Digital Commons Network^™

Conspiracy Theories And The Quest For Truth, Rachel Runnels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conspiracy theories are deeply embedded in American culture, especially in current American society. The popularity of conspiracy theories in general reveals that society is becoming increasingly skeptical of authoritative organizations. Because of “fake news” and the availability of information and connection on the internet, people feel as though they must question everything, even sources they previously viewed as unquestionable authorities.

My analysis looks at how online conspiracy organizations create and defend their arguments in an attempt to understand why conspiracy theories are so persuasive. I analyze the rhetoric of three online conspiracy theory organizations: the Flat Earth Society, the Mutual …

The Implementation Of Online Classroom Management Professional Development For Beginning Teachers, Kaytlynn Milliken

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective classroom management practices are well known, yet the most efficient ways to teach them to beginning teachers is not. Online professional development is growing in popularity—though there are few examples of online classroom management training in the literature. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the experiences and implementation practices of beginning teachers that participated in online classroom management training as part of their new teacher induction program. The results suggest that online classroom management professional development as part of new teacher induction is a practical option. The beginning teachers were observed utilizing the classroom management strategies …

A Power Man’S Theology: Marvel’S Luke Cage And Black Liberation Theology, Diarron B. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Netflix released Marvel’s Luke Cage in 2016 to critical acclaim. Born from a 1970s comic book, the series features Luke Cage, an African-American superhero. Cage is a big, bald, bulletproof black man. Instead of tights and a cape, Cage wears a hoodie calling the audience to remember Trayvon Martin and other victims of white racism. Theologian James Cone created Black Liberation Theology in the 1970s. As a result of Cone’s work, Black Liberation Theology addresses the issue of white racism from a theological standpoint. In this thesis I present a close reading of Marvel’s Luke Cage using Black Liberation Theology …

Structural Basis Of Amino Acid Surveillance By Higher-Order Trna-Mrna Interactions, Shuang Li, Zhaoming Su, Jean Lehmann, Vassiliki Stamatopoulou, Nikoleta Giarimoglou, Frances E Henderson, Lixin Fan, Grigore D Pintilie, Kaiming Zhang, Muyuan Chen, Steven J Ludtke, Yun-Xing Wang, Constantinos Stathopoulos, Wah Chiu, Jinwei Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Amino acid availability in Gram-positive bacteria is monitored by T-box riboswitches. T-boxes directly bind tRNAs, assess their aminoacylation state, and regulate the transcription or translation of downstream genes to maintain nutritional homeostasis. Here, we report cocrystal and cryo-EM structures of Geobacillus kaustophilus and Bacillus subtilis T-box-tRNA complexes, detailing their multivalent, exquisitely selective interactions. The T-box forms a U-shaped molecular vise that clamps the tRNA, captures its 3' end using an elaborate 'discriminator' structure, and interrogates its aminoacylation state using a steric filter fashioned from a wobble base pair. In the absence of aminoacylation, T-boxes clutch tRNAs and form a continuously …

A Recombinant Cholera Toxin B Subunit Variant (Ctb-Kdel) Exhibits Unique Colon Mucosal Healing Effects That Have Therapeutic Implications For Inflammatory Bowel Disease., Joshua Mark Royal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uncovers the mechanism and explores the utility of a recombinant cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) variant containing a KDEL endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention motif (CTB-KDEL) as a drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CTB is a mucosal immunomodulatory protein that induces robust mucosal and systemic antibody responses. This well-known biological activity has been exploited in cholera prevention (as a component of Dukoral® vaccine) and vaccine development for decades. On the other hand, several studies have investigated CTB’s immunotherapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease and asthma. Here, we reveal …

The Identification Of Long Non-Coding Rna Zfas1 Through An Exploratory Rna-Sequencing Analysis And Its Association With Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition In Colon Cancer Adenocarcinoma., Stephen J. O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal adenocarcinoma is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed worldwide and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. This dissertation performed an exploratory RNA-sequencing analysis comparing gene expression between colon adenocarcinoma tissue and paired normal colon epithelium. After identification of a number of lncRNAs that were increased in expression in colon adenocarcinoma compared to normal colon epithelium, we aimed to validate the expression and investigate their function in vitro. Specifically, we focused on the lncRNA ZFAS1 and its association with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. These studies found the following: 1. Seven candidate lncRNAs were identified from the exploratory RNA-sequencing analysis to …

Development And Characterization Of A Biopolymer Direct-Write Process For 3d Microvascular Structures Formation., Xiaoming Fan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engineering of bulk tissues has been limited by the lack of nutrient and waste exchange in these tissues without an adjacent capillary network. To produce microvasculature, a scaffold must be produced that provides temporary mechanical support and stimulate endothelial cell adhesion, growth, and morphogenesis into a vessel. However, current well-established techniques for producing microvasculature, such as electrospinning, are limited since they lack both the precision to control fiber placement in three-dimensional space and the ability to create fiber networks with predefined diameters to replicate the physiological microvascular progression from arteriole to capillary to venule. Our group has developed a “Direct-write” …

Oxygen Deficient Perovskites: Effect Of Structure On Electrical Conductivity, Magnetism And Electrocatalytic Activity., Ram Krishna Hona

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present thesis deals with the synthesis and study of the physico-chemical properties of perovskite based oxide materials. Several novel oxygen deficient perovskites (ODP) have been synthesized by conventional solid state synthesis method. The novel compounds are CaSrFe₂O_6-δ, CaSrFeCoO_6-δ, Ca₂Fe_1.5Ga_0.5O₅, CaSrFeGaO₅ and BaSrFe₂O₅. Their magnetic, charge transport and electrocatalytic properties have been studied. Structural effect on electrical conductivity, magnetic and electrocatalytic properties have been studied in some series of ODPs. CaSrFe₂O_6-δ, CaSrFeCoO_6-δ, Ca₂Fe …

Stability And Reactivity Analysis Of Single Metal And Bimetallic Nanostructures By Anodic Stripping Voltammetry., Dhruba Kumar Pattadar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation has two main themes. The first involves studies aimed at developing anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) as an analytical tool to characterize metal nanoparticles (NPs), with a focus on the size and aggregate structure of single metal NPs and the composition and atomic arrangement of bimetallic NPs. The second main theme involves studies that use ASV and electrochemical surface area-to-volume (SA/V) measurements to study the unique reactivity and transformations of single metal and bimetallic NPs. The transformations involve size and composition changes in response to ozone and electrochemical potential. Reactions involve size dependent galvanic exchange and electrocatalytic activity. The …

Characterizing The Roles Of Neutral Ceramidase In Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Injury., Sophia M. Sears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent with a dose-limiting nephrotoxicity. 30% of patients given cisplatin develop acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI increases risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) development and mortality. Patients that don’t develop clinical AKI are still at risk for long term declines in renal function. Currently, there are no FDA approved agents to treat or prevent cisplatin-induced kidney injury (CDDP-KI). In this study, we demonstrated that neutral ceramidase (nCDase) knockout provides protection from AKI in the high-dose model of CDDP-KI. However, in the repeated low dose cisplatin (RLDC) model of injury and we found nCDase knockout …

“I Have Prayed And Prayed: I Have Labored And Labored”: Ethnic Catholicism In Daviess Country Kentucky, 1850-1900., Edward A. Wilson Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the development of the German and Irish Catholic communities of Daviess County, Kentucky. The primary focus of the work is the church building process and the separation of Catholic ethnic communities. Although they shared the same faith, American Catholics were divided by nationalism and ethnic hostility. Already isolated in the United States, immigrant Catholics formed cultural communities that adapted their foreign identity to their new surroundings. Scholars often analyze Catholics in the United States during this period as a unified group, but this approach is flawed. Catholics developed hostilities against members of their own faith along ethnic …

Evaluating The Resiliency Of Industrial Internet Of Things Process Control Using Protocol Agnostic Attacks, Hector L. Roldan

Theses and Dissertations

Improving and defending our nation's critical infrastructure has been a challenge for quite some time. A malfunctioning or stoppage of any one of these systems could result in hazardous conditions on its supporting populace leading to widespread damage, injury, and even death. The protection of such systems has been mandated by the Office of the President of the United States of America in Presidential Policy Directive Order 21. Current research now focuses on securing and improving the management and efficiency of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). IIoT promises a solution in enhancement of efficiency in ICS. However, the presence of IIoT …

Releve´, Lauren Afton Stoelzle

Theses

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Hiring Algorithms In The Canadian Private Sector: Examining The Promise Of Greater Workplace Equality, Connor Bildfell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Private-sector employers are increasingly using hiring algorithms as a tool for screening job applicants, comparing qualifications, and ultimately determining which candidates should be selected. Within this context, hiring algorithms make no small promise: a hiring process that is not only more efficient and effective, but also more supportive of workplace equality. This promise rests largely on the notion that traditional human-driven models of hiring are beset by subjective biases and prejudices, whereas hiring algorithms, which are driven by hard data and objective evidence, can eliminate certain human biases and prejudices, thereby promoting workplace equality. But can hiring algorithms deliver on …

Evaluation Of Varying Surface Finishes On Thin-Walled Blown Powder Deposition Inconel 625, Noah Naden, Giancarlo Puerto, Judy Schneider

Perpetua: The Journal of Undergraduate Research at UAH

Incorporation of additive manufacturing (AM) as another fabrication tool requires an understanding of the differences in material behavior from traditionally produced materials using casting, powder metallurgical or wrought processing. Since as-built AM parts typically have a rougher surface finish compared to parts subjected to traditional subtractive machining, post-processing methods to obtain a finer surface finish must be developed. This study evaluated the effect of various surface-finishing methods on additively manufactured Inconel 625. Blown powder deposition (BPD) was used to additively build a nominally 1 mm thick plate. After the build, specimens were subjected to: Chemically Accelerated Vibratory Finishing (CAVF), Chemical …

A Content Analysis Of The Contributions In The Narratives Of Daca Youth, Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, Sanjuana Rodriguez, Banti Zehyoue

Journal of Youth Development

This study utilized cultural community wealth (Yosso, 2005) to explore the ways in which Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) youth make use of social media. Through the use of content analysis (Hay, 2005), the authors analyzed social media interviews publicly posted by DACA youth. Findings reveal that DACA youth engage in social media as a form of activism and to mobilize their communities. The findings support and extend our understanding of the ways that DACA youth are an asset to the wider community. Implications for those working with DACA youth are provided.

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Understanding Youths’ Educational Aspirations In The Somali Diaspora, Joanna Tzenis

Journal of Youth Development

This article shares findings from a 10-month qualitative longitudinal study that offer insight into the educational aspirations of American youth (grades 6-9) who belong to the Minnesota Somali diaspora and highlight the social and cultural influences that shape these aspirations. The findings show that while the majority of youth participants (at one point in the study) expressed that they wanted to become doctors in the future, these aspirations were informed by family values around helping others in Somalia—not an interest in medicine or science. The findings also demonstrate that through time, as the high school youth began to engage more …

Pray-Er: Scholarly Program Notes On The Graduate Conducting Recital Of Nyghél J. Byrd, Nyghel Byrd

Research Papers

This document presents extended program notes on the graduate choral conducting recital of Nyghel J. Byrd entitled Prayer. This document consists of six chapters, which discuss historical and programmatic details of the pieces presented. This document includes the rehearsal process, programming difficulties as well as possible solutions. The selections include the following choral works and pieces: Baba Yetu by Christopher Tin, Abide with Me arranged by Moses Hogan, “Amen Chorus” from Messiah by George Fredrick Handel, Myél’s Mass by Myél Byrd, “Prayer Fixes Things” and “Campfire Prayer” from A Choral Triptych: Three Prayer Responses by Jason Max …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2018, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading soybean-producing state in the mid-southern United States. Arkansas ranked 11th in soybean production in 2018 when compared to the other soybean-producing states in the U.S. The state represents 3.7% of the total U.S. soybean production and 3.7% of the total acres planted in soybean in 2018. The 2018 state soybean average was 50.5 bushels per acre, half a bushel lower than the state record set in 2017. The top five soybean-producing counties in 2018 were Mississippi, Desha, Phillips, Arkansas, and Poinsett Counties (Table 1). These five counties accounted for 33.7% of soybean production in Arkansas in …

Racial Prejudice In The Criminal Justice System, Tori Cooper

Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Essay Award

Racial prejudice against African Americans has been the leading cause of high incarceration rates amongst the African American community. Within the United States, the census reported that African Americans make up about 17.9 percent of the population, with one-third of the people making up the incarcerated population in America. The disparity in those numbers highlights the current situation that is plaguing the nation. Blatant cases of racial profiling that have received media attention are a true testament of the broken law enforcement system from coast to coast. Racial prejudice cases have affected the black American community since the beginning of …

Hippocampal Extracellular Potassium Levels And Formation Of Spatial Memory In Response To Retrodialysis Insulin Administration, Gabrielle Shames

Anthropology

Insulin is the most common treatment for hyperglycemia, such as that caused by type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Insulin causes cellular uptake and storage of glucose to maintain homeostasis and also plays important roles in other systems; an important example is regulation of potassium. In the periphery, insulin administration has been shown to increase the cellular uptake of potassium via Na+/K+ ATPase, leading to hypokalemia. Research in our lab and others has shown that insulin is a key regulator of cognitive function and local metabolism within the hippocampus. To date, however, no studies have examined whether insulin acts …

Money Laundering In The Commercial Sex Market In The United States, Youngbee Dale

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This paper describes money laundering techniques used by different criminal organizations operating in the U.S. sex market. Prior to this study, scholars have not investigated money laundering techniques used in the U.S. sex market in a comprehensive manner. This paper describes and categorizes methods used for money laundering. It discusses the similarities and differences in money laundering techniques in the U.S. sex markets. Current challenges to combating money laundering are reviewed and recommendations are made to strengthen the ongoing fight against money laundering in the U.S. sex markets.

A Soft-Error Reliability Testing Platform For Fpga-Based Network Systems, Hayden Cole Rowberry

Theses and Dissertations

FPGAs are frequently used in network systems to provide the performance and flexibility that is required of modern computer networks while allowing network vendors to bring products to market quickly. Like all electronic devices, FPGAs are vulnerable to ionizing radiation which can cause applications operating on an FPGA to fail. These low-level failures can have a wide range of negative effects on the performance of a network system. As computer networks play a larger role in modern society, it becomes increasingly important that these soft errors are addressed in the design of network systems.This work presents a framework for testing …

Maverick: A Stand-Alone Cad Flow For Partially Reconfigurable Fpga Modules, Dallon Godfrey Glick

Theses and Dissertations

Circuit designs for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are typically compiled by FPGA vendor tools, such as Xilinx's Vivado Design Suite. In recent years, partial reconfiguration (PR) has emerged as a popular technique that allows portions of an FPGA to be dynamically reconfigured after the complete device has been configured with an initial bitstream. However, the nature of current FPGA vendor tools limits further innovation and possible usage models of PR.This thesis presents Maverick, an open-source proof-of-concept computer-aided design (CAD) flow for generating reconfigurable modules (RMs) which target PR regions in FPGA designs. Maverick builds upon existing open source tools (Yosys, …

Reverse Mentoring In The Classroom: A Qualitative Study, Shandon Miles Gubler

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this paper is to understand the lived experiences of higher education students engaging in reverse mentoring. A literature review aims to discover how reverse mentoring is being implemented. Reverse mentoring, framed by social exchange theory and leader-member exchange theory, is a method focused on younger generations teaching technology to older generations, such as current-day Millennials with Baby Boomers. This review examines reverse mentoring practices, analyzes what has worked, and seeks to determine if this learning method has a place in the classroom. Due to the segmented, yet evolving application of reverse mentoring, there is a lack of …

C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department Newsletter, C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

UTEP Library

E-newsletter of the Special Collections Department of the UTEP Library.

The Role And Effect Of Mindfulness In Intimate Relationships, Mazyar Karandish

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Mindfulness practice, a present-centered approach to experience, has been shown to effectively enhance various dimensions of the human experience. Recent literature has explored how the practice of mindfulness meditation has provided benefits to practitioners seeking to enhance relationship dynamics. There are multiple examples of mindfulness-based relationship enhancement programs aiming to enhance the quality of intimate relationships in adults. This study utilizes a repeated-measures design to address whether a neutral mindfulness-based program, not geared at enhancing relationships, can significantly alter the quality of intimate relationships. The research will further examine the central mechanisms of action through which mindfulness can enhance relationships. …

How Countries Seek To Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Laws In Response To The Panama Papers, And The Ethical Implications Of Incentivizing Whistleblowers, Carmina Franchesca S. Del Mundo

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The Panama Papers is currently the world’s largest whistleblower case that involved 11.5 million leaked documents and over 214,000 offshore entities. It all linked back to one Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca. In 2016, over 400 investigative journalists collaboratively and simultaneously published stories that exposed the money laundering and tax-evading schemes committed by the rich and powerful. This included political figures and heads of states, celebrities, sports figures, criminal organizations, and terrorist groups.

This article aims to dissect the innerworkings of Mossack Fonseca’s asset-shielding strategy and investigate how the Panamanian law firm was able to circumvent the tax and anti-money …

Securitisation Special Purpose Vehicles In Ireland: Regulatory Nature And Central Bank Of Ireland Supervision, Matteo Zambelli

Journal of International Business and Law

No abstract provided.