Digital Commons Network^™

Cariño In The Clase: Understanding How Teachers And Staff In San José Navigate Caring, Protecting, And Empowering Undocumented Latinx High School Students In The Trump Era, Nancy Haro

Master's Theses

Latinx students in low-income public schools face structural oppression that limits their educational and career opportunities. Those opportunities are further limited when we consider how many of those students might be undocumented. The current political climate is replete with anti-immigrant sentiment and has already created further difficulty for undocumented students with the recession of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Public high school teachers and staff play an important role in the lives of these students, for they interact in a space in which preparation for adulthood is the goal. However, these spaces do not exist in a vacuum but …

Empowering Female Entrepreneurs Through Mentorship In Medellin, Colombia: Results From The Field, Theresa Solenski

Master's Theses

Utilizing the power of local knowledge and peer networking, this study attempts to quantify the impacts of mentorship among female micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia on empowerment. Developing countries such as Colombia have disproportionately high rates of unprofitable micro-businesses, many of which are managed by women. Internal constraints, such as disempowerment, play a central role in perpetuating poverty. We implement a 6-month mentoring intervention by pairing 18 successful entrepreneurs with 52 disadvantaged female, micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia to measure the additional benefit of localized knowledge to micro-borrowers. Using a process of random assignment, I measure the change in female empowerment, measured …

Combating White Resistance: What We Can Learn About White Educators Who Lean Into Anti-Racist Training, Erin Parr

Master's Theses

This work attempts to understand and describe why some white teachers lean into anti-racist training and racial literacy development when many resist it. A qualitative case study with three white female educators explores what initially drew the participants into racial literacy work, how they have transformed their professional values and educational practices because of such work, and what aspects of the work they found to be most valuable in meaningfully engaging them. It describes the ways in which they embraced critical anti-racist work, specifically in regards to education and teaching practices. The findings may be valuable for future teacher educators …

« Mind The Gap » : Les Pièges Cognitifs Dans Cinq Œuvres D’Eugène Ionesco, Olivia Merchen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Overactive Bladder: Shortcomings Of Current Diagnostic And Treatment Approaches And A New Etiological Paradigm, Nina L. Franzen

Master's Theses

Aims: To examine the effectiveness of the current diagnostic and treatment approach of overactive bladder (OAB) and the relative impact of cognition on what is currently a bladder-centric condition. Methods: A review of the literature on OAB from the population to organ/brain level was conducted. The impact of age-induced bladder dysfunction via cognitive changes to sensory integration and attention control are discussed. Results: OAB uses bladder-centric terminology to represent a collection of symptoms with inconsistent and often unknown pathology. Proposed etiologies and therapeutic models for overactive bladder focus on the bladder organ, but evidence suggests that age-related degradation to inhibitory …

Exploring Uncertainty In Real-Time Hybrid Substructuring, Connor H. Ligeikis

Master's Theses

Real-time hybrid substructuring (RTHS) is a cyber-physical vibration testing method that partitions a structural system into numerical and physical substructures. RTHS incorporates sensing, actuation, and computing technologies to couple these substructures in real time. RTHS can be used to realistically examine the performance of structural systems with rate-dependent structural components that may be difficult to accurately model. However, uncertainty can be found in many aspects of RTHS testing including noise in sensor measurements, actuator performance and tracking, non-linearities in the physical test specimen, and numerical modeling assumptions. In the numerical substructure, uncertainty in material properties, stiffness, damping, or geometry may …

Perceived Chewing Ability In Adults With Or Without Dentures, Mara Cuberos Guevara

Master's Theses

Background: Masticatory impairment impacts both oral health as well as general health. Self-perceived chewing ability can be a tool to assess denture satisfaction, food choices and quality of life. Objective: To describe the perceived chewing ability with or without use of dentures in adults of different ages and implications in food choices. Methods: Administration of a 20- question survey to adult patients at the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. Results: Chewing ability and food choices were significantly impacted by denture status (p = 0.015). Denture status …

The Effect Of Guilt Free Claims On Restrained And Non-Restrained Eaters' Purchase Intention, Perception Of Product Healthfulness, And Amount Willing To Pay For A Novel Product, Alexis Ludwig

Master's Theses

Products with health-related claims that are perceived to be tasty are more likely to be purchase by consumers than products without a claim. Restrained eaters rely more on external cues such as food packaging rather than internal cues such as hunger signals in a way to control their caloric intake.^1,2 Restrained eaters may be more susceptible to marketing and food claims compared to non-restrained eaters. We propose a guilt free message will affect perception of healthfulness. We also propose a guilt free message and eating restraint will affect purchasing decisions. Lastly, perception of healthfulness and valuing nutritious products mediates …

Who Receives Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder?, Daniel Madden

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Medication Assisted Treatment (Mat) Programs In Correctional Facilities: A Review Of The Evidence And Recommendations, Woodlyn Joachim

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Risk Factors For Attrition From A Pediatric Weight Management Program, Richika Makol

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Using Google Translate To Prepare Discharge Instructions: Spanish-Speaking Patients With Limited English Proficiency In The Emergency Department, Alexis Cordone

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project is to evaluate whether Google Translate can be used to accurately translate discharge instructions from English to Spanish, and whether native speakers prefer translations provided by a certified interpreter or Google Translate upon leaving the Emergency Department. In order to study this question, 211 patient charts with discharge instructions in English were translated by a certified human interpreter and by Google Translate; then, those translations were analyzed by two independent reviewers who counted the number of errors in each translation. The human translations contained substantially less errors than those provided by Google Translate, and the …

La Marquise De Merteuil : Le Corps, Le Voile, L'Écriture, Clara Matet

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

How Slps Assess, Treat, And Make Discharge Decisions For People With Mild Aphasia: A Survey Of Current Practice In The U.S., Andrea Pascariello

Master's Theses

The goal of the present study is to provide a comprehensive overview of how speech-language pathologists (SLP) are currently assessing, treating, and discharging patients with mild aphasia. In addition, the present study aims to learn which factors may be limiting SLP involvement with this population and how, as a field, we can better serve these patients. A 26-question survey, consisting of both open-ended and closed ended questions, was developed and distributed via email and social media to selected groups of speech-language pathologists. A total of 133 speech-language pathologists responded to the survey. Reports of assessment, treatment, and discharge procedures were …

1-Norm Support Vector Machine On Single-Trial Eeg And Ecg Data To Identify Neural Oscillatory Features In The Ketamine Model For Schizophrenia, Xiao Yang

Master's Theses

Ketamine provides a useful model for studying the physiopathology of schizophrenia as it induces and exacerbates schizophrenic symptoms in healthy individuals and patients, respectively. However, it remains unclear how ketamine affects neural oscillations across frequency bands and the extent to which changes in cortical firing are independent from ketamine’s cardiovascular effects. The present study used 1-norm support vector machine (SVM) as a classification approach to determine sources of psychophysiological signal, considering both EEG and ECG, characterizing primary effects of ketamine administration. EEG and ECG recordings of 11 participants were collected before (saline) and after the ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) intravenous infusion …

The Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Quadriceps Muscle Function In Individuals With A History Of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Justin L. Rush

Master's Theses

Context: Altered quadriceps activation is common following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and can persist for years after surgery. These neural deficits are partially due to chronic central nervous system alterations. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive modality that is believed to immediately increase motor neuron activity by stimulating the primary motor cortex, making it a promising modality to use during ACLR rehabilitation. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if a single treatment of tDCS would result in increased quadriceps activity and decrease levels of self-reported pain and function during exercise. Design: Randomized crossover design. …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On Physical Literacy In Children, Emma Zuk

Master's Theses

Context: Physical literacy is a growing concept throughout the United States. In order to be physically active, children must develop physical literacy, which is the competency to control their body, and the confidence and motivation to be active. Socioeconomic status of children’s living communities may influence opportunities for physical activity and motor development, but this has not been examined in relation to physical literacy in the United States. The purpose of this study was to evaluate physical literacy competency between a low-resourced community and a high-resourced community. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to compare children between high-resourced (HIGH) …

Reachability Analysis Of Power Electronic Converters, Heqiang Wang

Master's Theses

This work presents a reachability analysis approach for dual active bridge (DAB) converters in the presence of heterogeneous uncertainties induced by manufacturing tolerance, temperature, humidity, etc. Reachability analysis can overapproximate the set of all possible reachable states from the set of initial states and parameter values based on the reachability algorithm. The novelty of this work includes: 1) it gives a comprehensive introduction of how to build a hybrid automata model for a DAB converter, and use the hybrid automata model for the purpose of reachability analysis through SpaceEx; 2) it develops the procedures of building the SpaceEx model for …

Medication Adherence In Pediatric Asthma: A Preliminary Analysis Of A Randomized Control Trial Using Electronic Monitoring Devices, Ye Sun

Master's Theses

Objective – Non-adherence to asthma medication is a common problem in patients with asthma, especially in children, leading to more frequent asthma exacerbations, ED visits and hospital admissions. Current methods of assessing adherence are unreliable. Electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) are more accurate means of assessing for adherence, but little is known about whether EMDs have a sustained effect on adherence in children. The objective of this study is to determine whether a mobile-based reminder system paired with EMD scan result in sustained improvement in adherence to asthma therapy over six months.

Methods – Children (8-17 years) with physician-confirmed persistent asthma, …

Human Dimensions Of Roadside Vegetation Management Across The Connecticut Landscape, Daniel Connor Hale

Master's Theses

Context For the roadside forest, utility vegetation management is a driver of landscape change that involves tradeoffs between reliable electric power and preservation of trees. Little is known about public perceptions of vegetation management in the landscape context.

Objectives Our objective was to evaluate landscape characteristics and social factors associated with resident attitudes toward roadside utility vegetation management across Connecticut.

Methods We used a mail survey to collect social science data from residents in two study areas in Connecticut. We measured landscape characteristics associated with tree cover and development density at multiple scales around each respondent household. Random forest predictive …

Community Living In Context: Rural, Suburban, And Urban Differences Among Older Money Follows The Person Participants, Kaleigh Ligus

Master's Theses

Older adults (65+) are a growing and significant population in the United States. Due to medical conditions and other social factors, some older adults may move to institutional settings to receive care. The Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration is a federal initiative that offers Medicaid recipients the opportunity to live independently in the community by facilitating transitions from institutional settings. A secondary data analysis was performed using longitudinal data from a Quality of Life (QoL) survey conducted with 1,577 older adults in Connecticut (CT). The purpose of these analyses was to explore potential differences among rural, suburban and …

Posthuman And Alien Breeding: The Implications Of Cybersex In Octavia Butler’S Dawn 2019., Elizabeth Rutkowski

Master's Theses

Speculative science fiction affords new ways for authors to represent social problems of the modern day in an apocalyptic manner. Authors such as Octavia Butler use science fiction to analyze social injustices revolving around race, gender, and sexuality. Throughout her novel Dawn, Butler uses the posthuman to represent minority groups in the late twentieth century. The posthuman represents those who have moved from humanity towards a new opportunity that is mixed with the potential for struggle. 1 As demonstrated through Butler’s work posthumanism blurs the lines between binaries such as male / female, straight / gay, and consensual / nonconsensual …

Nekton Usage Of High Marsh Habitats In Connecticut Salt Marshes, With Emphasis On The Genus Fundulus, Amanda L. Tucker

Master's Theses

Large scale habitat use patterns of salt marsh nekton are fairly well understood, but small-scale patterns within marsh habitats are not as well known, including the genus Fundulus, an important salt marsh species. This is an area of study that needs more research, particularly in light of increases in salt marshes loss within the last several decades. Salt marshes are a primary habitat for Fundulus species. Sea level rise and urbanization have been major contributors to salt marsh loss and alteration.

Salt marshes are highly variable habitats both spatially and temporally due to tidal cycles, high and low marsh areas …

Characterizing Vegetative Communities Across The Salt Marsh To Upland Ecotone In Connecticut: Indications Of Tidal Inundation Stress In The High Marsh, Matthew J. Ormrod

Master's Theses

The viability of Connecticut’s future salt marshes remains uncertain as pressure from multiple anthropogenic stressors and accelerated relative sea level rise continue to undermine the dynamic ecogeomorphic mechanisms that allow these landscapes to persist in times of environmental change. Observed rates of relative sea level rise in the Long Island Sound estuary appear to be accelerating since recording began in the early 1930s. Furthermore, as much as 90% of the land parcels expected to undergo habitat change as marine ecosystems migrate landward are privately owned and managed. This finding suggests that, in addition to these intrinsic ecogeomorphic feedbacks that make …

Effects Of Exercise Training On The Blood Lactate Response To Acute Exercise In Cancer Survivors, Arjun Ramani

Master's Theses

Otto Warburg, a German physiologist, deduced that cancer cells exhibit a remarkably different metabolic profile in comparison to normal healthy cells characterized by increased rates of glycolysis and lactate fermentation, even in the presence of adequate oxygen content. Through the respective gain of function/loss of function of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, three major genes emerge as hallmarks of carcinogenic metabolic reconfiguration; HIF-1a, c-Myc oncogenes, and p53 tumor-suppressor genes. A result of their respective gain/loss of function are the upregulation of several glycolytic proteins and subsequent high rates of glucose influx into the tumor microenvironment, as well as lactate production, …

Determining The Interference Of Lactate And Lactate Dehydrogenase In An Ethanol Enzyme Assay, Julia Liebl

Master's Theses

Enzymatic ethanol assays are widely used to determine blood alcohol content for individuals admitted to a hospital. In some instances, this hospital data is later used as evidence in a court of law, most commonly in DUI cases. As the enzymatic assay targets, but does not exclusively measure ethanol, it is theoretically possible that interference could occur and produce a falsely elevated result, leading to wrongful convictions or other consequences. This project examined the potential of clinically relevant levels of one potential interferant, lactate and the hepatic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) to cause significant and falsely elevated results. Threshold levels …

The Impact Of Shod Versus Unshod Walking On Center Of Pressure Variability, Zachary Barrons

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the influence of footwear on walking stability. Twenty healthy women walked at 1.3 m/s on an instrumented treadmill. One hundred steps (50-right, 50-left) were analyzed from two walking conditions (shod, unshod). The variability of the center of pressure (COP) for each step was calculated for quadrants of the contact period. Significant differences in variability were seen between shod and unshod conditions in all quadrants as well as differences between left and right feet in quadrants one and four. Restricted foot motion while shod may explain the differences seen in COP variability. …

Magnetic Minerals Of The Lower Poleslide Member Of The Brule Formation, Badlands National Park, Rebecca V. Kipf

Master's Theses

The White River Group in Badlands National Park is significant because it contains abundant mammal fossils. Many of these fossils are unique to the Great Plains and one of the major challenges has been to learn where these fossils fit in the geologic global time scale. Paleomagnetic studies have been instrumental in correlating and dating these faunas. The purpose of this study is to look at the specific magnetic mineralogy for a complete stratigraphic column of the lower Poleslide Member of the Brule Formation at Cedar Pass. This study attempts to determine what minerals provide the paleomagnetic remanence in these …

Exploring The Influence Of School-Based Sexuality Education Settings On Lgbtq+ Sexual Identity Development, Lauren Marie Guyer

Master's Theses

Previous research on sexual identity development demonstrates that there are five discernible, non-linear statuses in which individuals may pass through as they develop their sexual identity: compulsory heterosexuality, active exploration, diffusion, deepening and commitment, and synthesis (Dillon, Worthington, and Moradi 2011). Moreover, prior research on school-based sexuality education (SBSE) demonstrates that no matter its formal designation or political perspective, SBSE is exclusionary, inadequate, and habitually reproduces social inequalities (Bay-Cheng 2003; Elia and Eliason 2010b). SBSE programs within the United States are insufficient because they unvaryingly promote a heteronormative discourse and do not address the sexual health needs or experiences of …

A Comparison Of Social Learning In Domestic Canines, Beatrice Chenkin

Master's Theses

Domestic canines (Canis familiaris) provide a unique insight into the processes by which species can grow to cooperate efficiently with humans. Few studies have compared whether their behavior is more affected by humans or other canines. This study uses a two-action feeder (an apparatus that can be opened in one of two ways) to look into the methods of social learning they use and compares how they learn from humans vs. other canines. Sixty-four dogs from the Humane Society of varying backgrounds, ages, sexes, and reproductive statuses were tested on their ability to open the two-action feeder and the amount …