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Virtual reality in art appreciation education: A systematic review of the literature
Get PDFThis study is a systematic review of 23 years of research on virtual reality (VR) usage in art appreciation education. A total of 34 articles were selected from 2 major academic databases using search strings and manual screening protocols. The literature analysis emphasized four aspects of VR-based art appreciation education: research methodologies, instructional design, technological affordances, and assessment. The results show the trends in the VR literature regarding the forms of application in different knowledge types, interaction design specific to art appreciation, and the solutions to the cognitive load imposed by the technology. Finally, practical implications and a future research agenda for VR-based instruction are discussed
A Study on the Impact of Representational Forms of Concepts in Elementary School Mathematics on the Degree of Transfer Occurrence
Get PDFEducators aspire for learners to proficiently apply acquired knowledge across diverse contextual scenarios. Facilitating knowledge transfer involves employing varied methodologies in the construction of instructional materials. Regrettably, extant research lacks a comprehensive examination of the efficacy of these methodologies in specific applications. Drawing upon cognitive psychology principles, this research delineates three representations of instructional materials conducive to knowledge transfer: the amalgamation of conceptual content and digital applications, the integration of conceptual content with situational queries, and the fusion of two situational queries. Subsequently, a cohort comprising 63 third-grade students undergoes experimentation to discern the differential impacts of the aforementioned instructional material configurations on both knowledge acquisition and transfer. Findings indicate a general convergence in the acquisition of mathematical knowledge and transfer capabilities, albeit with discernible variations in the domain of problem-solving sub-skills. Specifically, instances of excessive familiarity with situations facilitate knowledge acquisition but do not necessarily correlate with enhanced transfer acquisition. This underscores the recommendation that educators incorporate instructional materials wherein learners possess a moderate level of familiarity with the given situations during the design phase, thereby fostering concurrent development of transfer acquisition and knowledge acquisition
Biometric Assessment of Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) from Recreational and Commercial Fisheries in Mississippi, USA
Get PDFQuantitative stock assessments for Mississippi’s Spotted Seatrout use length-, age-, and sex-composition data from fishery-independent sources as proxies to estimate biostatistical characteristics of fisheries harvests due to lack of sector-specific data. In Chapter 2, I examined the age, length, and sex composition of Spotted Seatrout from three fishery-dependent sectors. Between April and December 2023, I collected 210 fish (n = 19, 124, and 67 from private, charter, and commercial sectors, respectively). The length ranged between 373-535mm, 285-523mm, and 345-568mm TL, with mean ± SD lengths of 453 ± 51mm, 393 ± 57mm, and 442 ± 53mm TL, respectively. Age ranged from 1-5yrs in private and charter and 2-5yrs in commercial, and predominantly 1 and 3yrs in private, 2yrs in charter, and 3yrs in commercial. Mostly, females were captured, with female-to-male sex ratios of 3.7:1, 5.7:1, and 1.9:1 in private, charter, and commercial sectors, respectively. Results highlighted the need for sector-specific age, length, and sex composition in stock assessments. Additionally, I investigated the use of fish carcasses, which may introduce biases such as shrinkage on length and mass loss. In Chapter 3, I examined the impact of freezing and thawing on carcasses collected from April to October 2023. Percent changes in mm TL, mm SL, and g W had means of -0.1%, -0.63%, and -5.42%, respectively. Results indicated that mm TL was unaffected by freezing, while mm SL and g W were significantly affected, suggesting caution in using frozen fish data in stock assessments
On an Unshakeable Foundation: An Archaeological Investigation of the Postemancipation Black Community of Bass Street, the Church They Built, and the Lasting Identity They Formed in Nashville, Tennessee
Get PDFThe Bass Street Community lived along the northern base of St. Cloud Hill in Nashville, just below the Civil War-era Union fortification, Fort Negley. The fort was built and defended by conscripted free, enslaved, and self-emancipated Black/African Americans and soldiers from the U.S. Colored Troops; some of whom stayed, built residences, founded a church, and established a shared community identity. The objects they left behind reflect a time of transition in the postemancipation urban South.
The former Bass Street Community enclave is a subset of the Fort Negley archaeological site (40DV189). My thesis examines artifacts from the Bass Street Baptist Church. It focuses on three research questions; How was the community (identity) established?, What characteristics did it display and how did those change over time?, and How is the community identity reflected archaeologically? Through the creation of a novel community-focused functional artifact typology and subsequent artifact analyses, my project shows that the establishment of the community identity is intrinsically tied to the founding of the church and that it became more complex over time. Utilizing the Community Typology and comparing the Bass Street Baptist assemblage to similar sites, I developed a methodological framework to identify community-use sites through material culture. My conclusions highlight the complexity of Bass Street’s history and community identity, while underscoring their social heterogeneity and the similarities and differences between it and other Black communities and churches. The research presented is a step toward complicating the historical narrative of Nashville and the postemancipation South overall
Development of a Flow Cytometry Method for the Identification and Enumeration of Enterococcus faecalis
No full textA multi-color flow cytometry method coupled with fluorescent staining was developed to detect and quantify E. faecalis concentrations in coastal waters as an alternative to the traditional membrane filtration method. The developed method was used to characterize E. faecalis during batch growth and yielded consistent results across the various physiological states of the cells. Additionally, the application of propidium iodide (i.e., a viability stain), afforded the method the ability to differentiate between cells with intact and compromised cell membranes, which raises the potential of quantifying cells that are in viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Initial field test using natural seawater samples spiked with E. faecalis, demonstrated high accuracy (98-120 % recovery rate) and precision (6-10% CV) of the method to detect E. faecalis. The short analysis time (~ 2 hours) and absence of labor-intensive steps (vacuum filtration, agar plating, and a series of confirmatory steps), increase the potential for the method to increase the throughput of routine monitoring of water quality. A shorter response time to potential outbreaks of E. faecalis and the ability to quantify VBNC cells would further reduce risks to public health and safety
Elucidation of Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Release from Mast cells
No full textMast cells are one of the major producers of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), and mast cell-derived TNF (MC-TNF) is associated with pathological conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and allergic asthma. However, the molecular machinery underlying TNF release from mast cells has been unclear, despite the conserved nature of exocytosis. To delineate the exocytic machinery required for TNF release from mast cells, we systematically dissected the exocytic fusion machinery (e.g., Munc13, Munc18, and VAMP families) expressed in mast cells, using a combination of CRISPR-dependent knockout, RNA interference, confocal microscopy, lentiviral rescue experiments, and cell-based assays. Out of the three Munc13 proteins found in mast cells, we have shown that while Munc13-4 knock-out eliminated β-hexosaminidase, histamine, and serotonin release, it was only partially required for TNF release. Of the three Munc18 homologs, we showed that Munc18b is the sole Munc18 homolog required for TNF-α release in mast cells. For the first time, we reported the requirement of distinct exocytic machinery in the presence of different stimuli in mast cells by showing that while VAMP7 is required for TNF release in TLR-dependent mast cell activation, it does not play a role in IgE/allergen activation of mast cells. Furthermore, we delineated the compartmentalization and dynamics of TNF release in mast cells by employing a combination of microscopy and biochemical characterization. We showed that mast cell TNF is associated with multivesicular bodies and can be released in exosomes. Upon this discovery, we generated a tool to specifically monitor and quantify exosomal TNF release which we showed can be employed in quantifying exosomal TNF release and delineating exocytic machinery involved in this process.
In summary, this current study uncovers important aspects of the molecular mechanisms and dynamics of TNF release in mast cells. Our discovery of mast cell TNF release in exosomes and the corresponding design of a tool for its quantification has set the stage for the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying the release of exosomal TNF and its roles in intercellular signaling events
The Role of an Environmental Club on Community College Students\u27 Connectedness to Nature
No full textRichard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder published in 2008 inspired the world to explore the outdoors. He brought to light the decreasing time children are spending in nature and just enjoying all the benefits it has to offer. Many studies have also explored nature deprivation and the negative effects it has on children and youth. They also examine the positive influence nature has on children and youth’s health. More recent studies are examining the effects nature has on emerging adults and on adults. Emerging adults are those college aged adults in the 18 – 22-year range. This unique population is one that faces many challenges that can affect their mental and physical health. The connection to nature in emerging adults also helps alleviate the symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and improves physical health as well. This study really focused on the connectedness to nature in emerging adults. A community college environmental club was examined to see the influence it has on fostering this connectedness.
This was a mixed methods study utilizing a modified version of the Nature Relatedness Scale and the Connectedness to Nature Scale, as a pre-test/post-test, given before and after an environmental club kayaking trip on a local river. The qualitative study utilized three different methods of collecting data; autophotography, photo elicitation, and semi-structured interviews. The autophotography method utilized the students photographs that they took during the trip. Then those same photographs were used during the photo elicitation interviews with students, and last semi-structured interviews were conducted.
The sample size for this study was very small due to several factors, including the trip taking place after the end of the semester and conflicting with work and vacation schedules. With this small sample in mind, a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was performed on the pre-test and post-test mean scores. The qualitative results, however, painted a picture of the students being very connected to natur
Suppressing Reactive Oxygen Species via Application of Antioxidant Supramolecular Polymers
Get PDFCardiovascular diseases along with various other disease conditions are characterized by an upregulation in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can overwhelm homeostatic processes in the body, resulting in cellular apoptosis and severe oxidative damage. The lack of clinically approved treatments to regulate or alleviate this elevated ROS presence underscores the need for novel therapeutic strategies. While antioxidants promote cell rescue through ROS scavenging, their clinical translation is impeded by insufficient bioavailable concentrations at the source of injury. The opportunity to apply antioxidant supramolecular polymers of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) is an exciting prospect of research to combat corresponding issues. For this work, a PA monomer was designed and synthesized to incorporate antioxidant activity, modelled off the potent and natural antioxidant, glutathione. PAs were characterized for molecular weight and purity using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The supramolecular polymerization of these PAs was assessed by a Nile Red assay to determine the critical aggregation concentration of the PA monomers, circular dichroism to assess internal ordering of the PA molecules upon assembly, and transmission electron microscopy to assess nanofiber morphology. The antioxidant capabilities were probed using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. Finally, the cellular viability and efficacy in ROS mitigation of the antioxidant supramolecular polymers assessed in the in vitro setting. Taken together, these results provide exciting proof-of-principle support of antioxidant supramolecular polymers as a potential new therapeutic approach to target the damaging effects of ROS in disease and injury
Stronger together: The intersection between Sandra Harding and informal science education
Get PDFScience literacy is an integral skill to knowledgeably navigate the modern world (Dawson, 2014). However, most science education within the Western world takes place in the settings of formal institutions, which rely on and recreate Western cultural assumptions and biases. In these socially Western institutions, non-Western or non-dominant cultural ways of thinking are systemically replaced with science as a way of knowing (Harding, 1991; Andreotti, 2015). This tendency towards assimilation establishes a barrier for entry, preventing underserved communities or non-dominant perspectives from developing the same science literacy allowed to culturally dominant groups (Harding, 1991; Dawson, 2014). One notable exception to these tendencies are institutions of informal science education, which can allow the creation of scientific knowledge in ways that best fit their participants (Falk, 1998; Falk, 2004). Through the usage of informal science learning environments, ISLEs, multiple cultural perspectives can blend together to create a more objective way of knowing that applies to a wider variety of perspectives, not just the dominant cultural groups (Harding, 1991). By applying Sandra Harding’s theory of strong objectivity and Vanessa Andreotti’s (2015) social cartography to the existing research on informal science education (ISE), analysis of scientific reform and informal science can be synthesized. Performing this synthesis reveals the different spaces that ISLEs can occupy in regard to scientific reform, as well as the perspectives of the established scientific literature. These spaces are defined as “soft reform” spaces, where change is gradual and interpersonal, “radical reform” spaces, where change takes place at an institutional level, and “beyond reform” spaces, where science and modernity do not function as applicable ways of knowing to the populations within (Andreotti, 2015). Much of the established literature suggests changes within the “soft reform” space, with Harding’s (1991) strong objectivity as one notable example. The further writings and analysis of Harding and Andreotti (2015), including critique and analysis of modernity, science-as-is, and technology, place themselves more firmly in the “radical” and “beyond reform” spaces
From the GAs: Congratulations, Publications, and Presentations
Get PDFIncludes book reviews by the graduate assistants for Finch House, Mall Goth, Maid for It, and Your Personal Penguin. Highlights what SLIS faculty are reading, alumni updates, faculty publications and presentations, and student congratulations