Digital Commons Network^™

Little Interventions Everywhere: Wielding Intersectionality To Reclaim Socialist Feminism, Siiri E. Koski

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies M.A. Final Projects

Responding to the increased visibility of socialist politics in the United States following the 2016 presidential election, this study explores current expressions of socialist feminism and socialist feminist perspectives on and experiences with electoral politics, political action(s), and identity mediation. Nine organizers were recruited from socialist organizations to participate in a onetime, semi-structured, in-depth interview and speak on their experiences in the current moment (2015-present). The data reveals that organizers in socialist spaces have easily reconciled their socialism with their feminism and reclaimed socialist feminism as a distinct theory and practice dispersed across several social justice issues, organizations, and campaigns. …

Feminist Critiques Of Ecofascist, Nativist Appropriations Of Indigeneity Since 2016, Breana Lynch

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies M.A. Final Projects

This project explores recent manifestations of ecofascism within right-wing movements that deploy environmental concerns and rhetoric. Immigrants in the United States and in Europe and other global North countries have long been targeted by xenophobic policy and rhetoric guised as environmental protection. Although investigations by critical scholars including feminists on right-wing environmentalism unveiled the nativism and hate behind green agendas that are inherently anti-immigrant, I analyze recent ecofascist rhetoric and visual discourse for their harm to Indigenous communities, which is equally insidious, if less overt. This project engages with manifestos of extremists, right-wing political websites, and on-the-ground footage of alt-right …

Missed Opportunities In Social Media To Reduce Maternal Health Disparities For Black Women, Nerissa George

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Pregnancy-related maternal morbidity and mortality disproportionately affect Black women more than their White counterparts. Black pregnant women are more likely to omit or engage in prenatal care late than White women. Social media is an essential source of pregnancy-related information and shows it effectively improves pregnancy knowledge. Greater than 80% of Black women own a mobile device, and some data demonstrate that Black women use social media for pregnancy-related information. However, little is known about social media use during pregnancy for this population. Several gaps exist about what maternal health content is available on social media, how Black women use …

Megacity : A Reservoir Of Toxic Environmental Contaminants And Health Disease Burden, Omosehin Daniel Moyebi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ambient air pollution is a global environmental problem of concern with more than 95% of the world population living in areas with unhealthy air. World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 stated that air pollution is a principal environmental risk to human health with about 7 million premature air pollution-related deaths annually. Several epidemiological studies have linked morbidity due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) to ambient air pollution exposure, especially in North America and Europe. However, the effect of air pollution in Karachi, Pakistan is understudied, which is the case for many urban centers in the developing countries. Karachi is a megacity …

The Albany Answers Plant Incinerator : Environmental Justice And Slow Violence At The New York State Capital, Matthew D. Saddlemire

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The ANSWERS plant and its impact on the residents of Sheridan Hollow has recently been accepted by many as a case of environmental injustice. Simply looking at the benefits and burdens of environmental processes shows clearly that the primarily black community faced most of the health burdens that came from waste in the capital region, while white residential areas who sent their trash to ANSWERS faced minimal risk. The state benefitted from energy production, which was used to heat and cool the Empire State Plaza, the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, the state Education Building and New York State …

Taking A User-Centered Design Approach To Develop A Data Dashboard For New York State Department Of Health And Implications For Improving The Usability Of Public Data Dashboards / Narrative Competence And Cognitive Mapping As A Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Education Of Emergent Bilinguals, Bahareh Ansari

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recent years, the increased availability of public data dashboards provided opportunities to democratize data access by summarizing large amounts of data into accessible snapshots to facilitate educational efforts and encourage evidence-based decision-making. However, many current practices have not reached their full potential because the dashboard design has not accounted for users’ needs and preferences. This dissertation employed the user-centered design framework with three studies. Study 1 investigated the usability problems of existing public health data dashboards through an expert review of existing dashboards on government websites. Study 2 established the requirements of a usable design for public health data …

The Communicative Capacities Of The Medical Discourse In Authoritarian Societies : The Case Of Aids In Iran, Elham Pourtaher

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study explores the role of medical discourse in the Iranian formal public sphere. It examines how an epidemiological wave of HIV/AIDS—known as "the third wave"—highlighted nontraditional sexual behaviors in public and enabled a shift in policy and discourse by the Islamic Republic State. Through analyzing published content on HIV/AIDS from five major Iranian newspapers between 2009 and 2013, this study identified four competing narratives of the third wave which coexist and have a dynamic relationship with one another. First, the medical narrative warns of an unfolding public health crisis and provides a technical perspective to make sense of the …

Three Essays On Monetary Policy And Exchange Rates, Liang Fu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Chapter 1 is the product of joint work with Chun-Yu Ho. China’s monetary policy framework has evolved considerably in the past two decades, increasingly moving from using quantity-based instruments and targets to using price-based instruments and targets. This paper assesses the effectiveness of monetary policy in China by examining the influence of monetary policy on market interest rates using an event-study approach. We find that the effectiveness of price-based instruments in impacting market interest rates increases over time, and that price-based instruments are as effective as quantity instruments during the period since the completion of interest rates liberalization. Furthermore, central …

Examining The Influence Of A Negative Affect Induction Task On Self-Reported Cannabis Use, Expectancies, And Problems, Brianna Rose Altman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Substance use disorders and affective disturbances often covary. One commonly endorsed expectancy for substance use is stress relief, and using substances to cope with negative affect (NA) often covaries with greater use and problems. While strong evidence of these relations exists, NA might bias reporting of substance use due to hindered recall processes. This hypothesis warrants further research, as accurate reporting of substance-related variables is crucial in both research and treatment settings. The present study examined the influence of NA on reporting of cannabis variables using an affect-induction paradigm. Over 1,000 individuals recruited from Amazon’s MTurk participated. After reporting demographics …

The Impact Of Workplace Racial Harassment On Inclusion And Talent Retention, Katherine Kirkinis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The technology industry is struggling to achieve and retain racial diversity in their talent pools (Pivotal Ventures & McKinsey & Co., 2019; Scott, Klein, & Onovakpuri, 2017). While companies and organizations in recent years have been focused on increasing diversity and decreasing discrimination in the workplace (cf. Cleveland, Shore, Anderson, Huebner, & Sanchez, 2018), organizations do not seem to be making data-driven decisions around diversity and inclusion efforts (Dobbin & Kalev, 2017) and they do not seem to be working ensure positive outcomes for diverse individuals after they are hired (Holvino, Ferdman, & Merrill- Sands, 2004). This study examined the …

An Entropic Approach To Dynamics, Pedro Henrique Moreira Pessoa

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present thesis deals with different aspects of probability, the method of maximum entropy, information geometry, and dynamical systems and their applications to statistical physics and complex systems. Those topics come together in the framework for dynamics termed entropic dynamics. Work on the topic was initiated by my PhD advisor Professor Ariel Caticha and many colleagues at University at Albany as a method for explaining the dynamical processes in quantum mechanics from first principles of probability theory.

Essays On Technology And The Labor Market With Search Models, Soonhong Min

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation focuses on the impact of technological changes on workers based onthe task-based model. In the first chapter, I first investigate the impacts of two types of technologies on employment and job choices in the directed search model. The relationship between technology and labor with respect to complementarity and substitutability defines technology as labor-augmenting and labor-saving. Progress of labor-augmenting technology mainly works in jobs hiring highly-skilled workers in positive ways while labor-saving technological development affects jobs with middle-skilled workers in destructive ways during the last two decades in KLIPS data. The consequence of technological advances intensifies the advantage of …

A Gis Approach To Landscape Scale Archaeoacoustics, Kristy Elizabeth Primeau

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research presents the development and critical assessment of an Archaeoacoustics Toolbox for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology written in the Python programming language, and applies this methodology to cross cultural case studies exploring the importance of soundsheds in an anthropological-archaeological context. As counterpoint to a common critique of experiential theoretical approaches the Soundshed Analysis and Soundshed Analysis-Variable Cover tools provide a replicable means of modeling baseline estimates of the experience of sound. Testing against modern acoustical studies establishing scientific accuracy, and explanations of the sound physics calculations performed by the tools are provided. The tools are then applied to …

Exposing Gan-Generated Faces Using Deep Neural Network, Hui Guo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Generative adversarial network (GAN) generated high-realistic human faces are visually challenging to discern from real ones. They have been used as profile images for fake social media accounts, which leads to high negative social impacts.In this work, we explore a universal physiological cue of the eye, namely the pupil shape consistency, to identify GAN-generated faces reliably. We show that GAN-generated faces can be exposed via irregular pupil shapes. This phenomenon is caused by the lack of physiological constraints in the GAN models. We demonstrate that such artifacts exist widely in high-quality GAN-generated faces. We design an automatic method to segment …

Analysis Of The Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals Industry, Siddhant Ramesh

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry is stimulated by strong trends across numerous end-markets and categories of products. Advancements in 5G, demand for health-conscious wearable devices, and emerging services for next-generation devices are major prospects for the broader hardware industry through 2022. However, Headwinds such as trade wars, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recession looming, could alter the healthy trends that are noticed. Enterprise spending is seen to keep improving, but consumer spending is encouraged to take a breather in 2022. As such, the outlook for the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry for the next 12 months is …

Colgate-Palmolive Customer Development Finance Internship: A Collection Of Journals Entries & Testimonials Of Professional Development, Braden Byrum

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This is a collection of journal entries and testimonials to professional development that I received from my internship with Colgate-Palmolive on the Walmart team. Over the span of three months it serves as a reflection on my purpose and inflictions throughout my day to day during my internship. The skills developed during this experience are monumental in professional development but also expand into my personal life. These themes are relevant to the life ahead of me and this collection will serve as an endorsement to that.

The Influence Of Facial Exposure On Confidence In Eyewitness Identification, Madelynn Fancher

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In crimes in which there is an eyewitness identification, confidence is usually a good predictor of accuracy. However, in some cases, estimator variables might affect the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. This study analyzes the effect of exposure duration on confidence during an eyewitness identification. According to the pristine conditions hypothesis (Wixed & Wells, 2017), if the system variables are optimal, confidence and accuracy will be strongly related, even if the viewing conditions are suboptimal. Participants in this online study viewed a mock crime in one of two conditions: brief exposure or long exposure. Following viewing the crime, participants …

Midwifery Care's Potential To Improve Birth Outcomes And Experiences For Black Women And Infants, Neville Wintergerst-Burch

Undergraduate Theses

Black women and infants experience higher morbidity and mortality rates compared to white women and infants in the United States. Forces of systemic racism and poverty often lead to inadequate access to prenatal care for Black women, and care received is often compromised by implicit bias or barriers related to insurance coverage, impersonal provider-patient relationships, and poor healthcare literacy. Despite the rich history of Black Granny midwives in the United States, most Black women began using physicians for obstetric care in the 20th and 21st centuries. This integrative review explores how improving access to midwifery care for Black women could …

Strain Measurements In Skewed Reduced Beam Section Special Moment Frame Connections, Elizabeth Moriconi

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A series of experimental tests were conducted in the Civil Engineering Research and Education Center (CEREC) at the University of Arkansas to evaluate the effect of beam skew on a reduced beam section. Various degrees of skew on deep and shallow column depths were tested following a cyclical loading protocol, established by the AISC Seismic Provisions, to analyze the capacity of the out-of-plane skew connection [1]. Using the prequalified cyclical loading protocol allows for the evaluation of SMF connections in skew configurations against seismic events. Strain distributions throughout the RBS section, the welded beam-column connection, and the column flange were …

Isolation And Production Of Tandem Collagen Binding Domain From Clostridial Collagenase Colg And Developments In C1q Reagent Production For Future Molecule Characterization Work, Stephanie Beitle

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis covers a two part project: the production methods to create a double collagen binding domain molecule with a growth factor for wound healing applications and the development of a new in-house production method for isolating C1q from bovine blood. The wound healing molecule was created using transformation, sonication, and purification before being tested via electrophoresis SDS page and Western blots to confirm the molecule’s presence. The C1q in-house production method utilizes an ultrafiltration flow cell rather than dialysis at a critical point in the process, allowing for researchers to not only be able to use a single small …

Caregiver Satisfaction Of Telehealth Initiatives For Developmental Surveillance And Evaluation In Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aashiyana Patel

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

PURPOSE: To examine parental satisfaction of a telehealth program aimed to improve the identification and diagnosis of pediatric ASD in Northwest Arkansas.

DESIGN/METHODS: caregivers referred to the Access for Autism clinic received a satisfaction survey regarding the telehealth practices the clinic employs. This 5-point Likert scale survey was designed to measure six different constructs associated with telehealth satisfaction: assurance, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, usability, and patient satisfaction

CONCLUSIONS: Telehealth is a suitable alternative to attending medical appointments. The key finding indicated that 40% of caregivers believed the level of care received to be equal in telehealth and in-person appointments.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis Rates In Preterm Infants, Alexis Howard

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast milk and donor human milk is used in the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants born prior to 37 weeks gestation and those with very low birth weight. This process occurs through direct breast feeding and tube feeding. The aim of this study was to compare the use of breast milk and donor milk to the use of formula feed in preterm infants. A systematic review was conducted using articles collected from CINAHL and PubMed and was guided by PRISMA guidelines. A total of 15 studies that met criteria were analyzed by purpose, variables, study design, population …

Willow Creek Internship: The Effects Of Delayed Bathing On The Health Of Mothers And Newborns Post-Birth, Cara Yates

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The implications of newborn bathing have become a rising topic in couplet care. The practice of bathing after birth can be linked to many things such as glucose control, temperature stability and exclusive breastfeeding. The timing of the initial bath also has effects on immediate skin to skin time between newborn and mother and therefore effects the initial bonding period post birth. This paper explores the current research on this practice.

Effects Of Exercise On Parkinson's Symptom Relief, Brooke Burnett

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this review of twenty research articles, the effects of moderate exercise therapy on the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease will be explored. Appropriate literature was located using the research question, “In older adults with a Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis, how does moderate exercise influence the symptoms of this disease?” Twenty peer-reviewed research articles were examined for the impact of different forms of exercise on various symptoms associated with Parkinson’s. Nineteen of the articles reviewed provide substantial evidence in support of exercise therapy as a treatment option for people with Parkinson’s, and one of the articles found inconclusive evidence neither in support …

Pediatric Seizure Management With Ketogenic Diet, Lydia Beller

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Seizure disorders can be life altering and debilitating, especially for developing children. Children who have seizure disorders often require social, emotional, educational, and behavioral adjustments for children. Most medication regimes do not achieve complete management of seizure frequency and intensity. For children, seizure disorders can lead to unsuccessful education experiences, low self-esteem, severe injury, and difficulties with social skills and engagement. Discovering that a dietary means can reduce their frequency and intensity is groundbreaking. The ketogenic diet is a high protein, high fat, and almost no carbohydrate diet. The ketogenic diet is an effective non-pharmacological method for treating epilepsy (Karimzadeh, …

Pediatric Specific Assessment Modalities In Pediatric Blunt Trauma Cases: A Literature Review, Haley Ranne

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With unintentional injury being the number one cause of death of children in the United States, it warrants the need for successful, cost effective ways to improve identification of severe injury and prevent mortality in children. The purpose of this review is to compile literature related to pediatric specific trauma assessments in the instance of blunt trauma. Twenty peer-reviewed articles that were published in notable journals were analyzed to include in this review. There are several assessments that are being utilized in pre-hospital and hospital emergency settings today, such as the Shock Index (Pediatric Age Adjusted), Pediatric BIG Score, and …

Alleviation Of Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms By Implementation Of Standard And Alternative Treatments, Nika Sayvongsa

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a chronic dermatological disease caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. This is a common condition that is primarily diagnosed among children, but can persist throughout adulthood. Twenty peer-reviewed articles are analyzed in this expanded literature review. Various methods were implemented throughout these studies, including randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and single-blind studies; all of the studies shared the objective of evaluating AD alleviation with the use of either standard treatment modalities or alternative/ complementary therapies.

Civility And Communication Interventions To Improve Patient Outcomes, Lane Denney

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Communication in health care is vital for the successful care of patients and their outcomes while they are hospitalized. Healthcare workers are responsible for communicating patient information whether it is between change of shifts or reporting to a patient’s provider. It is important that this information is communicated effectively. This review evaluates how nurses communicate in shift- report and how this affects patient outcomes and civility between nursing units and teams. Overall, bedside shift reports promoted the best patient outcomes and increased teamwork on hospital units.

Multimodal Approach To Chronic Pain Management And Prevention Of Opioid Use Disorder, Hannah Elston

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background. Chronic pain (CP) is a major public health problem that affects one-third of the population and can interfere with the activities of daily life and cause decreased quality of life. Patients with CP have been increasingly prescribed opioids, contributing to the rise in the opioid epidemic. Due to the long-term nature of CP, the use of opioids as the sole treatment for CP can cause tolerance and increased dosages overtime which can lead to addiction and potentially overdose. Therefore, CP treatment should include multimodal approaches to treatment to prevent opioid misuse, opioid use disorder (OUD), and overdose. Multimodal treatments …

Fair + Equitable May 2022, International Association Of Assessing Officers

Fair + Equitable

The May 2022 issue cover story reports on Baltimore's attempts to fight blight and restore neighborhoods.