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The Daisy Theater 2
No full textWork being done on the Daisy Theater in downtown Memphis.https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/item-of-the-month-2025-07/1001/thumbnail.jp
Exploring Potential Barriers to the Fragile X Syndrome Cascade Screening Process
Get PDFCascade screening, the systematic process of performing genetic screening in at-risk blood relatives of individuals who have been identified with specific genetic mutations, is vital to ensure that Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is identified and diagnosed accurately and that early intervention services are provided to support the clinical symptoms associated with FXS. Cascade screening leads to identification of both male and female premutation carriers and those with full mutation FXS leading to early diagnosis, prompt treatment and awareness of potential medical, psychosocial, and/or neurodevelopmental issues, and improvement in the affected individual’s quality of life. Despite the clear clinical benefits of cascade screening, the process among families affected by FXS may bring up many concerns, and some of these concerns may be potential barriers that lead to the inability or refusal to participate in FXS cascade screening. These potential cascade screening barriers are likely biopsychosocial in nature and may consist of economic, psychological, social, geographical, communication, and education concerns. Unfortunately, the FXS cascade screening barriers encountered by these families are poorly studied, specifically for racial/ethnic minority family members. Therefore, the current study will use a quantitative, correlational, survey design methodology in order to reveal these specific barriers faced by racial/ethnic minority adults and, furthermore, identify which of these barriers leads to a lower reported decisional stage of FXS cascade screening. Identification of specific barriers faced by this group and this population’s readiness to engage with screening behavior is a critical step so that targeted interventions can be developed. Ultimately, a more targeted approach can more readily address inequities in access to FXS screening, and it assures the benefits of screening can be fully realized by all races and ethnicities
Transnational Childcare Labor and the Politics of Affect in Contemporary Black Women’s Fiction
Get PDFNeoliberal globalization has stimulated a continuous rise in migrant women’s domestic work in industrialized Western countries. In the global North, a growing number of female immigrants have supplemented precarious, low-waged, unprotected, unstable, or even unwaged care labor undertaken by mostly female residents as cleaners, caregivers, nurses, babysitters, or domestic service workers. Thus, ironically, non-migrant women’s participation in the public workforce is enabled by migrant women’s mostly devalued, underpaid domestic work in private households. It also upholds the perception that childcare is a private rather than public responsibility. The exploitation of women’s reproductive labor and the feminization of childcare has a long global history; outsourcing this labor to disfranchised, underprivileged migrant women reproduces gross inequalities across citizenship, gender, class, and race in today’s globalized world. Their care labor is seen as expendable, natural, or raw material that does not require any investment. This demonstrates that there is a vicious cycle of history rather than linear development, wherein exploitation is rebranded by capitalism and neoliberalism to support wealthy, largely white households and economies. Contemporary African and Caribbean women writers’ fiction explores immigration as a deeply visceral, psychological, racial, socioeconomic, and gender-based experience shaped by the colonial past and today’s global capitalism. The protagonists try to discover, rediscover, and negotiate their immigrant identities, overshadowed by systemic inequalities and pervasive discrimination. Given their unique identities, histories, diverse immigration statuses, motivations for immigrating, and diasporic experiences, it is important to avoid homogenizing narratives of female immigrants. This project examines how childcare work in the North is shaped by intersectional inequalities along citizenship, class, race, and gender lines in Lucy (1990) by Jamaica Kincaid, Grace in the City (2011) by Victoria Brown, Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Patsy (2019) by Nicole Dennis-Benn through representations of racialization and feminization of reproductive work and devaluation of affective labor. Drawing on decolonial Black feminist approaches, supplemented by key insights from affect theory in immigration studies, it further investigates how legacies of colonial order, reinforced through gender and racial segregation in the labor market and dehumanizing immigration regulations, are manifested in everyday encounters of the female protagonists
BEYOND THE BARRIERS OF SILENT WALLS AND SYSTEMIC CHAINS: HOW DO BLACK BOYS IN A SOUTHERN URBAN CONTEXT DEVELOP BOTH RACIAL/ ETHNIC AND SCHOLARLY IDENTITIES AND HOW DO THEY NAVIGATE THE SYSTEMIC BARRIERS THAT SHAPE THEIR IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT?
Get PDFThis dissertation offers a critical examination of the intersection between racial/ethnic and scholarly identity development among Black male adolescents, specifically those aged 18-19, within the socio-cultural and educational context of a Southern urban environment. By exploring the lived experiences of these boys, the study investigates how they navigate pervasive systemic barriers, including institutionalized racism, racial stereotyping, and inequitable educational practices, all of which significantly shape their academic trajectories and racial self-conception. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Critical Race Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Bioecological Systems Theory, this qualitative inquiry employs a robust multi-method approach, integrating semi-structured interviews, life mapping, and narrative inquiry through musical composition to uncover the nuanced processes through which these boys negotiate their dual identities racial/ethnic and scholarly. The findings illuminate how Black boys, while encountering formidable obstacles such as a racially biased curriculum, discriminatory school policies, and disproportionate disciplinary actions, engage in practices of resistance and resilience. Mentorship, cultural affirmation, and creative expression emerge as pivotal mechanisms through which these adolescents assert and navigate their racial/ ethnic identities, while simultaneously fostering academic engagement and success. The study underscores the transformative role of representation within the school environment and broader societal narratives, particularly in mitigating the psychological effects of marginalization and enhancing identity development. This dissertation contributes to the field by expanding our understanding of how systemic inequities intersect with identity construction, illustrating how Black boys actively resist deficit narratives through community support, personal agency, and cultural expression. The implications of this research suggest critical educational reforms that center on culturally responsive pedagogies, inclusive curricula, and mentorship programs tailored to affirm the identities of Black male students. By highlighting the importance of affirming both racial/ ethnic pride and academic potential, this work calls for transformative change in educational spaces to promote the holistic development of Black boys, ensuring their academic and socio-emotional success in the face of systemic adversity. Additionally, this dissertation highlights the importance of mentorship, cultural affirmation, and creative outlets in the resilience-building processes that empower these boys to thrive despite the challenges they face
Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Ideologies Towards Learning Saudi Dialect in Modern Standard Arabic Classrooms
No full textArabic is a diglossic language with two varieties: high -- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and low -- spoken Arabic. As a result, there has been an ongoing discussion among specialists over which variety should be taught. The integrated approach, which teaches two varieties (typically MSA plus a local dialect), aims to enhance learners’ communicative competence. Recent studies have investigated learners’ and teachers’ perceptions and ideologies toward such integration, although as yet no studies have investigated the views of policymakers or university professors. Some studies have found that learners and teachers believe an integrated approach would enhance learners\u27 communication needs, motivation, and cultural comprehension, while others found that students and teachers held ideological beliefs against this approach, or that they had expressed concerns such as confusion and decreased motivation. To bridge this gap, this mixed-method study explored 262 stakeholders (male, n=157; female, n=105), including learners, language teachers, policymakers, and university professors, to investigate their perceptions and ideologies regarding learning Saudi dialect in the oral skills classroom as support for learning MSA in an Arabic language program at a Saudi public university. Quantitative data was collected via questionnaires with all the stakeholders, and was followed up by three focus groups involving learners and by individual interviews with five policymakers and ten teachers. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics test such as repeated measures analysis, and the qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that stakeholders had positive attitudes toward dialect instruction / the integrated approach, and that the learners were the most enthusiastic group because their hope to better understand local culture and achieve academic success. In contrast, although the stakeholders perceived dialect instruction positively, they were concerned about some difficulties that might accompany dialect teaching in MSA classrooms, with teachers as the less concerned group. Regarding ideologies that work against the teaching of dialect, half of the learners held such ideological beliefs, while in general the teachers, policymakers, and professors did not hold such strong ideological beliefs, , with teachers as the less ideological group. Age was the most pertinent variable affecting stakeholders’ responses, and the older learners and younger policymaker and professors had more positive attitudes. Other variables such as gender played a lesser role in stakeholders’ responses. Younger female policymakers and professors held more positive attitudes toward integrated instruction, and policymakers who had not studied abroad tended to have negative attitudes toward integration, and to hold ideologies against dialect teaching. The finding of this study highlights strong agreement on the need for dialect instruction for academic and cultural reasons, and also the need to take into consideration the concerns expressed by those who such instruction would affect, including providing a well-planned curriculum and engaging with the concerns of those stakeholders who are skeptical of integrated instruction
Hybrid Angular Spectrum Ultrasound Simulation Method for Inhomogeneous Tissue Media
Get PDFThe Hybrid Angular Spectrum (HAS) method can be used to calculate ultrasound wave propagation through inhomogeneous tissue geometries, providing fast and accurate results. Volumetric matrices of sound speed and attenuation distributions and a planar incident pressure pattern are given as inputs, and the pressure wave propagation pattern is calculated plane-by-plane by alternating between the space domain and the spatial-frequency domain for each slice of the volume. This study aims to implement the HAS method in MATLAB to help reconstruct inhomogeneous 3D models of the temporal skull to identify ideal acoustic windows for transcranial ultrasound and inform custom array probe design. The HAS code accuracy was successfully determined by comparing the forward propagation through homogeneous water media with FieldII. CT scans of ex vivo human skulls were used to run simulations through sections of solid and porous temporal bone and to develop an iterative optimization process to converge from solid to porous
Christ Community Health Serv Comptroller July 1, 2020, Through June 30, 2021, and July 1, 2021, Through June 30, 2022
Get PDFUnion Avenue, 1936
No full textUnion Avenue looking east from Dudley.https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-mpressscimitar5/1121/thumbnail.jp
Graduate School Blog - March 2025 volume 1
No full textThe March 2025 UofM Graduate School Blog – Volume 1 showcases six must-attend events designed to enrich the graduate student experience through networking, professional development, creative expression, and academic exploration. This event-focused issue highlights virtual open houses for Engineering, Law, Education, and Healthcare programs; a Grad School Alumni Panel; and the 37th Annual Student Research Forum. Additional in-person offerings include a Graduate Student Association (GSA)-hosted Mental Health session and the social mixer “Paint, Sip & Speak.” It also reminds students of the March 28 ProQuest submission deadline for theses and dissertations and encourages nominations for the upcoming GSA Awards Ceremony. With something for every stage of the grad journey, this edition invites students to learn, connect, and celebrate throughout the month of March
