Digital Commons Network^™

Internalization Of Appearance Ideals And Not Religiosity Indirectly Impacts The Relationship Between Acculturation And Disordered Eating Risk In South And Southeast Asian Women Living In The United States, Sonakshi Negi, Erik M Benau, Megan Strowger, Anne Claire Grammer, C Alix Timko

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Objective: Studies that examine disordered eating in samples of Asian individuals living in the United States frequently combine all individuals of Asian descent into a single group, which can obscure important differences between groups and their experiences of acculturation. The goal of the present study was to establish the relation of acculturation, internalization of appearance ideals, and religiosity as predicting body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in women of South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) descent.

Method: Women of SSEA descent (

Results: Direct paths from acculturation to both body dissatisfaction and disordered eating were not significant. Thin ideal internalization completely accounted …

Subtyping Of Common Complex Diseases And Disorders By Integrating Heterogeneous Data. Identifying Clusters Among Women With Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms In The Lurn Study, Victor P. Andreev, H Henry Lai, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

We present a methodology for subtyping of persons with a common clinical symptom complex by integrating heterogeneous continuous and categorical data. We illustrate it by clustering women with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), who represent a heterogeneous cohort with overlapping symptoms and multifactorial etiology. Data collected in the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN), a multi-center observational study, included self-reported urinary and non-urinary symptoms, bladder diaries, and physical examination data for 545 women. Heterogeneity in these multidimensional data required thorough and non-trivial preprocessing, including scaling by controls and weighting to mitigate data redundancy, while the various data …

Associations Of Polymorphisms In The Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator-1 Alpha Gene With Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease: An Individual-Level Meta-Analysis, Tessa Schillemans, Sharon Cresci, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Monosynaptic Targets Of Utricular Afferents In The Larval Zebrafish, Yizhen Jia, Martha W Bagnall

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The larval zebrafish acquires a repertoire of vestibular-driven behaviors that aid survival early in development. These behaviors rely mostly on the utricular otolith, which senses inertial (tilt and translational) head movements. We previously characterized the known central brainstem targets of utricular afferents using serial-section electron microscopy of a larval zebrafish brain. Here we describe the rest of the central targets of utricular afferents, focusing on the neurons whose identities are less certain in our dataset. We find that central neurons with commissural projections have a wide range of predicted directional tuning, just as in other vertebrates. In addition, somata of …

Monitoring The Systemic Immune System To Understand And Improve The Efficacy Of Immunotherapy For Metastatic Osteosarcoma, Justin Edward Markel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a complex tumor with no effective targeted therapies due to its genomic heterogeneity and pleomorphism. The immune response it creates, particularly against metastatic lesions, is considerable; however, various suppressive mechanisms induced by the tumor prohibit its effectiveness. The presence of infiltrating lymphocytes suggests that therapeutic disinhibition through checkpoint blockade could increase antitumor immunity, though none have been successful in clinical trials. The complexities of the immune response to OS tumors have yet to be unraveled; however, there is evidence to suggest that cell-mediated immunity (CMI, specifically T cells, Natural Killer [NK] cells, and myeloid-lineage cells [MLCs]) plays …

What Pandemics Teach Us About Servant Leadership, Kelly L. Bezio

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

This article seeks to understand what pandemics teach us about servant leadership. It analyzes two texts, which reflect on people of color’s experiences becoming servant leaders during such public health crises: A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, during the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793 (1794) and The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice (2021). These texts balance detailed depictions of what this leadership praxis looks like with trenchant critiques of how service, racism, and leadership tend to intersect in the United States. As texts that demonstrate the …

The Pathology Of Ideology: Authoritarian Leadership In Science Fiction Film, Kimberly Yost

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

This article explores ways in which selected science fiction visual narratives depict white male privilege as a pathology affecting social systems and how those who are marginalized, oppressed, and traumatized in these dystopic social systems choose violence to overcome the authoritarian leaders.

Monetary Sanctions And Housing Instability, Mary Pattillo, Erica Banks, Brian Sargent, Daniel J. Boches

Sociology: Faculty Publications

The relationship between criminal legal involvement and housing is complex because the causal arrow goes both ways. Research documents a homelessness-incarceration nexus whereby homelessness is criminalized, and incarceration leads to homelessness. In this article, we broaden the scope of housing outcomes by considering housing instability more generally and we shift the focus to legal financial obligations (LFOs) as a specific kind of criminal legal sanction, apart from incarceration or the effects of a record. Our data consist of surveys and qualitative interviews with people paying LFOs (N = 519), interviews with court actors (N = 443), and more than 1,900 …

The Night Of The Long Knives: Reconsidered, Edward G. Gunning Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

The "Night of the Long Knives"—June 30, 1934, and the murderous days that followed is one of the more fascinating episodes in the history of the Third Reich. A year after taking power, multiple circles of influence challenged Nazi control. The National Socialists perceived enemies everywhere. At times the internal challenges were as significant as the external.

Much of the conflict centered on a myriad of perspectives on the nature and direction of the Nazi revolution. For Hitler, the revolution was complete, at least for now. His real revolution was a racial one, whose full dimensions only became manifest later. …

Flawed Judgment: The Prolonged Failure Of Handschu V. Special Services Division, 1971-2022, Henry A. Burby

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores Handschu v. Special Services Division, an ongoing federal class-action suit brought by New York activists in 1971 to challenge the NYPD's right to use covert tactics to monitor them and undermine their political projects. The Handschu plaintiffs originally hoped that the court would find the NYPD's covert activities unconstitutional and would intervene on behalf of all New Yorkers thus targeted. After the conservative Burger Court challenged the pro-activist decisions of the previous Warren Court, the plaintiffs abandoned their ambitious goals and settled with the defendants. The Handschu defendants easily sidelined this settlement in the wake of the …

Analysis Of Blue Fountain Pen Ink By Uv-Vis Spectroscopy, Atr-Ftir Spectroscopy, And Thin Layer Chromatography Enhanced With Rgb Spot Evaluation To Construct A Database For Comparison And Identification., Elliot D. Quinteros

Dissertations and Theses

Pen ink can be a crucial piece of physical evidence in the area of Forensic Science. For example, evidence such as notes, letters, printed documents, checks, currency, ransom notes, and books may contain ink. Analysis of ink is typically done for identification or differentiation purposes. To improve existing methods, it was proposed to create a database with many samples and experimental information. The methods used and evaluated were thin-layer chromatography (TLC) enhanced with RGB spot evaluation, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. All three methods were used to analyze 89 fountain pen ink samples. All three methods were able to discriminate …

The Strategic Use Of External Threat In The Shaping Of Russian Domestic And Foreign Policies, Roman Voytovych

Dissertations and Theses

The state of Russia has experienced multiple shifts during various phases of its development and, along with that, it has influenced the world of international diplomacy on a grand scale. From being the world`s second superpower with huge military and political capabilities to becoming a disintegrated regional power, there definitely has been a certain degree of change which has impacted both the Russian political establishment as well as ordinary people. The slow process of the degradation of the “big empire” actually had its roots during Soviet times when the Soviet Union faced the Chernobyl catastrophe, the war in Afghanistan, the …

China’S Foreign Aid Loans To Africa; Acts Of Extraction Or Development?, Francisca F. Ihekaire

Dissertations and Theses

The continent of Africa is considered a developing region due to the high rate of poverty and lack of infrastructure, and China has stepped up to offer loans to countries in need across the continent. The billions of dollars in loans that China has widely distributed among African countries raises serious concerns. Angola and Zambia are two countries in Africa considered as developing nations. The two countries, in dire need of infrastructure, have desperately sought loans from the Chinese government. Chinese loans have become common among nations even though respected international financial institutions warn against the hidden conditionalities that are …

Analysis Of The Influence Of Cryptocurrency Regulation On Levels Of Financial Literacy, Kieran C. Yuen

Dissertations and Theses

Using data collected by the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), a survey by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), this paper investigates the influence of passage of cryptocurrency regulation in U.S. states on levels of financial literacy. Results indicate that living in a state where cryptocurrency regulation was signed into law, a decrease was observed in the level of financial literacy. This finding supports the growing literature on factors that affect levels of financial literacy using a novel exogenous variable, cryptocurrency regulation.

Economic & Social Development And The Benefits Of The Process Of Integration In The European Union: The Case Of Cyprus, Petros Rafael

Dissertations and Theses

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. An internal single market has been established through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. It is widely believed amongst European states, that membership …

African American English As A Predictor Of Ethnic And Ethnolinguistic Identity In Adolescence, Giahna L. Glasco

Dissertations and Theses

This study’s purposes were to provide support for the Social identity theory of African American English (Vietze & Glasco, 2022) and the meanings African American English (AAE) speakers assign to their dialect. The study was primarily based on Tajfel’s (1979) social identity theory that proposes individuals derive a sense of self from group membership. The qualitative analyses examined ethnic and language group memberships. Ethnic identity development (Phinney, 1992), and ethnolinguistic identity theories (Giles and Johnson, 1987) guided narrative and content analyses of Kiese Laymon’s memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir (Laymon, 2018). The sample included 21 African American English conversations …

Migration In The Global South: The Case Of Venezuelans In Brazil, Yoko-Ono N. Mccullock

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Nexus Of Climate Change, Biodiversity, And Food Security: A Brazil Case Study, Andrew M. Berger

Dissertations and Theses

What is referred to as climate change today is the rapid warming of the climate, largely from human actions, and the effects that come with that warming. One study published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2021 argues that, “human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases have caused increases in global average temperatures, changes in precipitation timing and intensity, rising sea levels, and many other changes.” A Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) study found that when looking at the number of countries exposed to climate extremes in five year periods from 2000 to 2020, the number of countries “exposed …

Psychedelic Use And Psychological Flexibility: The Role Of Decentering, Mystical Experiences, Ego-Dissolution, And Insight, William M. Campo

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential associations between psychological flexibility (PF) and characteristics of the psychedelic experience: self-perceived meaningful intention, feelings of comfort and safety, decentering, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and insight. The first hypothesis was that perceived meaningful intention and feelings of comfort/safety during the psychedelic experience were expected to be associated with PF, decentering, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and insight. The second hypothesis was that decentering, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and insight were expected to be associated with greater PF. Participants who used classic psychedelic substances prior to this study were recruited from social media. The sample after …

The Real And The Digital: Female Agency And Resisting The Male Gaze In Lynn Hershman Leeson’S Works, Kelly Chou

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis focuses on three major feminist works by multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson (b. 1941), that grapple with the construction and potential of female identity. Considering the works within the context of Laura Mulvey’s seminal text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” this paper will attempt to elucidate how Hershman Leeson’s works have engaged with the male gaze and its social and cultural implications on female identity in visual spheres. This research demonstrates how Hershman Leeson’s efforts to understand the limitations and boundaries for women reflect the same phenomenons observed by Mulvey within “Visual Pleasure.” Rejecting this, Hershman Leeson also …

“I Knew These Marvelous People”: Gay Men’S Experiences Of Long-Term Hiv/Aids Survival, Ilana J. Sichel

Dissertations and Theses

The gay and bisexual men who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS before the pharmaceutical breakthroughs of the mid-1990s were given what was expected to be a death sentence. Instead, the majority of those who began the newly available treatments outlived not just their initial prognoses but their lovers, friends, and community members who had already perished. This study used grounded theory analysis of semi-structured interviews with a sample of 10 self-identified gay men who are long-term HIV/AIDS survivors to explore experiences of trauma, loss, and mourning in relation to current psychological wellbeing. Qualitative thematic analysis indicated that despite demographic variance among …

Therapeutic Considerations For The Polycule: A Qualitative Exploration Of Consensual Non-Monogamy In Couples Treatment, Tema Watstein

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the growing visibility of consensual non-monogamy culturally and in the academic domain, treatment of CNM relationships has been understudied from the clinical perspective. This study utilized a sample of 11 clinicians, who discussed their experiences of treating non-monogamous couples through a semi-structured interview. Qualitative thematic analysis led to the emergence of robust themes, which were synthesized into three broader categories: 1. Therapeutic Process, 2. Issues in Treatment, and 3. The Meaning of Non-Monogamy. Therapists discussed their own clinical processes, with emphasis on countertransference, frame, self-disclosure, and considerations for training. Themes also emerged surrounding common issues in treatment, ranging from …

Ego-Feeling And Ego-Boundaries: An Examination Of The Work And Legacy Of Paul Federn, Samuel Selinger

Dissertations and Theses

Paul Federn was an important figure in the early development of psychoanalysis. He was, besides Sigmund Freud himself, the only founding member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society who was still a member when the society was disbanded by the Nazis in 1938. He was also an early pioneer in the use of psychoanalysis toward the understanding and treatment of psychosis, and was among the very first to consider the importance of the ego to psychoanalytic understanding of the mind and mental illness. This dissertation examines Federn’s key ideas-- ego-feeling and ego-boundaries-- their influence on later psychoanalytic formulations by Winnicott, Lewin, …

Loneliness, Interpersonal Sensitivity And The Mechanisms Through Which The Dimensions Of Trait Emotional Intelligence May Protect Against Clinical Depression, Eva H. Leighton

Dissertations and Theses

Reducing the prevalence of loneliness and depression are important public health objectives. This dissertation aims to contribute to these objectives by improving our understanding of the relationship between loneliness and depression. Specifically, we assessed three additional constructs known to be strongly associated with loneliness and depression –-perceived social support, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal sensitivity –- with the aim of showing how these three constructs influence the relationship between loneliness and depression. Previous research that jointly examines all five constructs has not been identified by the author in an extensive search of prior literature.

Specifically, this dissertation tested the following hypotheses: …

Early Risk Factors For School-Age Adhd And Irritability: The Roles Of Prenatal Risk, Intrusive Parenting Style During Preschool And Caregiver-Child Attachment Quality., Ashley M. Rainford

Dissertations and Theses

ADHD is a highly impairing neurodevelopmental disorder and the family context provides a critical early environment where children’s risk for the disorder may be heightened or reduced. A parent’s style, that is their approach to interacting and guiding the child may provide children with warmth and security, or elicit fear, distrust and disappointment, both of which in turn impact behavior. However, the parent-child relationship is not unidirectional; it is dynamic. Children with high ADHD-like behaviors have greater difficulty relating to and interacting with their caregivers, while caregivers become increasingly stressed and show greater hostility and less warmth in their parenting. …

The Relationship Between Discrimination And Alcohol Use Among Latinx College Students In The Context Of Covid-19, Mahtab Tuba

Dissertations and Theses

Latinx are the largest minority group in the United States. Ethnic discrimination is a common experience among this population—especially among young adults. Prior work has suggested an association between discrimination, psychological well-being, and alcohol use. Research has also highlighted that social support may buffer the impact of discrimination upon Latinx mental well- being and alcohol use. The present study investigated the relation between the appraisal of discrimination and alcohol-related outcomes (i.e. frequency of use, binge drinking, alcohol- related consequences and risky behavior) of Latinx college students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated social support as a moderator …

Being Black & Blue: Sex As A Moderator Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Depressive Symptoms Among Black Emerging Adults, Wynta C. Alexander

Dissertations and Theses

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been linked to adult mental health consequences (e.g., depressive symptoms). Black people are disproportionately affected by ACEs, and factors related to ethnic subgroups and/or sex may produce differential depressive outcomes. The current study examined the moderating role of sex in the association between adverse childhood experiences and depression symptoms using a life course of health approach among a sample of Black emerging adults. Participants (n = 159) of the current study were Black (e.g., African – American) and Black Caribbean (e.g., Jamaican) undergraduate students (18 – 59 years old; 72.3% female) attending a large, public …

Towards An Artificial Intelligence Based Decision Support System To Evaluate Various Transit Projects, Patricio F. Vicuna

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation addressed a subset of the Transit Network Design Problem (Transit-NDP), where the main evaluation parameter is the impact of various transit projects – Bus Lines, Tram, Light Rail, Rail – on the Network Travel Time (NTT) of the vehicles. The NTT is estimated using the static four-step travel demand model (trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, and traffic assignment). A set of five metaheuristic models were developed and implemented for this specific Transit-NDP, namely, Simulated Annealing (SA)-VISUM, Simulated Annealing-Random Forest Regression Model (SA-RF), Tabu Search (TS)-Random Forest (TS-RF), SA-RF-TS-VISUM, SA-RF-VISUM. These models were evaluated using two test networks …

Neural Processing Of Semantic Content In Movies, Maximilian Nentwich

Dissertations and Theses

Naturalistic stimuli, such as movies, contain interacting, multimodal and semantic features and allow for free exploration through eye movements. The full extent of neural responses to features such as motion, film cuts and eye movement behavior has not been established. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that complex multimodal and semantic stimuli in naturalistic movies engage a widespread ensemble of locations across the entire brain. To address this question I analyzed simultaneous intracranial and eyetracking data from over 6,000 electrodes across 23 patients with intractable epilepsy. Responses to fast eye movements – saccades – and film cuts are widespread …

On A New Framework For Detecting, Classifying, And Forecasting Floods For Large-Scale Flood Risk Analysis, Equisha Glenn

Dissertations and Theses

Increasing trends in flooding events are projected to continue as climate changes have increased the chance of extreme weather events. Given the significant, damaging impacts of extreme floods, the ability to effectively model floods is crucial for risk management and mitigation of the impacts of these extreme flooding events. This dissertation presents a new framework for detecting and predicting large-scale flood risk in the United States using climate information. This methodology categorizes regional, simultaneous floods into an index that is used to forecast the risk of extreme flooding a season ahead. The index proposed herein, named the Spatial Flood Index …