Digital Commons Network^™

Circumcision—Deal With It! A Clinical Ethnography Of Intactivism At American Intersections, Benjamin M. Gaddes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On a routine trip to the grocery store, or while scrolling online, you might encounter the provocative and puzzling discourse of Intactivism, a viral, single-issue social movement that opposes infant male circumcision, and wonder “Huh? Why is this here, now?” This project situates Intactivism in a history of circumcision and anti-circumcision that spans from ancient Sumerian tents to the front pages of Reddit. It takes an immersive qualitative clinical ethnographic approach, nested in a broader cultural psychology that is non-reductive and pluralistic, to articulate an Intactivist ethos in its public and private dimensions. Methods include participant-observation, interviews, and framework discourse …

Cultural Diversity In The Body Of Christ: An African American Theological Reading Of The Book Of Revelation, Charles Gilmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study will attempt to facilitate a more helpful reading of the text of John’s Apocalypse by placing it in an appropriate literary and historical context, deploying an African American hermeneutic, informed by the work of African American commentators such as Brian Blount, Allen Dwight Callahan, Clarice Martin, and Shanell T. Smith to develop from the text of the Apocalypse its ecclesiological content for a contemporary audience. As the church writ large (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and indigenous expressions) wrestles with its increasing global presence and the cultural and linguistic diversity which that expanded presence creates, this study will attempt to …

On The Cultivation Of Relational Leadership Mindsets Among Graduate Supervisees In The Mental Health Professions: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis, Cristina Bucur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In counseling supervision, leadership is often associated with supervisors’ skills, role, position, and responsibilities. However, supervisees need to learn and practice how to lead also: for example, how to promote others’ well-being, how to support, and advocate for others and self. Graduate supervisee relational leadership in the mental health professions is an intrinsic part of the purposive aspect of counseling supervision. Relational leadership in graduate counseling supervision is a purposive, interpersonal, facilitative, growth oriented, and process-based service in which leaders -expert facilitators and mentors- seek to cultivate leaders, not followers. Relational leadership is mutuality-affirming and mutuality-promoting (e.g., open dialogue, mutual …

Assessing How The Humane Health Coalition Connects Veterinary Services With Healthcare For People Experiencing Poverty And Housing Insecurity, Katie Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People experiencing housing insecurity and financial hardship often prioritize their pets’ needs ahead of their own. In addition to financial concerns, some struggle to obtain medical treatment because they lack transportation or have had negative experiences with medical professionals. The Humane Health Coalition (HHC), a collaboration between Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP) and Allegheny Health Network (AHN), seeks to address these challenges. The HHC is based on the One Health Model and brings together medical and veterinary staff to provide care and resources for both pets and their owners. My research examines the implementation of this new program. I …

Evaluation Of Changes In Evaporative Losses From Lake Powell Reservoir Contributions In The Colorado River Basin, Maria Mlinarcik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Colorado River Basin (CRB) is one of the most critical water sources for the western United States (U.S.) and Mexico. For over a century, numerous policies and regulations have been implemented in attempts to manage the Colorado River Basin to address the concern of overuse, collectively referred to as the “Law of the River.” The USGS hydrologist E.C. LaRue warned that the optimistic estimates used in negotiating the Colorado River Compact did not align with the actual water availability in the river. His analysis in 1925 revealed a potential deficit if all allocated water was utilized, exacerbated by overallocation …

For The Good Of Association: The Call-And-Response Communication Ethics Of The Early Naacp, Rodney Adam Lyde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), from the standpoint of communication studies. In particular, this dissertation is based on the research of several crucial, communicative artifacts, including: “The Call” penned by William English Walling; the addresses, speeches, and the panel discussion of the Negro National Conference; and the editorial of the first issue The Crisis magazine. The contention is that the communication of the NAACP was catalyzed by a communication ethic, nominated as call-and-response communication ethics. Therefore, this dissertation elucidates the four practices of call-and-response communication ethics: …

Relationships Between Students’ Ict Usage, Self-Efficacy And Literacy, Malimi Kazi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information and communication technology (ICT) usage, self-efficacy, and literacy are very important for people in the 21st century. People need them to participate successfully in various activities including learning and working. Because of the importance of ICT, nations around the world, including the United States, have developed and are implementing ICT policies. Also, in 2013 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) introduced the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) for grade eight students. However, ICT usage, ICT self-efficacy, and ICT literacy can be affected by students’ gender, race and socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of …

Surface Water Quality Assessment Of Mingo Creek County Park: The Impacts Of Extractive Industries, Mikayla J. Bayto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historical and current extraction operations and infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines, conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas drilling, longwall coal mining, and strip coal mining, occur throughout the Mingo Creek watershed of Washington County, Pennsylvania, including Mingo Creek County Park. Mingo Creek and several associated tributaries flow through Mingo Creek County Park, eventually discharging into the Monongahela River. An independent water quality study was conducted from June 2020 through July 2023 in Mingo Creek County Park to determine if historical and current extraction activities impact Mingo Creek and its associated tributaries. Weekly sampling of Mingo Creek and associated tributaries …

The Ethical Justification Of Medical Interventions Across The Spectrum Of Healthcare For Patients Preceding The Age Of Consent: The Tension Between Surrogate Consent And Minor Assent, Erin Scroggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, The Ethical Justification of Medical Interventions Across the Spectrum of Healthcare for Patients Preceding the Age of Consent: the Tension Between Surrogate Consent and Minor Assent, will aim to provide ethical justification for medical intervention for patients preceding the age of consent. To begin, decision-making for medical intervention in all forms will be examined. Followed by, beginning of life interventions into complex and controversial situations for medical intervention which then leads into end-of-life considerations for patients preceding the age of consent. These chapters will pose various ethical considerations for some more contentious dilemmas. It has been pondered …

Impact Of Glycerophosphocholine Metabolism On Phenotypes In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae And Schizosaccharomyces Pombe, Victoria Hrach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycerophosphocholine (GPC) is an abundant metabolite in eukaryotes. In baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, GPC can be produced via deacylation of the major membrane glycerophospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC). My lab has identified a novel pathway to re-synthesize PC from GPC by acylating it at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions; this pathway has been termed the PC Deacylation-Reacylation Pathway (PC-DRP). We previously characterized the acyltransferase Gpc1 and its ability to synthesize one-tailed lyso-PC from GPC, as well as that noting that GPC1 is upregulated in inositol-free conditions and results in more saturated PC. Here, I add to this basic characterization by establishing …

Characterization Of A Novel Metalloid Reductase Outer Membrane Porin Rara From Sulfurospirillum Barnesii Ses-3, Narthana Jeganathar Kanmanii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sulfurospirillum barnesii SES-3 is a gram-negative epsilon proteobacterium that grows anaerobically by coupling the oxidation of lactate to the reduction of arsenate. Previous work on metal and metalloid metabolism in S. barnesii had identified a redox active protein, designated RarA that when provided an artificial electron donor (i.e., reduced methyl viologen, FMN, or NADH), could reduce a variety of substrates, including arsenate, selenate, selenite, nitrite, and even phosphate. The enzyme’s inferred amino acid sequence showed weak similarity (30%) to outer membrane porins with homologs found in only certain species of Sulfurospirillum. Further, the enzyme did not contain cysteine residues …

Comparative Functional And Computational Analyses Of Primate Seminal Proteins: Insights Into Sexual Selection And Hiv/Siv, Emine Feride Kahveci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Male reproductive protein-coding genes are among the most rapidly evolving genes across many animal taxa, commonly attributed to sexual selection; however, pathogen defense mechanisms might also be contributing factors. This study aimed to both computationally and experimentally investigate the selective pressures responsible for the rapid evolution of seminal proteins. In the first part, the research focused on sexual selection in the form of post-copulatory sperm competition as a driving force behind the evolution of kallikrein related peptidase 3 (KLK3), also known as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a key prostatic seminal protein. KLK3 is responsible for the liquefaction of semen coagulum through …

Quaternary Diamond-Like Sulfides For Nonlinear Optical Applications: Investigation Into Composition-Structure-Property Relationships Of The I2-Ii-Iv-Vi4 And I4-Ii-Iv2-Vi7 Formulae, Jordan Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research work presented in this dissertation focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and property assessment of new and existing quaternary diamond-like semiconductor (DLS) materials for the potential application in infrared (IR) nonlinear optics (NLO). Chapter 2 discusses the previously discovered temperature-dependent polymorphs of Cu₂ZnGeS₄ (CZGS); however, the IR NLO properties, neutron powder diffraction data, and single crystal X-ray diffraction structures were previously undetermined. The high-temperature α-CZGS polymorph was superior to the low-temperature β-CZGS analog in both second harmonic generation (SHG) and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT). Chapter 3 presents the discovery of Li₂MgGeS₄ and comparison …

Targeting Cancer- One Carbon At A Time: Design And Synthesis Of Pyrimidine Based Heterocycles As Potential Cancer Chemotherapeutics, Md Junayed Nayeen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With over 6 million death counts, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for 23% (136,084 death count) of all cancer deaths. Other than that, colon and rectal (9%, 51,869 death count), pancreas (8%, 46,774 death count), female breast (7%, 42,275 death count), prostate (5%, 32,707 death count), and liver and intrahepatic bile duct (5%, 28,227 death count). Other cancers individually accounted for less than 5% of cancer deaths. Although cancer death rates decreased about 27% from 2001 to 2020, the therapeutic options are limited …

Fundal Anterior To Posterior Hysterotomy And Cesarean Myomectomy In Fibroid Uterus, Ashni Nadgauda, Sarah Dreibelbis, Jonathan D. Rodger, Andrew Fieo

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

Fibroids are a common benign tumor located in the female reproductive tract and affect up to 10 percent of women, leading to challenges during cesarean section. Few cases of myomectomy at the time of cesarean section have been described and most describe uteri with only a few fibroids present. Our case describes a 39 year old G1P0101female with extensive fibroids including large fibroids located at the lower uterine segment. This patient underwent cesarean section and myomectomy at 27 weeks and five days gestation with a fundal, vertical hysterotomy, extending from the anterior to posterior wall of uterus. This is the …

Student Honors And Awards Program 2024, Communications And Marketing

UMM Honors and Awards Ceremony

Recognizing students who demonstrate academic excellence and enrich campus life.

Audience Preferences For Extension Forestry Zoom Webinars, Kevin W. Zobrist, Brendan J. Whyte

Journal of Extension

The Washington State University Extension Forestry program switched to all online programming in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 2,000 people participated in our webinars, providing an opportunity to survey a large audience about their webinar preferences. We found that people prefer webinars that are approximately an hour long and offered in the evening or late morning. Participants placed high importance on having a recording available, but they had mixed views on including video of the instructor speaking. Participants found online delivery to be successful and had a strong preference for online programming in the future.

Temporal Order Memory In Naturalistic Events Is Influenced By Semantic Knowledge And Hierarchical Event Structure, Yining Ding

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

As people go through everyday life, they segment their continuous sensory experience into distinct events, and the event structure being perceived during encoding has important implication on how event dynamics is later reconstructed from long-term memory. Previous studies using discrete pictorial stimuli showed that people are sometimes better at remembering the temporal order of items occurring within the same perceptual context than items spanning across a perceptual boundary, but that the opposite can also occur if contextual cues are available during retrieval. However, given that these paradigms only tested the episodic memory of arbitrary temporal associations, it is unclear if …

Jagen-Sterben-Töten. Animalische Frauen In Heinrich Von Kleists Die Herrmannsschlacht, Julian Severin Rey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This Master's thesis undertakes a close reading of Heinrich von Kleist's Die Herrmannsschlacht, focusing explicitly on the female characters and placing the character Hally, who does not even appear in the dramatis personae, at the center of its considerations. It also takes a look at Thusnelda, who is the princess of the Cherusker and central to the plot and the outcome of the play, examining her in relationship to Hally. Relying on textual evidence, it carries out a character analysis that focuses on the female charac ters while considering them in the context of the play as a whole. This …

No Leg To Stand On: Menenius Agrippa's Fable In Book 2 Of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, Joshua Bayona

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

While they differ in their exact interpretive approach, scholars analyzing the Fable of the Belly in Book 2 of Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita (2.32.8-12) tend to read Menenius Agrippa’s analogy as an emblematic representation of Livy’s own political philosophy of how a state should function (Lincoln 1989; Kapust 2011; Mineo 2015). Although some scholars, like Vasaly (2011) and Connolly (2015), recognize the limitations of the fable for understanding Livy’s views, they do not elaborate on what consequences these limitations have on the effect of the analogy on the narrative. Most scholars divorce the parable from the surrounding historical context of …

Lysimachos And His Coinage In Context: The “Hellespont Workshop” And The “Philo” Lysimachi, C. 302 To 255 Bce, Phillip Register

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Identifying Novel Upstream Regulators Of The Hippo Pathway: Forward Genetic Screen In Drosophila Melanogaster, Akshara Iyer

Honors Scholar Theses

The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved developmental pathway that controls organ size and tissue homeostasis in all metazoan animals. Dysregulated Hippo pathway has been implicated in a wide range of human disorders, including cancer. The physiological function of the Hippo pathway is best understood in Drosophila, where inactivation of the Hippo pathway tumor suppressors, or overexpression of the Yorkie (Yki) oncoprotein, results in tissue overgrowth characterized by excessive cell proliferation and diminished apoptosis, and increased transcription of Hippo pathway target genes such as diap1 and expanded (ex). Despite the well-established Hippo pathway core signaling cascade, the upstream regulation of …

Homophobia: How Straight People Define It, Shirk Responsibility For It, And Abstain From Confronting It In Mississippi, Madeline Burdine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing upon 12 in-depth qualitative interviews, this research examines how straight-presenting people in Mississippi define what it means to be supportive of queer people in their own words. It also shows how they distinguish what is (and is not) homophobic and what their understanding of homophobia does (or does not do) for them or the queer people in their lives. Whether they were raised within a homophobic home or a more open-minded home, interviewees use their upbringings to frame their current support for queer people. Interviewees also work to establish themselves as open-minded towards queer people by distancing themselves from …

Fsec Meeting Minutes May 10, 2024, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Patterns And Potential Mechanisms Of Phenotypic Changes In Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez

Master's Theses

Urbanization is an example of human induced rapid environmental change that can have wide-reaching ecological effects, including habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration of local climates. Effects of urbanization have been shown to impact wildlife, as disturbances resulting from urbanization can create novel environments and selective pressures that could lead to changes in morphology, physiology, or both. Small mammals such as rodents are an ecologically important set of wildlife species because they are a key prey item for several predators, hold strong influence over plants as a primary consumer, and some species carry and transmit major human and animal diseases. Previous …

Jtc 24: Engineering The Experience, Kayla Vonburg King

University of Mississippi News

This story is part of the 2024 Journey to Commencement series, which celebrates the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting University of Mississippi students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

Analysis Of Self: The Unfortunate Exploration And Development Of Myself, Owen L. Myhr

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Through this analysis of myself, greater insight and understanding created a chance for me to understand why my aspirations are focused where they are. Taking the time to reminisce on my upbringing, relationships, and the other aspects of life allowed true reflection. This allowed me to see where specific thoughts and feelings come from. The analysis of self included taking and analyzing assessments, conducting interviews with significant people in my life, integrating theory, and reflecting on next steps for continued development. This project was an opportunity to express myself and reflect on how I would like to continue my …

Analysis Of Self, Sadie Ketteman

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of self, it is meant to inspire self-reflection of the affects the counseling program has had on my life. The experiences that lead me to the mental health field and other background information is discussed. To further foster self-reflection and analysis, personality assessments are used, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Family members and other loved ones also express their perspective of my growth. With the skills and confidence I have gained, I plan to use cognitive behavioral therapy and other modalities to best serve my clients. Self-reflection and the counseling field …

Jtc 24: Seeking Better Opportunities, Christina Steube

University of Mississippi News

This story is part of the 2024 Journey to Commencement series, which celebrates the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting University of Mississippi students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

Distinguished Professor 'Widens Scope' Of Viking, Early Medieval Art, Erin Garrett

University of Mississippi News

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi has appointed Nancy Wicker, professor of art history, as its newest Distinguished Professor.