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Representation Matters: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Media Texts About Eight Black Women College Presidents at 4-Year Institutions
Get PDFResearch has found that diversity has a positive impact on innovation, but the profile of higher education leaders has not become drastically more diverse. Although there have been modest changes, they have not been consistent with the changing demographics of college students. The few high-profile presidential appointments of Black women that have received media attention have been the exception rather than the norm. This dissertation used critical discourse analysis and content analysis to examine how eight Black women college presidents were written about in the media. The research questions explored the discourse about Black women college presidents and their leadership in media text; how stereotypes and controlling images perpetuated throughout the media texts; and how the discourse changed, if at all, in each of their presidencies. Data consisted of articles published in national, regional, and local news sources. A total of 1,048 articles were identified, 305 of which were about the presidents. With Black feminist thought as the theoretical framework, this study had three main findings. First, presidents were characterized as historic, controversial, or invisible in the media texts. Second, the media texts objectified presidents with descriptions of their physical appearances. Third, media texts used the controlling image of superwoman to describe the presidents as exceptional. This dissertation adds to the scholarly literature on Black women college presidents. Examining how these eight Black women presidents were presented in media texts highlighted the challenges Black women college presidents face, and practical recommendations were made to counter these challenges
Homomeric tight junction strand assembly of claudin proteins
No full textTight junctions, a form of cell junction, are utilized throughout the animal kingdom in one way or another. Tasked with facilitating a critical blockade between toxins and vital tissues while also allowing small crucial molecules to pass, the tight junction provides an important line of defense against disease. To build this barrier, various proteins with self-assemble within a cell membrane to then zipper with another cell membrane. The strand-like architecture and size & charge selective pore channels created within the barrier are chiefly governed by the claudin family of proteins. Without claudins present, the tight junction cannot form, and toxic molecules can flood into important barriers like the blood-brain barrier, the gastrointestinal tract, kidney nephrons, and others. To better understand the role claudins play in the tight junction, and complement experimental imaging data of claudin strands, this work describes three in silico approaches to better understand the components of the tight junction. Chapter 1 details the past three decades of experiments understanding claudin proteins, from the initial discovery and experimental understanding of claudin function to the solution of the first crystal structure and subsequent in silico studies. Chapter 2 details the prediction of a claudin-like protein’s structure and assembly in Hydra vulgaris, a freshwater invertebrate known for its regenerative ability. This work presented a novel claudin-like structure with a unique pore assembly not seen in human studies. Chapter 3 investigated the interaction between two tight junction proteins, JAM-A and ZO-2. This work provided further context to the importance of the C-terminal tail of tight junction proteins and the affinity ZO proteins possess to bind to membrane-embedded proteins like JAM-A. Chapter 4 describes an approach to predicting tight junction strand assembly using top claudin dimer conformations. This work provides a reproducible, yet stochastic process to quickly generate millions of claudin monomers, creating strands of over ten microns in length
“But is it Worth the Maintenance?”: Exploring the Ways Adolescent Preservice Teachers Develop Teaching Identities and Implement Pedagogical Practices
Get PDFThe climate crisis is an environmental issue that affects people of all walks of life but has disproportionate effects on those living in impoverished communities. The climate crisis therefore is not only an issue of environmental justice, but also social justice. However, incorporating environmental issues within education has typically been left to science classrooms. Teaching for environmental social justice, however, has the potential to extend beyond science content and science classrooms, and instead be incorporated in content across all academic disciplines. This dissertation is a teaching experiment that explored the ways adolescent preservice teachers from various disciplines develop their teaching identities while engaging in a curriculum that centered on environmental social justice. This teaching experiment was carried out in an Introduction to Adolescence Education Course at a public college in Central New York. The course was designed and taught by myself. Over the duration of the course, I was intentional to use the framework of conscientious engagement to support my own teaching identity, and further implemented an intervention. The I chose socioscientific issue-based curricula as the framework of the intervention unit because it most aligned with my teaching identity. This intervention unit served as a base of this teaching experiment to intention of modeling ways content knowledge can be delivered in ways that are interdisciplinary, equitable, promote civic engagement of the twenty-first century, and aligns with environmental social justice. Through the implementation of the intervention learning unit, this teaching experiment explores the developing teaching identities and pedagogical practices of 6 adolescent preservice teachers over the course of one semester. The semester is 16-weeks long and the intervention is conducted for 4 weeks, mid-way through the semester. Six adolescent preservice teachers agreed to participate in this study, two majored in mathematics education, three in science education, and one in English as a Second Language. This study revealed ways in which preservice teachers’ emerging teaching identities are shaped by influential experiences including their personal experiences as a student, experiences with teachers, family influences, and their experiences in their teacher preparation program. Furthermore, findings in this study reveal that one’s teaching identity and values are not always consistent with the pedagogical practices they aim to use as a practicing educator. Two preservice science teachers expressed having teaching identities and implemented pedagogical practices that align with environmental social justice. Four of the study participants expressed having teaching identities whose values aligned with social justice. For those four participants however, the pedagogical practices they implemented were inequitable and societally irrelevant. Additional findings within this teaching experiment demonstrate areas of growth for preservice teachers resulting from this teaching experiment, including shifts in personal perspectives, further aspirations as a teacher, and developing an orientation towards environmental sustainability. Additionally, although this teaching experiment focused on environmental social justice, two preservice teachers expressed developing teaching identities and aspirations of implementing pedagogical practices that aligned with conscientious engagement. This teaching experiment presents ways teacher preparation programs foster unique environments and opportunities for preservice teachers to observe, explore, and experiment with their teaching identities and pedagogical practices. Therefore, teaching preparation programs can be intentionally crafted to support preservice educators in becoming educators who implement equitable learning opportunities for all students and promote civic engagement for the twenty-first century
EVALUATING THE CLUSTERING BEHAVIOR OF ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTOIDS FOR APPLICATION IN IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES
Get PDFTreating biofilm infections on medical implants is a significant healthcare challenge, often requiring device removal and potentially leading to amputations. This study investigates the efficacy of biocompatible peptoids as a novel strategy to combat these infections. This study employs atomistic simulations and small-angle X-ray scattering to investigate the self-assembly behavior of four peptoid sequences (TM1, TM4, TM6, TM22). Peptoids forming supramolecular assemblies display enhanced complexation with polyanionic microgels, promising for antimicrobial coatings on implantable devices. Atomistic simulations and experimental data analysis reveal a strong link between peptoid sequence, hydrophobicity, and propensity for self-assembly. The highly hydrophobic TM4 forms large multimeric bundles, while the less hydrophobic TM22, lacking aromatic rings, remains monomeric. TM1 and TM6 exhibit intermediate assembly into multimers due to aromatic rings. This study highlights the potential of computational design for engineering peptoid-based antimicrobial biomaterials to combat device-related infections
FRIGHTENED BIRDS: AN EXPLORATION OF INSECURITY AND ITS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
Get PDFThis thesis aims to examine the root causes of human insecurity and to explore how to live with insecurity, both theoretically and visually. The nature of insecurity is further explored by analyzing it in a philosophical sense and making an analogy with Albert Camus’ understanding of “absurdity.” As a universal feeling, insecurity has enormous potential to be explored as an artistic topic. Creating and thinking from this feeling can trigger the audience’s emotional resonance and inspire more thinking in response. Insecurity is about meaning, about human longing and expectation, about the absurdity that one cannot escape. By analyzing insecurity, one can face it, understand it, accept it, and then live peacefully with it in a world full of uncertainty
The Sea of Sorrow Has No Shore: A Note on Grief and the Radical Practice of Grief
Get PDFThis paper explores grief through both a personal and cultural prism, specifically focusing on the Iranian context. Intertwining together personal narratives with scholarly discourse, it aims to illuminate the nuanced relationship between individual experiences of sorrow and the broader fabric of collective memory. Notably, it is examining how artistic practice and the visual culture of grief intersect, tracing my own journey through studio work that melds traditional and contemporary representations of mourning. This investigation is bolstered by insights drawn from psychology, sociology, and cultural studies, offering a comprehensive, multidisciplinary understanding of mourning practices in addition to their profound impact on personal identity and resilience
Hollers, Hills, and Buckshot : Anthologies of Appalachia
Get PDFThe works and thesis I present are in the spirit of reclaiming what it means to be a Hillbilly. Within this thesis I examine and demonstrate how decades of stereotypes play a role into how people and environments of Appalachia are devalued for the benefit of extractive industries. Showcasing that these industries are in direct opposition to the traditions of life in the area. Appalachia, being traditionally a land based economy and way of living, presents unique folkways demonstrated with worldviews that correlate life and land treatment. Crafts, folkways, and folk arts of the area highlight these views and history. My work seeks to continue to preserve and use these folkways while integrating scientific curiosity in the form of positioning the natural world and its inhabitants as collaborator and backdrop. Together we talk about what it is to live collaboratively and speak to the history of people and land entanglement
Contextual and Positional Associations in Free and Serial Recall
Get PDFThe research in this thesis presents a novel experiment and analyses to characterize effects in episodic memory which have classically been developed using different classes of theories. An encoding design was used which typically offers support for positional coding theory, phonological similarity among words in a studied list, with a recall paradigm which typically offers support for retrieved context theory, free recall. This experiment manipulated recall task, serial recall and free recall, as well as the presence and order of similar items across three possible list types. Analyses focused on differences in recall probability, recall errors, and recall transitions by list type and recall test type. In free recall, recall probabilities and transitions between recalls were consistent with retrieved context theory. In serial recall, recall probabilities replicated past findings consistent with positional coding theory. However, transitions occurring immediately after the first error provided some evidence for both theories. Therefore, while work should continue to unify these theories, these results help to clarify the role of each theory across paradigms
A Thematic Analysis of the Experiences of Black Participants and Their Life Satisfaction in Relation to Living in Syracuse
Get PDFSyracuse, NY has a long history of poverty, crime, and low academic performance, especially in communities that Black residents call home. A Thematic Analysis of the Experiences of Black Participants and Their Life Satisfaction in Relation to Living in Syracuse is an exploratory study that examines the life satisfaction of Black residents of Syracuse, NY, as well as what aspects of their lives most affect--and are most affected by--their overall life satisfaction. The theory that guided this research is the bottom-up life satisfaction theory, which states that overall life satisfaction is dependent upon how an individual weighs their own satisfaction with different domains of their lives. Nine participants signed up and met the criteria to participants in a semi-structured focus group that involved discussions relating to life satisfaction, adolescent experiences, relationships, government, community resources, and more. The voiced experiences and perspectives of participants led to over 60 pages of audio transcriptions. The data was then analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of this study revealed three main themes: Community Connectedness, Residential Environment, and Adolescent Experiences. Within these main themes, eight subthemes were identified. The results of the analysis are discussed further in the paper
Empowerment or Entrapment? A Critical Analysis of Microfinance Operations among Female Borrowers in Kitui County, Kenya
Get PDF“Empowerment or Entrapment? A Critical Analysis of Microfinance Operations among Female Borrowers in Kitui County, Kenya” is a research project that aims to understand the dynamics of microfinance loan expectations and their implications for women. For this study, one cannot help but borrow or get insights from those who have written about the culture of Africa. To a greater extent, they all touch on the anthropological aspect of Africa. I use anthropological/ cultural theoretical perspectives, political economy, and Afro-feminism as my leading theories. I hypothesize that where women are typically engaged in heavy domestic chores and are undervalued and under-compensated compared to their male counterparts, who control access to material resources, their involvement in economic activities, such as microfinance, is likely to be subjected to the same type of cultural, gender, and economic exploitation and constraints that prevent them from meeting their economic and financial expectations. Women in Kenya find themselves in this situation. To test the hypothesis, I will use both primary and secondary sources and data that I utilized during my summer externship in Kenya in 2023. This study reveals that traditionally gendered norms continue to diminish Kenyan women’s roles and subject them to burdensome domestic workloads of caregiving and nurturing the young ones. Consequently, even if women have access to financial resources, they lack the appropriate time to be as effective as their male counterparts, who are frequently seen as the primary providers of income and have authority over material resources. In conducting this analysis, I argue that MFI primarily works against women’s socioeconomic empowerment and poverty alleviation. Although I am cognizant of the fact that MFI’s preference to work with women has been perceived as a bottom-up economic model that connects and provides a little additional money into the pockets of poor women to improve their socioeconomic standing, I argue that when compared to the enormous disadvantages associated with managing the micro-lending initiative, these benefits are minor and hardly felt. This thesis serves as an emancipatory approach and seeks to oppose the continued trends of financial exploitation and capitalism among Africans in general, and especially among poor women. Additionally, it also urges the adoption of reforms tailored specifically for the women of Africa and acts as a wake-up call to fully address any cultural underpinnings that uphold or propagate the stereotype that African women are inferior