Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating A Brief Web-Based Prevention Intervention For Risky Alcohol Use Among College Students, Zoe Neale

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a brief, web-based alcohol prevention intervention program as a universal approach to addressing the range of alcohol behaviors present on college campuses. The sample of freshman college students recruited from Spit for Science (Dick et al., 2014) included 153 intervention participants, and 151 control participants matched on demographics and baseline alcohol variables. Hierarchical multiple regression, logistic regression, and moderated multiple regression were used to compare intervention and control participants on post-intervention alcohol variables. Treatment predicted lower alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms, particularly among baseline drinkers. For non-drinkers, the intervention was associated with …

Human Neural Progenitor Cells Are Productively Infected By R5-Tropic Hiv-1: Opiate Interactions On Infection And Function Involve Cdk5 Signaling, Joyce Magat Balinang

Theses and Dissertations

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is known to cause a spectrum of neurological, behavioral and motor deficits collectively termed as HIV-1 associated neurocognitive impairments (HAND). Opiates augment HIV-related CNS complications through both direct and indirect mechanisms that disrupt glial and neuronal function. All CNS macroglia and neurons derive from neural progenitor cells (NPCs) during development, and NPCs in the adult brain contribute to repair processes. Since disruptions in NPC function are known to impact CNS populations and brain function in a number of disease/injury conditions, we determined whether HIV ± opiate exposure affected the maturation and fate of human …

Information Needs And Information Sources Of Patients Diagnosed With Rare Cancers, Dana L. Ladd

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION SOURCES OF PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH RARE CANCERS

By Dana L. Ladd, Ph.D., MS, SLIS

BACKGROUND: Approximately 25% of all cancers diagnosed are considered rare. Patients may face many significant challenges including difficulty obtaining information about their rare conditions. Patients often have high information needs and may seek desired information from a variety of informational sources including healthcare providers, media, print, government and non-profit organizations in order to meet their needs. Accessing reliable consumer-level information can be challenging and often information needs are unmet. Dissatisfaction with health information provision can result in negative health-related outcomes and …

Behaviorally Induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome And Insomnia: Prevalence And Relationship To Depression In College Students, Allison Baylor

Theses and Dissertations

Background: College students are at increased risk for general sleep issues as well as specific disorders, including Behaviorally Induced Insufficient Sleep Syndrome (BISS) and insomnia. These disorders can have deleterious daytime consequences, which can be compounded by exacerbating depression. The present study aims to establish college prevalence of BISS/insomnia, to characterize sleep characteristics in this sample, and to compare depression across BISS/insomnia.

Methods: Data from a college risk behaviors and health study (n=989) was used. Insomnia and BISS were defined as mutually exclusive disorders, using ICD-10/DSM-5 criteria, and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index items.

Results: Overall, the results of this study …

Examining The Effects Of Psychosocial Stress On The Hypertension Self-Management Behaviors Of African American Women, Michelle Laws

Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a preventable and yet major risk factor for early death and morbidity among African Americans. Compared to other women in the US, African American women continue to die earlier and more frequently from preventable and controllable chronic health conditions that are notably due to hypertension and hypertension-related illnesses. While there are multiple factors contributing to the high death rates of African American women, hypertension is one of the most common and modifiable risk factors associated with fatal health outcomes among African American women. The rate of death resulting from hypertension is more than double for African American females …

Genetic And Epigenetic Mechanisms Of Complex Reproductive Disorders, Bhavi P. Modi

Theses and Dissertations

Common, complex disorders are polygenic and multifactorial traits representing interactions between environmental, genetic and epigenetic risk factors. More often than not, contributions of these risk factors have been studied individually and this is especially true for complex reproductive traits where application of genomic technologies has been challenging and slow to progress. This thesis explores the potential of genetic and epigenetic components contributing to a better understanding of the biological pathways underlying disease risk in two specific female complex reproductive traits - polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). The PCOS projects focus on characterization of a …

Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Stimulants For Weight Loss: Predictors, Consequences, And Implications For Intervention In A National Young Adult Sample, Amy J. Jeffers

Theses and Dissertations

The non-medical use of prescription drugs is an important public health concern. Non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS), specifically medications used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is particularly concerning. One timely concern regarding NMUPS, especially among young adults, is their role in appetite suppression/weight loss. Indeed, some individuals are motivated to misuse such drugs for the purpose of losing weight. Engaging in NMUPS for weight loss has been examined only minimally in the research literature. However, extant data demonstrate that this behavior is associated with other unhealthy behaviors and poor psychosocial health. Limitations of prior research include the …

Black Feminist Discourse Analysis Of Portrayals Of Gender Violence Against Black Women: A Social Work Dissertation, Avina Ross

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored media discourse of gender violence against Black women in Black contemporary films. Four Tyler Perry films were examined using a novel, qualitative and analytical framework: Black Feminist Discourse Analysis. Discourses that were studied include, but were not limited to: portrayals of gender violence and victims, character dispositions and interactions, stereotypes, relationship dynamics as well as portrayals of race, gender, sexuality and religion. The use of new and existing controlling images based on systems of race, gender, sexuality and religion were revealed in a transitional and systemic model. Common themes across the films are provided. This research closes …

Adopting Sustainability Innovations In Restaurants: An Evaluation Of The Factors Influencing Owner-Managers’ Decisions In Richmond, Virginia, Anna Salzberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing restaurant Owner-Managers’ decisions to adopt sustainability innovations in restaurants. A cross-sectional survey research design is used for this study, which entails distributing a survey to restaurants in the City of Richmond, Virginia, to gain an understanding of the factors influencing sustainability innovation adoption. Drawing from both the innovation adoption theory and the theory of planned behavior, the researcher contributes a baseline of the restaurants’ sustainability and the Owner-Managers’ intrinsic motivations. By integrating innovation adoption theory’s perceived innovation characteristics and measuring restaurants’ past sustainability behavior, this study increases the overall …

The Influence Of Writing Achievement Goals And Writing Self-Regulation On College Students’ Writing Grades, Joseph Tadlock

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined relationships between college students’ writing achievement goal orientations, writing self-regulation, and writing grades. The study was conducted in a postsecondary setting at a large public university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Using multivariate quantitative techniques (confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling), survey and writing sample data were gathered to address the following research questions: Do college students’ writing achievement goals relate to their writing grades; do college students’ writing achievement goals relate to their writing self-regulation; and, does writing self-regulation partially mediate the relationship between writing achievement goals and writing grades in college …

The Relationship Between Program Quality Indicators And Student Achievement In A Braided Prekindergarten Program, Susan L. Flemmons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between prekindergarten classroom quality indicators and student achievement at the prekindergarten level. Pre-existing data on prekindergarten classroom quality measures and student achievement was utilized. Quality indicators were assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) and student achievement was measured by the end of year results on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) (Invernizzi, Meier, Swank, & Juel, 2004) and the Bracken School Readiness Assessment end of year results (Bracken, 2007).

A quantitative ex post facto correlational research design was employed to identify relationships …

Propensity Score For Causal Inference Of Multiple And Multivalued Treatments, Zirui Gu

Theses and Dissertations

Propensity score methods (PSM) that have been widely used to reduce selection bias in observational studies are restricted to a binary treatment. Imai and van Dyk extended PSM to estimate non-binary treatment effect using stratification with P-Function, and generalized inverse treatment probability weighting (GIPTW). However, propensity score (PS) matching methods on multiple treatments received little attention, and existing generalized PSMs merely focused on estimates of main treatment effects but omitted potential interaction effects that are of essential interest in many studies. In this dissertation, I extend Rubin’s PS matching theory to general treatment regimens under the P-Function framework. From theory …

Resource Utilization And Costs Associated With Off-Label Use Of Atypical Antipsychotics In An Adult Population, Della Varghese

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Atypical Antipsychotics (AAPs) are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. AAPs are commonly used off-label to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia due to lack of alternative treatment options and treatment resistance. Concerns for off-label use arise since AAPs increase the risk of cardiovascular events and death. The objectives were 1) describe patterns of RU and costs among off-label AAPs users in a nationally representative population 2) identify prevalence of off-label use in the Medicare population 3) compare RU and costs between off-label AAPs …

Interactomics-Based Functional Analysis: Using Interaction Conservation To Probe Bacterial Protein Functions, J. Harry Caufield

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of genomics as a discrete field of biology has changed humanity’s understanding of our relationship with bacteria. Sequencing the genome of each newly-discovered bacterial species can reveal novel gene sequences, though the genome may contain genes coding for hundreds or thousands of proteins of unknown function (PUFs). In some cases, these coding sequences appear to be conserved across nearly all bacteria. Exploring the functional roles of these cases ideally requires an integrative, cross-species approach involving not only gene sequences but knowledge of interactions among their products. Protein interactions, studied at genome scale, extend genomics into the field of …

Methods For Predicting An Ordinal Response With High-Throughput Genomic Data, Kyle L. Ferber

Theses and Dissertations

Multigenic diagnostic and prognostic tools can be derived for ordinal clinical outcomes using data from high-throughput genomic experiments. A challenge in this setting is that the number of predictors is much greater than the sample size, so traditional ordinal response modeling techniques must be exchanged for more specialized approaches. Existing methods perform well on some datasets, but there is room for improvement in terms of variable selection and predictive accuracy. Therefore, we extended an impressive binary response modeling technique, Feature Augmentation via Nonparametrics and Selection, to the ordinal response setting. Through simulation studies and analyses of high-throughput genomic datasets, we …

Curcumin/Melatonin Hybrids As Neuroprotective Agents For Alzheimer's Disease, John Saathoff

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of dementia, affecting ~5.2 million Americans. Current FDA approved medications provide mainly symptomatic relief and there are no agents available to delay or cure this disease. Multiple factors such as amyloid-β aggregates, dyshomeostasis of biometals, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation have been implicated in the development of AD. Even though significant advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms leading to AD, the exact etiology still remains elusive. Given AD’s multifactorial nature, a multifunctional strategy of small molecule design would help to identify novel chemical templates. Recently our lab …

A Qualitative Study Of Woodland County Public Schools’ Social Media Policy For Employees: Its Development, Interpretation, And Significance, Greenlee B. Naughton

Theses and Dissertations

The popularity of social networking sites on the World Wide Web has exploded during the past two decades. As more and more K-12 public school teachers choose to actively participate on social networking sites, school leaders and school boards face the increasingly difficult decision about whether or not to enact policies which will enable them to discipline teachers for their online behavior. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the development, interpretation, and significance of one such policy.

The Instructional Technology Resource Teacher: A Descriptive Case Study Of Deployment, Use, And Perceptions, Mary Sepelyak

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes one professional development approach to support technology integration at all public schools in one large county in central Virginia. Using data obtained from daily time logs, the frequency of Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) use by classroom teachers was analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe overall percentage of ITRT use, the various types of professional development requested by teachers, the consistency of those activities over time, and if the frequencies of activities varied as a function of school level, Title I status at the elementary level, or subject area taught by teachers at the secondary …

Representativeness Of Patients Enrolled In A Primary Care Clinical Trial For Substance Use Disorders, Sydney S. Kelpin

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the characteristics of research participants is crucial to ensuring sample representativeness and generalizability of findings to broader patient groups with substance use disorders. Using anonymous computer-administered health survey data, the present study had a unique opportunity to compare patients who chose to participate in an RCT for heavy/problem drinking or drug use (N=713; consenters) with those that chose not to participate (N=625; non-consenters). The sample was 40% male, 76% African American, and had a mean age of 45.2 years. Using multivariate regression, the most parsimonious model found older age, unemployment, prescription misuse, positive screen for drug problems (CAGE), having …

Women At The Crossroads, Women At The Forefront, American Women In Letterpress Printing In The Nineteenth Century, Dianne L. Roman Ms

Theses and Dissertations

The significant role of the female printer in the American home-based print shops during the colonial and early republic periods has been documented in print history, socioeconomic, labor, and women studies, yet with the industrialization of the printing trade, women’s presence is thought to have disappeared. Contrary to the belief that industrialization of the print shop eradicated women’s involvement in skilled employments such as typesetting, the creation of the Women’s Cooperative Printing Union in California and the creation and chartering of the Women’s Typographical Union in New York, both in the late 1860s, clearly indicate that women continued to work …

“‘It’S A Cu’Ous Thing Ter Me, Suh’: The Distinctive Narrative Innovation Of Literary Dialect In Late-Nineteenth Century American Literature”, Kym M. Goering

Theses and Dissertations

American literature and verse advanced in dialectal writing during the late-nineteenth century. Charles Chesnutt’s “The Goophered Grapevine” (1887), “Po’ Sandy” (1888), and “Hot-Foot Hannibal” (1899); Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1881); Thomas Nelson Page’s “Marse Chan” (1884); and Mark Twain’s “Sociable Jimmy” (1874) and “A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It” (1874) provided diverse dialect representations. Dialect expanded into poetry with

James Whitcomb Riley’s “She ‘Displains’ It” (1888), “When the Frost is on the Punkin” (1882), and “My Philosofy” (1882) and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “The Spellin’ Bee” (1895), “An Ante-Bellum Sermon” …

The New Gatekeepers: How Blogs Subverted Mainstream Book Reviews, Rebecca E. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Book reviewing has a fraught history in the United States. Reviewers have long been accused of not being analytical enough. It should be no wonder then with the emergence of social media that online book reviewing has become increasingly popular. Online reviewers, especially book bloggers, are no literary gatekeepers in their own right, shaping the tastes of readers across the world. Book blogs in particular pay special attention to titles which have long been derided by institutions such as libraries, academia, publishers, and bookstores. These literary gatekeepers typically ignore romance, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, young adult fiction, comic books, and …

Write To Work: The Use And Importance Of Writing As Perceived By Business Leaders, Clay Aschliman

Theses and Dissertations

The relation of English Language Arts (ELA) to the economy has played a historic role in educational policy, persisting to today’s corporate reform movement. It is, however, an area that remains under-researched. This study builds upon the limited existing literature base with a systematic replication of the College Board’s National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges’ (NCW) 2004 report, “Writing: A Ticket to Work…Or a Ticket Out.” The guiding research questions for this study are 1) How important is writing in the workplace? 2) Is writing an important hiring consideration? 3) What kind of writing is expected …

Electrochemical Studies Of Cerium And Uranium In Licl-Kcl Eutectic For Fundamentals Of Pyroprocessing Technology, Dalsung Yoon

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the characteristics of special nuclear materials in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt is extremely important in terms of effective system operation and material accountability for safeguarding pyroprocessing technology. By considering that uranium (U) is the most abundant and important element in the used nuclear fuel, measurements and analyses of U properties were performed in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. Therefore, the electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), open circuit potential (OCP), Tafel, linear polarization (LP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were conducted under different experimental conditions to explore the electrochemical, thermodynamic, and kinetic properties of U in LiCl-KCl eutectic. The ultimate goal …

Positivity Ratio: Predicting Sleep Outcomes Across The Adult Lifespan, Janna L. Imel

Theses and Dissertations

Although sleep has been linked to changes in positive and negative affect across the lifespan, the prediction of sleep from affect has not been explored completely. As such, the main objective of this study was to examine the association between affect and sleep across the adult lifespan, using a novel gauge of affect, the positivity ratio. Both subjective and objective assessments of sleep were used in analyses. This study was an archival analysis of data collected as a part of the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS-II), with participants ranging from 34 to 83 years of age. Results revealed …

The Role Of Procedural Justice Within Police-Citizen Contacts In Explaining Citizen Behaviors And Other Outcomes, Shana M. Mell

Theses and Dissertations

American policing is shaped by an array of challenges. Police are expected to address crime and engage the community, yet police are held to higher expectations of accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency than ever before. Police legitimacy is the ability of the police to exercise their authority in the course of maintaining order, resolving conflicts, and solving problems (PERF, 2014). The procedural justice and police legitimacy literature suggest that by exhibiting procedurally just behaviors within police-citizen encounters, officers are considered legitimate by the public (PERF, 2014; Tyler, 2004, Tyler & Jackson, 2012).

This study examines procedural justice through systematic observations of …

The Implementation And Emulation Of Cult Movie Marketing, Rebekah W. Mckendry

Theses and Dissertations

Cult media is often an area of media studies that is difficult to define. Cult media branches through numerous time periods, genres, and fandom patterns. Cult trends are also constantly evolving over time, changing from word-of-mouth and point-of-sale advertising to social networks and Internet culture. But have the rudimentary basics of how media cults develop and spread their message changed along with the progressing marketing presentation? This dissertation explores the definition of media cults, their history, and marketing styles over time, ultimately exploring the tools utilized to market cult media and examine how these tools are now synthetically applied to …

On Workaholism: Do Parental Work Behaviors Predict The Work Behaviors Of Undergraduates?, Jesse A. Wingate

Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional study examined the associations among perceived parental behavior and personality on work behaviors of undergraduate students from a large Southeastern university. Past research suggests that children who perceive their parents to be workaholics are more likely to exhibit workaholic behavior themselves (Chamberlin & Zhang, 2009). Moreover, personality factors including conscientiousness and neuroticism, have been categorized as antecedents of workaholic behavior in previous studies (Andreassen, Hetland, & Pallesen, 2010; Aziz & Tronzo, 2011; Burke, Matthiesen, & Pallesen, 2006). Students (N = 209) completed questionnaires assessing Big Five personality factors, dispositional optimism, and perceptions of parental work drive, parental …

Exploring The Concept Of Human Oct3 Inhibitors As A Novel Class Of Antidepressants, Kavita A. Iyer

Theses and Dissertations

The Dukat laboratory developed 2-amino-6-chloro-3,4-dihydroquinazoline (A6CDQ) as a 5-HT₃ receptor ligand. A6CDQ and one of its positional isomers, the 7-chloro analog A7CDQ, produced antidepressant-like effects in the mouse tail suspension test (TST). We investigated and systematically ruled out a solely 5-HT₃ receptor or hSERT mediated mechanism of antidepressant-like effect for both A6CDQ and A7CDQ.

The role of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) as an alternative mechanism in the regulation of neurotransmitters including serotonin (5-HT) and the therapeutic potential of targeting hOCT3 to achieve antidepressant effects has been established. By virtue of possessing protonatable nitrogen atoms, 2-aminodihyroquinazolines could potentially …

Exploring The Role Of Intersectionality On Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Sexual Minorities, Leia Harper

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Previous research has shown that sexual minority individuals (SM) are twice as likely to smoke, twice as likely to be overweight or obese, and less likely to be physically active than heterosexual persons; all of which place SMs at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While information on CVD risk by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status is well documented, there is scant literature examining race, gender, and the potential CVD risk in SMs. The purpose of this study was to examine CVD risk in sexual minorities.

Method: The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent …