Digital Commons Network^™

Even In The Face Of History: The Experiences Of Gifted African-American Students, Rivian Segal Bass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While schools are experiencing unparalleled racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity, gifted programs do not reflect these changing demographics. In fact, African-American students are less than half as likely to be in gifted classes and programs than are their European-American counterparts. In addition, little is known about the impact of gifted programs on students.

This qualitative study incorporated oral history interviews to examine the experiences of four gifted African-American students who attended full time programs or schools designed for gifted students. In telling their stories through narratives, participants constructed past events with a focus on the personal meanings ascribed to their …

Sibling Relationships During The Young Adult Years: An Analysis Of Closeness, Relational Satisfaction, Everyday Talk, And Turning Points, Jennifer Kellie Corti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the sibling relationship during the young adult years. Specifically, this study explored how turning points and everyday talk related to closeness and relational satisfaction among college age siblings. One-hundred and ninety-nine young adult participants completed a detailed questionnaire about their relationship with a sibling. Results indicated that (a) geographic distance does not have a significant effect on the closeness among siblings, (b) everyday talk was expressed in terms of three categories: expressions of intimacy, maintenance talk, and relationally risky talk, (c) all three categories of everyday talk related to closeness, while only …

Peer And Maternal Relationship Predictors Of Adolescent Romantic Conflict Resolution, Pallavi Visvanathan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the current study was to examine whether change in adolescent conflict resolution in romantic relationships is predicted by adolescents' prior interactions with mothers and friends. A community sample of 191 adolescents (96 female), representative of the U.S. population, their mothers and close friends participated in this study. Data collection began when adolescents were in 10th grade (¬Average age = 15.9, SD = .52) and continued for the next five and a half years. Results indicated that teens engaged in positive problem solving, withdrawal, and compliance far more frequently than in aggressive conflict resolution strategies. Hierarchical linear modeling …

Job Satisfaction Determinants Of Certificated Staff In The Xyz School District, Grant Edward Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Job satisfaction is closely related to motivation theory. Many factors influence human motivation. For example, employee performance is greatly influenced by the expectancy of what the job will provide, the employees attitude toward personal achievement and advancement, and their wish for harmony in the workplace (Bittel, 1990). The amount of opportunity people see in their jobs also has a direct relationship to their job performance (Hill, 1979). Motivation can be provided by allowing employees to participate in the goal-setting activities (Catt, 1989). Motivators, such as sick leave, medical/ dental plans, and holiday pay are best enjoyed by the employees when …

Structure-Function Analysis Of Endoproteolytic Cleavage: Site-Directed Mutagenesis Studies Of The Α-Msh Cleavage Site In Silurana Tropicalis Pomc, Quinn Kun Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The maturation process of many prohormone molecules typically requires endoproteolytic cleavage C-terminal of dibasic residues, such as the K¹⁴¹R¹⁴²↓ site N-terminal of the α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) sequence in Silurana tropicalis proopiomelanocortin (POMC). In order to determine the absolute requirement of basic amino acid residues in the cleavage process, site-directed mutagenesis was employed to substitute alanine for the wild-type residues in the frog POMC open reading frame. Specifically, the following underlined residues were individually targeted for alanine substitution: R ¹³⁷ Q ¹³⁸ E ¹³⁹ N ¹⁴⁰ K ¹⁴¹ R ¹⁴²↓. The mouse pancreatic αTC1.9 cell …

Communicating Queer Identities Through Personal Narrative And Intersectional Reflexivity, Richard G. Jones, Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is currently a lack of intersubjective research involving human participants and conceptual frameworks that include queer theory. Queer theory's poststructuralist epistemology tends toward desubjectification, problematizing research that relies on participants' self-reports of lived experience. The author proposes that the interdisciplinary nature of Communication Studies, which is situated within the humanities and social sciences, leaves communication scholars well poised to contribute to ongoing metatheoretical and metamethodological conversations regarding queer theory and intersubjective research, particularly in relation to cultures and identities. To contribute to this scholarly conversation, the author utilizes the deconstructionist lens of queer theory to contextualize communication, employs personal …

Alpha-Msh Regulated Cell Signaling In Pancreatic Alpha Cells, Liang Liang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peripheral injection of α-MSH promotes glucagon secretion in POMC knockout mice, suggesting the role of α-MSH in regulation of pancreatic α cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study investigated the stimulatory effect of α-MSH on mice pancreatic α cell line αTC1-6 cells in cell signaling pathway as well as glucagon secretion. In normal level of glucose, application of α-MSH stimulated Ltype Ca2+ current induced Ca2+ induced Ca2+ release (CICR) and membrane hyperpolarization. Increase of [cAMP]c was also observed when α-MSH was applied with IBMX. Acute hypoglycemia-induced CICR via N- and L-type Ca2+ channels was overridden by typical α-MSH …

A Computer Science Approach To Identify And Classify Hyperactivated Spermatozoa, Norbert Kaula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) relies in part upon accurate but easily conducted measurements of sperm motion parameters. Several established methods are widely used to assess possible reasons for male infertility, in human and veterinary Andrology clinics. Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) devices quantitatively assess sperm motion parameters, which have been defined by the World Health Organization, and include the percentage of motile cells in a sample and the motion characteristics of individual cells, such as curvilinear velocity (VCL), average path velocity (VAP) and straight line velocity (VSL). However, CASA analyses fail to define hyperactive sperm motility or determine the prevalence …

Role Of Pro-Apoptotic Bcl2-Homology-3 Domain (Bh3)-Only Proteins In The Mutant Sod1 Mouse Model Of Als, Anna George Andrianakos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease involving rapid degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord and retraction of their axonal projections to the neuromuscular junctions. Several known mutations linked to some familial cases of ALS have been linked to mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), resulting in mitochondrial oxidative stress and intrinsic apoptosis. Transgenic mice expressing a G93A mutant of SOD1 provide an in vivo model to investigate motor neuron death during disease progression. The principal regulators of intrinsic apoptosis are the Bcl-2 family proteins. While some members of this family are pro-survival, the Bcl-2 homology-3 …

Assessing Crosstalk Between Calcium And Camp In Pancreatic Alpha Cells, Julianne Michelle Imseis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blood glucose levels are regulated by the interactions between insulin and glucagon. Pancreatic alpha cells release glucagon in response to a drop in blood sugar. Pancreatic alpha cells appear to be regulated through multiple signaling pathways. One potential method of regulation occurs from α-MSH or epinephrine stimulated production of the intracellular messenger cyclic AMP. Exocytosis of dense core vesicles containing glucagon ultimately requires an increase in cytosolic calcium. This study focused on the link between cyclic AMP and calcium in pancreatic alpha cells which allows alpha cell regulation. Interactions between calcium and cyclic AMP in pancreatic alpha cells consists of …

A Clash Of Worldviews: The Impact Of Modern Western Notion Of Progress On Indigenous Naga Culture, Tezenlo Thong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term "progress" is a modern Western notion that life is always improving and advancing toward an ideal state. It is a vital modern concept which underlies geographic explorations and scientific and technological inventions as well as the desire to harness nature in order to increase human beings' ease and comfort. With the advent of Western colonization and to the great detriment of the colonized, the notion of progress began to perniciously and pervasively permeate across cultures.

During the classical colonial period, Western anthropologists, sociologists and others had hypothesized, or at least ardently bought into the notion, that human beings, …

Creating An Indian Space In The City: Development, Maintenance, And Evolution Of Cultural Identity And Cultural Connectedness Among Multiple Generations Of Urban American Indians, Nancy Marie Lucero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the cultural identity and cultural connectedness of multiple generations of American Indians whose families had been living continuously in an urban area for 40 to 50 years. The intent of the current study was to better understand how members of this group developed and maintained their cultural identities while living away from a tribal community and as a small percentage of the population of a large and culturally diverse metropolitan area. The study also sought to identify what constituted cultural connectedness--a term used frequently amongst urban Indians that appears to encompass factors of importance to being American …

Impacts Of Tamarisk Biocontrol (Diorhabda Elongata) On The Trophic Dynamics Of Terrestrial Insects In Monotypic Tamarisk Stands, Stephanie Michelle Carroll Strudley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Combating tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), an exotic tree species that has invaded 1-1.6 million hectares of riparian land in the Midwestern United States, with the introduced leaf beetle Diorhabda elongata provides an opportunity to evaluate how the trophic spectra of terrestrial insects respond to a herbivorous biocontrol. To evaluate this restoration approach and the interaction biocontrol may have with terrestrial insect populations, I quantified trophic unit richness and abundance and common family abundance of resident insect populations while also measuring biocontrol abundance and status during the previous season (present or not present). These measurements were taken four times throughout one …

Nutrient Analysis Of The Estuarine And River Waters Of The Santa Margarita River Estuary, Barbara Elisabeth Long

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to analyze nutrient concentrations in the estuarine and river waters of the Santa Margarita River Estuary located on United States Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County, north of Oceanside, California.

Private Foster Family Agencies' Certified Foster Parents' Perceptions Of County Social Workers And Services, Maria Gabriela Casillas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the support and services available to foster parents from government-run services and to examine attitudes resulting from the contact they have with county social workers and the services they received from them. The foster parent's suggestions and/or responses allowed this study to uncover frequent themes that lead to a theory of their perceptions, and served to add knowledge and make changes in social work practice at the micro and/or macro levels of human organization. This study was conducted with 15 foster parents that provide foster care for the agency, Community Access Network …

Modulation Of Memory Formation Following Violations Of Conditioned Expectations, Dennis Antonio Amodeo

Theses Digitization Project

Increment in attention to the conditioned stimulus (CS) leads to an increased rate of acquisition of new associations involving CS. While the neuroanatomical basis of the phenomenon is largely understood, little is known about the synaptic mechanisms underlying memory formation for prediction error. The current experiment tests the overall hypothesis that this specific form of memory depends on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation.

Role Of Dorsostriatal D1 And D2 Receptors In Modulating The Kappa Opioid-Mediated Locomotor Activity Of Preweanling Rats: Importance Of Synergistic Activation, Sergios Charntikov

Theses Digitization Project

Infusions of the nonselective dopamine agonist R( - ) propylnorapomorphine (NPA) into the dorsal striatum of preweanling rats atteuates kappa opioid-mediated locomotor activity. The purpose of this thesis was to ascertain which dopamine receptor subtype (D1 or D2) is responsible for this effect. It was hypothsized that a) D1, but not D2, receptors in the dorsal striatum underlie NPA's ability to attenuate the kappa opioid-mediated locomotor activity of preweanling rats, and b) microinjectng SKF38393 (a D1 agonist), and not quinpirole (a D2 agonist), would attenuate kappa opioid-mediated locomotion.

Welcome To The World Of Tomorrow Today: Matt Groening's Futurama As Posthuman Mediator, Amanda Jill Taylor

Theses Digitization Project

In this thesis an explanation of posthuman theory along with a close analysis of both Fry and the robot Bender. These analyses respectively show how we are already posthuman as well as the material limitations of posthuman subjectivity.

Lesbian Subjective Distress To Violations Of Trust As A Function Of The Butch/Femme Paradox: Evolutionary And Social-Cognitive Hypotheses, Sarah Carver-Steil Mcnay

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis investigated both evolutionary and social-cognitive hypotheses regarding butch and femme lesibans' subjective distress to imagining a romantic partner's emotional and sexual infidelity. Findings from this study, that conform to findings from other research indicate a need to conduct more research and to continue to develop existing theories of sex-based behavior in lesbian romantic pair-bonds.;Summary.

The Impact Of California's Service Delivery System On Developmentally Disabled Youth Emancipating From The Child Welfare System, Carey Ann Doetschman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine public child welfare and regional center workers' perceptions of the experiences that developmentally disabled youth have as they emancipate from child welfare services into the adult developmental service sector. Data was collected by interviewing workers from Inland Regional Center and San Bernardino County's Child Welfare Department. The sample of this study included nine case managers and social workers who presented nine cases. Qualitative Interviews were designed and conducted with workers from both agencies utilizing the same basic interview guide.

Establishing Adult Lifelong Connections For Emancipating Foster Youth, Tylia Lindsey Jones

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which Riverside County Children's Social Services Workers (CSSW's) are establishing adult lifelong connections for emancipating foster youth. Interviews were conducted with CSSW's from the Independent Living Program (ILP) and the Planned Permanency Living Arrangement (PPLA) units. The purpose of the interviews was to identify resources that CSSW's are using to secure adult lifelong connections for youth transitioning out of the foster care system.

Genetic Analysis Of Two Phenotypes In Variovorax Paradoxus Strain Eps, Michael Jherek Pehl

Theses Digitization Project

The formation of biofilms is a complex process that involves activation of a wide array of genetic material within the cells found living within the biofilm. It has been shown that altered colony morphology has been associated with different biofilm levels within P. aureginosa. This analysis will provide further evidence of the strength of the colony morphology screen to isolate mutants with altered biofilm or swarming abilities.

The Relationship Between Kinship Support Services And Placement Outcomes, Maria De Jesus Flores, Jennifer Lau

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined the relationship between kinship support services and placement outcomes using secondary data collected by Chang and Liles (2004) in the Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. This study aimed at assessing kinship care placement outcomes by reviewing the characteristics of kin caregivers and their dependent children, types of financial support and services received, and contact with social workers. This study sample included 130 kinship caregivers and 291 dependent children from the original study (Chang & Liles, 2007).

Co-Sleeping Deaths In Riverside County, Christine Leigh Brown

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of this study was to look at cases of co-sleeping deaths and find the similarities between them and determine if these deaths were preventable. The research site for this study was the Riverside County Child Death Review, which meets twice a month to discuss all child deaths in Riverside County, as well as Riverside County Child Protective Services. The study participants chosen for this study were from cases discussed at these meetings. The cases for this study were selected from the Riverside Child Death Review Team from the years 2003 to 2008.

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Barriers To Father Involvement In Case Planning In San Bernardino County Department Of Children's Services, Deborah Ann Kay, Tina Marguerite Wright-Ervin

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine social workers perceptions of barriers to the involvement of fathers in case planning. Two focused groups were conducted utilizing a sample of eleven social workers from two Children and Family Services offices in San Bernardino County. Participants were asked to express their opinions on what the barriers to father involvement have been in their work experience. Ultimately, the study found that social worker bias, systemic bias, paternity issues, and father's lack of motivation are the four major barriers to father involvement.

Substance Abuse Among The Aging Population: A Needs Assessment, Stephen Michael Clark

Theses Digitization Project

This needs assessment was composed of 33 clinicians' in Riverside and San Bernardino counties that work in the substance abuse field. This study was developed to test if there is a need to increase clinicians' knowledge level base when working with older adults age 65 plus with a substance abuse problem. This needs assessment looked at demographics and tested the differences between self reported knowledge and what instruments their agencies are currently using.

The Use Of An Environmental Education Service Learning Project To Enhance Student Motivation In A Secondary School, Mary Frances O'Connell-Hershey

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to show any possible variations in environmental education awareness and changes in student motivation among secondary students. In this study two student cohorts from two separate classes completed assignments based on a traditional approach of education and environmental science service-learning project.

The Efficacy Of The Use Of Inquiry Computer Simulation To Generate Understanding And A Positive Attitude Toward The Nature Of Science In Seventh Grade Students, Eleanor Maria Ruiz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the use of two different modes of instruction, standardized versus computer simulation on the understanding of the nature of science and attitudes toward science in seventh grade students.

Cc: Connecticut College Magazine, Winter 2008-2009, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.

Cc: Connecticut College Magazine, Winter 2009, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.