Middle Tennessee State University
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Deciphering the genetic and gene regulation adaptation strategies of Cryptococcus neoformans passaged in mice of different MHC haplotypes
No full textOrganisms utilize different mechanisms to adapt or respond to novel environments, including changes to the genome, gene expression, and protein-level functions. This study focused on genome and gene expression changes that occurred when a fungal pathogen encountered new hosts that differed only at a specific immune locus that adapt the immune system. To investigate how a fungal pathogen adapted to the host environment, we obtained genomic and transcriptomic data from strains of Cryptococcus neoformans that were passaged through congenic mice with differences only in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus, H2. I examined the genomic sequence, transcript levels, and transcript structures for each fungal strain and identified one key shared adaptation strategy to a mouse host between all strains. My results indicate that C. neoformans primarily adapted to the mouse host via mutations in the pyrimidine metabolism pathway. However, gene expression changes were identified when strains grown in specific MHC haplotypes were compared. Various metabolic and signaling pathways were changed between strains suggesting that the majority of MHC-specific adaptation occurred at the gene expression level rather than the genomic level. These data suggest that this fungal pathogen has evolved the flexibility to respond to novel environments while maintaining its genomic integrity.M.S
WOMEN IN NEWS: HOW VIEWERS PERCEIVE FEMALE BROADCASTERS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS DURING THEIR ON-AIR CAREER
No full textThis qualitative study explores and gives a voice to women in television
newsrooms who are more often than their male counterparts subjected to sexual harassment in the field and online. Online trolls have plagued the careers and mental health of many women working in television news. Female news reporters and anchors have found themselves as the targets of that personal criticism, inappropriate, or sometimes violent comments from social media users. The female participants in this qualitative study represent nearly all 50 states and television markets. All participants in this study reported negative interactions with social media and audiences.
This research is part of a growing body of knowledge of how negative and sexually explicit viewer messages affect female broadcasters on multiple levels. Results suggest female news reporters and anchors are at the forefront of heavy criticism and inappropriate comments from social media users. This has forced some women out of the industry or created a workplace they deem toxic and unsafe.M.S
The Current Failures of Title IX in Collegiate Athletics and the Modern, NIL Era Solutions
No full textAfter the proliferation of NIL rights in NCAA sports, the landscape and market of college sports changed drastically. Women’s sports have been on the rise in recent years, which sets the stage for change to occur in Title IX enforcement and in how the NCAA and its member institutions value women’s sports. However, because of the rise in popularity of women’s sports, the gender disparities created by NIL’s presence in NCAA sports have been highlighted. Although Title IX drastically improved the state of women’s sports in America, the Three-Part Test used to assess violations prevents it from progressing women’s sports. Congress, the OCR, and the NCAA must work together to fix the Title IX complications created by student-athletes monetization of their NILs
The Start of a Small Business: Providing an In-depth Look at the Start of a Small Business that Specializes in Handmade Goods
No full textIn this project, I explored the journey of small businesses specializing in handmade products, particularly focusing on handmade stuffed animals, to understand how these entrepreneurs initiated their small businesses. My objective was to provide detailed information on the thought process involved behind decisions made and go step-by-step. My final goal was not based on how much profit I made but rather on my understanding of the process, for instance, being able to identify what was crucial to begin and develop a small business that manufactured handmade products. My goal was that through this proposed thesis project, I gained a better understanding of the entrepreneurial skills that were necessary for a small business
The Influence of Teacher–Student Discourse on Students’ Mathematics Identity Development in Rural, Secondary Mathematics Classrooms
No full textAttending to students’ mathematics identities is necessary to provide all students with the opportunity to learn mathematics. Studies of students’ mathematics identities must consider the context of the mathematics classroom. My overarching research question was, “How does the teacher to student discourse that takes place in rural, secondary mathematics classroom affect students’ mathematics identities?” This question was subdivided into research questions that guided the manuscripts comprising the chapters of this dissertation:
1. How do secondary mathematics teachers in rural schools position their students? (Chapter II)
2. How do students in rural, secondary schools describe themselves in the context of mathematics? (Chapter III)
3. How does the way secondary mathematics teachers in rural schools position their students facilitate students’ development of positive mathematics identities, if at all? (Chapter IV)
To address these questions, I analyzed data from one teacher and five students in an Honors Algebra I classroom in a rural, secondary school. Data collected included video-recorded classroom observations, pre- and post-interviews of the teacher and the students, pre- and post-identity drawings from the students (whose narrations were audio-recorded), and follow-up questions from both the teacher and the students. In Chapter II, I analyzed the data from a positioning perspective on mathematics identity and found how the teacher positioned students by leveraging their thinking through questioning and her lesson facilitation. In Chapter III, I analyzed the data from an identity as narrative perspective and found themes across how the students described their mathematics identities. Several of the students also described boundaries between themselves and mathematics as part of their identities. In Chapter IV, I drew from both of these perspectives to understand how the teacher’s leveraging of student thinking through questioning and lesson facilitation affected the students differently based on their individual mathematics identities.
The findings of this study were significant for mathematics teachers, mathematics teacher educators, and mathematics education researchers. Future studies should describe other contexts, include students who are in minority groups, make comparisons between different contexts, and provide additional evidence to support themes that emerge in students’ mathematics identities by collecting data longitudinally.Ph.D
Puppets on Invisible Strings: Arkan's Tigers, the Effect of Paramilitaries and Plausible Deniability in the Yugoslav Wars, 1991 - 1999
No full textParamilitary organizations have served as a means for governments across the world to avoid blame for atrocities committed during times of war, with Arkan’s Tigers in the former Yugoslavia serving as a perfect example of this attempt to achieve plausible deniability. During their operations which ranged from 1991 to 1996, as well as their organized crime activities which lasted up until Arkan’s death, Arkan and his soldiers regularly worked alongside Yugoslav government and military officials to engage in ethnic cleansing. This study will observe the acts committed by Arkan’s Tigers against the ethnic and religious minorities of the former Yugoslavia, Arkan’s connections with members of the Yugoslav state, as well as the Belgrade regime’s awareness of and complicity in the actions committed by Arkan. The evidence which has been acquired and analyzed for this study shows that on all levels of the Yugoslav state, from government to military, Arkan’s Tigers were supported in their acts which violated the Geneva and Hague Conventions. This evidence, alongside records which show a public denial of complicity in Arkan’s actions by politicians such as Slobodan Milosevic, shows that plausible deniability for their actions was a key reason behind the deployment of paramilitaries such as Arkan’s Tigers in the Yugoslav Wars.M.L.A
Understanding the Societal, Disciplinary, and Phenotypic Factors Contributing to Hindered Diagnosis of Autism in Women
No full textThis meta-analysis investigates the possible factors contributing to the underdiagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in women, focusing on three key areas: social masking, gender bias in ASD screening tools, and the unique female phenotype. By analyzing existing literature from the James E. Walker Library JEWL Search provided by Middle Tennessee State University, I researched how social masking allows women to hide their symptoms, leading to misdiagnosis or late diagnosis. Additionally, I explored how traditional screening tools may be biased towards male presentations of ASD, further complicating accurate diagnosis. In summary, research highlights the urgent need for more research on misrepresentation of ASD diagnosis in women. Though findings were limited and inconsistent, understanding potential challenges is crucial for developing effective diagnostic criteria and intervention strategies that consider the distinct presentations of autism in females, promoting improved mental health support and outcome
Connecting Anticipation to Noticing in Technology-Enhanced Mathematical Tasks: A Comparison of Preservice and In-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers
No full textThis study explored the potential connections between secondary in-service (ISTs) and preservice (PSTs) mathematics teachers’ anticipations and their noticing of student thinking in technology-mediated learning environments, a topic with limited prior research. Specifically, the study examined how teachers (ISTs and PSTs) anticipate student thinking while engaging with technology-enhanced mathematical tasks and notice student thinking while students are engaging with the same tasks, with the aim to describe their knowledge for teaching mathematics with technology—Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Using a descriptive embedded multiple-case study design, the study involved two groups of participants: ISTs (N=3) and PSTs (N=2), who had completed a technology-focused methods class. Using statistics and algebra task, data were collected through video-recorded task-based interviews focusing on how teachers anticipate and accompanying written noticing assessments focusing on how they notice student thinking. Key findings revealed that neither group initially anticipated student challenges before being prompted. When they did, the ISTs focused more on task-related difficulties, whereas the PSTs considered potential difficulties related to both task representation and underlying concepts. The ISTs and PSTs also exhibited differences in how they engaged with tasks and anticipated student thinking. The ISTs tended to explore tasks sequentially, separating their exploration from anticipation, while the PSTs simultaneously engaged in both processes. When noticing student thinking, the ISTs attended more to students’ verbal and written responses, while the PSTs attended more to students’ technology engagement. When interpreting, both groups showed similar patterns: On the statistics task, they interpreted the students’ understanding but also interpreted what students did not yet understand regarding the concept. On the algebra task, they interpreted the students’ current understanding by focusing only on the aspects with evidence in the students’ work. When deciding how to respond, both groups aligned their questioning strategies with performance goals and prioritized learning goals in their next task decisions. Additionally, the examination of potential connections between the teachers’ anticipations and noticing revealed that they possibly leveraged their anticipations when noticing key aspects of student thinking, with ISTs relying more on their anticipations. This study addresses gaps in the literature regarding teachers’ anticipation and noticing practices in technology-enhanced tasks, offering insight into how these practices develop in both PSTs and ISTs. The findings may contribute to teacher education by informing the design of programs that support teachers in developing the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively teach mathematics with technology.Ph.D
An Examination of Variability: Using Construct Measurement to Develop an Interdisciplinary Assessment
No full textIn an increasingly data-driven society, making decisions with data is a requirement not only for research scientists but also for navigating life more generally (Kjelvik & Schultheis, 2019). An informed citizenry must be prepared to discover patterns, predict outcomes, make decisions with data, and evaluate data-based claims for legitimacy and applicability (Franklin & Bargagliotti, 2020). In United States K-12 classrooms, the expectation of using data to support claims is an essential part of research methods at each level of science instruction. In fact, NGSS standards include analyzing and working with data at every grade level. Usiskin and Hall suggested that for most K-12 students, making decisions based on statistics is discussed more often in science than in mathematics (2015). Statistics instruction, however, has been primarily the responsibility of mathematics teachers. Consequently, conventional instruction of statistics in K-12 mathematics often presents computational aspects of statistics and stops short of experiences that allow students to explore and apply statistical ideas of measuring variability in context. Independent of instructional support, it can be difficult for students to knit together these ideas of calculations and context across disciplinary boundaries of math and science (Lehrer & Schauble, 2004; Makar & Confrey, 2003).
Assessments are a tool that could support developing statistical literacy, revealing students’ construction and integration of knowledge and skills acquired across multiple subjects when focused on interdisciplinary ideas, such as variability. Using the four building blocks of Wilson’s (2005) framework for constructing measures, I developed assessment instruments to assess patterns of student thinking about variability for 6th-grade mathematics and science teachers. The assessment instruments were designed to collect evidence of connections students make between quantitative and qualitative descriptions of variation by prompting students to utilize statistical and scientific ideas.
These assessments encouraged student thinking rooted in both mathematics and science and provided teachers in both disciplines with a more complete representation of students’ growing understanding. Thoughtful completion of the items required integration between science content knowledge and the understanding of the phenomenon arising from the data as students interpret and explain based on the contextualized data rather than simply focusing on computation or data manipulation (Ben-Zvi et al., 2012).Ph.D
ESSAYS ON THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REGULATION
No full textThis dissertation examines regulatory frameworks in historical contexts through three distinct case studies, shedding light on the interplay between public interest and public choice factors. The first paper investigates the enactment of the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 within the whiskey industry. High and Coppin (1988) argue for a public choice interpretation, suggesting regulatory capture by rectifiers to stifle competition. Our study corroborates these findings using comprehensive historical data on alcohol consumption, chemical analyses of whiskey, and archival evidence of reported deaths and poisonings. We find that while rectifiers occasionally used poisons, these substances were often misunderstood or demanded in illicit markets, bolstering the public choice perspective. The second paper explores early American whiskey markets as a case of asymmetric information, where entrepreneurs faced challenges in assuring consumers of product authenticity and safety. Despite these hurdles and public health concerns over adulteration, historical newspapers reveal four mechanisms through which entrepreneurs effectively communicated and guaranteed product quality. This analysis underscores the resilience of market-based solutions in mitigating information asymmetry. The third paper investigates the adoption of barber licensure during the Progressive Era, ostensibly to curb the spread of "barber’s itch." Using a novel dataset and a difference-in-difference model across states, we find scant evidence supporting the public health rationale for licensure. Instead, our results suggest that licensure was driven by public choice motivations, particularly efforts by barber unions to limit competition and raise prices. This study provides a rare empirical case of regulation primarily serving private interests over public health concerns. Together, these papers contribute nuanced perspectives on regulatory frameworks, highlighting instances where public interest justifications intersect with or are overshadowed by public choice dynamics. The findings underscore the complex motivations underlying regulatory policies and offer insights into their implications for industry, consumer welfare, and economic governance.Ph.D