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Perceptions Of And Implicit Attitudes Toward Women: The Influence Of Parental Status, Race, And Label Choice, Annalucia Bays

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that childfree and childless women are perceived more negatively than mothers. This study investigated attitudes based on parental status, race, and descriptive label. Undergraduate students (N = 386) were randomized to consider targets described as childless, childfree, or mothers/parents. Participants completed a personality characteristic rating scale, the competence and warmth scales of the Stereotype Content Model, an evaluation thermometer, a measure of pronatalism, and a Single Category Implicit Association Test. Childless and childfree women of all races were perceived more negatively than mothers, and women in all parental status groups were ambivalently stereotyped. Implicit attitudes favored …

Continuity And Change In A 19th Century Illustrated Devi Mahatmya Manuscript From Nepal, Katherine Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In the Hindu tradition of the Indian subcontinent, worship of the goddess has long been practiced as supreme embodiment of the divine. Around the second century, a Sanskrit Purana (ancient Hindu text that extols deities) titled the Markandeya Purana details the battles of the supreme Goddess Durga against the illusions and negative energy in the universe. This textual version of the Devi Mahatmya “Praise of the Goddess” serves as the foundation for the nineteenth century Nepalese illustrated Devi Mahatmya, commissioned by Tej Bahadur Rana from Pokhara district in Nepal. Because the folios closely follow the textual Devi Mahatmya, …

Quantitative Mass Spectrometric Investigations Of Protein Biomarkers: Serum Thymidine Kinase 1 And Human Osteopontin, Morse Faria

Theses and Dissertations

Mass spectrometry is being increasingly used in biomarker research mainly due to its ability to achieve high selectivity coupled with high sensitivity. This dissertation focuses on quantitative mass spectrometric investigations of two protein biomarkers i.e. serum thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) and human osteopontin (OPN).

First part of this research was focused on developing a liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for measuring the activity of TK1 in serum by monitoring the conversion of a TK1 specific exogenous substrate, 3’-deoxy-3’-fluorothymidine (FLT), to its mono-phosphorylated form 3’-deoxy-3’-fluorothymidine monophosphate (FLT-MP). A method to quantify FLT-MP on LC-MS/MS was developed and …

Hiv And Opiates-Mediated Neurotoxicity: Gsk3Β Is A Potential Therapeutic Target, Ruturaj Masvekar

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 enters the CNS soon after initial systemic infection. HIV-1 can induce a wide range of neurological deficits, collectively known as HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Mature neurons are not infected by HIV-1; instead, infected and/or activated glial cells release various viral and cellular factors that induce direct and/or indirect neuronal toxicity, leading to HAND. Injection drug abuse is a significant risk factor for HIV-infection, and opiate drug abusers show increased HIV-neuropathology, even with anti-retroviral treatments. Our previous work has largely modeled HIV-neuropathology using the individual viral proteins Tat or gp120, with murine striatal neurons as targets. To model disease processes …

Affinity Enrichment And Mass Spectrometric Quantitation Of Protein Carbonyls, Suresh Narayanasamy

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of the role of oxidative stress in aging and numerous age-related diseases has become undeniable due to enormous weight of supporting evidence from the field of free radical biology. One of the most prominent oxidative modifications of proteins is the introduction of carbonyl groups. As with oxidative stress, protein carbonylation has been correlated with various disease states and natural aging. While protein carbonyls are relatively stable, reproducible detection and modification site localization are still challenging. This thesis details attempts to improve the analytical methodology used for the identification and quantitation of carbonylated proteins. We have studied the impact …

Using Contemporary Art To Guide Curriculum Design:A Contemporary Jewelry Workshop, Kathryn C. Smurthwaite

Theses and Dissertations

There is currently need for reform in art programs of all kinds, in regards to use of and focus on contemporary art and current practices. Teaching about art of our time and place enables students to understand and make connections to their world, and facilitates art making that is creative and relevant. This thesis describes theory and rationale for basing curriculum on contemporary art practices and presents a jewelry workshop, for all skill levels, that teaches contemporary art themes and practices. There are two units. The first teaches metal texturing, shaping and simple soldering skills while, focusing on art that …

Bioluminescence Imaging Of Transgene Expression In Intact Porcine Ovarian Follicles In Vitro, Song-Yi Jung

Theses and Dissertations

The porcine antral follicle, which consists of an oocyte and surrounding follicular components, including theca, granulosa, and cumulus cells and follicular fluid, is an essential microenvironment for oocyte development and maturation. Investigating cellular and molecular events in the context of the whole follicle will aid in our understanding of interactions between the oocyte and the follicular components. The objective of this dissertation was to develop a novel bioluminescent imaging model to visualize and measure cellular and molecular events in living intact ovarian follicles in vitro. Bioluminescence imaging was employed to facilitate noninvasive, dynamic, and real-time transgene analysis in living intact …

How Intrinsic Motivation And Extrinsic Motivation Affect Organizational Commitment And Job Satisfaction: A Cross-Cultural Study In The United States And China, Yundong Huang

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research is designed to identify how an individual’s work motivation affects his/her organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Work motivation is divided into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The three components of organizational commitment proposed by Meyer and Allen are examined separately. This study is a cross-cultural study based on data collected from the United States and China. The data are analyzed using partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the SEM analysis are compared between the US and the China sample. The results of this study show that intrinsic motivation is positively associated with …

Analysis And Construction Of Engaging Facial Forms And Expressions: Interdisciplinary Approaches From Art, Anatomy, Engineering, Cultural Studies, And Psychology, Leejin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The topic of this dissertation is the anatomical, psychological, and cultural examination of a human face in order to effectively construct an anatomy-driven 3D virtual face customization and action model. In order to gain a broad perspective of all aspects of a face, theories and methodology from the fields of art, engineering, anatomy, psychology, and cultural studies have been analyzed and implemented. The computer generated facial customization and action model were designed based on the collected data. Using this customization system, culturally-specific attractive face in Korean popular culture, “kot-mi-nam (flower-like beautiful guy),” was modeled and analyzed as a case study. …

"You've Got To Be Carefully Taught": Reflections On War, Imperialism And Patriotism In America's South Pacific, Jayna D. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Underneath the romance, comedy and exoticism, South Pacific is a story that questioned core American values, exploring issues of race and power at a time when these topics were intensely relevant-the original opened just four years post WWII, on the heels of Roosevelt's aggressive expansionist response to domestic instabilities. Much has been written about the depiction of war and racial prejudice in South Pacific. However, examining such topics in the context of their cultural and political moment (both in 1949 and 2008) and through the lens of Terry Eagleton's unique take on morality, is not only a fascinating study, but …

Eagerly Patient, Erin Elizabeth

Theses and Dissertations

Are banal and routine experiences in life less important or memory-worthy than celebratory moments that require preparation and planning, the anticipation of which is akin to emotional foreplay? What is the purpose of celebration? Is it empty, bound to disappoint, or is it ritualistic punctuation of the mundane, providing balance for the sublimity of suffering? These questions are addressed in the thesis exhibition, Eagerly Patient. The exhibition includes carriers of celebration such as cake, confetti, banners, and gifts in an attempt to understand the paradoxical hierarchy of experiential value.

Thomas Jeckyll, James Mcneill Whistler, And The Harmony In Blue And Gold: The Peacock Room: A Re-Examination, Cynthia Fischer

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uncovers three previously unrecognized innovations of Thomas Jeckyll in the Peacock Room. At the same time, the dissertation admits that sometimes James McNeill Whistler chose a more conventional path in the design of the room than previously acknowledged. The dissertation illuminates the often overlooked principle of Classical Decor, first described in the first century BC by Vitruvius, and analyzes how it was instituted in the Peacock Room. Four major points illustrate this conclusion. First, the meaning of the sunflower in the West is explored to account for the flower’s popularity and absorption into ancient heliotropic lore. Thomas Moore’s …

An Uncommon Splice: Seeking Mutations In The Life-Writing And Short Fiction Of Mary Butts And Djuna Barnes, Susan George

Theses and Dissertations

Immersed in a web of short stories, poetry, and supporting biographical and life-writing sources, I investigate the narrative significance beneath and beyond two British and American modernist women authors. I evaluate sisterly connectedness between their literary production, publishing histories and life writings present in a specific cultural-temporal moment and genre: the short story. By looking on these unique, forgotten fictions through a new materialist lens, I argue for their short fiction's greater inclusion in the canon of women's modernism. Chapter I tests correlations between two authors undergoing the same stresses, alienations, joys and desires by taking up tenants of material …

The Role Of Nitric Oxide Dysregulation In Tumor Maintenance, Christopher Rabender

Theses and Dissertations

The inflammatory nature of the tumor microenvironment provides a cytokine and chemokine rich proliferative environment. Much of the responsibility of this environment is due to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). These studies examined the proliferative rich tumor environment from a new perspective of Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) dysregulation. NOS’s have the ability to become uncoupled and generate superoxide in lieu of nitric oxide (NO). A requirement of NOS for the production of NO is the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) and when it is missing NOS becomes uncoupled and turns into a peroxynitrite synthase. Here I demonstrate that NOS is …

Analysis Of Belarusian Media In 2011: Discourse, Argument Construction, And Propaganda Framing, Tatsiana Karaliova

Theses and Dissertations

The mass media system in Belarus is characterized by the coexistence of two types of mass media - state-run and independent. This study looks at the difference in characteristics of coverage in these two types of media outlets in terms of diversity of perspectives, argument construction, and propaganda framing. A significant difference in the nature of discourse on the major events in Belarus in 2011 in state-run and independent media exposed their distinct ideological viewpoints. State-run media favored a pro-government perspective and widely presented anti-opposition and anti-revolutionary opinion. Lack of plurality and rational arguments, anti-globalization and Soviet nostalgia rhetoric were …

Safety Culture: An Assessment Of A Collegiate Aviation Program, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum

Theses and Dissertations

An assessment of the safety culture at an accredited four year collegiate aviation program was conducted. The Collegiate Aviation Program Safety Culture Assessment Survey (CAPSCAS) was used. Participants were drawn from flight students and instructors in the program. The survey captured the perceptions of participants on the status of the safety culture in the program. Generally the participants had a good perception of the safety culture in the program. There were significant variances in the perception of respondents on the safety culture by year groups and it was observed that respondents, who had spent more years in the program, had …

Style, Discourse, And The Completion Of The Vernacular Style In Modern Japanese Literature, Jacob Zan Adachi Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Many histories of modern Japanese literature see the "completion" of the modern vernacular style in the writings of Shiga Naoya (1883--1971), Mushakōji Saneatsu (1885--1976) and Takamura Kōtarō (1883--1956). Why and how this critical-historical perception of stylistic normalcy arose and still continues is better understood, I propose, through a close reading of key texts that identifies instances and patterns of creative manipulation of-as opposed to mere determination by or complicity with-certain philosophical, social, and historical discourses.How this creative manipulation plays out varies in prose and poetry and from text to text. In Mushakōji's Omedetaki hito (1911; The Simpleton), temporal and generic …

The Educational Attainment Of Minority Learners Who Attended 2-Year Colleges Compared To Caucasian Students, Angel N. Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

In this educational study, Caucasian and minority learners’ grade point averages and overall academic success were examined at learning institutions. Several minorities experienced problems with completing college courses at universities and community colleges. Individuals from various racial backgrounds had school enrollment issues compared to Caucasian students without these same issues. This analysis revealed factors that contributed to these learners’ decreased academic attainment. For this study, racial groups were the focus along with their need to improve their impoverished conditions. Minority students needed more educational services such as peer tutoring and academic counseling. These services offered learners the opportunity to expand …

The Curandera As Xicanista: Hybrid Spirituality As A Means Of Provoking Social And Political Change, Megan Elizabeth Nieto

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the suitability of Chicana feminists or Xicanistas modeling themselves on the figure of the curandera, a Mexican American folk healer whose treatments must be utilized as a means of bettering not only the lives of individuals but society as a whole. It discusses the curandera characters depicted in Ana Castillo’s So Far from God and Sandra Cisneros’ Caramelo Puro Cuento in order to present the need for curanderas to find a balance between the interests of the Self and of society. These curanderas’ failure to provoke and participate in social change limits their effectiveness as models for …

The Art Of Perl: How A Scripting Language (Inter)Activated The World Wide Web, Norberto Gomez Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

In 1987, computer programmer and linguist Larry Wall authored the general-purpose, high-level, interpreted, dynamic Unix scripting language, Perl. Borrowing features from C and awk, Perl was originally intended as a scripting language for text-processing. However, with the rising popularity of the Internet and the advent of Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web (Web), in the 1990s, Perl soon became the glue-language for the Internet, due in large part to its relationship to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Perl was the go-to language for on the fly program writing and coding, gaining accolades from the likes …

"Game Recognize Game": How Hip-Hop Rhetoric Affects Perceptions Of Composition In College Freshmen, Ages 18-24, Veronica Nanette Williams

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to help justify hip-hop as a valid example of rhetoric, this project is an informal investigation of how the hip-hop rhetoric affects perceptions of composition in college freshmen ages 18-24 using a small survey sample of first-year composition students. The resulting data indicates that hip-hop rhetoric does affect the perceptions of composition in hip-hop oriented students, specifically, hip-hop rhetoric's emphasis on ethos, or authenticity, seems to influence those students' assessments of their college compositions in terms of classical rhetorical aims.

A Network Analysis Of Social Balance In Conflict In The Maghreb, Eric A. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

This work offers the U.S. military and national security structure a methodology to analyze tension within signed networks based on social balance theory, presents a process to partition a signed network to identify likely subsets within the network, and pinpoints unique actors and relationships based on the structure of the network. Relationships identified to cause increased tension within the network are discovered and analyzed. Identifying this tension provides analysts with insight into the complexities of the network and potential relationships to target to stabilize or destabilize a network. Two Social Network Analysis models have been developed analyzing the relationships of …

Mtor Pathway Activation Following Resistance Exercise With Vibration In Human Subjects, Michael G. Leavitt

Theses and Dissertations

Functional adaptations in human skeletal muscle following a period of resistance exercise are the result of regular activation of cellular signaling pathways that elevate muscle protein synthesis. It has been reported that the addition of whole body vibration (WBV) to a resistance exercise program enhances performance. Such improvements in muscle function may be the result of increased activation of cellular signaling pathways associated with muscle growth. Purpose: We have investigated whether an acute bout of resistance exercise in combination with WBV results in a greater activation of the mTOR signaling pathway compared to resistance exercise alone. Methods: Eight untrained college-age …

The Experiences Of Young African American Women Principals, Tanya Roane

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was designed to gain an understanding of how young African American women principals experience the principalship. Three research questions were explored in this study: (a.) What are the pathways to the principalship for young African American women? (b.) How do African American women experience the principalship? (c.) What are the barriers that young African American women experience and what are their strategies for success? The researcher examined the day-to-day experiences faced by these women as they related to race, gender, and age challenges within the field of education. Using qualitative research with Black Feminist Standpoint …

The Potential Rise Of An Islamist Youth Within 25 January Revolts: A Case Study Of The Muslim Brotherhood Youth, Dina Hosni

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis endeavors to offer a fresh perspective on the potential rise of Islamist youth, focusing on the pro-change ex-current MB youth as a potential subculture within 25 January and the assumption of the Egyptian MB to power. To validate this hypothesis, Gramsci's theory on hegemony and counter-hegemony has been deployed to study the rise of pro-change MB youth against Mubarak's authoritarian regime on the state level in tandem with counter-hegemony against the strict al-samc w-al-ṭāca principle (i.e. blind obedience) on the organizational level. Elements of social movement theory have been used to substantiate the relevance of counter-hegemony, namely, Gamson's …

How Culture Shapes Personality: A Preliminary Study, Hing Man Amy Wong

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance of a collectivistic personality attribute indigenous to the Chinese culture to non-Asian collectivistic cultures. To measure this attribute, the CPAI-2 Interpersonal Relatedness factor scales were administered to current college students who self-identified as Mexican American, Chinese American, or Caucasian. Only less acculturated Mexican American and Chinese American participants, as measured by the ARMSA-II or SL-ASIA, respectively, were included in the analysis. Although the Mexican American and Chinese American participants did not significantly differ from one another, these two groups did significantly differ from the Caucasian participants on two scales, Traditionalism-Modernity …

Evaluation Of An Expatriate Program At A Us-Based Multinational Corporation, Victoria J. Hurlock

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the expatriate program at one multinational manufacturing and aerospace organization. Eleven expatriates were interviewed. Study findings provided insights about participants' experiences during each phase of their expatriate assignment, including selection, preparation, arrival, adaptation, and repatriation. Participants were mixed in their evaluation of the company's expatriate program, with some believing it worked well and others believing it needed improvement. Participants offered six recommendations to the organization: (a) pick qualified individuals for assignment, (b) help them take care of the details, (c) provide them with adequate training and information, (d) involve knowledgeable others in the process, (e) plan for …

The Organizational Culture And Leadership Values That Impact Native American Water Utility Organizations, Carole L. Boerner

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the organizational culture and leadership values that affect successful Native American water utility organizations to find the Native American leadership values that impact these organizations. The study utilized the organizational culture assessment instrument (OCAI) and focus group interviews to identify the inherent values. Three organizations participated. The OCAI surveys were completed online, and the results averaged, plotted, and discussed with participants. The competing values plots for the organizations studied were similar among the organizations. The hierarchical culture scored higher for all three organizations and the market, adhocracy, and clan cultures all had similar scores. The common organizational …

Comparative Analysis Of Corporate Culture In A Multinational Organization, Don G. Gilman

Theses and Dissertations

This study built upon the Project GLOBE (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) analysis by using a Web-based version of the GLOBE Questionnaire in order to examine the extent to which the cultural values and practices of middle managers in a multinational organization vary depending on (a) their cultural background and the region in which they work, (b) whether they were a member of a recently acquired company, and (c) the number of years employed by the multinational organization. Multinational organizations face the unique challenge of operating in societies that have different sets of cultural norms, expectations, beliefs, and …

The Impact Of Leadership Practices On Engagement Within The Chinese Cultural And Business Environment, Ping Wang

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of leadership practices on engagement within the Chinese cultural and business environment. The study identified the management practices used by Chinese managers that engaged people differently from US managers. The relationship between these specific leadership practices and employee engagement in a small, privately-owned Chinese business was studied. Eight managers were evaluated with LPI-Self surveys and 61 LPI-Observer surveys. In general, organization leaders scored themselves much higher than their observers in the LPI survey, and the average scores from 61 Leveking observers were all much lower than the overall mean from Asian benchmarks. Sixteen of the …