Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Novel Chimeric Epitope Based Diagnostic Antigens And Vaccines For Lyme Disease, Lee D. Oliver Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease (LD) is the leading arthropod-borne disease in North America with 300-600,000 cases each year. There are currently no approved human LD vaccines. Outer surface protein C (OspC) has emerged as a leading vaccine candidate and an attractive diagnostic marker due to its antigenicity and expression early in infection. Several chimeric, epitope based OspC derived proteins were generated. The constructs were found to be highly immunogenic in mice and vaccination induced complement-dependent bactericidal antibodies. These results suggest that a broadly protective polyvalent OspC epitope based vaccine can be produced. Currently, LD diagnostic approaches are unreliable and unable to differentiate …

Polysaccharide-Based Shear Thinning Hydrogels For Three-Dimensional Cell Culture, Vasudha Surampudi

Theses and Dissertations

The recreation of the complicated tissue microenvironment is essential to reduce the gap between in vitro and in vivo research. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels form excellent scaffolds to allow for three-dimensional cell culture owing to the favorable properties such as capability to absorb large amount of water when immersed in biological fluids, ability to form “smart hydrogels” by being shear-thinning and thixotropic, and eliciting minimum immunological response from the host. In this study, the biodegradable shear-thinning polysaccharide, gellan-gum based hydrogel was investigated for the conditions and concentrations in which it can be applied for the adhesion, propagation and assembly of different mammalian …

Reconnect: Designing To Touch, Dana Seros Rohani

Theses and Dissertations

Our everyday lives are surrounded by gadgets and digital devices that help us perform our daily chores with ease and efficiency. However, these digital devices can also separate us from what we should do ourselves. Although children who are exposed to high levels of technology might become attuned to the latest and the best gadgets, they might not learn to use their physical abilities. Another implication of a child’s over dependence on technology is that parental interactions such as encouragement, tutoring and reinforcement are provided by gadgets rather than living, breathing parents. Research done by Padma Ravichandran and Brandel France …

Use And Perspectives Of A Social Marketing Campaign To Improve Fruit And Vegetable Intake, Allison Palmberg

Theses and Dissertations

The current study evaluated the development and acceptability of a social marketing campaign to improve emerging adults’ fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. A social marketing campaign was developed through focus groups with 24 college students. Materials were implemented in two dining locations at Virginia Commonwealth University. Sales of carrots, apples, and chips were collected in three phases: baseline, implementation of the campaign, and washout. In addition, surveys were collected from 303 diners across all phases and locations. Results indicated an increase in carrot sales, decrease in sales of chips sold with a meal, and mixed findings regarding sales of apples …

Music And Movement, Yvonne M. Lefrancois

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this project is to provide a musical hub for the learning, practice, and performance of music for students ages 10-18 in order to cultivate trust and education in the community. This project examines the role music plays as a vital part of our communities and city resources. The communities we live in should not only supply opportunities for the music but support the music. Support of the music can allow cultural learning in the community and create a new pattern of education between parent and child. Just as most school systems support the learning of math and …

Community Collaboration In Virginia Legal Aid Programs: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Investigation, Andrew C. Schoeneman

Theses and Dissertations

Legal aid programs comprise a robust national infrastructure attempting to alleviate and reduce poverty. Since their proliferation as part of the War on Poverty, these organizations have provided individual civil legal assistance and engaged in collective legal and political strategies to advance systemic change. Starting in the 1980s, however, public policies have been enacted to cut funding and restrict the ability of federally funded legal aid programs to engage in collective and systemic advocacy. As a result, the ability of programs to work alongside low-income communities has been compromised. The histories and core commitments of legal aid and social work …

A Measure Of Social Behavior In Team-Based, Multiplayer Online Games: The Sociality In Multiplayer Online Games Scale (Smog), Chelsea M. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N …

Play Doh's Cave And The Pursuit Of The American Cream, Becky S. Sellinger

Theses and Dissertations

Take a minute. Imagine Wiley Coyote and Road Runner are in a domestic partnership. What would that look like? Close your eyes and Pause for 30 seconds. Don’t you see? Coyote never catches up. They keep running faster and faster. Everything in the house gets swept into the whirlwind they’ve created in their paths - the books, the shelves, the bed, and the desk lamp. Their circling movement creates a vacuum, which ultimately causes the entire structure to implode upon itself.

This text is an examination of my work and its relationship to the economic and the domestic. The metaphor …

Distance Moving Through Me: Working In Exile, Anne Beth Albagli

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis and accompanying exhibit, Untitled [Distance Moving Through Me: Giselle and Marco] explores contemporary issues of displacement and our relationship to the site of home. Through the trope of a pilgrimage in the desert, both virtual and in person, inspired by the eviction and imprisonment of my paternal family from Egypt in 1956, Distance Moving Through Me: Working in Exile asks how we can use our virtual experience and changing perspectives of the landscape to our advantage for a more empathic world.

Limelight & Indigestion, Joshua D. Thorud

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis chronicles the progression toward and creation of my thesis show, Limelight & Indigestion, as well as the cultural, technological and artistic influences and discussions that underpin the works therein. The show is an exploration of celebrity, mass media, and the nature of the desire for fame. I hope to situate my work through an investigation of topics such as Hollywood and the use of green screens and associated technology, our physical and ideological connection to cinema, the absurd in cinema history, and the complex nature of media digestion.

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 …

New Patriarchies: A Turbulence Of Source And Subject, Stephen Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

Experiencing a turbulence of source and subject in the variable inversions and supports of one source to another--the wreck of the U-352, Carpeaux’s Ugolino and his Sons, a movie poster for J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible, and Cassiopeia mythology--these four sources as sons, in sacrifice to and surviving by way of “daddy” documentation, are here refigured to reenact and critique the patriarchally recreational, monumental, cinematic, and mythological infrastructures supporting the sources of this work and thereby serving to critique the newer patriarchies to which these sources and their subjectifications here seek to cross consumptively dead end. Following three public …

One Script, Two Perspectives: Generation Me And The Staging Of Really Really, Jorge A. Bermudez

Theses and Dissertations

One Script, Two Perspectives: Generation Me and The Staging of Really Really is a reflection on the approach, pre-production, rehearsal and post-production phases of the play, Really Really by Paul Downs Colaizzo, which debuted in the Shafer Street Playhouse on February 20, 2015 on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The cast included Kaelie Ukrop, Adam Valentine, Ethan Malamud, Telos Fuller, Solomon Dixon, Molly Kaufman, and Katie Stoddard.

This paper looks at the processes involved with the creation of that piece. Focus is given to the problems and challenges involved with casting, production, rehearsals, post-production and effective directing methods.

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of A Truancy Reduction Program For Middle And High School Students, Jan R. Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a mixed methods design. The study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase of the study, a secondary data analysis of data were collected from a sample (n = 390) of middle and high school students who participated in a truancy pilot program launched during the 2012-2013 school year with follow-up services provided through June 2014. The sample was divided into two groups (treatment and control). The treatment group was diverted from court referral and participated in an intervention consisting of in-home counseling and case management services. The control group was referred to …

Z Axis Follies, Adam Collignon

Theses and Dissertations

This document will outline the nature of performance / object interaction, and the role of documentation in this interaction. In addition, I will explore the body / object as a site of multiplicities, the quality of simultaneity in appearance and apprehension of such multiplicities, and traverse the triumphs and travails of the body / object’s journey from one state of being to the next.

Fliers From Dry Season, Noa Glazer

Theses and Dissertations

In my studio practice I attempt to create sensual experiences from which nothing is learned and lack resolution; this thesis is an attempt to find ways to outline these experiences. However, this attempt will eventually lead to something entirely different, for these experiences are undefinable and impossible to investigate.

I will try to show how the components of the work, rather than forming a direct link to a chain of thoughts or associations, summon an experience that is derived only from the encounter itself.

Race And Mental Illness At A Virginia Hospital: A Case Study Of Central Lunatic Asylum For The Colored Insane, 1869-1885, Caitlin Doucette Foltz

Theses and Dissertations

In 1869 the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia passed legislation that established the first asylum in the United States to care exclusively for African-American patients. Then known as Central Lunatic Asylum for the Colored Insane and located in Richmond, Virginia, the asylum began to admit patients in 1870. This thesis explores three aspects of Central State Hospital's history during the nineteenth century: attitudes physicians held toward their patients, the involuntary commitment of patients, and life inside the asylum. Chapter One explores the nineteenth-century belief held by southern white physicians, including those at Central State Hospital, that freed people …

Individual Traits And Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy And Need For Cognition, Chao Miao

Theses and Dissertations

The field of entrepreneurship is rapidly advancing and matures as a discipline that receives substantial amount of attention. One popular area of research in the discipline of entrepreneurship is to investigate one’s intent to start a business, which is entrepreneurial intention. This is an important construct that warrants ongoing research because entrepreneurial intention is not only a great predictor of entrepreneurial behavior but also an important step in the process of becoming an entrepreneur. The present study, based on a sample of 321 subjects along with 264 observers, makes five contributions to the entrepreneurship literature. First, I examined the psychometric …

The Majlis Metamorphosis: Virtues Of Local Traditional Environmental Design In A Contemporary Context, Shaikha Almahmoud

Theses and Dissertations

In the Arabian Gulf countries, the majlis is a central part of the house. The most public space within it, the majlis represents the household’s occupants to society and its social and economic status. As the house reflects culture and civilization, so the family is understood as a micro-level society of individuals raised in its institutions. Hence, the house is a manifestation of family structure, religious beliefs, and individual needs and desires, reflecting the family’s economic, cultural, and social backgrounds and aspirations. The majlis offers a unique space in Arab societies, articulating cultural and social factors that directly impact identity …

Fallen/Lifted, Hillary Waters Fayle

Theses and Dissertations

I use found botanical material such as leaves, seedpods, and branches to explore human connection to the physical world. By combining these organic objects with the rich traditions of needlecraft, I bind nature and the human touch. Both tender and ruthless, this intricate stitch work communicates the idea that our relationship with the natural world is both tenuously fragile and infinitely complex.

The way I think about and make art mirrors the way I think about my life and how I walk through the world. What I do is about elevating details. It is about noticing cycles and connections. It …

The Impact Of Singing-Integrated Reading Instruction On The Oral Reading Fluency And Motivation Of Elementary Students In An Out-Of-School Time Program, Yvette M. Moorehead-Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of singing-integrated reading instruction on the oral reading fluency and motivation of elementary students in an after school program. Participants were third graders (n = 29) who attended the singing-integrated oral reading fluency (SI ORF) intervention twice a week for eight weeks. Components of the intervention included teacher-modeling of fluent oral reading, oral support, repeated reading and singing activities from a variety of children’s literature, and individual free-time.

The adapted Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) measured recreational, academic, and composite reading attitudes. The Qualitative …

Patterns In Chaplain Documentation Of Assessments And Interventions, A Descriptive Study, Kevin E. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

PATTERNS IN CHAPLAIN DOCUMENTATION OF ASSESSMENTS AND INTERVENTIONS, A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

by Kevin Eugene Adams, MDiv

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015

Diane Dodd-McCue, D.B.A, Department of Patient Counseling

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of evidence-based care provided by all disciplines in healthcare. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is becoming the standard for communicating assessments, plans of care, interventions, and outcomes of patient care. The spiritual care literature demonstrates the importance of assessing religious/spiritual needs and resources and developing …

Understanding The Impact Of Leadership And Organizational Culture On Nonprofit Employees’ Commitment And Turnover Intention, Nancy A. Toscano

Theses and Dissertations

Child and family nonprofit organizations are essential for the implementation of United States public policy in their role as service providers. Human service nonprofit organizations held approximately 20,000 government contracts, totaling more than $100 billion in 2009 (Boris, deLeon, Roeger, & Nikolva, 2010). Almost 33,000 human service nonprofit organizations contract with the government to deliver services (Boris, et al., 2010). The services provided by these organizations are critical to the lives of vulnerable American citizens. These organizations depend on committed employees to serve this group, carry out the mission, and reach organizational goals. Employees are nonprofit organizations’ greatest resource, investment, …

Controlling For Confounding When Association Is Quantified By Area Under The Roc Curve, Hadiza I. Galadima

Theses and Dissertations

In the medical literature, there has been an increased interest in evaluating association between exposure and outcomes using nonrandomized observational studies. However, because assignments to exposure are not done randomly in observational studies, comparisons of outcomes between exposed and non-exposed subjects must account for the effect of confounders. Propensity score methods have been widely used to control for confounding, when estimating exposure effect. Previous studies have shown that conditioning on the propensity score results in biased estimation of odds ratio and hazard ratio. However, there is a lack of research into the performance of propensity score methods for estimating the …

Dynamics Of Identity Threats In Online Social Networks: Modelling Individual And Organizational Perspectives, Romilla Syed

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the identity threats perceived by individuals and organizations in Online Social Networks (OSNs). The research constitutes two major studies. Using the concepts of Value Focused Thinking and the related methodology of Multiple Objectives Decision Analysis, the first research study develops the qualitative and quantitative value models to explain the social identity threats perceived by individuals in Online Social Networks. The qualitative value model defines value hierarchy i.e. the fundamental objectives to prevent social identity threats and taxonomy of user responses, referred to as Social Identity Protection Responses (SIPR), to avert the social identity threats. The quantitative value …

Structural Determinants Of Abuse-Related Neurochemical And Behavioral Effects Of Para-Substituted Methcathinone Analogs In Rats, Julie S. Bonano

Theses and Dissertations

Methcathinone (MCAT) is the β-ketone analog of methamphetamine, and like its amphetamine analog, MCAT functions as a monoamine releaser that selectively promotes the release of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) over serotonin (5-HT). MCAT produces amphetamine-like psychostimulant effects and is classified as a Schedule I drug of abuse by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Recently, synthetic MCAT analogs have emerged as designer drugs of abuse in Europe and the United States and have been marketed under deceptively benign names like “bath salts” in an attempt to evade legal restriction. These dangerous, recently emergent and novel drugs of abuse …

Measuring The Coping Efforts Of Grieving Undergraduate Students: Developing The Gcope Through A Mixed-Method Design, Benjamin Dyson Lord

Theses and Dissertations

The current study used a three-phase mixed-methods design to produce a new self-report measure of the strategies that college students use to cope with the death of a loved-one. College students are commonly bereaved and may be in the process of undergoing important developmental tasks related to emerging adulthood. However, the application of grief-specific stress-and-coping theories (i.e., the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement) to this population has been hampered by measurement issues.

The current study aimed to address the flaws asserted above through the use of a mixed-methods scale development design. To this end, the researcher made use …

The Heart Of Strength: The Strong Black Woman Schema And Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Jasmine A. Abrams

Theses and Dissertations

Black women are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD). While chronic stress has been identified as a key contributor to CVD risk, research has not identified the specific mechanisms through which stress influences CVD risk among Black women. Research suggests that in response to stress, Black women who internalize the SBW Schema engage in high effort coping, avoidant coping, postponement of self-care, and other maladaptive health behaviors and experience premature health deterioration. However, it is important to consider that internalization of the SBW Schema may exert differential effects on the physiological profiles of Black women due to varied interpretations of …

Colloidal Synthesis And Optical Characterizations Of Semiconductor Nanocrystals From Nontoxic Elements, Minh Q. Ho

Theses and Dissertations

To date, the search efforts have shifted from the toxic II-VI, III-V and IV-VI semiconductors to more environmentally friendly materials. Among Group II-V semiconductors, Zn₃P₂ has shown to be a more benign option, similar to Group IV (Ge, Si) materials, for future applications in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. This work is dedicated to the development of wet-chemical synthetic routes of (1) Zn₃P₂ and (2) Group IV (Ge, Si, Si_1-xGe_x) nanocrystals with precise control over composition, crystal structure, size and dispersity by adjusting different reaction parameters such as temperature, time and solvent …

Diazaborole Linked Porous Polymers: Design, Synthesis, And Application To Gas Storage And Separation, Zafer Kahveci

Theses and Dissertations

The synthesis of highly porous organic polymers with predefined porosity has attracted considerable attention due to their potential in a wide range of applications. Porous organic polymers (POPs) offer novel properties such as permanent porosity, adjustable chemical nature, and noteworthy thermal and chemical stability. These remarkable properties of the POPs make them promising candidates for use in gas separation and storage. The emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from fossil fuel combustion is a major cause of global warming. Finding an efficient separation and/or storage material is essential for creating a cleaner environment. Therefore, the importance of the POPs …