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Black male student persistence in U.S. dental schools : a qualitative embedded single-case study exploring student motivation.
No full textThe underrepresentation and low graduation rates of Black men in dental schools pose a significant challenge amid the increasing demand for oral health providers in the United States. Recent data demonstrate a troubling decline in the graduation rate of Black male dental students, shedding light on persistent educational barriers and societal inequities they encounter. These challenges, which include academic achievement gaps, biased standardized testing practices, and limited college readiness programs, intersect with broader issues like the school-to-prison pipeline and socioeconomic disparities, further hindering Black men's academic progression from K–16 institutions. To address this complex issue, I conducted a qualitative embedded single-case study, guided by Deci and Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory. I aimed to identify the motivational factors driving Black male dental students' persistence toward dental school completion. I implemented a criterion sampling strategy to ensure that participants met three specific criteria: being Black, male, and currently enrolled as U.S. dental students. Four participants who met these criteria were selected to participate in this study. Through data analysis, three key themes emerged: career aspirations, overcoming adversity, and social connections. These themes highlight the resilience and determination of Black male dental students, emphasizing the importance of internal and external support systems in their educational journey. Leveraging these findings, I developed five recommendations targeting dental school deans, administrators, and faculty members. These recommendations include implementing mental health initiatives, increasing recruitment of Black male faculty, prioritizing support check-ins for Black male dental students, facilitating peer connections with other Black students, and engaging in mentorship activities to foster career development. These recommendations offer practical strategies to enhance educational outcomes and promote the successful completion of Black male dental students. Addressing this issue is crucial not only to increasing diversity within the dental profession but also to mitigating health disparities nationwide. Improving the representation of Black men in dentistry can enhance the overall life expectancy, physical health, and well-being of all Americans
A qualitative holistic single-case study on the mindfulness practices of HR leaders and the connections of these practices to transformational leadership attributes.
No full textStress and burnout levels in HR leaders have increased due to the evolving business challenges since 2020, negatively impacting their mental and physical health (Arora et al., 2023). The burnout levels experienced by HR leaders can have negative repercussions for the entire organization due to job disengagement, poor decision making, absenteeism, and indecisiveness in leadership (Wang & Chen, 2022). The unique and prolonged challenges of the pandemic forced HR leaders to produce transformational strategies to maintain employee safety and organizational sustainability (Azizi et al., 2021). In the post-pandemic era, HR leaders continue to struggle with evolving workforce dynamics, incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging (DEIB), and earning the trust of executive leadership. This qualitative holistic single-case study aimed to explore HR leaders' mindfulness practices and their connection to transformational leadership attributes. In addition, this study also explored how the transformational leadership attributes of HR leaders influence team burnout and creative problem-solving. I collected and analyzed the data using semi-structured interviews and a focus group. The participants were five HR leaders who worked in multiple industries, managed a team, and practiced mindfulness weekly. Bass's (1985) transformational leadership theory provided the framework for the study. Transformational leadership emphasizes four foundational elements, which are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass, 1985). The thematic analysis of this study revealed three themes: metacognition, mindfulness activities, and behavioral outcomes that help HR leaders use their mindfulness practice to influence their transformational leadership. This study conveys the vital need to cultivate mindfulness in the education of HR leaders who want to develop transformational leadership styles. HR leaders who embrace mindfulness practices can use the model from this study to incorporate metacognition using mindfulness activities to change their behavioral outcomes. For HR development consultants, this study provides an opportunity to display the advantages of mindfulness to other HR leaders in a scalable manner using a propriety curriculum based on this research study. Additionally, the study suggests that business owners and executives incorporating mindfulness and transformational leadership principles into executive development could position themselves competitively by fostering a people-focused and profitable environment
Harmonizing MARC metadata : MarcEdit and Notepad++ for efficient local subject heading standardization. [Poster pitch presentation]
No full textThis poster pitch presentation is for the poster "Harmonizing MARC Metadata: MarcEdit and Notepad++ for Efficient Local Subject Heading Standardization." The poster shares a practical workflow for cleaning up local subject headings in MARC records using MarcEdit and Notepad++. Aimed at metadata and cataloging librarians, it shows how to quickly align local subjects with established thesauri, replace outdated terms, and improve collocation and discovery across a collection. The process is designed to be easy to learn, repeatable, and scalable—from a few hundred records to several thousand—making it useful for anyone responsible for maintaining large or legacy datasets. The poster includes screenshots of step-by-step examples for exporting MARC data, using regular expressions in Notepad++ to normalize subject strings, and using the Notepad++ plugin ComparePlus
Oxime Derivatives of Colchicine Binding Site Inhibitors to Interrogate the Disruption of Tubulin Polymerization and Tumor-Specific Vascular Disruption
No full textCancer remains a leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Despite numerous treatments, many therapeutic agents lack specificity, damaging healthy cells along with cancer cells. The tubulin-microtubule protein is essential for cellular structure and motility, and disruption of tubulin-microtubule dynamics interferes with cellular division. Tubulin exists as an α,β-heterodimer that undergoes polymerization to corresponding microtubules. Since cancer cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells, an established approach to cancer therapy involves small-molecule therapeutic agents that function as either microtubule stabilizing agents or inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. Inhibitors of tubulin polymerization bind to sites such as the colchicine-binding site and vinca alkaloid-binding site, whereas molecules that bind to the taxane domain function as microtubule stabilizing agents. Some colchicine-binding site molecules also function as vascular disrupting agents (VDAs), capable of imparting selective, irreversible damage to tumor-associated vasculature, starving tumors of oxygen and nutrients. The distinct nature of tumor-associated vasculature makes it an ideal target for selective VDA therapy. The natural product combretastatin A-4 (CA4) is a leading VDA that has shown significant promise in cancer treatment. The combination of biological efficacy and the relatively simple chemical structure of CA4 has inspired global efforts to develop new CA4-inspired molecules. These include analogs containing oxime groups and oxime-bridges, effective in binding to the colchicine site and inhibiting tubulin polymerization. This thesis explores the synthesis of one aldehyde-containing and four oxime-containing analogs of several structural classes of molecules that bind to the colchicine site to expand structure activity relationship (SAR) knowledge, which might guide future efforts in cancer drug discovery
New Natural Law in Theories of Adjudication
No full textWhen a judge is confronted with an instance of judicial discretion, they have at their disposal any variety of adjudicative resources. Among these resources is the ailing principle of natural law which, although predominant for much of our legal tradition, has been gradually supplanted by the postmodern affinity for the legal positivism advanced by H.L.A. Hart. This thesis seeks to combat that trend with a tripartite solution. Since the late 1960s, the school of New Natural Law (NNL) as propounded by German Grisez, John Finnis, and Robert George has championed an improved theory of natural law in response to contemporary critiques of obscurity. Similarly, Ronald Dworkin's "Law as Integrity" is maintained as the greatest criticism of Hart's legal positivism. Finally, Hadley Arkes' recently published Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution advances a return to a kind of "natural law constitutionalism." This thesis will principally argue for the modern adjudicative utility of natural law by placing the ethical merits of the NNL in conversation with Dworkin's Judge Hercules and his approach to judicial discretion. In doing so, it will offer a guide to the use of natural law in instances of judicial discretion
Large Mammal Hunting in Texas During the Early Decades of American Settlement, 1820-1880.
No full textThe hunting of large mammals was a key aspect of the lives of Anglo-American settlers to Texas during the first sixty years of settlement. This thesis identifies the three reasons why settlers primarily hunted, namely for subsistence, sport, and eradication. Subsistence hunting was practiced by the earliest settlers and the economic poor who hunted as a means of survival due to the difficulty they experienced in obtaining necessary goods by other means. Sport hunting, in comparison, was typically the pastime of wealthier settlers and was the byproduct of the cultural influences of the southern United States. Eradication hunting was not relegated to an economic class, and it involved settlers seeking to destroy certain animal populations due to the belief that the animals' existence was incompatible with Anglo-American civilization. This thesis, therefore, stresses the importance of hunting to the lives of early Anglo-American settlers by building on the writings of modern historians such as Daniel Herman, past historians such as Theodore Roosevelt, and primary sources such as newspapers and autobiographies from the Texas settlers
Can teachers be the best learners? : a convergent mixed methods study examining andragogy and teacher self-efficacy in the professional development programs in a suburban-rural school system.
No full textTeacher professional development (PD) is necessary for ensuring the continuous improvement of educational outcomes, but traditional American PD program design is ineffective in improving teacher classroom practices (Booth et al., 2021; Mansour et al., 2014). PD programs are necessary for building an essential characteristic of teacher longevity: teacher self-efficacy (TSE; Tschannen‐Moran & McMaster, 2009; Wang et al., 2015; Yoon & Kim, 2022). However, traditional PD programs inadequately support this skill (Ajani, 2022; Hawley et al., 2013). Recognizing the need for andragogic PD programs and the underutilization of TSE, my study aimed to investigate PD program alignment to andragogic domains and TSE levels for novice (≤ 15 years of teaching experience) and veteran (> 15 years of teaching experience) teachers. Additionally, I explored participants' perceptions of their institution-provided PD programs and building TSE. In this convergent mixed-methods study, I examined the PD programs of two middle schools in a Southern Minnesota school district. My quantitative data comprised a survey combining the Andragogy in Practice Inventory (Knowles et al., 2020) and the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001). I distributed the survey to the full-time faculty members, resulting in 27 participants. Additionally, I interviewed four volunteer participants about their experiences with PD programs and TSE. Through my quantitative and qualitative data analysis, I uncovered that most participants believed there was a need to build TSE in student engagement and classroom management into PD program curriculum. Participants also shared that their institution-provided PD programs did not adequately address these needs. Participants had similar estimations of their PD program's adherence to andragogic domains and TSE levels regardless of tenure. After merging the quantitative results and qualitative findings, I found that PD program administrators can potentially increase TSE by accounting for teacher context and correctly applying andragogic domains while designing PD program activities and goals. These findings have implications for PD program administrators and PD and TSE researchers. Specifically, the findings of this study stress the vital role context should play in PD program design and how increasing the application of andragogic domains can increase TSE
Influences of 23 different equations used to calculate gene copies of SARS-CoV-2 during wastewater-based epidemiology.
No full textAfter SARS-CoV-2 emerged, global adoption of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)/ wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) to mitigate its impact has surged. However, diverse global applications and adapted workflows have led to various methods for back-calculating gene copies (gc) per volume of sewage. While studies have affirmed the comparability of processing methods, an understanding of equations used to calculate gc remains limited. To assess impact of these equations, applied existing wastewater equations from the literature were applied to wastewater datasets. I observed the range of gc per equation, along with variability of areas under the curve, correlation relationships, and regression values. While numerous laboratories independently adopted comparable formulas and associations with epidemiological data, variations in PCR and RNA extraction parameters reveal distinct influences among equations. This highlights challenges when performing comparisons among WBE/WBS studies. To facilitate reproducibility, the equations were packaged as an R-Shiny app, enabling users to explore dataset variability and facilitate comparisons
"Belonging to the doom'd world" : ecotheological re-homing in contemporary American literature.
No full textThis dissertation engages with recent work in ecotheology as an interpretive framework for articulating how selected work from four contemporary American fiction writers—Marilynne Robinson, Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Pynchon, and Helena Maria Viramontes—represents the re-homing of the human. "Re-homing" in this project indicates a process in which human beings experience the loss of anthropocentric paradigms in order to ascertain more participatory modes of relating to non-human life, natural landscapes, and the divine. The theological framework for this project draws on three key concepts from recent ecotheology—Peter Manley Scott's re-homing of the human, Norman Wirzba's conception of creatureliness, and the notion of deep incarnation as it is articulated by Denis Edwards and Celia Deane-Drummond. Additional ecotheological insight is provided by Sallie McFague and Pope Francis. My second chapter argues that Robinson's novel Housekeeping dramatizes the opening stage of negativity in the re-homing process, in which anthropocentric paradigms are challenged to make way for a more creaturely anthropology. My third chapter turns to McCarthy's Border Trilogy to explore the trilogy's concerns with interspecies ethics and divine immanence, and the fourth chapter demonstrates Pynchon's incorporation of creaturely ethics in his critiques of rationalism and colonialism in the novel Mason & Dixon. My final chapter examines Viramontes's novel Under the Feet of Jesus to emphasize the significance of re-homing for the particular social and environmental justice concerns represented by Viramontes's focus on the experience of Chicano/a migrant workers
Tomographic flow measurements over additively manufactured roughness with particle tracking velocimetry.
No full textAdditive manufacturing (AM) offers many potential advantages to constructing gas turbine components such allowing for more complex geometry in carefully optimized designs. AM processes, such as direct laser sintering, create roughness with distinct characteristics including periodicity from layers of fused material and varying roughness element size depending on surface print orientation. Understanding how this affects airflow through micro-cooling channels is essential for component design. Individual roughness elements may block up to 15% of a cooling channel. The fluid responses to this level of roughness are difficult to characterize using traditional models. Several sets of test surfaces were constructed using CT scans of a micro cooling channel printed in Inconel 718 and Hastelloy-X to act as the floor and/or ceiling of the Roughness Internal Flow Tunnel (RIFT) wind tunnel. These surfaces included an up-skin and down-skin surface to contrast roughness variation caused by print surface orientation with respect to gravity, sets of angled roughness patterns to rotate the print direction with respect to the flow direction, and pairs of correlated and anticorrelated roughness panels to be used as the floor and ceiling of the RIFT. Each set of panels was used to examine a particular aspect of AM roughness that is significant for the development of AM micro-cooling channels. A tomographic particle tracking system was constructed to examine a 40x40x6mm section of the RIFT with the goal of providing a more detailed analysis of flow behavior over roughness elements than previous studies. This system uses a micro bubble generator to provide seed particles, a 15 Hz Evergreen laser, and four 8MP cameras mounted horizontally to view the test volume. Detailed particle tracking velocimetry measurements of flow around individual roughness elements including velocities, Reynolds stress and dispersive stress above the rough surface are provided and discussed. Additional attention is given to the development and validation of the particle tracking system used in these measurements