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The Romanticization of Human-Vampire Relationships: How \u27Twilight\u27 and \u27The Vampire Diaries\u27 May Prime Young Women to Accept Dating Violence
Get PDFThe first literary vampire can be traced back to 18th century Germany, with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem “Die Braut von Korinth,” but the stereotypical features of a vampire are traditionally accredited to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Modern vampires, such as Edward Cullen and Stefan Salvatore of the Twilight and The Vampire Diaries series respectively, have managed to win the hearts of teenage girls all across America with their sex appeal and charismatic nature. According to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, individuals learn new behaviors by modeling and imitating the actions of those around them. This comprehensive literature review investigates the connection between the human-vampire relationships in Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and teenage girls’ acceptance of dating violence and abusive behaviors from intimate partners. This study aims to examine how both Twilight and The Vampire Diaries create popular modern vampire narratives that may promote harmful messages to female youth regarding future romantic relationships. This analysis of peer-reviewed studies finds that harmful gender stereotypes and literary tropes are used on both female and male characters, the vampires exhibit manipulative and predatory behaviors, and the idea of true love overpowers the abusive behaviors of Edward and Stefan in the eyes of young girls, possibly creating a link between sex and violence. The findings of this study display a positive correlation between exposure to media violence and acceptance of dating violence among teenagers, as well as a positive correlation between exposure to sexually-oriented television and both the acceptance of the sexual double standard and earlier sexual timing expectations in relationships. New vampire media is still being produced, so it is important to understand what messages are being portrayed to teenage girls and how exactly these messages are altering their values regarding love in heterosexual relationships.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1475/thumbnail.jp
Using Test-crosses to Investigate Mendelian Inheritance Patterns in Brassica rapa
Get PDFThe Wisconsin Fast Plants, Brassica rapa, are an ideal model organism for exploring patterns of inheritance and phenotype expression due to their rapid life cycle and observable traits. In this experiment, we examined the controlled crosses between the two phenotypes, anthocyanin-producing (ACN) and anthocyaninless (ANL), to observe allele inheritance. We observed phenotypes in the F1 generation to see if it followed the Mendelian inheritance patterns of homozygous dominant. By planting and watering the plants for two weeks, we tracked their growth and traits of ACN and ANL phenotypes. We used honey bees to cross pollinate the parent ACN and ANL plants. The seeds grown were then used to analyze the F1 generation to determine whether the ACN allele was either homozygous or heterozygous. The F1 generation had a count of 70 ACN and 52 ANL plants, which came out to be 57.4% and 42.6%, respectively. The chi-squared test determined that the p-value was 0.248. Since we got a 50-50 ratio of ACN and ANL phenotypes in the F1 generation, we can determine that the parent ACN allele was heterozygous.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1476/thumbnail.jp
Doves and symbiotic bacteria: whole-genome assembly and phylogenomic inference
Get PDFPart 1
I examined a potential source of variation in phylogenetic inference, investigating whether handling single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) through different methods during reference-guided genome assembly of pigeon and dove species impacts phylogenetic reconstruction and inference. Specifically, I created a custom consensus base calling tool that handles allelic variation through two different approaches, either ignoring heterozygous sites by denoting them as an ambiguous character “N,” or using a pseudo-random choice between supported base variants. Through reference-guided assembly of 108 dove species, I generated two datasets of alignments using both consensus calling methods, created two trees from both datasets via supermatrix and supertree approaches, and compared trees for differences in topology and/or pairwise distances between species. While all four resulting trees were well-supported and largely in agreement with each other, some small differences in topology and branch lengths were observed. The differing branch lengths appeared to be influenced by an increased count of polymorphic sites in certain species, and thus were affected more noticeably by the SNP-handling method. However, differences in pairwise patristic distances to the reference between datasets were small overall, and the longer branches in the trees were not accompanied by a change between species relationships. The topological variations that were present also did not consistently appear to result from differences in SNP-handling methods, or differences in the tree-building approach, and more likely reflect a stochastic inconsistency due to points of weak phylogenetic signal. Overall, no real change in relationships between species appeared to be impacted by the method of handling polymorphic sites within the samples.
Part 2
In the second part of my thesis, I examined the effectiveness of reference-guided genome assembly of heritable bacteria in association with dove-parasitizing lice (Columbicola). Parasitic lice, like many other insects, are host to heritable bacteria (endosymbionts) that provide the lice with essential metabolites. These bacteria have genomes that are substantially smaller than their a-symbiotic relatives, likely a product of genome reduction following transition to vertical inheritance by lice. Commonly used de novo approaches of assembling endosymbiont genomes from whole insect gDNA can be time-consuming, and more efficient reference-guided alternatives have primarily been implemented with endosymbionts closely related to free-living reference taxa. In this study, I developed a pipeline for reference-guided assembly of endosymbiont genomes from whole insect gDNA, designed to be implemented within a high-performance computing environment. The pipeline was first developed and tested with the assembly of Sodalis sp. endosymbiont genomes from Columbicola passerinae 1, using the genome of the closely-related, free-living Sodalis praecaptivus as a reference. Comparison of the resulting assembly to a prior complete Sodalis assembly, which had been generated from the same library of reads, demonstrated the pipeline’s behavior to be overall consistent. To test the pipeline’s performance with more distantly related taxa, I attempted to utilize it in assembling an Enterobacter sp. endosymbiont from Columbicola macrourae 1, using a sampling of multiple reference genomes in the Enterobacteriaceae family. The pipeline on its own failed to recover a continuous Enterobacter assembly, lacking alignments outside of the most conserved protein-coding regions, thus requiring a combined de novo approach to complete the remainder of the assembly. The final assembly appeared largely complete and yielded a full suite of tRNAs, in comparison to an assembly from a prior study that utilized the same read library and lacked all 20 canonical tRNAs. While the pipeline on its own did not succeed in completely assembling an Enterobacter sp. genome, it does appear to recover most, if not all, functionally intact genes. An avenue for future research could involve validating and tailoring the pipeline for this purpose, which could make it a more efficient alternative to whole de novo genome assembly when primarily seeking to obtain an endosymbiont’s genes
Transforming Numbers and Narratives into Impact at the Richmond Ed Fund
Get PDFThe Richmond Ed Fund (REF) has been a nonprofit partner to Richmond Public Schools (RPS) for over two decades. During this time, they provided valuable support through enrichment programs, scholarships, and teacher development to the RPS community. In 2019, the organization shifted its focus from direct program operation to major gifts fundraising to align with the RPS strategic plan’s five priorities. To better reflect its renewed mission and enhance its visibility within the community, in 2024 REF underwent a major rebranding focused on expanding impact, increasing collaboration, and fostering innovation. The Executive Director of REF submitted a Request for Partnership (RFP) to doctoral students completing their capstone at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to improve how they demonstrate impact and value-add to stakeholders. To assist REF, the team used a mixed-methods approach that consisted of surveys, interviews, and document data analysis. The survey was used to understand the perspectives of REF’s board members while interviews were conducted with various stakeholders to discover best practices of communicating impact. A document data analysis of peer foundations compared various aspects of the foundations’ school district demographics, reports, and marketing and communication strategies. Findings demonstrated the importance of effective and strategic use of data and stakeholder engagement to garner support and highlight the impact and value of the organization to the school system and community. The capstone team created targeted recommendations for REF to assist them with developing compelling digital content, a data collection and analysis plan, and a communications strategy
Housing quality for whom? Housing quality as a form of housing insecurity and housing inequality for Black women renters
Get PDFHousing quality is an often overlooked but critical aspect of housing insecurity that often impacts one’s well-being physically, mentally, and socially. As a compromise for affordable housing, some individuals reside in substandard conditions, often lacking essential safety measures and amenities needed for a comfortable and secure living environment. Consistent with broader patterns of housing disparities, Black women renters are disproportionately affected by housing insecurity and more likely to live in substandard housing. Although previous literature has explored the impact of poor-quality housing and its characteristics, there is a gap in understanding how Black women renters uniquely perceive and experience housing quality. This exploratory qualitative multi-case study examines the role of intersectionality in developing how Black women renters obtain and maintain quality housing in Columbus, Ohio. The multi-case study involved semi-structured interviews with 21 Black women renters complemented by 7 semi-structured interviews with housing/government officials and archival and photo data to inform the context of Black women renters’ perspectives on housing quality. This study highlights how race, gender, and housing tenure intersect to influence the challenges and strategies involved in obtaining and maintaining quality housing. A reflective thematic analysis of the collected data revealed the following themes: 1) Quality housing makes a home, 2) Because I’m a______, 3) Overlooked & dismissed–Failed & forgotten, and 4) Housing for all means accountability for all. These findings indicate both implications for Black women renters and renters overall, such as the need for more affordable housing more accountability for developers and landlords, and more resources for renters to avoid having to settle for poor quality housing and the consequences that come from living in those conditions. Future research should explore how intersectionality of marginalized identities beyond race and gender impacts renters’ experiences of quality housing. Employing mixed methods may be a means to support a more holistic view of the phenomenon and to inform both policy and practice
How to Touch Your Bile
Get PDFI have been reflecting on my past decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. Reinterpreting this experience through the lenses of mythology and magic, I have constructed these Stygian carcasses (from the river Styx, which serves to separate the living and the dead) using my own bodily proportions in muslin, an intermediary material which requires transformation. In this work, I utilize these forms to symbolically rot for me as my body did, performing a type of sympathetic magic (magic worked from afar on another person) on myself, extending my life and allowing all which occurs between birth and death to affect these forms and not myself
The Rhetorics of Tradwives: Subversion and Disruption in Online Spaces
No full textThis thesis traces the social-political influence of tradwife content on social media. More specifically, it deciphers the rhetorical phenomenon of revealing and concealing as represented and intensified in online tradwifery. Tradwives are cultural producers and promoters. Their displayed lifestyle performance not only obtains visibility but circulates far-right ideology. This project extends Carolyn R. Miller’s research on the rhetorical phenomenon of concealing and revealing to demonstrate that, in the context of US digitality, extremism emerges from displays of plainness and naturalness. While some tradwives engage in explicit extremism, this thesis examines the rhetorical strategies, tactics, and appeals tradwives apply to reconfigure the online publics they inhabit.
Influenced and influenced by algorithmic platforms, tradwives curate ideological enclosures around themselves and users to prompt a lifestyle replication based on gender role ideology. By manipulating platform affordances, everyday aesthetics, and users’ affective responses, tradwives rhetorically and strategically subvert and disrupt online publics for the manosphere and fascist propaganda.
Chapter One examines tradwives’ recursive relationships with algorithmic platforms. Through the application of technical affordances and practical knowledge of online trends, tradwives develop an algorithmic awareness that influences their “rhetoricking.” It is from these algorithmic interactions that they construct, as Taina Bucher coins, algorithmic imaginaries to conceal their political ideology and to prompt ideological enclosures. Chapter Two deciphers how tradwife aesthetics evoke affective appeals, which influences users into adopting the tradwife lifestyle. The chapter reveals two dominant forms of tradwife aesthetics: homestead aesthetics and the Proverbs 31 archetype. The aesthetic performances manipulate the perception of simplicity and scapegoat feminism and institutions as a common enemy. These feminized, political aesthetics are a gateway for political recruitment and mobilization, leading users to adopt and to replicate anti-feminist and anti-institution mindsets. Chapter Three culminates with a direct examination of the politics that inhere in tradwives’ actions. Through the application of spectacle, tradwives exploit social media platforms’ vast openness to formulate a national identity based on gender binarism, white supremacy, and anti-feminism. By exploiting platforms’ affordances, tradwives curate fascist propaganda that works in tandem with manosphere publics and amplifies users’ fears and anxieties to rupture democratic systems. This thesis reveals that tradwives deploy technical affordances and micro-aesthetics to produce a far-right ideology steeped in fascist and nationalist ends. Ultimately, this rhetorical response unveils how collectives manipulate individuals for their political, religious ideologies
Crafting Success: Learning to Promote My Jewelry Brand While Marketing Malian Textiles
Get PDFThis project investigates effective marketing strategies for a self-owned jewelry brand while also gaining insights into marketing a small Malian clothing and textile business. The research focuses on understanding market trends, brand positioning, and differentiating the brand in a competitive market. This project leverages skills and knowledge acquired through academic courses to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy, business plan, and budget. Additionally, the project incorporates multicultural and multilingual experiences, reflecting on work with the Dogon Indigo Center and how working in French has enhanced business skills and cultural understanding.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1483/thumbnail.jp
Strengthening Early Childhood Education: Increasing Family Engagement at The Sprout School of Richmond, Virginia
Get PDFThe Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Richmond is dedicated to fostering community and combating discrimination through various initiatives. Their early childhood education program, the Sprout School, is one initiative that strives to serve families from all walks of life within the Richmond community. However, a significant challenge faced by the Sprout School is increasing family engagement, which is crucial for strengthening the relationships among parents, teachers, and students. Research indicates that effective family engagement can positively influence children\u27s educational experiences and outcomes. To address this, the research team conducted a mixed-methods study to assess the current state of family engagement at The Sprout School. Gathering data from surveys and interviews with parents, teachers, and administrators,the findings revealed a need for improved communication strategies and more inclusive engagement opportunities that cater to the diverse needs of families and each Sprout Center location. Utilizing Epstein\u27s Parental Involvement Theory, the Home-to-School Approach, Funds of Knowledge theory and Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, we developed four recommendations specific to the Sprout School to increase family engagement. Recommendations include home visits, teacher communication training, recommendations to the Sprout School’s policy and handbook and considerations for future family engagement event planning
Campus Culture of Hazing at James Madison University: A Mixed Methods Exploration of Perceptions, Behaviors, and Policy Implications
Get PDFHazing has been around for centuries and has become more prevalent with the rise in social media. This convergent parallel mixed method study sought to explore students, faculty, and staff perceptions of hazing and hazing prevention at JMU, examine what they define as reportable hazing behaviors, and identify what behaviors are currently being reported in organizational misconduct reports. Through content analysis of JMU organizational misconduct reports, a student survey, and interviews with faculty and staff, the capstone team collected data on hazing and determined seven key findings. Findings revealed that students, faculty, and staff acknowledge the risks of hazing, including power differential, harm, and alcohol use, especially in off-campus organizations. While students call for stronger penalties and transparency, faculty and staff have limited training to recognize and report hazing. Recommendations focused on short-term and long-term ways that JMU can continue to address hazing and provide a safer environment for all students. The recommendations focus on implementing peer-led education, harm reduction, and recovery programs alongside systemic anti-hazing initiatives and campus-wide campaigns. Recommendations also emphasize community involvement, accessible faculty and staff training, and collaborative policy development to foster a culture of hazing intolerance. Recommendations for future research on hazing prevention are also provided