URSA - Mercer University Research, Scholarship, and Archives
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Stillmore Baptist Church Minute Book, 1908-1909
No full textChurch record book that includes regularly recorded meeting minutes and church membership lists for Stillmore Baptist Church in Emanuel County, 1908-1909
A Multigenerational Narrative Inquiry: Exploring Black Joy Through Language and Literacy
No full text2024Within the scope of this narrative inquiry, I conducted a study on two multigenerational families to examine the literacies that are sustained within their families, analyze the accounts of their experiences, and understand the influence of their language and literacy practices on their identity. For this study, I used culturally sustaining pedagogies and critical sociocultural theory as a framework to explore the historical accomplishments of Black women in education broadly and within the literature before turning to narrative inquiry to consider how their narratives could inform asset-based pedagogies. The findings provide insight into the participants' literacy and language experiences by demonstrating how participants characterized their shifting language and literacy practices as the result of complex social interactions, upheld by family and community. The results suggest that Black girls/women view their language and literacy experiences as both affirming their humanity and deeply connected to their religious beliefs. Black girls/women see the link between their language and literacy practices and their identities as a historical legacy that is passed down and accepted by future generations via the recognition of their literacies. Recommendations demonstrate how educators can leverage various modalities and learning preferences and honor Black girls’ language and literacy practices. Assignment modifications are offered to condense the suggestions provided for instructors and curriculum designers as a means of planning. The suggested modifications can serve as a reference for structuring classes and activities with the aim of cultivating and eliciting joy within educational environments.Panther, Leah MBaiden, FeliciaBoggs, Olivia MD.Phil
Re-engaged Youth Attending A Secondary Alternative School: A Cluster Analysis
No full text2024The purpose of this quantitative cluster analysis was to create a profile of students attending, graduating, and withdrawing from an alternative high school located in Georgia. Using a hierarchical cluster analysis method, clusters were formed based on the clustering variables of age overage, poverty, Multilingual Learner status, student achievement, Carnegie credits earned, discipline incidences, school attendance, and gender from a current student population of 2,497 and 1,861 graduates.
Prior research has demonstrated that not all students excel in traditional secondary schools due to various factors. However, there is a scarcity of empirical research examining the suitability of alternative pathways for attaining a high school diploma. Given the significant numbers of youth dropping out of school prematurely, it is crucial to investigate alternative routes to high school education to assess their appropriateness and effectiveness.
The results of this study suggest that there are shared traits among student cohorts attending and graduating from this alternative high school. These insights, coupled with the distinctive attributes of the alternative education environment, should guide school guidance counselors and administrators in providing support and advice to students who are struggling to thrive in a traditional secondary setting.
Future research should prioritize gathering firsthand accounts from students who are thriving in alternative secondary schools to gain deeper insights into the factors contributing to their success, particularly among those who did not finish their secondary education in a traditional setting.Morrissey, SusieKeese, JeffCastanheira, BrittanyD.Phil
A Constructive, Compassionate, Generous Understanding of God for the 21st Century
No full text2024ABSTRACT
KHAALIQ THOMAS
A CONSTRUCTIVE, GENEROUS, AND COMAPSSIONATE UNDERSTANDING OF GOD FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Under the direction of ANGELA N. PARKER, Ph.D.
Since God is not something that can be geographically located to determine if what which has been said about God is truthful, we are left with the project of conceptualizing who and what God is and what God can be. Therefore, since God is manifested from the human imagination it is a product of human weakness. With religious fundamentalists concepts of God that inspire hate, violence, division, asceticism, and oppressive group thinking, the theological imagination is too weak of a tool to accurately depict God in reality.
The religious fundamentalists have constricted the concept of God making it difficult for God to function in our modern world and appeal to contemporary minds. The need to conceptualize a God that exists outside religion is essential to the functionality and relevance of a supreme being for today. Since it is the human mind, body, and spirit that encounters and conceptualizes God it is appropriate to theorize a God that is discovered through the activity of self-exploration and the exercise of human authenticity.
A constructive, generous, and compassionate concept of God is one where the process of deconstruction takes place. It means eliminating the notion of ultimate truth and embracing ultimate wonder and uncertainty by taking God outside religion. It means knowing God empirically more than through scripture. It means allowing God to inform the believer of what it is and not the believer placing an identity upon God.Parker, Ph.D., Angela N.Walker Jr., Ph.D., Graham B.Deloach, D.Min., C. GregoryM.T.S
SARS-COV-2 SPIKE PROTEIN EXACERBATES CEREBRAL THROMBOEMBOLIC COMPLICATIONS IN HACE2 MICE
No full text2024Purpose: COVID-19 doubles the risk for acute ischemic stroke in patients with cardiovascular disorders, yet the molecular mechanisms are unclear and remain unresolved medical challenges. We hypothesize that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein exacerbates stroke and neurovascular complications via increasing coagulation and decreasing fibrinolysis by disrupting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) balance.
Methods: MCA/FeCl3 thromboembolic model was induced in humanized ACE2 knock-in mice. hACE2 mice were treated with Losartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker, after one day of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein injection. Cerebral blood flow was measured using a Laser speckle imager. Infarct size was compared using TTC stain. Vascular contribution to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) were assessed using a Novel object recognition test. D-dimmer, Tissue factor -3 (TF-III), and Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were measured using ELISA and Western blot to assess coagulation and fibrinolysis. Human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) were exposed to hypoxia with/without SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to mimic stroke. HBMEC was analyzed for coagulation factors, inflammation, and RAAS balance.
Results: SARS-CoV-2 spike protein increased neuronal death and decreased cognitive function after MCA/FeCl3 thromboembolic occlusion. hACE2 mice subjected to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein showed diminished cerebral blood flow compared to control groups. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein increased coagulation factors (increased TF-III) and decreased fibrinolysis (increased PAI-1) in hACE2 and HBMEC. Losartan reduced spike protein-induced infarction and improved cognitive function in hACE2 mice. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein caused RAAS system imbalances in hACE2 mice by increasing AT1R and downstream inflammatory signal. Moreover, spike protein decreased the protective RAAS arm by decreasing AT2R and Mas receptors in hACE2 brains.
Conclusion: In hACE2 mice, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein exacerbates hypercoagulation and inflammation, leading to increased cerebrovascular damage and cognitive dysfunction. However, the AT1R blocker, Losartan, restored the RAAS balance and reduced COVID-19-induced thromboembolic cerebrovascular complications.Abdelsaid, MohammedBridges, ChristyChung, ChangRotschafer, SarahM.S
ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER WOMEN AND WORK: A BUFORD HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSESSMENT
No full text2024National data shows Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women are experiencing a rise in workplace hate incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the Atlanta Spa Shootings in March 2021, six AAPI women were murdered in their metro Atlanta workplaces. This spurred demands for data on AAPI women’s intersectional experiences with workplace harassment. Since the Atlanta Spa Shootings, there has not been an assessment of AAPI women’s workplace safety in Atlanta. The Buford Highway Corridor, located within metro Atlanta cities Chamblee and Doraville, GA, has a concentrated and diverse mix of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese-owned businesses, making it an area of interest for this study. This study was guided by the Asian Critical Theory to address the question: What are the characteristics of AAPI women’s experiences with harassment incidents in the workplaces located along the Buford Highway Corridor in Chamblee and Doraville, GA? An online exploratory structured survey questionnaire was developed for this study by adapting domains from previous studies on anti-AAPI hate incidents. Convenience sampling was used to recruit study participants through social media and community canvassing. Participants were AAPI women aged 18 years and over, who can read and write in English and have experienced a workplace harassment incident while working in a Buford Highway Corridor workplace within Chamblee or Doraville, GA. The final sample included 24 eligible participants. The study found sex and race/ethnicity were reported as the most common sociodemographic factors for being targeted in a workplace harassment incident. Verbal harassment/name calling and sexual harassment were the most common harassment types experienced by participants. White male co-workers were the most common harasser identified by study participants. Each participant experienced a unique emotional response after being harassed. This study provides researchers with a framework for studies involving AAPI women and harassment incidents. This study advanced the utilization of Asian Critical Theory, expanding its scope into the public health field. A practical application of the findings for public health is the development of a culturally competent intervention to train AAPI women in the study location to identify and report workplace harassment incidents.Sultan, Dawood H.Carr, Kimberly N.Willis, Leigh A.Dr.P.H
FITNESS AND IMMUNOREGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS FROM IMMUNOLOGICALLY PRIVILEGED VERSUS IMMUNOLOGICALLY ACTIVE TISSUES
No full text2024Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic, immunomodulatory cells with therapeutic potential. MSCs have been extensively researched; however, many mysteries hinder their progression to clinical application. This project investigated the immunoregulatory characteristics of MSCs from immunologically active tissue, bone marrow, and immunologically privileged tissue, cornea. An assay matrix consisting of flow cytometry, metabolic assays, secretory analysis, immunosuppressive assays, and qPCR was implemented to conduct this research. Aim one characterizes the immunosuppressive functionality of Human-Cornea derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (cMSCs). cMSCs demonstrate the capability to suppress the proliferation of T-cells in stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) when cocultured or separated by a transwell membrane, which allows for the exchange of soluble factors. Further mechanistic analysis shows that activated PBMCs induce expression of the immunomodulatory enzymes of the tryptophan catabolizing pathway, specifically, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Knocking down of IDO abolishes cMSCs’ immunosuppression on the proliferation of T-cells. These results suggest that immunosuppression via cMSCs occurs in a paracrine manner using IDO as the principal mechanism. Therapeutic utilization of MSCs in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is currently being tested and has been approved in Europe. As such, aim two elucidates the impact of confounding factors on the potency mechanisms of Human Bone Marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) in the large intestine. The secretory analysis determined that BM-MSCs secrete copious amounts of the angiogenic factor Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A (VEGF-A). Dose-dependent inhibition of VEGF-A is observed when BM-MSCs are cocultured with Human Large-intestinal Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HLMVECs). BM-MSCs’ immunosuppressive functionality is not compromised regardless of the presence of HLMVECs. Further analysis confirmed the expression of endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) in HLMVECs. Blocking of eNOS by a pharmacological inhibitor restores BM-MSCs’ VEGF-A secretion and does not modulate MSCs’ immunosuppressive capabilities. These findings suggest wound healing and immunosuppression are two separable MSC potency mechanisms. Overall, this research has illustrated that regardless of anatomical tissue site, MSCs display non-overlapping immunosuppressive and wound-healing mechanisms.CHINNADURAI, RAGHAVANRajapaksha, MaheshinieLee, Jong-HyukM.S
EXPLORING THE MOTIVATION OF ELEMENTARY GIFTED LEARNERS USING MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM-POSING
No full text2024Gifted students' often go unchallenged in the classroom, and this lack of tailored instruction can lead to decreased motivation, which, in turn, influences underachievement, which is a significant concern since these children, theoretically, should be our highest achievers. This 4-week (i.e., eight instructional days) semi-randomized, pre-test/post-test experimental design study tested a mathematical problem-solving intervention to evaluate its effects on gifted students’ motivation in mathematics. Fourth and fifth grade gifted students were semi-randomly placed into groups for mathematical instruction using business-as-usual, Traditional Problem-Solving (TPS), or Mathematical Problem-Posing (MPP) pedagogical approaches. Twenty-nine gifted students took the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI; Gottfried, 2006) at pre-test (i.e., before instruction) and again at post-test to measure any potential changes in their learning motivation in mathematics using raw scores. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to explore the mean difference between groups (i.e., TPS/MPP instruction) on one continuous dependent variable (i.e., post-test motivation scores) while controlling for pre-test motivation scores (i.e., covariate). After controlling for pre-test scores, there was no statistically significant difference between groups in students’ motivation scores, F(1, 26) = .057, p = .813, although students’ motivation scores increased in both groups. Limitations, such as the duration of the intervention, are discussed along with implications for future research, which include repeating the study with a larger sample and for a longer duration.Allee, Karyn AFord, Deana JCastanheira, Brittney ALuther, Vicki LKoballa, Thomas RD.Phil
Bethel Baptist Church Minute Book, 1874-1942
No full textChurch record book that includes regularly recorded meeting minutes and church membership lists for Bethel Baptist Church in Wilkinson County, 1874-1942
Emmaus Primitive Baptist Church Minute Book, 1856-1892
No full textChurch record book that includes regularly recorded meeting minutes and church membership lists for Emmaus Primitive Baptist Church in Chattooga County, 1856-1892