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Gender Identity and Expression: A Curriculum for Teachers of Primary Elementary Classrooms
Get PDFIn the United States, there is not an available comprehensive curriculum for primary teachers that addresses gender identity and expression. The purpose of this project is to provide teachers with a comprehensive curriculum that addresses gender identity and expression in an age-appropriate way. The curriculum is made up of five lessons that utilize different children's picture books that are followed by a variety of activities that engage students in conversation and exploration on gender identity and expression
Building the Bones to Effective Literacy Instruction: A Professional Development Series
Get PDFThis project addresses the gap between students' reading and writing levels and curriculum expectations by designing a comprehensive professional development (PD) series for educators. The PD series aims to support teachers in aligning instruction with curriculum standards, providing rigorous, engaging learning experiences that foster a culture of literacy. The project participants are educators at various career stages, from novice to expert. Methods involved the development of six PD sessions grounded in research-based literacy practices, such as the Science of Reading. The sessions include interactive activities with a focus on inclusivity and cultural relevance. Feedback from the professional development sessions highlighted educators' increased confidence in applying evidence-based literacy strategies, assessing diverse student needs, and cultivating inclusive and responsive learning environments. The project highlights the importance of ongoing PD, culturally relevant texts, and a diverse classroom library in fostering student engagement and literacy development. Implications suggest sustained professional learning and resource hubs are essential for long-term literacy improvement. Future work may explore expanding PD to focus on family engagement and cross-disciplinary literacy strategies
Understanding Factors Affecting Tactile Graphics Complexity and Perception
Get PDFTactile graphics (TGs), particularly raised-line graphics, play a crucial role in helping students with blindness and visual impairment (BVI) to engage with subjects like science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that rely heavily on visual information. This study explores the tactile perception of graphical information, considering complexity and distinguishing features. This paper investigates how factors such as overall shape, scale, symmetry, familiarity, and overall gestalt impact identification accuracy and response time by individuals with BVI. This also shares insights about the perception of raised line images of common objects ofvarying scale (TGs). The study further provides insights into enhancing the effectiveness and accessibility of tactile representations for individuals with visual disabilities. The identifying features of the TGs open a window to the novel dimension of how the complexity rate impacts identification accuracy. The findings reveal increased complexity and familiarity improve identification accuracy, although response time increases correspondingly. Distinct features, variedperspectives, and categorical information aided recognition, while other shapes led to occasional confusion, suggesting refinements for TG design. The results from experiments with participants with BVI using TGs and proposed directions for further investigation are presented
The Impact of Guided Mindfulness on the Anxiety Levels of College Athletes
No full textCollege athletes face unique stressors that can negatively impact their mental health, performance, and overall well-being. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety and improving mental health outcomes in various populations, including athletes. This mixed-methods study aims to investigate the effects of guided mindfulness sessions on anxiety levels in college athletes across multiple team sports at a single university campus. This work will contribute to the existing literature by examining the effects of guided mindfulness on anxiety levels across multiple team sports and genders. The findings from this study can inform the development of effective mental health interventions for college athletes, ultimately enhancing their performance, well-being, and overall quality of life
Genetic Identification and Mitigation of Fungal Contamination in Gel-based Crop Substrate
No full textThis Semester-in-Residence project was conducted at Veritas Substrates, an agricultural technology company based in San Diego that specializes in the development of gel-based crop substrates. The project aimed to identify fungal contaminants observed in Veritas's hydrogel products and recommend strategies to reduce contamination risk. Fungal tissue samples from two species were collected from contaminated hydrogel batches and analyzed using microscopy and DNA sequencing. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and β-tubulin gene regions were successfully amplified, sequenced, and queried against GenBank using BLASTn to identify the fungal isolates. Species A was tentatively identified as Mucor circinelloides based on ITS sequence results and morphology, though β-tubulin sequencing yielded conflicting data. Species B was identified as a Penicillium sp. based on ITS sequence results and characteristic broom-like conidiophore morphology, though low quality chromatograms prevented confident species-level identification. Environmental testing, including air exposure plates and HVAC swabbing, yielded inconclusive results. However, repeated contamination across multiple hydrogel batches, regardless of seed planting, supports the hypothesis that the gel formulation or production process is the most probable source. Recommended interventions include adjusting substrate pH, incorporating antifungal additives, reducing moisture, and testing microbial biocontrol agents. This project provides a foundational molecular workflow for fungal identification that can be applied to future contamination events involving molds in gel-based substrates
Harrowing Bodies: Body Horror as Feminine Terror and Transcendence, Viewed Through Three Video Games
Get PDFHarrowing Bodies intends to take three video games as literary works, read and analyze them as such, and apply different modes of rhetoric to their portrayals of body horror thereafter. The readings for these video games will unveil how their portrayal and narrative application of body horror visualize these collective and individual struggles with femininity. The project will view them through the lens of sexualization and paraphilia, the lens of female-bodied corporeality, and the lens of the Other, as biological puberty's transition of the body from one mode of alienation into another echoes queer transition for gender affirmation. The readings applied will explain the manner in which the games' body horror achieves visceral rhetoric, subsequently connecting the bodily horrific imagery to different, visceral aspects of the feminine—sexualized, corporeal, and Other—and thus showing how this kind of horror works to effectively communicate the feminine story and voice, even when they are neither overtly recognizable nor outright labeled as "feminist" literature. As we continue to live in a political and social climate where womanhood is considered controversial, femininity becomes something that must be questioned and held suspect. Then, even while modern video games seek more and more to explore different perspectives, feminine gamers are met with derision from male gamers. Through this thesis, the purpose given is to show how video games elicit sympathy and humanization for the experience of the feminine person, who exists within a consistently frightening world, such that video games and their narratives grow increasingly, explicitly feminine and queer in turn
Evaluating the Impact of Secondhand E-Cigarette Vapor on Pediatric Respiratory Health
No full textThe increase in use of e-cigarettes amongst the US population has raised significant concern regarding the impact of secondhand vapor exposure on pediatric health. This study investigates the relationship between secondhand exposure to e-cigarette vapor and the incidence of respiratory disorders in children. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data will be collected from pediatric patients aged 5–17 and their caregivers through urine cotinine testing and health record analysis to assess pulmonary health outcomes and nicotine exposure. The results of this study aim to support healthcare providers, especially advanced practice nurses, in educating families and guiding public health efforts to reduce children's exposure to secondhand e-cigarette vapor
Intersecting Realities: Black, Nonbinary, and Navigating a Binary World
Get PDFHistorically, the Black diaspora have not been perceived to be human, let alone fit into what it means to be a man or a woman. Black men and women alike were hyper masculinized and Black women in particular have a long history of their gender being stripped and invalidated in order to control their bodies. This is evidence that gender is not just a social construct but a colonial one, used to control a narrative to keep the White ruling class in their position of power. This hegemonic gender standards influence the way gender is expressed across Black individuals by often defying what it means to express gender by Western standards. Through my research I investigate how race influences the way Black folks perceive their own gender given the importance of gender-based community within the Black diaspora as well as the difficulties and potentialities of the nonbinary gender, or nonbinariness as a refusal of gender within the context of the Black experience. Through the use of semi structured interviews four core themes emerged highlighting the hardships, joy, and the uniqueness that comes with being Black and gender nonconforming. Through speaking about their experience as an individual living with multiple marginalized identities and the vagueness that comes with being an identity that is largely unexplored in recognized institutions, I was able to tie together a cohesive narrative that sheds light on and defines the language that my interviewees didn't have the words for. In my findings I focus on the following: the complexity that comes with being Black and nonbinary, the difficulty that comes with sharing space designed for monolithic marginalized identities, and lastly the policing of gender and what it means for those living within the intersection of not just society, but their own communities as well
Treatment of Trauma and Grief in Older Adults Through an Integrative and Experiential Postmodern and Client-Centered Approach: A Case Study
Get PDFThis research paper is a case study focusing on the treatment of trauma and grief in an older adult through a client-centered approach. Through a review of relevant research related to treatment of older adults, a close look at the therapeutic relationship, and an account of the process and efficacy of a client-centered and postmodern therapeutic approach, this study contributes to research in the field clinical psychology providing an example of positive treatment outcomes and an improved quality of life for older adults
Identification and Quantification of Hop Carlaviruses in Humulus Lupulus
No full textHumulus lupulus l. (common hop) is a commercially grown crop essential for the beer brewing industry, as their concentrations of strobili acids and oils shape the flavor profile of alcoholic beverages. Despite the lucrative nature of these hops, viral infections can decrease hop strobile harvest by up to 70%. Hop carlarviruses in the family Betaflexiviridae are ssRNA viruses with a rod shaped encapsidated structure. The carlaviruses known to infect hop cultivars are American hop latent virus (AHLV), hop latent virus (HLV), and hop mosaic virus (HMV). The aim of this study was to identify and quantify AHLV, HLV, and HMV in ten hop cultivars using a two-step RT-qPCR approach and Nad5 as an internal control. Nad5 gene was used as a reference to ensure cDNA quality and PCR amplification is working correctly. In addition to identifying and quantifying carlavirus infection, this study also set out to determine differences in viral load between asymptomatic vs. symptomatic hop plant samples and native vs. non-native plants while determining the prevalence of virus across all samples. Hop plant samples were taken from American domesticated cultivars (native) including Neomexicanus, Comet, Brewers Gold, Columbus, and Zeus hops. Cultivars domesticated outside the US (non-native) were Saaz, Sorachi Ace, Southern Cross, Hallertauer MF, and Fuggle. Standard curves for AHLV, HLV, HMV and Nad5 were generated using 5 point, 10-fold serial dilutions in decreasing concentration to build a range of detection for each target gene. This approach produces a slope formula that can be used to quantify the amount of the virus/gene present in a sample. The range of detection for HLV, HMV and Nad5 was between 107 to 103 copies/uL whereas the detection of AHLV fell between 106 to 102 copies/uL based on the standard curves obtained using plasmid DNA. Detection of all three carlaviruses was possible in hop plant samples and mixed infections were observed in symptomatic, asymptomatic, native and non-native samples. HLV had the highest quantity when compared to HMV (p = 0.0019) but there was no statistical difference between AHLV and HLV in terms of viral prevalence. Asymptomatic tissues on average had 1.28 x108 total viral copies/50 mg of tissue while symptomatic samples had 4.75 x107 total viral copies/50 mg of tissue. There was no statistical significant difference (p = 0.36) in total viral copies between asymptomatic and symptomatic groups. Native plant samples on average had 1.24 x108 total viral copies/50 mg of tissue while non-native samples had 5.23 x107 total viral copies/50 mg of tissue. There was no statistical significant difference (p = 0.57) in total viral copies between native and non-native groups. Collectively these findings suggest detection of the three carlaviruses was possible in hop leaf tissue samples and this approach can potentially be used to screen for carlavirus infection in hop farmers cultivars