Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Characterization Of Transparent Soil Using Biodegradable Polysaccharides, Said Badshah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ecophysiology Of Bradyrhizobium Diazoefficiens Usda 110, Armaan Kaur Sandhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With increasing demand for soybean, maximizing plant yield is important yiel is dependent on nitrogen availability, but nitrogen fertilizers can meet the plant's needs but have severe environmental impacts. An economically and environmentally sustainable approach is to enhance nitrogen availability through Biological Nitrogen Fixation by symbiotic rhizobia, Bradyrhizobium, an efficient nitrogen fixer for soybean. This symbiosis begins with attachment of rhizobia to legume roots. Root and rhizobia surface properties play a significant role in this attachment. Another major factor affecting root colonization is bacterial competition ability. There is a lack of knowledge on the role of bacterial surface properties, competition …

Role Of Interferon Induced Transmembrane Protein 3 (Ifitm3) And Neural Precursor Cell Expressed Developmentally Down Regulated Protein 4 (Nedd4) In Seneca Virus A (Sva) Replication, Shamiq Aftab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, we studied the role of IFITM3 in SVA replication in vitro by silencing the endogenous IFITM3 in NCI-H1299 cells. An average of 1.94-fold increase in SVA VP2 expression and an average of 4.4-fold increase in supernatant virus titer was observed after 24h SVA isolate SD15-26 infection. We have indeed observed an increase in viral mRNA copies by an average of 5-fold in IFITM3 silenced NCI-H1299 cells at 8 hpi indicating that IFITM3 restricts SVA replication post virus attachment and entry. A positive correlation between interferon-alpha induced IFITM3 upregulation and reduced SVA replication was observed. To further confirm …

Refining The Inverse Lipschitz Constant For Injective Relu Networks, Cole Rausch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we study the Inverse Lipschitz Constant (ILC) of injective ReLU layers. We study the tightness of the ILC lower bound established in Puthawala et al. Our approach has three components. First, we find that the conditions for injectivity on lines yield a weaker condition than the general condition given in Puthawala et al. Second, we perform numerical experiments to judge the tightness of the existing ILC lower bound and find that bound is overly conservative. Third, we identify the source of the potential slack in the proof of the existing ILC bound, and perform further numerical experiments …

Onestl: Combating Climate Doomism, Kate Sifferlen, Victoria Harwell, Kaelan Smyser, Kyle Jacobs, Brook Bergman, Marlo Underhill, Aidan Lewis, Matthew Boyd

Sustainability Exchange Projects

No abstract provided.

Electrification Feasibility Report And Plan For Monument Of Faith, Jessie Boyd, Kamaria Gutter, Jack Hobert, Maya Mehrotra, Ellie Rogers, Brittany Rogus

Sustainability Exchange Projects

No abstract provided.

Dutchtown South Waste Services Equity, Erika Adjei, Samantha Campisi, Serena Earp, Erin Hill, Hannah Hummel, Lourdes Letelier, Joe Mantych, Sydney Rottinghaus

Sustainability Exchange Projects

No abstract provided.

“Fear Of A ‘Scientific-Technological Elite:’ Contemporary Concerns In Light Of Eisenhower’S Initial Conception –A Useful Heuristic Or Obfuscating Rhetorical Device?”, Michael Schaefer

WashU Libraries Publications

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s January 17, 1961 farewell address to the nation is mostly widely known for the former president’s warning of “the unwarranted influence…[of] the military-industrial complex” (hereafter MIC). However, a “less-widely known, seldom quoted, and often poorly understood”– one could add academically under-analyzed - of Eisenhower’s critical phrases from the same speech is “the danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite (hereafter “STE”).”1 This phrase has regained salience in the United States over last few years among a sociopolitical community critical of government COVID-19 protocols, Big Tech censorship, and centralized, top-down, …

Thirty-Sixth Annual Bibliography 2022 (Mike Lützeler Contemporary German Literature Collection), Walter Schlect, Kristian Svane

WashU Libraries Publications

The 36th bibliography of 850 volumes added to Washington University Libraries' Mike Lützeler Contemporary German Literature Collection. All published in 2021, these acquisitions include novels, poetry, short story collections, graphic novels, essays, autobiographical works, and literary and cultural periodicals from publishers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Organized by author or editor, the bibliography includes local call numbers as well as subject and genre descriptors. This Collection serves as the research arm for the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature's Max Kade Center for Contemporary German Literature. A bibliography of items added the previous year is compiled each year …

The State Of Women In The Media: Representation, Coverage And Framing Of Women In East African Media, Aga Khan University, Graduate School Of Media And Communications

Graduate School of Media and Communications

This research examined the representation of women in East African news media organisations and the coverage and framing of women in top East African newspapers, TV and digital platforms. The study is premised on existent literature on the intricate interplay between media framing, coverage dynamics, and the representation of women in newsrooms’ workforce, given the consequential role all these play in shaping public perceptions of gender issues and shifting norms. Through a comprehensive methodology that incorporated content analysis, document analysis and interviews on the responsibilities and assigned roles of women in media organisations, the research presents findings from a content …

2024 Butler Library Annual Report, Christopher Hulsman, Charles Lyons, Joseph Riggie

Butler Library Annual Reports

The 2024 annual report. Created in September of 2024.

Digital Health Literacy, Vaccine Information Sources, And Vaccine Acceptance Among Parents In Ontario: Quantitative Findings From A Mixed Methods Study, Sarah Ashfield, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Panagiota Tryphonopoulos, Ève Dubé, Maxwell Smith

Publications

Parents make important vaccination decisions for their children and many variables affect parents' decisions to accept or decline vaccines. Parents are tasked with locating, understanding, and applying information to inform health decisions often using online resources; however, the digital health literacy levels of parents are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' digital health literacy levels, their sources for vaccine information, and analyze how demographics, digital health literacy, health literacy, parental attitudes and vaccine beliefs, trust, and vaccine information sources predict vaccine acceptance. Quantitative findings of a mixed methods study that examined parental vaccine decision making across …

Exploring The Experiential Journey Of Women With Pcos Across The Lifespan: A Qualitative Inquiry, Pamela J. Wright Phd, Ms, Med, Rn, Cen, Robin Dawson Phd, Rn, Cpnp-Pc, Cynthia F. Corbett Phd, Rn, Faan

Publications

Introduction: Peri-postmenopausal women with the chronic condition polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remain at cardiometabolic risk and/or subsist with established comorbidity while continuing to manage persistent PCOS signs and symptoms, such as hirsutism. Thus, PCOS transcends the reproductive years, yet there is sparse scientific literature on the peri-postmenopausal years of women with PCOS.

Purpose: To explore how peri-postmenopausal women's perceptions about PCOS have changed over the lifespan since their PCOS diagnosis.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with one qualitative question was conducted via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) among women with PCOS aged ≥43 years, who were all recruited …

Student-Athlete Mental Health: University Of Montana Case Study, Abigail M. Sherwood

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Research suggests that Division I college-student athletes experience higher levels of stress and other behavioral health issues than their non-athlete counterparts, with up to 20% of them suffering from depression (Sudano et al., 2017). Two studies on student athletes’ well-being conducted in 2020, reported that athletes continue to report higher levels of mental health concerns (Johnson, 2022). Since the fall of 2020, rates of mental exhaustion, depression, and anxiety have improved minimally with rates remaining 1.5 to two times higher than reported before the COVID-19 pandemic (Johnson, 2022). Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open in 2021 and Simone Biles …

Boeing: A Human Resources Analysis For Issues And Solutions, Lene Anette Oest-Larsen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The study presented has analyzed Boeing, an aircraft manufacturing company, and its issues as a company through a human resources based standpoint, and thus providing human resources based solutions. Issues that have been identified include a toxic workplace, union difficulties, lack of quality, and more that have caused additional sub-issues as well. These various problems have been identified to stem from human resources practices, and it is suggested that Boeing address these issues through human resources. They may reevaluate their hiring and onboarding process to focus on strong ethics and valuing safety in their operations. It is crucial for Boeing …

Interannual Growth-Climate Relationships Of Western Larch After Wildfire In The Northwest, Junior Burks

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Montane and mixed-conifer forests in the northwestern United States are burning at rates greater than any time in recent decades, due to the combined impacts of global warming and historical and contemporary land use and land management. Western larch (Larix occidentalis) is a tree of high regional significance, exhibiting a variety of traits that make it resistant and resilient to fire. Because seedlings are more sensitive to environmental stressors than adults, the impacts of climate change are expected to be detectable first in juvenile trees. Recent research shows that the natural regeneration of western larch after wildfires has …

Interdisciplinary Learning: How Different Ways Of Thinking Can Fuel Passion And Expand Understanding., Allison Amy Peschek

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This Capstone project was created to show the profound experience resulting from an extended range of interdisciplinary learning, and how different methods, when paired together, can enhance a learning experience. This was a personal project of exploration into those different angles, and primarily focused on avenues of logical and creating learning, respectively. These methods have been implemented by this author often in the past, but this capstone will explore this concept further, as there is a lot of potential in combining these different methods and biases in learning, to both further passion and understanding as a learner, but to also …

Stigma And Help-Seeking Differences: Mental Health In The Us And The Uk, Ashley Mcgettrick

Psychology Theses

The cultures and healthcare systems in the United States and the United Kingdom are very different from each other, though citizens in both of these countries are exposed to stigma surrounding mental health and help-seeking. Examining the differences in stigma predictors and help-seeking behaviors between the two countries offers valuable insight into what cultural and structural factors play a role in whether or not a person in need seeks help. This study involved an online survey that asked college students in both countries to answer questions about their personal experience regarding mental health stigma and help-seeking. Multiple regressions were used …

Looking For The Exit Door, Nicole Kowalewski

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

No abstract provided.

Forced Family Separation At The U.S.-Mexico Border Examined Through Narrative Theory, Emily Ulhman

Theses

An essential argument in grasping the negative impacts of forced family separation, a border policy upheld during the Trump Administration, follows this idea: to better understand the damage of the approaches taken during the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy, scholars must look at the narratives of those who experienced it.In my thesis, I use narratology to examine 18 nonfictional personal narratives of family separation enforced throughout the Trump Administration.

The Educational Development And Political Activism Of The Washington D.C. Black Elite 1877-1954, Chason Shackelford

Theses

This thesis seeks to explore how the Black elite impacted their spheres of influence in terms of education and civil rights activism. Were they trying to first and foremost retain their elite status in relation to the “black masses” or was their more nuance to their views? This work provides a detailed introduction to the Black elite and focuses on three representative historical figures, their families and inner circles: Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841- 1898), Daniel Alexander Payne Murray (1852- 1925), and Mary Church Terrell (1863- 1954). They were all born in different locations but exercised significant influence in Washington D.C. …

Financial Education And Budgeting Behavior Among College Students: Extending The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Xiawei Tan, Jing Jian Xiao, Kexin Meng, Jiuping Xu

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

This study examines the association between financial education and budgeting behavior among college students. Under the guidance of the extended theory of planned behavior, we use a comprehensive measure of budgeting behavior and explore mediating factors between financial education and budgeting behavior. Financial education was measured by both frequency and intensity of taking courses in finance and economics in college. Data from a sample of college students across China were analyzed using structural equation modeling and serial mediation analysis to explore the mediating roles of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and budgeting intentions in this relationship between financial education and …

Did Covid-19 Hurt Consumer Financial Wellbeing? Factors Associated With Consumer Bankruptcy Risks During The Pandemic, Jing Jian Xiao, Rui Yao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in millions of lives lost. Beyond its devastating impact, did it also hurt consumer financial wellbeing? Consumer bankruptcy is often seen as a sign of experiencing extremely overextended debt burdens. This study aimed to identify factors associated with bankruptcy risks, specifically focusing on insolvency (when total debt exceeds total asset) and debt delinquency (being late in debt payments for 60 or more days).

Design/methodology/approach: Data was from the U.S. 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Two bankruptcy risk variables included insolvency and debt delinquency. Potential influencing factors included in the analyses were COVID-19 induced shocks, financial …

Educational Digital Storytelling And Intercultural Identity Management: A Case Study For Short-Term Study Abroad Experiential Learning Pedagogies, Kasey Hudak, Rachel Davidson, Elizabeth Winters

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article provides a case study of three educational digital storytelling (EDS) projects in which researchers use intercultural identity management theory (IMT) as a framework to investigate student claims of transformation within short-term study abroad courses. Across three separate hybrid digital production and intercultural communication courses with study abroad requirements, instructors noticed a pattern of students sharing similar sentiments that they experienced significant changes in beliefs, attitudes, or identity, with some even describing being “transformed” by the course experience. Analyses of multimedia student communications revealed that conducting interviews provided a discursive way to practice IMT agency. Furthermore, planning and editing …

4. Developing Media And Information Literacy Through Dialogues About Ai, Rosa Thornley, Dory Rosenberg

Teaching and Generative AI: Pedagogical Possibilities and Productive Tensions

Inviting students to dialogue about Artificial Intelligence (Al) can help to develop media and information literacy. Instead of establishing restrictive policies, we present a method for instructor-facilitated dialogues to teach students to analyze, evaluate, and interact with generative language models. This recursive inquiry process causes students to critically think about the spectrum of AI capabilities and limitations. Practicing this inquiry habit over time directs students towards intuitively questioning the Al which leads them to govern their own choices when they become rhetorically aware of emerging technologies and how it will affect their own research and writing. For instructors in higher …

1. Navigating The New Frontier Of Generative Ai In Peer Review And Academic Writing, Chris Mayer

Teaching and Generative AI: Pedagogical Possibilities and Productive Tensions

This chapter provides an overview of the current landscape and implications of Generative Al (GenAl) in higher education, particularly focusing on its role in academic writing and peer review. The emergence of GenAl tools such as ChatGPT is a transformative development in education, with widespread adoption at unprecedented speed. Large Language Models such as ChatGPT offer great potential for enhancing education and academic writing but also raise serious ethical concerns and tensions including access and usability, the perpetuation of Standard Academic English, and issues of linguistic justice. There is also the need for new approaches and pedagogies for how to …

Queering The Future Through Speculative Drag: Posthumanism, Critique, And Queer Worldbuilding In The Art Of Devan Shimoyama, Maximiliano Mamani, And Sin Wai Kin, Finley Hayes Cowlishaw

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Contemporary queer artists enact futures that resist abjection and reevaluate the state of our hierarchical classifications of human beings by invoking posthuman drag - constructed assemblages of identities - and combining them with speculative fiction, mythologies, and folklore. Devan Shimoyama, a queer bi-racial Black-identified artist, drags images of parts of his body to present queer Black masculinity in multitudes of ways while simultaneously imbuing them with magical powers and crafting their mythological origins. Maximiliano Mamani, a queer Indigenous Argentinian artist and performer, invokes the historical and political figure of eighteenth-century rebel Bartolina Sisa in his drag persona, Bartolina Xixa, as …

Productive Shared Identity: Angola And Lgbtqia+ Norm Diffusion, Robert Tanner Bivens

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In 2019, Angola changed its penal code. One notable change was the state's elimination of its previous colonial law that outlawed "vices against nature." With this elimination, nonheteronormative relationships had become legal in the state. Considering Angola’s status as a semi-authoritarian state that did not seem to be close to making progress on LGBTQIA+ reform, it was puzzling to see such a significant reform that occurred so quickly. Research has shown the strength of bottom-up pressure from civil society to alter a state’s stance on a norm. Other research has discussed how material incentives can shape a state’s decision-making to …

Student Attitudes Towards Their Program Area Of Study In A College Of Health And Human Services, Melanie Regan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Poor retention rates can be an indicator of systematic problems within a university’s culture of academic affairs and administration. Improving student retention rates requires an understanding of why students are not returning to campus. This research aimed to develop and implement a survey analyzing students' sensory comfort, relevance, reaction to their area of study, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy within a College of Health and Human Sciences. A descriptive research design was utilized for this study to obtain information on the study population to survey participants' overall attitudes towards their experience in a program of study in a college of …

The Relationship Of Esg Component Scores And Creditworthiness On Publicly Listed Firms In The Asean-5 Countries, Shayne Jefferson Alvarez, Charlene Ashley C. Cu, Lance L. Lamberte, Patrick Henry G. Yap, Paulynne J. Castillo, Roberto B. Raymundo, Joel Q. Tanchuco

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

ESG ratings are crucial for ASEAN-5 businesses' creditworthiness. While existing studies often concentrate on ESG's impact on financial performance or general pillars, a detailed exploration of the 10 specific ESG components in the ASEAN-5 is lacking. This study addresses this gap, examining how ESG ratings affect a company's creditworthiness (probability of default) in publicly traded companies across the ASEAN-5 countries while considering potential heterogeneity. Utilizing annual data from 2013-2022 for 10 ESG components and Eikon Refinitiv's probability of default via the Starmine Combined Credit Risk Model across ASEAN-5, the study employs a panel OLS regression model with White's Robust Standard …