Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Gender Role Conflict And Violence: Mexican American Gang Members, Lorraine Gray

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine gender role conflicts (the inability to express emotions or feelings) within the lived experiences of former Mexican American gang members. This study involved exploring the relationship between restricted emotionality, machismo, and violence. O’Neil developed the theory of gender role conflict in 1980 to identify areas of stress in masculine behavior, cognitions, affective behavior, and the unconscious. According to O’Neil (1981a), “Gender role conflict is a psychological state in which gender roles (masculine, feminine, or androgynous roles) have negative consequences or impacts on the persons” (p. 203). The extreme result of conflict …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Moral Leadership Crises In Kenyan Evangelical Churches As It Relates To Developing Authentic Leaders, Peter N. Mulinge

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the moral leadership crises among the evangelical churches of Kenya. Evangelicalism is the fastest growing religious movement in Kenya, a country that already has Africa’s largest percentage of evangelicals overall. This makes it imperative to promote authentic leadership in Kenyan churches. But the concept of leadership development there is overlooked, and as a result churches suffer from a lack of authentic leaders. In this vacuum, Kenyan churches are heavily influenced by traditional African leadership models that can be authoritarian, hereditary, and overwhelmingly corrupt. The latest Corruption Perception Index of 2013, launched by the global agency of Transparency …

Building Sustainable Faith Experience For Urban Youth, Stephen James Crawford

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every generation of believers face obstacles in figuring out how to pass on the Christian faith to the next generation. The North American urban church is currently experiencing attrition rates that are startling to the researcher. It is critical that urban Christian believers not take for granted faith transmission will pass to their children similar to how they experience it from their parents. This project is designed to ask questions that will engage the urban Christian community in a productive dialogue to reverse the trend of youth who are rejecting faith at alarming rates. From the conversation, the researcher has …

The Cacaio Project: Education For Environmental, Aesthetic And Moral Development, Atila T. Calvente

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Economic inequalities, institutional awkwardness, cultural underdevelopment, social exclusion, a fast rate of environmental, ecological, and biodiversity degradation have all been at the root of historic social injustice and structural poverty in Brazil for centuries. Human development and emancipation in this context should be approached as a set of non-formal educational practices to promote better learning and dignity. These would become potent means for reducing material poverty and selfish individual behavior, and for improving holistic modes of education and culture. Non-traditional educational practices can have an important influence in state-run schools, as well as in private schools, by enhancing resilience and …

Clinical Significance Of Response Shift In A Spine Interventional Clinical Trial, Robin Carlson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effectiveness of treatments for degenerative spine conditions, where the primary symptom is back pain, is typically determined using patient-reported quality of life (QoL) measures. However, patients may adjust their internal standards when scoring QoL based on factors other than their health. This response shift phenomenon could confound the interpretation of study data and impact effectiveness conclusions. In the current study, response shift was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) and previously collected clinical trial data comparing 2 minimally invasive medical devices in lumbar spinal stenosis patients through 1 year postintervention. In subject QoL results, reprioritization shift between 3 months …

Interactions Between Patterns Of Gamer Behaviors And Time-On-Task For Mathematics Remediation In A Game-Based Hive, Marvin Gene Fuller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the presence of digital game-based learning increases in United States classrooms, understanding their impact on achievement is critical. Digital games for learning offer many potential benefits, including reducing the number of students trapped in a remediation cycle, a contributor to college dropout. Despite the recognized potential of game-based learning, few researchers have explored the relationships between specific patterns of behaviors and types of digital game-based learning environments. The underlying theory for this study was patterns of gamer behaviors may predict in-game behaviors. Archival, third-party data regarding The Lost Function - Episode 1: Sum of the Forgotten Minds by Advanced …

The Effect Of Bullying Prevention Programs On The Perceptions Of Bullying Among Female Youth, Karen Tokarick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bullying has become a widespread social issue. Previous research has focused on both genders and various grade levels; it has shown that programs reduce bullying and improve social climates and attitudes toward academics. The effect of these programs, specifically on female youth, has not been studied. This study addressed the effect of bullying prevention programs on perceptions of bullying among female youth in Grades 5-7 in 2 schools in rural eastern Pennsylvania. One school utilized a prevention program while the other did not. Teachers and administrators were also interviewed to gain insight regarding their perceived effectiveness of the program. The …

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Gender Inequality In The Defense Industry, Erica Helaine Woods

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite advances made during the women's movement, gender inequality is a problem for women seeking leadership opportunities within the U.S. Defense Industry today. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of civilian females who had experienced gender inequality obstacles in their professional advancement opportunities within the U.S. Defense Industry. The mommy track framework, defined as the family/work imbalance; the gatekeeper framework; and the institutional sexism framework were used to guide this study. The research questions focused on how these women perceived both internal and external barriers to their professional advancement in the U.S. Defense Industry. A …

Coupled-Oscillator Associative Memory Array Operation For Pattern Recognition, Dmitri E. Nikonov, Gyorgy Csaba, Wolfgang Porod, Tadashi Shibata, Danny Voils, Dan Hammerstrom, Ian A. Young, George I. Bourianoff

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Operation of the array of coupled oscillators underlying the associative memory function is demonstrated for various interconnection schemes (cross-connect, star phase keying and star frequency keying) and various physical implementation of oscillators (van der Pol, phase-locked loop, spin torque). The speed of synchronization of oscillators and the evolution of the degree of matching is studied as a function of device parameters. The dependence of errors in association on the number of the memorized patterns and the distance between the test and the memorized pattern is determined for Palm, Furber and Hopfield association algorithms.

Third-Degree Family Health History And Perception Of Disease Risk, Liana Carrasco Romero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic diseases are a significant cause of illness and mortality in the United States. Hereditary predisposition to chronic diseases is a useful indicator for identifying people at risk for disease development. An ideal tool for determining this predisposition is the CDC, NIH, and AAFP recommended third-degree family health history (FHH). The aim of this quantitative, cross-sectional study, based on the theoretical frameworks of social constructivism and the health belief model, was to assess the possible influence between the completed third-degree FHH and the participant's perception of disease risk. Two-hundred seventy-three participants were recruited from health care facilities and from the …

Social Intelligence Of Undergraduates Enrolled In Traditional Vs. Distance Higher Education Learning Programs, Bo Scott Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Participation in, and acceptance of, distance education has reached an all-time high. Yet many academics, policy makers, and laypeople remain concerned that distance education can adversely affect one's social development. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test that concern by comparing the social intelligence of distance undergraduates with the social intelligence of traditional undergraduates at different class ranks (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) while limiting the ages of the participants (n = 190) to 18-24. Social intelligence, an operationally defined measure of the construct often referred to as social development has been a popular focus of research in …

Design And Implementation Of An Interactive Animatronic System For Guest Response Analysis, Brian Burns

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In theme park based entertainment applications, there is a need for interactive, autonomous animatronic systems to create engaging and compelling experiences for the guests. The animatronic figures must identify the guests and recognize their status in dynamic interactions for enhanced acceptance and effectiveness as socially interactive agents, in the general framework of human-robot interactions. The design and implementation of an interactive, autonomous animatronic system in form of a tabletop dragon and the comparisons of guest responses in its passive and interactive modes are presented in this work. The dragon capabilities include a four degrees-of-freedom head, moving wings, tail, jaw, blinking …

A Test Score Comparison Between Block And Traditional Scheduling, Yancy J. Ford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how schools utilizing block scheduling and traditional scheduling models differ in achievement levels on the five Georgia End-of-Course Exams (EOCT) and the Georgia High School Graduation Writing test (GHSWT) at two high schools in ruralSouth Georgia. The researcher will investigated if there is a differential benefit in terms of higher EOCT/GHSWT scores during block or traditional scheduling when considering demographic variables student gender, race, or SES. No experimentation occurred as the study relied on historical data. Both high schools were examined individually; comparing the five EOCT’s and the GHSWT under the block …

Evaluating Classroom Time Through Systematic Analysis And Student Feedback, Rebecca M. Achen, Angela Lumpkin

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this action research was to examine the use of class time through classroom observation and student feedback. Students’, the teacher’s, and whole class activities during class were categorized every two minutes. Students also were given pre- and post-course surveys to assess perceptions on lecture time, impact of learning strategies, and enjoyment of learning strategies. Results indicated students spent the majority of class time actively engaged in their learning instead of passively listening to lectures. However, their views of the optimal amount of lecture time did not change. Even though students overwhelmingly enjoyed engaging learning activities and found …

Collaborative And Proactive Solutions: Successfully Treating Oppositional Behavior In Children, Moshe R. Manheim

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

Collaborative Proactive Solutions, from Ross Greene's groundbreaking book "The Explosive Child," provides a practical, realistic problem solving methodology for children with oppositional and behavioral disorders. Moshe Manheim, a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience working with kids and families is certified by Dr. Greene in the CPS methodology. The presentation will discuss the application of CPS for typically developing as well children with special needs.

The CPS methodology relies on careful communication with the child to define the problem; the use of empathy to align with and engage the child; a review of the child’s and parent’s (or teacher’s) …

Phylogenetic And Cladistic Analyses Of The Enigmatic Genera Bituminaria And Cullen (Fabaceae) In Turkey, Sezen Toksoy, Meryem Şeker, Mehmet Sağiroğlu

Turkish Journal of Botany

Three taxa of the genus Psoralea L. growing naturally in Turkey and the outgroup taxa belonging to the closest genera Vicia L., Cicer L., and Astragalus L. were subjected to molecular and quantitative morphological analyses in order to characterize their phylogenetic relationships. Both the taxonomical and the molecular characteristics of the tribes Psoraleeae (Bituminaria Heist. ex Fabr., Cullen Medik.), Vicieae (Vicia), Astragalae (Astragalus), and Cicereae (Cicer) were clearly revealed for the first time with the inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) method. The phylogenetic relationships were determined with 253 ISSR band scores and 125 quantitative morphological character measurements. The numerical and molecular …

Tanacetum Erzincanense (Asteraceae), A New Species From Erzincan, Turkey, Mustafa Korkmaz, Ali̇ Kandemi̇r, Veli̇ İlhan, Nalan Yildirim Doğan

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, Tanacetum erzincanense Korkmaz, Kandemir & İlhan is described as a new species for science from Erzincan Province. It was compared with close species by using morphological and random amplified polymorphic DNA data. It resembles T. germanicopolitanum (Bornm. & Heimerl) Grierson and T. pinnatum Boiss. It is closer to T. germanicopolitanum in terms of genetic and morphological aspects. Morphologically, it differs from T. germanicopolitanum by having oblong-oblanceolate basal leaves in outline with flabelliform and fewer leaf segments, less dense indumentum, smaller and globose capitula, and shorter apical appendage in inner phyllaries. T. pinnatum shows difference from T. erzincanense …

A New Species Of Teucrium Sect. Scordium (Lamiaceae) From Se Of Turkey, Taner Özcan, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇, Fati̇h Coşkun, Ekrem Akçi̇çek, Özal Güner

Turkish Journal of Botany

A new species of Teucrium L. from Southeast Anatolia (Turkey), Teucrium sirnakense Özcan & Dirmenci, is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the sect. Scordium Boiss. and is closely related to Teucrium melissoides Boiss. & Hausskn. and Teucrium scordium L. s.l. The differences between the new species and its allies are discussed. A description, distribution map, ITS nrDNA phylogeny, and taxonomic comments on the new species are provided.

Differentiation Of Globular Phytoliths In Arecaceae And Other Monocotyledons: Morphological Description For Paleobotanical Application, Maria Laura Benvenuto, Mariana Fernandez Honaine, Margarita Luisa Osterrieth, Eduardo Morel

Turkish Journal of Botany

Globular phytoliths have been mainly assigned to palms, woody trees, and other monocotyledon families from tropical regions. The lack of detailed descriptions of this phytolith morphology and its correct assignments to particular groups could lead to erroneous interpretations of phytolith records. In order to improve paleobotanical interpretations of phytoliths records, we analyzed the phytolith content and described the quantitative and qualitative characters of globular phytoliths of Arecaceae, Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae, Marantaceae, Orchidaceae, Strelitziaceae, and Zingiberaceae species from Argentina. Phytoliths were extracted by calcination and multivariate analyses were used to analyze their taxonomic relevance. Phytolith assemblages allowed the differentiation 1) among Zingiberales …

Turkish Truffles I: 18 New Records For Turkey, Azi̇z Türkoğlu, Michael Angelo Castellano, James Martin Trappe, Mehri̇can Yaratanakul Güngör

Turkish Journal of Botany

We report the first records of 18 truffle species in Turkey. Three belong to the Ascomycota: Elaphomyces leucocarpus, E. muricatus, and Genea sphaerica; and 15 to the Basidiomycota: Alpova corsicus, Gautieria otthii, G. retirugosa, G. trabutii, Hymenogaster citrinus, H. hessei, H. luteus, H. lycoperdineus, Hysterangium clathroides, H. epiroticum, H. fragile, H. nephriticum, Leucogaster tozzianus, Octaviania asterosperma, and Protoglossum aromaticum. We also report new localities within Turkey for Picoa juniperi, P. lefebvrei, Geopora cooperi, Terfezia arenaria, T. claveryi, Tuber aestivum, and T. nitidum in the Ascomycota; and Leucogaster nudus, Hymenogaster thwaitesii, H. vulgaris, and Melanogaster broomeanus in the Basidiomycota.

Foliar Spray Of Phyto-Extracts Supplemented With Silicon: An Efficacious Strategy To Alleviate The Salinity-Induced Deleterious Effects In Pea (Pisum Sativum L.), Muhammad Adnan Shahid, Rashad Mukhtar Balal, Muhammad Aslam Pervez, Tahira Abbas, Muhammad Anjum Aqueel, Muhammad Mansoor Javaid, Francisco Garcia-Sanchez

Turkish Journal of Botany

A pot culture study was conducted to assess the ameliorative effect of silicon, Melia azadirachta leaf extract, and sugar beet root extract, each applied individually or in different combinations, on salinity-induced detrimental effects in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Salinity markedly inhibited the growth, various gas exchange attributes, total phenol contents, membrane stability index, and productivity. On the other hand, lipid peroxidation, electrolyte leakage, H2O2 content, antioxidant activities, and leaf free proline and glycinebetaine contents were significantly enhanced by salinity. However, exogenously applied Si and phyto-extracts markedly alleviated the salinity-induced drastic effects on growth, gas exchange attributes, and productivity. Both phyto-extracts …

Temperature Sensitivity Of Photosystem Ii In Isolated Thylakoid Membranes From Fluridone-Treated Pea Leaves, Kolyo Dankov, Georgi Rashkov, Amarendra Misra, Emilia L. Apostolova

Turkish Journal of Botany

High temperature-induced changes in the photosystem II (PSII) activity of thylakoid membranes isolated from pea (Pisum sativum L. 'Ran') plants treated with low (10-8 M) and high (10-7 M) concentrations of fluridone were investigated. Pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic oxygen evolution (measured by polarographic oxygen rate electrode) were used to estimate the effect of high temperature on the functional activity of PSII. Higher temperature treatments lead to stronger inhibition of the flash oxygen evolution than the primary photochemistry of PSII (Fv/Fm). The inhibitory effect of higher temperature on the PSII? centers is stronger than on the PSIIß …

Micromorphological Characters On Nutlet And Leaf Indumentum Of Teucrium Sect. Teucrium (Lamiaceae) In Turkey, Gülay Ecevi̇t Genç, Taner Özcan, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇

Turkish Journal of Botany

Leaf indumentum and nutlet surface micromorphology of 13 taxa belonging to the Teucrium sect. Teucrium was studied with a scanning electron microscope. We observed 5 trichome types on the nutlets and 8 trichome types on the leaves. Branched trichomes were not found on the nutlets. Nutlet shapes of the taxa were elliptic, obovate, oblong, or rotund, and their surfaces were generally alveolate with different ornamentations. Some nutlets had longitudinal ridges. The indumentum varied among unrelated species and showed some significant similarities within related species. In Flora of Turkey sect. Teucrium was divided into 2 groups according to leaf fragmentation and …

Metacordyceps Dhauladharensis Sp. Nov., A New Entomopathogenic Fungus From India, Sapan Kumar Sharma, Nandini Gautam

Turkish Journal of Botany

This paper describes a new species of Clavicipitaceae fungi belonging to the genus Metacordyceps G.H. Sung, J.M. Sung, Hywel-Jones and Spatafora, defined as Metacordyceps dhauladharensis sp. Nov., from India. The diagnostic features of this new species are stipitate stromata of brownish color and an elongated fertile head on a Hymenopteran host. The perithecium size of this species was measured as 152-257 × 65-72 µm, and the asci were measured as 30-48 µm in length and 2.5 µm in breadth. Based on molecular studies, the sequence of 469 bp of this species showed only 86% homology with Metacordyceps indigotica (Kobayasi and …

Relationships And Generic Delimitation Of Eurasian Genera Of The Subtribe Asterinae (Astereae, Asteraceae) Using Molecular Phylogeny Of Its, Elena Korolyuk, Alexey Makunin, Tatiana Matveeva

Turkish Journal of Botany

The subtribe Asterinae (Astereae, Asteraceae) includes highly variable, often polyploid species. Recent findings based on molecular methods led to revision of its volume. However, most of these studies lacked species from Eurasia, where a lot of previous taxonomic treatments of the subtribe exist. In this study we used molecular phylogenetics methods with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) as a marker to resolve evolutionary relations between representatives of the subtribe Asterinae from Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the European part of Russia. Our reconstruction revealed that a clade including all Asterinae species is paraphyletic. Inside this clade, there are species with unresolved basal positions, …

Genetic Improvement Of Rice For Biotic And Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Mahmood Ur Rahman Ansari, Tayyaba Shaheen, Shazai Bukhari, Tayyab Husnain

Turkish Journal of Botany

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is among the most important food crops that provide a staple food for nearly half of the world's population. Rice crops are prone to various types of stresses, both biotic and abiotic. Biotic stresses include insect pests, fungus, bacteria, viruses, and herbicide toxicity. Among abiotic stresses, drought, cold, and salinity are also well studied in rice. Various genes have been identified, cloned, and characterized to combat these stresses and protect rice crops. The identified genes are successfully transformed into rice plants to produce transgenic plants. These transgenic rice plants are being evaluated under field conditions in …

Biogenesis And Redox Transition Of Iron-Sulfur Clusters In Proteins, Aaron Paul Landry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Iron-sulfur proteins comprise one of the most ubiquitous and conserved classes of proteins in biology. The diverse functions of iron-sulfur clusters in proteins range from electron transfer to redox signaling. The assembly of iron-sulfur clusters in cells requires a complex protein system and acquisition of sulfur and iron. While the sulfur source for iron-sulfur cluster assembly is well-established, the iron source remains elusive. The first part of this work provides new evidence for the hypothesis that the conserved iron-sulfur cluster assembly protein IscA may act as the iron donor for iron-sulfur cluster assembly. Iron-sulfur clusters in proteins are also vulnerable …

Health Effects Of Dietary Fermentable Fiber (Resistant Starch), Diana Gabriela Carvajal-Aldaz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Resistant starch (RS) reaches the large intestine for fermentation and is considered a prebiotic. We wanted to determine if we could reduce fermentation for future mechanistic studies and how there is improved insulin sensitivity in human studies with or without increased incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Two main studies were performed. In the first main study, low potency antibiotics (Ampicillin 1g/L and Neomycin 0.5g/L) were added to the drinking water of rats to reduce fermentation of RS. Antibiotics were used either prior (first) to or during (second) feeding of RS. Results demonstrated that low potency antibiotics given prior to …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Miniaturized Components Based On Extruded Ceramic-Filled Polymer Blends, Khurshida Sharmin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this work is to develop an improved manufacturing process for microstructured ceramic components that is based on co-extrusion. Co-extrusion of structured feedrods holds promise for development of multi-layered, functionally graded and/or textured structures. However, it requires a polymer binder that is difficult to remove before structures can be sintered to full density. A two-step debinding is introduced to eliminate debinding defects that are commonly observed in thermal debinding (TD). Cracking is a major issue due to a lack of pore spaces for outgassing of pyrolysis products in traditional TD. In two-step debinding, a soluble binder is removed …

"Superbly Sterile:" Queer Reproduction In Victorian Literature And Culture, Mary Timothy Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Examining a broad range of texts,“‘Superbly Sterile:’ Queer Reproduction in Victorian Literature and Culture,” argues that Thomas Hardy’s final naturalist novels, popular nineteenth-century vampire narratives, and the fiction of Oscar Wilde queered the bildungsroman (or novel of development) through characters who failed or refused to progress along sexual and maturational timelines. Where these texts’ critics have tended to read them as cautionary tales about homosexuality or predatory female sexuality, this dissertation contends that they also presented alternate forms of kinship and reproduction. They do so through the use of recursive, inverted, or otherwise backward relationships to time. Where Victorian sexology …