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Bystander Interventions for Sexual Assault Prevention Among Students in Greek Life
No full textBackground: Bystander-based sexual violence (SV) prevention programs are critical on college campuses to meet federal Title IX requirements and have proven effective in reducing violence. Greek-affiliated students (members of fraternities and sororities) are at a higher risk for sexual assault than their peers, yet current training programs often do not address their specific needs. This dissertation comprises three interconnected studies that collectively aim to improve bystander intervention strategies for this high-risk group. Aim 1 - Scoping Review: A scoping review was conducted to identify and describe bystander intervention programs delivered to Greek-affiliated students in the US and Canada. An eight-database search was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The review identified 81 unique sources, with 18 meeting the inclusion criteria. Eleven specific training programs were identified, encompassing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. The thematic analysis revealed best practices, including the importance of peer leaders, interactive sessions, and tailored content to Greek culture, as well as barriers such as a lack of engagement and an inadequate session length. The review underscores the need for tailored interventions to effectively address the unique cultural characteristics and high-risk nature of Greek-affiliated students. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the design and implementation of bystander interventions to enhance their efficacy in preventing sexual violence within this population. Aim 2 - Mixed-Methods Study: Aim 2 employs a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, using data from the CDC-funded Multi-College Bystander Efficacy Evaluation (mcBEE) study. This research combines key informant surveys (n = 51) and interviews (n = 60) with student survey data (n = 7,876) to provide a greater understanding of bystander programs implemented with Greek Life. Thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data, while basic descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative data. The research revealed significant discrepancies between program awareness and actual training receipt, indicating barriers to participation. Strong relationships and university support were crucial for effective program delivery, with Greek life students playing a key role as peer opinion leaders. Tailoring interventions to address the unique cultural and social dynamics within Greek organizations proved essential for enhancing program relevance and effectiveness. Challenges such as maintaining program fidelity and limited capacity hindered the successful implementation and evaluation of these programs. The need for rigorous evaluation and engaging both new and established leaders within Greek organizations was emphasized. There is a critical need for effective, evidence-based bystander intervention programs tailored for Greek-affiliated students to enhance violence prevention efforts and create safer campus environments. Future research should focus on overcoming participation barriers and ensuring program fidelity to achieve lasting impact. Aim 3 - Quantitative Study:This quantitative study analyzed survey data from 18,371 college students, comparing bystander efficacy and peer engagement based on Greek affiliation and bystander training dose. Generalized estimating equation modeling (OLS regression and negative binomial) was used to assess the interaction effects of group (Greek vs. non-Greek) and training dose (received vs. not received) on the outcomes, controlling for relevant covariates. The mean age of participants was20.3 years, with 52% identifying as Greek-affiliated. Significant differences in bystander efficacy were found between Greek and non-Greek students (p \u3c 0.001), with Greek students showing lower efficacy. Peer engagement levels were also significantly lower among Greek-affiliated students (p \u3c 0.01). Bystander training dose positively influenced bystander efficacy (ß = 0.45, p \u3c 0.001) and peer engagement (ß = 0.32, p \u3c 0.01) across both groups. Greek-affiliated students demonstrated lower bystander efficacy and peer engagement compared to their non-Greek peers. Bystander training significantly improved these outcomes, underscoring the importance of targeted interventions. Future programs should focus on increasing the training dose and tailoring content to the unique needs of Greek-affiliated students to enhance their engagement and efficacy in preventing sexual assault
Faithful Partner: The Role and Agency of Pastors\u27 Wives in the Protestant Reformation
Get PDFThis thesis explores the critical yet often overlooked roles of pastors\u27 wives during the Protestant Reformation, focusing on three key figures: Katharina von Bora, Katharina Schütz Zell, and Elisabeth Cruciger. It examines how these women navigated the complexities of Reformation-era Germany, blending traditional gender roles with new practices that emerged from their unique positions as clerical spouses. By investigating their personal histories, theological contributions, and community engagements, the thesis demonstrates that these pioneering women established a distinct archetype for pastors\u27 wives. This archetype was characterized by a profound commitment to faith, an expanded view of motherhood and wifely duties, and active participation in their husbands\u27 ministries. The research highlights how their roles were shaped by a dynamic interplay between rebellion and conformity, ultimately reshaping societal norms and contributing significantly to the Reformation movement. Through a detailed analysis of their lives and writings, this work provides new perspectives on gender and social history in early modern Germany, challenging traditional narratives and emphasizing the agency and authority of these influential women
Regulation of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Through Mitochondrial Import of Long Non-Coding RNAs
Get PDFIntroduction: The leading cause of mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus is heart failure. When mitochondrial health and function is disrupted, cardiac contractile function is compromised. Therefore, understanding mitochondrial regulation may benefit predicting and countering diabetic cardiomyopathy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in diabetic cardiac mitochondrial protein expression. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to regulate miRNAs, but not in the mitochondrion. Additionally, it has yet to be confirmed if lncRNAs utilize the same mechanisms for mitochondrial import that miRNAs use, or if lncRNA presence in the mitochondrion fluctuates in diabetic mitochondria like miRNA presence does. The purpose of this work is to understand how the cardiac mitochondrial transcriptome is changed by diabetes mellitus, specifically how changes in lncRNA passage into the mitochondrion alters bioenergetic and cardiac function.
Methods and Results: Using both mouse and human cardiac tissue, we first examined the presence of lncRNAs within mitochondria using next-generation sequencing. After identifying mitochondrially-imported lncRNAs, we performed crosslinked immunoprecipitation-based sequencing for polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase), a known importer for noncoding RNAs including miRNAs. PNPase-bound lncRNA sequences were evaluated using machine learning algorithms to identify features that enhanced likelihood of binding. Those features were integrated into an artificial construct with high interaction potential for PNPase, which was experimentally verified using gel-shift and fluorescence assays. Next-generation sequencing was repeated on mitochondrial isolate from diabetic mouse and human cardiac tissue, and differences in lncRNA mitochondrial presence were assessed. Several lncRNAs showed a significant change in mitochondrial abundance, including metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (Malat1). Small non-coding RNA sequencing revealed that presence of miR-320a, a miRNA binding target for Malat1, was also altered in diabetic mitochondria. Both non-coding RNAs were proven to alter mitochondrial function as well as co-precipitate using in vitro experimentation. In vivo echocardiography of a Malat1 knockout mouse model on a high-fat diet presented with exacerbated systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Malat1 loss increased recruitment of miR-320a and its mitochondrial genome-encoded target mRNA MT-ND1 to the RNA induced silencing complex (RISC), suggesting that disruption of Malat1 presence in mitochondria increased miR-320a availability to downregulate MT-ND1 and ultimately lead to cardiac dysfunction.
Conclusions: The work summarized in the preceding experiments exposes lncRNAs as a major and dynamic component of the mitochondrial transcriptome that can act as an axis of regulation in coordination with miRNAs. Further, disruption of this axis can result in pathological changes similar to what is observed in diabetic cardiomyopathy. These studies also suggest that lncRNA components could be utilized to enhance mitochondrial import and targeting of miRNAs
Measuring and Modeling Riparian Wetland Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity, Nutrient Concentrations and Shallow Groundwater Dynamics in an Appalachian Mixed Land Use Catchment
Get PDFThe paucity of research on accurate predictions of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), spatiotemporal analysis of nutrient concentrations relative to water source types (stream and shallow groundwater (SGW)), water flow directions, and land use in riparian wetlands of Appalachian mixed land use catchments underscored the need for this study. Additionally, the lack of SGW flow simulations and stream-SGW interactions using three-dimensional (3D) numerical models (i.e., MODFLOW) in these riparian wetlands further highlighted the research gap. Observed data including soil properties, Ksat, surface water (SW) and SGW levels, and nutrient concentrations, including nitrate (NO3-N), nitrite (NO2-N), ammonium (NH4-N), orthophosphate (PO43-P), total nitrogen (total_N), and total phosphorus (total_P) were collected from four stream stage monitoring sites with a total of 13 co-located piezometers during January 2020 to December 2021. Validation against observed Ksat values revealed a significant correlation of Ksat with soil texture, particularly clay content, yet underscored the low accuracy of existing pedotransfer functions (PTFs), indicating a pressing need for calibration and development of site-specific PTFs. Distinct nutrient profiles were observed between SW and SGW, with significantly higher (p \u3c 0.05) total_N and total_P concentrations in SGW than in SW. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Spearman Correlation further elucidated the relationship between nutrient distributions, water source types, and adjacent land uses. Relatively stable SGW head distribution was observed with slight monthly fluctuations due to recharge rates from 3D MODFLOW simulations. The downstream reach for the study period illustrated a losing stream condition, while a monthly alternating gaining-losing stream condition was observed in the upstream area. In an experimental MT3D transport scenario including advection-dispersion and chemical reaction, lateral transport of NO3-N from SGW to the stream was observed, and NO3-N lost by denitrification surpassed NO3-N lost from SGW to stream. These studies provide valuable insights into the complexities of water and nutrient dynamics in riparian wetlands of mixed land-use catchments in the Appalachian region of the northeastern United States, offering a foundation for informed management decisions to manage these ecosystems sustainably
Milk Collection Problem: Integrating the Traveling Salesman and Set Covering Problem - A Case Study in West Virginia, USA
Get PDFRoute determination for perishable products is complex due to its unique characteristics, such as limited shelf-life regulatory requirements, or possibility of getting damaged. This research investigates a novel problem of collecting raw milk from a rural network of dairy farms. The research problem is grounded in a real scenario of milk collection in West Virginia, USA. The milk in this scenario is produced by small farms incapable of realizing transportation economies of density out in mostly rural areas throughout the state. Maximum coverage area and milk processing overhead costs are used to identify suitable locations for intermediate milk collection centers or depots to store the milk to realize economies of density and reduce transportation costs. Each depot needs to be established within a certain maximum distance, for the refrigeration time of the multi-stop vehicle to not exceed the allowable time limit set to maintain the quality of the collected milk. This problem provides the unique opportunity to incorporate two separate classical optimization problems: the Set Covering Problem (SCP) (identifying depot locations) and the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) (routing). The SCP involves identifying the optimal number of service facilities required for the aggregation operations to maintain milk quality in transit. The TSP determines the most optimal route between farms and the depot. The milk collection problem requires solving both the SCP and TSP. However, the problem also becomes more difficult to solve when combining TSP constraints with the SCP. This study proposes a novel Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to address this problem. The objective of the proposed model is to minimize the depot assignment cost, overhead cost of the depot, cleaning cost of the vehicle, and the vehicle distance traveled to reduce the fuel cost. The exact algorithm has been analyzed and we use sensitivity analyses to determine the model’s reliability and robustness to changes in the problem scenario. The model was tested for different scenarios for the dairy industry in West Virginia. However, it has to be noted that other applications can be developed for similar structured problems based on this study given the flexible working path created by the Application Programming Interface (API) of Google Maps. We evaluate the proposed model by comparing its result with the steepest ascent Hill climbing algorithm, a mathematical optimization problem in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Nearest Neighbor heuristics. The two algorithms are compared regarding solution quality and computational efficiency to determine the better heuristic algorithm for the developed model. The Hill climbing algorithm has given significantly better results than the Nearest Neighbor heuristics. The Hill climbing algorithm ended up in near-optimal results with an efficient computational time. Further, the Multi-Vehicle Routing (MVR) model is analyzed for the transportation part of the model and found that MVR scenario shows the potential over other scenario (TSP-based) based on vehicle cycle time, still, there is a door to future research to incorporate the heterogeneous fleet and multi-depot constraints in the developed model
The Names of All Wild Things: Field Guides and Environmental Thinking
Get PDFThe project first traces the earliest origins of natural history writing, surveying how natural history writing from antiquity presented and categorized the living world, and then how the rise of print culture and growing popularity of natural history writing would facilitate the rise of European empires. Values and conventions emerged that would later feed into the field guide, like the pairing of text and illustration to aid identification and the decontextualizing of plants and animals from their environments.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, the field guide genre emerged. Some wildly popular books, mostly written by women, emphasized the virtuousness of learning birds and plants, using a domestic rather than national organizational framework. Other early field guides emphasized learning taxonomy and were more closely aligned with scientific disciplines. Both archetypes upheld values still present in the field guide.
Modern field guides have solidified Linnaean taxonomy as the default framework for understanding distinct lifeforms, but they also chronicle a growing extinction anxiety about the destructive power of humans. Modern field guides endorse consumerism, the experiencing of nature as a product. This widespread genre encapsulates the belief that through prosperity and desire, we can spread enough awareness to protect biodiversity despite our own destructive tendency. Field guides not only reflect our own values, they champion them
Fire Sings in the Dark
No full textIn this fantasy setting inspired by the Byzantine Empire, a nun journeys to the capital city of Aquilapolas after her father is killed in a raid. She attends the Emissary’s College to restore her faith in the Mother, but when she watches devouts perform miracles, the opposite begins to happen. Aster starts to question her worthiness, her upbringing, and the arbitrary Gods who respond to others and not to her. Her crisis deepens when she receives visions of a dead man whose life and sorrows echo her own, a man whose deeds shaped the city she now calls home. The more she uncovers, the more she realizes that something important has been forgotten, in a story about trauma, the pain of memory, and the cost of forgetting
Choir Teacher Agency and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
Get PDFCulturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) (Paris, 2012) is an educational framework that nurtures and sustains students’ cultural competencies and identities. Scholars have recognized the need for practices that sustain and nurture cultural identities and ways of knowing music in the music classroom (Abril, 2009; Bond, 2014; Good Perkins, 2018; Salvador & Culp, 2022; Shaw, 2016). Culturally sustaining teachers reimagine curriculum entirely and place students\u27 cultural assets at the center “as targets of learning to be sustained” (Lee, 2017, p. 262), explored, honored, extended, and critically problematized (Lee, 2017; Paris, 2012; Samy Alim et al., 2020). In choral classrooms, this often involves selecting repertoire representative of students’ cultural identities and interests (Bond, 2014; McKoy & Lind, 2016) and seeing students as experts (Good Perkins, 2018; Shaw, 2016).
Choral teachers have recognized numerous barriers to teaching in a culturally sustaining way, such as difficulty finding and programming “authentic” and high-quality repertoire (Bennett Walling, 2016), low availability of professional development on non-Western music (Cash, 2012), and lack of experience (Damm, 2012). Similarly, teachers feel their agency is constrained by external structures, such as community response (Damm, 2012), budget issues (Figgers, 2003), and lack of time (Marsh Chase, 2002). While repertoire selection has received significant scholarly attention (Bond, 2017), other aspects, such as honoring students’ ways of knowing music, fostering student autonomy, and dismantling oppressive structures of CSP implementation, remain less explored.
Understanding how choral music educators implement CSP can inform practitioners and music teacher educators about best practices and potential obstacles (Banks, 2004; Forbes, 2001; Marsh Chase, 2002). The purpose of this study is to examine the structure and agency of choral music educators in implementing culturally sustaining teaching practices. The following research questions guide the study: 1. In what ways do choir teachers implement culturally sustaining teaching practices in the classroom? 2. What structures enable or constrain how choir teachers implement CSP? 3. In what ways do these choir teachers accept, create, modify, or reject structures?
I used Strong Structuration Theory (SST) (Stones, 2005) as the framework for this multisite instrumental case study (Stake, 1995). SST was used to outline the relationship between structure and agency through four interconnected elements: external structures, internal structures, agentic action, and outcomes. The participants for this study were bound by their implementation of CSP. They were selected because they were secondary choral teachers who taught in a culturally sustaining manner. Data consisted of classroom observations, semi-structured teacher interviews, and class handouts. Data analysis occurred in two cycles. The first cycle analysis will be a priori coding using the four elements of SST. The second cycle of analysis will consist of pattern coding to determine themes. Data collection and analysis were completed before March 1
Commonplace
Get PDFThe paper as follows will explore the conceptual and aesthetic decisions behind my MFA thesis exhibition titled Commonplace. It will outline my personal history, philosophical outlook, and conceptual framework behind making utilitarian pottery to elevate daily experiences. It will also investigate my individual exploration into beauty in relation to the process of making my work. Formal considerations such as visual, tactile, and functional aspects of the work will be addressed. Sharing, gathering, and preparing food influences me as a maker, and being attentive inspires me to create utilitarian wares that are used as cherished tools to enrich daily life
Comparison between Coronally Advanced Flap with Sub-Epithelial Connective Tissue Graft and Tunnel Technique with Sub-Epithelial Connective Tissue Graft in achieving mean root coverage at multiple recession defects: a retrospective study
No full textAim: The primary objective is to retrospectively compare the mean root coverage (MRC) achieved using a coronally advanced flap and sub-epithelial connective tissue graft (CAF + CTG) with that achieved using the tunnelling technique and sub-epithelial connective tissue graft (TUN + CTG) for the treatment of multiple recession defects. The secondary objectives are to compare the proportion of complete root coverage (CRC) achieved with CAF + CTG compared to TUN + CTG, compare the proportion of CRC achieved in these two techniques with respect to level of training (American board-certified periodontist or Graduate periodontics residents) and to evaluate the incidence of complications between these two techniques and between the two levels of training.
Materials & Methods: The current retrospective study is a subset of a larger population of consecutive patients that received soft tissue grafting at West Virginia College of Dentistry from November 1st, 2016 to October 31st, 2021. Patient charts, including clinical notes, periodontal charting and dental radiographs, of 132 patients contributing 249 recession defects were reviewed. Of these, data was assessed to include patients whom received CAF + CTG or TUN + CTG for the management of multiple recession defects. Minimum follow-up period was set at 6wks. A total of 55 recession defects (n CAF + CTG = 23, n TUN +CTG = 32) in 18 patients were included. Data was extracted for demographic variables, patient-, tooth- and site-related factors. Primary outcome was mean root coverage (MRC) between the two techniques. Secondary outcomes are complete root coverage (CRC), complications and influence of level of training. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed. Significance level was set at p = 0.05.
Results: Overall, MRC was found to be 96 0.12% for CAF + CTG groups compared to 86 0.24% for TUN + CTG group. Linear regression analysis found no statistically significant difference (p = 0.0845) between the two techniques in the mean root coverage that was achieved. There was a statistically significant difference in the MRC achieved between the two recession types (RT1 vs RT2) within the TUN + CTG group only (p-value = 0.0196, 95% CI: -26.402, -2.5073), indicating that the mean root coverage for RT2 defects is approximately 14.5% less than RT1 defects when TUN + CTG was performed. CRC was achieved in 19 out of 23 defects (82.6%) in the CAF + CTG group and 21 out of 32 defects (65.6%) in the TUN + CTG group. Minimal complications occurred.
Conclusions: Considering the limitations of the current study, the results indicate that TUN + CTG for the management of multiple recession defects shows no statistically significant difference in terms of mean root coverage compared to CAF + CTG, which has been posed as the “gold standard” treatment for single and multiple gingival recession defects. It may be postulated that the use of either technique for management of multiple gingival recession defects may be appropriate treatment modalities with high clinical outcomes. Superiority has not been definitively established. Prognostic factors leading to more favorable outcomes require further investigation