make it partially soluble, this project evaluates a series of ionic liquids (ILs) with specific properties as non-volatile alternatives to conventional organic solvents. A series of nitrogen- and phosphorus-based cations have been synthesized via a nucleophilic substitution reaction, the resultant bromide-based IL being converted to an acetate-based IL …

A Meta-Analysis Of Check-In/Check-Out: Effectiveness, Social Validity, And Design Standards, Caitlyn Weaver

Master's Theses

The present study serves to investigate the evidence-base for Check-in/Check-out (CICO), a widely used behavioral intervention. Fifty-two studies were included in the review and 44 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference was used to calculate an omnibus effect for CICO, which showed that CICO significantly improves student outcomes. Effect sizes were large for several dependent variables, including academic engagement, reduction in problem behaviors, percentage of points on a daily behavior report card, and reduction in internalizing behaviors. No moderators significantly explained variability within these relationships. Social validity was assessed across CICO studies and was reported to be …

Effects Of Religiosity And Self-Control On At-Risk Adolescent Substance Use And Delinquency, Lauren Burns

Master's Theses

The adolescent period is one of growth, increased autonomy, and increased risk-taking. Common examples of these risky behaviors include substance use and engagement in delinquent activity. Adolescent substance use and delinquent behavior can lead to a range of negative outcomes, some of which carry into adulthood. These negative consequences are especially evident among at-risk adolescents such as those who have dropped out of school or who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, as these youth often demonstrate higher rates of substance use and delinquent behavior. Understanding the nature and development of these problem behaviors is essential to developing …

Evaluating Marsh Restoration Success Using Structural And Trophic Metrics On Deer Island, Ms, Emelia Marshall

Master's Theses

Coastal marshes in the northern Gulf of Mexico provide essential habitat for various consumer species, however, land loss has severely degraded marsh habitat in this region. Few studies have examined restored black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus) marshes, such as those found in Mississippi (MS), and how they affect faunal inhabitants.

Restoration of Juncus-dominated marshes on Deer Island, MS sought to reestablish ecological functions with the intention of supporting natural consumer assemblages. To test this, quadrat and minnow trap sampling were used to compare invertebrate and nekton abundance, species richness, and diversity of two restored marshes (5+ yrs and …

The Effects Of A Loaded Pre-Competition Activity Using Tethered Swimming On 25-Yard Swim Sprint Performance 2021, Jacob Burchfield

Master's Theses

Warmup is a standard practice for swim competitions, but there is minimal scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of pre-competition activities (PCA) after the swim warmup. This study examined whether a loaded PCA using tethered swimming while attached to a power rack improves performance in a 25-yard swim sprint. Post activation performance enhancement (PAPE) may be the proposed mechanism for improvement resulting from a loaded PCA. To determine if PAPE existed following the loaded PCA, varsity swimmers from SUNY Cortland performed a 25-yard sprint a loaded PCA and after an unloaded PCA (control). All participants performed a standard meet warmup (1600-yards) …

Honor Crimes: A Question Of Honor, Culture, And Humanity, Nadia N. Almusleh

Master's Theses

Honor crimes, femicide, domestic abuse and violence are widely prevalent in patriarchal societies. Middle Eastern cultures deeply value protecting the chastity and honor of women. The traditional images of women and the notions of honor and shame are consistently used as justifications for violence and killings. This is not attributable to a single culture or religion. It is rather a manifestation of societal norms around gender-based violence. Feminist activism against honor crimes in the Middle East within the last decade has increasingly received social media attention. However, the impact of this social media activism on government intervention has yet to …

No More Shade: Deforestation And Rural-Urban Migration In Nigeria, Kambre Sims

Master's Theses

Some of the most well-documented motivating factors of migration in Nigeria include education, employment opportunities, and cultural conflicts. However, as the deforestation crisis has not improved and Nigeria has maintained its spot as the country with the most deforestation on Earth, access to critical forest resources may be in danger. In light of this crisis, this paper attempts to determine if deforestation has become a new motivating factor for migration as those in rural communities seek other avenues of obtaining those vital resources. Subsequently, Nigeria is also experiencing a housing crisis within its rapidly growing urban centers; obtaining and keeping …

Warm Or Chilly? An Assessment Of The Relationships Between Campus Climate And Gender Identity Among Transgender And Nonbinary College Students, Emma Allen-Morgan

Master's Theses

This research is a mixed-methods analysis of the relationship between campus climate and gender identity for transgender and nonbinary college students. Snowball and convenience sampling were used to obtain a sample of trans and nonbinary college students. Thirty surveys and six interviews were completed. I applied Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Risman’s gender structure theory to analyze how macrosystems, microsystems, and the chronosystem (time) affected trans students’ gender identity, whether positively or negatively. Participants were ambivalent about the effects of college on their gender identity; on one hand, college gives trans students freedom from their previous environments. However, participants described a …

Exploring The Neurochemical Basis For Toluene-Induced Alterations In Accumbal Dopamine Neurotransmission, Kristofer Reiser

Master's Theses

Inhalants as environmental contaminants or recreational drugs pose a considerable health concern, but little is known about their mode of action. In 2011, a study from the National Institute for Drug Addiction revealed that an estimate of 21.7 million people aged 12 or older have used inhalants that contain high concentrations of volatile organic compounds, primarily toluene. These compounds can have debilitating impact on brain chemistry. While the impact of toluene on the central dopamine reward pathway has been already reported, the exact mechanism underlining the effect of toluene is still obscure. Towards this goal, the present work seeks to …