2923 research outputs found
Sort by
07. Where Are the Women?: The Representation of Gendered Wartime Violence at Abu Ghraib in U.S. Newspapers
Get PDFIn April of 2004, newspapers in the United States began to print stories unveiling the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib, a prison in Iraq appropriated for use by the U.S. military. This study examines how a number of newspapers portrayed gender in relation to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and considers what these depictions may suggest about the public acceptance of wartime violence as it links to gender. Literature indicates that gender-based violence during conflict is primarily perpetrated against women, yet content analysis of articles related to Abu Ghraib in the top three national newspapers from 2004-2020 reveals few articles that mention the female prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Instead, the news stories created a narrative in the U.S. that revolved almost exclusively around the male detainees and the U.S. military personnel. Conversely, female Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, despite also experiencing verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, were largely left out of this narrative. Viewed through a feminist lens, findings suggest that when the news of Abu Ghraib had to be released to the American public, the emphasis was placed almost exclusively on the abuses against male Iraqi prisoners, which might evoke less lasting outrage than the abuses against female Iraqi prisoners would have done. Future research is needed to uncover the reasons for the absence of female Iraqi prisoners in the narrative, and to further investigate the media depiction of the female experience during warfare, in general
06. The Influence of MED12 Knockdown on Adipogenesis
Get PDFThe ubiquity of obesity has increased exponentially, and the health burden of obesity-related diseases including type 2 diabetes, metabolic disorders, heart diseases, and some types of cancers is growing. Obesity is characterized by the excess accumulation of fat and adipose tissue and driven by adipogenesis, which is the process in which stem cells differentiate into adipocytes. We utilize human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) isolated from adult fat tissue to study adipogenesis (the formation of fat tissue). This physiological potential, combined with non-invasive collection methods, make hASCs favorable in the search for new clinical stem cell treatments and for the study of cellular processes and differentiation. We are interested in understanding the function of MED12 in adipogenesis and determining its role in initiating cell type specific gene expression in hopes that this research can be used in treatments for obesity and related metabolic disorders. MED12 is a subunit of the Mediator complex kinase module that is critical in regulating cell-type specific gene expression. We have determined a decrease in MED12 leads to a decrease in adipogenesis as shown by the decrease in staining of lipid vesicles and the decrease in expression of adipogenic factors, CEPBɑ2, SREBP1c, and PPARɣ. This supports that MED12 does indeed play an important role in adipogenesis. We will continue to examine at what point during adipogenesis MED12 is most critical so that MED12 may be used as a therapeutic target to control adipogenesis and treat obesity in the future
How Mutual Fund Manager Professional Networks Affect Investor Welfare
Get PDFThis dissertation analyzes the link between the professional networks of mutual fund managers and its effect on fund investor welfare. A unique dataset is constructed for analysis based on third-party verified U.S. corporate board ties. Chapter 1 first examines whether U.S. mutual funds associated with fund managers possessing board connections (“connected” fund managers) have an advantage over mutual funds that are not associated with “connected” fund managers. The evidence I find suggests mutual funds associated with “connected” fund managers outperform their “non-connected” counterparts by an average of 1.57% in annual returns. Additionally, mutual funds with “connected” fund managers collect higher fees. Overall, the findings suggest “connected” mutual funds send higher returns to fund investors while keeping some for themselves in the form of fees. Having established board connections matter on a fund level, in Chapter 2 the focus shifts from the fund level to the fund manager level by studying the “connected” fund managers’ positioning within a social network hierarchy using the theory of network centrality. In other words, this chapter examines whether the professional networks of mutual fund managers, in the context of board director relationships, offer a mechanism of information flows to fund managers that ultimately affect fund investor welfare. The evidence points to fund managers enjoying higher returns when they are well-connected (via direct connections), and when their immediate connections are well-connected (via indirect connections). A long-short portfolio strategy based on eigenvector, a network centrality variable measuring how connected the fund managers’ immediate connections are (network quality), yields positive and statistically significant mean and risk-adjusted returns for both in-sample and out-of-sample testing. The results suggest fund managers use their director networks as conduits for obtaining relevant information, where the opportunity for obtaining relevant information increases as the quality of the fund managers’ professional network increases. Additional evidence also suggests fund managers may be holding back on utilizing the information from their current board appointment relationships
The Role of Dividends and Investor Sentiment in the Relation Between Idiosyncratic Risk and Expected Returns
Get PDFWe test the role of dividends and investor sentiment in the relation between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns because Pastor and Veronesi (2003) find evidence that dividends reduce firm-specific uncertainty by sending information to the market participants through dividends. Also, Baker and Wurgler (2006) document that the negative relation between idiosyncratic risk and expected return only exists under the optimistic sentiment. We first document that the negative relation between idiosyncratic risk and expected return is more concentrated for stocks without dividends than stocks with dividends. We further find that the role of dividends in the relation between idiosyncratic risk and expected return is not affected by investor sentiment. These findings are robust to weighing schemes of returns and firm characteristics such as beta, size, book-to-market ratio, momentum, and liquidity
Performance and Retention of Female Engineering Students when Placed in a Gender Parity Course
Get PDFThough women earn the majority of bachelor’s degrees in the United States of America, they are in the vast minority of those earning degrees in engineering, only 24%. In an effort to ultimately increase the number of women graduating with degrees in engineering, our study focused on improving the retention of first-year female students.
We set out to discover if female engineering students, who traditionally are in the minority of their student body, would have an increase in their performance and retention when placed in a manipulated course environment of gender parity (50% women, 50% men). Our study followed 129 first-year female engineering students in Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 through their first academic term where they were enrolled in the initial engineering course at Louisiana Tech University.
As a result of this study, we found no significance associated with the implementation of gender parity sections of a first-year engineering course on participants’ performance and retention. After uncovering these initial results, we further investigated other potential factors affecting retention, including Composite ACT scores, Math ACT scores, overall high school grade point average, and midterm exam grades, resulting in insightful information
Notch and Mediator Work Together to Direct hASC Self-renewal
Get PDFStem cells are unique in that they possess totipotent, pluripotent, or multipotent differentiation capabilities and can also self-renew. Stem cells are in either a state of selfrenewal or differentiation, but never both. If we are able to gain a full understanding of the underlying mechanisms that allow stem cells to remain self-renewing and multipotent, we will better be able to control the fate of cells, ultimately allowing stem cells to be used to their full capabilities in regenerative medicine. My research focuses on MED12 and its effects on Notch signaling. Here we describe the expression profile and activity of MED12, Notch1, and Notch3 in self-renewing human adipose stem cells and determine the impact that MED12 knockdown has on Notch1 and Notch3 expression and activity in self renewing hASC’s. We hypothesized that MED12 has a critical role in regulating transcription, while Notch signaling has a role in directing cell fate commitment. We observed that the knockdown of MED12 in hASCs has no effect on the protein expression of Notch1. We also observed that the knockdown of Notch3 does reduce the amount of MED12 transcript expressed in hASCs. To date, our data suggests that MED12 has no effect on Notch1 expression but does affect Notch3 expression. Also, the knockdown of Notch3 directly effects MED12 transcript. This data indicates a unique role for MED12 and a relationship with Notch3 in regulating cell state, leading us one step closer to realizing the clinical potential of these cells and using them in novel cell-based and tissue engineering therapies
what\u27s the point: For Brittany
Get PDFKatelyn Swanson is a sophomore at Louisiana Tech University studying English with a concentration in creative writing. Katelyn has goals of becoming a published author. She fell in love with writing in high school, and the rest has been history. She loves experimenting with different styles of writing and in different types of art as well. When she is not creating, you can find her playing video games in her room or cheering on the Bulldogs on the football field with the LA Tech color guard
An Ethereal Afternoon
Get PDFStevie Iseral is a senior interdisciplinary studies major with concentrations in sociology, history, and marketing. She began practicing photography 7 years ago and still feels joy each time she picks up her camera. Stevie loves photography because it creates a space for her to document the beauty of life
Hangar
Get PDFHannah Fulton is a third year Master of Fine Arts candidate at Louisiana Tech University’s School of Design, and she is projected to graduate this spring quarter. She has earned a Bachelor’s degree in graphic communications at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She aims to pursue a career in art education
Steeples Glen
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.latech.edu/quatrain-gallery-volume-5/1007/thumbnail.jp