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Athlete Decision-Making Process in the Liminality After Career-Ending Injuries
No full textThis qualitative study explored the decision-making process of athletes in the liminal period immediately following career-ending injuries. While existing research has examined transition challenges and coping strategies, there remains a critical gap in understanding how athletes actively make decisions that shape their post-sport trajectories during this crucial period. Using Crisis Decision Theory (CDT) as a theoretical framework, this study investigated athletes\u27 overall experience, support systems, injury severity assessment, and response option determination and evaluation during the immediate post-injury decision-making process. Key findings demonstrated that athletes\u27 decision-making processes closely aligned with CDT\u27s three-stage framework: assessing injury severity, determining response options, and evaluating choices. The research revealed how athletes exercise agency in their transition despite the abrupt loss of their athletic identity, community, and purpose. Athletes navigated decisions across multiple dimensions, including injury recovery, career transitions, financial planning, identity reconstruction, social relationships, and purpose-finding. The study\u27s findings extend CDT\u27s application to sport-specific contexts while providing new insights into how athletes process and respond to career-ending injuries. This research bridges sport psychology, decision theory, sport management, athlete transition, and crisis management fields, offering both theoretical understanding of non-normative athlete transitions and practical applications for developing targeted support interventions
Exploring Modernist Traits in the Guitar Works of Manuel María Ponce
No full textMusic of the early twentieth century developed drastically from that of previous eras. With Debussy’s emphasis on tone color and timbre, Stravinsky’s rhythmic complexities, and Bartók’s incorporation of folk music, the twentieth century had a far different sound to that which preceded it. Each of these composers demonstrated different practices of this new genre called modernism. However, likely due to Andrés Segovia’s dislike of modernist music, there were not many popular composers that followed this trend in the guitar world. Those composing for the guitar shied away from attributes of modernism, ensuring that their works would be played. Manuel María Ponce broke this trend. Not only did he gain the guitarist’s approval, but he became the favored composer with which he worked. Ponce (1882-1948) was born into a family of musicians in the small town of Fresnillo, an area within the central Mexican state of Zacatecas. After moving to Mexico City to study piano with Vicente Mañas and harmony with Eduardo Gabrielli in 1900, he was encouraged to pursue musical studies in Europe. Ponce traveled to Bologna in 1904 to study at Liceo Musicale after meeting the school’s director, Marco Enrico Bossi. It was here that he studied with Cesare Dall’Olio. After Dall’Olio’s death in 1905, Ponce moved to Berlin to study piano with Martin Krause. In early 1907, financial troubles forced him to leave Germany and return to Mexico. Ponce quickly began a career of teaching at the Conservatorio Nacional (with breaks from 1915-1917 due to his departure during the Mexican Revolution and from 1925-1933 to study in Paris with Paul Dukas), where he honed his craft as a composer. Ponce’s works can be placed within three compositional styles: folk, neoclassical, and impressionistic. His nationalistic compositions, sparked from his presence as a judge in 1910’s composition competition celebrating the centennial of Mexico’s independence,2 include such works as Tres Canciones Populares Mexicanas and Sonata Mexicana. His historical pastiches are a series of suites and sonatas written in the style of composers such as Schubert, Sor, and Weiss. Pieces like his dance suites in A-minor and D-Major, as well as his Sonata Classica and Sonata Romantica, fall into this category. Lastly, his impressionistic style is often thought of as being his own harmonic vocabulary. These pieces, developed during his time in France, have dense harmonies and different chord progressions from many other composers of the time. His Variations sur “Folias de España” et Fugue and Thème varié et Finale are both examples of this style. Within these different works, Ponce incorporated neoclassical, folk, and impressionist elements, all typical traits of modernist composers
Increasing Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession: Determining Effective Career Education Strategies for Underrepresented Youth
No full textGenetic counseling is a professional career path that is lacking in diversity, and diversity in healthcare has been shown to improve health outcomes. Studies suggest student engagement as a way to increase diversity, as early knowledge of genetic counseling increases the likelihood of considering it as a career and is especially true for racial or ethnic minoritized students. This study focused on educating high school students underrepresented in genetic counseling about the career and exploring the effectiveness of two different types of education methods (video vs in-person) to give valuable information for future outreach efforts. Upward Bound and Federal TRIO Programs located in southern states were contacted to schedule a presentation about the genetic counseling career for their students. The students were given an online survey before the presentation (pre-survey) and after (post-survey) assessing their knowledge, interest, and familiarity with the field. The post-survey also included open-ended feedback questions and asked students to rank presentation topics based on perceived value. There were 61 students eligible for analysis from the in-person data. The video data was insufficient for comparison. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed on the in-person data. Eighty-one percent of student participants identified as Black or African American. There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge and familiarity (p\u3c 0.001) after the presentation but not in interest (p\u3e0.05), showing the in-person presentation was effective in two of three areas explored. Gender identity and grade level did not show significance as intervention effects. By ranking topics and answering open-ended questions, participants supplied information about the way they wish to be educated about the genetic counseling career. The data suggests future inclusive outreach efforts should include working with Upward Bound or TRIO programs, conducting an in-person presentation, giving background context about DNA and genetics, incorporating direct experiences from genetic counselors, highlighting education requirements, using charts for explanations, highlighting updated salary information, being concise, and allowing time for questions about general genetics. The future implication of this study could assist those passionate about diversifying the genetic counseling field with insight into the most productive educational methods to reach high school students interested in genetic counseling as a career path
Involvement of Integrated Stress Response in Primary and Secondary Dystonia
No full textABSTRACT Dystonia is the third most common movement disorder in the United States of America , the first two being essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. Gaining mechanistic knowledge about pathobiology of dystonia is essential for development of effective therapies. As the only therapies currently available are invasive procedures such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or frequent botulinum toxin injections, it is critical to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms leading to dystonia. A maladaptive integrated stress response (ISR) involving dysregulation of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF2) mediated signaling is observed in DYT-PRKRA patient cells. Mutations in PRKRA gene, which encodes PACT cause early onset primary dystonia DYT-PRKRA, a movement disorder that disrupts coordinated muscle movements. PACT activates protein kinase R (PKR, aka EIF2AK2) by a direct interaction in response to cellular stressors to mediate phosphorylation of eIF2α. Recent research has indicated that dysregulated eIF2 signaling is a convergent mechanism in etiologically diverse, genetically inherited primary dystonias. Mice homozygous for a spontaneously arisen, recessively inherited frameshift mutation, Prkralear-5J exhibit progressive dystonia. Our work on this mouse model indicates that the truncated PACT protein inhibits PKR activation and ISR. The mice homozygous for the mutation have abnormalities in the cerebellar development as well as a severe lack of dendritic arborization of Purkinje neurons, reduced eIF2α phosphorylation and reduced expression of an ISR marker protein ATF4. These results indicate that PACT mediated regulation of PKR activity and eIF2 phosphorylation may contribute to the dystonia phenotype resulting from this mutation. We also investigated the involvement of ISR in secondary dystonia. Secondary dystonia can be triggered by antipsychotic drugs, and in this study, we investigated if ISR is induced in response to antipsychotic drugs possibly leading to drug-induced dystonia (DID). To investigate the effects of antipsychotics on ISR, a mouse neural crest-derived cell line (N2a) was used. We investigated the induction of ISR by measuring the activation of two kinases involved in ISR, PERK and PKR. Additionally, we measured the induction of eIF2 phosphorylation, and its downstream effects by measuring ATF4 and CHOP induction. The results showed that all eight antipsychotic drugs we tested induced ISR. To further characterize any involvement of the known ISR kinases, we tested the effect of C-16 (PKR inhibitor), GCN2iB (GCN2 inhibitor), GSK2656157 (PERK inhibitor) on ATF4 induction by Aripiprazole (Abilify). Our results indicate that PKR inhibitor C-16 and PERK inhibitor GSK2656157 attenuate ATF4 and CHOP expression, thereby further supporting that Aripiprazole activates PERK as well as PKR. Co-immunoprecipitation analyses showed that PKR is activated via association with its activator protein PACT after exposure to Aripiprazole. As we have previously shown that luteolin, a plant flavonoid, disrupts the interaction between PACT and PKR, we tested if luteolin can alleviate the ISR response after the antipsychotic exposure. Our results showed that luteolin is effective in suppressing the ISR and these results warrant further studies to investigate if luteolin can prevent the occurrence of DID
A Novel Geometric Modeling Kernel for Automated Fiber Placement
No full textAutomated Fiber Placement (AFP) is a key manufacturing technique for producing high-performance composite structures, yet existing geometric modeling frameworks lack the specialized functionality required for efficient toolpath planning and laminate optimization. This work presents Knots, a Geometric Modeling Kernel (GMK) developed specifically to address these limitations by providing a unified geometric foundation tailored for AFP. Unlike general-purpose Computer Aided Design (CAD) libraries, Knots is optimized for AFP, offering specialized geometric operations that streamline the transition from design to manufacturing. It directly manages the loading and computation of geometric data, ensuring structured laminate generation while supporting automation and scripting for improved process efficiency. Through modular architecture, Knots facilitates advanced geometric processing, including surface modifications, geometric analysis, and AFP-specific toolpath algorithms, without reliance on external modeling software. This thesis details the development, structure, and application of Knots, demonstrating its capabilities through a step-by-step laminate construction workflow. The results showcase its effectiveness in generating AFP toolpaths, integrating seamlessly into existing composite process planning software, and providing enhanced analysis tools for composite manufacturing. By introducing a specialized geometric modeling solution for AFP, Knots advances the state of automated composite fabrication, improving precision, efficiency, and manufacturability in fiber placement processes
‘Just Get It On The Table’: Gendered Food Labour in Janice Galloway’s Fiction
No full textThis article explores how food labour is used to articulate concerns around gendered power dynamics in Janice Galloway’s short stories and novels. By examining instances of food management and preparation, this article argues that food makes struggles for identity, autonomy, and power more clearly visible. Writing by Sarah Sceats and Mary McGlynn is used to discuss issues around women’s identity formation, while Carole Jones’s work on gender disorientation in late twentieth-century Scotland and Nick Fiddes’s materials on the prestige of meat both aid in arguments around men’s relationships with food labour
Effects of Verbal Tasks on Driving Simulator Performance
No full textWe report the results from a driving simulator paradigm we developed to test the effects of simple verbal tasks on simultaneous driving performance. A total of 74 undergraduate students participated in two experiments in which they controlled a car using the steering wheel to track a moving target. The dependent measure, overall deviation from target, was continuously recorded. Experiment 1 (E1) tested tracking performance during slow and fast target speeds under conditions involving either no verbal input or output (Absent), passive listening to spoken prompts via headphones (Listen), or responding to the spoken prompts (Respond). Experiment 2 (E2) was similar except that participants read written prompts overlain over the driving simulator screen (Read) instead of listening to spoken prompts. Performance in both experiments was worse during fast compared to slow target speeds, and worst overall during Respond conditions. Performance differences between verbal task conditions showed only in the fast speed conditions in E1, and in all speed conditions in E2. Additionally, time-course analysis revealed steadily deteriorating tracking performance as participants prepared to speak and began speaking, and steadily improving performance as they spoke. Overall, these results are consistent with load-based theories of multitasking performance and show that language production, and, to a lesser extent, language comprehension tap resources also used for driving. More generally, our paradigm provides a useful tool for measuring the dynamical changes in driving performance during verbal tasks due to the rapidly changing resource requirements of language production and comprehension
Examining Coping, Individual Resilience, and Family Resilience as Strengths-Based Factors for LGBTQ+ Individuals
No full textLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and More (LGBTQ+) individuals are part of a diverse and complex community that has unique considerations regarding physical and mental health. While there is ongoing health equity research regarding LGBTQ+ individuals, the focus is often on health disparities. A strengths-based approach to helping LGBTQ+ individuals through research and other avenues may be beneficial. This multi-manuscript dissertation includes two studies that explored the current literature on strengths-based factors such as coping, individual resilience, and family resilience within LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as determined the feasibility of utilizing these factors to assist LGBTQ+ individuals with health and mental health concerns such as substance use. The first study was a systematic review of studies that investigated coping, individual resilience, and/or family resilience, and health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals. The results of study one influenced the development of the second study. The second study was a cross-sectional online survey that examined coping, individual resilience, and family resilience as potential predictors of alcohol and/or other drug use. In tandem, these two studies provide insight into strengths-based factors for LGBTQ+ individuals and their relationships with health outcomes such as substance use, as well as provide an empirical foundation for future research for strength-based factors in counseling modalities and outcomes for LGBTQ+ clients
In the Aftermath of the “Lost” Pandemic: Philadelphia, 1918-1923
No full textIn the Aftermath of the “Lost” Pandemic: Philadelphia, 1918-1923 examines the enduring legacy of the 1918–1920 global influenza pandemic. In Philadelphia, the epidemic and its fallout were not limited to the fall of 1918 when more than 12,000 residents died. This dissertation examines oral histories, public and private institutional records, local media, and medical files, recounting influenza’s medical, political, and economic impact into 1923, when local institutions no longer specified influenza survivors among aid recipients.
Influenza historiography traditionally focuses on the acute wave of influenza in the fall of 1918, highlighting the shocking mortality and morbidity of the disease and the lack of structural change or cultural impact following the outbreak. I argue that lingering medical conditions, political tensions, and economic hardship shifted assumptions about the “deserving” poor for many Philadelphians in the five years following the acute crisis. I utilized environmental and social history methodologies to explore the ongoing influenza fallout in Philadelphia’s urban industrial neighborhoods, contending that atmospheric pollution likely heightened mortality rates and exacerbated the pandemic’s devastating medical and microeconomic toll.
In dialogue with scholarship on epidemic endings, I consider how class, race, and gender status shaped survivors’ experiences, highlighting the challenges of enduring a pandemic before the existence of a social safety net. Without adequate government support, Philadelphians from all classes and private institutions provided influenza relief for years, keeping the epidemic and its victims in the public consciousness. I found community resilience that outlasted government failures, with families developing unique living and working arrangements, while institutions offered hourly nursing visits, respite parties, and mortgage relief.
In the Aftermath advances epidemic studies by presenting a model for aftermath studies, which focuses on the period following an acute outbreak when individuals and institutions develop innovative responses to the suffering left in the wake of an epidemic. Aftermath studies enhance our understanding of how individuals and communities navigate epidemic endings and offers valuable insights. This subfield can highlight the differing experiences of marginalized communities during and after epidemics and, grounded in historical knowledge, suggest a wider range of responses to current and future pandemics
Contemporary Anaylsis of Black Male Experience Through Photovoice: A Second-Year Exploration
No full textThis dissertation investigates the second-year experiences of successful Black males at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), focusing on the University of South Carolina. While the second-year experience has gained attention in higher education research, specific insights into the challenges and successes faced by African American male students remain limited. This study highlights the critical issues surrounding sophomore retention, emphasizing that while universities often concentrate on first and final-year experiences, the second year is pivotal for academic success and continuation. Through qualitative methods, the research captures the narratives of ten participants, revealing common themes related to belonging, cultural understanding, and the impact of mentorship. It underscores the importance of supportive environments that foster community and inclusion, which are essential for thriving in the unique challenges of the sophomore year. The findings indicate that a strong sense of belonging is crucial for African American male students, influencing their academic engagement and persistence. Additionally, the study explores the historical barriers Black males face in higher education and the role of mentorship in overcoming these obstacles. By documenting the lived experiences of these students, this research aims to inform targeted strategies and support systems that can enhance their success in college. Ultimately, it advocates for a more equitable educational landscape that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of Black males, ensuring they have the resources and support necessary to achieve their academic goals and thrive in higher education