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2008

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5-Ht3 Receptor Ligands And Their Effect On Psychomotor Stimulants, Jessica Nicole Worsham Jan 2008

5-Ht3 Receptor Ligands And Their Effect On Psychomotor Stimulants, Jessica Nicole Worsham

Theses and Dissertations

Drug abuse and addiction are considered to be a result, at least in part, of the rewarding effects produced by increasing dopamine levels. 5-HT3 serotonin receptors have been shown to indirectly affect dopamine levels. Therefore, the effect of the 5-HT3 receptor partial agonist, MD-354, on the actions of psychomotor stimulants was analyzed in mouse locomotor activity assays to determine whether MD-354 is working through a 5-HT3 receptor agonist or antagonist mode of action. Studies with (+)amphetamine and (+)methamphetamine in combination with MD-354 indicated MD-354 is either devoid of action or is behaving similar to the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, ondansetron. This …

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The Psychosocial Influence Of Dental Esthetics In Adolescents As Judged By Peers, Scott Thomas Henson Jan 2008

The Psychosocial Influence Of Dental Esthetics In Adolescents As Judged By Peers, Scott Thomas Henson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if dental esthetics affects the perception of adolescents regarding their peer's social aptitude in specific areas such as athletics, popularity, leadership, and academics. Ten patient photographs (4 males, 6 females) from a private orthodontic practice in Richmond, VA were selected for inclusion in this study. The frontal smiling photographs were digitally modified with insertion of either an ideal smile (straight) or a non-ideal smile (crooked) to create an image identical to the original except for an altered dental complex. Laypersons rated the straight and crooked patient photographs for athletic performance, socialization skills …

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In Pursuit Of Paternal Significance: Fathers' Influence On Their Daughters' And Sons' Sexual Behaviors And Beliefs, Rachel S. Everley Jan 2008

In Pursuit Of Paternal Significance: Fathers' Influence On Their Daughters' And Sons' Sexual Behaviors And Beliefs, Rachel S. Everley

Theses and Dissertations

The United States has the highest teen pregnancy and adolescent STD rates of any industrialized nation. Numerous factors are involved in adolescent sexual decision-making and the social-ecological framework suggests that there are multiple levels of influence on adolescent development, including familial. Utilizing survey data from the Virginia Abstinence Education Initiative (VAEI), this project specifically explores paternal influences on adolescent sexual behavior and beliefs by examining paternal residence in the home, perceived paternal figure sexual beliefs, and father-child relationship factors. Results indicate that paternal figures influence their daughters' and sons' sexual behaviors as well as beliefs. Differences in paternal figure influence …

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Blending Doctrine, Practice, And Purpose In Legal Education: The Case For An Integrated Pedagogy, Debra M. Schneider Jan 2008

Blending Doctrine, Practice, And Purpose In Legal Education: The Case For An Integrated Pedagogy, Debra M. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional legal education is sorely imbalanced. A law student receives rigorous training in legal doctrine and analytical skills—he learns to "think like a lawyer"—but is left with little training in practical skills or his ethical role in society. Moreover, law schools rely almost exclusively on the ineffectual pedagogy of the case-dialogue, or "Socratic," method. Several factors explain this entrenched imbalance, most notably the academy's top-down power structure and its budget constraints. Increasingly, however, the marketplace is demanding practice-ready lawyers who have strong training not only in doctrine but in practical skills and ethics. Law schools, responding to this market pressure, …

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Organizing Around A Center: A Design Incubator And Business Center, Mindy Carter Jan 2008

Organizing Around A Center: A Design Incubator And Business Center, Mindy Carter

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the development of an interdisciplinary design incubator and community business center in Richmond, Virginia through the adaptive reuse of a retired, historic school building. In contrast to the deteriorating conditions of Patrick Henry School, renewed growth abounds in its extraordinary site surroundings—the 105 acres of Forest Hill Park, which serves as the virtual backyard of the school building. This dualism provided a prime opportunity for discovering the design possibilities in connecting a built space to its physical surroundings and for giving meaningful new life to an abandoned space.

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Greenlife: A Sustainable Retail Space, Veronica J. Ledford Jan 2008

Greenlife: A Sustainable Retail Space, Veronica J. Ledford

Theses and Dissertations

GreenLife is the name of the retail interior design project that embodies this thesis. Using interior design as a medium to influence customers,I sought to create an environment that promotes a connection to nature and an awareness of creative possiblities within the context of a store. It addresses the problem of personal social responsiblity by using shopping, a dominant activity in the western world, as a tool for change. As a project, GreenLife attempts to answer three questions: How does design inform cultural experience? How can a connection with nature inform consumerism? Can a store transcend its purpose from filling …

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Moments Of Absorption, Sarah K. Kaufman Jan 2008

Moments Of Absorption, Sarah K. Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations

Moments of Absorption explores the conceptual and visual themes that are presented in my MFA thesis exhibition. The research looks into the absorption of the nude subject, the gestures that communicate this absorption, and the domestic space as a stage for the presentation of these gestures. This work investigates a tension between the theatrical and the natural as represented by images.

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Beyond The Early Adopters: Examining The Potential For Car-Sharing In Richmond, Virginia, Steven P. Spears Jan 2008

Beyond The Early Adopters: Examining The Potential For Car-Sharing In Richmond, Virginia, Steven P. Spears

Theses and Dissertations

Car-sharing is a membership-based mobility service that offers short-term vehicle rentals. Studies have shown that car-sharing can increase transportation sustainability by encouraging the use of public transit and reducing vehicle miles traveled. This thesis examines the potential for car-sharing in Richmond, Virginia through an attitude-based qualitative pilot study. Using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, urban and suburban residents were asked questions that measured car-sharing intention strength, mode choice habit, and life change effects. The study found that even among those with positive attitudes toward car-sharing, existing habits, lack of adequate commuting alternatives and the needs of non-driving …

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Entertainment News: Agitprop To Colbertisms, Chanelle Renee Vigue Jan 2008

Entertainment News: Agitprop To Colbertisms, Chanelle Renee Vigue

Theses and Dissertations

At the beginning of the twentieth century, newspaper theatre was born from the need to inform those who could not read the news for themselves. There have been many contributors and influential factors to the multi-faceted evolution of newspaper theatre. Contributors include Meyerhold, Piscator, Brecht, Hallie Flanagan and Arthur Arent, and Augusto Boal. Influential factors include technology, politics, and the influence of theatrical movements. The most popular and most frequent contributors to contemporary newspaper theatre are the legitimate news media and comedy news shows.

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If Your Love Were A Grain Of Sand Mine Would Be A Universe Of Beaches, Valerie Anne Molnar Jan 2008

If Your Love Were A Grain Of Sand Mine Would Be A Universe Of Beaches, Valerie Anne Molnar

Theses and Dissertations

Each stitch is a piece of me that I give, a moment of my life and a unit of my love, meticulously culminated into a universal visual language. The optimist in me knits for the cause, while my formalist counterpart works to make the images that sell my thoughts. I knit for the lovers.I make these objects as a practice and a confirmation of my optimism. I make these images to communicate and persuade as a serious contender while at the same time retaining my own optimism and sanity by promising to never take myself too seriously.

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Looking For Ways To Ruin A Perfectly Good Day: Masculinity In Bash: The Latter-Day Plays By Neil Labute, Daniel F. Devlin Jan 2008

Looking For Ways To Ruin A Perfectly Good Day: Masculinity In Bash: The Latter-Day Plays By Neil Labute, Daniel F. Devlin

Theses and Dissertations

Neil LaBute is one of the most prolific and challenging playwrights in America today. My thesis will explore his work bash: the latter-day plays through the frame of the performance and use of masculinity by his characters, and will create a vocabulary through which the remainder of LaBute's works can be studied, both in terms of academic scholarship and the practical application of that scholarship to the process of theatrical creation.

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Examining Student Engagement And Its Influence In A Social Contextual Model Of Adolescent Health Behavior Change, Ian Joseph Wallace Jan 2008

Examining Student Engagement And Its Influence In A Social Contextual Model Of Adolescent Health Behavior Change, Ian Joseph Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Current theoretical models of health behavior change frequently serve as the theoretical backdrop to adolescent health promotion programs. Yet, despite that each main theory was developed with adults and for adults, appropriate and necessary changes for adolescents are often neglected. The unique values, priorities, and abilities of adolescents are important and therefore necessary to consider during health promotion efforts. The present study explored student engagement, a unique adolescent need that has been shown to facilitate achievement in academic environments. Evidence from the psychological and educational literatures suggests that engagement may uniquely influence the process of health behavior change for adolescents. …

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Sing Together! Choral Singing As A Supplementary Training Method For Actors, Daniel C. Dennis Jan 2008

Sing Together! Choral Singing As A Supplementary Training Method For Actors, Daniel C. Dennis

Theses and Dissertations

Voice and speech training for the actor has traditionally defined itself as distinct from the vocal training of the musical theatre or opera singer. The separation in philosophy and practice by trainers of actors and singers reflects the resultant capabilities and proclivities of our performers. Those performers generally sing or act, and if asked, will sometimes do both, but may damage their voices in the process. This study aims to explore and reveal how actors may develop a greater sense of courage and trust, have easy access to breath, find freedom in their bodies and voices, become better listeners and …

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Informal Caregivers Of Advanced Cancer Patients: The Impact Of Geographic Proximity On Social Support And Bereavement Adjustment, John Garland Cagle Jan 2008

Informal Caregivers Of Advanced Cancer Patients: The Impact Of Geographic Proximity On Social Support And Bereavement Adjustment, John Garland Cagle

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the social and psychological needs of caregivers of advanced cancer patients, and their subsequent bereavement adjustment. The study focuses exclusively on informal caregivers who provide assistance to patients receiving hospice care for end-stage cancer. Those individuals living furthest from the dying care recipient, the long distance caregivers, were of particular interest. This study used a prospective design to explore how a caregiver's geographic proximity impacted their social support and bereavement adjustment. A 2 x 3 repeated measures design was used to gather data from caregivers before a patient's death (using a pre-death questionnaire) as well as after …

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Self-Appraisals, Perfectionism, And Academics In College Undergraduates, David Edward Canter Jan 2008

Self-Appraisals, Perfectionism, And Academics In College Undergraduates, David Edward Canter

Theses and Dissertations

The influences on perfectionism and procrastination of race, gender, cognitive-affective and academic self-appraisals, and academic performance expectations were studied. The sample consisted of 155 Introductory Psychology students (57 African Americans, 41 Asian Americans, and 57 European Americans; 51.6% women) with a mean age of 19.4 years (SD = 3.6). Data were collected during the final week of the Fall 2007 semester. Consistent with previous research indicating that men are more likely to procrastinate than women, men were over-represented in this sample. Self-esteem, measured with the Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale, was conceptualized as having two components: self-liking and self-competence (Tafarodi & …

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The Pedagogy Of Shakespeare & Company, Catherine Bryne Jan 2008

The Pedagogy Of Shakespeare & Company, Catherine Bryne

Theses and Dissertations

The Pedagogy of Shakespeare & Company examines in several ways the principles and practices of actor training at Shakespeare & Company of Lenox, Massachusetts. Chapter 1 is a narrative of my personal experience at the Month-long Intensive in Lenox, elaborating its multiple components. Chapter 2 recounts the genesis of the company and looks at the influences that shaped its identity. Chapter 3 is a more specific attempt to define the pedagogy developed by Tina Packer, Kristin Linklater and the other founders of Shakespeare & Company and to provide some contextual analysis. The remainder of this document explores my own pedagogical …

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Exploring The Experience Of Benefit Finding In Parents Of Children With Cancer: A Grounded Theory Study, Carol E. Zogran Jan 2008

Exploring The Experience Of Benefit Finding In Parents Of Children With Cancer: A Grounded Theory Study, Carol E. Zogran

Theses and Dissertations

The diagnosis of cancer in a child is one of the most significant stressors a parent can experience, and research in the area of stress-related effects of illness on parents has emerged in many areas. The majority of studies have focused on the potential or actual negative impact on parents during and after treatment of their child's illness. However, studies that initially set out to explore the difficulties associated with coping with childhood cancer found that parents often reported positive aspects about the experience. There is now increasing interest and support for the study of "positive-health" factors that contribute to …

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A Science & Mathematics Magnet School At Maymont, Sarah Shamus Nakfoor Jan 2008

A Science & Mathematics Magnet School At Maymont, Sarah Shamus Nakfoor

Theses and Dissertations

I am interested in the idea that schools should be designed to offer individualized learning."A Science & Mathematics Magnet School at Maymont" explores a type of school that is becoming more familiar and accessible. By allowing students who have an interest in excelling in school and preparing for their future careers to come together and meet one another and experience aneducation that might not otherwise be available can be beneficial in many ways. In most cases, because of the funding required for such specialized schools, class sizes are reduced to meet budgets and the schools are opened to the community …

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Surging Seepage: A Triple Bond Accretion System, Jacqueline Brown Jan 2008

Surging Seepage: A Triple Bond Accretion System, Jacqueline Brown

Theses and Dissertations

My current work revels in a state of flux. I strive for the work to be electrically charged, conveying a feverish sense of immediacy and vitality that implies motion and frenetic energy. The work is an accretion of brightly colored biomorphic forms that extend out from the wall and onto the floor. Viscous parts ooze and drip while others are globular and bulbous. The hyper-organic forms suggest a paradoxical state of both ripening and rotting, becoming and unbecoming. The work is an attempt to traverse between seemingly divergent constructs, some of which include: growth and decay, the artificial and the …

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Comparative Practices & Perspectives: Gender, Development And Empowerment In Uttarakhand, India And Northern Virginia, Sara Duke Jan 2008

Comparative Practices & Perspectives: Gender, Development And Empowerment In Uttarakhand, India And Northern Virginia, Sara Duke

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis is a qualitative comparative case study which investigated the values, practices, perspectives, and strategies of Indian and American community organizers (practitioners and volunteers of non-profits and non-governmental organizations) who use microfinance, including savings schemes, as an instrument within the social intermediation process of developing disadvantaged women's capacities for self-sufficiency/empowerment. The focused inquiry was conducted through similarly structured in-depth interviews of directors, staff members and volunteers/community-based organizers of a women's business center in Northern Virginia, a large U.S. metropolitan area, and a women's federation in the rural Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India. Interview questions focused on savings, social intermediation, …

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The Effects Of Atomoxetine On Cognitive Performace And Neuroplasticity After Traumatic Brain Injury, Wendy Reid Jan 2008

The Effects Of Atomoxetine On Cognitive Performace And Neuroplasticity After Traumatic Brain Injury, Wendy Reid

Theses and Dissertations

Catecholaminergic neurotransmission is regionally altered following injury, and drugs aimed at these systems offer promising avenues for post-TBI pharmacotherapies. Atomoxetine is a selective norepinephrine transporter (NET) inhibitor currently indicated for treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The studies in this dissertation were designed to test the efficacy of atomoxetine for treating cognitive deficits following experimental TBI and the potential mechanism for any beneficial effect. The first part of the study focused on behavioral recovery following atomoxetine treatment. Several important questions of dose, therapeutic window, and duration of treatment were addressed in these studies. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to lateral fluid-percussion …

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Clients, Empathy, And Compassion: Introducing First-Year Students To The "Heart" Of Lawyering, Kristin B. Gerdy Jan 2008

Clients, Empathy, And Compassion: Introducing First-Year Students To The "Heart" Of Lawyering, Kristin B. Gerdy

Nebraska Law Review

In this piece I explore the need for instruction and experience with the "heart" of law practice within the first year of law school. According to the report on legal education prepared by the Carnegie Foundation, the two major limitations in American legal education are 1) a lack of attention to practical education, including a marked lack of understanding client problems, and 2) failure to support development of ethical and social skills. With the release of this report it is likely that law school faculties throughout the United States will be looking at their curricula to see how to better …

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Review Of Jonathan Baron, Against Bioethics, Chad Flanders Jan 2008

Review Of Jonathan Baron, Against Bioethics, Chad Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

This is a short review of a recent book by Jonathan Baron, entitled "Against Bioethics."

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High Performance Image Processing Techniques In Automated Identification Systems, Ayman Abaza Jan 2008

High Performance Image Processing Techniques In Automated Identification Systems, Ayman Abaza

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation addresses different image processing problems faced during the development of two different identification systems (i) an automated system for postmortem identification using dental records (dental radiographs), (ii) an automated ear identification system. Automating the postmortem identification of deceased individuals based on dental characteristics is receiving increased attention especially with the large number of victims encountered in mass disasters, as 9/11 attack, and Tsunami. The Automated Dental Identification System (ADIS) can be used by law enforcement agencies to locate missing persons using databases of dental x-rays of human remains and dental scans of missing or unidentified persons. ADIS provides …

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Thresholds And Tolerance Of Physical Pain Among Young Adults Who Engage In Self-Injury, Katrina Mccoy Jan 2008

Thresholds And Tolerance Of Physical Pain Among Young Adults Who Engage In Self-Injury, Katrina Mccoy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Prevalence rates of non-suicidal self-injury among college students ranges from 17% to 38%. Research indicates that individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) who self-injure sometimes report an absence of pain during self-injury. Furthermore, self-injury in the absence of pain has been associated with more frequent suicide attempts. The present study examined pain thresholds and tolerance among 44 college students (11 self-injurious and 33 non-self-injurious). Pain thresholds and tolerance were measured using an algometer pressure device which has been used to produce pain previous laboratory research. Self-injurious participants had higher pain tolerances than those who do not engage in self-injury. In …

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*Validation Of The Assessment Of Depression Inventory (Adi) Feigning Scale And Clinical, Demographic, And Criminal Profile Differences Between Probable Malingerers And Psychiatric Inpatients, Julia Marie Messer Jan 2008

*Validation Of The Assessment Of Depression Inventory (Adi) Feigning Scale And Clinical, Demographic, And Criminal Profile Differences Between Probable Malingerers And Psychiatric Inpatients, Julia Marie Messer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Using archival data, "gold standard" assessment measures were used to determine group placement of psychiatric inpatients. One of two multi-scale measures of personality, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory II (MMPI-2) or the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), were administered, as well as one of two interview measures designed specifically to assess for malingering, the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) and/or the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST). Based on either the MMPI-2 or the PAI and the SIRS, subjects were placed into one of three groups: non-malingering inpatients, probable malingerers, and indeterminate malingerers. One purpose of identifying these groups …

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Effects Of Cognitive Processing And Cell Phone Use While Driving, Michelle Leigh Sudhoff Jan 2008

Effects Of Cognitive Processing And Cell Phone Use While Driving, Michelle Leigh Sudhoff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With 233 million cell phone subscribers in the United States at the end of the year 2006, and 73% of those subscribers talking on their cell phones while driving, the issue of safety on the roads has become a major one. While there has been widespread research on the causes of driver distraction, and comparisons among those causes, there has not been research conducted in order to evaluate the effects of visual imagery on driver performance. This research employed two types of programs to examine the response time to the presented stimuli, as well as missed targets among 16 subjects. …

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Slow-To-Warm-Up Temperament In Infancy As A Predictor Of Concurrent And Later Child And Maternal Behaviors, Jessica B. Stoltzfus Jan 2008

Slow-To-Warm-Up Temperament In Infancy As A Predictor Of Concurrent And Later Child And Maternal Behaviors, Jessica B. Stoltzfus

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Little is known about the slow-to-warm-up infant temperament. The present study evaluated the usefulness of this temperament as conceptualized by Thomas and Chess in predicting child and maternal parenting behaviors, with a particular focus on its conceptual link to child inhibition. Participants were 1,072 mothers and their children in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Slow-to-warm-up temperament in infancy did predict later inhibition, p = .000, but not as well as the difficult temperament or the individual temperament subscales of mood and approach. Including maternal sensitivity and stimulation and support increased the prediction of inhibition from the slow-to-warm-up temperament …

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Development And Validation Of A Diabetes-Specific Health State Classification System And Valuation Function Based On The Multi-Attribute Theory, Murali Sundaram Jan 2008

Development And Validation Of A Diabetes-Specific Health State Classification System And Valuation Function Based On The Multi-Attribute Theory, Murali Sundaram

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Preference-Based Measures of Health (PBMH) provide 'preference' or 'utility' weights that enable the calculation of quality-adjusted life years for the economic evaluations of interventions. The Diabetes Utility Index (DUI) was developed as a two-page, self-administered diabetes-specific PBMH that can replace expensive time-consuming interviews with patients to estimate their health state utilities. Inputs from theory, an existing diabetes-specific measure of quality of life, and statistical analyses were submitted to a clinical expert panel. After three rounds of pilot surveys (n1=52, n2=65, n3=111) at primary care clinics in Morgantown, WV, five attributes and severity categories for each attribute were finalized on the …

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Where Does Conflict Management Fit In The System's Leadership Puzzle?, Vickie S. Cook, Linda Johnston Jan 2008

Where Does Conflict Management Fit In The System's Leadership Puzzle?, Vickie S. Cook, Linda Johnston

Faculty Articles

Superintendents are faced with conflicts every day. The conflicts arise around issues of personnel, community roles, funding, politics, and work/life balance. Good leadership involves an understanding of how to deal with conflict, whom to involve in the conflict resolution, how to set up structures and processes that ensure conflict doesn't reoccur, and the ability to use conflict in a positive manner. Superintendents look to current literature to assist with the development of positive conflict resolution skills. These skills are not only preferable for current superintendents, but necessary for positive career development of future superintendents. Several authors have examined the various …

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