Digital Commons Network^™

The Conditions For Success: How The Future Search Conference Method Uses Dialogue To Spur Stakeholder Integration, Daniel Bender

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

A Future Search (FS) Conference is a systems based large group intervention that utilizes a dialogue process among interdependent stakeholders to analyze the past, understand the present, envision a better future, and agree to action plans to work towards the desired future. This study uses an instrumental case study design (Stake, 1995) to consider two education-based future-oriented conferences to understand the real-life applicability of the conditions for success framework by Weisbord and Janoff (2010). Participants’ perceptions of the action research conferences were positive. The framework illustrated factors related to the core principle of getting the “whole system” in the room …

Understanding Which College Academic And Social Integration Factors Are Important In Predicting First-Generation College Students’ Retention In The First Year, Nicole Battaglia

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Retention concerns remain high for postsecondary institutions and even more so when focusing on populations such as those who are the first in the family to attend college, first-generation college students. First-generation students account for 34% of the collegiate population, yet 40% of first-generation students do not return for their sophomore year. While prior theoretical frameworks and research points to academic and social integration as key indicators of retention, first-generation students are less likely to integrate into their institution. First-generation students are about 30% less likely compared to their continuing generation peers to be integrated at all on campus.

Utilizing …

Using Thermodynamics To Evaluate Stationary Phase Polarity In Gas Chromatography- A New Look, Hetal R. Rana

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

Gas chromatography is a separation method in which the components of a sample partition between a gaseous mobile phase (carrier gas) and a solid or liquid stationary phase. The stationary phase is usually a polymer coated or chemically bonded to a solid support on the column wall and its function is to separate different components, based on their relative vapor pressure and their intermolecular interactions with the stationary phase. If the analyte polarity is similar to the stationary phase polarity, then the retention time increases because the intermolecular interactions are stronger and if the polarities are different then the …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness, Efficiency, And Equity Of California’S Cap-And-Trade Program, Raphael Yolson Louis

Master's Projects and Capstones

California’s Cap-and-Trade program establishes an aggregate limit on GHG emissions while empowering the regulated firms with flexibility in complying with the emissions reduction mandates. This research conducted three analyses to determine if California's carbon Cap-and-Trade program is effective at meeting its GHG goals, economically efficient, and promotes environmental equity throughout communities within California. First, the SWOT analysis investigated the Cap-and-Trade program features to determine the importance of each of the features within the program. It showed that California’s Cap-and-Trade program’s main threats are leakages, lack of partnerships, and long-term political will. Nevertheless, the program’s features strive to promote environmental effectiveness, …

The Rise Of American Food In China, Shiyan Wang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Over the years, American food has become more and more popular in China. Today, the Chinese are more open to trying new cuisines. To fully understand the forces that have catalyzed the growing presence of American foods in China, my research project demonstrates the complex web of factors that shape how American food businesses’ presence in China has changed over the last decade. Examining a diversity of sources, including existing trend data, my analysis focuses on the domestic and global factors that have facilitated the growing presence of American food restaurants in China. Using this research as a jumping off …

What’S Lunch Got To Do With It?: A Case Study Of California Policy, Educational Equity, And The First Statewide Universal School Meals Program, Rebecca Murillo

Master's Projects and Capstones

In July 2021, California became the first state to pass a program which guarantees two meals a day to all K-12 students at no cost. This project examines California’s journey to pass this Universal School Meals Program (USMP) and explores how such a program can provide equity for students. I produce a legislative history which traces how school meals are funded and regulated at the federal level, California’s public education funding system, their state meal program, the policies which created changes that allowed the USMP to pass, and the legislation of the program itself. Framework presented by Tyack and Cuban …

He Had Two Women To Die For, Ireland And The Missus”: Mothers As Abject And Sons As Scapegoats In Edna O’Brien’S House Of Splendid Isolation And In The Forest, Emily Nix

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis examines the protagonists in Edna O’Brien’s In the Forest and House of Splendid Isolation and applies Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection and Rene Girard’s theory of the scapegoat. In doing so, I attempt to give a richer understanding of O’Brien’s masculine and feminine characters and how their constructed identities are based on their cultural circumstances and positions in their societies. I use Kristeva’s theory of abjection to analyze the single women in these novels, Eily and Josie, who become metaphorical single mothers by the invasions of young men into their homes. Then, I apply Girard’s theory of the …

We're Museum Professionals Too: Exhibitions Development In Library Special Collections And Archives, Carrie Meyer

Posters and Presentations: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

In June 2021, the McGoogan Health Sciences Library opened the Wigton Heritage Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This facility is the first of its kind in the United States and serves as a welcome center and museum for the history of the UNMC campus and explores the history of the health sciences in Nebraska. You read that right—a library opened a museum. Special Collection and Archives (SCA) professionals exist in a unique environment that utilizes three cultural heritage and preservation professions—libraries, archives, and museums. The Wigton Heritage Center project explores how museum practices for …

Formal And Informal Styles Of Clothing In The Assessment Of Female Political Candidates, Erma Kurtovic

Master's Theses

Abstract: This study will research the importance of dress code of female candidates on the confidence in leadership.The research question is: How Important is the Formality of Dress Code in the Assessment of Leadership of Female Political Candidates? It is addressed by using an experimental design carried out in India and the United States, using Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk. This research gathered 400 responses, 200 from each country. Primary data collection was used, with the implementation of two experiments. The experimental design of the two experiments consisted of two conditions, one in which the main political candidate is dressed …

Using Machine Learning To Analyze Children’S Drawings As Indicators Of Mental Well-Being, Nicholas R. Lawrie

Master's Theses

Human figure drawings are a well-studied diagnostic tool for emotional distress in children. Cleft lip/palate is one of the most common birth defects in the world, and has been shown to negatively impact emotional well-being in childhood which can have negative economic consequences in adulthood. Utilizing a dataset of human figure drawings from children in India and survey data on mental health, this paper will assess the impact of corrective surgery on mental health outcomes, as well as assess the validity of the drawing emotional indicators themselves. The results indicate that while the emotional indicators may not be valid in …

Women's Rights As Human Rights: A Spotlight On Women's Reproductive Rights And Structural Violence In Nigeria, Dominique C. Blakely

Master's Theses

My research aims to shed light on the injustices that women and girls are facing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Furthermore, my research intends to reveal how international human rights law and human rights law are confronting these violations and show the shortcomings of these laws. Women in SSA have continued to be at the forefront of devastation due to their exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) such as rape (including marital rape), domestic violence, femicide, “feminization” of HIV/AIDS, early/child marriage, and maternal mortality, in addition to lack of access to proper and sufficient reproductive health care. I will use women’s rights …

Reproductive Health In Rural Guatemala: Finding A Medium Between State And Ngo Policies, Zayra Rivera

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and evaluate the manner in which the NGO sector surpasses state led efforts related to improving knowledge about reproductive health within rural areas in Guatemala. This research focuses on using methodologies from four Adolescent Youth Health Programs within the region of Lake Atitlan as well as state run institutions such as schools and health centers.

More specifically, this case study seeks to analyze the current gaps sexual and reproductive health programming in rural indigenous towns in the Sololá department of Guatemala. It compares four private NGO institutions with two public organizations, specifically …

Borders, Bodies And Abuse: Exposing The Collusion Of Australia And The United States In Transnational Refugee Deterrence, Kaytlin Hancock

Master's Theses

This research explores a comparison of the use and abuse of deterrence policies, namely the externalisation of borders, and spatial control aimed to disallow entry for refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat to both the United States and Australia. Paying particular attention to the immigration occurrences in the US from the early 1980s and present day responses in Australia, this research explores the rise in offshore detention centres and the ways in which these countries shirk their international obligations in a bid to strengthen sovereignty, by creating zones of exemption that expel refugees and asylum seekers to liminal spaces. …

Mahalaya: Building Community In The Filipinx Diaspora Through Solidarity Journalism, Casey Ticsay

Master's Theses

Unethical approaches to storytelling in professional journalism continue to shape public discourse around the diverse experiences of Asians and Asian Americans. This paper analyzes the origins and impact of ethnic news media, specifically the rise of Filipino and Filipino American press in the United States, and the ways journalists of color continue to challenge traditional practices of professional journalism that perpetuate anti-Blackness and maintain white supremacy. Filipino and Filipino American newspapers in the early twentieth century provide historical insight into the issues, debates, and conversations transpiring at the time and highlight the community’s ongoing response to the misrepresentations of their …

Heterogeneous Effects In Matching Grants, Kaustri Bhattacharyya

Master's Theses

The main objective of this thesis is to apply causal forest to identify the variables responsible for the treatment of heterogeneity without making any prior assumptions. This research is based on a paper based on a natural field experiment and explored how matching grants affect charitable giving.

Understanding The Effects Of Temperature On Electrostatic Dna Denaturation, Jeffrey Taylor

Master's Theses

In this work, the electrostatic denaturation of 18-bp DNA duplexes was investigated via Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) to determine the extent of melting (∆) and rate of melting (𝝉). Electrostatic denaturation was observed over the temperature range of 20-50 °C, and purely electrostatic melting was defined from 27.5°C. In contrast, electrostatic denaturation for 30 °C was defined as a mixture of thermal melting thiol desorption + electrostatic melting. Electrostatic denaturation is a temperature-dependent process, and the amount of melting of the dsDNA increased with temperature. It was also observed that the ∆ and 𝝉 values increase with temperature further …

"Los De Abajo Reconstruimos": Zapatismo & Indigenous Gender Transformation, Elizama R. Rodas

Master's Theses

Indigenous women's voices have long been silenced in society, including the academic realm. The brutality of colonization toward Indigenous women's gender and racial identities has kept them isolated and suppressed up to the present time. For the last twenty-seven years, the Ejército Zapatista Liberación Nacional (EZLN) of Chiapas, Mexico, has campaigned against the Eurocentric ideologies that permeated post-colonization and influenced the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples significantly the discrimination of Indigenous women and other non-binary genders outside these Eurocentric definitions. This research aims to determine the effects of colonial gender existence and, through its deconstruction, also examines the destruction of environments. …

Mutational Activation Of The Nrf2 Pathway Upregulates Kynureninase Resulting In Tumor Immunosuppression And Poor Outcome In Lung Adenocarcinoma, Johannes F Fahrmann, Ichidai Tanaka, Ehsan Irajizad, Xiangying Mao, Jennifer B Dennison, Eunice Murage, Julian Casabar, Jeffrey Mayo, Qian Peng, Muge Celiktas, Jody V Vykoukal, Soyoung Park, Ayumu Taguchi, Oliver Delgado, Satyendra C Tripathi, Hiroyuki Katayama, Luisa Maren Solis Soto, Jaime Rodriguez-Canales, Carmen Behrens, Ignacio Wistuba, Samir Hanash, Edwin J Ostrin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Activation of the NRF2 pathway through gain-of-function mutations or loss-of-function of its suppressor KEAP1 is a frequent finding in lung cancer. NRF2 activation has been reported to alter the tumor microenvironment. Here, we demonstrated that NRF2 alters tryptophan metabolism through the kynurenine pathway that is associated with a tumor-promoting, immune suppressed microenvironment. Specifically, proteomic profiles of 47 lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cell lines (11 KEAP1 mutant and 36 KEAP1 wild-type) revealed the tryptophan-kynurenine enzyme kynureninase (KYNU) as a top overexpressed protein associated with activated NRF2. The siRNA-mediated knockdown of NFE2L2, the gene encoding for NRF2, or activation of the NRF2 …

Dedifferentiation-Mediated Stem Cell Niche Maintenance In Early-Stage Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Progression: Insights From A Multiscale Modeling Study, Joseph D Butner, Prashant Dogra, Caroline Chung, Javier Ruiz-Ramírez, Sara Nizzero, Marija Plodinec, Xiaoxian Li, Ping-Ying Pan, Shu-Hsia Chen, Vittorio Cristini, Bulent Ozpolat, George A Calin, Zhihui Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We present a multiscale agent-based model of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to study how key phenotypic and signaling pathways are involved in the early stages of disease progression. The model includes a phenotypic hierarchy, and key endocrine and paracrine signaling pathways, and simulates cancer ductal growth in a 3D lattice-free domain. In particular, by considering stochastic cell dedifferentiation plasticity, the model allows for study of how dedifferentiation to a more stem-like phenotype plays key roles in the maintenance of cancer stem cell populations and disease progression. Through extensive parameter perturbation studies, we have quantified and ranked how DCIS is …

Environmental Integration Criteria To Coordinate Egyptian Heritage Sites As An Open-Air Museum, Walaa Hussein

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Global trends and calls from the UN-Habitat discuss the value of public spaces. An individual’s physical and psychological health and the high temperature of the planet owing to high pollution rates are negatively affected. This research formulates criteria that realize the concept of human life experience in open areas by maximizing the benefit of the existing and neglected heritage, valued areas, such as an open-air museum. Al-Zahir neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt, was selected for analysis after defining its components and formulating its current problems; the scientific–theoretical base of the study was established by collecting data using an application, Arc GIS. …

Violencia En Tránsito: Exploring The Multiplicities Of Violence That Shape Central American Migrant Women's Experiences Through Mexico And The Role Of Albergue Abba, Esmeralda Cardona

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the forms of state and non-state violence that migrant women1 from the Northern Triangle of Central America experience during their migration into Mexico and the role of Albergue Abba in Celaya, Guanajuato in their transit. As migrant women venture northward, they are vulnerable to being coerced and kidnapped while encountering gender-based violence, including rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking. While migrants suffer a multiplicity of violence in this region, this research will focus on the role of smuggling and human trafficking in order to better understand the vulnerabilities women migrants experience in …

Inaccessible Interpolated Imagery: How Coffee Farmers In The State Of Chiapas Might Access Political Economic Opportunity Through Representation, Paolo Fiann Bicchieri

Master's Theses

Here is a useful parable to boil down the idea of this project and set the tone: when one goes to the bar to tell a story about a fight at the bar, they would never venture to place themselves as the hero of the brawl, taking out three drunkards in a single punch, unless they were really in the bar, at that time, fighting a good fight. One would never do this as the bartender, locals, and regulars would all know if this were the case or not. Yet transnational corporations, governments, and even consumers do this all the …

Covid-19 Information Needs And Seeking Behaviour Of Undergraduates Of Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Jerry Eyerinmene Friday Mr, Motu-Ere Justina Atema Ms

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examined Covid-19 information needs and seeking behaviour of undergraduates of Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study identified Covid-19 information needs, Covid-19 information sources, strategies of seeking Covid-19 information and Covid-19 information seeking challenges encountered by the undergraduates. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all the undergraduates of Federal University Otuoke who were in 300, 400 and 500 levels of study. Convenience sampling was adopted and three hundred and sixty-nine (369) undergraduates, consisting of 76, 73, 74, 71 and 75 undergraduates, each constituent drawn from the Faculty of Education, …

A Pilot Study Of Transplanting Methods For Wilding American Beech (Fagus Grandifolia), Andrea L. Myers, Yvette L. Dickinson, Andrew J. Storer, Tara L. Bal

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

American beech is facing pressure from a number of emergent health issues including beech bark disease, beech leaf disease, beech leaf mining weevil, and climate and habitat change. Interest has increased in the propagation of American beech in response to the demand for more disease-resistant American beech for use in restoration. This study describes the first steps towards publishing methods for transplanting beech in order to supplement commercially available beech seedlings in an area with multiple agencies depleting the existing stock of slow growing species. American beech seedlings were purchased from a nursery in northern Michigan and were excavated from …

A Mile Away, A World Apart: Life Expectancy Inequality In The United States, Scott A. Budow

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Puerto Rico's Second-Class Statehood: The Impact Of Restricted Access To Federal Public Benefits Programs On Puerto Rico's Economic Recovery, Evette Ocasio

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Falling Through The Cracks: The American Indian Foster Care To Sexual Exploitation Pipeline And The Need For Expanded American Indian Community Services In Minnesota, Sadie Hart

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Letters To The Readers, Silpa Bulusu, Bridget Roddy

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Boxed Lunches, Lunch

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Research Investigation Of Middle School Students’ Team Cohesion Development Within A Sport Education Season, Baofu Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Team cohesion is critical to the functioning and success of groups or teams. Sport Education (SE) has the potential to develop team cohesion due to its emphasis on authentic, team-based sporting experiences in physical education (PE). The purposes of the study were: (a) to examine the longitudinal changes of team cohesion within a SE season; (b) to identify facilitators and barriers associated with cohesion development. A longitudinal, concurrent, mixed-methods design was employed to address the research purposes. Students from 6^th to 8^th grades (all girls; n = 76), in small teams (n = 15), and their PE teacher …