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Ethanol Impairs Mechanisms Of Macrophage Phagocytosis And Cytokine Production, John Karavitis

Dissertations

Extensive evidence indicates that alcohol (ethanol) consumption affects human health by altering normal physiological functions of the immune system. This study investigated the effect of a single in vivo exposure of macrophages to clinically relevant levels of ethanol (1.2 and 2.2 g/kg). Following 3 hour exposure, both doses of ethanol decreased ex vivo TNFα production by splenic and alveolar macrophages (AMs). Interestingly, the higher dose of ethanol resulted in sustained suppression of LPS-induced TNFα production at 3 and 6 hours post ethanol administration, as well as decreased IL-6 and IL-12 production after 6 hours, compared control treated groups. LPS or …

Morphogenesis Of The Bacillus Anthracis Spore, Michael Mallozzi

Dissertations

With the ability to shut down metabolism, survive exposure to high degrees of heat, ultra-violet and ionizing radiation, digestive enzymes, and antimicrobials, the bacterial spore is one of the most-resistant forms of life on earth. Although most spores are harmless, several species' spores cause serious diseases such as tetanus, anthrax, gas gangrene, botulism, and diarrhea. Spore-forming bacteria differentiate into spores in response to stresses (especially starvation) in a multi-stage developmental pathway involving the coordinated expression of hundreds of genes and the formation of specialized protective organelles which surround and protect the spore during dormancy. The Bacillus anthracis spore (the causative …

Involvement Of The Nmda Receptor In Moderate Ethanol Preconditioning-Dependent Neuroprotection From Amyloid-Beta In Vitro, Robert Matthew Mitchell

Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, mentally crippling, and eventually fatal form of dementia with growing prevalence in aging populations. In 2009 it was estimated that 5.3 million Americans have AD, with 5.1 million older than age 65 and 200,000 under 65. That accounts for 1 in 8 adults over 65. Furthermore, AD costs Americans 148 billion dollars in direct expenses, and is the leading cause of dementia and the 6th leading cause of death. Since improved medical care in general is increasing average life span and age is the primary risk factor for AD, there is need for basic …

Interpretive Teleology Without Eschatology: A Study Of The Hermeneutic Strategies Of Nietzsche's Genealogical Project, Darin Sean Mcginnis

Dissertations

In contemporary philosophy, there exists a vigorous debate between those thinkers who advocate the need for a truth that exists outside of historical forces and those who hold that all understanding must be historical in its basis. My research is focused on deciphering this problem by providing a description of how understanding and interpretation occur. More specifically, I have proposed a project that explores how the philosophical writings of Friedrich Nietzsche can give some insight into this problem of understanding truth. I argue that Nietzsche develops a method of interpretation - a hermeneutics - that focuses on the manner in …

Development And Validation Of The Workplace Intergenerational Atmosphere Scale, Scott P. King

Dissertations

This dissertation details the development and validation of the Workplace Intergenerational Atmosphere (WIA) scale over two studies. Given the growing number of older adults in the American workforce and the possibility of four generations working side by side, the WIA scale was designed to measure attitudes and perceptions about workers of different ages in the workplace. In Study 1, using a sample of workers from a non-profit organization, 23 initial items were reduced to 18, including five subscales: Intergenerational Contact, Workplace Intergenerational Retention, Positive Affect, Workplace Generational Inclusiveness, and Lack of Stereotypes. The relationships between WIA scores and mentoring, perceptions …

Immigration As A "Theologizing Experience": Spiritual Well-Being As A Moderating Factor In Migratory Grief And Acculturation, Irma A. Sharp

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of spiritual well-being to migratory grief and acculturation. The study employed a cross-sectional design and a convenience sampling method. Data were collected from 75 Mexican immigrant adult education students in the city of Chicago. Instruments used to collect data were a demographic form, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Migratory Grief and Loss Questionnaire, and the Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale. All instruments were translated into Spanish, the native language of the participants. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the moderator effects of existential well-being and religious well-being, the two sub-scales of the …

The Impact Of Social Stigma On The Therapeutic Relationship For Latino Clinicians: The Elephant In The Room?, Mauricio Jose Cifuentes

Dissertations

Social stigma is consistently mentioned in the literature as one of the barriers

preventing Latinos from seeking, accessing and remaining in mental health care. This

study focuses specifically on social stigma as a barrier to remain in psychotherapy.

Social stigma is understood as the internalized fear of severe social disapproval for

behaving against acceptable cultural meaning systems. With intersubjective theory as

the analytical framework, this study primarily explores, through a series of focus groups

with Latino mental health service providers of Latino clients, the perceptions those

practitioners have regarding the influence of social stigma on the therapeutic

relationship and the …

The Complexities Of Attachment, Peer Rejection And Gender Within A Middle School Dynamic - A Glimpse At Early Adolescents And Their Significant Relationships, Barbara Ann Mestling

Dissertations

This was a mixed method two phase explanatory study of attachment, peer rejection and gender in a non-clinical middle school population. The purpose of the study was to illustrate the relationship between these variables with the assumption that there would be differences in attachment style between rejected and non-rejected students and further differences by gender. The Behavioral Systems Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Children's Self-Experience Questionnaire-Self-Report (CSEQ-SR) were utilized to determine interview subjects. A Parent Demographic Form provided background, life experience and social functioning information. There were challenges in the use of both instruments for this study's purposes. Although there were …

The Relationship Among Adult Attachment Styles, Shame, Dissociation, And Abuse Characteristics In Women Survivors Of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse Perpetrated By A Parental-Figure, Grace H. Tomas-Tolentino

Dissertations

The consequences of intrafamilial child sexual abuse (CSA) often evolve beyond the termination of abuse and pervade into adulthood, posing complex and enduring consequences for survivors (Courtois, 1999; Briere, 1992; Herman, 1981, 1991; van der Kolk & Kadish, 1987; Chu & Dill, 1990). The concepts of attachment, shame, and dissociation- in the context of childhood sexual abuse-are significant areas of study when working with adult survivors. The present study included 49 women with a history of childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a parental-figure. The purpose of the study was to identify the relationships among adult attachment styles, shame, dissociation, and …

The Practice And Meaning Of Communitarian Spirituality In The Focolare Movement, Nori Henk

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals come to embrace the FM spirituality as radical, making the spiritually meaningful and plausible for social change through a communitarian lifestyle that affects their everyday life. Within the sociological tradition of studying religion and social movements, this study addresses how religiously-motivated, "non-elite" individuals can be collectively recruited and mobilized into life-long agents of change. My study is based on seventy-five interviews and fieldwork at three sites in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

In the dissertation, I addressed the following research questions: 1. If a member is defined as one …

In The Driver's Seat: Living And Working As A Trucker, Cassandra Lively

Dissertations

This project examines the work and personal lives of truck drivers. Using data from fieldwork at a Midwestern trucking company, along with interviews with 38 drivers, dispatchers, company management and spouses and partners of drivers, I explore the questions: Thirty years out from deregulation, how are drivers' lives affected by the economic state of the industry? How do drivers and unions interact with public policy and company regulations that shape their on-the-job autonomy and their own and others' safety on the road? What are the dynamics of the industry around race, gender and sexuality? How does working in a high-stress, …

Using Matching Methods From Both Fisher's Experimental Design And Rubin's Causal Model To Compare Between Two Medical Facilities With Extremely Skewed Number Of Subjects, Gideon D. Bahn

Dissertations

The present study deals with the problem of comparison between a two medical facilities' with extremely skewed sample sizes from non-experimental study. The data came from a study of rehabilitation interventions with patients diagnosed with cardiac and pulmonary issues who received treatment either in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) or in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Due to inclusion and exclusion criteria, however, the study had failed to recruit sufficient number of participants between two comparison groups: 319 from IRFs and 27 from SNFs. As a result, the main hypothesis of the study was not tested due to the disparity of the …

“Messin’ With Drugs…You Could Lose Your Life”: The Effect Of Victimization On Routine Activities And Risk Management, J. Michael Vecchio

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications & Other Works

Decades of research have helped to identify that victims and offenders are not opposing parts of the crime equation (Esbensen & Huizinga, 1991), but often are intertwined as part of a homogeneous population (Lauritsen & Laub, 2007). Those with the greatest likelihood of experiencing personal or property victimization are those who report offending or substance using behaviors (Gottfredson, 1984; Jensen & Brownfield, 1986; Sampson & Lauritsen, 1990). This increased victimization risk is commonly related to the amount of time spent in situations with greater proximity to motivated offenders and a lack of supervision (Cohen & Felson, 1979; Hindelang, Gottfredson, & …

Study Methodology, Jody Miller, Mark Debarr, Hyan Namgung, J. Michael Vecchio, Stephanie Wiley

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications & Other Works

Data for this investigation come from 36 qualitative in-depth interviews completed between February and April 2010. The aim of the research was to conduct a process evaluation of Gateway Foundation programming for state probation and parole clients in St. Louis and jointly produce a final report for the organization. The specific research questions focused on (1) the challenges men face as they attempt to overcome substance abuse; (2) how those challenges are related to past experiences with crime, including offending and victimization; and (3) the effectiveness of Gateway programming, from the points of view of program participants, including whether there …

Positive Behavior Support: Teaching And Acknowledging Expected Behaviors In An Urban High School, Kelly L. Morrissey, Hank Bohanon, Pamela Fenning

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Urban Hassles On The Subjective Well-Being Of Low-Income Urban Adolescents, Kimberly Vacek

Dissertations

Low income urban youth have been identified as an understudied and important population to explore. The psychological effects of stress on the well-being of children and adolescents are of particular interest, and the stressors faced by low income urban adolescents are unique in that they are more chronic in nature and due to adverse environmental circumstances. While researchers have examined the effect of stress on the subjective well-being of low income urban adolescents, none have done so utilizing a measure of stress developed specifically to assess the unique stressors experienced by such populations. The Urban Hassles Index (UHI) is a …

The Use Of Behavioral Agreements By Senior Student Affairs Officers And Counseling Center Directors To Manage Student Mental Health Concerns And Minimize Threatening Behavior, Douglas A. Geiger

Dissertations

This qualitative investigation examines the use of behavioral agreements by Senior Student Affairs Officers and Counseling Center Directors to manage student mental health concerns and minimize behavior that poses threats to campus communities. Six pairs of Senior Student Affairs Officers and Counseling Center Directors at the same institution were interviewed for this study. In addition, documents concerning mental health and threat assessment policy and protocols are also examined and discussed. An expanded theory of practice known as Student Intervention Facilitators is presented as an option to mandated psychotherapy.

The Impact Of Person-Centered Communications On Political Candidate Evaluation: An Experimental Investigation, Randall A. Renstrom

Dissertations

"Person-centeredness" refers to how empathetic and warm a person's communication style is. Although the role of person-centeredness has been documented in various areas concerning interpersonal relations, person-centeredness has not been explored in the political realm. This project investigated how person-centered communications can influence impressions and evaluations of political candidates. In the first study, person-centered (PC) messages were shown to impact candidate trait ratings. Candidates using low PC messages were associated with more instrumental traits but fewer socio-emotional traits, while high PC candidates were assumed to have more socio-emotional traits but fewer instrumental traits. Similar results were found when participants rated …

Sea-Cards For The Impetuous Muse: A Reading Of Shaftesbury's Characteristicks, Travis Sean Cook

Dissertations

Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, by Anthony Ashley Cooper, Third Earl of Shaftesbury, marks an important dissent from the general trend of early modern philosophy. This dissertation argues that Shaftesbury's book undertakes a restoration of the classical understanding of philosophy in contradistinction to the understanding presented by the writings of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, and other modern thin0kers. According to Shaftesbury, modern philosophy introduces a method of radical skepticism in order to combat the moral and political effects of Christianity. This methodical skepticism, however, turns out to be at least as corrosive to moral and political life as the worldview …

Altgeld Gardens: Evolution Of Culture And Educatiion In An Isolated African American Community, Beverly Anne Lesueur

Dissertations

Altgeld Gardens, a Chicago public housing project, was selected for this study because its unique attributes were designed as a model, self-contained complex located in a geographically and socially, isolated area of Chicago built to house African American war armament workers and their families beginning in the mid-1940’s. Oral testimonies from teachers and community members chronicle significant changes to the local culture and the primary school’s efforts to provide effective instructional services within the cultural context of this community. The most effective and frequently used modification of instruction was the incorporation of culturally relevant pedagogy. The goal was to effectively …

Elementary School Counselors' Perception Of Their Role And Function As Case Managers In Chicago Public Schools, Debra J. Franklin

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to understand how elementary school counselors perceive the role and function of case manager in Chicago Public Schools. In this expanded role, elementary school counselors must continue their traditional counseling duties and incorporate case management activities as a part of their responsibilities. The case managers coordinate the special education program for students with disabilities.

In-depth interviews were used to collect data from six elementary school counselor in their role as case managers. Results of this study yielded six empirical assertions:

Assertion 1. The case manager coordinates special education programs and services for students with …

Notch-1 Activates Nf-Кb Activity In Cervical Cancer And Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer, Yin Peng

Dissertations

Breast and cervical cancer are two common cancers that severely endanger women's health. The fatality rates of breast and cervical cancer are ranked first and fifth, respectively, in cancer related deaths in women worldwide. Continuous dedication to cancer research is urgently required to elucidate the cancer cell survival mechanism that is responsible for disease aggressiveness and poor prognosis.

Emerging data indicate that Notch-1 is aberrantly regulated in human cervical and ER- breast cancer and inhibiting Notch-1 sensitizes cancer cells to apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which Notch-1 promotes cell survival is not known. NF-КB is also deregulated in these two …

Examining Racial Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity Development, And Their Psychological Correlates In A Sample Of Ethnically Diverse Youth, Denada Hoxha

Dissertations

Research on racial ethnic socialization experiences among ethnically diverse youth from their perspective is limited. Additionally, little is known about the relationship between specific racial ethnic socialization messages and positive youth outcomes such as subjective well-being. This study sought to examine the prevalence of specific types of racial ethnic socialization messages in a group of ethnically diverse high school students. The study also examined the role of preparation for bias and cultural socialization messages on youth's ethnic identity development and private group esteem. The study also examined the mediating role of ethnic identity and self-esteem in the relationship between racial …

The Effects Of Uncontrollable Stress On Subjective Well-Being And Coping Behavior In Urban Adolescents, Laura Darr Coyle

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether uncontrollable and controllable stressors differentially affected levels of subjective well-being in a group of ethnically diverse urban adolescents. Additionally, the researcher examined what types of coping skills were utilized in the face of high levels of uncontrollable stress. Lastly, a moderational model was proposed, wherein active coping was hypothesized to strengthen the inverse relationship between uncontrollable stress and subjective well-being. Results revealed that higher levels of uncontrollable stress were related to higher levels of negative affect. Additionally, the use of active and adaptive coping strategies was associated with higher levels of …

Resilience And African American Early Adolescents: The Protective Function Of Religion And Structured After-School Activities, Gloria Patricia Montgomery-Walters

Dissertations

Resilience is defined as the ability to overcome unfavorable circumstances to achieve positive developmental outcomes. Studies of resilience and vulnerability generally reflect individuals' susceptibility to either positive or adverse outcomes when subjected to high-risk circumstances and environments. The current study examines the protective function of religiosity and structured after-school activities against the development of depression for young adolescents exposed to high incidence of community violence and deviant peer affiliation. The results suggest that religious beliefs and practices protects against depression for adolescents exposed to community violence. The implications of this finding as well as the study limitations and future research …

The Intersection Of Positive Psychology And Teachers' Dispositional Fitness: A Delphi Study, Maria Elizabeth Stimpson

Dissertations

U.S. educators of the 21st century have witnessed renewed attention given to the importance of teacher dispositions as a component of the requisite tripartite of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. In this Delphi study, two previously unaligned constructs, positive psychology and teacher dispositions, were synthesized for the purpose of: a) identifying the most compelling teacher dispositions that infuse positive psychology into positive classroom communities, and b) suggesting observable behaviors that are indicative of teachers' dispositional fitness in positive classroom communities.

Using the Positive Teacher Disposition Index (PTDI), a panel of educators, consisting of classroom teachers, university faculty, and educational administrators selected …

Home-School Collaboration And Children With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders: An Examination Of School Services, Laura Jean Swanlund

Dissertations

The treatment for childhood emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is of significant concern within society. The research literature has frequently noted that parental involvement in the treatment of childhood EBD has a positive impact on outcomes in both school and community-based supports. The current study examined the relationship between parent involvement and school services received for children with emotional and behavioral needs. Parents of children with EBD were recruited from one large and two small on-line support groups. Results suggest that parents who reported satisfaction with school teams were more likely to receive research-based services and had a higher rate …

First-Year College Students And Faculty: A Comparison Of Expectations For Success, Jodi Ellen Koslow Martin

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and explore academic, social, and career-related expectations that first-year college students believe lead to their collegiate success as defined by their perception of persisting in higher education. Further investigation determines how these expectations align with faculty expectations of student success. Eight first-year college students and eight college instructors were interviewed about their expectations at a small, private college. Criteria for first-year students include residing on campus and graduating from high school within the last year. Eligible faculty teach at least one class at the first-year level.

The data from student interviews …

Mid-Childhood Immigrant Perspectives On Achieving College Success, Mark John Litwicki

Dissertations

This study extends what is known about the experience of mid-childhood immigration. Fifteen participants, college students who immigrated to the U.S. from Latin America between the ages of 8 and 16 and who had completed at least a semester of transferable college-level coursework, provided their narratives by way of an open-ended interview focusing primarily on academic performance and achievement. Interviews were conducted using a life story methodology which seeks to maximize participant control over responses. Participants recounted their experiences from arrival through school completion and at college, and described which variables - circumstances, characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, events - they perceived …

Turmoil, Tirades And Transformation: The Wars For The National History Standards 1991-2004, Phyllis Margaret Henry

Dissertations

This document presents a research project in the format of an historical narrative that chronicles the issues, process of consensus, and the impact of the National History Standards Project (NHSP) on local policies and curricula in history education. The influence of the voluntary national history standards movement is chronicled with the local development of social science standards-based curricula with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

This dissertation is a case study that utilizes multiple sources of research such as archival primary sources, oral history interviews and participant observations to corroborate the evidence. The …