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Impact of Perceived Parental Rejection on Self-Acceptance of Sexuality and Psychological Distress in LGBQ+ Adults
Full text linkAs a marginalized group, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community may be particularly at risk for experiencing familial rejection and related negative outcomes. Investigators used the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale (PPRS), the Self-Acceptance of Sexuality Inventory (SASI), and the short-form Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to examine the relationship between present-day perceived parental rejection (PPR) of their child’s sexual orientation, self-acceptance of sexuality, and self-reported psychological distress in LGBQ+ adults. Investigators found that perceived parental rejection (PPR) of sexual orientation was positively correlated with levels of depression, anxiety, and stress and inversely correlated with sexuality self-acceptance. Self-acceptance of sexuality also was found to be inversely correlated with psychological distress levels. Moreover, study results revealed that self-acceptance of sexuality moderated the relationship between present-day PPR and psychological distress in LGBQ+ adults. Future directions and clinical implications for these findings are discussed, including expanding diversity in future studies and incorporating considerations for the entire family system, including multigenerational homes
Assessing Micro-Plastic Pollutants in Matagorda Bay, Texas
Full text linkEmbedded within the shore along the Gulf of Mexico, the Matagorda Bay system
is a set of estuaries that span over 400 square miles. The ecosystem is susceptible to
pollution from the flux of residents and commerce, major chemical and technological
industries, and transport and fishing vessels. Industries include healthcare, chemical, and
petroleum processing as well as marine activity, which all may leach plastic waste into
the environment incidentally. Microplastics fragmented and degraded from such waste
range from only a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers. Ingestion or inhalation of
microplastics can lead to cytotoxicity, inflammation, and even carcinogenicity with toxic
bioaccumulation putting the ecosystem further at risk. To identify the nature of
microplastics found environmentally, spectroscopy and thermal analysis of samples of
microplastics can be implemented. Fourier-Transformation Infrared (FT-IR) and Raman
Spectroscopy could detail componential composition while Differential Scanning
Calorimetry (DSC) confirms characterization through matching polymer melting and
molding points. To further confirm the presence of water pollutants, Scanning Electron
Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) can
provide high resolution images of micron-sized materials. This study is two-fold: first, it
aimed to characterize micro-materials found in water samples acquired from the
Matagorda Bay estuaries; second, an assessment of the treatment of polluted waters with
an okra-derived plastic was performed. Spectra and thermograms gathered in this
research indicate a persistent presence of polymeric species within the Bay waters. The
mixture included polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, and PVC. Okra
polysaccharides were observed to reduce the absorption of infrared, change the Raman
scattering, and reduce the detectable enthalpy at peak temperatures in the DSC analysis
A Systematic Review of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Literature in Behavior Analysis
No full textDiversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as topics of study and application have recently received significant attention in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Training programs that address these topics are essential for behavior analysts and have implications for practice, research, and supervision. The objective of this systematic literature review is to compile and categorize publications in ABA that address themes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This literature review also endeavors to evaluate the reasons for some of the publication patterns and provides suggestions for future avenues of DEI research in Behavior Analysis. The review includes 142 articles published in behavior analysis journals with cultural-related terms in their titles or keywords. The results indicate a shortage of experimental articles in the field, but a growing interest in the topic in recent years
The Relationship Between Undergraduate Hispanic Student Involvement in Campus Activities and Sense of Belonging at a Hispanic-Serving Institution
Full text linkThe purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine undergraduate Hispanic student participation in campus activities and the relationship these activities have on their sense of belonging at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). A total of 117 undergraduate Hispanic students at a comprehensive suburban institution completed a survey that addressed a sense of belonging. Survey findings conclude that student involvement in campus recreation activities and leadership programs indicated a strong sense of belonging over campus events and civic engagement programs with involvement in student organizations in the middle of the spectrum. A purposeful sample of eight students participated in a semi-structured interview, which allowed for a deeper understanding of the relationship between campus activities and a sense of belonging. Student interviews reported a feeling of community, a level of comfort in building relationships and engaging with the campus community through involvement in campus activities. Students further reported involvement in student organizations, campus recreation activities, and campus events as impactful ways of establishing Hispanic undergraduate students' sense of belonging
The Importance of Gender Identity on Motivations to Watch and Experiences Viewing Horror Films
Full text linkThis thesis documents one completed study and one study proposal examining the importance of gender identity in understanding the motivations for viewing and the experience of viewing horror films. Previous research suggests that horror films are primarily associated with men; this thesis challenges that assumption and looks to understand motivations for watching horror among both women and men. Study 1 explored whether motives for watching horror differ according to gender identity through a non-experimental research study where participants answered questions about various personality traits and specific feelings towards horror films. Study 2 outlines an experiment designed to examine whether sharing a viewing experience with another individual displaying gender congruent or incongruent attributes might alter perceptions of female victims within horror films. The results of Study 1 demonstrate that masculine and feminine traits rather than gender identity influence motivations for watching horror films; sexist ideology, sensation seeking, and anxiety are additional motivations related to viewing horror films. The enjoyment of horror films and experience of fear is complex and nuanced, with personal factors outweighing broader gender categories; additional research studying the influence of viewing partners and social expectations is warranted and suggested
Teachers’ Perceptions of Response to Intervention (RTI) in Middle School
Full text linkResponse to Intervention (RTI) is a framework that assists educators to identify and address a variety of learning needs. As the primary facilitators of instruction, teachers significantly influence the effectiveness of RTI, which makes their perceptions and practices vital to the framework's overall success. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine teachers' perception of RTI implementation in middle schools. Data were collected through surveys and interviews with middle school teachers, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of their experiences and insights regarding RTI implementation. The quantitative results of this study indicated a significant relationship between the teacher’s competence and the teacher’s experience based on the Response to Intervention Survey. The qualitative data revealed five major themes and six subthemes. The major themes were RTI knowledge, challenges, improvement needed, participant insights, and training. Within the challenges theme, the following subthemes emerged: documentation, time, and student engagement. Within the improvement needed theme, the following subthemes emerged: collaboration, skills, and communication. The results revealed overall that teachers agreed that they understand the RTI framework. Additionally, interview data revealed the challenges and improvement needed to make RTI effective. The research concludes with implications for campus administration, district administrators, and recommendations for future research
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adulthood Depressive Symptoms: Associations with Benevolent Childhood Experiences and Self-Compassion
Full text linkThis study examined Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs), self-compassion (SC), and their associations with adulthood depressive symptoms. Analyses examined whether ACEs, BCEs, and SC independently predicted adulthood depressive symptomatology. Additionally, individual ACEs and BCEs categories’ associations with adulthood depressive symptoms were explored. Finally, analyses were executed to assess moderating relationships between ACEs, BCEs, SC, and the outcome of adulthood depressive symptoms. This study surveyed a representative U.S. sample (N = 443) to add to the empirical literature’s evidence for generalizability of these findings. Consistent with hypotheses, results indicated that ACEs, BCEs and SC independently predicted adulthood depressive symptoms. In addition, SC moderated the relationship between ACEs and depression, as well as BCEs and depression. Contrary to hypotheses, BCEs did not moderate the relationship between ACEs and depression, and the majority of ACE and BCE individual categories did not significantly predict depressive symptoms. Overall, findings have implications for the role of the childhood microsystem (i.e., home, school, peer relationships) in the developmental trajectory of adulthood depressive symptoms. Additionally, analyses suggest that creating and evaluating child- and adolescent-focused self-compassion interventions may be a useful tool in diverting children’s trajectories toward adulthood depression
Col. John Trumbull and Sarah Hope Harvey Trumbull Reflections of Intimacy: Portraiture in Early America
Full text linkCol. John Trumbull, revered history painter of the American Revolution, married an unknown and rumored to be unsuitable English woman named Sarah Hope Harvey. She is a mystery to history and art lovers alike. Trumbull is celebrated for his large-scale paintings of the Revolution housed at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C. Yet behind these well-known canvases there is a quieter, more personal story. This is the story told through the series of understated portraits of his wife, Sarah Hope Harvey. In death, she has been reduced to the label “wife of Col. John Trumbull” but her image endures through his paintings. Harvey remains largely absent from historical records; what we know of her is almost completely through the eyes of Trumbull. These portraits offer rare insight into the Trumbull family’s private world. This paper interprets their story, examining their lives, and their relationship to one another. Sarah’s role as a muse and partner, while placing her within the broader historical context of early American portraiture, gives insight to their life together. By examining other portraiture from early American artists, such as John Singleton Coply and Charles Wilson Peale, it will be demonstrated how the intended audience for portraiture, whether public or private, signifies different intentions about the painter and sitter. By analyzing the portraits of Harvey and their timeframe during their marriage, it is possible to deepen our understanding of their bond. Then through the analysis of the use of color, composition, and symbolism in Trumbull’s portraits of his wife deeper insight will be gained as to the context of each portrait and the intended narrative of each work
Functional Profiling and Classification of Genetic Variants
No full textThe study of genetic variants in human DNA is sufficiently important in assisting researchers to discover the genetic contributions to many human diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, Alzheimer disease, and diabetes. A genetic variant, or variant, is a change in the DNA sequence that may have some negative and harmful outcomes. The single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP, is the most popular type of variant and caused by a change in one nucleotide base in mostly the protein-coding region of the DNA sequence. The main goal of this thesis is to study, analyze and classify human genetic variants based on their pathogenicity. In this task, the functional profiles of genetic variants are constructed and used in the methodology to determine whether a genetic variant is pathogenic, causing disease, or benign using biological process functional profiling from the Gene Ontology. The presented method in this thesis was trained on a set of 2,000 variants and tested with ten-fold cross-validation. The evaluation and experiment results show that this method is effective and suggest that predicting the pathogenicity from the Gene Ontology is significant. The scoring accuracy of our method is as high as 90.1 % by using 10-folds cross validation
The Influence of a Corequisite Model on Course Completion, Course Success, and Mathematics Self-Efficacy in a Stem Pathway College Algebra Course
No full textThe purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine the influence of a corequisite model on mathematics self-efficacy, course completion, and course success in a STEM pathway College Algebra course. Data were collected from 70 student participants at a large suburban community college in southeast Texas using the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) and final course grades. Independent t-tests were used to determine if the corequisite model influenced students’ mathematic self-efficacy, while paired t-tests were used to examine mathematics self-efficacy levels between pre- and post-survey data. Fisher’s exact test was used to determine if statistically significant relationships existed between the curriculum model and course completion and course success. Data analyses were conducted for synchronous and face-to-face modalities. Findings indicated curriculum model did not influence mathematics self-efficacy in neither the synchronous nor the face-to-face modalities. However, findings indicated a statistically significant mean difference in mathematics self-efficacy from pre- and post-survey data in the corequisite model taught using a face-to-face modality. Results of the Fisher’s exact test did not indicate a statistically significant relationship between curriculum model and completion rates for students receiving synchronous instruction. However, results of Fisher’s exact test did indicate a statistically significant relationship existed between curriculum model and course success rates for the synchronous modality, but not the face-to-face modality