4210 research outputs found
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Virginia Libraries’ Disability Services and Website Accessibility
Get PDFThis project examined the disability services and website accessibility features provided by Virginia libraries. According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Association of Specialized Government and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA), there is a “commitment to diversity and to accessibility of library and information services for all, including people with physical, sensory or mental disabilities, as reflected in the ALA policy on library services to people with disabilities (54.3.2)” (https://libguides.ala.org/equip-facilities-mgt/disabilities). During my research, however, it was discovered that while there are noteworthy efforts being made within Virginia libraries, that this commitment is not equal among them, nor is it the best it can be. My research proved this in several ways, but it is with great emphasis that I state that this project is not an attack on the Virginia library system or its individual members, but rather an examination in hopes that further efforts will be made so that all individuals in need can be better served. I performed qualitative observational research of library home pages. This involved crafting a database detailing whether or not these libraries clearly advertised and offered certain disability activities, services, and resources. I utilized a website accessibility evaluation tool known as WAVE to create a database analyzing libraries’ website structure and errors. I also performed quantitative research on municipality budgets and library funding and added this information to the observational database; resulting in my conclusion that money is not the sole contributing factor in the ability to provide services. Lastly, key recommendations were established as a result of my findings so that I can potentially share my research problems and solutions via my newly created Twitter project @openbookva. These infographics are the result of a semester-long research project completed in collaboration with Dr. Brenta Blevins and Mr. Peter Catlin
Understanding Rural Healthcare in America: A General Survey of Rural Healthcare Systems
No full textWith the recent election and the current global pandemic, health care has been on the forefront of almost every political conversation in America. With discussions growing around populations and communities that face gaps in health care access, it is important to understand the barriers and gaps in rural health care systems. Nearly 20% of Americans live in rural areas, and rural communities face unique challenges to accessing healthcare systems compared to their urban counterparts. Understanding these unique challenges will allow for policies and initiatives targeted at rural communities to be more efficient and more effective. This presentation will perform a general survey of the rural healthcare system in America, analyzing how the word ‘rural’ is used and what barriers rural residents face in their attempts to access healthcare systems, in hopes that the audience will better be to understand and represent the challenges faced by rural healthcare systems and rural residents. To apply the findings from the survey of rural healthcare systems, a case study of McDowell County, West Virginia will take place, highlighting trends and barriers that all rural communities face in some way
Human Trafficking and the Kafala System
Get PDFFor my Middle Eastern Studies Minor and Honors Program capstone, I studied the Kafala sponsorship system practiced within the Gulf states. The Kafala system is the state program that facilitates labor related immigration to these countries. The system requires a citizen or company within the country to act as a sponsor for an immigrant to be able to travel to the host state and become their employee. This sponsor-employee relationship has specific legal obligations laid out by the state. The sponsor becomes responsible for the residential, medical, and legal wellbeing of the employee. The employee, in return, fulfills various work projects that have been contractually agreed upon. The Kafala system sees immigrants employed in various sectors; however, I focused solely on female immigrants employed in the domestic sector by individual citizens. The problem I argued is that the Kafala system has fostered a new form of contemporary slavery and has increased the likelihood of human trafficking within the region. I believe this topic is important for further study to create greater awareness of the issue. The emphasis of more popular and internationally recognized human rights abuses in the Middle East has, like other regions of the world, has facilitated a situation where the abuses taking place under the Kafala system are not as known or understood. It is also important as the states where abuses are taking place are often seen as economic powerhouses and have close ties to the West compared to other countries in the region. Additionally, I thought this topic was equally as important as it has implications beyond the borders of countries within the Middle East. The issue of human rights regarding immigration is a global problem, particularly for immigrants who come from the Global South and lack the agency to advocate for their own rights. I felt that it was important to cover a topic that had greater meaning beyond a few countries in one region of the world
The Influence of Habitat Disruption and Induced Overstimulation on Working and Spatial Memory and Hippocampal BDNF Levels in CD1 Mice
No full textOur experiment aims to explore the influence of habitat disruption and induced overstimulation on working and spatial memory in CD1 mice, and consequently, hippocampal Brain- Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels. We hypothesized that, because of the significance of the role of BDNF in the regulation of neuroplasticity, overstimulation onset by habitat disruption will result in diminished cognition, including working and spatial memory, and decreased intracellular output of hippocampal BDNF. Following a two-week acclimation period, the second of which we began habitat disruption, we conducted a behavioral testing paradigm on a group of ten CD1 mice (n=5) to assess working memory known as the Y-maze test. Contrary to our hypothesis, results showed that mice who were subjected to overstimulation induced by habitat disruption performed better in the Y-maze and displayed an enhanced capacity for working memory compared to the control mice, but the difference in BDNF concentration between groups was not statistically significant. We therefore retained the null hypothesis that overstimulation does not influence hippocampal BDNF levels in CD1 mice
The Development of a Sediment Pollution Pilot Study in Hazel Run
No full textExcess sediment runoff, as a result of anthropogenic activity, is one of the major contributors to the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, Rappahannock River, and Hazel Run. To reduce the sediment entering different watersheds, different best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented. Agencies like the Chesapeake Bay Program and United States Geological Survey use models to predict how effective different BMPs are. Traditional models used by the USGS like ESTIMATOR use streamflow-based regression. However, regression relations fail to account for the variableness of sediment transfer during storm events (Jastram et al., 2009). Leigh et al. (2019) concluded that turbidity-based models which include temporal autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity were the most accurate and precise in predicting sediment and nutrient concentrations from high-frequency water-quality data, which we will be following. The Rappahannock River’s possession of only one monitoring station and how both it and Hazel Run have degraded water quality make it appropriate to conduct a pilot study. We will be utilizing in-situ sensors, which collect and store data, compared to manual samples. Using in-situ measurements allows data to be frequently collected, even during high-transport events like storms and floods, giving better records of the water quality. The goal of this capstone is to detail a pilot study project and complete a grant proposal to apply for the Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Interdisciplinary Research grant. The project in question will be a pilot study utilizing a proxy-model methodology using the deployment of many in-situ sensors to monitor and predict sediment and nutrient load in Hazel Run, a tributary of the Rappahannock River
An Empirical Analysis of Economic Inequality on Economic Growth
Get PDFFor the United States, one of the most important trends of concern is the growing level of inequality. It is widely accepted that the United States is currently experiencing historically high levels of economic inequality. There are numerous reasons for policymakers and citizens to be concerned about the rising level of inequality, such as its impact on the basic American social contract that says that hard work pays off; the diminishing of opportunity; the rise in societal unrest; and its impact on political functionality. It has been well established that inequality has a negative impact on undermining educational opportunities, lowering social mobility, hampering skills development, and less-productive labor inputs. Most research has studied the extent to which higher inequality is associated with less opportunity and mobility. This research studies if there is a causal linkage between higher inequality and slower macroeconomic growth. The main hypothesis is that inequality limits human capital accumulation primarily through the channel of educational attainment, which then dampens labor quality. Reductions in labor quality led to slower economic growth. This research attempts to measure this relationship through the dynamics of labor quality with the intention of incorporating economic inequality in the composition of labor quality. The results do not support the theory that economic inequality dampens economic growth. One suggestion is to use disaggregate data rather than aggregate data as some of the variation between the relationships are lost when conducting analysis in the aggregate
Role of the Pvr signaling Pathway in a Fly Model for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
Get PDFMyotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1) is a multi-systemic genetic disorder that causes severe muscle weakening and wasting. The phenotype is caused by a CTG repeat expansion in the 3’ untranslated region in the DMPK gene. Studies have shown several different signaling pathways implicated in the DM1 muscle phenotype; however, one pathway that has not been implicated in DM1 is the platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) signaling pathway. PDGFRβ is involved in cell growth, survival, and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. With this involvement, the pathways deregulation could contribute to the muscle wasting seen in DM1. This project uses a fly model to understand the role of the pvr signaling pathway (PDGFRβ fly equivalent) in muscle wasting due to DM1. Through this fly model, it will be determined which downstream pathway is primarily affected during deregulation. The two downstream pathways targeted are PI3K/Akt and Ras/Mek/Erk. Flybase was utilized to determine the downstream gene targets and fly lines needed to start the fly model. After selecting the gene targets, fly lines were picked that were either overexpression of the gene (UAS – upstream activating sequence) or a knockout. Gal4 promoter lines and CTG repeat lines are also needed. Gal4 promoters drive the expression of the desired gene, and the CTG repeat represents the CTG repeat of DM1. With the fly lines chosen, mating schemes were planned to determine what crosses needed to occur to get the desired progeny. The goal was to end up with a progeny with the Gal4 promoter, CTG repeat, and stock line all in the same fly. In the future, using these progeny, different tests will be completed to look at how the overexpression or knockout affects the muscle wasting phenotype
Government and Music during the Bosnian War
No full textThe purpose of my research is to survey music as it was deliberately used as a means to an end during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, particularly as it applies to the state promotion of certain music by Serbian and Croatian leadership at the time. Investigation of popular music commonly heard during the war reveals that while Serbian music was often directed at both a domestic and enemy audience (for the purpose of demoralization), called on traditional musical styles and instrumentation, and featured lyrics promoting bold and aggressive messages, Croatian music was meant to appeal to an international audience, and thus relied upon modern, western musical genres and lyrics that emphasized peace and elicited sympathy. Less is consistent about the war music of the Bosniaks, which is difficult to single out because of the diversity in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the exodus of Bosnian Muslims from the area that occurred both before and during the conflict, but Western portrayals of the music scene in besieged Sarajevo definitely played a large role in creating the city’s images as the capital of Bosnian resistance
Sky Horne Theatre Senior Project
Get PDFFor my Senior Theatre Project and Honors Capstone, I rewrote a play I started in a playwriting course my sophomore year. I recorded my research and process for this project at http://skyhornecapstone.com.skyhorne.com/. This project involved utilizing the culmination of my Creative Writing major to work with my Theatre major. I wrote three separate drafts, almost completely different from the original, and put on two staged readings. The final product is a show that runs around forty-five minutes for three actors as a reading. The two readings can be found on the Studio 115 Youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3wI8hTDOmqxXBh78lRyO-A)
Communication Within Video Game Communities
No full textFor this research paper, we looked at how video game users are impacted by different communication methods within video games. More specifically, this presentation will discuss how we framed our questions for a survey to be sent out to miscellaneous University of Mary Washington peers, and how different literature propelled our research