cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-618190
title: A confirmatory and exploratory analysis of the academic motivation of high school dropouts

description: Studies in the dropout literature describe what dropouts do and the circumstances that exist in their lives- they come from poor backgrounds,  associate with deviant peers, engage in delinquent behavior, get poor grades, are retained in early grades, and so forth. At best, this work describes the symptoms of the process of dropping out, rather than actual causes (Rumberger, 1987). Few studies look at differences among dropouts or what happens to them after they leave school. Furthermore, the lack of motivational constructs in dropout research prevents an examination of the mechanisms involved in the pre- and post-dropout experience. In order to further understand how motivational factors are related to varying dropout outcomes, we need to examine the beliefs, values and social circumstances of students as they engage in different contexts and behaviors. ❧  This study applies a fundamental theory from the motivation literature to understand the impact of social and individual factors on the process of high school dropout and eventual completion of school. Findings indicate that Eccles and Wigfield’s (2002) Expectancy-Value theory generalizes to groups of graduates, dropouts who complete school and dropouts who do not in both similar and dissimilar ways. Graduates and Completers show remarkably strong similarities, while Non-Completers are found to be more externally driven by influences from parents and peers. Exploratory analyses reveal that the construct Expectancies is most predictive in classifying students into the three different completion groups. In general, this study begins to bridge a gap between the two substantial bodies of dropout and motivation research, and contributes to a new line of work examining just what happens to dropouts after they leave school.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-636055
title: A novel study of the G-protein and the G-protein coupled receptor in the phototransduction of mouse retinas

description: During the past several years of my PhD studies, I strived to achieve a better understanding of the G-protein mediated phototransduction, particularly in a quantitative approach. Although the general picture of this signal transduction pathway has long been described, we lack accurate information about how individual step is precisely regulated. This work presents novel findings of phototransduction employing a combination of biochemical, electrophysiological, and genetic techniques. ❧ As the major part of my research, we replaced cone transducin-alpha (cTα) for rod transducin-alpha (rTα) in transgenic mouse rods to evaluate how Ga subtype influences signal amplification from different GPCRs, and how this might explain functional differences between rods and cones. We demonstrated biochemically that the exogenous cTα forms a functional heterotrimeric complex with rod Tβ1γ1. The electrophysiological recordings revealed that the light sensitivities were indeed affected by the expression level of G proteins and independent of cell-specific isoforms. ❧ Taking advantages of variant G-protein expressing mice, we further investigated the relationship between transducin translocation pattern and its light activation. Because transducin translocation has been found to be triggered by saturation of the GTPase-activating complex that is proportional to light activation, we examined whether a higher light threshold to trigger translocation was required for a low expressor of transducin. In the cTα transgenic retina, we found out that light sensitivity appeared to be uncoupled from translocation threshold. Thus, additional factors other than transducin activation may contribute to its translocation. ❧ The other part of my work aimed to study recoverin’s influence on rhodopsin phosphorylation in the intact mouse rod photoreceptor cells. Consistent with many in vitro biochemical studies, our findings indicate Rv’s inhibition on rhodopsin phosphorylation by quenching RK activity, which is likely to play an essential role during dark adaption.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-662726
title: American women warriors' road back home: a journey in journalistic multimedia story-telling

description: This paper is an explanation and analysis of my thesis project for the University of Southern California Graduate School MA in Specialized Journalism ’11. ❧ The story examines female veterans’ challenges in re-integrating into civilian life and the solutions they have discovered to heal themselves. I interviewed seven U.S. female veterans who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). One of the interviewees did not deploy, because she suffered a grievous sexual assault prior to being sent to war. ❧ This project also seeks to expand the limited amount of information that is available about the experiences of female veterans who served in OIF/OEF both from the gender point of view and from the point of view of a soldier. ❧ This project is also an exercise in finding new narrative ways of telling a journalistic story by using the web as a medium. The development of web-based narratives is currently at its early stages. The web as a medium offers unlimited space and multiple possibilities for telling an in-depth story in ways that are unique to the digital environment (hyperlinks, paths, combining video and text etc.) but have not yet been fully explored.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-667773
title: The neural coding of inter-object relations

description: Human vision is extraordinary in the speed and facility at which complex novel scenes can be understood. What is the mechanism by which such effortless scene recognition is achieved? Previous studies have attempted to demonstrate that the computation of image statistics (i.e., power spectrum) can explain our fast scene recognition (e.g., Oliva & Torralba, 2001). Although potentially useful, this model can only mimic (at best) our ability to classify scene categories with very diagnostic scene exemplars (Greene & Oliva, 2009). An alternative hypothesis is that the understanding of the structure of objects comprised in a scene required. The main focus of this dissertation is to examine where in the visual pathway relations (or changes in relations) among pairs of objects are represented. First, in three fMRI experiments, I show that object pairs presented as interacting than compared to side-by-side depictions consistently elicit greater activity in the lateral occipital complex (LOC), the first area in the ventral visual stream where intact shape is distinguished from texture (Malach et al., 1995; Cant & Goodale, 2007). Evidence from an EEG experiment demonstrates that the divergence of the time course between the interacting and side-by-side object pairs is only witnessed in the occipito-temporal region (likely reflecting the lateral occipital cortex (LO), the posterior part of LOC) at 170ms post stimulus onset, making it unlikely that LOC's coding of object interactions is driven by feedback activity from attentional regions (i.e., parietal cortex). To further test the potential role of attentional modulation from the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a region implicated as important in visual attention (Wojciulik & Kanwisher, 1999), a TMS experiment was performed. The facilitation of object identification to pairs of objects shown as interacting vs. not interacting was completely abolished when TMS was delivered to LO but not when TMS was applied to IPS. This result suggests that it is LO and not IPS that is critical for the coding of object interactions. Finally, I test whether there is greater sensitivity to different kinds of relational changes among objects. Consistent with past studies showing greater sensitivity to changes in nonaccidental (NAP) than compared to metric (MP) properties of simple shapes (e.g., Biederman et al., 2009; Kayaert, et al., 2003), a behavioral match-to-sample experiment showed that there is a significant advantage in detecting NAP vs. MP relational changes. Evidence from two fMRI experiments suggests that LO is the locus of the neural correlate for the greater detectability of NAP than MP relational changes.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-139913
title: Adult foster care
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-144211
title: Children in limbo
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-365849
title: CBCT analysis of condylar displacement post-orthognathic surgery

description: Background: Orthognathic surgical relapse related to condylar change has been studied since it was first acknowledged in the early 1980’s using two dimensional radiographic modalities. 2-D imaging provides inherent limitations because it lacks the third dimension of depth and thus cannot fully depict condylar changes. With the advent of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), condylar displacement can be quantified in three planes of space post-orthognathic surgery and provide valuable information in the long-term followup of surgical stability. ❧ Purpose: To quantifying in 3-D, the condylar displacement 2 weeks after 2-jaw surgery using the glenoid fossa as a stable reference structure. ❧ Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 15 patients undergoing orthognathic surgery performed by one surgeon in a consecutive manner. The pre-surgical and 2-week post-surgical CBCT DICOM files were collected for each patient and the TMJ complex was segmented. The pre- and post-surgical condyles were superimposed using the glenoid fossa as the stable reference structure. Condylar translation and rotation of the post-surgical condyles were recorded in three planes of space (x, y, z). ❧ Results: The average condylar displacement was 0.045 mm on x-plane, -0.39 mm on y-plane, and 0.01 mm on the z-plane. As for rotation, the average movement was -0.68 mm on x-plane, 1.66 mm on y-plane, and -2.43 on z-plane. The greatest displacements were translation in the y-plane and rotation on the z-plane. The movements that were statistically significant were translation on the x-plane and rotation on the z-plane (p&lt;0.008). ❧ Conclusion: The results of this study refer to immediate post-surgical findings and a 12 month follow-up with increased sample size and appropriate 3-D superimpositioning methods can further aide in identifying whether the surgical movements explain long-term stability and/or condylar resorption. Also factors such as abnormal anatomy and previous condylar resorption prior to surgery should be evaluated as potential contributors to long-term stability.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-412965
title: Nurse anesthesia pedagogy: curriculum review for preparation for the self-evaluation exam

description: The self-evaluation exam (SEE) is a high stake 240 item computer adaptive test that all student registered nurse anesthetists enrolled in nurse anesthesia programs must take. The SEE is utilized as an evaluative tool to measure preparedness for the national certifying exam; an examination that all student registered nurse anesthetists must pass in order to become certified to administer anesthesia. The curriculum review seeks to improve student learning and retention of knowledge of the SEE content by  adapting useful study strategies and organizational skills, and increasing motivation and self-efficacy.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-44531
title: Evaluation of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Jewish Communal Service curriculum
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-626016
title: Cost analysis of drop out prevention programs: a case study of a district's online credit recovery program

description: Online learning has become an alternative method to educating students around the world.  Online access has allowed students to take courses at their own paces, choose curriculum that meets their learning needs, and design their own educational plans.  Research has found that online learning has become a means to meet the needs of high school credit deficient students.  Online credit recovery provides high school students an alternative means to meeting graduation requirements.  However, as more districts across the country begin to implement these types of online credit recovery programs, design must be considered.  This study examined a district’s online credit recovery program.  A cost analysis was conducted to compare the costs associated with online credit recovery and face-to-face credit recovery.  The study found that there were significant differences in cost, but that implementation and design of the program could close the cost gap
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-627881
title: Defining function of an autism pathway in human neuronal cells

description: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1% of the population and causes deficits in social interaction, communication and behavioral flexibility. Autism is highly heritable, but multiple genes appear to contribute to the disorder. Recent research indicates that several genes in the phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway contribute to autism risk (Levitt & Campbell, 2009, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 119: 747). Moreover, many neurodevelopmental syndromes like neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis and Fragile X, having significant rates of co-occurring autism, show evident disruption in the signaling of the PI3K pathway. ❧ Dysfunction of the PI3K pathway signaling has been described extensively in cancer cells, and although it has received substantial implications in ASD, it has not been studied in brain cells. To begin to understand how PI3K signaling is disrupted in autism, we propose experiments in human neuronal cell lines that use the tools developed by years of cancer research. The cancer literature indicates this pathway can be manipulated by the use of pharmacological inhibitors of PI3K. We plan to study the effect of an array of inhibitors of PI3K as well as its individual subunits on the cellular signaling pathway of these neuronal cell lines.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-637474
title: Commitment language in a behavioral employment program for gang-affiliated youth

description: The Behavioral Employment Program (BEP) is one of a number of promising interventions focused on job training and placement as a means of reducing juvenile recidivism among gang-affiliated youth. Rehabilitative interventions are presumed to work best for offenders who are motivated to change, but court-referred clients and gang-affiliated youth may enter therapy with low levels of readiness to change. Eliciting commitment language during treatment may improve readiness to change, increase treatment compliance, and promote positive outcomes. BEP counseling sessions of 5 probation-referred, gang-involved youth between the ages of 17 and 18 were audio-recorded and coded for the presence of commitment language. Multilevel model-fitting analyses showed a significant positive relationship between the strength of commitment language and homework compliance. However, the strength of commitment language did not significantly predict more hours employed. These findings imply that gang-involved youth who make stronger commitment statements are more likely to actively engage in counseling activities. Further research on possible therapist techniques for promoting juvenile offenders‘ commitment language during counseling is needed.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-640595
title: The roles of calpains and SIRT1 in rodent hippocampal synaptic plasticity

description: Learning and memory are important functions shared by the living world. In humans, these two functions are a result of brain plasticity and have been studied extensively in the hippocampus, a forebrain structure residing in the medial temporal lobe. Hippocampus is best known for participating in the formation of episodic memory and for exhibiting a special form of synaptic plasticity − long-term potentiation (LTP). LTP is a long lasting enhancement of synaptic transmission resulting from high frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons. LTP is widely accepted as a molecular biological mechanism underlying certain types of learning and memory. In this dissertation, I evaluate the roles of two protein families, calpain and sirtuin, in rodent hippocampal LTP and contextual fear conditioning learning, which is a hippocampus-dependent task. Calpain is a calcium-dependent neutral protease and sirtuin is NAD⁺-dependent deacetylase. By using calpastatin (an endogenous calpain inhibitor) knockout and over-expressing mice, as well as viral vector-mediated in vivo shRNA interference targeting two ubiquitous calpain isoforms (μ- and m- calpains) in adult rats, I found that calpains might not be directly implicated in the type of LTP induced by customized theta burst stimuli. On the other hand, different calpain isoform deficiencies led to changes in cell excitability, presynaptic properties and NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic responses. In contrast, SIRT1 (sirtuin-1) knockout mice revealed the indispensable requirement of SIRT1 for normal learning, memory and LTP, while over-expressing SIRT1 in the brain did not substantially affect learning and memory or synaptic plasticity.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-646690
title: The association of NK and NKT with immune activation in HIV-infected women

description: HIV-1 and HCV infections represent two major public health issues. In addition, HIV is closely related to innate immunity mediated through NK and NKT cells. Immune activation is a hallmark of HIV infection impacting innate immunity. Our main objectives are: (1) to evaluate correlates of NK and NKT cell levels in HIV-infected women, and (2) to evaluate the association of NK and NKT cells with levels of immune activation in HIV-infected women. ❧ Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models with an identity link function were used to complete linear regression analyses incorporating dependent observations in our research. Our study systematically evaluated the association between NK/NKT cell level and immune activation markers. We determined that (1) CD4, CD8 and age were significantly positively correlated, while HIV viral load was significantly inversely associated with NK level; (2) CD4 and CD8 were significantly positively correlated, while HIV viral load was significantly inversely associated with NKT levels; (3) high levels of CD8+CD38-DR+ and CD4+CD38-DR- T cell activation in HIV-infected women are positively associated with NK level; (4) high levels of CD8+CD38-DR-, CD8+CD38-DR+ and CD4+CD38-DR- T cell activation in HIV-infected women are positively associated with NKT level.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-656224
title: Mentorship as a means to increase the social capital of urban youth

description: Mentoring programs provide students with access to social capital and benefit them in emotional, social, academic and professional ways. Providing students an edge in these areas is integral to their success and ability to compete in the global economy of the 21stst century. Utilizing a theoretical foundation of social learning theory and social capital theory, this project aims to understand existing ways that schools and external mentoring organizations are currently providing mentoring opportunities to urban youth in an effort to design a framework to be implemented and utilized by a large urban school district in a continuous fashion that would make mentorship a permanent and sustainable component of high school education.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-674248
title: Heraclitus' children: bodies, brains and culture at play

description: This project analyzes the function of children in the philosophical remains of the late 6th century BCE philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus. I suggest that through their disruptive play we can discern a theory of the emergence of mind and the functioning of culture that destabilizes subsequent accounts of epistemology and social organization in Plato and Aristotle. I paint Heraclitus as a materialist thinker who interrogates the nature of time and the role of the body in the activity of thought. Similarly I argue that his valorization of the fragmented and the concealed models a form of historical practice that unsettles the linear and progressive emphases of traditional accounts of the development of Greek wisdom.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-104443
title: Effects of an intensive group experience upon individual self-concept
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-106032
title: An Evaluative Study of the Group Counseling Program for High School Students, Office of Narcotics Education Resources, Centinela Valley Union High School District
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-127909
title: A survey of Los Angeles area administrators' perceptions regarding the nature and extent of citizen, community and other inputs utilized in the development of agency policy and decision making: Family counseling
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-151321
title: After the glass is broken: Lay participation of recently married couples in the Jewish community
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-344398
title: Higher education leadership and governance: a comparative analysis of university presidential leadership styles and their effectualness on institutional governance

description: The purpose of this study was to determine: 1) How do college presidents utilize internal and external networks to govern? 2) What leadership styles are put into practice as college presidents interact with these networks as measured by Bolman and Deal’s four frames? 3) How do college presidents evaluate the effectiveness of their governance approach? and, 4) What knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed to serve as president of a California State University? This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach in which 10 California State University presidents completed a survey and five presidents participated in structured interviews. The study’s findings show that the majority of CSU Presidents are allocating approximately 50-60 percent of their time working externally. The researcher found that presidents operate internally and externally with the help of a good cabinet team, an increasing sense of accountability, and private funding. The study also revealed that, in general, the symbolic and human resource frames are the top two primary leadership styles utilized. Additionally, the researcher found that presidents shift their frames depending on the situation and environment. It was also determined that presidents felt some variation of listening and obtaining feedback plays a role in how they evaluate their effectiveness as institutional leaders. The researcher also discovered that some presidents rely on data to evaluate their effectiveness. Lastly, the study found that the majority of presidents think the most challenging issue they face today and in the future is the steadily increasing trend of state divestment in higher education. The knowledge, skills, and abilities that are needed to serve as a CSU president and address this great challenge are leadership, entrepreneurship, and the strategic usage of technology. The research findings of this study have practical applications for current and aspiring executives and managers in higher education.