Middle Tennessee State University
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PLATELET-RICH PLASMA INJECTIONS AND COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC TRAINER’S PREVENTION, EVALUATION, TREATMENT, AND REHABILITATION FOR HAMSTRING INJURIES
No full textThe purpose of this study was to assess the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation methods being used by collegiate athletic trainers for hamstring strain injuries (HSI) to reduce the risk of reinjury and to determine whether platelet-rich-plasma injections are being used as a method of treatment. National Athletic Training Association (NATA) members working in the collegiate setting were asked to complete a survey through Qualtrics for this study. Results from this study showed a significant difference in PRP injection usage when Division 1 was compared to all other divisions, athletic trainers were likely to evaluate lumbopelvic rotation, bilateral hip flexor flexibility, gluteus maximus strength, and gluteus minimus strength when assessing a HSI, and they reported using eccentric exercises, conventional resistance exercises, stretching, myofascial release, and core training most of the time or always when rehabilitating a HSI. These results suggest that PRP injections are not being used as often as they should in collegiate athletics and athletic trainers are doing comprehensive evaluations and rehabilitations for HSIs.M.S
Sinan Antoon’s Literary Odyssey between Iraq and the U.S.: Exile, Dissent, Narrative, and Translation
No full textABSTRACT
For researchers and scholars interested in literary interactions between the Middle East and the West, Sinan Antoon’s major works—I’jaam, The Corpse Washer, The Baghdad Eucharist, and The Book of Collateral Damage—provide possibilities for fruitful exploration. Antoon’s fiction depicts three aspects of expatriate and diasporic literature: resistance to dictatorship and critical views of war, the influential factors in translation, and the fragmented condition of longing in exile. These issues are discussed in the four chapters of this thesis: “Sinan Antoon as an Idealist Writer,” “Antoon’s Critique of the War and Authoritarianism,” “The Target Language and Translation Proficiency,” and “Exile, Memory, and the Sense of Loss.”
Antoon’s experience as a writer under Saddam Hussein’s regime, whose brutality compares to that of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, serves as an example of the fragile and dangerous tensions between the writer and authoritarianism. Antoon criticizes, documents, and highlights many tragic and melancholic instances of the injustice, coercion, and brutality of those in power, in this case events that occurred before, during, and after the first and second Gulf wars. Writers often encourage resistance to despotism by presenting tragic images to their audiences. Their duty is to expose and challenge false ideologies promoted and disseminated through government-sanctioned news and
propaganda. Through the act of translation, Antoon’s narratives are transferred from one language and culture to another language and culture. This process of translation is especially interesting in the case of Antoon since he himself is a translator—of some of his own works as well as works by other Arab writers such as the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. This project tracks some of the nuances in Antoon’s and other translators’ translations of Antoon’s works. Antoon, like many expatriate and transnational writers such as Joseph Conrad, Vladimir Nabokov and Paul Bowles, lives in an exilic condition in which the past, called up by memory, consumes and often obscures the present. Nostalgia, oblivion, and time are the main elements in Antoon’s diasporic literature. Three fundamental issues arise in this discussion of Antoon’s work and life in exile: the difference between physical and mental diaspora, the influence of the past on the writer in exile, and the dual identity of the refugee.M.L.A
Cross-country Productivity Heterogeneity, Trade Agreement, and the Quest to Free Trade
No full textIn the first essay, I study the role played by cross-country productivity heterogeneity in affecting the formation of global free trade. My model extends the three-country endowment model of Bagwell and Staiger (1999) by introducing production and productivity heterogeneity across countries. There are two main findings: (i) global free trade is the only equilibrium in the case of symmetric productivity; (ii) the bilateral free trade between two similarly-productive countries can be in equilibrium in the case of asymmetric productivity. I study two special trading cases of productivity asymmetry: (i) one highly-productive country and two low-productive countries and (ii) two highly-productive countries and one low-productive country. I find that in both cases when the degree of productivity asymmetry is too large, in equilibrium, only the two similarly-productive countries will form a bilateral free trade agreement.
In the second essay, I study the role played by bilateralism (i.e. discriminatory tariff policy) under a condition of asymmetric productivity across countries in affecting the formation of global free trade. I show that global free trade is the only equilibrium in the case of symmetric productivity no matter if bilateralism is prohibited, or not. However, in the case of asymmetric productivity, the consent of bilateralism will either help or hinder the formation of global free trade. I study two special cases: (i) one highly-productive country and two low-productive countries and (ii) two highly-productive countries and one low-productive country. I find that in the case of two highly-productive countries and one low-productive country, the consent of bilateralism can help the formation of global free trade; but in the case of one highly-productive country and two low-productive countries, the consent of bilateralism can prevent the formation of global free trade.
In the third essay, I study the role played by custom unions under a condition of asymmetric productivity across countries in affecting the formation of global free trade. I find that the consent of custom unions can always help achieve the global free trade. I also study the case of that custom unions and bilateral free trade agreement are both available. Bilateral free trade are always preferred to custom unions. The role of productivity asymmetry in the case of custom unions is same with that in the case of bilateral free trade: as the productivity asymmetry level is too large, only the custom union formed between two similarly-productive countries is the stable equilibrium.Ph.D
Cloning Successive Generations of Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa) to Assess Cannabinoid Profiles
No full textIndustrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) has made a remarkable impact worldwide due to the plant’s beneficial properties and versatile use. Vegetative cuttings (clones) of C. sativa are the preferred propagation technique to be the most effective to retain the same genetic information and to reduce hybridization and mutations. The objective of this project was to assess cannabinoid profile concentrations of successively cloned generations of 5 varieties: Cherry, Cherry Blossom, Cherry x Workhorse, Sour Space Candy, and The Wife. This research project focused on the idea that every cloned plant contains the exact same genetic information and, therefore, should have the same metabolic profile of cannabinoids through all the successive generations grown, which is shown to be true. The results of my study show that there is not a significant difference in cannabinoids over successive generations showing no major trends. KEYWORDS: Cloning; Vegetative cuttings; Industrial Hemp; Metabolism; Cannabinoids; Successive generations; Cannabinoid profiles; Cannabis sativa; sativa; HPLC; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; Plant; Generations; Propagation; Clone
Undergraduate Biology Students’ Climate Change Communication and Training Experiences
No full textAlthough climate change is a major threat to humanity, scientists have had trouble effectively communicating about it. Undergraduate science students represent the next generation of science communicators and can be boundary spanners within their communities but there is little research about how undergraduate students communicate about controversial biology topics like climate change and how they are being prepared to do so. We wanted to explore a potential need for undergraduate student training on climate change communication. We surveyed 191 biology students at 38 universities about their communication frequency and preparedness. To understand student experiences in more depth, we interviewed 39 of the survey participants. We asked students to describe their experiences communicating, when they feel confident or not, and to describe their experiences and needs when learning about climate change communication in their classes. Descriptive statistics of survey data showed 25% of students communicated about climate change on a weekly basis. Students felt moderately confident discussing the causes (54%) and effects (60%) of climate change, but not the solutions (36%) to climate change. Qualitative coding of 32 interviews (Cohen’s κ = .90) showed that while students are communicating about climate change, it tends to be only to those who already accept climate change. Students did not feel prepared to communicate about climate change to non-scientists or those who disagree with them about climate change, so most students avoided interacting with them. Participants described a lack of scientific communication training, even though students had a desire to be taught effective communication skills. These results indicate that students are already science communicators but tend to “preach to the choir”. While the undergraduate biology students we interviewed wanted to be taught effective communication skills, they were not getting it in their science curriculum. Further, our interviews indicate that if these students felt more prepared to communicate to non-scientists it may make them more willing to discuss climate change with people of differing views than their own. KEYWORDS: Climate Change; Communication; Science Communication; Biology Educatio
Changes in Social Motivation Following Oxytocin Receptor Inhibition
No full textThe purpose of our study was to adapt a social behavior arena for mice and to test the correlation between oxytocin receptor activation/inhibition and social motivation since no current measurement for social motivation exists. The long-term impact of this research was to identify a standardized way of measuring social motivation so that social disorders like autism can be better characterized. Our research was conducted with 90 mice across both sexes. The levels of social motivation were pharmacologically manipulated with oxytocin, atosiban, or saline. We were able to successfully validate a social reward chamber. A sex by drug interaction indicated a differential effect exists between atosiban and oxytocin depending on sex. We found that atosiban treated males and oxytocin treated females were more socially motivated than other groups. The understanding of these factors will aid us in better developing treatment targets and pharmacological improvements for disorders with social symptoms like autism. KEYWORDS: Neuroscience; Psychology; Mice; Oxytocin; Social Motivation; Recepto
Perceptions of Victims and Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Abuse
No full textThis study explored how type of abuse (physical versus psychological), sex dyad, and respondent sex affected how perpetrators and victims of intimate partner abuse were perceived. Respondents (137 undergraduates) read a scenario depicting intimate partner abuse. Results were analyzed with a series of 2x2x2 ANOVAs. For type of abuse, respondents were more likely to indicate that they would respond by taking action when the intimate partner abuse was physical rather than psychological. In addition, respondents perceived psychological abuse as more normative than physical abuse. Regarding the sex dyad, respondents indicated they would be more likely to take action when the perpetrator was male and the victim was female. When compared to male respondents, female respondents viewed intimate partner abuse as more harmful. Finally, a male perpetrator committing physical abuse was viewed as more responsible for the abuse than a female perpetrator. There was no difference found for psychological abuse.M.A
Teacher Perceptions of the Supports and Barriers of Teacher Collaboration
No full textABSTRACT
When teachers collaborate, they amass collective expertise and develop pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher collaboration is often a school priority because of its positive impact on student achievement, teacher efficacy, and teacher satisfaction. Schools also have complex systems in place that impact the effectiveness of teacher collaboration. This study explores six teachers’ perceptions of their collaboration with peers and how it is supported or weakened by the organization of school structures, the leadership system, and the evaluation system implemented at their school.
Three school sites were purposefully chosen for their expectation that teachers engage in collaboration and their different approaches to organizing time for teacher collaboration. One school allocated ninety minutes of daily non-instructional time plus ninety extra minutes one day per week for teacher collaboration. The second school follows the PLC guidelines set by Dufour and colleagues (2016) and allocates fifty minutes of daily non-instructional time and an additional sixty minutes per week specifically for content area PLCs to occur. The third school allots fifty-five minutes for non-instructional time and has no additional time set aside during the week. Two teachers at each school were interviewed using Seidman’s (2013) guidelines for conducting phenomenological interviews.
The teachers revealed that the organizational structures and leadership of their schools had a greater impact than their yearly evaluations, which they saw as having little to no impact on their collaboration with other teachers. The teachers cited trust, particularly relational trust developed with their colleagues and the trust from their leadership, as a major support to the success of their collaboration. Time and the resistance towards collaboration from other teachers were seen as the biggest barriers to effectively collaborating with one’s peers.Ed.D
Effects of Heat Stress on Reproductive Parameters, Milk Quality, and Cow Activity in Lactating Holstein and Jersey Dairy Cows
No full textHeat stress can negatively affect pregnancy rate, conception rate, and milk quality in dairy cattle. Heat stress is one of the major challenges dairy farms face due to the negative effects heat stress plays on production. The objective of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between heat stress and cow reproductive parameters, cow activity, and milk quality in Holstein and Jersey cows. Two groups of cattle consisting of both Holstein and Jersey cows were evaluated over 2 seasons: summer (July and August) and winter (December and January) for heat stress. Cows were monitored through DHIA data to analyze somatic cell count, milk yield, conductivity, average rest time, average rest bouts, and average activity. Temperature Humidity Index (THI) was also calculated to show if the lactating herd was suffering from heat stress. Cows were under mild to moderate heat stress during the summer months of July and August. During the winter months of December and January, cows did not suffer from heat stress. In the summer, cows had increased restless activity due to heat stress which can have negative effects such as lower milk production and increased chances of lameness. KEYWORDS: Dairy cows; Jersey; Holstein; Milk quality; Heat stres
Stewardship of the Land and Stewardship of the Past: Tennessee Agricultural History and Public History
No full textTennessee’s agricultural history provides a lens through which to examine the macro history of change over time in relation to adaptive technology, the increasing dependence on industrial agriculture as family farms face insurmountable competition, and the evolving rural community as people labor for food and fiber production. However, public historians have played a relatively minor role in the interpretation of Tennessee agricultural history, even though one Agricultural Extension Agent initiated a statewide collection of farm-related artifacts and created an accompanying museum. This dissertation addresses that gap in public history by analyzing historic properties and museums in Tennessee that interpret agricultural history. By relying on existing scholarship on Tennessee agricultural history, the dissertation reveals the discrepancies between the lived experiences of Tennessee agriculturalists and the attenuated versions often presented at historic sites and museums. It focuses on the Tennessee Agricultural Museum in Nashville as the premier example of the state’s relationship with these stories. While evaluating public historians’ previous interpretation of Tennessee agricultural history, it also petitions for increased study, promotion, and integration of agricultural history at historic sites throughout the state.Ph.D