Digital Commons Network^™

Sea Level Rise And Public Perceptions Of Climate Change At Otter Point Creek Estuarine Reserve, Md, Haley A. Bechtel, Meghan L. Junis, Keylen Lucero Garcia

Student Publications

Freshwater tidal marshes are essential stopover points for migratory birds traveling up and down the east coast of North America. Given the importance of these habitats, we examined the effects of sea level rise on vegetation health and vegetation migration at Otter Point Creek Estuarine Reserve. We aimed to test three predictions: 1) vegetation health will decline over time during vegetation growth periods, 2) vegetation migration of less water-tolerant species will occur with movement into higher elevation plots, 3) people will be aware that there are impacts of climate change on species around them and themselves. We used a combination …

The Religious Lexicon Embedded In Public American Curricula, Daniel R. Jones

Student Publications

What is the relationship between one's own religious beliefs and their everyday colloquial diction choices? Moreover, why is the subfield that encompasses the intersection of sociolinguistics, education, and religious studies one that has gained little scholarly interest in recent years, where one could argue the importance of religious belief, and other socio-political beliefs in education have come center stage in the heart of American political debate? This article will tackle this broad range of topics through a case study focusing on my primary research question: How does a teacher’s own religious identity affect the religious language utilized in their classroom …

Epidemiology In Higher Education: Scarlet Fever At Gettysburg College, Addison E. Lomax

Student Publications

Throughout the early 20th century, the relationship between higher education and the spread of epidemic disease evolved in the United States. Two notable epidemics of scarlet fever in 1915 and 1920 serve as a lens through which the larger roles of disease and higher education can be analyzed. By assessing the roles both the administration and the students played at Gettysburg College, then Pennsylvania College, historians can understand the process of combating health crises in the future. Although the Pennsylvania College scarlet fever epidemics of 1915 and 1920 impacted campus to a smaller extent than the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the …

Leveraging Land Easements For Grassland Bird Habitat Conservation, Amy N. Marigliano, Hayden E. Dubniczki, Sarah W. Westrick

Student Publications

In addressing the decline of North American grassland bird populations, it is important to consider the various interdisciplinary approaches that can be employed in their conservation. OECMs, or “other effective area-based conservation measures” encompass a wide array of strategies which can be leveraged to conserve natural landscapes and species. Land easements implemented by the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC) are an example of one such strategy. The LCAC seeks primarily to preserve the rural character of Adams County but has more recently turned their focus toward environmental conservation. In partnering with the Land Conservancy, this case study aimed to …

The North ‘Helicoptering’ Into The South: A Meta-Analysis Of Parachute Science In Ecological Field Studies, Alexandros Economou-Garcia

Student Publications

Science is increasingly collaborative, but scientists from the Global North (GN) often fail to collaborate with local scientists or to build local scientific capacity when conducting research in the Global South (GS). This practice is known as “parachute science” or “helicopter science”. In addition to ethical concerns, this practice is problematic in the field of ecology because it may reduce the likelihood that the research will inform local resource management and science policy. I hypothesized that, because research has become increasingly collaborative, there would be a decline in parachute science over time. In addition, I hypothesized that papers that included …

Occurrence And Ecosystem Effects Of Hiking Off-Trail In Michaux State Forest, Diana Biesecker, Quinn Doherty, Kevin S. Ganjon

Student Publications

American public lands provide significant outdoor recreational opportunities that enhance an individual's physical and mental well-being. Hiking is an example of a highly accessible and affordable recreational activity that is popular and easy for people to engage in no matter how experienced they are. While hiking has improved the well-being of many individuals, its impacts on local ecosystems are often disregarded. For our research, we focused on the impacts that hikers deviating off-trail may have on a local ecosystem in Michaux State Forest in Southern Pennsylvania. Through partnering with the foresters at Michaux State Forest and using AllTrails data, we …

Freedom Within Convention: A Cooperative Analysis Of The Zhuangzi And A Thousand Plateaus, Giacomo Coppola

Student Publications

The Zhuangzi, a foundational text in Classical Chinese philosophy, presents a notion of ideal humanity that involves a seemingly paradoxical relationship between a liberated existence and the barriers that restrict it. To achieve ideal humanity, one must confront the boundaries and attachments that have coalesced into a web of socio-physical conventions and developed dominion over human thought and action. This paper aims at shedding some light on this tension by offering a comparative analysis of the Zhuangzi and A Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari in terms of their conceptions of ideal humanity. While an abundance of time …

Understanding How To Promote Healthy Dietary Habits Among Parents Of Adolescents, Jazmine D. Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents in the United States today have record-high prevalence rates for childhood obesity and overweight, which are conditions that have lifelong negative health consequences for individuals, and also carry high financial and social costs for the entire nation. The disproportionate burden of obesity and associated health conditions falls on adolescents of racial and ethnic minority group identities and from lower-income households. The increased risk that adolescents have for developing conditions like childhood obesity is closely associated with youth having diets that are unhealthier than in the past. Parents have a large influence on the eating habits and preferences of their …

Pastoral Counseling Marriage Ministry, Chris Schroeder

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Marriage ministry is the topic for this thesis project. Several aspects of marriage ministry at First Baptist Church of Texarkana were evaluated. First, a young single adult group at the church participated in a curriculum for dating before marriage. After being taught the reasons for marriage and dating, the class filled out a survey to evaluate the class’ effectiveness. Next, the pre-marriage counseling at FBC Texarkana was evaluated for effectiveness. Third, crisis marriage counseling at FBC Texarkana was evaluated by the writer to determine if marriages were finding healing. Fourth, a marriage class was offered at FBC Texarkana for a …

Aging Voices In The American Church Choir: A Study In Ethnomusicology And Ethnodoxology, Shirley Claudeen Ehler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite American church choirs being a distinct culture across all denominations and independent church entities, this traditional worship community of singers is a minority culture in the United States. Furthermore, existing journal literature frequently features young voices, e.g., children's, middle school, teen, and university choirs and choruses. Aging-voice research literature began to appear in the 1990s for individual voices or voices in community choirs. Aging voices are a unique ethnicity found in every race within the church choir culture. Researched literature on the aging voice in the American church choir is conspicuous by its absence, pushing American church choir aging …

God-Image And Romantic Partner Relationships: Emotional Neglect And Adult Women, Danette Alene Buchanan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Childhood emotional neglect often leads to relationship dissatisfaction, psychopathology, decline in physical health, and permanent scars from a lack of emotional validation. Women who have grown up with a history of emotional invalidation are at risk for suicide, divorce, emotional instability, unstable relationships, and a chronic belief that they are not enough. Lacking emotional attachment from parents and other primary figures, girls and young women may transition into adulthood either anxiously attached, avoidant attached, or both. This state of dysphoria may extend into their perceptions of God and other authority figures. Counselors and other professional helpers such as clergy, teachers, …

The Impact Of Father Absence On The Marital Satisfaction Of African American Women, Ashley Ann Sanders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The African American community is plagued with single-parent homes, headed by women. Importantly, while the father-absent phenomenon has gained more attention, much research is still needed to gain a complete perspective of the absent father and its influence upon the adult child, specifically the adult daughter who is at significant risk of continuing in her parent's footsteps. The purpose of this quantitative survey method research is to explore the impact of father absenteeism among African American adult daughters and their marital satisfaction; additionally, examining can supportive mothers moderate the effect. This study examined the marital satisfaction among African American women …

Case Study: Exploration Into Principal's Educational Leadership Training And Their Preparation To Lead Special Education Programs In Schools, Tyriq D'Shon Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore the educational leadership training experiences in special education for school principals of public charter schools in Washington D.C. Guiding this study, is the theory of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), contributed by Shulman (1986), and the social constructivist theory contributed by Lev Vygotsky (1978). These theories seek to explain the relationship between what principals are expected to know and do based on leadership content knowledge and practical application, specifically in terms of leading special education programs in schools. The central question of this study is: What are the experiences of school principals …

Mentorship Relationships: A Phenomenological Study Investigating Experiences Of Secondary Teachers, Jodi Lee Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate teachers’ experiences in their mentoring relationships. This study investigated the experiences of 12 secondary teachers with varying levels of teaching experience from the Camel County School District in northeastern Wyoming. Kram’s (1983) original mentorship model guided this study, along with social network theory. The focus of this inquiry was to explore how teachers experience the initiation and cultivation phase of the mentorship relationship within their schools, and how these mentorship relationships positively affect the teachers involved. Data collection methods included interviews, participant-written essays, and focus group sessions to answer the …

Recently Integrated Alu Elements In Capuchin Monkeys: A Resource For Cebus/Sapajus Genomics, J. M. Storer, J. A. Walker, C. E. Rockwell, G. Mores, T. O. Beckstrom, J. D. Orkin, A. D. Melin, Kimberley A. Phillips, C. Roos, M. A. Batzer

Psychology Faculty Research

Capuchins are platyrrhines (monkeys found in the Americas) within the Cebidae fam-ily. For most of their taxonomic history, the two main morphological types of capuchins, gracile (untufted) and robust (tufted), were assigned to a single genus, Cebus. Further, all tufted capuchins were assigned to a single species, Cebus apella, despite broad geographic ranges spanning Central and northern South America. In 2012, tufted capuchins were assigned to their genus, Sapajus, with eight currently recognized species and five Cebus species, although these numbers are still under debate. Alu retrotransposons are a class of mobile element insertion (MEI) widely used …

Targeting Delivery Of Bcl-2 Family Protein Inhibitor Has The Potential To Treat Cancer And Fibrosis, Mohammad Nurul Huda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Apoptosis is a naturally occurring cell death mechanism to remove the selective cell population. B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family protein plays a critical role in activating the upstream apoptosis signaling pathway, primarily the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. The BCL-2 family consists of both pro-and anti-apoptotic proteins, which are structurally and functionally similar, containing up to four BCL-2 homologies (BH) motifs (BH1-4). Defecting apoptosis along this signaling pathway can lead to various events, including malignant cell transformation, tumor metastasis, tissue fibrosis, and drug resistance. In fibrosis, the aberrant apoptosis signaling also activates multiple effector proteins and growth factors, such as TGF-β, CTGF, and …

Structural And Biochemical Studies On Disease Associated Proteins: Heat Shock Protein 60 And Hiv Capsid, Alejandro Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Structural studies on proteins provide valuable knowledge, from information about their fundamental nature, to laying a foundation for rational drug design. Here, we study two proteins, a human mitochondrial chaperonin heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) and the main structural HIV-1 protein capsid (CA). We focus on the structural nature of both proteins to try to understand their role in disease and elucidate the mechanism of potential drug treatments. Hsp60 is a chaperonin found in human mitochondria that is responsible for assisting client proteins reach their native, functional, state. The mechanism by which it catalyzes protein folding, however, has not been …

Characterization Of Hemocytes In Amblyomma Americanum And Investigation Of Traf6’S Role In Proliferation Of Hemocytes In Response To Infection, Jacquelyn T. May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amblyomma americanum is a medically important vector in the southeast United States. Cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system of this species were examined. To investigate cellular processes, hemocytes produced in response to gram-negative infection were characterized according to their ultrastructure. Four hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, type-I granulocytes, and type-II granulocytes. To elucidate molecular processes, we investigated AamTRAF as an immune-related gene by silencing the gene using RNAi then quantifying the hemocytes after inoculation with gram-negative and positive bacteria. It was found that silencing AamTRAF caused a decrease in hemocyte proliferation in response to gram-positive but not …

The Trio Student Support Services Newsletter, Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus

Office of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership Development & Engagement

• Director's Corner & Special Messages

• MLK Service Project

• A Taste of African Cooking Class

• National TRIO Day

• The History of National TRIO Day

• Workshops

• Events

• Recruiting

• TRIO's Annual Awards & Recognition Brunch

• Class of 2022

• Spotlight On... Recognize. Celebrate. Inspire

• Our Amazing Alumni Where Are They Now

• Student Staff

• A Special Thank You

Numerical And Theoretical Investigations Of Fractional Differential Equations, Sara Rafiq Al Fahel

Theses

Fractional calculus has been recently received huge attention from Mathematicians and engineers due to its importance in many real-life applications such as: fluid mechanics, electromagnetic, acoustics, chemistry, biology, physics and material sciences. In this thesis, we present numerical algorithms for solving fractional IVPs and system of fractional IVPs where two types of fractional derivatives are used: Caputo-Fabrizio, and Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo derivatives. These algorithms are developed based on modified Adams-Bashforth method. In addition, we discuss the theoretical solution of special class of fractional IVPs. Several examples are discussed to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the present schemes.

Psychophysiological Biomarkers Of Concussion Recovery, Adam Todd Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

Each ach year a growing number of individuals report lingering deficits months-years following concussion. Persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) can negatively impact day-today activities and if left untreated may manifest in severe neurological sequelae resulting in long-term cognitive impairment or advanced neurological degeneration (i.e., CTE). Current clinical diagnostic and prognostic assessments (e.g., symptom reports and neurocognitive testing) lack the sensitivity to quantify neurological function. Accordingly, there is a critical need to identify objective biomarkers specific to PPCS to improve an individual’s quality of life and prevent severe long-term neurological dysfunction.

Psychophysiological measurements (e.g., EEG derived event-related potentials, heart rate variability, and …

Inheritance And Appropriation: Confronting Privilege In Magical Young Adult Fiction, Natalie Jipson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the way that magical ability and the lack thereof has been racialized through the deployment of blood-based models of inheritance in young adult fantasy literature. Because of the connection between blood and biology, texts that only allow magical transmission from parent to child place significant limits on who can access witchery, creating systems of privilege that enforce racial and classed hierarchies. I will use magical novels written by Laurie Forest, Graci Kim, Nnedi Okorafor, Amy Rose Capetta, and Daniel José Older to illustrate the hierarchies created by blood-based models, as well as to demonstrate the possibilities that …

Volume 31, Number 1, Spring 2022, Office Of Communications, Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2018-present

VOLUME 31 | NUMBER 1 | Spring 2022

ON OUR COVER: Signed into law on June 23, 1972, Title IX has prevented sex-based discrimination and provided opportunities for women for the past 50 years. Illinois Wesleyan celebrates the anniversary, specifically through its impact on IWU’s women’s athletics program.

10 Cause for Celebration As Title IX turns 50, the Illinois Wesleyan women’s athletics community reflects on the progress that’s been made and the work that still needs to be done.

18 Made to Fly Propelled by an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to improve life in his home country of Nigeria, …

Understanding The Genomic Influence And Virulence Capabilities Of Environmentally Isolated Vibrios, Shannon Elizabeth Pipes

Theses and Dissertations

The genus Vibrio consists of Gram-negative bacteria that possess a curved rod shape and are routinely isolated from estuarine and coastal salt water. Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio vulnificus are the major three species that contribute to human disease worldwide, and a variety of other Vibrio species contribute to persistent problems in the aquaculture and fishing industries. The CDC estimates that vibrios cause 80,000 cases of disease each year in the United States alone, however, this number is thought to be underestimated, since some disease is only self-limiting, meaning patients may not seek medical treatment and have …

Tangled Up In Tanglegrams, Drew Joseph Scalzo

Theses and Dissertations

Tanglegrams are graphs consisting of two rooted binary plane trees with the same number of leaves and a perfect matching between the two leaf sets. A Tanglegram drawing is a special way of drawing a Tanglegram; and a Tanglegram is called planar if it has a drawing such that the matching edges do not cross. In this thesis, we will discuss various results related to the construction and planarity of Tanglegrams, as well as demonstrate how to construct all the Tanglegrams of size 4 by looking at two types of rooted binary trees - Caterpillar and Complete Binary Trees. After …

From Gene Expression To Physiology: A Study Of Chronic Thermal Tolerance In The Mytilus Edulis Species Complex, Lindsey Cate Schwartz

Theses and Dissertations

Rising ocean temperatures are a severe and ever-present threat to marine life. With environmental temperature having such a large impact on organismal performance, understanding the mechanisms which contribute to the ability to survive at higher temperatures is a crucial research focus. Significant progress has been made in discovering these mechanisms on the cellular, biochemical, and physiological levels, but is it much less common for those to be examined together. Using the Mytilus edulisspecies complex as a model system, this dissertation takes a closer look at how prolonged exposure to sub-lethal high temperatures impacts marine organisms on multiple levels of …

“Describing Without Identifying”: The Phenomenological Role Of Gender In Cataloging Practices, Travis L. Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores gendering practices of visual information catalogers. The work aims to understand how catalogers perceive gender when describing persons within visual information. The qualitative study deployed queer interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand how catalogers think broadly about describing identity. The infused queer theoretical tenets helped to understand that while participants may not directly name gender as challenging, the conflation of gender into cisnormative monoliths (assuming every person's gender matches their sex-assigned-at birth) or silence around gender produce telling opinions concerning nonbinary gender. The research also utilized a Think Aloud exercise wherein participants undertook in-the-moment cataloging three moving images. …

S-Equol: A Novel Therapeutic For Hiv-1 Induced Gut Dysbiosis, Mason T. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 infection affects approximately 38 million people around the world. The advent of cART has greatly improved the quality of life of infected individuals; however, roughly 50% of these individuals will still experience HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Additionally, the gut microbiome has been reported to be dysbiotic in HIV-1 infected individuals, regardless of adherence to cART. Current research has pointed to the gut-brain-microbiota axis as a potential target to treat both cognitive deficits and microbial changes. The present study investigated S-equol (SE) as a potential therapeutic for HAND by modulating the gut microbiome. The study included 21 HIV-1 Tg …

The Impact Of Cannabis And Alcohol Use On The Management Of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, Joshua Eric Sellner

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation sought to contribute to the evidence-base of diabetes management and acute complications associated with alcohol and cannabis use among individuals with Type 1 Diabetes (T1DM). Three interconnected studies were initiated to complete this goal. First, existing literature surrounding the potential consequences of cannabis consumption among individuals with T1DM were summarized within a systematic review. Study results were combined to provide a single measure of association through a meta-analysis. Second, identified associations were further investigated through a cross-sectional study using the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth data on alcohol and cannabis use on diabetes management and acute complications including …

Associations Of The Fto Gene And Risk Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Avery Ulrich

Theses and Dissertations

Background Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer that affects ~70,000 people each year in the US. The Fat Mass and Obesity (FTO) gene on chromosome 16 has been reported to be associated with obesity, solid tumor cancers (lung, renal, breast, prostate, pancreatic, endometrial), and more recently with hematologic malignancies, like AML. In this thesis, we test the hypothesis that inherited variants within the FTO gene are associated with an increased risk of AML. Methods Using the DISCOVeRY-BMT (Determining the Influence of Susceptibility COnveying Variants Related to one-Year mortality after Blood and Marrow Transplantation), a well-powered genome-wide association study …