Digital Commons Network^™

Standby Guardianship For Incarcerated Custodial Parents, Lyla R. Bloom

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

When a child’s custodial parent is incarcerated, the child is left to either live with relatives who do not have the legal authority to make decisions for him or to live with strangers by way of the foster care system. This Note identifies standby guardianship laws as a means to better care for children of incarcerated parents by expanding an already existing legal framework. Currently, standby guardianship laws allow custodial parents suffering from debilitating illnesses to grant legal custody over their children to another adult for the length of their incapacity without terminating their own parental rights. This Note argues …

Preimplantation Genetic Testing: A Fundamental Right, Julianna S. Swann

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Unlike many European countries of similar economic, social, scientific, and political advancement, there is virtually no regulation of preimplantation genetic testing in the United States. This Note will explore preimplantation genetic testing and demonstrate that potential parents in the United States have a right to conduct said testing under the umbrella of the fundamental right to privacy. This Note will demonstrate the need for the regulation for preimplantation genetic testing that will comply with the Undue Burden Test set out in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, while acknowledging and supporting the fundamental right of potential parents to conduct testing. This …

Ending School Brutality, Nicole Tuchinda

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Children, especially Black children, are killed, traumatized, injured, and terrorized through assaults, solitary confinement, inappropriate handcuffing, and other excessive applications of physical force upon children in public schools. The state employees enacting such maltreatment are not just police. They are mainly teachers, principals, and security guards, and they are given authorization by law for purposes of “educating,” “disciplining,” and “maintaining order” in public schools. Scientific research does not support the use of physical force to improve behavior, however. This Article describes the problem of school brutality, the excessive, unwarranted, and traumatizing use of physical force by state employees upon students. …

Lgbtq Emerging Adults And Covid-19, Allison P. Powell

Sociology and Anthropology Honors Theses

Emerging LGBTQ adults experience a period of major developmental milestones complicated by multiple marginalizations, and now, a global pandemic that has disrupted the social world. Both emerging adulthood and the COVID-19 pandemic are short but intense periods occurring concurrently for young people at this time, and both factors influence the spheres of housing, family, school, and friends for LGBTQ emerging adults in this study. Emerging adults are at particular risk of being negatively affected by the ways the pandemic has altered their life course and social world, and LGBTQ emerging adults are even more at risk due to their marginalized …

The Right To Repair In The Digital Era: An Analysis Of The Issue From The Perspective Of The Vulnerable Subject And The Responsive State, Michael Francisco Young

Computer Science Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

All The Feels: Building A Chatbot To Assist Students Struggling With Depression, Sara Julieta Tagarot

Computer Science Honors Theses

Inspired by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the mental health of millions of people, specifically college students, this thesis focuses on the development of a chatbot to assist those struggling with depression. The bot has three main tasks: identify the user’s mood and respond with the appropriate encouraging words, suggest activities that would improve the user’s mental health state, and provide resources in case of emergencies.

Vlast' I Vlist' Power And Influence: Lgbt Violence In Chechnya And Activist Responses, Victoria M. Henretty

Modern Languages & Literatures Honors Theses

In my research I provide a genealogy of the LGBT violence in Chechnya that began in 2017. Beginning in the Soviet period, when sexual citizenship entered public discourses, and through the post-Soviet period. I turn to Diane Richardson’s theory of sexual citizenship and Bert Kulpa and Anna Mizielinska’s writings on contemporary peripheries to approach sexual citizenship in Russia and the Caucasus with a critical lens that decenters Western perspectives. I provide a historical primer on the imperial relationship between Russia and Chechnya in order to further explain how imperial dynamics impact sexual citizenship. I turn to LGBT activism since the …

From The President, Karen Manning

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Tannin-Free Grain Sorghum Varieties On The Metabolizable Energy, Performance, And Intestinal Health Of Poultry, Alissa Moritz

All Dissertations

The single largest cost of poultry production is the cost of feed, and it is favorable to seek more sustainable, alternative feed ingredients to reduce the competition between human, animal, and industrial users. Grain sorghum is a potential alternative feedstuff to minimize the dependence of corn by the poultry industry. Not only is it nutritionally similar to corn, but it is tolerant to dry, sandy soils, which allows it to grow successfully in arid climates. This is highly desirable because of its potential to alleviate the production pressure of growing other cereal grains like corn that are less tolerant to …

Incorporating Human Effects In Quantifying Mechanisms Of Stream Fish Community Structure Using Metacommunity Theory, Lauren E. Stoczynski

All Dissertations

Metacommunity theory incorporates local and regional factors to understand how biotic communities are structured across the landscape. Despite established knowledge of how humans impact aquatic systems, inclusion of anthropogenic factors in metacommunity studies have been largely ignored. Additionally, alpha, beta, and gamma diversity can all be explored at the metacommunity level to investigate mechanistic drivers of community structure. Beta diversity can be further partitioned into turnover and richness difference components, each with different mechanistic drivers. Streams provide an excellent study system for metacommunity research because of the dendritic structure of watersheds and the natural delineation that watershed boundaries provide. Large-extent …

Essays On The Economics Of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Aspen Underwood

All Dissertations

Electric vehicles (EVs) have peaked people’s interest since the first electric-powered vehicle was developed in the 1830’s. By the 1890’s EVs were the most common vehicle in the U.S. However, due to issues with charging batteries and limitations of the electrical grid, EVs were left behind as gasoline vehicles became commonly available in the early 20th century. Several attempts to repopularize EVs over the last 100 years suffered from difficulties with limited driving ranges, but today, expanded driving ranges and improved charging capabilities have made EVs a real alternative to gasoline engines. The possibility of zero-emission transportation made possible by …

Designing And Evaluating Accessible E-Learning For Students With Visual Impairments In K-12 Computing Education, Earl W. Huff Jr

All Dissertations

This dissertation explores the pathways for making K-12 computing education more accessible for blind or visually impaired (BVI) learners. As computer science (CS) expands into K-12 education, more concerted efforts are required to ensure all students have equitable access to opportunities to pursue a career in computing. To determine their viability with BVI learners, I conducted three studies to assess current accessibility in CS curricula, materials, and learning environments. Study one was interviews with visually impaired developers; study two was interviews with K-12 teachers of visually impaired students; study three was a remote observation within a computer science course. My …

Penalized Estimation Of Autocorrelation, Xiyan Tan

All Dissertations

This dissertation explored the idea of penalized method in estimating the autocorrelation (ACF) and partial autocorrelation (PACF) in order to solve the problem that the sample (partial) autocorrelation underestimates the magnitude of (partial) autocorrelation in stationary time series. Although finite sample bias corrections can be found under specific assumed models, no general formulae are available. We introduce a novel penalized M-estimator for (partial) autocorrelation, with the penalty pushing the estimator toward a target selected from the data. This both encapsulates and differs from previous attempts at penalized estimation for autocorrelation, which shrink the estimator toward the target value of zero. …

Methodological Considerations For The Study Of Cognitive Reserve And Its Relationship To Cognitive Decline In Older Adults, Kerry A. Howard

All Dissertations

Cognitive reserve (CR) is a key construct in promoting healthy cognitive aging. Methodological inconsistencies have limited the ability for researchers to make broad conclusions about relevant life experiences that may build CR and delay cognitive decline. This dissertation explored notable issues within the operationalization of CR based on proxy life experiences by applying a systematic approach toward understanding the use of CR, as well as an understanding of consequences of inconsistent operationalization. The project had three aims: review and explore the association between various CR proxies utilized in the literature and develop a composite score for CR, describe differences in …

Characterization Of Mef2c-Related Disorders: Genotype, Phenotype, And Gene Pathway Dysregulation, Jessica Ann Cooley Coleman

All Dissertations

MEF2C­-related disorders are characterized by intellectual disability, developmental delay, lack of speech, seizures, stereotypic movements, hypotonia, and brain abnormalities and are caused by pathogenic alterations involving the MEF2C gene. Despite published cases, MEF2C­-related disorders are difficult to recognize clinically. These studies sought to further characterize MEF2C­-related disorders by investigating the genotypes, phenotypes, and gene functions (or dysfunctions) associated with the disorder.

Tremors have been reported in some patients with MEF2C­-related disorders, but the concept of tremors has been complicated by vague definitions and numerous categorization methods. We performed a concept analysis following the Walker and Avant …

Integrating Fire Responses To Combat Wildfires, Jonathan Leonard Badal

Electrical Engineering

Each year wildfires cause significant loss of property, worsen people’s health, and destroy multiple ecosystems. On average, a wildfire season costs anywhere from 7.6-62.8 billion dollars due to fire containment, repair, and restoration [1]. It can take decades to recover from the crippling loss of land and take even longer to fully restore it. However, with the implementation of a robust early detection system, these losses can be significantly reduced. The current process for identifying wildfires involves visual identification, phone call alerts, and media tools primarily driven by park rangers and public reporting. Unfortunately, this system is not preventative and …

My Body Is A Question Mark Lit From Within, Lisa Marie Schrad

Graduate Thesis Collection

In her MFA thesis “My Body Is a Question Mark Lit from Within,” Lisa Marie Schrad explores through poetry the body and its different appetites—hunger for justice, for healing, for God, for home, for wonder. Along the way, the poems also make clear that the path toward fullness and satisfaction must inevitably pass through a deep, brave commitment to knowing the full truth about ourselves. When a light shines out from inside the body, what shortcomings are exposed? What goodness is revealed? And how do we live in the world responsibly, kindly, from the space in-between our questions and their …

Humor Writer Of The Month: David Misch, Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Blog

Our Humor Writer of the Month is David Misch, a comic folksinger, stand-up comedian and screenwriter whose credits include Mork and Mindy, Saturday Night Live and The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Vicarious Trauma And Doctoral-Level Trainees: Self-Care Practices, Elisabeth B. Gibson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Research reflects correlations between trauma history and motivation to pursue a career in clinical psychology and mental health professions. Professional longevity is a concern for clinicians in general, especially for clinicians with a trauma history who work with people suffering with trauma conditions. Trauma histories measured by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), are likely to be present within students of doctor of psychology training programs, and may influence doctoral trainee readiness and ability to engage clients in clinical work. Self-care is thought to not only support overall well-being, but to also mitigate the negative consequences of stress associated with clinical work. …

Resilience, Spirituality And Cultural Connectiveness Within The Native American/American Indian Indigenous Population, Lindsay Price

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Native Americans, also known as the American Indian or Indigenous population, were colonized over four centuries ago by Europeans who brought many diseases which decimated this population. This immense trauma continued for generations as the settlers continued to violate Native American life and identity on every level. Hundreds of indigenous tribes endured massacre, annihilation of traditional culture, forced religious assimilation, stolen land, broken treaties, betrayal of rights, removal of identity, neglect, and constant abuse without any recompense. These violations still widely occur, yet the strength and flourishing of Native Americans remain ever-present. Their deep-rooted protective factors within resilience, like cultural …

Personality And Behavioral Characteristics: A Study Of Court Populations, Markayla Shattuck

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Despite the growing body of research for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) within adults, there remains a lack of research addressing the prevalence of FASD in the legal system. Over the last several decades it has become apparent that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can have devastating long term impacts on the developing fetus including facial abnormalities, cognitive deficits, adverse life outcomes, and behavioral challenges (Brintnell et al., 2019; O’Neil, 2011; Sarman, 2018; Streissguth et al., 2004). Within the legal system, FASD is about 30 times higher than the general population (Lange et al., 2017). Initially, the prevalence of FASD was …

High Spatial And Temporal Resolution Census Data Reveals Communities At Risk Along The Wildland-Urban Interface (Wui) In California, Usa, Jessica E. Viner, Slade T. Laszewski, Wesley Ho, Justin Ewoldt, Pionnah Gregorio, Liz Lyon, Brian Hoover, Shenyue Jia

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We tracked census tract level population change along California's wild land-urban interface (WUI) during the past decade (2010-2019), an ecological sensitive region transitioning from developed land to wilderness. Our results from Mann-Kendall analysis, a method employed for monotonic trend detection showed that about one-third (29.1%) of census tracts in California’s WUI have seen a significant population increase from 2010 to 2019, affecting 12.7% population in California.

The population increase along WUI is largely driven by the sixteen counties in the San Francisco Bay Area (10) and Southern California (6). We also found that higher proportion of WUI residents in Bay …

Transformative Pedagogy And Science Identity In Undergraduate Anatomy And Physiology, Emily Ann Royse

Dissertations

Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses are undergraduate biology prerequisite courses that cover many topics about human biology, including anatomy, histology, organ systems, and homeostasis. The purpose of the course is to equip students aiming to enter nursing and allied health education programs with an understanding of basic biological principles relevant to human biology and pharmacology. However, these courses have a high incidence of failure, and many students need to retake the course to progress in their competitive academic programs. Students tend to rely on memorization techniques to learn the course content, and given the nature of A&P as a discipline, …

Variation In Ampicillin Dosing For Lower Respiratory Tract Infections And Neonatal Bacterial Infections In Us Children's Hospitals., Elizabeth A. Daniels, Christopher C. Mcpherson, Jason G. Newland, Brian R. Lee

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: We examined ampicillin dosing in pediatric patients across 3 conditions: (1) bacterial lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in infants and children >3 months, (2) neonates with suspected or proven sepsis, and (3) neonates with suspected central nervous system (CNS) infections. We compared our findings to dosing guidance for these specific indications.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: The study included data from 32 children's hospitals in the United States.

METHODS: We reviewed prescriptions from the SHARPS study of antimicrobials, a survey of antibiotic prescribing from July 2016 to December 2017. Prescriptions were analyzed for indication, total daily dose per kilogram, …

Teaching Programmable Microcontrollers To Novice Users In A College Of Agriculture: Effects On Attitude, Self-Efficacy, And Knowledge, Grant T. Hood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two articles that examined an instructional treatment based on the use of Arduino UNO R3 programmable microcontrollers in a fundamentals of agriculture systems technology course at the University of Arkansas. The first article examined students’ breadboarding and programming self-efficacy and knowledge of Arduino. The treatment consisted of a three-class-period instructional treatment, starting with a pretest before instruction to measure students’ baseline interest, knowledge, and self-efficacy of breadboarding and programming Arduino. This was followed with a short 30-minute instructional video explaining basic Arduino programming and breadboarding. Next a hands-on laboratory activity requiring students to breadboard and program …

Benchmarking Challenging Small Variants With Linked And Long Reads., Justin Wagner, Nathan D. Olson, Lindsay Harris, Ziad Khan, Jesse Farek, Medhat Mahmoud, Ana Stankovic, Vladimir Kovacevic, Byunggil Yoo, Neil Miller, Jeffrey A Rosenfeld, Bohan Ni, Samantha Zarate, Melanie Kirsche, Sergey Aganezov, Michael C. Schatz, Giuseppe Narzisi, Marta Byrska-Bishop, Wayne Clarke, Uday S. Evani, Charles Markello, Kishwar Shafin, Xin Zhou, Arend Sidow, Vikas Bansal, Peter Ebert, Tobias Marschall, Peter Lansdorp, Vincent Hanlon, Carl-Adam Mattsson, Alvaro Martinez Barrio, Ian T. Fiddes, Chunlin Xiao, Arkarachai Fungtammasan, Chen-Shan Chin, Aaron M. Wenger, William J. Rowell, Fritz J. Sedlazeck, Andrew Carroll, Marc Salit, Justin M. Zook

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Genome in a Bottle benchmarks are widely used to help validate clinical sequencing pipelines and develop variant calling and sequencing methods. Here we use accurate linked and long reads to expand benchmarks in 7 samples to include difficult-to-map regions and segmental duplications that are challenging for short reads. These benchmarks add more than 300,000 SNVs and 50,000 insertions or deletions (indels) and include 16% more exonic variants, many in challenging, clinically relevant genes not covered previously, such as PMS2. For HG002, we include 92% of the autosomal GRCh38 assembly while excluding regions problematic for benchmarking small variants, such as …

Managing Stress Tolerance On Warm-Season Putting Greens In The Transition Zone, Thomas Edward Walton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of warm-season putting greens in the transition zone has increased in recent years. Ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy) is the most prevalent warm-season putting green selection in the transition zone, however, newly developed greens-type zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.) cultivars represent another potential selection for golf courses. The two major limitations of warm-season grasses in the transition zone are a general lack of cold- and shade-tolerance. Protective covers are essential to protect ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens in the winter months. Unfortunately, golf courses can still experience winterkill underneath protective covers. Two field trials were conducted …

“Implacement”: The Importance Of Place And Community In Schooling, Emily Coady

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters exploring my overarching research question: How does sense of place shape a teacher’s orientation to their profession? My first chapter empirically answers the question: Is there a relationship between place attachment and measured aspects of teacher quality? In an attempt to qualify the strength of bond between a teacher and his or her community, I adapted a place attachment instrument developed by Raymond, Brown, and Weber (2010). Each teacher is given a place attachment score informed by their responses on the 21-item survey. Next, I correlated these scores to other aspects of teacher quality …

Imagining Communicative Success: How Imagined Interactions Affect Conflict Management In Romantic Relationships, Melinda Shaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there are no bodies of research that examine the relationship between imagined interactions, relational maintenance, conflict management, and gender identity. Previous research has primarily relied on quantitatively measuring the functionality of imagined interactions and generating an understanding as to why individuals use them. However, this study qualitatively examined the connection between these concepts, specifically how gender identity affects how individuals use imagined interactions to manage conflict with their partner and maintain their relationship. Fifteen participants who are currently in long-term relationships were interviewed and then required to complete the Thomas-Kilmann (1974) conflict management mode survey. Afterward, the responses were …

Investigating Molecular Mechanisms Behind Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis (Bco) Pathogenesis In Modern Broilers, Alison Ramser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), a leading cause of lameness in broiler chickens, is characterized by infection, inflammation, and bone attrition. There are currently no effective treatments and positive diagnosis is only possible through necropsy evaluations. Lameness is also a rising animal welfare and economic concern, making prevention and detection of BCO all the more critical. These challenges are exacerbated by a lack of mechanistic understanding of BCO’s etiology. The question I asked during my dissertation was how bacteria induce bone attrition in BCO pathology. My research has shown that mitochondrial dysfunction is characteristic of BCO conditions along with autophagy …