Digital Commons Network^™

Increased Administrative Roadblocks In Naturalization And Immigration Under President Trump, Kyle Johnson

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Our Own Flesh And Blood: Putting The Body At The Center Of Violence And Dehumanization, Krista Karbowski Thomason

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Oberlin's Experimental Hazelnut Orchard: Exploring Woody Agriculture's Potential For Climate Change Mitigation And Food System Resilience, Naomi Fireman

Honors Papers

Mitigating and adapting to climate change and transitioning to more sustainable agricultural methods to feed a growing human population are fundamental challenges today. Woody agriculture holds potential for addressing both through food production and carbon sequestration. To help assess this potential, in 2011, Oberlin College planted an experimental orchard made up of 70 hybrid hazelnut trees treated with three levels of fertilization. I asked the questions: How does annual allocation of carbon to different tissues change over time as hybrid hazels mature? How much carbon can this system store, where is it stored, and how does this change over time? …

Can Machine Learning On Economic Data Better Forecast The Unemployment Rate?, Aaron S. Kreiner

Honors Papers

This paper examines different machine learning methods to project the U.S. unemployment rate one year ahead. The forecasts include a naive forecast equal to the current unemployment plus the change of unemployment over the last year, along with forecasts from a Lasso regression and a neural network model. The last two models, which can be quickly run using an SQL database, select data from the Federal Reserve Economic Database (FRED) and are fitted (trained) in-sample from 1970 to 2000 to forecast quarterly unemployment rates over 2001 to 2018. The training window is updated in each forecast quarter to include new …

Public Art In Outdoor Space: How Environmental Art Can Influence Notions Of Place, Elsa Mark-Ng

Honors Papers

Public art has the potential to influence people’s sense of place and inspire environmental stewardship. By visiting existing public art, conducting a literature review, and creating a piece of public environmental art in an outdoor space in Oberlin, Ohio, I aim to learn how site-specific public art influences notions of place. Making connections between artworks that I have visited, public art projects that I studied and my own installation of public art, Hanging Leaves, allows me to place my art in a greater design context. I installed a collaborative, site specific piece of artwork in a public outdoor area in …

Destierro And Desengaño: The Disabled Body In Golden Age Spanish Portraiture, Colin C. Sanborn

Honors Papers

This paper analyzes the role of the disabled body in Golden Age Spanish court portraiture, focusing in particular on Diego Velázquez's work for Philip IV. Although this body of work has been examined extensively, few scholars have investigated what it implies about 17th-century Spaniards' conception of human divergence, and fewer still have done so without falling back on outdated models of disability. I thus hope to demonstrate through this thesis both disability's continued cultural importance and the utility of an analysis grounded in contemporary disability theory. Expanding upon Tobin Siebers' concept of "disability aesthetics" and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson's theory of "misfitting," …

Killing Time: Historical Narrative And The Black Death In Western Europe, Kira Zimmerman

Honors Papers

Echo epidemics would sweep through Europe well into the eighteenth century, yet none would parallel the terror and drama particular to the Black Death (1348-1351), nor would they inflict as violent an injury upon paradigms of historical writing. This thesis explores and evaluates how the Black Death affected medieval historical narrative.

The Importance Of Properly Modeling The Hydrogen Bond In Histidine, Falonne M. Tchodimo, Guoquan Zhou, Hua-Jun Fan

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

The hydrogen bond plays a vital role in many reactions. This study is to investigate the effect of different hydrogen bonding modes, such as single and double hydrogen bonds, via the quantum mechanic (QM) methods. Four histidine models (A, B, C, and D) with different numbers of intra-molecular hydrogen bonds were studied. The QM model results indicate that the double hydrogen bond is plausible and has a more stable geometry. However, this study suggests that the data from QM methods require further evaluation with solvation models to produce an even better energy profile.

Editorial Board

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Pursue Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 2 (Issue 1) 2019

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

The scholarly journal, “PURSUE: Undergraduate Research Journal” (ISSN 2473-6201), provides undergraduates an avenue to publish their original research abstracts and articles in the following areas: psychology, sociology, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, humanities, agriculture, architecture, health, business, and education (this list is not exclusive).

The original research articles included in this journal are peer reviewed and selected by the journal’s Editorial Board. The review process allows undergraduate researchers to receive feedback from notable scientists in their field of study and teach them about the publication process. Publication of their work will not only inform the scientific community; it …

Abortion In Context, Jeanne Marecek

Psychology Faculty Works

Across the world, abortion is one of the commonest gynecological procedures and, properly carried out, one of the safest. However, some 25% of the world’s population lives in countries where legal statutes largely prohibit abortion, forcing women to seek clandestine abortions that often are unsafe. This chapter surveys legal, social, cultural, and political aspects of abortion, pointing to stark differences in women’s access to abortion in different locales and at various points in history. It also describes the wide range of methods that women have used to end an untenable pregnancy, including traditional methods such as botanical preparations and massage …

Human Embodiment And Christian Worship: God's Revelation Through The Human Body In Scripture, Theology, And Liturgy, Carter J. C. Stepper

Theology Projects & Theses

This research will demonstrate that bodily existence is essential to human nature and that Christian worship practices must go hand-in-hand with a sound understanding of human embodiment in order to be faithful to the essence of Christianity. The following thesis demonstrates that the biblical understanding is that humanity was created as a body enlivened by the breath of God and intended to be the sacred sanctuary where God’s presence will dwell. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God’s goal to make humanity the sanctuary for his presence is fulfilled. Jesus Christ is the image of God, who redeems and represents …

Occupational Therapy Practitioners' Knowledge And Perception Of The Value Of Environmental Adaptations For Nursing Home Residents With Neurocognitive Disorders, Hannah Fiser

Occupational Therapy Capstones

The purpose of this independent study was to evaluate occupational therapy practitioners’ perceptions of the efficacy of certain environment-based intervention types when utilized with nursing home residents who present with neurocognitive disorders. A non-experimental research design in an online survey format was utilized. An invitation to take the online survey was submitted to 56 occupational therapy (OT) practitioners working in skilled nursing facilities. The online survey was comprised of questions addressing awareness/use and perception of efficacy of environment-based intervention methods. Seventeen responses were received. The majority of respondents reported awareness and use of the 20 environment-based intervention methods. Overall, respondents …

A Life Worth Living: Fighting Filicide Against Children With Disabilities

Florida A & M University Law Review

This article aims to explore filicide as it relates to children with disabilities. Filicide is a specific type of killing where a parent murders his or her own child. Part II gives a historical perspective on filicide. Part II also explains the various reasons behind filicide and why those reasons specifically apply to the killings of children with disabilities. Further, Part III explores the relationship between sentencing disparities in cases where society sympathizes with the parents of children with disabilities and condemns parents of nondisabled children. Part III also argues that children with disabilities face additional barriers in the fight …

Commencement Program 2019, Whitworth University

Commencement Programs

Undergraduate Commencement exercises of Whitworth University in May 2019.

Spinal Kappa Opioid Receptor Activity Inhibits Adenylyl Cyclase-1 Dependent Mechanisms Of Chronic Postoperative Pain, Lilian Custodio

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Chronic postoperative pain impacts millions of individuals worldwide that undergo a variety of surgical procedures. Opioids remain the mainstay analgesics of acute and perioperative pain; however, prolonged opioid therapy may lead to life-threating adverse effects, tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Therefore, unraveling the cellular mechanisms that drive persistent pain states and opposing endogenous analgesia provided by opioid receptor signaling, may lead to novel analgesics. Evidence suggests that tissue injury leads to increased sensitization of the spinal cord nociceptive neurons which increases susceptibility to chronic pain via an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation of calcium-sensitive adenylyl cyclase isoform 1 (AC1). This phenomenon, named …

Variability In Plasma Concentrations Of Methylprednisolone 6 Days After Intrasynovial Injection Of Methylprednisolone Acetate In Racing Horses: A Field Study, Jacob Machin, W. Duer, G. Maylin, C. K. Fenger, D. Wilson, M. Ivey, B. Berthold, S. Allison, Thomas Tobin

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Background: Methylprednisolone (MP) acetate is a commonly used corticosteroid for suppression of inflammation in synovial structures in horses. Its use is often regulated in equine sports by plasma MP concentrations. Objectives: To describe variability in MP plasma concentrations after MP acetate injection in different synovial structures and with co-administration with hyaluronic acid (HA). Study design: Field study in actively racing horses in three disciplines (Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse). Methods: Seventy-six horses (15 Thoroughbreds, 20 Standardbreds and 41 Quarter Horses) were included in the study. Injection of any synovial structure with a total body dose of 100 mg MP acetate …

Monocytes And Monocyte-Derived Antigen-Presenting Cells Have Distinct Gene Signatures In Experimental Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Kelly L. Monaghan, Wen Zheng, Gangqing Hu, Edwin C. K. Wan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease mediated by a complex interaction between the autoreactive lymphocytes and the effector myeloid cells within the central nervous system (CNS). In a murine model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), Ly6Chi monocytes migrate into the CNS and further differentiate into antigen-presenting cells (APCs) during disease progression. Currently, there is no information about gene signatures that can distinguish between monocytes and the monocyte-derived APCs. We developed a surface marker-based strategy to distinguish between these two cell types during the stage of EAE when the clinical symptoms were most severe, and performed transcriptome analysis …

College Of Dental Medicine 2019, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Appalachian Economic Futures, Dewayne Barton, John Deskins, Paul Corbit Brown, William Hal Gorby, Jill Moles Mullins, Nicholas F. Stump, Matt Winans, Brenden E. Mcneil, Eloise Elliott, Chris Haddox, E Gordon Gee, Eddie Brzostek, Audra Slocum, Trevor Mckenzie, Tom Hansell

Exhibit Panels

When people talk about the future of Appalachia, they typically mean economic futures: What will happen to coal jobs? How will Appalachia diversify its economy? What about poverty? Stereotypes about our region represent our people as disinterested in education, and hostile to innovation, technology, and sustainability. We see a different story. This part of the exhibit looks at ways that Appalachians are taking their strong sense of culture, their linguistic distinctiveness, and their relationship to the natural world to imagine new futures in diverse industries, sustainable practices, and stronger education systems.

Population Genetic Structure Of Sardinella Aurita And Sardinella Madurensis In The Eastern Central Atlantic Region (Cecaf) In West Africa, Evelyn Takyi

Open Access Master's Theses

Marine fishes represent a valuable resource for the global economy and food consumption, but many species experience high levels of exploitation necessitating effective management plans. Long term sustainability of these resources may be jeopardized from insufficient knowledge about intra-specific population structure. Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) methods are revolutionizing the field of population genomics in non-model organisms as they can generate a high number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) even when no reference genomic information is available. Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis are non-model species lacking reference genomes. Using double-digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing, we surveyed variation in 6,078 …

Means, Genes, And Meanings: Scientific Underpinnings For Personal Growth And Lasting Happiness, Joshua Ray Tanzer

Open Access Master's Theses

Statement of the problem: Positive psychology has led to a proliferation of research on many positive phenomena, however there lacks theoretical organization among constructs (Gable & Haidt, 2005; Held, 2004; Pawelski, 2016). In an effort to ground research on diverse but related subjects, Christine Winston (2016) suggested that there may be a more basic developmental process underpinning phenomena. Her theory relies heavily on existentialism and humanistic psychology with no data analysis included as empirical validation. The goal of this thesis is to provide a scientific analysis of the credibility of her claims.

Methods: The first manuscript is a metrical analysis …

Dynamics Of The Late Triassic Adamanian-Revueltian Extinction, Petrified Forest National Park, Az, Reilly F. Hayes

Open Access Master's Theses

In the Late Triassic of Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO), AZ, the coincidence of high-precision geochronology and robust lithostratigraphy allows an adaption of the Bayesian statistical approaches of Haslett and Parnell (2008) and Alroy (2014) to quantify the dynamics of a Late Triassic vertebrate extinction and replacement, the Adamanian-Revueltian (A-R) faunal turnover. This analysis indicates negligible probability of synchroneity of Adamanian extinctions and Revueltian originations. This protracted reconstruction of the A-R turnover decouples the event from the geologically instantaneous Manicouagan impact (215.4 + 0.20 Ma; Québec, Canada), previously implicated as a causal mechanism.

Maternal Blood Pressure In Relation To Low Birth Weight And The Effect Of A Nutritional Supplement, Alyssa Abreu

Open Access Master's Theses

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy impact over 10% of pregnancies worldwide, while increasing the risk of low birth weight. Research is conflicting on the effect of nutrient supplementation on hypertension during pregnancy. The cutoffs to define hypertension have also recently changed to include a lower systolic blood pressure, and little research has examined the association between the newly proposed blood pressure cutoffs and low birth weight.

Objectives: Our objectives were to 1) evaluate the impact of prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplement consumption on maternal blood pressure; and 2) assess the association between maternal blood pressure during early and late …

Knowledge Concerning Health Factors And Cognitive Performance: Development And Expert Validation Of A Perceptions Questionnaire, Caitlin Ogram Buckley

Open Access Master's Theses

The promotion of brain health is often perceived through an illness model, as research tends to focus on risk reduction in regards to neurodegenerative disease. However, research indicates that healthy individuals can potentially improve their cognitive performance through the adoption of health-promoting behaviors such as diet, exercise, and the management of chronic medical conditions (e.g. Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol). It is less clear how well this message has been disseminated to the general public. The current study aims to advance a critical foundation for brain health research by developing a questionnaire to assess public beliefs …

When The Alternative Becomes Hegemonic: A Textual Analysis Of The Royal Tenenbaums, Patrick Crowe

Open Access Master's Theses

Wes Anderson has been designated by many as one of the first ‘Indiewood’ directors. While his films possess a quirky, atypical, and oddball visual and aesthetic style, at least one of his films, The Royal Tenenbaums, offers performances of gender and race—particularly of white masculinity—that reinforce a number of gender and racial stereotypes (Beynon, 2002; Buchbinder, 2013; Connell, 1995; Kimmel, 1996; Moss, 2011). In this thesis, I conduct a critical textual analysis on The Royal Tenenbaums to illuminate the retrogressive gender and racial ideas that Anderson uses to constitute various performances or models of white masculinity. Most of my …

The Impact Of Sexual Health Curricula On College Students’ Attitudes Towards Transgender People, Crassandra Mandojana-Ducot

Open Access Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore first year college student’s attitudes and beliefs towards transgender people and whether high school sexual health curricula are related to the development of these beliefs. This study examined attitudes that current first year college students hold towards transgender people. The students were probed to recall whether they were exposed to comprehensive sexual health curricula versus abstinence-only curricula. A second purpose was to examine if their participation in their high school Gay-Straight-Alliances (GSA) predicted their attitudes towards transgender people as measured on the three scales of the Transgender Attitude and Belief Scale (TABS): …

Design Of A Modular Soft Continuum Robotic Arm, Thomas Schwarz

Open Access Master's Theses

In this thesis, a modular design of a soft continuum robotic arm is developed. This design enables the connection of an arbitrary number of identical modules in order to build a snake-like robot in a plug-and-play fashion. After introducing the purpose and motivation of this research, the necessary basics for this project are presented, followed by a review of existing soft continuum robots in the state of the art. The main part of this work starts with presenting the design of the required 3D manufactured parts as well as the fabrication of the soft deformable body of the robot. With …

Ontogeny Of The Lateral Line And Visual Systems Of A Caribbean Reef Goby, Elacatinus Lori, Katie R. Nickles

Open Access Master's Theses

Chapter 1

Gobies (Family Gobiidae) have a complex mechanosensory lateral line system composed of reduced cranial and trunk canals and a proliferation of small superficial neuromasts, perched on the tips of “sensory papillae”, which occur in several linear series on the head, trunk and tail. Elacatinus lori is being used as a model species for larval orientation and dispersal and the ability to rear it in the lab has allowed the use of a suite of morphological methods to provide the first description of the post-embryonic development of the lateral line system from hatch through settlement and to adulthood for …

Chlorine Disinfection Byproduct Management In Rhode Island Source Waters Using Led-Based Uv-C Disinfection, Hichem Hadjeres

Open Access Master's Theses

High loads of natural organic matter (NOM) in source waters increase levels of toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during treatment, including trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), which are formed when NOM is chlorinated. Rates of NOM loading and, by extension, DBP formation potential vary spatially and temporally, and depend on land use within the watersheds. While non-chemical disinfection is typically based on mercury UV lamps, LED-based disinfection systems are being considered as an energy efficient alternative, since they require a fraction of the energy used by mercury lamps. This study explores the efficacy of a novel water treatment process for …