Digital Commons Network^™

Reflection, Creation, Transformation: Fostering A Positive Body Image In Female High School Dancers Through A Creative Choreography Curriculum, Kelly Culver

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore whether a choreography curriculum based on body image for high school female dancers would help students increase their positive body image and find a new appreciation for their bodies. This study also focused on the impact that reflection and creation have in this transformative curriculum design, along with instructional strategies that could foster a more positive body image culture in the dance classroom. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to answer the four essential questions of this study. Q1 How can choreography be used as a transformative process to help female …

Competitive Dance: The Physiological And Psychological Effects From The Perspectives Of Current Versus Retired Dancers, Kristen Demaria

Master's Theses

The intent of this research study was to inform students, teachers, and parents of the advantages and disadvantages associated with participation in competitive dance. Through the use of an electronic survey and questionnaire, the researcher evaluated the responses of forty participants through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The participants provided detailed information regarding their personal experiences, both past and present, in regard to the physical, mental, and emotional impact competitive dance had on their life. The research questions addressed in this study were: Q1 What are the effects of competitive dance on a dancer’s physical body? Q2 What are the effects …

Barriers To Dance Education: An Exploration Into The Beliefs Of Dance Educators And Non-Dance Familiars On Dance And Its Place In The Public-School System, Brianna Michelle Miller

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate differing views on the value of dance and its place within the public-education system. The researcher crafted three research questions to guide her research:

Q1 What barriers or objections exist when it comes to incorporating dance within the public-school setting? Q2 What discrepancies exist between the viewpoints of dance educators and non-dance familiars when it comes to dance and its value within the public education system? Q3 What specific steps can be taken to highlight the importance of dance education in the public-school setting?

Nine dance educators and twelve non-dance familiars completed …

Causes Of Burnout Among K-12 Public School Dance Teachers: Preventative Strategies To Improve Teacher Retention In 21st Century Education, Roland Latson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and analyze what contributing factors influence stress and burnout in K-12 public school dance teachers and collect information to analyze the ways in which teachers can minimize stress to prevent burnout. The research was conducted by current and former dance educators with a minimum of 3 years teaching experience in rural and urban school districts. Thirty-two dance teachers participated in the survey study. The purpose of this study was to examine the causes of burnout among K-12 public school dance teachers and preventative strategies to improve teacher retention in 21st century education. …

Reflective Practices In The Dance Studio: Implementing Deliberate Observation And Examination Methods Into The Dance Technique Class For Youth To Encourage The Development Of Self-Awareness, Meredith Orrell

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a reflective pedagogy on younger students in the dance studio setting. Three research questions were designed to be answered by this study. Q1 In what ways are reflective practices effective in a dance studio setting? Q2 Are reflective practices effective for younger students? Q3 How can reflective practices be applied effectively in future dance classes? Five students participated in the study by completing weekly self-evaluation progress forms and reflective journal entries. The researcher at the same time completed an observation form of the participants’ progresses. These research instruments composed …

Plant Disease Detection Through Convolutional Neural Networks: A Survey Of Existing Literature, Best Practices, And Implementation, Kevin Label

Master's Theses

In the United States alone, common diseases spread among plants account for billions of dollars lost in crop yield each year. This issue is exacerbated in countries with less infrastructure to defend against crop epidemics, and can lead to famine and forced migration. Farmers can seek the help of plant pathology experts to defend against diseases and detect crop irregularities early on. However, access to experts can be difficult, and even those trained in the field may miss symptoms before it is too late. To assist in early disease detection, a number of papers have been released on the potential …

Heartbeat In The Sole: A Study Of How Appalachian Dance Preserves, Shapes, And Enriches The Culture In Which It Is Performed, Rachel Marlowe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to both provide space for and aid in the preservation of stories of southern Appalachian dancers. Southern Appalachian dance, also referred to as flat-footing, buck dancing or clogging depending on the region and the individual, is a tradition often passed from family member to family member and in social environments or communal gatherings. In collecting and grouping these stories, the researcher hoped to identify and categorize the impact that southern Appalachian dance in southern Appalachia had on what the dancers perceive as their personal values and successes. The researcher used a short demographic survey …

Risk Perception And Response Among International Students Of The University Of Southern Mississippi, Elida Lopes Souza Rocha

Master's Theses

Given the exposure of university campuses to hazards, disaster mitigation is a critical element of higher education policy. Although U.S. higher education institutions are leaders in the global education market, emergency warning systems give little consideration to how international students perceive risk, prepare for hazards, or access warning technologies available to them. This poses several questions regarding the suitability of hazards mitigation practices and the welfare of international students.

This thesis investigates the relationship between USM international students and natural hazards. Responses from online surveys and semi-structured interviews data were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods to document the extent …

Effects Of Nitrogen Management And Cultivar On Strawberry Production Under Disease Pressure, Kamille A. Garcia-Brucher

Master's Theses

Effects of nitrogen management and cultivar on strawberry production under disease pressure

Kamille Garcia-Brucher

California strawberry growers face increasing regulatory pressures to manage nitrogen (N) applications in their production system. Standard practice in the California strawberry industry is to apply a synthetic pre-plant controlled release fertilizer (CRF) to ensure the crop has sufficient N during winter establishment. Some research from the UC Cooperative Extension suggests this practice is not efficient at delivering N to the crop since most of the N is released from CRF before strawberry crop N uptake is significant. Another concern for California strawberry growers is loss …

Optimizing A Virtual Human Platform For Depression/Suicide Ideation Identification For The American Soldier, Christina M. Monahan

Master's Theses

Suicide surpassed homicide to be the second leading cause of death among people 10-24 years old in the United States \cite{1}. This statistic is alarming especially when combined with the more than eight distinctly different types of clinical depression among society today \cite{2}. To further complicate this health crisis, let’s consider the current worldwide isolating pandemic often referred to as COVID-19 that has spanned 12 months. It is more important than ever to consider how we can get ahead of the crisis by identifying the symptoms as they set in and more importantly ahead of the decision to commit suicide. …

Assessing The Effects Of Oxaliplatin On An In Vitro Three-Dimensional Human Colorectal Cancer Model, Sabrina Nelson

Master's Theses

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States with a 5-year late-stage survival rate of only 14%. Due to the lack of translation between animal models and clinical trials as well as the inefficacy of many chemotherapeutics in initial clinical trials, researchers are turning to in vitro drug screening models in an effort to mimic the conditions in vivo. This research project aimed to validate an in vitro tumor culture model within a microfluidic device using a clinically relevant chemotherapy drug. The first experiment consisted of a cell density and drug concentration study to determine …

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Get Into It: Unpacking The Relationship Between Hegemonic Norms And The Race And Gender Of Pop Artists, Bailey Shelton

Master's Theses

Many contemporary popular musical artists are victims of media controversy while they simultaneously make musical chat history. As a culture founded and sustained by a white supremacist capitalistic patriarchy, race and sex appear to influence the way hegemonic in-groups treat minorities and the way minorities are perceived and live within the confines of said hegemony. With the context of understanding feminist theories, hegemonic norms, parasocial relationships, celebrity appeal, and norms, the researcher wanted to understand if there are clear relationship among these frameworks in modern society. This study employed a 2x2 2between subjects factorial design method to gather information about …

Media Frames And Abortion Issue Polarization, Shianne Galuska

Master's Theses

The abortion issue is one of the most polarizing topics within the public and media sphere. How the media chooses to frame the abortion debate may influence public opinion and individual reactions. Specifically, articles that use incongruent abortion frames (pro-life/pro-abortion & anti-abortion/pro-choice) may be contributing to an ingroup versus outgroup mentality by highlighting who is the ingroup and who is the outgroup, thus generating moral disgust and polarization (characterized by anger, bias, and activism) amongst those with opposing views. This study sought to answer whether presenting individuals with an incongruent abortion frame increases anger, bias, and activism (polarization), as well …

Higher Command: An Examination Of African American Leadership In The Vietnam Era, Amanda Abulawi

Master's Theses

Since the founding of the United States, African Americans have sacrificed their lives to uphold the nation’s democratic ideals, all while being denied equal access to voting, education, employment, and housing rights at home. Military service appealed to many African Americans who hoped it would lead to social and economic advancement for themselves and their race. Despite African American military participation throughout the nation’s history, these soldiers were treated as outsiders through segregated units and often relegated to non-combative duties, until the Vietnam War. This was the first major conflict in which African Americans had been deployed in large numbers …

Invisible Russian Armies: Wagner Group In Ukraine, Syria And The Central African Republic, Ryan Benaso

Master's Theses

This study provides in depth case studies of three distinct theaters of operations that the Wagner Group participated in order to further Russian national interests overseas. The first of theise is a case study just across the Russian border in the Ukraine during the Crimean annexation and the subsequent Donbas War where the Wagner Group was founded. The second case study also signifies the next stage in the Wagner Group’s evolution as it enlarges and is put in the vanguard for major operations in the Syrian Civil War culminating in the infamous encounter with US forces in Khasham. The third …

Using Praise To Increase Visual Attending In An Asynchronous Online Learning Environment: An Eye Tracking Study, Andrew J. Rozsa Iii

Master's Theses

With the emergence of online courses in the mid-1990s, the number of students enrolled in online courses has been growing at an exponential rate (Schwirzke, Vashaw, & Watson, 2018). This trend brings with it new problems, such as familiarity with evidence-supported behavioral techniques that will maintain student engagement and improve likelihood of academic success in online learning environments. The purpose of the present study was to examine how the use of praise may affect visual engagement with video lectures with the assistance of commercially available eye tracking technology. A secondary objective of the study was to identify how praise affects …

Potential Impact Of Contour Bunds On Diclofenac Removal For Stormwater Control In Rangeland Applications, Braden Alan Whitehead

Master's Theses

Diclofenac (DCF) and other emerging contaminants have been found in environments worldwide. These contaminants may enter the environment due to the application of treated wastewater, biosolids and direct excrement related to veterinary application. Leakage from the soils toward the groundwater is largely controlled by sorption and microbial degradation. Most studies on the environmental fate of DCF have focused on degradation during wastewater treatment processes. However, little is known about their behavior in soil. In this study, the combined effect of adsorption and degradation of diclofenac has been investigated in four (4) 24 ft³ agricultural soil-filled beds designed to mimic …

A Study Of Non-Computing Majors' Growth Mindset, Self-Efficacy And Perceived Cs Relevance In Cs1, Jae Hyuk Yoo

Master's Theses

As the demand for programming skills in today’s job market is rapidly increasing for disciplines outside of computing, CS courses have experienced spikes in enrollment for non-majors. Students in disciplines including art, design and biological sciences are now often required to take introductory CS courses. Previous research has shown the role of growth mindset, self-efficacy and relevance in student success within CS but such metrics are largely unknown for non-majors. In this thesis, we surveyed non-majors in CS1 at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo during the early and late weeks of the quarter to gain insights on their growth mindset, …

Examination Of Methylation Status And Occupancy Of Dna Methylation Modifying Proteins On Regulatory Regions Of The Dax-1 Gene, Caroline P. Riedstra

Master's Theses

Epigenetic modifications influence gene expression and thereby play a pivotal role in development and disease. Misregulation and mutations in the DAX-1 gene, or Dosage-Sensitive Sex Reversal, Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita, Critical Region on the X chromosome, gene 1, have been implicated in Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita (AHC) and Dosage Sensitive Sex Reversal (DSS). The orphan nuclear hormone receptor DAX-1 is expressed predominantly in tissues such as the testes, ovaries, breast, adrenal cortex, and lung. Critically, DAX-1 may serve as an indicator of aberrant growth in these tissues. Here we hypothesize that DAX-1 is epigenetically regulated, specifically in cancer cells, thereby reducing its …

The Affect Of Globalization On Terrorism, Philip R. Passante

Master's Theses

This thesis proposal will dive into the concept of terrorism and how it is an act of force and has proven to be detrimental to the modern world. In addition, this thesis will analyze the concept of terrorism as well as the rationale behind it. It is important to understand and study this as terrorism is a complex entity made up of different themes. The concentration of this thesis will highlight how globalization has affected the phenomena of terrorism in the past, present, and ultimately the future. Globalization and terrorism have a relationship that many scholars and researchers have noticed. …

The Role Of Notch1 And Notch3 In Adult Stem Cell Osteogenic Differentiation, John Bradley Cart

Master's Theses

Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) have significant therapeutic potential due to their ability to self-renew, differentiate down multiple lineages, and modulate the immune system. In addition to these many benefits, hASCs boast a minimally invasive harvesting procedure, making them a readily available cell source for stem cell research and tissue regeneration (Ock, et al. 2016) (Abdi, et al. 2008). Despite their broad use, very little is known about the mechanisms that control cell fate.


One way to enhance our mechanistic understanding of differentiation is through the systematic examination of the signaling pathways. The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved, …

Exosense: A Novel Technology For Selective Purification Of Cd63+ Exosomes From Neural Cells, Kristen Hope Hutson Truelove

Master's Theses

Exosomes are extracellular, cell signaling microvesicles that contain unique genomic and proteomic signatures reflective of the host cell’s pathophysiological conditions. In recent years, the study of exosomes has increased tremendously because many have been recognized as molecular biomarkers with the potential to advance methods of disease diagnostics and therapeutics as well as contribute to physiological analyses of multiple organism types. With the promising potential that exosomes offer to the field of molecular biology, it is vital to establish an efficient and consistently reliable mechanism of exosome isolation from biological samples. Many isolation techniques currently available typically yield exosome samples with …

Subclinical Atherosclerosis Quantified Through Cumulative Shear Measurement, Margaret Lynne Papka

Master's Theses

With the high mortality rate of cardiovascular disease, it is important to study the early signs. The early detection of cardiovascular disease can lead to saved lives. Currently the most prevalent detection methods are the Framingham Risk Score and the carotid intima media thickness, both of which are insufficient. The necessary tool for early detection requires a uniform quantification system. The stimulus leading to endothelial dysfunction, the most significant predictor of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE)—and subsequently subclinical atherosclerosis—is reduced shear stress. Increased surface relative roughness affects the flow profile transition from laminar to turbulent resulting in reduced shear …

The Well-Being Of Business Professionals Through The Participation Of Golf With Coworkers And Clients, Marisa Hisaki

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore and understand how participation of golf influences the well-being of business professionals and how organizations could incorporate activities such as golf to their management practices. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews (Kvale, 1996) were utilized in this study to explore and understand how golf influences the well-being by expressing their experience of the phenomenon of the effects of golf. Seven participants were interviewed, where three were insiders and four were outsiders. The age of the participants ranged from 23-68 years, with the average being 49.7 years. Of the seven participants, six were male and only …

To Vote Or Not To Vote: An Assessment Of How Felony Convictions And Incarceration Affects Voting Practices, Tammy Ortiz

Master's Theses

Felon disenfranchisement has a long history in the United States, beginning with Jim Crow Laws, continuing with mass incarceration, and increasing with voter suppression policies and laws being created on a daily basis. This paper will include a brief history of voting suppression and how felony convictions and incarceration create further obstacles for individuals choosing to share their voices and elect officials who represent them within the government. Theories involved in this research include labeling, anomie, citizenship, and both social control and social conflict and combined will demonstrate how the criminal justice works to control individuals under supervision, so much …

Noninvasive Measurement Of Arterial Compliance With A Blood Pressure Cuff Using A Surrogate Arm Bench Top Model For Oscillometric Use, Shane Wilsey

Master's Theses

A surrogate arm model was created that is capable of being used for oscillometry. This model is capable of being used as a bench top model for blood pressure cuff devices. The arm consists of endplates and internal supports that are 3D printed with ABS, a silicone rubber outer sleeve, and interchangeable arteries made from two silicone rubber strips glued together at the edges. The interchangeable arteries have varying compliances that can be used as different inputs for oscillometric testing. A process was established to measure the artery compliances with a curve fit correlation of 0.95. However, testing revealed that …

Women As Party Leaders: Are The Barriers Partisan?, Amanda B. Yates

Master's Theses

Even though women make up roughly 51% of the population of the United States, they are underrepresented in all branches of American government. Although there has been recent literature on women in politics and women and parties, very little has been done on women in party leadership. Research suggests that there are fewer women in elected office because of a lack of supply, or qualified and willing women, or a lack of demand, an electorate willing to vote for a woman. This study seeks to understand the levels of participation of women as party delegates in state party conventions and …

Paradoxes Of The Heart And Mind: Three Case Studies In White Identity, Southern Reality, And The Silenced Memories Of Mississippi Confederate Dissent, 1860-1979, Billy Loper

Master's Theses

This thesis is meant to advance scholars understanding of the processes by which various groups silenced the memory of Civil War white dissent in Mississippi. It analyzes three case studies: F. A. P. Barnard’s 1860 trial for abolitionism, the transformation of community memory which surrounded Newt Knight in the early twentieth century, and Mississippi’s interaction with the Civil War through popular culture. These examples will reveal the cultural and discursive systems that have existed in the state for more than a century. This work argues that Mississippians silenced the memory of racial dissent throughout the state’s history because it conflicted …

Contextualizing A Crisis: Examining Michigan State University Press Releases And The Larry Nassar Scandal, Courtney Robinson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to conduct a contextual analysis of press releases published by Michigan State University following a 2016 scandal that accused long-term physician Larry Nassar of sexually abusing more than 250 young women and girls under the guise of medical care. Specifically, the researcher was concerned with the image repair strategies employed by Michigan State as it attempted to respond to accusations that university personnel were aware of Nassar’s actions and had failed to act. The institution found itself responding to a series of distinct, yet related, crises, which were documented in a series of press …