cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-639058
title: The relationship of racial identity, subscription to stereotypic roles, and perceived environmental expectations to academic achievement in adolescent African-American girls

description: This quantitative study examined the relationship of racial identity, stereotype subscription, and perceived environmental expectations to academic achievement in 134 adolescent African-American girls. Students from a single urban school district completed an 80-item survey that measured the variables of interest. Racial identity and subscription to stereotypic roles were measured using existing instruments; the Cross Racial Identity scale and the Black Girls Perception Scale. Perceived environmental expectations were measured using an instrument developed for this study, the PEE scale. Student responses to survey questions were coupled to each participant’s combined California Standardized Test (CST) score for English and Math, and correlations were calculated using multiple linear regressions. ❧ Three types of environmental expectations: expected achievement, sanctioned achievement, and aberrant achievement were found to significantly predict CST scores. Additional analyses were conducted using MANOVA which showed nearly significant differences in racial identity scores between students at grade level and those below grade level in the Assimilation and Multicultural subscales. However, no significant differences were found in stereotypic role subscription between girls at grade level and those below grade level. ❧ The results presented help explain the complexity of the achievement gap, and how identity may facilitate academic outcomes. Additionally; implications, limitations, and discussion for future research are presented.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-105931
title: Services available for the Spanish-speaking/Spanish-surnamed population in the central Los Angeles area: A descriptive study
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-139474
title: A study of the influence of busing on child care arrangements and involvement in school activities of employed parents
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-140137
title: Social factors and stresses associated with driving accidents
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-148314
title: Suicide prevention center---a follow-up study
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-315609
title: Differential expression analysis of RNA-seq with empirical likelihood-ratio test and prognostic utility of cancer RNA-seq data

description: High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has been widely used to quantify transcriptomes. However, differential expression analysis of genes based on read counts remains statistically complicated and challenging. This dissertation first presents an empirical likelihood-ratio test with a mean-variance relationship constraint (ELTSeq) for the differential expression analysis of RNA-seq. Robust to individual heterogeneity and taking read-count overdispersion into account at the same time, ELTSeq demonstrates a significant improvement over existing methods. It will significantly advance the transcriptomics studies of cancers and other complex disease. The second part of the dissertation focuses on incorporating RNA-seq data with traditional clinical variables to make better survival prediction for cancer patients. While efforts have been made to incorporate molecular data with traditional clinical variables to make better survival prediction, no significant improvements have been achieved. Instead of using the traditional feature screening and a penalized Cox regression model with L1 penalty, principal component analysis (PCA) is applied and consistent improvements are observed across multiple cancer types.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-354547
title: From prison to reentry: a journey of change through rehabilitation, education and nurturing opportunities within sites of resilience

description: The purpose of the study was to understand the obstacles incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men of color face in their pursuit of self-help, vocational and higher education, and how participation in rehabilitative and educational programs enabled them to find nurturing opportunities within their sites of resilience. This study posed four research questions related to the participants’ formative years, their trajectory to prison, programming in prison, including self-help, vocational, and higher education, and how this can be improved. This study used a qualitative research design and interviewed six formerly incarcerated men of color who served time in California state prisons, participated in programming while incarcerated, and were released no more than five years prior to the study. The study used the critical race theory, Latino/a critical race theory, and the site of resilience theory as the conceptual frameworks and posed semi-structured open-ended questions during the interviews. The findings were that participants experienced the school-to-prison pipeline and, through self-help, vocational, and/or higher education, were able to understand their crimes and the impact of their crimes, and gain skills and knowledge to be successful upon reentry. The findings also suggested the importance of offering various types of programming at all prison levels and that, through programming, participants found nurturing sites of resilience. Recommendations for prison authorities and educators is to increase programming opportunities for all inmates, provide incentives to motivate inmates to participate in self-help programming, improve training for correctional officers and wardens, and finally to include activities and events that include both correctional officers and inmates.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-383888
title: Heterochromatin factors in euchromatic DNA double strand break repair in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

description: Heterochromatin domains at the centromere are essential for faithful chromosome segregation, DNA replication and chromosome stability. Studies in mammalian and Drosophila systems have identified novel roles for heterochromatin proteins in DNA damage response. He we show that heterochromatin proteins Clr4 and Swi6 are integral parts of the double strand break repair pathway in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We also find that clr4 is required for RPA recruitment and end resection in double strand break repair. Further, we find that in the absence of clr4 double strand breaks utilize the NHEJ protein pku70 outside of the G1 phase.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-632886
title: Sex differences in expressed emotion among Mexican American and Euro Americans caring for a relative with schizophrenia

description: Given its importance in many domains of social interaction, we expected gender to play an important role in family caregiving related to serious mental illness. However, gender has received little attention in expressed emotion (EE) research and the few studies comparing men and women often lacked adequate statistical power to detect differences. The present study draws on data from six prior studies to compare levels of EE by patient sex, caregiver sex, and ethnicity among a sample of Mexican American and Euro American families. Prior research on gender stereotypes and agency and the role of perceived agency in EE informed our hypotheses. We predicted that there would be more criticism of male patients among both ethnic groups, but emotional overinvolvement (EOI) and warmth would be more prevalent for female patients in Mexican American families and male patients in Euro American families. Comparisons by caregiver sex were exploratory in nature. Mexican American and Euro American patients with schizophrenia and their family caregivers (n = 329) participated in the study. EE was assessed with the Camberwell Family Interview. With a MANOVA, we found no effect of patient sex or the patient sex-by-ethnicity interaction on EE indices. However, caregiver sex and the interaction term were significantly associated with criticism, EOI and warmth. With follow-up univariate tests, we found that levels of EOI and warmth were higher for female key relatives as opposed to males among both ethnic groups. The ethnic differences identified by prior research were still present when key relative sex was considered, with Mexican American caregivers having higher levels of EOI and warmth than Euro Americans. Euro American caregivers were more critical than Mexican Americans, but there was no difference in criticism by caregiver sex. These results suggest that caregiver sex is an important variable in understanding EE.  The finding that female caregivers have higher levels of EOI and warmth than males can inform future interventions. It suggests that current interventions that focus on reducing criticism should be complimented by strategies to lower EOI, particularly for female caregivers. At the same time, a balance must be achieved so as to not reduce these relatives’ warmth. The finding that EOI is more prevalent among female and Mexican American caregivers suggests that this emotional stance is associated with an orientation towards the family.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-120171
title: Remarrieds incorporated a study in effective self-help
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-127713
title: An exploratory study on: The attitudes toward work needs, and life satisfaction among older citizens
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-247356
title: Applying diffusion theory to clinical genetics: characteristics associated with provider intention to use personalized medicine for smoking cessation

description: Smoking cessation remains a challenge for scientists, physicians, and patients alike. New technology has revealed unique biological pathways and drug-metabolizing genes associated with successful cessation. This new innovation provides predictive power that could one day be integrated into clinical practice. This study examined the unique perceptions and barriers to clinical integration of personalized medicine for smoking cessation among a sample of primary care providers. Previous research found that calling a test “genetic” is a barrier to physicians using new technologies. This study further evaluated test preference in a modern context. It was hypothesized that the providers would be more likely to recommend the test described as metabolic biomarker versus genetic. A within-subject, cross sectional design compared the intention to use scores for both tests among a sample of primary care providers recruited at professional conferences in the Los Angeles area. Both scenarios were presented to all participants in an online survey. Secondary aims were conducted to identify more specific clinical and theoretical associations with intention to use. Providers were statistically significantly more likely to offer the metabolic biomarker test to patients than the genetic test (77.72% versus 74.53%). The characteristics of the tests, according to diffusion theory, such as relative advantage, complexity, and trialability were considered. Results will guide future health professional education planning and will help shape clinical practice guidelines.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-318748
title: Camera rolling: set for success

description: Why would a Columbia University trained filmmaker, first in his class, give up the lure of Hollywood for the love of hope? This thesis takes the form of a broadcast magazine piece focused on Darryl McCane: a filmmaker, a college professor, and for the last 11 years, the film teacher at Washington Prep High School, in south central Los Angeles. McCane says he has seen more than 60 of his students killed since 2005, many due to gang violence in this neighborhood riddled with crime and drugs. McCane nearly became a victim himself in a shootout on the campus in 2008, was offered a transfer, but decided to stay. He says the rewards of bringing hope to students, are worth facing the risks of teaching in this neighborhood. ❧ McCane says his film class has turned potential drop-outs into college graduates. He knows he cannot save everyone, but he feels like this quality education lifts them all up and some of them out of the neighborhood and gives all of them hope.
DOI: 10.25549/feucht-c35-451
title: Lion Feuchtwanger behind barbed wire in Les Milles, 1939

description: Lion Feuchtwanger behind barbed wire in the internment camp in Les Milles, 1939
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-624392
title: Risk of prion disease transmission through bovine-derived bone substitutes

description: Background:  Despite epidemiological and laboratory evidence for the causal association between variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), bovine origin graft materials are widely used during dental surgical procedures. The aim of this study is to assess the risk of BSE transmission through bovine bone substitutes by a systematic literature review. ❧ Methods: A systematic review was performed on studies in MEDLINE published in English between 1998 and 2010 to evaluate the risk of BSE transmission from bovine-derived bone graft materials. ❧ Results:  Search strategy identified 1912 potentially relevant studies, and 25 studies were included in the final analysis. Wide distribution of PrPSc and BSE infectivity was detected in peripheral nerve system and other tissues including bone marrow and serum samples. Low levels of prion infectivity in non-central nervous system (CNS) tissues appeared increased with contamination by CNS tissues with potentially high prion infectivity during bovine slaughtering and carcass handling process, and washing facilities could not eliminate the CNS tissue contamination occurred on bovine carcasses, operatives, and abattoir machinery. Proteins were detected in some deproteinized anorganic bovine bone substitutes, and inactivation of BSE prion infectivity by biomaterial manufacturing processes has not been proven. Additionally, PrPSc , a current surrogate marker for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) infectivity including BSE, was not always detected in tissues containing BSE infectivity, and  inconsistent results among different PrPSc detection methods was not uncommon. ❧ Conclusion:  This review indicates that bovine-derived graft biomaterials carry a risk of prion transmission to patients.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-633567
title: Teachers' use of a differentiated curriculum for gifted students

description: Teachers have the responsibility to educate a diverse group of students in heterogeneous classes. One way in which teachers meet this challenge is to differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of each student. One particular group of students in need of a differentiated curriculum to maximize learning potential is the gifted students. America‟s gifted students are not being given the chance to develop their talents to their fullest capabilities (Dixon et al. 2004). The problem that has surfaced throughout this study can be viewed through two different perspectives: concerns pertaining to teachers‟ ability to connect theory into practice and concerns pertaining to accountability. It is evident, due to the current era of accountability, that teachers are under pressure to raise test scores, resulting in a focus on underachieving students. The quality of general education and gifted curriculum is at risk due to primary concerns with minimal competency (Hockett, 2009). However, the GATE standards (2005) recommend that all gifted students receive a differentiated curriculum that focuses on depth, complexity of content, acceleration, and novelty. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the type and degree to which teachers of the gifted differentiate curriculum in heterogeneous classrooms. This mixed methods study consisted of a survey followed by an observation of teachers who taught a gifted cluster of third through fifth grade students in a heterogeneous classroom. Various tests were conducted and the data analyzed to determine a relationship between what the teachers reported they used to differentiate for gifted students and what was actually observed taking place in the classroom. The results from the Spearman‟s Rho test found a correlation of -.570, which indicated a negative relationship between what the teachers reported in the surveys and what was observed in their classrooms. This negative correlation may be due to the challenge teachers face when applying theory they have learned in professional development training into practice. Educational researchers and professional developers need to understand the dilemmas and choices teachers have to make when applying what they have learned into practice (Battey, D. & Franke, M., 2008). Additional research is needed to support teachers of the gifted in the ability to bridge the theory to practice gap, resulting in an optimal learning environment for our most capable students. Gifted students have as much right to have their unique academic needs met as students anywhere else on the talent scale (Stanley, G., 2002).
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-651735
title: Persian paradise gardens: history, elements, influences

description: Mankind's advance has depended on pivotal discoveries: fire, the wheel, movable type.  When it was gleaned that water could not only be contained but compelled to move, man stopped wandering to forage and began to cultivate. In Central Asia, specifically Persia, tribes deciding to say awhile set up camp on the great, barren Persian plateau and used fences to stop blowing winds and biting sands. Making water available where it didn't naturally occur gave man a power he had lacked. He began to control his environment. The celebration of this transition led to the year-round garden.  Persians developed the form by starting with a quadrangle and introducing water through openings on each side. By intersecting the water channels at right angles, four sections of gardens could be flooded, or irrigated, and allow constant crop production. What are generally accepted as the oldest remains of a garden of this design are located on the Iranian plateau and date to the second millennium B.C. As man developed his environment, he similarly developed his thinking about his place in the universe. Hence, four approaches to deliver water to the garden reflect ancient mythology holding four rivers of creation. A terrestrial garden was first the celestial garden that pleased the gods then  a paradise garden that bore the promise of reward after death by one god. Pools of standing water reflected the sky; trees reached for the sky; flowers bloomed in a constant reminder of the mystery and magic of life. ❧ More than output from fruit trees or blossoms of flowers, the garden became a spot for architecture to provide a nice place to observe the contrived arrangement of nature. Small buildings, pavilions or open-fronted kiosks were placed at pivotal points. The entire scheme was surrounded by a wall, one that might contain elaborately designed gates or watchtowers. Water could stand or move, its stillness providing a sense of quiet to encourage meditation, its movement offering pleasing sounds that could rouse convivial cheer at social events or keep conversation from being overheard by other garden visitors. A slightly sloping site kept the elements in play. The design lent itself to modest or lavish creations and served as model to palace designs from the Iberian Peninsula across northern Africa and east to the mountains of India. Europeans would embrace the garden culture by the 19th century. Beyond garden influence, the geometric layout influenced urban planning throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-657916
title: Cliffs in splendor

description: Cliffs In Splendor is a fifteen-minute piece for full orchestra completed in the fall of 2011. The work, consisting of three major parts, begins slowly but soon quickens to a fast pace. A slow lento follows, succeeded by a fast and rhythmic finale. ❧ The work has an instrumentation of piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, clarinet in E-flat, two clarinets in B-flat, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns in F, three trumpets in C, three trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, crotale (bowed), vibraphone, chimes, triangle, tambourine, cymbals (suspended and crash), tam-tam, bass drum, celesta, harp, and strings. ❧ Commissioned by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c127-672333
title: Reliability-aware and low power design techniques

description: As CMOS transistors are scaled toward ultra deep submicron technologies, circuit reliability will be one of the most important challenges in the following years for the semiconductor industry. Reliability is defined as the ability of a circuit to satisfy its specifications over a specified period of time under particular conditions. ❧ Circuit reliability issues can be categorized in two parts. One is the aging effects and the other one is the transient effects. Aging effects are the problems which arise during circuit operation over the time. Negative-Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI), Hot Carrier Injection (HCI), Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) and Electromigration (EM) are the most important aging problems in today’s VLSI design. Transient effects are the temporary problems which happen during the circuit operation. The most famous one is the soft error. ❧ On the other hand, one of the other most important challenges in today’s IC design is the dramatic increase in the power consumption of the electronic devices. This has made the energy efficiency of circuit components and computing systems a very important concern. Energy efficiency is especially desirable for portable electronics (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc) because it lengthens the battery lifetime. Almost half of the total chip power consumption is due to leakage power at deep submicron technology nodes; hence, leakage power consumption plays a substantial role in the energy efficiency of the circuits. ❧ This dissertation is divided into two parts. In the first part, we discuss the reliability effects. First we go over soft error as a transient reliability issue and consider the effect of event upsets caused by energetic particle hits. We show that the conventional analysis of this effect in sequential circuit elements tends to underestimate the threat posed by such events. A transistor- level sizing technique is introduced to solve the problem. Later, NBTI as an aging process is introduced. The effect of NBTI on the setup and hold timing constraints imposed on the flip-flops in the design is investigated. Next, we introduce a multi-corner optimization problem to minimize the energy-delay product of the flip-flops. ❧ The second part of this dissertation is focused on leakage power minimization. Timing analysis during synthesis and physical design is pessimistic, which means there are some slacks available to be traded for leakage power minimization. We introduce our post sign-off leakage power minimization technique to take advantage of these slacks. In this approach, the available slack can be traded for leakage power minimization by footprint-based cell swapping and threshold voltage assignment.
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c39-213021
title: Can casework services stimulate non-visiting relatives to visit chronic schiizophrenic patients?
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-147708
title: Dependent allowances in unemployment compensation in the United States
DOI: 10.25549/usctheses-c40-148055
title: Factors in clients' dropping out at the Pasadena Child Guidance Clinic after making application for services