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Beyond Purity Culture: Exploring History, Implications, and Alternatives
2023This thesis offers a careful examination of the history and ethical implications of the purity culture movement upon the American evangelical teenage population and offers an alternative approach coined True Love Honors. The harm experienced by many participants in True Love Waits and other evangelical purity culture programs creates a moral dilemma for the American evangelical church today to reflect and develop a new ethical framework for sexual ethics for adolescents. The purpose of this research is to explore primary and secondary accounts of purity culture to understand specific ethical problems within the movement unto research of applicable ethical frameworks and approaches that may offer the substance lacking in the current sexual ethical norm. The concluding results identify three particular areas of lack which may be redressed by an ethic informed by feminist care ethics and privileging the values of autonomy, consent, and honor. For further study, I recommend the intersection of LGBTQIA+ youth with purity culture, contemporary thought on purity culture by Joshua Harris and other public figures of the early movement, and trauma-informed study on purity culture unto victims of sexual and domestic violence.Symmonds, Nicole S.Parker, Angela N.M.T.S
Astrocytic Influences in the Auditory Brainstem in Fragile X Syndrome
2023Fragile X Syndrome is one of the leading genetic causes of autism spectrum disorder. Fragile X Syndrome is associated with auditory hypersensitivity and childhood audiogenic frontal-temporal lobe seizures, which may be the result of abnormalities in the auditory nuclei found in the brainstem. The purpose of this research is to expand on preliminary findings that dysfunction in the auditory brainstem contributes to sound sensitivity and subsequently to frontal-temporal lobe seizures. To test the role of the LSO, VCN, and MNTB we examined the astrocyte function in these areas by extracting the auditory brainstem from Fmr1 KO mice and wild type mice. We then co-cultured these astrocytes with neurons from either mouse genotype to determine differences in the neuronal size, morphology, and synaptogenic factors. Our research examined the levels of SPARC, hevin, and thrombospondin-1, which are synaptic proteins found in the synapses in the auditory brainstem. Our results showed that Fmr1 KO astrocytes altered the size of WT neurons to a size comparable to a standard Fmr1 KO neuron, and Fmr1 KO astrocytes secreted significantly less SPARC than WT astrocytes. Overall, abnormal astrocyte function among Fmr1 KO mice was found to cause morphological changes in auditory brainstem neurons and differences in the amount of the SPARC found in the auditory brainstem between wild type and Fmr1 KO mice.Rotschafer, Sarah EBridges, Christy CUchakin, Peter NM.S
Minutes of the General Baptist Association for the State of Georgia [1822]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 182
Minutes of the Seventh Anniversary of the Baptist Convention for the State of Georgia [1828]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 182
Minutes of the Thirteenth Anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention [1834]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 183
Minutes of the Twenty-Second Anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention [1843]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 184
Minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention [1846]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 184
Minutes of the Thirty-First Anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention [1852]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 185
Minutes of the Sixty-Fifth Anniversary of the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia [1887]
Minutes of the Georgia Baptist Convention, 188
BLACK GREEK LETTER ORGANIZATION INFLUENCE ON HIV-RELATED KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIOR OF COLLEGE-ATTENDING HETEROSEXUAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
2023Reducing health disparities in rural communities remain a major issue in the United States – especially HIV-related health disparities. Rural communities who have high rates of HIV tend to also have a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or institution of higher learning within their community. HIV-related stigma is known to be one of the main reasons for low levels of HIV-prevention efforts in rural areas and college settings. A negative correlation between HIV-related stigma and social support suggests the more social support an individual has, the lower the HIV-related stigma – which can also directly affect HIV-prevention efforts. College-attending heterosexual African-American men are at an alarmingly high risk of contracting HIV at some point in their lifetime. Therefore, interventions that increase HIV-prevention efforts that are relevant to more populations than just same-sex populations are crucial. This study qualitatively explored the influences and barriers of HIV-related knowledge, motivation, and behavior within college-attending heterosexual African-American men who are members of a social support group or a Black Greek letter fraternity via focus groups. It is recommended to conduct additional qualitative research at HBCUs and in other rural areas on this topic in order to design a culturally-tailored intervention for this unique population.Mincey, Krista DLian, BradWei, YudanShaw, EricD.Phil