Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Adaptive Potential Of Leaf Variegation In Two Dimorphic Hexastylis Species, Cierra N. Sullivan

All Dissertations

Variegated leaves with disjointed, patterned coloration of the leaf blade are often hypothesized to have decreased photosynthetic capacity in comparison to uniformly colored leaves. Yet, many forest understory plants in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates possess leaf variegation. Moreover, mixed findings from previous research on the physiological impacts of leaf variegation suggest variegation is adaptative under certain environmental conditions despite decreased photosynthetic tissue area. I take an eco-physiological approach to investigate agents of selection maintaining a leaf variegation polymorphism in Hexastylis, which has both quantitative and qualitative variation in variegation. First, I conduct field surveys of morph frequencies, quantitative …

Me, Not-Me: Voice Note Use Predicts Self-Voice Recognition And Liking, Justin Thomas, Jigar Jogia, Mariapaola Barbato, Richard Bentall

All Works

Voice notes, spoken messages recorded and sent via smartphones, have become a widespread means of communication. A likely consequence of this situation is that voice note users become more frequently exposed to recordings of their own voices (self-voices). This correlational study examined if frequent exposure to recordings of the self-voice via voice note replay was associated with improved self-voice recognition (accuracy and response latency) and self-voice liking. Participants (N = 128), regular voice note users, reported voice note replay frequency. They also reported self-voice satisfaction/liking. Finally, participants completed a novel self-voice recognition task, where, across 20 trials, they identified whether …

Patterning Synthesis Of Lead Halide Perovskites Toward Photonic Application, S. M. Nayeem Arefin

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Lead halide perovskites (LHPs) are a fascinating class of photonic materials with the potential to revolutionize various optoelectronic applications. Their diverse crystal structures, ranging from 0D to 3D configurations, offer a unique combination of properties, including high tunability and ease of synthesis. However, their inherent instability and the difficulty of patterning them into sophisticated photonic structures using conventional methods present a significant hurdle to their widespread applications. This thesis addresses these challenges by proposing a novel synthesis method that combines soft lithography and self-assembly. By utilizing a patterned template with controlled wettability, precise manipulation of LHP crystal formation is achieved, …

Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Treatment Is Effective At Sterilizing Metal Surfaces For Planetary Protection, Kaleb Mcquillan

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To prevent forward contamination from microbes aboard spacecraft intended for exploration of solar system bodies there is a need for effective sterilization methods. However, current techniques are both time-consuming and expensive. For example, dry heat sterilization requires removal from the assembly site and several days of treatment. Furthermore, some components such as optics and electronics are not compatible with current sterilization techniques. In this thesis, a novel femtosecond laser surface processing technique for the rapid sterilization of spacecraft hardware is reported. Femtosecond lasers produce extremely high photon fluxes (10²⁹ photons/s*cm², ~0.03 J/cm²) in extremely short …

Illuminating Women’S Interwar Australian Ghosts Stories In A Tabletop Roleplaying Game - Methods, Processes And Aesthetics, Matthew Sparksman

Postgraduate

Australian voices are underrepresented in international media, particularly in the medium of Tabletop roleplaying games. Women’s voices and access to publishing media were rapidly retaken by men after the Great War, including the mediums of Ghost Stories, Film, and other media (Handasyde, 2017, p.18; Ohri, 2018, p.386). This can also be illustrated in the shift in archetypes of ghostly tales to be dominated by that of the “suffering and sacrificed male exiled to death far from home” (Kelly cited in Carleton, 2015, p.21; Kelly, 2007, 18). It is therefore important that we seek to find and value such artefacts that …

Law School News: If There's Life, There's Hope (August 2024), Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Nurturing Stability: Exploring The Relationship Between Child Welfare Workers’ Well-Being And The Impact It Has On Retention, Maritza Acosta-Gay

Education Doctoral

Child welfare workers are critical in ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and families. However, the demanding and emotionally taxing nature of their work has led to high turnover rates, impacting workforce stability and service quality. This study explored the complex relationship between child welfare workers’ well-being and job retention, seeking to uncover factors influencing their decision to remain in or leave the profession.

This qualitative phenomenological study employed one-to-one semi-structured interviews and thematic data analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of the firsthand experiences and insights of child welfare workers regarding their professional challenges and motivations. Participants …

An Examination Of Counseling Barriers Related To Black Individuals With An Incarcerated Relative, Andre Jc Stokes

Education Doctoral

Research has indicated that mental health within the Black community has been a consistent challenge. Mistrust, systemic racism, socioeconomic challenges, incarceration, and self-resiliency through faith have impacted the Black community’s mental health. Although mental health education and awareness have increased, Black individuals have continued to progress at lower rates compared to other races. The study’s purpose was to examine the experiences of Black individuals with an incarcerated family member in seeking and accessing mental health counseling in New York State by asking the research question and sub-question. What are the lived experiences of Black individuals with an incarcerated immediate family …

A Descriptive Qualitative Study Exploring Parent Involvement With Intervention Supports Provided To Children Receiving Early Childhood Special Education Services, Courtney A. Johnson

Education Doctoral

Parent involvement in a child’s education is proven to have positive effects on children’s academic careers (Eccles, 2005; Hara & Burke, 1998; Hill & Craft, 2003), with parent involvement in early childhood education programs playing an essential role in the life-long success rate and education of children (Jacobson, 2004). However, although New York City’s students are not meeting expected benchmarks, parent involvement in educational design and child development has not been leveraged to support student achievement. Epstein (1985) breaks parent involvement in a child’s life into six categories: (a) parenting, (b) communicating, (c) volunteering, (d) learning at home, (e) decision-making, …

Relationship Between School Counselor Multicultural Counseling Competence And School Counselor Consultation, Tamia H. Randolph-Alvarez

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Professional counseling, as represented by associations responsible for setting standards and best practices in the profession, indicates that school counselors need to be prepared to engage in practices that result in systems-wide change. According to the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision [ACES] (2023), these practices include systems-based practices, multicultural competence, and consultation. However, research reveals that school counselors are not being prepared to utilize multicultural consultation (Chowela et al., 2020), defined as a systems-based practice (Hoffman et al., 2006) in this study. The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2023) suggests that counseling graduate programs’ …

Acculturation, Well-Being And Identity Of Oromo Immigrants, Hawi M. Wako

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between racial and ethnic identity, acculturative stress, and well-being for first generation Oromo immigrants. Studies regarding immigration, acculturative stress, identity, and well-being have primarily centered on Hispanics, Asians, and Caribbean individuals, but there has been a lack of attention toward Black African immigrants, including Oromo immigrants. The lack of inquiry into Black African immigrants, especially Oromo immigrants, creates a perception that all immigrants are the same, leading to a generic approach toward immigrant interventions and falls short of meeting the unique mental health needs of specific African communities.

Immigrants must …

How Local Interactions Give Rise To Large-Scale Conformational Changes In Proteins: A Molecular Dynamics Study, Shadi A. Badiee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are dynamic entities that undergo conformational changes essential for their biological functions. These structural changes often correspond with chemical events such as lipid interactions or environmental changes like protonation or acidification. Understanding the complex relationship between these chemical perturbations and the resultant mechanical responses is crucial for elucidating protein mechanisms. This dissertation investigates the chemo-mechanical coupling in the conformational dynamics of the bacterial ABC transporter Sav1866 and the impact of protonation on the Influenza virus hemagglutinin HA0. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we explore the conformational landscapes of Sav1866 and HA0. Our study examines how varying lipid compositions affect the …

To Each Their Own: The Relationship Among Regret, Habits, And Academic Performance In College Students, Chandler Ann Findley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The extant literature on regret as motivation for behavior presents inconclusive results, collectively. While it has often been agreed that regret motivates reparative action, most studies from the past 14 years indicate that regret may motivate either detrimental actions or, more commonly, no action at all. There also appears to be no published research about college students’ academic regrets or how these regrets affect their classroom behaviors and performance. Therefore, this dissertation seeks to understand if college students regret their academic habits, what those habits are, and how their regrets and habits contribute to their academic performance over the course …

Examining Ethnic-Racial Socialization As A Predictor Of Resilience And Ethnic-Racial Stress In Hispanic/Latine Young Adults, Adrian Josue Hernandez

Dissertations

Multiple scholars have emphasized the importance of elucidating how Hispanic/Latine individuals are socialized to navigate issues pertaining to ethnic-racial identity, such as ethnicracial stress from racism and discrimination (Ayón et al., 2020; Umaña-Taylor & Rivas-Drake, 2021). Ethnic-racial stress has been linked to numerous adverse physical and mental health outcomes among Hispanic/Latine people, including poor health-related quality of life and increased depressive symptoms (Alamilla et al., 2010; Andrade et al., 2021).

Attention to the role of ethnic-racial stress in exacerbating health disparities within Hispanic/Latine communities has also stimulated increased interest in understanding Hispanic/Latine resilience (Arce et al., 2020; Bosma et al., …

Counselor Education Doctoral Student Supervisors’ Preparedness To Address Indirect Trauma: Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, And Vicarious Trauma, Dynetta Clark

Dissertations

Hearing the painful stories of clients (indirect trauma) has been described as an occupational hazard for professionals working with trauma survivors and is becoming more common among mental health professionals. This might include counselors struggling with intrusive thoughts and having flashbacks of victimization, counselors viewing the world as an unsafe and unpredictable place, and/or counselors experiencing a loss of ability to empathize with clients. Clinical supervision is documented as an effective strategy to reduce the adverse effects of indirect trauma symptomology. A signature component of most counselor education and supervision doctoral programs is the training and preparation of students to …

Black Women’S Instagram Usage And Body Dissatisfaction, Shirlee Buchanan Moore Jr.

Dissertations

Within U.S. culture, girls and women of all ages are subject to experiencing body dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction often results from direct comparison of one’s body to others, often via media depictions. Viewing these images prompts women of all cultures to engage in social comparison and learn to view themselves through an observer’s perspective. The advent of contemporary social media has increased the accessibility of images of others and, subsequently, social comparison of one’s body to others. Research has noted that women of all racial backgrounds utilize social media and experience varying degrees of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their bodies. Despite …

Relationship Enhancement With New College Dating Couples: An Examination Of Self-Report And Observational Data, Kyra Katte

Dissertations

The present dissertation project investigated relationship enhancement following a brief self-disclosure task (i.e., the Fast Friends Procedure; FFP) via self-report and observational data. Thirty-three undergraduate couples dating for less than six months asked and answered questions that required increasingly higher levels of self-disclosure for 45 minutes. Interactions were recorded and coded for fondness/admiration, experiential avoidance, interdependence, reciprocity, and relationship satisfaction. Relationship outcomes were assessed pre-FFP, post- FFP, and at a six-month follow-up timepoint. Variables measured via observation demonstrated correlations with and predicted relationship outcomes, though most findings were nonsignificant. Nonsignificant findings may be attributed to the virtual administration of the …

A Comparison Of Training Approaches On Skill Acquisition Among Direct Care Staff At An Adult Day Program, Sandra Wagner

Dissertations

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often dependent on direct care staff to engage in daily activities, such as personal care, eating, and engaging in leisure activities. One way direct care staff can support adults with IDD to become more independent is by using prompting strategies. Often times, however, direct care staff have not been trained on how to use prompts to encourage independence. Current studies have demonstrated success in teaching direct care staff prompting strategies in personal care tasks (e.g., Engelman et al., 2002; Parsons et al., 1993) through behavioral skills training. Although the trainings produced an …

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - August 2024, The George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Telemedicine: Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Telemedicine, Carleton T. Brown

All Dissertations

Telemedicine is a rapidly evolving health treatment capability that offers an efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional medical care. Providing access to alternative medical treatment may mitigate the population’s stress on the medical infrastructure in the upcoming decades. This study investigated the factors influencing patient adoption of telemedicine, including patient experiences and economic considerations. A quantitative survey explored patient population’s intention to utilize telemedicine, focusing on factors influencing the patients’ decision-making processes. Analyzing the survey results, the researcher focused on five main variables: exposure to telemedicine, age, loss of income, trust in doctors, and time lost. The research findings offer …

Investigating The Role Of Insulin-Like Signaling In Paclitaxel-Induced Nociceptive Hypersensitivity Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Sreepradha Sridharan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Paclitaxel (PTX), a chemotherapeutic that alters microtubule dynamics, is known to induce nociceptive hypersensitivity and sensory neuron damage in human patients and in Drosophila larvae. We used a modified feeding protocol to establish a genetically tractable Drosophila model of PTX-induced hypersensitivity. Larvae fed PTX exhibited hypersensitivity to thermal and mechanical stimuli. Thermal hypersensitivity was observed at low concentrations of PTX (even below 1 μM per ml of food), begins within 8 hours of PTX feeding, and did not completely resolve at the larval stage. Live imaging of peripheral thermal nociceptors showed that this hypersensitivity precedes observable neuronal damage. At low …

The Effects Of An Acute Dose Of Cannabidiol On Health And Two-Mile Time Trial Performance, Elyssa Bell

Master's Theses

As more studies exploring the therapeutic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in both clinical and non-clinical populations continue to increase, there is a renewed interest in the ability of CBD to affect performance. In fact, many anecdotal reports in the media and online suggest that CBD may improve performance. Unfortunately, very few studies support these claims and research in the area is limited. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of an acute dose of CBD on anxiety symptoms, GI distress, heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), blood lactate (BL) rate of perceived …

Determining Spatiotemporal Regulation Of Actin Dynamics In Choroid Fissure Closure, Cristal Gonzalez

Master's Theses

There are several stages of development necessary for proper vision. During vertebrate eye development, early eye morphology progresses in three stages: optic cup morphogenesis, basement membrane breakdown, and tissue fusion. Eye development is an intricate collaboration between many cells and requires tissues to migrate and bridge together. The following research investigates the Danio Rerio eye development to understand the molecular regulation of choroid fissure closure (CFC). It is hypothesized that CFC requires temporal and spatial regulation of actin dynamics. We investigate this question using chemical inhibitors, cytochalasin D, an actin treadmilling inhibitor, and NSC23766, a Rac-GEF inhibitor of the actin …

Screening For Insider Threats In Us Law Enforcement: A National Sample Of Department Policies And Practices Self-Assessment Toolkit, Erin M. Kearns, Sadaf Hashimi, Jessica Huff, Justin Nix, Natalie Cotton

Reports, Projects, and Research

For this project, we conducted multi-pronged formative research on insider threats in U.S. law enforcement. Our main objective was to better understand current policies and procedures to screen for and identify insider threats in the hiring process and among active officers.

Vol 69 #4, Melanie Argo

MPLA Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Religious Motives In Ukrainian Folklore: Linguistic Analysis, Olena Svysiuk, Zoya Biloshytska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper explores the profound influence of religious motifs on the national identity of Ukrainians, emphasizing their impact on cultural, social, and spiritual dimensions. The enduring significance of religion in shaping cultural and societal development is highlighted, with particular attention to the intricate interplay of religious and national themes throughout Ukrainian history. In the context of contemporary globalization, the study underscores the critical role of religious elements in folklore, art, and literature as custodians of cultural memory and transmitters of traditional values. Ukrainian folklore, especially rich in religious themes, serves as a vital means of preserving national ideals and ethical …

Explaining The Wealth Gap In Chattanooga Through Housing Policy Design: Do Chattanooga Housing Policies Contribute To The Wealth Gap?, Kendall Davis

Honors Theses

Some scholars contend various public policies have continued to play a role in the creation and persistence of racial wealth inequalities particularly in housing. This thesis explains the wealth gap in Chattanooga through housing policy design and answers the question: Do Chattanooga housing policies contribute to the wealth gap? The thesis also explores local Chattanooga policies believed to influence the wealth gap such as the destruction of the Big Nine, the redevelopment of the Golden Gateway, and the many City of Chattanooga zoning codes (redlining). In addition, this thesis will examine federal policies that have contributed to the wealth gap …

Bioaffinity Analysis Of Aptamer-Target Interactions, Pooja Karunanithi

Honors Theses

This study explores the bioaffinity of aptamer-target interactions through a comprehensive analysis. Aptamers, oligonucleotides that can bind to target molecules, have emerged as powerful tools in various fields, including diagnostics and therapeutics. The primary objective of this research was to assess the binding affinity and specificity of selected aptamers to their respective targets using a combination of experimental techniques and computational models. The binding affinity of 10 different complexes were measured through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) followed by molecular simulations. The results showed that the 6th complex had the best binding affinity. The data suggest that these aptamers could be …

The Gavel And The Camera: Environmental Law And Photojournalism's Relationship To Appalachian Identity, Emily S. Patton

Honors Theses

Both the federal government and photojournalism have played a substantial role in the “othering” of Appalachia while simultaneously attempting to save it. Examining both institutions demonstrates the exploitative processes that alter the perception of rural communities and their surrounding environment. Stacey Kranitz’s archival exhibit, As It Was Give(n) To Me, internalizes this precarious role of the camera in a region heavily journalized. By inhabiting the area for years, establishing close relationships, and researching the documented history of Appalachia, Kranitz’s work becomes her livelihood in the dissolution of profession vs. personal. She is critical of past projects whose objective portrayal of …

The Jazzy Building: A Revitalization Plan, Christine Bebawy

Honors Theses

The Jazzy building is located at 619-621 Market Street in Chattanooga, TN in the City Center downtown area. Both the interior and exterior of the building show signs of being vacant for a long period. The Jazzy building has significant historical value, especially the east and west facades that feature various ornamentations and details that testify to its significance. Although the building's interior has been severely damaged, it is still possible to salvage and reuse some of the materials. To determine the appropriate use of the Jazzy building, a market analysis of downtown Chattanooga research was referenced, along with a …