Digital Commons Network^™

The Silence Of Noise, Sasi Valiveti

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Trauma In Weird Literature: Weird Experiences And Neuropsychiatric Conditions, Mijin Cho

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This study aims to explore the element of trauma or shock in weird fiction using H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour out of Space” as the focal text. I am interested in the cognitive estrangement and body disfigurement following encounters with the weird, which in this case would be the meteorite’s Colour, on the characters experiencing it in the story, including the Gardners and Ammi. The goal is to investigate our reactions to being pushed past our thresholds as human beings using analysis of characters, diction, and rhetoric in weird fiction stories and non-fiction patient narratives to better understand how weird …

A Three-Dimensional In Vitro Model Of Disease That Improves Preclinical Research By Incorporating Genetic Diversity And Increasing Physiological Accuracy, Akash Jagdeesh

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Biomedical research is essential for the discovery of new medications and treatments, and is built upon the cooperation of preclinical (in vitro/vivo) research and clinical trials. However, 85% of treatments successful in vitro/vivo fail in clinical trials, suggesting that in vitro models are poor indicators of clinical success. The issue lies in conventional “two-dimensional” in vitro models containing genetically identical cells grown on a flat plate, which lack the variety of cell types and cooperation/structure found in real tissue. Moreover, 2D in vitro models do not simulate humans’ genotypic variability, which affects both pathophysiology and treatment effectiveness. In contrast, 3D …

Catecholamine Signaling In Ca1 Correlates With Novelty, Movement, And Sleep State, Meenakshi Kakani

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) signaling in the hippocampus are important for normal learning and memory. Genetically-encoded fluorescent indicators of catecholamine binding allow for imaging real-time neurotransmitter dynamics. Previous microdialysis studies have found an increase in hippocampal catecholamines in response to novel environmental exposure or exercise. Since animals move in response to contextual novelty, it is unknown whether the changes in transmitter release are due to novelty or other changes in behavior or arousal. Outside of the hippocampus, arousal, novelty detection, reward, and sleep state are all related to catecholamine signaling. In this study, we use the fluorescent indicators GRAB-DA …

Disability Accommodation And Improving Accessibility In Public Transportation, Alexander Burdette

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This paper addresses the need for accessibility in public transportation from a disabled perspective, focusing on four key areas wherein states can enact meaningful change. These areas as specified are physical accessibility, which concerns the built and engineered environment of public transit and surrounding areas; informational accessibility, which concerns the availability and clarity of information passengers need to navigate transit; management accessibility, which refers to the way information processing is handled by transit agencies when exchanging information with transit users; and social accessibility, which deals with the interpersonal environment that public transit creates and facilitates. Specific areas of attention are …

Originalism & Judicially-Enacted Religious Exemptions: Revisiting Employment Division Of Oregon V. Smith, Eric Russell Coykendall

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In the 1963 case Sherbert v. Verner , the Supreme Court read the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause to mean that, in certain cases, religious believers should be exempted from otherwise applicable laws. In 1990, the Supreme Court essentially overturned that framework in the case Employment Division of Oregon v. Smith . The Smith case has proved quite controversial, and numerous public-interest law firms, especially those that defend religious litigants, have regularly asked the Court to overturn it in favor of a re-application of the Sherbert precedent. Their contention is often that the Smith ruling is inconsistent with the original …

The Specter Of Representation: Computational Images And Algorithmic Capitalism, Samine Joudat

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The processes of computation and automation that produce digitized objects have displaced the concept of an image once conceived through optical devices such as a photographic plate or a camera mirror that were invented to accommodate the human eye. Computational images exist as information within networks mediated by machines. They are increasingly less about what art history understands as representation or photography considers indexing and more an operational product of data processing.

Through genealogical, theoretical, and practice-based investigation, this dissertation project traces a lineage of computation through images from early cybernetics to contemporary machine learning under algorithmic capitalist conditions of …

Conceptualizations Of Data Visualization Use Beyond Efficiency In Evaluation, Sarah Douville

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Data visualization (data viz) is a valuable tool within evaluation for its ability to aid cognitive efficiency over text-based presentation of data (Card et. al., 1999; Evergreen, 2017, 2018; Few, 2012; Nussbaumer Knaflic, 2015; Tufte 2001). This exploratory multi-phase mixed methods research study considers purposes for using data viz in evaluation that can be achieved with that increased efficiency through the research question: “What conceptualizations of data viz use do program evaluators have beyond increased efficiency?”

In Phase I, secondary analysis of existing interview data with experts in both data viz and evaluation was used to better understand conceptualizations of …

Reaching Across The Divide: Tools For Bridging Structural And Viral Genomics Using A Combination Of Biophysical Principles And Machine Learning, Diana Yvette Lee

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Bacteriophages are the most ubiquitous biological entity on the planet, but most viruses found in nature cannot be cultured in the laboratory and encode genes whose sequences lack similarity with current nucleotide and protein databases. New predictive methods are thus necessary to determine the phenotype of viruses. In this work, we leverage the physical geometrical constraints of viruses to quantify the correlation between the geometric and genomic characteristics of tailed phages, and predict physical features such as architecture and genome length of uncultured viruses using allometric models and machine learning algorithms. Here, we present a model to predict the T-number …

From The Inside Out: Excavating The Performing Arts Society Of Los Angeles, Wilfred Joseph Doucet Iii

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This work examines the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA), one of several cultural arts responses to the 1965 Watts Rebellion. Fundamentally, this work seeks to restore to memory and discourse the work of the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles, its founder Motojicho Vantile Whitfield, and the PASLA Community Players. The Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles demonstrated a dynamic praxis in the South Central Los Angeles community, expressed through the organization’s motto, “social growth through the performing arts.” The Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles offered workshops in the literary, performance and technical aspects of drama and …

The Influence Of Religion In Frantz Fanon’S Decolonial Theory And Ethics On Violence, Dorival Pimenta Do Nascimento

CGU Theses & Dissertations

How does religious language influence Frantz Fanon’s Decolonial theory and ethics onviolence in the struggle for decolonization and disalienation? This is the question I address in this dissertation carefully observing Patrick Crowley's mention of the presence of religious language in Fanon's work. Crowley’s argument is that Fanon’s thought is apocalyptical in structure and is marked by a dramatic sense of temporality prior to his arrival in Algeria. Crowley develops his article focusing on the messianic question, while the religious language in Fanon's work he ends up relegating to a second plan. In this sense, this dissertation is developed with the …

“The Scientist Is Wrong”: Joseph Fielding Smith, George Mccready Price, And The Ascent Of Creationist Thought Among Latter-Day Saints In The Twentieth Century, Thomas Benjamin Spackman

CGU Theses & Dissertations

At the beginning of the twentieth century, leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took a wary but open position regarding the burgeoning science of evolution. By the end of the century, Latter-day Saints had effectively become old-earth creationists. Through implicit hermeneutical framing and explicit statements, Church-published interpretive materials created a strong perception of a Church orthodoxy; scripture might allow for an old earth, but nothing died before the fall of Adam c. 4000 BC. Such a time frame ruled out the possibility of the evolution of plants, animals, and humans, and attributed the formation of fossils …

A Musically Enhanced Self-Inquiry (Mesi) Of Being & Becoming A Validating Agent For Students In Hispanic Serving Institutions And Myself: A Mesi Multimodal Critical Autoethnography, Naomi Ramirez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Through a musically enhanced self-inquiry (MESI), I reflect on factors and experiences that have impacted the ways in which I think about enact being a validating agent for students at Hispanic Serving Institutions and myself. Validation theory (Rendón, 1994) frames the need for faculty, as acting validating agents, to self- reflect and confront their own biases and assumptions that shape their classroom practices, attitudes, and pedagogy. The MESI methodology that I designed draws from arts-informed methods and methodologies, musically enhanced narrative inquiry, self-inquiry and critical autoethnography. Two forms of analysis are used. The first form of analysis is guided by …

Treading Our Path Through The Blood Of The Slaughtered: Race And Martyrdom In America, 1830-1968, Katherine J. Veach

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The United States has a longstanding practice of ascribing the language and imagery of martyrdom to political and cultural figures, resulting in a variegated canon of American martyrs outside the strict bounds of religious tradition. As a contribution to religious studies, American studies and African American studies, this dissertation identifies and examines the language, imagery and trajectory of the strain of American cultural martyrdom I term “Black American martyrdom.” I trace the genealogy of Black American martyrdom from the 1830s, when martyrdom rhetoric flourished among the zealous Northeastern immediate abolitionists, to the 1960s, when Martin Luther King, Jr. influentially cast …

Can The Giving Pledge Reduce Wealth Inequality In The United States?, Sarah Bianchi

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Public Lands As An Incubator For Innovation In The Modern Consumer Economy, Brenton Villasenor

Loyola Consumer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Henderson And The Objective Observer Standard: The Future Of Race-Conscious Standards Post-Students For Fair Admissions, Gabriela Dionisio

Seattle University Law Review

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, which struck down race-conscious admissions policies. Within just a year after its ruling, Students for Fair Admissions has already had a sweeping impact, reaching beyond higher education. Although the Supreme Court did not indicate whether Students for Fair Admissions applies to sectors beyond higher education, law firms, and other employers have already modified their diversity policies and initiatives, erasing race and company diversity considerations. Given those dramatic changes, there is growing fear that Students for Fair Admissions …

Same Crime, Different Time: Sentencing Disparities In The Deep South & A Path Forward Under The Fourteenth Amendment, Hailey M. Donovan

Seattle University Law Review

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. The American obsession with crime and punishment can be tracked over the last half-century, as the nation’s incarceration rate has risen astronomically. Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people in the United States has increased more than sevenfold to over 2.3 million, outpacing both crime and population growth considerably. While the rise itself is undoubtedly bleak, a more troubling truth lies just below the surface. Not all states contribute equally to American mass incarceration. Rather, states have vastly different incarceration rates. Unlike at the federal level, …

Deconstructing Concepts About Nature: An Alternative Perspective For Ecofeminism Based On The Rights Of Nature, Leslie Terrones

PEEL Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Grace House Akron Volunteer Information And Training Kit, Lilly Wright

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Grace House Akron is a non-profit organization that provides housing and care to people on hospice who are homeless, living in indignant conditions, or do not have an able and/or willing caregiver. Over the course of Grace House’s first year in operation, they have worked alongside over 200 volunteers. Now, they are seeking to expand the demographic makeup of these volunteers. The objective of this project is to create a deliverable volunteer kit that will include 4 sections: Introduction, In-House Volunteering, Out-of-House Volunteering, and Reference Materials. This kit will streamline the process of onboarding volunteers by introducing them to the …

A Computerized Mastitis Classification Aid Using A Dairy Herd-Based Records: Multi-Layer Perceptron (Mlp) Neural Network With Backpropagation Approach, Ahmed M. Gad Prof, Dina Faris De, Sherif Ramadan Prof, Ghada Afifi Dr, Eman Manaa Prof, Mahmoud El-Tarabany Prof

Business Administration

The main objective of this study is to develop an efficient machine learning-based model for the early prediction of clinical mastitis in Holstein Friesian dairy cattle where automatic milking system (AMS) data is used. The model aims to offer a costless opportunity for mastitis control and reduce its negative impact on livestock production. Different forward multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks with backpropagation (BP) learning algorithms using various numbers of hidden neurons and epochs have been introduced. The results of the established models are evaluated based on different metrics such as the accuracy, the F1 core, the precision, the recall, and …

Decomposing The Complex Practice Of Whole Class Instructional Decision Making, Lara Dick, Melissa M. Soto, Mollie Appelgate, Dittika Gupta

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Illustrations, Comics And Graphic Novels From The Uae, Sarah Nesti Willard

Books and Book Chapters

This chapter overviews emergent communities of illustrations, comics, and graphic narratives from the United Arab Emirates. The data collected is from ethnographic online and on-site observations and direct interactions with Emirati artists and publishers. It briefly discusses how comics and graphic narratives have evolved in the last 20 years, and it elucidates how these art forms avail social media to gain prominence and recognition. It then introduces a group of 21 Emirati artists, all different in style and concept, who have been chosen to represent a new illustrative trend: Khaleeji comics and illustrations. Their first group exhibition is with the …

Mass Political Murder: What And Where Is The Hate?, Clark Mccauley

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

This article explores the meaning and importance of hate in intergroup conflict, especially in conflict that moves to genocide or politicide. Review of controversies in defining hate leads to definition of hate as an extreme form of negative identification that includes perception of bad essence. Negative identification is inverse caring for others, as seen in studies of schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. Studies of dehumanization suggest that two forms of bad essence can be distinguished: evil human (entitativity essentializing) and infrahuman animal (natural kind essentializing). Studies also show that those who essentialize more are more ready to punish indiscriminately all …

The Power Of Polish: Exploring The Impact Of Nail Adornments On Perceptions Of Attraction, Sara Demichele

Honors Theses

Understanding the significance of nail adornments in shaping perceptions of attractiveness and mate value provides insights into human behavior and preferences. In the current investigation, participants rated human nail length and color on physical attractiveness and partner desirability measures. Results revealed significant effects of nail length and color across different demographic groups. Medium-length nails consistently received higher ratings for physical attractiveness, cuteness, and partner desirability compared to short and long nails. White-colored nails were generally rated most attractive, while blue and black nails received the lowest ratings. Additionally, participants reported a moderate association between having manicured nails and feelings of …

2024 Section 5 Revisions: The Voyage Home Or The Wrath Of Khan?, Karl T. Muth, Avery E. Bowen

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Retribution Without Rehabilitation: How The “Troubled Teen Industry” Infringes On The Rights Of Privately Placed Youth, Elizabeth Morgan

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap: Effective Strategies To Engage Emerging Adults In The Church, Tara P. Bulger

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study intended to identify effective strategies to engage emerging adults in the church because research and the researcher’s experience noticed a decline in emerging adults’ attendance in church. This led to the exploration of scripture for biblical themes for reaching the next generation, and a review of current and relevant literature on emerging adulthood, ministry strategies for emerging adults, reasons for their lack of engagement, and intergenerational ministry best practices. A qualitative case study was conducted using a questionnaire and an interview guide. The research used data from 36 emerging adults ages 18-38-years-old, and three senior pastors of intergenerational …

"Other Inhumane Acts Of A Similar Character Intentionally Causing Great Suffering." Does Ecocide Fit Within The Bounds Of Crimes Against Humanity, Amanda Price

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Human And Viral Il-6 On Kshv Infection In Human Tonsil Lymphocytes, Wajd Zakir

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

Infection of B cells by the lymphotropic gamma-herpesvirus Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) causes Multicentric Castleman Disease, Primary Effusion Lymphoma, and the newly-identified inflammatory syndrome designated KICS. Despite proven connections to lymphoproliferative disorders, little is known about how KSHV invades the human immune system or the early events governing infection in B lymphocytes. IL-6 signaling plays a critical role in KSHV-mediated disease, where elevated hIL-6 levels are positively associated with KSHV viral load and disease progression. This dynamic is even more complex due to the co-existence of human IL-6 (hIL6) and KSHV-encoded viral IL-6 (vIL6) in these diseases. Although the impact …