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[Introduction To] Believing And Acting: The Pragmatic Turn In Comparative Religion And Ethics, G. Scott Davis

Bookshelf

How should religion and ethics be studied if we want to understand what people believe and why they act the way they do? In the 1980s and '90s postmodernist worries about led to debates that turned on power, truth, and relativism. Since the turn of the century scholars impressed by 'cognitive science' have introduced concepts drawn from evolutionary biology, neurosciences, and linguistics in the attempt to provide 'naturalist' accounts of religion. Deploying concepts and arguments that have their roots in the pragmatism of C. S. Peirce, Believing and Acting argues that both approaches are misguided and largely unhelpful in answering …

An Evaluation Of Teaching Strategies Using Computer Technology, Anthony Griffin

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The push to integrate technology into teachers’ daily practices has met with many forms of resistance. A common approach to increasing technology integration has been to provide teachers with professional development. This applied dissertation was designed to investigate the impact of a peer-led professional development program on teachers’ ability and confidence to integrate computer technology in daily classroom practices.

The writer prepared and facilitated a peer-led professional development program on the use of computer technology for volunteer English and social studies teachers. The program was presented as a 6-hour training. At the conclusion of the training, the participants evaluated the …

The Physiological Effects Of Phycobilisome Antenna Modification On The Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. Pcc 6803, Lawrence Edward Page

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Phycobilisomes are the large, membrane extrinsic light harvesting antenna of cyanobacteria. They function to absorb light energy and deliver it efficiently to the photosystems, thereby increasing photosynthetic light absorption. Wild type phycobilisomes in the model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: Synechocystis 6803) consist of a tricylindrical core from which six rods radiate. The colored phycobiliproteins are held together by colorless linker polypeptides.

Several phycobilisome truncation mutants have been generated in Synechocystis 6803. The first, CB, has truncated phycobilisome rods; the second, CK, has only the phycobilisome core; and the third, PAL, has no phycobilisomes at all. Together, these mutants construct …

Improving Thermodynamic Models Of Transcription By Combining Chip And Expression Measurements Of Synthetic Promoters, Robert D. Zeigler

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Regulation of gene expression is a fundamental process in biology. Accurate mathematical models of the relationship between regulatory sequence and observed expression would advance our understanding of biology.

I developed ReLoS, a regulatory logic simulator, to explore mathematical frameworks for describing the relationship between regulatory sequence and observed expression and to explore methods of learning combinatorial regulatory rules from expression data. ReLoS is a flexible simulator allowing a variety of formalisms to be applied. ReLoS was used to explore the question of how complex rules of combinatorial transcriptional regulation must be to explain the complexity of transcriptional regulation observed in …

Inventing The Sculptor: Leonardo Da Vinci And The Persistence Of Myth, Emily Hanson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

China's Political Game Face, Fendy Yang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Foreigners have long been curious about the country that so fiercely safeguards the privacy of its internal affairs, but China’s historical reputation for manifesting an aloof and uninterested attitude towards others has left many outside scholars little choice but to study and examine the country from an external perspective. However, given the continuing controversy and speculation surrounding China’s rise over the past few decades, it is imperative for scholars in this field to become more well-versed in the foundations of China’s social and cultural traditions, to reorient their theoretical approaches to reflect a more relevant perspective in their studies. Of …

American Women Writers, Visual Vocabularies, And The Lives Of Literary Regionalism, Katherine Mary Bloomquist

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

American Women Writers, Visual Vocabularies, and the Lives of Literary Regionalism reads American literary regionalism through its visual vocabularies--such as sketches, photographs and portraits. Though critics often deemed this genre inferior or unfinished, using visual vocabularies of the "sketch" or "local color," later books of regionalism simply brim with visual vocabularies, when characters are seeking the lives of others or filling in the blanks of their own. The writers in my dissertation--Sarah Orne Jewett, Willa Cather, and Ann Petry--ground literary regionalism in the politics of writing places, but draw also from the arts of life writing circulating in the late …

The Human Cytomegalovirus Protein Pul21a Binds To And Degrades Cyclin A Via The Proteasome, Nicolas Caffarelli

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Metabolic Stress-Induced Snornas, Benjamin Steel Scruggs

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Accumulation of excess lipid in non-adipose tissues is associated with oxidative stress and organ dysfunction and plays an important role in diabetic complications. While a number of stress responses have been implicated, the precise molecular mechanisms linking lipid accumulation and cellular dysfunction are not fully understood. To elucidate molecular events critical for lipotoxicity, we used retroviral promoter trap mutagenesis to generate mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell lines resistant to lipotoxic and oxidative stress. This approach uncovered a previously unsuspected role for small nucleolar RNAs: snoRNAs) as critical mediators of lipotoxic cell death.

Herein we show that under lipotoxic conditions, intronic …

The Convergence Of Metabolism And Virulence Factor Regulation On Streptococcus Pyogenes Pathogenesis, Zachary Thomas Cusumano

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Nutrient acquisition is a strong driving force in the evolution of pathogenesis. For many pathogens such as Streptococcus pyogenes, the coordination of metabolism with the expression of virulence factors is necessary for colonization. Previous research examining the regulation of virulence factors in S. pyogenes identified a unique catabolite sensing regulatory pathway composed of the tagatose bis-phosphate aldolase LacD.1. Examination of LacD.1 has determined that while it still maintains its ancestral enzymatic activity its regulation occurs via a mechanism independent of catalysis. Our approach to understanding how S. pyogenes' metabolism contributes to pathogenesis involves both understanding the adaptation of LacD.1 as …

Natural Killer Cell Recruitment And Activation Following Orthopoxviral Infection, Melissa Anne Pak-Wittel

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The orthopoxviridae are large, complex DNA viruses with important historical and clinical significance. Members of this genus encode numerous proteins known to subvert the immune response to infection, providing a useful system to probe required host responses for resistance and survival. Natural killer: NK) cells provide an essential innate response to infection through direct lysis of infected cells and cytokine production. The innate anti-viral response following infection is associated with NK cell population expansion in draining LNs, where they are normally a rare population. We have identified mechanisms underlying NK cell expansion following orthopoxviral infection and have examined viral inhibition …

Fast Neuronal Imaging Using Objective Coupled Planar Illumination Microscopy, Diwakar Turaga

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Complex computations performed by the brain are produced by activities of neuronal populations. There is a large diversity in the functions of each individual neuron, and neuronal activities occur in the time scale of milliseconds. In order to gain a fundamental understanding of the neuronal populations, one has to measure activity of each neuron at high temporal resolution, while investigating enough neurons to encapsulate the neuronal diversity. Traditional neurotechniques such as electrophysiology and optical imaging are constrained by the number of neurons whose activities can be simultaneously measured or the speed of measuring such activities. We have developed a novel …

Key Elements Of Poverty Influencing Language Development And Academic Achievement, Joanna L. Eggert

Honors Program Theses

This paper investigates central issues surrounding poverty and how it influences a child's language development and academic achievement. It examines the differences in amounts of language input in the home environments of children from varying socioeconomic statuses and how this shapes their language acquisition. The research also explores the exposure to prenatal teratogens in addition to environmental toxins associated with poverty that may play a role in disparities in development, such as lead exposure. Furthermore, the issue of unequal healthcare and educational access between individuals of differing income levels is addressed. Ultimately, the purpose of this research is to call …

Pulling Back The Veil On Stem Cell Research: The Generation Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells As An Alternative To Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Sara Ternes

Honors Program Theses

Stem cell research has captured the imagination of many in society, and although it holds hope for repairing the human body, curing disease, and alleviating human suffering, the effects of this pioneering technology present profound ethical and legal implications. While a general consensus exists that the use of adult stem cells is ethically and morally just, embryonic stem (ES) cell research has generated significant debate in both the scientific and legal communities. Decades of legislation and policymaking have led to the creation of a set of human subject research principles that are now well recognized and rooted in the inherent …

Spanish Through Music: A Model For The Content-Based Classroom, Anna Gansen

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify reasons for Spanish teachers to implement content-based instruction and provide resources that support appropriate integration of musical content into foreign language classrooms while simultaneously upholding the priorities of the national standards for foreign language learning. I have combined research on content-based instructional methods with research on the relationship between language and music to determine common strategies foreign language teachers should remember when implementing music-based instruction. In addition, descriptions are included of a variety of music-centered activities that address national foreign language standards for learning and enhance both normal and content-based classrooms. Finally, …

Determining The Virulence Of Corn Pathogen Fusarium Verticillioides Utilizing Deletion Mutants Lacking Genes Fv_00027 Or Fv_Nps6, Abigail Zieman

Honors Program Theses

Fusarium verticillioides is an important fungal pathogen of com. Many pathogens have virulent genes which are genes that increase infectivity of the pathogen. After a bioinformatics study, it was determined that genes Fv _ 00027 and Fv _ NPS6 are potential virulent genes in F. verticillioides. To determine if either gene ·contributes to the virulence of the fungus, deletion mutants of F. verticillioides were created lacking either Fv _ 00027 or Fv _ NPS6 genes. These deletion mutants were utilized in an optimized com assay to determine the effect of infectivity on com. To test these deletion mutants, com seeds …

Family Matters: Influential Factors Of Choice Regarding The Family-Career Dichotomy For The Next Generation Of Mothers, Beth Lindberg

Honors Program Theses

This study was performed for an undergraduate thesis project for a university honor's program. The thesis project sought to discover female college students' viewpoints on stay-at-home mothering and various influences on said viewpoints through the administration of a survey to college women. Various statistical tests, such as t-test, chi-square, correlation, and regression tests, were completed to analyze the data. From this data, it was found that most participants in the study had positive, socially constructed, stereotypical viewpoints of stay-at-home mothers. Three influences were found to be unique predictors for the choice to plan to be a full-time stay-at-home mother: number …

The Mass Media's Coverage Of Political Campaigns, Katherine Elizabeth Pauk

Honors Program Theses

This study explores the media's coverage of political campaigns focusing particularly on the differences in the amount of issue coverage used by different media outlets. By analyzing the transcripts of five media outlets (The New York Times, the NBC Nightly News, The O'Reilly Factor, The Rachel Maddow Show, and Anderson Cooper 360) I was able to compare and contrast the differences in types of media coverage as well as explore the reasons for those differences. I ran an independent samples T-test in order to find any statistical significance in the data. My study found that there were significant differences among …

"From Research To Realized Garments": A Costume Design Process For Dying City, Tori Rezek

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of my thesis project is to develop and document an approach to costume design that would support this method by creating realistic visual images of the characters the actors developed. This portfolio displays my complete costume design process for Dying City. It includes notes, sketches, research images, and charts that helped inform the final costume design for the production. The collaborative processes I participated in with the production team (involving the director; scenic, lighting, and sound designers; and stage management) and the build team (the costume technical director, cutter/drapers, and stichers) also aided in the development of my …

Mfa12 (Mfa 2012), Sam Fox School Of Design & Visual Arts, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Buzz Spector, Patricia Olynyk, Ifeoma Ugonnwa Anyaeji, Je Baker, Natalie Baldeon, E. Thurston Belmer, Lauren Cardenas, Megan Sue Collins, Adrian Cox, Maya Durham, Erin Falker, Jieun Kim, Howard Krohn, Robert Long, Marie Bannerot Mcinerney, Nikki Mcmahan, Michael T. Meier, Katie Millitzer, Reid G. Norris, Kathleen Perniciaro, Emily Squires, Jamie Presson Wells, Whitney Lorene Wood, Andrew Woodard, Kelly K. Wright

Books and Monographs

Catalogue of a culminating student exhibition held at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum May 4-Aug. 6, 2012. Contents include Introduction / Buzz Spector -- Think, make, show and tell / Patricia Olynyk -- Ifeoma Ugonnwa Anyaeji -- J.E. Baker / Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt -- Natalie Baldeon / Emily Hanson -- As in a turning gear : E. Thurston Belmer / Rickey Laurentiis -- Lauren Cardenas / Nicholas Tamarkin -- Megan Sue Collins / Catherine Chiodo -- Adrian Cox -- Maya Durham / Dolly Laninga -- Erin Falker / Melissa Olson -- St. Louis dreamscape : Jieun Kim / Caitlin …

Alumni Participation In Lis Program Review: The Case Of Mlis At University Of The Punjab, Khalid Mahmood, Farzana Shafique

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Emergence of the digital era has posed rapid social, cultural and technological changes and challenges to the human society. The library as a social institution and librarianship as a service-oriented profession are now at the focal point of revolutionary changes. These changes not only added a new dimension of information science to the library education during the mid 1960s but further crystallization of the information and retrieval systems during 1970s caused the information science component to gain an upper hand, transforming the discipline and introducing new concerns, issues and challenges. Keeping this reality in view Rehman [1] pointed out that …

Decoupling Employment, Marcia L. Mccormick

All Faculty Scholarship

The protected class approach to employment discrimination has not solved the problem of discrimination or of a just distribution of resources. Not only do race and sex prejudice continue to exist, but material and subjective disadvantage continues to be strongly linked to race and sex. While our laws have made social changes, progress on those changes stalled in the 1980s. Some might even say that the protected class approach to discrimination has actually entrenched inequality more deeply into our social fabric.

This Article seeks a purpose-driven approach to finding solutions to the problems of discrimination, asking why it is that …

Looking At Regional Trade Agreements Through The Lens Of Gender, Constance Z. Wagner

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on an unresolved issue within international trade law and policy, namely whether there is a need to consider gender-differentiated impacts of trade agreements and if so, how such impacts should be addressed. The author argues in favor of a gender aware approach to trade, discussing this topic within the context of regional trade agreements (“RTAs”), which are being used increasingly as a route to economic integration among nations. While there is evidence of gender-differentiated impacts of trade liberalization, there has been little progress made in advancing an agenda to address gender issues at the level of multilateral …

Pursuing High Performance In Rural Health Care, A. Clinton Mackinney, Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Jennifer P. Lundblad, Timothy D. Mcbride, Sidney D. Watson

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for transformation of the United States health care system to make it safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.1 The journey toward these six aims in public policy and the private sector is underway, but fundamental challenges detailed by the IOM remain. Patients are injured at alarming rates, wide variation in care exists across geographies, patients complain of insensitive and/or inaccessible health care providers, health care costs are nearly twice that in other developed countries, and nearly 50 million Americans lack health insurance. As a result, our health care is often fragmented, …

The Mark Of A Resold Good, Yvette Joy Liebesman, Benjamin Wilson

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past ten years, the Internet has revolutionized the resale market ― casual resellers have migrated from garage sales, swap meets, and classified ads, to eBay and Craigslist, turning hobbies into lucrative businesses. This has affected the sales of new goods and troubled manufacturers, who seek to curtail the growth of this secondary market.

Most of these on-line resales should be protected by the first-sale doctrine, a well-known defense to infringement claims that applies across patent, copyright, and trademark law. Simply stated, once a manufacturer sells a product, it may not interfere with secondary sales of that product. Yet …

Knowledge, Attitudes Toward Corporations, And Belief In A Just World As Correlates Of Tort Reform Attitudes, Molly J. Walker Wilson, Ruth H. Warner

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent legislation in tort law has resulted in such changes as states capping punitive and non-economic damages as well as abolishing the collateral source rule and joint and several liability. The purpose of the present research is to examine attitudes toward changes in tort law. We asked American adults about their attitudes toward the civil justice system and its players, experiences in the civil justice system, and belief in a just world. We found that a more negative attitude toward litigation and juries, higher belief in a just world, and a more positive attitude toward corporations and doctors predicted a …

New Nip In The Bud: Does The Obama Board's Preemptive Strike Doctrine Enhance Tactical Employment Law Strategies?, Michael C. Duff

All Faculty Scholarship

In this essay I revisit the classic debate concerning when worker activity is sufficiently “concerted” to be covered by the National Labor Relations Act, a statute covering certain private sector protected “concerted” activity by workers. When workers are obviously engaged in concerted “labor” activity — classically activity like striking, picketing, or even just complaining about working conditions — they are generally protected against employer reprisal for doing so. Over the last few decades there has been disagreement about the definition and limits of “concert.” My renewed interest in this dormant but not dead subject was piqued by the “Obama Board’s” …

Cost Effectiveness Of A Home-Based Intervention That Helps Functionally Vulnerable Older Adults Age In Place At Home., Eric Jutkowitz, Laura N Gitlin, Laura T. Pizzi, Edward Lee, Marie P Dennis

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

Evaluating cost effectiveness of interventions for aging in place is essential for adoption in service settings. We present the cost effectiveness of Advancing Better Living for Elders (ABLE), previously shown in a randomized trial to reduce functional difficulties and mortality in 319 community-dwelling elders. ABLE involved occupational and physical therapy sessions and home modifications to address client-identified functional difficulties, performance goals, and home safety. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), expressed as additional cost to bring about one additional year of life, was calculated. Two models were then developed to account for potential cost differences in implementing ABLE. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were …

Cyber Commodification, Miriam A. Cherry

All Faculty Scholarship

When it comes to commodification on the Internet, it is a wild, wild World Wide Web. Researching encyclopedia articles for Wikipedia is an unpaid labor of love, but connecting to your friends on Facebook is a $100 billion enterprise. Newspaper classified advertisements are definitely commercial, but their equivalent on Craigslist was mostly non-commercial – until the Delaware Chancery Court stepped in. Selling your organs is prohibited in the United States, whereas selling hair promises to rescue third-world citizens from poverty. Selling sex is illegal as prostitution, but selling adultery online is a hot new business model. And a small company …

Chevron, Greenwashing, And The Myth Of 'Green Oil Companies', Miriam A. Cherry, Judd F. Sneirson

All Faculty Scholarship

As green business practices grow in popularity, so does the temptation to “greenwash” one’s business to appear more environmentally and socially responsible than it actually is. We examined this phenomenon in an earlier paper, using BP and the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe as a case study and developing a framework for policing dubious claims of corporate social responsibility. This Article revisits these issues focusing on Chevron, an oil company that claims in its advertisements to care deeply about the environment and the communities in which it operates, even as it faces an $18 billion judgment for polluting the Ecuadorean Amazon and …