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Dr. Eugene Grigsby's Connections To Art, African American Life In The South, And Social Justice Education: Implications For Art Education Curriculum, Reggie A. Stephens Mr.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

DR. EUGENE GRIGSBY’S CONNECTIONS TO ART, AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE SOUTH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM by REGINALD STEPHENS (Under the Direction of Dr. Sabrina Ross) ABSTRACT Building on concepts of double consciousness (Dubois, 1903/1994), the negative effects of a lack of visibility in curricula (Woodson, 2010), critical race theory, and the notion that artists’ lived experiences of oppression encourage actions and art that challenge injustice (Bey, 2011), this study sought to demonstrate that the lives and works of Black artists from the South in the early 20th Century are pedagogical. Inspired by the critical …

Provider Recommendations For Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (Hpv) Among Adolescent Males In Southwest Georgia Counties And The Associated Hpv Prevalence In This Population, Benjamin K. Poku

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this research study was to examine the variation in healthcare providers’ behavior in recommending the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to young male adolescents (aged 11-12), middle male adolescents (aged 13-17) and late male adolescents (aged 18-26) in rural Southwest Georgia counties. This research also aimed to identify factors associated with providers’ behaviors concerning HPV vaccination recommendation to youth in various age groups.

Methods: Upon IRB approval, secondary data were obtained from Albany Area Primary Care for a paper-based survey that was conducted in 2014 using a representative random sample of family physicians (n=12), pediatricians (n=6), and …

Cues Of Colorism: The Psychological, Sociocultural, And Developmental Differences Between Light-Skinned And Dark-Skinned African-Americans, Tasia M. Pinkston

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Skin color biases, henceforth referred to as colorism, are the biased judgments, attitudes and behaviors toward an individual based on the lightness or darkness of their skin. Available research on the topic has examined a select group of variables, such as mate selection, self-esteem and perceived attractiveness. However, there is no single study on differences between African-Americans across several domains, including their psychological (skin color satisfaction and self-esteem), sociocultural (media influence on appearance and discriminatory events), and developmental (ethnic identity) well-being. Moreover, there is no research on differences in these variables between African-Americans reared in rural versus non-rural areas. To …

Not (Just) Donne: Alchemical Transmutation As Immortality In Shakespeare’S Sonnets, Brandi L. Moody

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Shakespeare, in his sonnets, employs alchemical references in the sonnets that ultimately fail, in order to show how fruitless it is to pursue immortality. The poet urges the fair friend, who himself is like the self-consuming ouroboros, to father a child that will continue his legacy and allow the fair friend to live on via the child. Language associated with the child is alchemical, referencing distillation, vials, flasks, and the renewing power of the philosopher’s stone. The dark lady, the opposite of the fair friend in every way, can be explained as fulfilling alchemy’s union of opposites needed for a …

Examination Of Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Ovarian Cancer Stage Of Diagnosis, Surgery Treatment And Survival: Multilevel Analysis Of 2001-2012 Seer Data, Chen Chen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Context. Racial/ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes are major public health concerns. Ovarian cancer is the tenth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Identifying individual- and contextual-level factors contributing to racial/ethnic disparities in ovarian cancer stage of diagnosis, surgery treatment and survival is necessary for reducing and eliminating these disparities.

Objective. The study aims to examine racial/ethnic disparities in ovarian cancer diagnosis, surgery treatment and survival outcomes; to explore individual- and contextual-level factors contributing to these disparities, and to examine the trend of ovarian cancer racial/ethnic disparities from 2001 to 2012.

Methods. The …

African-American Males, African-American Female Principals, & The Opportunity Gap, Jennifer N. Dunbar

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Over the past decade, research has been devoted to bridging the gap in academics and opportunity among African-American males. Missing from the dialogue however, are the voices of African-American female leaders. This voice will not only play an instrumental part in mediating cultural misunderstandings that occur in the classroom, but it will also facilitate a much needed conversation in understanding gender and race by displaying different views on educational leadership. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of the opportunity gap among African-American female principals in Title I schools to raise the presence of their voice …

Excessive Tanning As A Presentation Of Body Dsymorphic Disorder, Jennifer Headrick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) involves a potentially debilitating preoccupation with an imagined or minor flaw in one’s appearance (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Phillips, 2005). Common body areas of preoccupation include the skin, face, hair, and muscles (Castle, Ross, & Kyrios, 2006; Mosley, 2009; Phillips, 2005; Veale, 2003). With the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—5th edition (APA, 2013), BDD was moved from the Somatoform Disorder classification to the new diagnostic category of Obsessive-Compulsive and related disorders. A new example of preoccupation with skin tone and an associated behavior of excessive tanning were added to the BDD …

Reflective Curiosities, Mary O. Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

Artist Statement

My craft work and paintings reflect my life experiences and personal curiosities, particularly those associated with the natural world. Every day, I am bombarded with a constant flow of visual impressions and ephemeral experiences. There are some that demand attention by virtue of their sheer power, such as the repetition of line in a plowed field, the color of nautical landscape at twilight, or the intelligent behavior of crows. Like a tourist who buys a souvenir to capture a moment, I try to capture instances of profound experiences. I interpret these moments through a process-oriented approach to media. …

Ceo Characteristics And The Choice Of Using Non-Financial Performance Measures In Compensation Contracts, Melloney C. Simerly Ph.D.

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how CEO characteristics influence the decision to use non-financial performance measures (NFPM) in compensation contracts. Specifically, I examine the CEO characteristics: gender, age, tenure, risk-aversion, overconfidence, and sensitivity of wealth. Using trait theory and the extant literature examining NFPM, females, age, tenure, and risk-aversion are expected to be positively associated with the use of NFPM while competing hypotheses are presented for overconfidence and sensitivity of wealth. Employing a two-way fixed effects method, controlling for fixed effects at the firm and year level, I find that female CEOs are positively associated with the use of NFPM because of …

Exploring Dimensions Of Well-Being Among Spouses Of Active-Duty Service Members, Lisa A. Gray

Theses and Dissertations

During an era when the United States has been engaged in the longest waging wars in U.S. history, military families have been exposed to extraordinary amounts of stress and have had to learn to adapt in a culture where repeated deployments, recurrent family separations, and frequent relocations have become the norm. A surge in research in recent years on the families of Service members has brought increased attention to the unique challenges and demands of spouses, raising concerns about how to best meet their needs. Despite the increased attention, few studies have focused on spousal well-being. Acknowledging this lack of …

Ceo Managerial Ability, Corporate Investment Quality, And The Value Of Cash, Huiqi Gan

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how CEO managerial ability affects investment quality, investment efficiency, and the value of cash. Specifically, I examine whether higher managerial ability is associated with higher M&A quality, more efficient capital investments, and higher value of cash. Investment decision-making and implementation can signal a CEO’s managerial ability (Stein 2003), and shareholders assign more value to the cash of those firms with high ability CEOs. Thus, I predict that more able CEOs conduct higher quality M&A and make more efficient capital investment decisions. I also propose that the value of cash is higher for firms with more able CEOs. …

Chronic Behavioral And Cognitive Deficits In A Rat Survival Model Of Organophosphate Toxicity, Beverly Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphates (OPs) are a major class of pesticides and nerve agents that elicit acute toxicity by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the enzyme responsible for the degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Acetylcholine accumulation following extensive AChE inhibition leads to an acute cholinergic syndrome characterized by autonomic dysfunction, involuntary movements, muscle fasciculations, respiratory distress, and seizures. Despite their classification as moderate to highly toxic, OP pesticides are the most widely used class of insecticides in the U.S., and are even more commonly used worldwide. Additionally, there is a growing concern that OP nerve agents could be …

African American Women’S Perceptions Of Hiv Prevention Communication With Their Reproductive Health Providers, Valerie Burge-Hall

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of a decline in HIV incidence rates among African American women, they still bear the most significant disease burden among U.S. women. Findings from numerous studies indicate probable explanations for the disparity, such as the impact of poverty, limited healthcare access, low literacy, and living in areas with high HIV rates. Additionally, many study results provide insight regarding prevention strategies. However, the aim of this study is to explore African American women’s perceptions regarding what HIV prevention communication, if any, occurred with their reproductive health providers (RHPs). In this study, 20 African American women with unknown HIV status …

Sex Offender Management Policies And Their Unintended Cosequences: A National Survey Of The Perceptions Of Professionals, Corey Call

Theses and Dissertations

The mid-1990s brought sex offenders to the forefront of policy issues due to several highly publicized cases of abduction, sexual assault, and murder involving children. Following these cases, a number of sex offender management policies were passed to quell public concern over the safety of children due to sex offenders. Most notably, these new sex offender management policies mandated the creation of publicly available registries of sex offenders and enacted residence restrictions that forbid sex offenders from residing within certain distances from areas where children commonly congregate.

Although current sex offender management policies have been revealed to be largely ineffective …

Investigating The Effects Of Obesity Prevention Campaigns, Courtney C. Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

Public health campaigns might not be universally helpful and could have detrimental consequences. The current investigation explored the effects of obesity prevention campaigns. Their impact was assessed using an experiment in which participants were randomized to view either weight focused obesity prevention campaigns or obesity prevention campaigns that did not use weight related terms. Results demonstrated that compared with campaigns without weight related terminology, weight focused campaigns increased negative perceptions of obesity and decreased self-efficacy for health behavior change. No differences in body satisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, state anxiety, or frequency of positive health behaviors were found based on the type …

Determinants Of Turnover Intent In Higher Education: The Case Of International And U.S. Faculty, Jaehee Park

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the increase in the number of the international academic workforce and their potential benefits, international status has been relatively under-studied in Public Management and Higher Education literature in comparison with studies of age, gender, and race. Given these realities, the present study identifies characteristics of internal and external variables that influence international and U.S. faculty turnover intentions in a large public South Eastern research university.

To understand the variations in short-term and long-term turnover levels while controlling for various demographic, structural, and external variables, eight Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis were performed using turnover intentions as …

General Dentists' Role In Providing Care To Very Young Children:Pediatric Dentists' Perspective, Shinjni Razdan

Theses and Dissertations

To examine the pediatric dentists’ perspective on level of care to children 0-3 years old by general dentists, an electronic survey was sent out to 5185 AAPD members and 769 responded (response rate: 14.8%). Forty-six percent agreed with a general dentist providing a dental home to children 0-3 years old. Only 24% agreed that general dentists could perform complex restorative and behavior management procedures for 0-3 years old. Younger respondents, pediatric dentists who practice in rural areas or teaching pediatric dentistry, and those who perceived adequate exposure during dental school were more likely to agree on general dentists proving a …

An Exploration On The Michael Chekhov Technique In Rehearsal, Performance And The Classroom, James P. Stover

Theses and Dissertations

• The Michael Chekhov Technique is a unique approach to acting that has been successfully used by professional actors for many years. This thesis explores finding a strong understanding of the technique as well as discovering ways to incorporate it into an undergraduate actor training program. The examination aims to further my aesthetic both as theatre teacher and practitioner. It includes training with master teachers in the technique, incorporating Chekhov exercises into undergraduate acting and movement classes and use of the technique on a production of Pride & Prejudice.

Visual-Audio Media: Transformation And Communication, Alexander Bruno

Theses and Dissertations

Designers are often concerned with communication through the visual; we focus on the printed object, images on screens, furniture, spaces, and other visual experiences. We should also be cognizant of audio and its communicative properties, especially when contextualized with visual content. Pairing visuals and audio can make a greater impact upon a viewer/listener than each media might make alone. My research focuses on a practice of working within strict sets of rules and boundaries to create visual-audio work. This visual-audio work not only communicates a concept or idea, but also lives as a research artifact of my design processes.

Polycultural Interactions: Fuzzy Identity, Xi Lu

Theses and Dissertations

“Robin D.G. Kelley coined the term polyculturalism as an alternative to multiculturalism, ‘since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture.’ ”

Polyculturalism assumes the whole world’s cultures are interactive and fluid instead of independent and static, and individuals’ relationship to cultures are complex and cannot be categorized. Yet an individual constitutes multiple cultures, and individual identity embraces the various forms of culture in all aspects of one’s life.

My research examines how polyculturalism affects aspects of communications among people who hold a multiplicity of voices. It …

An Evaluation Of The Raise 5 Project: Preventing Hiv And Substance Abuse Among African American College Students, Joshua K. Brevard

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans have been disproportionately affected by HIV since the beginning of the epidemic and the disparities have worsened over time (CDC, 2013a). African Americans comprise about 12% of the U.S. population but represented about 44% of all new HIV infections in 2010 (CDC, 2014a). Young people (age 13–24) accounted for 26% of all new HIV infections in 2010, despite persons in this age range comprising just 17% of the population (CDC, 2014c). Young African Americans (age 13-24) are affected in particular. In 2010, they comprised 57% of infections in this age range (CDC, 2014c). Substance use is a major …

Cute As A Button, Marta R. Finkelstein

Theses and Dissertations

Cute As A Button explores powerlessness, vulnerability, illness and addiction all wrapped up in tender buttons and a cute, cuddly creature. Using animation, sculpture, sound and an intimate space, I surround the viewer in a saccharine nightmare, one that references the dark underbelly of the cute and the sweet. The visual and aural elements are representative of the psychological and emotional states of powerlessness, which are overcome by the act of making and exploring a medium over which I can have complete control.

Tracing Motion, Stephanie M. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This document explores the use of motion within design to defamiliarize a message. The objective is to expand a viewer’s level of understanding through prolonged perception. I experiment with this idea using present-day tools which afford my own movement during the capturing process to create various visual interpretations of motion. I look to László Moholy-Nagy, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Eadweard Muybridge who explored the use of the camera, the new technology of their day, to understand its potential to create a new visual language. They believed the lens of the camera was the eye of the future—and the public’s exposure to …

Using Servqualto Identify Gaps In Quality Care For Patients With Cystic Fibrosis: A Hospital-Based Quality Improvement Project, Alisha M. Nadeau

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Care Centers were established to centralize and integrate the knowledge and skills of pulmonary medicine, nutrition, gastroenterology, nursing, respiratory therapy, social work, and genetics to efficiently provide care for people living with CF. The high quality, specialized care that is given at CF Care Centers has led to the improved length and quality of life for people living with CF.

Aim: The aim of this quality improvement project was to identify any gaps in providing effective, high quality care to patients with CF to reduce the variability in nursing practices and improve their quality …

Be Seen And Heard Being Clean: A Patient-Centered Approach To Hand Hygiene At Concord Hospital, Ashley Pinkham

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Regular hand washing is recognized as the most effective means to combat the spread of infectious illness; however hand washing behavior amongst health care workers (HCW’s) is inconsistent. Furthermore, measurement of hand washing behavior is subject to bias.

Aim: This quality improvement project aimed to remove the Hawthorne effect and improve the behavior of HH at Concord Hospital.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, pre-posttest design was used to evaluate HH rates on a 32 bed med-surge unit at Concord Hospital. Baseline data was collected for 30 days by asking patients if they had seen or heard staff cleaning their hands. Using …

Human–Felid Conflict In Corridor Habitats: Implications For Tiger And Leopard Conservation In Terai Arc Landscape, India, Manjari Malviya, Krishnamurthy Ramesh

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We use the Rajaji-Corbett corridor in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in India to examine the pattern of human–felid conflict in wildlife corridors and its implications for the long-term persistence of tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus) in the landscape. We administered a questionnaire survey of people residing in and around the corridor and also examined forest department records. Results revealed that leopards caused more frequent losses, whereas tigers caused greater economic losses. Local communities perceived leopards as a bigger threat than tigers, due to the intrusive nature of leopards (i.e., entering villages and houses …

Assessing Gull Abundance And Food Availability In Urban Parking Lots, Dan Clark, Jillian J. Whitney, Kenneth G. Mackenzie, Kiana K. G. Koenen, Stephen Destefano

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feeding birds is a common activity throughout the world; yet, little is known about the extent of feeding gulls in urban areas. We monitored 8 parking lots in central Massachusetts, USA, during the fall and winter of 2011 to 2013 in 4 monitoring sessions to document the number of gulls present, the frequency of human–gull feeding interactions, and the effectiveness of signage and direct interaction in reducing human-provisioned food. Parking lots were divided between “education” and “no-education” lots. In education lots, we erected signs about problems caused when people feed birds and also asked people to stop feeding birds. We …

Creating Place For A Placeless Generation, Laura Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Making up one quarter of the current United States population, some 80 million Generation Y-ers are changing the ways in which we live, work and play. Dubbed “Millennials” this population is comprised of those individuals born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is the first to have been raised with cell phones, the internet, and reality television. The “Selfie” or “Me Generation” is snubbed for narcissism and an instant gratification attitude. Yet on the whole Millennials have progressive values, are well educated, are conscious of their health and are optimistic about the future despite coming of age during the Great …

Curiosity And Compassion: Curiosity And Attachment Security's Relationship With Empathic Responding To Hardship, Athena H. Cairo

Theses and Dissertations

Compassion requires both attention and motivation to engage with another person’s experience. Two studies examined whether curiosity—the interest and motivation to explore new or complex information—promotes empathic concern and suppresses personal distress. These studies also examined whether attachment insecurity moderates curiosity’s effect on empathy. Study 1 identified correlations among curiosity, attachment security, empathic concern, and personal distress traits. In Study 2, participants were primed with high or low curiosity before watching a video of a peer experiencing hardship, then reported state curiosity, empathic concern, personal distress, and prosocial motivation. Trait and state curiosity predicted greater empathic concern and prosocial motivation. …

"Whimsy Little Contracts" With Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis Of Consumer Understanding Of Arbitration Agreements, Jeff Sovern, Elayne E. Greenberg, Paul F. Kirgis, Yuxiang Liu

Faculty Publications

Arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous in consumer contracts. These arbitration clauses require consumers to waive the constitutional right to a civil jury, access to court, and, increasingly, the procedural remedy of class representation. Because those rights cannot be divested without consent, the validity of arbitration agreements rests on the premise of consent. Consumers who do not want to arbitrate or waive their class rights can simply decline to purchase the products or services covered by an arbitration agreement. But the premise of consent is undermined if consumers do not understand the effect on their procedural rights of clicking a box …