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No full textIn 2022, Governor Youngkin called for a state-wide anti-trans policy in schools. For 15 months, a student group I was involved in protested the policy: we raised our voices at board meetings, held rallies, and were interviewed by local and national news. Though the state policy passed, our group made an impact in our local community. The school board passed an anti-discriminatory resolution for LGBTQ+ students, and some students went on to bring about more change through local politics and advocacy. Current students and teachers have told me that they’ve chosen to defy the policy, inspired by our group. Before creating this comic, I saw this story with a negative ending, as if all our effort washed down the drain. However, through the creative process I - like I hope my audience does - have learned to view this story as an encouraging example of what student activism can accomplish
Libations and Locations: Understanding the Relationship Between Alcohol Use Behaviors and Residential Proximity to Alcohol Outlets in College Fraternity & Sorority Members at Southeastern Universities
Get PDFAlcohol use among fraternity and sorority members presents a concerning trend with harmful consequences (DeSimone, 2009; McCreary et al., 2021; Nuwer, 2001; Ranker & Lipson, 2022). Central to that trend, the availability theory of alcohol-related problems suggests that alcohol use could be influenced by the availability of alcohol outlets in the environment (Dimova et al., 2023; Kypri et al., 2008; Single, 1984). This study examined the relationship between alcohol consumption behaviors and alcohol outlet proximity with fraternity- and sorority-affiliated students at Southeastern Conference schools. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between the variables with fraternity members but not with sorority members
Moving Companies: Whiteness, Visuality, And Film At The National Cash Register Company, General Motors Corporation, And Jam Handy Organization, 1884-1960
No full textThis dissertation explores the visual modes of discourse that the interrelated companies of the National Cash Register Company (NCR), the General Motors Corporation (GM), and the sponsored and industrial film company the Jam Handy Organization (JHO) created from the turn of the twentieth century to the immediate post-World War II period. NCR, GM, and JHO built a “complex of visuality” that entrenched ideological frameworks of whiteness into labor relations, promotional practices, and forms of community and nation building. NCR created narratives and imagery of White uplift and affluence with ads, periodicals, illustrated lectures, motion pictures, register demonstrations, company ceremonies, industrial welfare labor practices, and community programs while segregating, and then banning, Black labor and barring Black residents from participating in the company’s civic outreach programs. GM and JHO sponsored and produced midcentury motion pictures that promoted auto-centric modes of life as part of building racially segregated labor, consumer, and community relations. GM-JHO films portrayed Black life as subservient subjects in syncretic narratives of White nation building.American StudiesDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
Projected Impacts Of Climate Change And Watershed Management On Carbonate Chemistry And Oyster Growth In A Coastal Plain Estuary
No full textCoastal acidification, warming, and nutrient management actions all alter water quality conditionsthat marine species experience, with potential impacts to their physiological processes. Decreases in calcite saturation state (ΩCa) and food availability, combined with warming water temperatures, pose a threat to calcifying organisms; however, the magnitude of future changes in estuarine systems is challenging to predict and not well known. This study aims to determine how and where oysters will be affected by future acidification, warming, and nutrient reductions, and the relative effects of these stressors. To address these goals, an oyster bioenergetics model for Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) was embedded in a 3-D coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemistry model implemented for tributaries in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Model simulations were forced with projected future conditions (mid-21st century atmospheric CO2, atmospheric temperature, and managed nutrient reductions) and compared with a realistic present-day reference run. Together, all three stressors are projected to reduce ΩCa and growth of oyster shell and tissue. Increased atmospheric CO2 and temperature are both projected to cause widespread reductions in ΩCa. The resulting reductions in oyster shell and tissue growth will be most severe along the tributary shoals. Future warming during peak oyster growing seasons is projected to have the strongest negative influence on tissue and shell growth, due to summer water temperatures reducing filtration rates, enhancing respiration and shell dissolution rates, and increasing organic matter remineralization rates, thus reducing food availability. Nutrient reductions will exacerbate deficits in oyster food availability, contributing to further reductions in growth. Quantifying the effects of these stressors provides insight on the areas in the lower bay where oysters will be most vulnerable to mid 21st century conditions.Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceMaster of Science (M.Sc.
Investigating The Role Of Acetylation In The Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling Of Trα1 Wild-Type And The Resistance To Thyroid Hormone Syndrome C392X Mutant
No full textThe thyroid hormone receptor α 1 (TRα1) is one of three functional subtypes of the thyroid hormone receptor (TR). In general, TRs are nuclear receptors, ligand-binding transcription factors that interact with thyroid hormone to regulate growth, development and metabolism. Post-translational modifications, like acetylation, impact protein structure and diversify protein function. Post-translational acetylation of TRα1 occurs at lysine residues located within its nuclear localization signal 1 (NLS-1). Dynamic nucleocytoplasmic shuttling is also a characteristic of TRα1, and the cause and significance of this is of great interest. Based on the location of the acetylation sites of TRα1 within NLS-1, it seemed reasonable to investigate the effect of acetylation on the receptor’s nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. Previously published work showed that mCherry-tagged TRα1 acetylation mimics had increased cytoplasmic localization and enhanced gene transactivation, while the mCherry-tagged TRα1 nonacetylation mimics had increased nuclear retention and impaired gene transactivation. The subcellular localization of these mimics supports that acetylation plays a role in the cellular translocation of TRα1. In the current study, we performed immunoprecipitation assays, using acetyl lysine affinity beads, to investigate the effect of actual acetylation status on TRα1 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and hypothesized that acetylation does increase the cytoplasmic localization of TRα1. Additionally, the C392X mutation in TRα1 is implicated in Resistance to Thyroid Hormone syndrome α (RTH-α), a disease characterized by mutant receptors that have reduced binding affinity for thyroid hormone, which negatively affects metabolism. In this study, we also investigated the response of the C392X TRα1 mutant receptor to acetylation. We hypothesized that an aberrant response to acetylation is a characteristic of this particular RTH-α mutation. To test these hypotheses, HeLa cells were transfected with HA-tagged expression plasmids for TRα1 wild-type and C392X TRα1, and the transfected cells were used in cell fractionation, immunoprecipitation, and western blot procedures, as appropriate. HA-tagged expression plasmids for acetylation and nonacetylation mimics of TRα1 wild-type and C392X TRα1 were also used to compare and validate the findings. The results showed that there is a higher population of acetylated TRα1 wild-type in the nucleus than in the cytoplasm, however, acetylated TRα1 in the nucleus is very susceptible to protease activity. Additionally, the TRα1 acetylation mimics showed increased cytosolic localization compared to the TRα1 nonacetylation mimics, which supports our hypothesis. Finally, in terms of C392X TRα1, our hypothesis was not supported as the mutant receptors did not show any apparent subcellular mislocalization or altered response to acetylation. This study further supports a role of acetylation in TRα1 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and provides new data for continued research to fully comprehend the role of acetylation in the proper functioning of the thyroid hormone receptor.BiologyMaster of Science (M.Sc.
Improving the Scalability of Neural Network Surface Code Decoders
No full textQuantum computers have recently gained significant recognition due to their ability to solve problems intractable to classical computers. However, due to difficulties in building actual quantum computers, they have large error rates. Thus, advancements in quantum error correction are urgently needed to improve both their reliability and scalability. Here, we first present a type of topological quantum error correction code called the surface code, and we discuss recent developments and challenges of creating neural network decoders for surface codes. In particular, the amount of training data needed to reach the performance of algorithmic decoders grows exponentially with the size of the quantum code, greatly limiting the applicability of this type of decoder. Here, we propose two approaches to this problem: the convolutional decoder and the transformer decoder. Using dimension reduction techniques, we can decrease the dependency on large data sets and accelerate the training process. Our results demonstrate that the compression performed by the convolutional decoder may lessen data dependence and that the compression performed by the transformer decoder may accelerate training, which leads to promising directions for future work.Computer ScienceBachelors of Science (BS
“It is in spanish”: colaboración como herramienta de transformación educativa
Get PDFEl presente planteamiento describe el trabajo realizado por dos educadoras de maestras en dos contextos geográficos, culturales e idiomáticos diferentes: Colombia y Estados Unidos. Como educadoras, comparten: a) la responsabilidad de formar a futuros maestras de preescolar y primaria; y b) el interés por crear experiencias educativas que permitan expandir las perspectivas sobre lo que significa ser maestra. Las autoras proponen un marco colaborativo y plantean su implementación en la formación de maestras. Su planteamiento empieza por describir tres años de trabajo colaborativo creando espacios para que maestr@s en formación interactúen y colaboren entre ellos para el desarrollo de diferentes retos y tareas. Tal trabajo ha sido realizado en un programa de Licenciatura en Educación Infantil en Colombia y un programa de Formación de Maestras de primaria en Estados Unidos. En esta narración surge la propuesta de diseño y puesta en práctica de un marco para la colaboración, con el fin de transformar prácticas educativas. Este planteamiento concluye con una propuesta para que este marco colaborativo sea una oportunidad de crecimiento para futuros maestras y educadores de maestas. The present approach describes the work carried out by two educators in two different geographical, cultural, and linguistic contexts: Colombia and the United States. As educators, they share a) the responsibility of preparing future preschool and primary school teachers, and b) an interest in creating educational experiences that foster an expansion of perspectives on what it means to be a teacher. The authors propose a collaborative framework and suggest its implementation in teacher education. The proposal describes three years of collaborative work creating spaces for future teachers in an Early Childhood Education program in Colombia and a teacher education program for elementary school teachers in the United States to interact and collaborate with each other on the development and implementation of various educational approaches in mathematical contexts. The proposal suggests the design and implementation of a framework for collaboration aimed at transforming educational practices.Educatio
Promoting Racial Integration and Inclusion in Historically Segregationist Fraternities
No full textHistorically White and segregated college fraternities are fixtures of the American university system and reservoirs of racism. Organizations’ operations and routines around racial access and inclusion are interdependent upon the actions of stakeholders within and outside of the fraternity. This systematic review of literature identifies actors shaping historically racially segregated fraternities, their policies, and routines. Then, this paper leverages the concepts of racialized organizations and (counter)hegemony to posit how actors may leverage relationships, leadership, and force to challenge racism and unintentional segregation in fraternities. This paper can inform the development of inter-organizational networks to do so
Comparison of Vulnerabilities from Smart Home Devices in Chinese and Global Market
No full textWith the development of technology, lots of technology companies have introduced a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices to both Chinese and global markets. These devices, including smart lock devices, remote control of home automation system, not only offer convenience but also raise security and privacy concerns. This thesis will provide a comprehensive analysis of the mobile applications provided for smart home devices in the Chinese market, focusing on three aspects: cryptographic misuse, SSL misuse and permission misuse. Cryptography misuse focuses on the incorrect selection of encryption and hashing methods. This vulnerability has the potential of sensitive data leaks. SSL misuse encompasses both improper validation of SSL certificates and the use of weak protocols, which may threaten the integrity and confidentiality of data in transit. Permission misuse indicates the case where applications request more permission than necessary or use combinations of permissions in a harmful manner, potentially leading to privacy violations and unauthorized access to user data. The smart home devices are selected based on the criteria of application ranking. This methodology involves a systematic examination of these applications to find previously mentioned vulnerabilities in each category. The examination utilizes static analysis tools to examine the applications, providing a thorough understanding of their security situation. Next, this thesis will focus on a comparative analysis of the selected applications provided in Chinese and international markets. This comparison aims to find differences in vulnerability types in applications and whether these differences correlate with market-specific regulations and policies. This comparison also reveals a divergent strategy adopted by different companies to prioritize security in their applications. By detecting vulnerabilities and differences in different markets, this thesis seeks to contribute to IoT security and also provides further insight for developers into the market’s influence on smart home applications. This study provides further recommendations for companies and policymakers to enhance the security standards for smart home applications.Computer ScienceBachelors of Science (BS
Protests at the University of Puerto Rico
No full textMy comic aims to show how students in Puerto Rico fought against two areas of colonialism – war drafts and cultural erasure. It represents students fighting for causes that affected the entire island - both small but strongly meaningful acts like hoisting a flag and larger acts like constant protests against the ROTC presence on university campuses. University students fueled their anger towards a colonial government that repressed voice and identity. As someone who lives and was raised in Puerto Rico, representing these events is deeply important to me. To avoid erasure, we must know history. Colonialism is not just in the past