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2009

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Big And Small: Using Large Scale Puppets In Low Budget Theatre, Lauren E. Wakefield Jan 2009

Big And Small: Using Large Scale Puppets In Low Budget Theatre, Lauren E. Wakefield

Honors Theses

The art of puppetry has existed for as long as any other creative medium, and its role within the theatrical world has long been an important one. Characters and creatures portrayed in foam and felt often touch the hearts of audiences, and theatergoers enter a show involving puppetry ready to be entertained. Broadway productions such as Avenue Q and The Lion King push the limits of puppets' capabilities and use this creative source to express ideas that human actors would less effectively convey. This paper will explore the capabilities that each person has to create similar characters and creatures on …


Internal Controls And Regulation Of The Not-For-Profit Sector: Increasing Transparency For Churches, Sarah Catherine White Jan 2009

Internal Controls And Regulation Of The Not-For-Profit Sector: Increasing Transparency For Churches, Sarah Catherine White

Honors Theses

Reaulation of for-profit organizations and fraud within them are commonly researched areas; however, many overlook the need for adequate internal controls and reaiilation of the not-for-profit sector, particularly religious not-for-profit organizations. Fraud has been a problem in this sector for a while, but it is frequently neglected due to the false sense of security that people have when dealing with not-for-profits. The notfor- profit sector is much less regulated than the for-profit sector, and religious not-for profit organizations are not subject to any of the regulations that other not-for-profit organizations face. In order to gather appropriate data for determining ways …


Pediatric Brain Tumors & Subsequent Communication And Swallowing Disorders., Emily Kathryn Chambers Jan 2009

Pediatric Brain Tumors & Subsequent Communication And Swallowing Disorders., Emily Kathryn Chambers

Honors Theses

This study was designed to determine if there were speech, language, or swallowing disorders in a child with a brain stem glioma tumor or medulloblastoma tumor. It also was designed to determine if motor speech was more affected than swallowing in a child with a brain stem glioma tumor and in a child with a medulloblastoma tumor. Thirdly, this study investigated the incidence and treatment of speech, language, or swallowing disorders through survey. The surveys were sent through the United States Postal Service to speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The SLPs worked in pediatric hospitals or hospitals with pediatric floors. The purpose …


Military And Civilian Speech-Language Pathologists' Attitudes Towards Evidence-Based Practice: A Pilot Study, Lauren Nicole Furr Jan 2009

Military And Civilian Speech-Language Pathologists' Attitudes Towards Evidence-Based Practice: A Pilot Study, Lauren Nicole Furr

Honors Theses

The renewal of military combat in Iraq and Afganistan (2001-) and the subsequent influx of soliders with traumatic brain injury (TBI) revealed shortcomings in the military’s healthcare relative to patients with TBI. To address these concerns, the military drastically reformed TBIrelated healthcare policy and services. Military healthcare policy reform claims to address the shortcomings of previous military heathcare policy, which include insufficient TBI training for healthcare providers , a problem that policy reform alone cannot remedey. Questions remain relative to the status of TBI-related military healthcare; specifically, were the shortcomings in TBI-related miltiary healthcare a function of inefficient systemic healthcare …


China's Role In The Darfur Crisis: An Inquiry Into Global Ethics, Katie Malone Swain Jan 2009

China's Role In The Darfur Crisis: An Inquiry Into Global Ethics, Katie Malone Swain

Honors Theses

As the rise of globalization allows for greater trade, communication, and information sharing than ever before, the way states interact with one another and the world as a whole is being redefined. The rapid economic development that has occurred globally in the last century has not necessarily been accompanied with improvements in human rights worldwide. Now more than ever, there is a need to consider a global code of ethics. Though the role of states in advancing and policing human rights has been explored in innumerable treaties, conventions and other documents, there is currently no clearly defined standard of conduct …


Sincerely Yours: An Analysis Of The Nature And Strengths Of Epistolary Fiction, Elizabeth Anne Taylor Jan 2009

Sincerely Yours: An Analysis Of The Nature And Strengths Of Epistolary Fiction, Elizabeth Anne Taylor

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the accomplishments of epistolary fiction and what it offers writers. The thesis begins with a study of the history and evolution of the form to develop a base for ideas presented in the following sections. It addresses the challenges posed by the epistolary foi*m as well as the form’s possibilities. The thesis investigates specific possibilities writing techniques used in epistolary form and their effects on both the characters and readers. The concentration is on six different epistolary novels written between the mid 1600’s and today. The central argument of this thesis offers an assessment of the …


Perspectives On Female Sexual Offending In An Irish Context, Sharon Lambert, Sean Hammond Jan 2009

Perspectives On Female Sexual Offending In An Irish Context, Sharon Lambert, Sean Hammond

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

The issue of child sexual abuse perpetrated by women has received little recognition by researchers and when the subject is addressed it is often dismissed as being a rare event. It is only in the last decade that greater interest has been shown in the area of female-perpetrated sexual abuse of children. This is due to the dramatic increase of research into all types of sexual offending and the decrease in the taboo surrounding victimisation. Current literature in the area has largely looked at the development of typologies and establishing prevalence rates. More recently research has focused on ‘barriers’ to …


The Status Of White Matter In Patients With Hemiparesis Given Ci Therapy: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Christi Perkins Hu Jan 2009

The Status Of White Matter In Patients With Hemiparesis Given Ci Therapy: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Christi Perkins Hu

All ETDs from UAB

While attempts have been made to identify the cause and mechanism of motor deficit and subsequent recovery, there are several aspects of hemiparesis, especially in the chronic phase of acquired brain injury, that are still unclear. This study used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the role of white matter in upper extremity motor function in chronic hemiparesis, especially after administration of an efficacious therapy, Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CI therapy). This therapy has been proven effective in treating chronic motor deficit and has recently been associated with structural changes in the gray matter tissue in the brain. The goal of …


Structural And Functional Studies On Heat Shock Protein Hsp40-Hdj1 And Golgi Er Trafficking Protein Get3, Junbin Hu Jan 2009

Structural And Functional Studies On Heat Shock Protein Hsp40-Hdj1 And Golgi Er Trafficking Protein Get3, Junbin Hu

All ETDs from UAB

Molecular chaperones are a large group of proteins that bind and stabilize nascent polypeptides and facilitate protein folding. One major function of chaperones is to bind hydrophobic segments of nascent polypeptides to prevent them from aggregating. How chaperone Hsp40 recognizes and interacts with polypeptides and cooperates with chaperone Hsp70 is a fundamental question. The crystal structure of the putative peptide-binding fragment of Hdj1, a human member of the type II Hsp40 family was determined, suggesting the domain I of Hsp40 may possess significant flexibility which is important for Hsp40 to regulate the size of the cleft. The flexibility may be …


A System Genetics Analysis Of Energy Metabolism Traits In Drosophila Melanogaster, Patricia Paola Jumbo-Lucioni Jan 2009

A System Genetics Analysis Of Energy Metabolism Traits In Drosophila Melanogaster, Patricia Paola Jumbo-Lucioni

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity is emerging as a global public health problem and it has shown to precede and predict the development of type 2 diabetes, a complex disease that has also reached epidemic proportions in the US and worldwide. Despite that obesity-related traits are highly heritable, the genetic basis underlying their natural variation and the loci playing pleiotropic roles among organismal traits have not been fully elucidated. The overall goals of these present studies were: to shed light on the architecture of the genetic co-expression networks regulating variations in obesity-related traits, elucidate the extent to which they are regulated by pleiotropic loci, …


The "Write" Tools: The Impact Of Teachers' Self-Efficacy On Classroom Writing Instruction, Judy Rapp Jan 2009

The "Write" Tools: The Impact Of Teachers' Self-Efficacy On Classroom Writing Instruction, Judy Rapp

All ETDs from UAB

THE "WRITE" TOOLS: THE IMPACT OF TEACHERS' SELF-EFFICACY ON CLASSROOM WRITING INSTRUCTION JUDY RAMONA RAPP EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ABSTRACT While teaching self-efficacy has been supported as an important construct related to teacher competence (Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. American Education Research Journal, 37, 479-507), little is known about how teachers think of themselves as writers, particularly as it relates to their writing instruction. This study supports the developing notion that writing self-efficacy is an important element in understanding how it is that teachers think about their own writing. It also serves to operationalize the construct …


The Role Of Mitochondria And Plasma Membrane Ca2+ Transport Systems In Ca2+-Dependent Glutamate Release From Rat Cortical Astrocytes, Reno Cervo Reyes Jan 2009

The Role Of Mitochondria And Plasma Membrane Ca2+ Transport Systems In Ca2+-Dependent Glutamate Release From Rat Cortical Astrocytes, Reno Cervo Reyes

All ETDs from UAB

Astrocytes, a type of glial cell in the central nervous system, are recognized for their support roles to neurons. They supply neurons with metabolites, maintain ion homeostasis and clear the synaptic space of neurotransmitters. However, it has been found that some astrocytes have receptors for neurotransmitter and neuroligands, exhibit Ca2+ excitability when stimulated via these receptors, and secrete gliotransmitters as an output of this Ca2+ excitability. In the Ca2+-dependent release of glutamate, it has been shown that the endoplasmic reticulum is the predominant source and the extracellular space is the auxiliary source of free Ca2+ necessary for triggering exocytosis. Because …


Transcriptional Regulation Of Cholesterol 24-Hydroxylase By Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors., Marjan Shafaati, Riona O'Driscoll, Ingemar Bjorkhem, Steve Meaney Jan 2009

Transcriptional Regulation Of Cholesterol 24-Hydroxylase By Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors., Marjan Shafaati, Riona O'Driscoll, Ingemar Bjorkhem, Steve Meaney

Articles

The mechanistic basis for the tissue specific expression of cholesterol elimination pathways is poorly understood. To gain additional insight into this phenomenon we considered it of interest to investigate if epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the regulation of the brain-specific enzyme cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CYP46A1), a key regulator of brain cholesterol elimination. We demonstrated a marked time-dependent derepression of the expression of CYP46A1, in response to treatment with the potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor Trichostatin A. The pattern of expression of the genes in the genomic region surrounding CYP46A1 was found to be diametrically opposite in brain and liver. Intraperitoneal injection …


The Role Of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 In Bone Remodeling, Yi Tang Jan 2009

The Role Of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 In Bone Remodeling, Yi Tang

All ETDs from UAB

Bone remodeling depends on the precise coordination of bone resorption by the osteoclasts and bone formation by the osteoblasts. It is proposed that osteoclastic bone resorption releases factors to initiate bone formation, thereby, coupling the bone resorption and formation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are progenitors of osteoblasts. Recruitment of MSCs in response to osteoclastic bone resorption may be an initial step for bone formation during bone remodeling process. Therefore, we have established an in vitro osteoclastic bone resorption system. Bone resorption condition medium have been tested to identify the factor inducing the migration of human bone marrow mesechymal stem cells …


Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman Jan 2009

Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman

All ETDs from UAB

Primary cilia have been established as a nearly ubiquitous microtubule based signaling organelle, yet their function in many organs, including the hair and skin, is unknown. We hypothesized that the primary cilium would play vital roles in the hair follicle and skin based on the cilium's well characterized interactions with the Shh and Wnt developmental signaling pathways. This dissertation describes our efforts to determine the localization of the primary cilia in the murine hair follicle and assess the function of this organelle in the hair and skin. We used confocal immunofluorescence microscopy to virtually section the entire hair follicle and …


Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation To Support Modular Software Evolution, Jing Zhang Jan 2009

Model-Driven Aspect Adaptation To Support Modular Software Evolution, Jing Zhang

All ETDs from UAB

One of the biggest challenges of software evolution is to adapt a software system to the ever-changing requirements from users or operating environments. An ideal goal is to encapsulate these requirements into a high-level abstraction, which can drive large-scale adaptation of the underlying software implementation. Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) is one of the enabling techniques that support this objective, in that it allows the application designers to synthesize various software artifacts from high-level models. The state-of-the-art MDE techniques, however, lack support for advanced processes and constructive methods for software evolution. With respect to large legacy systems written in disparate programming languages, …


Administrative Roles And Experiences Of School Principals In An Era Of High-Stakes Accountability: A Qualitative Study Of The Perspectives Of Alabama Principals, Charles L. Willis Jan 2009

Administrative Roles And Experiences Of School Principals In An Era Of High-Stakes Accountability: A Qualitative Study Of The Perspectives Of Alabama Principals, Charles L. Willis

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of the dissertation was to gain an in-depth understanding of what meaning principals in Alabama made of their administrative roles and experiences in an era of high-stakes accountability. With the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed into legislation in January of 2002, federal, state, and local accountability mandates have vastly increased. In an era of unprecedented educational reform and accountability, there arose an unrelenting expectation for effective school leaders. The principalship has morphed into one of the most demanding positions in the field of education. The researcher used a qualitative approach to explore and gather rich descriptions …


Effects Of Infant Massage On Hiv-Infected Mothers And Their Infants, Krista Lee Oswalt Jan 2009

Effects Of Infant Massage On Hiv-Infected Mothers And Their Infants, Krista Lee Oswalt

All ETDs from UAB

The current study aimed to determine whether HIV-infected mothers and their infants benefit from infant massage training. Because a number of risks, including maternal depression, high levels of maternal stress, decreased ability to perform parental tasks, involvement in risky behaviors such as drug use, inferior Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale performance, and externalizing behavior problems in the children, have been associated with HIV-infected mothers and their children, this population was a sensible choice for intervention. A great deal of information related to the benefits of infant massage for a variety of at risk infants is available in the literature, however, …


The Chemical Ecology Of Antarctic Sponges, Kevin J. Peters Jan 2009

The Chemical Ecology Of Antarctic Sponges, Kevin J. Peters

All ETDs from UAB

Sponges were collected from shallow waters along the western Antarctic Peninsula near Palmer Station on Anvers Island. The majority (78%) of the sponges were found to have outer tissues defended against the omnivorous, Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus. Of the species that had outer tissues defended, 62% of them also had internal tissues that inhibited feeding by O. validus. Lipophilic or hydrophilic extracts coated on artificial food pellets were found to be unpalatable for all of the sponge species tested. These data provide evidence that defenses are common survival strategies in sessile macroinvertebrates from Antarctica but that the allocation of …


Comparisons Between Behavioral And Electrophysiological Measures Of Visual Function In Rodent Models Of Retinal Degeneration, Glen R. Rubin Jan 2009

Comparisons Between Behavioral And Electrophysiological Measures Of Visual Function In Rodent Models Of Retinal Degeneration, Glen R. Rubin

All ETDs from UAB

The critical flicker frequency (CFF) is the lowest frequency for which a flickering light appears steady. Measuring CFF indicates rod- and cone-driven function relative to light intensity. CFF can be measured by both electroretinogram (ERG) and behavior. We measured CFF in several rodent models of retinal degeneration in order to better characterize retinal degeneration and understand the functional implications of electrophysiological changes. We measured ERG CFF in RCS dystrophic (RCS-p+) and wild type (WT) rats at PN23, PN44, and PN64. ERG CFF data in RCS rats show significant early degeneration of the rods followed by cones. CFF was significantly lower …


Axonal Trafficking Of Bmp Signals In Drosophilia Motoneurons, Rebecca Burt Smith Jan 2009

Axonal Trafficking Of Bmp Signals In Drosophilia Motoneurons, Rebecca Burt Smith

All ETDs from UAB

The Drosophila Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) Glass bottom boat (Gbb) is a ligand for the BMP type II receptor, Wishful thinking (Wit). Mutations in either of these proteins impair synaptic growth at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Gbb is a retrograde signal (from target to innervating neuron) that is essential for proper NMJ development and function. Tissue-specific rescue of pathway mutants and immunolocalization experiments indicate that the receptor-ligand interaction occurs at the NMJ, and results in the nuclear accumulation of the phosphorylated form of the transcription factor Mad, indicating that retrograde transport along the axon is critical for pathway activation. We …


The Relationship Of Sexual Empowerment And Sexual Pressure To Condom Use Of Young Adult African American And Caucasian Women, Carrie Ann Long Jan 2009

The Relationship Of Sexual Empowerment And Sexual Pressure To Condom Use Of Young Adult African American And Caucasian Women, Carrie Ann Long

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: HIV knowledge, high self-esteem, condom self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward condom use, and condom negotiation skills have been associated with decreased HIV risk behavior among women, but have not been examined within a framework of empowerment for sexual risk. Sexual pressure, inclusive of both coercive and noncoercive pressures to engage in unwanted or unprotected sex, has also not been studied in association with sexual empowerment as a framework or as a potential moderator between sexual empowerment and condom use among women of different racial groups. Study Purpose: 1) To explore the relationship between sexual empowerment and condom use; 2) to …


A Qualitative Case Study On The Perception Of Middle School Stakeholders On The Effectiveness And Importance Of Character Education In Three Middle Schools In An Inner City School District In Alabama, Emeka Nzeocha Jan 2009

A Qualitative Case Study On The Perception Of Middle School Stakeholders On The Effectiveness And Importance Of Character Education In Three Middle Schools In An Inner City School District In Alabama, Emeka Nzeocha

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand how middle school stakeholders viewed character education. Character education has been used to combat student disruptions. Young adolescents in the middle school setting present various challenges to school leaders, and this study sought to understand how the stakeholders in this setting viewed character education. A qualitative design with a case study methodology was used to conduct this study. An Institutional Review Board approval was secured prior to commencing the research. Purposeful sampling was used to select the 46 participants in this study, which included students, parents, a school janitor, teachers, a school …


Living With Stress: Neighborhood Disadvantage, Social Capital, And Depression, John Porter Lillis Jan 2009

Living With Stress: Neighborhood Disadvantage, Social Capital, And Depression, John Porter Lillis

All ETDs from UAB

This study's objective was to determine the effects of personal and neighborhood stressors on depressive symptomology for community dwelling adults aged 65 and over. The psychosocial resource model was employed as social capital is hypothesized to be a resource and play a mediating role in the effect of both types of stressors on depressive symptomology. Individual level data utilized came from the UAB Study of Aging (N = 919) and the neighborhood level data came from the 2000 Decennial Census. Logistic regression analysis determined that neighborhood stressors had no direct or indirect effect on depressive symptomology. This analysis did show …


Optical, Laser Spectroscopic, And Electrical Characterization Of Transion Metal Doped Znse And Zns Nano-And-Microcrystals, Changsu Kim Jan 2009

Optical, Laser Spectroscopic, And Electrical Characterization Of Transion Metal Doped Znse And Zns Nano-And-Microcrystals, Changsu Kim

All ETDs from UAB

Middle-infrared lasers operating over a “molecular fingerprint” 2-15 μm spectral range are in great demand for a variety of applications. One of the best choices for lasing in the 2-5 μm spectral range is direct oscillation from divalent transition metal ions (TM2+: Cr2+, Fe2+, Co2+)-doped wide bandgap II-VI semiconductor crystals. There are three major objectives in this dissertation: 1) Realize and study middle-infrared electroluminescence of n and p-type, Cr doped bulk ZnSe crystals. We have demonstrated a method of ZnSe crystals thermal-diffusion doping with donor (In, Zn, and Al) and acceptor (Cu, Ag, and N through CrN) impurities resulting in …


Optical Vehicular Tracking System, Joshua D. Jackson Jan 2009

Optical Vehicular Tracking System, Joshua D. Jackson

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation presents research and analysis specific to a well-defined methodology for a low-cost and accurate vehicle tracking system that performs within a spatially limited domain. The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) requires such a system to increase the efficiency of its bridge load-testing procedures. Currently, human operators estimate vehicle positions. As ALDOT seeks to modernize its systems, they require an accurate yet low-cost system for tracking load-testing vehicles within a spatially limited domain. This body of work presents a novel optical tracking system that makes use of the same optical navigation chip used in an optical computer mouse. Included …


Impact Of Health Care Coverage And Other Socio-Demographic Variables On The Follow-Up Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Colombian Women, Isabel Cristina Garces-Palacio Jan 2009

Impact Of Health Care Coverage And Other Socio-Demographic Variables On The Follow-Up Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Colombian Women, Isabel Cristina Garces-Palacio

All ETDs from UAB

In Colombia, cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women with incidence (36.4/100,000) and mortality rates (18/100,000) much higher than those of the U.S. (7.7 and 2.3 respectively). About 70% of the Colombian population has health care coverage (HCC) through the subsidized regime (SR) which serves the poorest persons and the contributory regime (CR) which serves the working population. Our goal was to determine the role that HCC plays in cervical cancer screening follow-up among Colombian women. A population-based cross-sectional study of 24,717 women between the ages of 18 and 49, using the 2005 Demographic and Health Survey was …


Information Theoretical Modeling Of Complex Communication Network Usage Patterns, Stanley Carl Thompson Jan 2009

Information Theoretical Modeling Of Complex Communication Network Usage Patterns, Stanley Carl Thompson

All ETDs from UAB

Today’s voice and data connectivity typically utilizes a complex system of networks of networks. The development of models for characterizing usage patterns in complex networks would be useful in projecting capacity requirements in growing systems. Simplified models applied to a complex network for timing and sizing algorithms would significantly reduce the amount of computations and storage necessary to produce forecasts of capacity requirements. This composition introduces a network usage pattern model based on decomposition by information transfer and verifies its application in real-life voice-data networks. Complex systems can be modeled and decomposed into sub-systems by observing the interactions among their …


The Distinction Between First And Higher-Order Pregnancies Among Low-Income Adolescents, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery Jan 2009

The Distinction Between First And Higher-Order Pregnancies Among Low-Income Adolescents, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery

All ETDs from UAB

Rapid repeat pregnancy is defined as having a subsequent pregnancy within 2 years of the first. In the United States, approximately 30-50% of adolescent mothers will experience a repeat pregnancy within 12 to 24 months of the first birth (Sangalang, Barth, & Painter, 2006; Coard, Nitz, & Felice, 2000). The negative implications of adolescents having a first birth--most notably in the areas of "health, career, and economic conditions" (Khalili, 2005, p. 19)--are compounded when a second pregnancy occurs (Key, Barbosa, & Owens, 2001). This exploratory study addressed one of the primary gaps in the literature related to rapid repeat adolescent …


Parenting Behaviors And Adolescent Obesity, Kathy Lynne Newman Jan 2009

Parenting Behaviors And Adolescent Obesity, Kathy Lynne Newman

All ETDs from UAB

PARENTING BEHAVIORS AND EARLY ADOLESCENT OBESITY KATHY NEWMAN SCHOOL OF NURSING ABSTRACT The incidence of adolescent obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years with the rate increasing from 5% to 17%. Approximately 17.0% of adolescents in the United States are obese with 4% being categorized as morbidly obese. Obesity disproportionately affects minority adolescent groups. Previous studies have examined relationships between parental behaviors and adolescent health risk behaviors, but few studies have compared these relationships across different racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between parental nurturance, parental involvement, family cohesion, and early …