University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Whose Agenda is it Anyway? U.S. News Coverage of the Honor Killing of Noor Faleh Almaleki and the Discursive Construction of Boundaries
No full textThis dissertation employs the method of critical discourse analysis to investigate the relationship among discourse, power, and knowledge in U.S. news coverage of the honor killing of Noor Faleh Almaleki. Building upon Western European research on honor-killing news coverage as a site for the discursive construction of boundaries, I employ the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Edward Saїd, and postcolonial feminism to demonstrate how the social constructs of gender, sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, culture, class, time, and space intersect to produce sharp boundaries of difference between Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants and dominant members of the U.S. nation. As a result, the findings of this dissertation point to the presence of an overarching hegemonic discourse in the U.S. news' coverage of Noor's honor killing that rather than serving the interest of reducing violence against women, serves the agenda of excluding Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants from the U.S. nation. Based on the findings of this study, I encourage readers to acknowledge the intricate relationship among discourse, power, and knowledge in honor-killing discourse. Furthermore, I invite readers to recognize their role as producers and consumers of discourse, and as change-agents, who have the capacity to transform these stigmatizing honor-killing discourses into a discourse that is inclusive of all the stakeholders, women and men, affected by these crimes
Auditory Background Noise and the Effects of Virtual Reality Distraction on Pain Tolerance in College Students
No full textThe present study sought to evaluate the relative efficacy of two video game distraction modalities (head-mounted display [HMD] helmet vs. television display), both with and without concurrent auditory background noise, as pain management techniques. Undergraduate students (N = 164) underwent three cold pressor trials consisting of one baseline followed by two distraction trials differing in display modality (i.e., HMD or television) in counter-balanced order. Half the sample underwent all trials in the presence of a loud, unpredictable auditory stimulus. Participants experienced marginally greater improvement in pain tolerance from baseline to videogame distraction when using the HMD. They rated pain as more intense when experienced with concurrent background noise. The effects of distraction modality on pain intensity differed for men in the noisy condition. Results suggest that video game distraction via HMD may be superior to standard video game distraction for a subgroup of people, particularly in the presence of noise
Nora (2014)
No full textPromotional materials produced for Nora, performed by the UMBC Theatre Department in October 2014. Includes playbill, program, and 17 images.October 23-October 25, 201
The intersection between professional development and professional learning communities: Working towards improving the educational experiences of English learners
No full textThis research investigated professional development (PD) experiences of secondary teachers of English learners (ELs) in Maryland and their perceptions concerning characteristics of PD that are most effective in helping them to improve their professional knowledge and attitudes toward PD. It also investigated whether being part of professional learning communities (PLCs) enhanced PD outcomes by extending teachers' access to sustained learning. This inquiry fills a gap in research concerning PD experiences of teachers based on the analysis of school-based PLCs. This research integrated Garet et al.'s (2001) framework of effective PD and Olivier and Hipp's (2010) model of PLCs. The integration of these two frameworks highlights the reciprocal relationship between PD and PLCs, and the extent to which these experiences and structures generate changes in teachers' improved knowledge and attitudes toward PD. A mixed methods approach is implemented to analyze survey and interview data in a sequential manner with emphasis on the quantitative component. The study is built on the strength of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and jointly, these methods provide a more complete picture of the research problem than would either method individually (Creswell, 2009). A total of 100 teachers participated in the survey and 9 teachers participated in the interview. The analysis supports and extends Garet et al.'s (2001) findings that PD that emphasized improving content knowledge and was coherent with teachers' other learning experiences resulted in teachers' positive attitudes toward PD, as well as perceived improvement in knowledge. The results also revealed key practices of teachers' PLCs. Teachers' PLCs focused on their professional growth and improvement of student learning while fostering leadership and engaging in school improvement were not strong components of their practices. As a result, the associations of PLCs and teachers outcomes were not significant. This study is significant because it contributes to the emerging knowledge base that explores the relationship between the effects of PD on teachers and the role of PLCs reinforcing in best practices. The results of this research inform educators and education policy regarding and provide deeper insight into the comprehensive conditions needed for improving teachers' PD and PLC experiences
Astrocyte response to 3D microenvironments
No full textNerve injuries can be catastrophic as neurons in the adult human do not divide; therefore, neurons lost due to injury cannot be replaced by innate healing processes. Current therapeutic treatments to repair traumatic brain injury consist of rehabilitative, cellular and molecular therapies. However, these approaches target only some aspects of the injury and are not completely restorative. We propose a change in direction: to induce nerve regeneration, we focus on astrocytes, support cells in the central nervous system (CNS). We aim to harness immature astrocytes to recapitulate cues that were present in the developing brain but disrupted or lost in the adult brain injury environment. We characterized newborn mouse astrocytes in two conditions, traditional two-dimensional glass coverslips and three-dimensional (3D) hydrogels. We present quantitative data supporting that 3D culture is critical for sustaining the heterogeneity of astrocytes. We also report that fibroblast growth factor induced astrocytes encapsulated in 3D hydrogels can recapitulate developmental cues and modify the hydrogel into an environment essential for neurite outgrowth and guidance. This work is a major step towards understanding key parameters that guide astrocyte development and nerve regeneration and provides a foundation to design improved strategies for CNS injury and neurodegenerative disorders
Controls on Reach Scale Hydrologic Response in Urban Streams and Implications for Restoration Design
No full textThis dissertation explored the nature of hydraulic controls on flow paths and residence times in the channel and riparian zone in two highly urban and two suburban 2nd-3rd order streams in the Baltimore metropolitan region. The influence of urban development and in-stream infrastructure on flow patterns across the flow frequency spectrum were compared to natural features in the channel and riparian zone that have similar effects on flow patterns. This work was motivated by the recognition that the urban stream syndrome paradigm of simplified channel geometry associated with extremes of low and high flow does not account for the full range of interactions between urban watershed hydrology, riparian zone morphology, and urban infrastructure. First, to overcome technical obstacles associated with measuring discharge in flashy urban streams, an innovative methodology is presented in Chapter 2 for extrapolating the high end of discharge rating curves in four urban streams, the results of which were used to more accurately quantify the hydrologic response of the watersheds subsequently studied in this dissertation. In Chapter 3, the goal was to assess how a spectrum of channel and riparian zone morphologies affect the behavior of floodwaves generated from an urban landscape. A degraded urban non-alluvial headwater stream experienced almost pure floodwave translation under existing conditions and also when routed through a planned restoration design intended to improve connectivity with the adjacent riparian zone. Even in a third scenario where the upland corridor was removed and the floodplain was widened to an extreme extent there was little change in the hydrograph routed through the restoration reach. Only in an extremely unrealistic scenario in which the water was stored without release was there a significant change to the hydrographs. For these designs, simply increasing floodplain connectivity did not significantly alter the hydrographs. Next, the effects of a long, broad alluvial riparian zone in a suburban watershed on the properties of floodwaves were assessed. Floods that occur naturally in this watershed overwhelmed the storage capacity of the floodplain and experienced translation, while significant attenuation was observed when hydrographs with large peaks and narrow time bases from a highly impervious headwater urban watershed were routed through this alluvial valley. In Chapter 4, the relationships between longitudinal channel geometries, urban infrastructure, channel-spanning blockages, and mean hydraulic residence times under base flow conditions were also explored. Results show that road crossings create abrupt, non-erodible knickpoints in the channel which exert a strong effect on the distribution of elevation drops in water surface, similar to the controlling influence of channel blockages on channel forming processes. Modeling results across the spectrum of base flows indicate that these urban structures can play a role in controlling flow patterns and residence time, and that channel-spanning blockages and other restoration structures have a significant influence on estimates of in-channel residence time. This work is an important contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms controlling the propagation and storage of surface waters in urban stream networks and adjacent riparian zones, and helps to better define the efficacy of stream restoration practices
Development of Computational Image Processing Algorithms for Detecting Morphological Features of Melanoma
No full textThis thesis research is focused on advancing image processing techniques and algorithms used for detecting skin melanoma. We have modified previous image processing approaches and developed computational algorithms for quantifying morphological features of a mole image. Applying the algorithms to 20 mole images downloaded from educational websites, we have identified three cut-off ratios to distinguish melanoma images from benign mole images. More specifically, the higher the boundary irregularity ratio, and/or the asymmetry ratio, and/or the color variation ratio, the high chance the mole is melanoma leading. The irregularity ratio cutoff is identified as 1.96, suggesting 96% more circumference length than that of a circle with the same area. One finds that the cut-off ratio for assessing asymmetry of the mole image is 0.109, representing the degree of asymmetry as approximately 11% to place a mole image into the melanoma group. Evaluation of the color variation of the moles leads to a cut-off ratio of the color variation as 0.334. Statistical analyses have been performed to determine the confidence of cut-off ratios, varying from 63% to 81%, for placing a mole image into its correct groups. The algorithms have also been implemented to assess changes of mole images over time observed by a dermatologist. Using a �14% as the definition of changes, the algorithm identifies 9 of the 10 mole images as changed over time. Among the irregularity, asymmetry, color variation, and size ratios, 5 out of the 9 moles have shown changes in one ratio, 2 out the 9 moles have experience changes in two ratios, 1 mole has shown changes in three ratios, and only 1 mole shows changes in all four ratios. The computational results are consistent with the general observations that human eyes are sensitive to size changes and color variation changes, and may not be very good to distinguish changes in border irregularity and asymmetry. The developed algorithms can be helpful to assist a physician in evaluating subtle changes of mole images that may not be very sensitive to the eyes
Quantum Classification of Malware
No full textThe D-Wave architecture is a unique approach to computing which utilizes quantum annealing to solve discrete optimization problems. Applications for D-Wave machines include binary classification, complex protein-folding models, and heuristics for intractable problems such as the Traveling Salesman Problem. This thesis presents a methodology for translating the classification problem for malicious executables into an optimization problem which a D-Wave quantum annealer can solve using the Blackbox embedding software. We also investigate the viability of the D-Wave Two's application to malware analysis and prevention in current form. We show that using a D-Wave Two with Blackbox to classify malicious software is possible with cross-validation accuracy comparable to classical machine learning algorithms, but with significant overhead
Bayesian Adaptive Dose-finding Methods in Phase I Drug Combination Trials
No full textIn a single-agent dose-finding Phase I trial, the key underlying assumption is that toxicity probability increases monotonically with the dose level. However, in multi-agent trial, this assumption may not hold because the drug-drug interaction effect can either decrease or increase the joint toxicity as compared to either one used alone, which may lead to an unforeseen toxicity probability surface. In the first part of the dissertation, we develop a novel adaptive dose-finding approach which can be applied to these kinds of multi-drug combination trials under the situation of non-monotonic toxicity probability surface. In the second part of the dissertation, we extend our investigation on the drug combination dose-finding trials with late-onset toxicity outcomes and have proposed a Bayesian adaptive dose-finding design under a nonignorable missing data mechanism, and where surrogate data are available. We evaluate the operating characteristics of the aforementioned methods and also compare them with existing methods through extensive simulation studies under various scenarios. The proposed methods demonstrate satisfactory performance in general
Intimacy and Attachment During Times of Stress: An Examination of Newlywed Couples During Supportive and Conflictual Discussions
No full textThe maintenance and development of intimacy is a fundamental part of the human experience, a cornerstone of relationships, and a buffer against negative effects of stress on psychological and physical health outcomes. According to the Interpersonal Process Model of Intimacy, developed by Reis and Shaver (1998), intimacy is built through interactions that include self-disclosure and partner responsiveness. In particular, emotional self-disclosures - disclosures that reveal core feelings or opinions - have been more strongly associated with the development of intimacy. Literature on adult attachment also suggests that relationship behaviors are also guided by attachment style, particularly during times of interpersonal stress, according to the diathesis-stress model (Simpson & Rholes, 1994), in which distress activates attachment working models (e.g., preference for autonomy or proximity-seeking) based on attachment styles, which guide behaviors and perceptions of a partner and a situation and influence relationship characteristics. The current study aimed to explore how interpersonal stress may impact intimacy by examining the effects of attachment style on the IPM under conditions of increased distress. Styles of attachment were expected to moderate the relation between distress and IPM variables such that distress would have more negative effects at higher levels of attachment anxiety or avoidance. The IPM was also tested to provide further support for the model. Data were collected on 114 newlywed couples in the Baltimore area. Couples participated in a laboratory-based interaction including three brief discussions on a major area of conflict, a minor area of conflict, and a perceived strength. Self-disclosures were coded using both observational measurement of videotaped interactions and self-report. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to estimate individual and partner effects within a dyadic structure while controlling for interdependence. Findings supported the IPM as self-disclosures, when using a self-report measure of the emotional depth of disclosures, were related to global ratings of intimacy and this relation was mediated by perceived partner responsiveness. Emotional disclosures were also negatively impacted by attachment avoidance and distress, particularly when a partner perceived the discloser as less responsive. Results were mixed regarding self-disclosure, as findings with self-report measures were more consistent with hypothesized relations whereas results with observational measures of self-disclosure were limited, indicating that perceptions of the emotional depth or self-revealing nature of disclosures may be more closely associated to relationship processes. Results also suggested support for the moderation of attachment style on the effects of distress on self-disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness; however, the partner effect of distress was found to moderate these relations rather than the actor effect of distress. In this case, a partner's distress had a stronger negative effect on perceived partner responsiveness and the emotional depth of disclosures when individuals were less securely attached. Having a partner with an anxious attachment style was also associated with fewer observed self-disclosures. Gender differences were found; the association between distress and perceived partner responsiveness was stronger for women, whereas the relation between distress and self-disclosure was only observed significant for men, suggesting distress may differentially affect processes that influence intimacy among men and women. Additionally attachment avoidance had more negative association with intimacy for wives, while attachment anxiety had a stronger negative effect for husbands. Overall, results supported hypotheses that attachment and stress interact to influence self-disclosure, perceived responsiveness, and levels of intimacy. Methodological implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research