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Mss0284. Hopkins Family Papers Finding Aid

Special Collections Finding Aids

The collection is correspondence primarily between husband-and-wife, David and Sara Hopkins, née McCleary, from the Great Lakes region. Included are other correspondences with Sara Hopkins and material associated with the couple.

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Wakondah Pond 2021 Water Quality Highlight Report, Amanda Mcquaid, Robert Craycraft

UNH Cooperative Extension

A Water Quality Highlight Report by UNH CE Lakes Lay Monitoring Program for Wakondah Pond in Moultonboro, NH in 2021.

Transcriptional Regulation Of Duox-Dependent Reactive Oxygen Species Production Against Bacterial Infection In The Gut Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis)., Ryne W. Maness

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) are opportunistic blood feeders that parasitize a wide variety of mammals and birds. They also transmit bacterial pathogens that cause diseases in humans (e.g., murine typhus, flea-borne spotted fever, cat scratch disease, and plague). Because they acquire infectious pathogens while blood feeding, the flea gut is considered to be the initial site of infection. While immune responses have been well documented in other disease vectors, few studies have identified the immune mechanisms involved in defense of the flea gut. In other hematophagous insects, the synthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the immediate immune defense mechanism against …

The Significance Of The Automobile In 20th C. American Short Fiction, Megan M. Flanery

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Midcentury American life featured a post-war economy that established a middle class in which disposable income and time for leisure were commonplace. In this socio-economic environment, consumerism flourished, ushering in the Golden Age of the automobile: from 1950 to 1960, Americans spent more time in their automobiles than ever before, and, by the end of the decade, the number of cars on the road had more than doubled. While much critical attention has been given to the role of the automobile in American novels, less has been given to its role in American short stories. The automobile has been featured …

Firefighters Self-Efficacy Of Injuries And Willingness To Report Injuries Within The Southeast Region Of The United States, Marissa Villafuerte

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

CONTEXT: Firefighting is a dangerous profession often leading to minor and severe injuries. Injuries range from basic first aid to fatalities. Over a third of injuries linked to muscular-skeletal injuries (MSKI). To address MSKI, the fire service has turned to preventative and rehabilitation care such as on-site health care professionals.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was 1) to understand rural firefighters' self-efficacy of injury care and willingness to report MSKIs, 2) compare on-site preventative care fire departments to traditional fire departments and 3) describe the influence of on-site self-efficacy of MSKI care and willingness to report injuries based on …

Cannot Afford To Publicly Surrender: The Public's Influence On Ronald Reagan's Strategic Relationship With South Africa, Jessica P. Forsee

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Reagan’s administration used the policy of constructive engagement to bring gradual reform to the apartheid system and build peace in the southern African region. The coordination of anti-apartheid activist organizations and members advocating for harsher economic pressure on South Africa successfully raised US public awareness and shifted public opinion against constructive engagement’s gradualist policies. As a result, leading Reagan staffers like Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker recalibrated constructive engagement’s focus to quicken regional peacebuilding maintain stability and control of US foreign policy in the public eye. This thesis analyzes the early influences on constructive engagement and …

Injury Reporting Barriers Amongst Aviation Soldiers, Morgan Stanwood

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

There is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in the U.S. military which poses a major threat to military readiness. However, recent research indicates that Soldiers do not seek medical care for nearly half of their injuries. PURPOSE: Identify barriers in injury reporting using the Theory of Planned Behavior within a U.S. Army special operations aviation population. METHODS: This descriptive study utilized a self-report survey to explore injury rates, reporting rates, and perceptions of reporting behaviors. RESULTS: Of the 108 Soldiers who completed this study 77.8% experienced a MSKI in the previous 12 months and 69% sought medical care (reported …

(Un)Qualified Immunity: An Analysis On Qualified Immunity And Civilian Sentiments, Guy Hodge Ii

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Recent events involving the deaths of unarmed, African American citizens have brought forth an increased attention to the application of qualified immunity to law enforcement. This study aims to gain a civilian perspective on qualified immunity. Qualified immunity, as defined by the Supreme Court case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), grants government officials performing discretionary functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Through a national-level survey, this study captures an overall favorability of qualified immunity as well as …

Passing The Baton: An Integrated Approach To Succession Planning For Local Health Departments, Isabella M. Hardwick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Succession planning is a process that requires more than just an organizational chart illustration of who holds what position within the organization. The process also requires developing and implementing guidelines and best practices to identify and address current and future workforce development needs. Succession planning contributes to an organization’s success by providing a mechanism that ensures a talent pool of replacements has been suitably groomed and equipped to fill critical vacancies when retirements occur or on short notice. It can generate operational efficiencies for the field of public health that is faced with chronic budgetary pressure and an impending mass …

Do The Age And Drama Type Of Individuals Affect Their Perceived Social Status?, Bradly A. Mcginnis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Drama is a type of performative, interpersonal conflict where traditional victim/aggressor dynamics seen in most types of bullying does not always appear. Different personalities display different types of drama, which may have different levels of usefulness across development. I am interested in discovering whether the level of target social status changes for different drama types across the lifespan. This interaction between target social status and drama type was analyzed by a 2 x 3 design with an expected 2 x 2 interaction. Overall, there were non-significant main effects and a non-significant interaction in the 2 x 3 between subjects ANOVA. …

Deschooling Schooled Minds: Speculative Essays, Kelly Graziano

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation is a collection of speculative essays (Schubert, 1991) that explore the "why" of schooling and possible alternative educational arrangements (Illich, 1970/2002; Reimer, 1971; Goodman, 1962; Holt, 1972; Gatto, 1992/2017; Giroux, 2000). As one who has been schooled (in "educational" institutions and those like it, e.g. abusive relationships), I have developed a passion to bring awareness to the destructiveness of schooling and to learning from the world rather than what others want us to know and believe about it. Incorporated with autobiographical narrative, I trace both the historical and current reasons behind the establishment and maintenance of mass …

A Research Assistant's Perceived Skillset When Utilizing Deception, Ahmad Sarris

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The use of deception in research has been a long-debated topic for several decades. Generally, research on deception has concerned its justifications, common methods, controversies, and uses inside and outside the broad field of psychology. Although the bulk of this research is typically concerned with exploring the potential drawbacks and controversies of deception on participants, the potential advantages and disadvantages to those implementing it has not been explored. More specifically, there are unanswered questions about what skills can be gained or perceived to be gained by research assistants utilizing deception. The present study explored whether deception utilization and/or the presence …

An Exploration Of Depression In African American Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: Symptoms, Coping Strategies And The Potential Benefits Of Religiosity, Delores P. Quasie-Woode

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Depressive symptoms in adults with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) often go unrecognized and untreated. SCD is one of the most common inherited hemoglobin disorders in the United States, affecting 1 in 365 African Americans. Individuals with SCD and co-morbid Depression lead to high hospitalization rates and healthcare utilization. The objective of this study is to explore depressive symptoms and preferred coping strategies among African American Adults with SCD. Furthermore, the aim is to explore the acceptability of religiosity among those who self-identify as religious.

Interviews were conducted with 30 African American adults, recruited during their hematology appointment at the Center …

The Language Of Trauma In Roxane Gay's Hunger: A Memoir Of (My) Body, Cydney Price

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis uses the language and structure of Roxane Gay’s Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, in tandem with other works of literature, to examine the relationship between Blackness, fatness, womanhood, and trauma. Among other things, this thesis attempts to draw a connection between Deborah King’s concept of multiple jeopardy and the lived experiences of several different traumas. Also, this these works to highlight the usefulness of the memoir genre as teaching tool in classrooms with students of all ages. I ague that Gay’s memoir is a subversion of the typical weight-loss memoir and is instead a social commentary on …

Risk Factors And Trends In Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns In Strains Of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Following Changes In The Cdc Sexually Transmitted Disease (Std) Treatment Guidelines – United States, 2012-2018, Niketta A. Womack

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Antimicrobial resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) has become a major global public health concern in the 21st century. Surveillance activities are essential in identifying risk factors in priority populations. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors associated with and trends in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in N. gonorrhoeae strains identified through the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP). A study sample of 37,157 men was evaluated to measure adherence to changes in CDC’s STD treatment guidelines in 2012 and 2015. Data were analyzed to measure associations between independent and dependent variables by conducting bivariate and logistic regression …

Influence Of Political Affiliation On Perceived Media Bias And Trustworthiness In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tabitha Lamberth

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Partisanship and news source attribution may influence perceived media bias and trust in COVID-19 information. This study aimed to explore how the similarity liking effect relates to political identity and perceived credibility. Our main hypothesis was that individuals would find news sources that shared their political affiliation as more trustworthy than other news sources. To test our hypothesis, 216 undergraduate students participated in a study that measured participants’ trustworthiness of a news article with randomized source attribution from a liberal, conservative, and neutral source. A 2X3 ANOVA tested the relationship between our participants’ political affiliation, measured by the 12-item Social …

School Leaders' And Teachers' Perceptions Of Preparedness For The Online K - 12 Setting, Deirdre Daniels

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Nearly half of new teachers leave the profession within five years of employment, and most would not recommend teaching as a profession. A shortage of highly effective teachers continues in public schools across the nation; hence, meaningful professional development needs to be implemented to adequately prepare teachers for the classroom, and this is further compounded in the online setting. The goal of this study was to ascertain school leaders’ and teachers’ perceptions of preparedness for an online K – 12 school by examining perceptions of preparedness in three categories: student learning and engagement, curriculum and instruction, and data driven decision-making. …

Numerical Approximation Of Lyapunov Exponents And Its Applications In Control Systems, Nakita K. Andrews

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The progression of state trajectories with respect to time, and its stability properties can be described by a system of nonlinear differential equations. However, since most nonlinear dynamical systems cannot be solved by hand, one must rely on computer simulations to observe the behavior of the system. This work focuses on chaotic systems. The Lyapunov Exponent (LE) is frequently used in the quantitative studies of a chaotic system. Lyapunov exponents give the average rate of separation of nearby orbits in phase space, which can be used to determine the state of a system, e.g. stable or unstable. The objective of …

Effective Weather Messaging: Applying The Bad News Response Model To Hurricane Warnings, April S. Carr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Sweeny and Shepperd (2007, 2009) proposed the Bad News Response Model (BNRM), outlining three effective responses (i.e., Watchful Waiting, Active Change, Acceptance) as a function of the perceived controllability, likelihood, and severity of bad news. In the current study, we have adapted the BNRM, previously used in health-related scenarios, to explore the relationship between message content and responses in the context of hurricane warnings. Participants viewed hurricane warnings manipulated by severity (Category 1 vs. Category 5) and the inclusion of call-to-action statements (CTAs). The present study attempted to evaluate the effects of severity and controllability on participants’ engagement in desirable …

Creating A Georgia Southern Spider Collection: Can Dna Barcoding Help?, Guy B. Hobbs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With over 280 spider (Araneae) species recorded within the State of Georgia, USA, the need for a well-documented natural history collection with a usable voucher system is critical to continually assess spider diversity and their future ecological impact in this region. Spider identification can be daunting for the inexperienced taxonomist; it is time consuming and sometimes requires destructive procedures. Previous works have successfully used an alternative method, DNA barcoding, to correctly identify spider species while preserving their morphology. This study set forth to create the core of a well-documented spider collection within Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Coastal Plain Science …

Counternarratives Of Students With Dis/Abilities In One Rural School District, Christy M. Descartes

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the educational experience of students with dis/abilities who are excluded from the general education classroom in one rural Georgia school district. Theoretically my dissertation research builds on critical disability studies (Erevelles 2000, 2002, 2005, 2015; also Annamma 2018; Tremain 2005), critical geography (Harvey 2000; Helfenbein, Jr. 2004; Soja 1989, 2010), and curriculum studies (Maudlin 2008; Snowber 2016; Springgay & Freedman 2008; Swanson 2008). Methodologically building on counternarrative inquiry (Bell 1999; Delgado 1989; He & Ayers 2009; He & Ross 2015; He, Ross, & Seay 2015; Solórzano & Yosso 2002), art-based research (Barone & Eisner 2006; …

The Devaluation Of Career Technical Education (Cte) By The Graduates Of Wonderwood High School, Jason J. Weiss

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In Georgia, high school graduates are expected to be college and career ready, however due to recent educational legislative changes the focus has been placed on being college ready. These modifications have led to a low number of graduates completing a Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway as well as a low number of graduates passing their CTE End-of-Pathway assessments and earning industry credentials. To assist in determining the factors that have led to the devaluation of CTE by Georgia graduates, a critical qualitative inquiry study was conducted on a sample of 13 graduates from Wonderwood High School, in South Heights, …

Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Health: Ncaa Division I Coaches' Experiences, Perceived Role, And Barriers, Kelsey Kinnamon

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The opportunity for coaches to play an important role in supporting student-athlete mental health has been increasingly identified (Biggin et al., 2017; Gulliver et al., 2013; Henrikson et al., 2020). Findings suggest that coaches have the potential to help identify athletes who may benefit from mental health services, as well as foster an environment supportive of mental health and help-seeking (Bapat et al., 2009; Bissett et al., 2020). Recommendations have been set forth regarding how coaches may best engage in their role of supporting mental health, however, the literature lacks evidence of what collegiate coaches are actually doing to support …

Novel Quantification And Localization Of Water And Solute Transporters In The Tissues Of The Spiney Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), Tolulope B. Ojo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The dogfish, Squalus acanthias is a marine cartilaginous elasmobranch found in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Dogfish synthesize and excrete urea as a product of nitrogen metabolism. They also convert ammonia into urea and retain this urea, such that their plasma is isosmotic or slightly hyperosmotic to the surrounding seawater. To facilitate the regulation of body fluid and to maintain ionic concentrations and osmotic pressure, Dogfish use ion and solute transporters (e.g., NCC, UT-1) and aquaporin water channel proteins. Studies have identified some of the aquaporin genes in the elasmobranch genome, but their functions are mostly uncharacterized. Recent transcriptomic …

Mothering Through Our Pain: Single Black Mothers’ Narratives, Yolanda E. Surrency

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Black women’s voices and historical contributions have been dismissed, and even excluded, making it difficult for their cultural knowledge to be transmitted to future generations. Black women battle with an unsettled consciousness from subscribing to the normalization of what dominant culture defines as good mothering. This study uses Black feminism to examine single Black mothers who navigate the negative images of the welfare queen and the matriarch. This narrative study uses Black feminism to examine the stories of single, Black mothers and their daughters. The purpose is to investigate Black mothers’ lived experiences to understand their struggles and resistance. Purposeful …

Teaching With Passion And Compassion In Challenging Times: A Narrative Inquiry Into Elementary Teachers' Experiences In Georgia, Erin Scroggs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explores how teachers maintain their passion and compassion for teaching in spite of the impact of work-related challenges and subsequent obstacles upon their personal and professional lives. While much research has been conducted into teacher stress, very little has been done to connect the effects of stress on teachers’ health and passions for teaching. Abby, Nick, Passion, and Anna, four elementary school teachers from different areas, counties, schools, and school districts in the State of Georgia, participated in the study. Theoretically, I draw upon an array of works such as teaching towards freedom (Ayers, 2004, 2010, 2016), teachers …

Free-Roaming Cat Abundance Across A Habitat Gradient, Rachel E. Bird

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

There are an estimated 172 million owned and feral cats in the United States, and wildlife enthusiasts and cat owners are often at odds over how best to manage free-roaming cats. Management is needed because of the documented impacts of free-ranging cats on wildlife. Targeting these management efforts, however, is hampered by an imperfect understanding of cat distribution in the landscape. My study used game cameras and capture-recapture sampling to estimate abundance of free-roaming cats across a habitat gradient in Bulloch County, Georgia, USA. In all, I detected cats at 51% (25/49) sites with a mean of 2.1 cats per …

The Effects Of Habitat Fragmentation On Avian Mobbing Behavior, Jada T. Daniels

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Habitat fragmentation has negative effects on bird species diversity, as well as reproductive success of some species. However, there is little comparative information on the effect it may have on bird behavior. For example, small forest fragments are likely to have fewer bird species and individuals. This may limit the success of mobbing as an antipredator behavior because mobbing success depends on recruiting other birds to the group. This possibility has never been tested. The objective of my study is to quantify the effects of forest size on mobbing behavior in forest-dwelling birds. Mobbing behavior was elicited in 100 randomly …

Rhetorical Body Work: Professional Embodiment In Health Provider Education And The Technical Writing Classroom, Lillian Campbell

English Faculty Research and Publications

This article introduces “rhetorical body work” as a framework for understanding professional embodiment in health provider education and technical and professional communication (TPC) pedagogy. Using the case study of clinical nursing simulations and drawing on sociological theory, I provide a detailed analysis of three components of rhetorical body work as they manifest in three simulation scenarios: physical, emotional, and discursive. I conclude by considering the implications of these findings for the embodied teaching of TPC.

Debating Persuasion, Melissa J. Ganz

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.