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Automatic Signal And Image-Based Assessments Of Spinal Cord Injury And Treatments., Samineh Mesbah May 2019

Automatic Signal And Image-Based Assessments Of Spinal Cord Injury And Treatments., Samineh Mesbah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most common sources of motor disabilities in humans that often deeply impact the quality of life in individuals with severe and chronic SCI. In this dissertation, we have developed advanced engineering tools to address three distinct problems that researchers, clinicians and patients are facing in SCI research. Particularly, we have proposed a fully automated stochastic framework to quantify the effects of SCI on muscle size and adipose tissue distribution in skeletal muscles by volumetric segmentation of 3-D MRI scans in individuals with chronic SCI as well as non-disabled individuals. We also developed …

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Progressive City In The Progressive Era : Child Welfare Reform In Louisville Kentucky., Mary K. Marlatt May 2019

Progressive City In The Progressive Era : Child Welfare Reform In Louisville Kentucky., Mary K. Marlatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Louisville, Kentucky has a unique character, never more apparent than during the period between 1890 and 1920, as the city attempted to balance traditional southern cultural ideals with northern progress. During this period, social reformers attempted to alleviate social ills exacerbated by the industrial revolution and urban crowding by advocating for social reform. This study concentrates on specific social reforms – settlement houses and missions, free kindergartens, child labor, juvenile justice, and pure milk depots – benefiting children in Louisville, and explores how those endeavors differed from those of their counterparts in the north and south. Child welfare reformers in …

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Wounds And Writing : Building Trauma-Informed Approaches To Writing Pedagogy., Michelle L. Day May 2019

Wounds And Writing : Building Trauma-Informed Approaches To Writing Pedagogy., Michelle L. Day

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation builds a trauma-informed approach to writing pedagogy informed by writing studies scholarship about trauma and inclusive pedagogy, clinical social work literature on trauma-informed care, and interviews with nine current University of Louisville writing faculty about their experiences academically supporting distressed students. I identify three central touchstones—“students are coddled,” “teacher’s aren’t therapists,” and “institutions don’t support trauma-informed teaching”—in scholarly and public debates regarding what to do about student trauma/distress in higher education. After exploring the valid concerns and misconceptions underpinning these touchstones, I illustrate how clinical research offers a way forward to help writing instructors develop more complex understandings …

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Schumpeter Revisited : Faster Better Cheaper As Grounds For Entrepreneurial Success And A Path To An Ipo., Charles Raymond Olsavsky May 2019

Schumpeter Revisited : Faster Better Cheaper As Grounds For Entrepreneurial Success And A Path To An Ipo., Charles Raymond Olsavsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current entrepreneurship research focuses on two types of entrepreneurial firms: (1) the firms that develop innovative novel products or services arising from technological innovation; and (2) the firms that develop innovative novel products or services arising from recognition of an opportunity in existing conditions, no type of change required. A third type of business founder has been largely ignored in the modern entrepreneurship research - - the founder who enters a competitive market with no novel product or service that he or she invented. I refer to this founder in a competitive market as a performance entrepreneur. This dissertation …

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Vlogging Truth To Power : A Qualitative Study Of Resilience As Practiced By Transgender Youtube Content Creators., Corey J. Feger May 2019

Vlogging Truth To Power : A Qualitative Study Of Resilience As Practiced By Transgender Youtube Content Creators., Corey J. Feger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an exploratory account of ways that transgender people’s personal YouTube channels, or “vlogs,” provide new avenues to cultivate resilience as a collective. To make sense of this unstable, contested model of identity and community, I apply a three-part model of “social resilience,” a theory of resilience that transcends the individual and welcomes incoherency, contradiction, and “messiness” into its analysis. In Chapter One, I provide a snapshot of transgender history and present my research objective and justification. Chapter Two consists of a literature review and argues in favor of a hybrid theory of intersectionality and assemblage. Chapter Three …

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Evaluation Of A Learning Community Program For Developmental Reading Students At A Two-Year College., Tonya Scott Lanphier May 2019

Evaluation Of A Learning Community Program For Developmental Reading Students At A Two-Year College., Tonya Scott Lanphier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Learning communities have become an integral part of higher education. Numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of learning communities at colleges and universities. This study, extended over two years, is an in-depth analysis of a learning community program serving developmental reading students at a public, two-year college. A primary aim of the program was to improve students’ reading skills to increase student persistence. In this dissertation, mixed methods were used and data came from six sources: in-depth interviews with students, instructors, and administrators, focus groups with students, a content review of internal and external program documents, pre-post reading test, a …

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Waiting Room., Helen Payne May 2019

Waiting Room., Helen Payne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waiting Room is an installation of drawings and monotypes that re-envision everyday printed materials common in medical offices. The brochures, poster, bulletin board and children’s ABC book in this Waiting Room offer guidance suggest invasive and dysfunctional policy. A door opens onto a further room, where a hundred ultrasound images cascade onto the floor. This work, called Transducer Phosphene is the product of a fictional character’s encounter with a cruel (and not fictive) abortion policy. Waiting Room is the fruit of an inquiry that spanned my three years of study at the Hite Art Institute, a probing into the politics …

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The Role Of Social Supports On The Financial Toxicity Of Cancer., Lisa C. Smith May 2019

The Role Of Social Supports On The Financial Toxicity Of Cancer., Lisa C. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although literature exists on the impact of cancer-related financial burden and its effects on quality of life, we do not have a full understanding of the nature of the financial burden on individuals and their families. Likewise, research on social support has concentrated on social, emotional, functional, and physical well-being but not on the financial well-being of individuals with cancer. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of social support in the relationship between financial toxicity and quality of life of individuals living with cancer. This research used a multiple method approach composed of two studies. Study …

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Hybridity And Political Disorder : A Mixed Method Approach To Understanding The Hybrid Regime., Bryce Jamison Kleinsteuber May 2019

Hybridity And Political Disorder : A Mixed Method Approach To Understanding The Hybrid Regime., Bryce Jamison Kleinsteuber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on two central questions; first, does regime hybridity lead to an increased propensity for political disorder; and second, what specific regime level characteristics are responsible for the increased propensity. The theoretical basis for this study is founded in the understanding that the duality of Hybrid regimes ensures that they receive neither the benefit of Authoritarian, coercive force nor Democratic plasticity and thus are unable to prevent political disorder. Therefore, during periods of political transition leaders in these regimes not only cannot prevent these events but may be incentivized to allow or even encourage certain events as a …

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Curating An American Immigrant Identity : German And Latin American Heritage Weekends As Placemaking In Louisville, Kentucky, 1974-1980., Sarah Elizabeth Mccoy May 2019

Curating An American Immigrant Identity : German And Latin American Heritage Weekends As Placemaking In Louisville, Kentucky, 1974-1980., Sarah Elizabeth Mccoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The multicultural Heritage Weekends, which began in 1974 in time for the bicentennial, were ethnic festivals in Louisville, Kentucky, and were used by different groups in disparate ways. German Americans and American Latinos used the festivals as placemaking, as they laid claim to the city of Louisville and curated their own interpretation of an American identity. Festival organizers, including city officials, however used the festivals as a way to encourage pluralism, while still promoting hegemony and assimilation. By analyzing newspaper articles and the history of both German Americans and American Latinos in the city, the work of heritage among ethnic …

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All The Better To See You With., Monica Stewart May 2019

All The Better To See You With., Monica Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

All the Better to See You With is a body of work that deals with the inherently complex relationships between fairy tales and feminism. Consisting of an installation of hand-embroidered life-size or larger, papier-mâché female body parts and a series of six mixed media works on paper, this collection of work uses the imagery of fairy tales to address the violence of female experience. Through an exploration of the role of women in both the writing and literary function of fairy tales, we can see connections between the truth and fiction of women’s work and violence against women.

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The Self-Efficacy Of Biological Mothers And Foster Mothers Caring For Infants Prenatally Exposed To Drugs Or Treated For Nas : Examination Of Potentially Influencing Factors., Megan Kathleen Sherehiy May 2019

The Self-Efficacy Of Biological Mothers And Foster Mothers Caring For Infants Prenatally Exposed To Drugs Or Treated For Nas : Examination Of Potentially Influencing Factors., Megan Kathleen Sherehiy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify demographic risk and protective factors that may relate to parental self-efficacy in biological and foster mothers caring for infants prenatally exposed to opioids. The study also examined whether participation in treatment for biological mothers and in training for foster mothers was associated with parental self-efficacy. Forty-nine women (21 biological mothers and 28 foster mothers) were surveyed. Measures included demographic, treatment, and training information. A single-item, self-report measure was used to assess satisfaction with support from friends using an item from the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref scale (Skevington, Lotfy, & O'Connell, 2004). The Karitane …

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"A Trained And Trustful Soul" : Life And Literature Of A Black Louisville Artist In Minstrel America., Emma Christine Bryan May 2019

"A Trained And Trustful Soul" : Life And Literature Of A Black Louisville Artist In Minstrel America., Emma Christine Bryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the century-long theatrical expression of blackface minstrelsy within the larger context of the United States, but specifically studies its popularity in Louisville, Kentucky from 1878 to 1925. This study is meant to bring to the fore the pervasiveness of blackface minstrelsy, and how it was used to demean, degrade, and oppress African American populations before, during, and well after Emancipation. This work is not meant to memorialize the craft of minstrelsy, however, but rather attempts to show how black individuals of the time were actively working to both reclaim the detrimental stereotypes of blackface minstrelsy, while also …

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Uncovering The Stories Behind The Numbers : A Case Study Of Maternal Death Surveillance And Response In Goma, Democratic Republic Of Congo., Baraka Muvuka May 2019

Uncovering The Stories Behind The Numbers : A Case Study Of Maternal Death Surveillance And Response In Goma, Democratic Republic Of Congo., Baraka Muvuka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, 303 000 women die each year from preventable causes related to pregnancy, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) having the tenth highest maternal mortality rate. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) is a surveillance-action cycle that aims to eliminate preventable maternal mortality by linking actionable data on maternal deaths with multi-level actions. While countries are increasingly adopting MDSR, there are research gaps on its implementation, outcomes, and best practices in developing countries including the DRC. This study assessed MDSR implementation in Goma Health Zone (HZ), DRC, specifically its structure, process, quality, outcomes, and influencing factors. A qualitative case …

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Evaluation Of The Health And Exposure Histories Of A Community Surrounded By Industry And Industrial Waste : A Mixed Methods Approach., Lindsay Koloff Tompkins May 2019

Evaluation Of The Health And Exposure Histories Of A Community Surrounded By Industry And Industrial Waste : A Mixed Methods Approach., Lindsay Koloff Tompkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental pollution is not distributed equally across members of society. Low-income individuals are more likely to live near waste sites and other sources of pollution, and, therefore, face greater exposure to environmental health hazards. One such community in Louisville, Kentucky, the Riverside Gardens neighborhood, consists of approximately 300 homes that are surrounded on three sides by industry and industrial waste, including a remediated Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site, a former coal-burning power plant and coal ash storage site, and multiple chemical, rubber, and plastic manufacturing companies. Residents have reported elevated rates of cancer and other chronic diseases and have requested …

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Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin May 2019

Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Ethanol (EtOH) consumption is known to affect multiple organs; this is unsurprising, as the concentration of EtOH in the blood at relevant doses reaches the millimolar range. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to elucidate mechanisms of alcohol-induced organ injury, specifically the effects of alcohol on the hepatic extracellular matrix (ECM) proteome, the alcoholic hepatitis (AH) plasma peptidome, and the effects of alcohol on the renal cortex proteome and transcriptome. Methods. Mice were pair-fed ethanol-containing liquid diet chronically, and then some mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Liver sections from these mice were processed in a series of increasingly …

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An Evaluation Of Student Perceptions Of Learning Environments Across Fully On-Line Versus Blended Course Delivery Formats., Pamela Bates Larkin May 2019

An Evaluation Of Student Perceptions Of Learning Environments Across Fully On-Line Versus Blended Course Delivery Formats., Pamela Bates Larkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this evaluation study was to describe students' perceptions of their course experiences within two distinct groups of students who participated in either a fully online or a hybrid/blended version of an introductory course. The groups differed in course format (hybrid versus online group) and measures used included primarily the seven scale scores on the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES) (Walker & Fraser, 2005). Additionally students were asked to respond to one open-ended question designed to assess perceptions of the course delivery format specifically. Although findings must be interpreted with great caution, due primarily to low …

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Investigating Predictive Relationships Between Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students' Sense Of Classroom Community, Perceived Learning, And Perceived Anxiety., Emily B. Schantz May 2019

Investigating Predictive Relationships Between Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students' Sense Of Classroom Community, Perceived Learning, And Perceived Anxiety., Emily B. Schantz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health is an all-encompassing term that focuses on a person’s ability to achieve work-life balance inclusive of positive mental health and mental ill-health. Current trends suggest an overall increase in mental ill-health for undergraduate and graduate students. McMillan and Chavis’ sense of community theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. This study aimed to examine whether speech-language pathology graduate students’ sense of classroom community and perceived learning predict anxiety levels while controlling for demographic variables. Three-hundred-sixteen master’s level speech-language pathology students completed an online survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, Perceived Learning Scale, and Classroom Community Scale. …

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Thinging : Powerful Objects., Tammy M. Burke May 2019

Thinging : Powerful Objects., Tammy M. Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The works in "Thinging” are inspired by desire, the genuine and the false, systems of real and perceived values, the quest for immortality, the allure of things, our use of them to make ourselves, and imagining pasts and futures via objects. The following concepts are threaded through the work: cathexis, ritual as a value builder, collections, hoarding, display, object history, exchange, use, and sign values, and vibrant materiality. At the heart of my investigation is the quest to examine the origins of object power, and by what measures it can be evaluated: value from belief, market value, and something perhaps …

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A Contemporary Trend Analysis Of Kentucky State Police Vehicular Pursuit-Related Collisions And Injuries., Frederick A. Williams Jr. May 2019

A Contemporary Trend Analysis Of Kentucky State Police Vehicular Pursuit-Related Collisions And Injuries., Frederick A. Williams Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the trends in vehicular pursuits conducted by the Kentucky State Police (KSP) over time (i.e., years 2009 - 2017). Additionally, predictors for collisions and injuries were examined. The issues surrounding vehicular pursuits center on officer safety and agency liability concerns with the most significant of these being collisions and injuries. This study contains several primary areas. Chapter two includes a review of the literature surrounding the area of vehicular pursuits. Specifically, it reviews definitions pertinent to this study, legal aspects concerning pursuits, major empirical studies conducted on pursuits and specific risks associated with pursuit practices. This section …

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Coming To Terms With Gonzo Journalism : An Analysis In Russian Formalism., Beau Kilpatrick May 2019

Coming To Terms With Gonzo Journalism : An Analysis In Russian Formalism., Beau Kilpatrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gonzo journalism is notoriously difficult to define because of its ambiguous nature. To date, scholarly definitions focus on historical interpretations of Gonzo’s content, its connection to social and political contexts, or the biography of Hunter S. Thompson. These definitional attempts neglect the formal devices of the composition. This thesis aims to redefine Gonzo as its own genre by using the nearly forgotten methods of Russian formalism—specifically the works of Victor Shklovsky, Vladimir Propp, and Boris Tomashevsky—to analyze the formal devices and components of its form. The results are twofold; first, it acts to rejuvenate an unpopular literary theory by illustrating …

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Exploring Place As A Producer Of Localized Art Styles And Its Role In A Contemporary Global Art World., Alexis Doerr May 2019

Exploring Place As A Producer Of Localized Art Styles And Its Role In A Contemporary Global Art World., Alexis Doerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Place as influencing the production of local art idioms is examined. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and Michael Baxandall’s concept of visual capacity explain the social, economic, and physical structures that comprise place and affect how people perceive and evaluate the world around them. Art education, professional development opportunities, and local arts spending are discussed as the main structures of place that shape local art idioms and art making processes. South Dakota artists Harvey Dunn, Terry Redlin, and Dorothy Morgan are used as a case study. The writer argues that due to globalization the long-standing structure of art center and …

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"Model And Patriarch" Of Southern Settlements : Neighborhood House In Louisville, Kentucky, 1896-1939., Kalie Ann Gipson May 2019

"Model And Patriarch" Of Southern Settlements : Neighborhood House In Louisville, Kentucky, 1896-1939., Kalie Ann Gipson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the workings of Neighborhood House, a social settlement in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1896 to 1939. It argues that Neighborhood House represented a typical settlement house that operated during the Progressive Era in the United States. From its beginnings under its founder, Archibald A. Hill, through the tenure of Frances Ingram, Neighborhood House served as an Americanizing institution for urban, European immigrants in Louisville by offering clubs and classes to both immigrant children and adults. Neighborhood House residents also mitigated between immigrant children and parents, pushed for child labor reform, and battled vice in the area. Furthermore, this …

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Alterations In Rhythmic Licking Behaviors Following Fibrosis In The Rat Mylohyoid Muscle., Brittany Fletcher May 2019

Alterations In Rhythmic Licking Behaviors Following Fibrosis In The Rat Mylohyoid Muscle., Brittany Fletcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Muscle injury is a common side effect of radiation treatment for head and neck cancer. To increase understanding of muscle injury related dysfunction, we investigated the effects of oral swallowing function after cryoinjury to mylohyoid muscle in rats. The hypothesis is that injury to the mylohyoid delays the temporal licking pattern, resulting in aberrant drinking behaviors. Six rats received bilateral mylohyoid injuries by applying a 3mm cryoprobe. Licking behavior was measured by electrophysiological recordings of rhythmic tongue movements in a ten-minute drinking session taken pre-and post-injury (one-and two-weeks). Lick frequency and total licks per cluster decreased significantly one-and two-weeks post-injury …

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The Division I Men's Basketball Transfer Redshirt Requirement : Hurting Or Helping Black Student-Athletes?, Sarah B. Williams May 2019

The Division I Men's Basketball Transfer Redshirt Requirement : Hurting Or Helping Black Student-Athletes?, Sarah B. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following study provided a voice to an otherwise unheard from population of former student-athletes as they explained their transition experiences with the Division I transfer and redshirt year. The purpose of the study was to explore the Black student-athlete’s transition experience through the redshirt year in Division I men’s basketball from a qualitative, phenomenological research perspective. The study used two theories as guiding frameworks: 1) Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory and 2) Critical Race Theory (Calmore, 1992; Tate, 1997). Both Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory and Critical Race Theory were used to examine the transition experience of the Black male basketball …

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Send Nudes : Art On Social Anxiety And Human Connection In An Internet Driven Society., Lauren A Bader May 2019

Send Nudes : Art On Social Anxiety And Human Connection In An Internet Driven Society., Lauren A Bader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My social anxiety is the driving force behind my thesis work. Sufferers of social anxiety often have a hard time forming relationships because their fear of social interaction causes them to refrain from self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is the act of telling others personal details about yourself. This can be hard for people with social anxiety because of their intense fear of judgement. It is quite common for people with this type of anxiety to seek out opportunities to self-disclose online because they have the advantage of anonymity and time to construct thoughtful responses. In my work I seek out participants online …

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Learning And Laboring : Student-Workers’ Networked Experiences Of Literacy, Agency, And Mobility In The Neoliberal University., Layne Porta Gordon May 2019

Learning And Laboring : Student-Workers’ Networked Experiences Of Literacy, Agency, And Mobility In The Neoliberal University., Layne Porta Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rhetoric and composition has a well-established tradition of considering the connections between literacy education and the discourses and structures of political-economic institutions. This dissertation builds from this work and foregrounds the experiences of student-workers in the UPS Metropolitan College program through a qualitative study that is informed by institutional ethnography (Smith, 1987, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006). Institutional ethnography examines institutional texts and text-mediated discourses as coordinators of individual action. Therefore, I draw on primary data gathered from individual interviews with nine student-workers and one Metropolitan College administrator as well as supplemental data gathered from a survey administered to composition instructors, …

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The Shape Study : The Survey Of Health And The Perceived Environment Study., Colette Patrice Davis May 2019

The Shape Study : The Survey Of Health And The Perceived Environment Study., Colette Patrice Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Few studies have considered how an individual’s perception of their built environment may be a risk factor for being overweight or obese. Adolescents may be particularly vulnerable in the context of “impoverished environments”, which they may perceive to be difficult, dangerous, resource deficient, and unaesthetic. This study aids in clarifying how the built environment influences the risk of obesity among adolescents residing in a neighborhood in Louisville, KY. Objective: The overall objective was to conduct a cross-sectional epidemiologic pilot study among adolescents aged 12-17 years residing in West Louisville, Kentucky to evaluate the association between perceptions of …

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"Monogamish" : Constructing Shared Meaning Of Commitment And Marriage In Same-Sex Relationships., Brandon Michael Schmidt May 2019

"Monogamish" : Constructing Shared Meaning Of Commitment And Marriage In Same-Sex Relationships., Brandon Michael Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study I drew from 17 in-depth interviews with nine gay men and eight lesbian women who were in or previously had been in a committed same-sex relationship. My goal was to understand how cisgender women and men in a same-sex relationship define commitment in the era of marriage equality. I approached the research using standard principles of analytic induction. I drew from social construction theory and symbolic interactionism theory to help me make sense of the data. Emergent from the data were the themes for importance of constant open and honest communication within the relationship and negotiation of …

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Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee May 2019

Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more students evaluate their choice for higher education, the rate of transfer students continues to grow. The transfer population is often addressed broadly in research studies, and few examine differences among the population. This study was designed to analyze the differences in transfer shock and retention rates between students who transferred from a community college to a four-year institution (vertical) versus those who transferred from one four-year institution to another (lateral). Participants of this study consisted of 1,032 students who transferred to the University of Louisville during the fall 2014, 2015, and 2016 semesters. Results indicated, when controlling for …

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