THE AFRONOGRAPHIC NARRATIVE: A LITERARY PRACTICE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY AND THE PRESERVATION OF MA’AT

Using Afrocentric methodologies, this dissertation argues that the Afronography, content analysis, and literally analysis of the interviews, the lives and works of Black women writers, specifically, Toni Cade Bambara, Mari Evans, Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez (BEGS), provide a model for increasing African cultural identity and ethics. As writers within this cultural movement, the Blacks Arts Movement (1965-1975) allowed BEGS to tell their stories, providing tools for their communities to build, examine and interrogate what it meant to have an African consciousness and ritualistic practice toward liberation. BEGS empowered the community in their roles as educators, mothers, and sisters, through their written literature. Additionally, they uniquely utilized their craft to promote truth, which prioritized the African principle of Maat. Thus, this study provides highlights the ways their participation within a movement holds impact and led African Americans to a practice of new rituals in America, that serves as an African continuity extending from Kemet. This inquiry defines Afrocentric Ìgbaradì, the Afronographic Narrative and extrapolates themes of Black womanhood to establish poignant aspects of the foundation established by these writers. Their influence imagined a future intellect where African art creates a narrative and regains its value to be praised through the hands of its creator rather than stolen legacies.Africology and African American Studie

Analysis of the impact of macro policies and enterprise factors on the efficiency of small and medium-sized CHINESE enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises have always been the main force of economic development in our country, carrying its financing difficulties and expensive problems have been much concerned. This dissertation aims to study the factors affecting the financing of SMEs and focuses on the perspective of macro policies and enterprises themselves. Based on this, this dissertation uses the panel data of listed companies in China's SME Board and GEM Board from 2009 to 2022. First, using factor analysis method, this dissertation constructs a comprehensive index of corporate efficiency by using 7 financial indexes, such as debt and owner's equity, debt-to-interest ratio and profitability. Secondly, it examines the influence of macro-policies (tax incentives and fiscal subsidies) and enterprises' own factors on the efficiency of SMEs. By using the intermediary effect model, this dissertation further analyzes financing constraints and enterprise innovation level as the mechanisms by which macro policies affect the efficiency of SMEs and analyzes the heterogeneity of enterprise efficiency according to the nature of enterprise ownership, degree of industry competition and enterprise scale. The empirical results show that macro policies (tax incentives and government subsidies) have a positive effect on the efficiency of SMEs. Corporate factors, including corporate scale, ownership concentration, market-to-book ratio and establishment years, have a positive effect on corporate efficiency, while market-to-book ratio has a negative effect on corporate efficiency. This paper finds that macro-policies (tax incentives and government subsidies) affect the efficiency of enterprises through two mechanisms: easing financing constraints and improving the innovation level of enterprises. In addition, for enterprises with low industry competition, the preferential tax policies are more obvious. No matter for the nature or size of enterprises, tax incentives and government subsidies have no significant effect on the financing of enterprises. These findings emphasize the key role of macro policies and corporate factors in improving the efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises. It provides an important reference for relevant decision-makers to formulate more effective policy measures to support the financing needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and promote their sustainable development.Global Financ

Superintendent and Equity Director Perspectives on the Equity Director Position in Suburban School Districts

The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd in 2020 renewed efforts to address long-standing inequality within American society (M. Lewis et al., 2023; E. Meyer et al., 2022). Some school districts responded to these demands by increasing attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. These efforts sometimes included hiring equity directors to advance DEI priorities (M. Lewis et al., 2023; Matschiner, in press). However, districts had little information to draw from either the empirical and/or professional literatures to inform decisions regarding these roles. Superintendents set conditions for change within a district and are key players in establishing and supporting equity director positions. Yet little is known about the factors that influence superintendents’ conceptualization and decision-making involving these positions. There is also a paucity of research regarding the role that superintendents play in creating the necessary conditions (before and after hiring) for equity directors to succeed in their roles. To begin to address this limitation in the literature and profession, this study examines internal and external factors that influence superintendents’ conceptualization, establishment, and support of equity director positions within their districts. Drawing on racialized organizations theory, the study explores the impact that internal and external factors play on decision making regarding the equity director role. Qualitative analyses of interview responses from 15 superintendents and 19 equity directors showed that superintendents relied on their understanding of their community’s needs and on colleagues in and out of their districts to inform their conceptualization and operationalization of the equity director’s roles and responsibilities. Moreover, internal factors like organizational and budgetary constraints and the stance of the school board; as well as external factors like the suburban context, and political and community dynamics, influenced decisions to establish and operationalize equity director positions. Internal and external factors impacted the structure of the position and the experiences of those hired to serve in these positions. Equity directors and superintendents reported wrestling with the complexities of navigating equity work in dynamic political conditions within a racialized context. Participants reported that equity work was unlike other change work that educators engaged in and required attentiveness to the dynamics of race (McCambly and Colyvas, 2023).  Educational Leadershi

Administrator Knowledge of Early Reading Instruction

Reading achievement continues to be a significant focus in the U.S. educational system. Despite an abundance of evidence about the importance of early reading instruction, prior research has shown that many pre-service and in-service general education and special education teachers are not knowledgeable about basic reading concepts. Less is known about administrator knowledge of early reading instruction. School administrators often make decisions regarding professional development in reading for teachers. Since school administrators are making these decisions, it is important that their knowledge of early reading instruction is studied. The purpose of this study was to extend the research base by examining the knowledge that administrators have related to early reading instruction as well as their confidence in evaluating teachers of reading. The national questionnaire was completed by kindergarten through sixth grade administrators and incorporated questions from the Survey of Language Constructs Related to Literacy Acquisition, an instrument originally designed to assess teacher content knowledge of basic language constructs.Overall, the data indicated that administrators are confident in their ability to provide feedback to teachers about early reading instruction. However, their knowledge is not extensive, and the relationship between knowledge and confidence, while significant, is modest. The data also showed that the administrators' degree (Master’s or doctorate) does not affect either their knowledge or their confidence. What seems to be most important is the number of courses that administrators have taken in early reading instruction.Special Educatio

3D Printing & Plastic Surgery Scoping Review

To identify studies to include or consider for this scoping review, the review team worked with a librarian (SB) to develop detailed search strategies for each database. The PRISMA-ScR extension was followed for search reporting. The librarian (SB) developed the search for PubMed (NLM) and translated the search for every database searched. The PubMed (NLM) search strategy was reviewed by the research team to check for accuracy and term relevancy. All final searches were peer-reviewed by another librarian, Rebecca Fülöp, MLIS, PhD, following the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS checklist). The databases included in this search are [list of databases: PubMed (NLM), Embase (Elsevier), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics), Science Direct (Elsevier), CINAHL (Ebscohost), DOSS Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (ebscohost) , and Cochrane (Wiley) using a combination of keywords and subject headings. A grey literature search included and Trip Pro Medical Database (https://www.tripdatabase.com) and Medrxiv https://www.medrxiv.org. All final searches were performed on September 11, 2024 by the librarian and were fully reported to the research team on September 13, 2024. The full search strategies as reported by the librarian are provided in Appendix(___). They are also archived at [DOI].Lewis Katz School of MedicineTemple University (Health Sciences Center Campus). LibraryPlastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer CenterKrausz Library of Podiatric MedicineTo identify studies to include or consider for this scoping review, the review team worked with a librarian (SB) to develop detailed search strategies for each database. The PRISMA-ScR extension was followed for search reporting. The librarian (SB) developed the search for PubMed (NLM) and translated the search for every database searched. The PubMed (NLM) search strategy was reviewed by the research team to check for accuracy and term relevancy. All final searches were peer-reviewed by another librarian, Rebecca Fülöp, MLIS, PhD, following the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS checklist). The databases included in this search are [list of databases: PubMed (NLM), Embase (Elsevier), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics), Science Direct (Elsevier), CINAHL (Ebscohost), DOSS Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (ebscohost) , and Cochrane (Wiley) using a combination of keywords and subject headings. A grey literature search included and Trip Pro Medical Database (https://www.tripdatabase.com) and Medrxiv https://www.medrxiv.org. All final searches were performed on September 11, 2024 by the librarian and were fully reported to the research team on September 13, 2024. The full search strategies as reported by the librarian are provided in Appendix(___). They are also archived at [DOI]. A summary of the search results: PubMed (NLM) from 1809 to 9/11/2024 (4,321 Results) Embase (Elsevier) from 1974 to 9/11/2024 (3,351 Results) Cochrane Central Registry of Trials (Wiley) from inception to 9/11/2024 (201 trials) Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics) from 1900 to 9/11/2024 (1,610 results) Science Direct (Elsevier) from inception to 9/11/2024 (1299 results) CINAHL (Ebscohost) from 1976 to 9/11/2024 (2017 results) DOSS (Ebscohost) from inception to 9/11/2024 (1035 results) MedRxiv (https://www.medrxiv.org/) from inception to 9/11/2024 (332 results) TRIP Pro Medical Database from 1867 to 5/17/2024 from inception to 9/11/2024 (7 results) The search resulted in 14,175 studies. 3,169 duplicate studies were found and omitted by the librarian [SB] using EndNote 20 following the Wichor Bramer duplicate identification strategy. This resulted in 11,006 records to screen from databases and websites. Studies were screened by title and abstract by two blinded and independent reviewers. If a tiebreaker was needed, a third reviewer was called in. This process was repeated for full text article screening and article selection. Abstract To identify studies to include or consider for this scoping review, the review team worked with a librarian (SB) to develop detailed search strategies for each database. The PRISMA-ScR extension was followed for search reporting. The librarian (SB) developed the search for PubMed (NLM) and translated the search for every database searched. The PubMed (NLM) search strategy was reviewed by the research team to check for accuracy and term relevancy. All final searches were peer-reviewed by another librarian, Rebecca Fülöp, MLIS, PhD, following the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS checklist). The databases included in this search are [list of databases: PubMed (NLM), Embase (Elsevier), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics), Science Direct (Elsevier), CINAHL (Ebscohost), DOSS Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (ebscohost) , and Cochrane (Wiley) using a combination of keywords and subject headings. A grey literature search included and Trip Pro Medical Database (https://www.tripdatabase.com) and Medrxiv https://www.medrxiv.org. All final searches were performed on September 11, 2024 by the librarian and were fully reported to the research team on September 13, 2024. The full search strategies as reported by the librarian are provided in Appendix(___). They are also archived at [DOI]

Characterizing levels of granularity in the neural bases of motivated memory

Our memory system is highly complex and contains numerous features ranging from fine-grained, event-specific details through high-level conceptual knowledge. With immense amounts of constant incoming information, limitations on our memory system do not allow us to encode every detail into long-term memory. Thus, memory is prioritized for the information that is most valuable or important to our current or future goals (Adcock et al., 2006; Murty & Adcock, 2017). While this literature has shown a link between motivation and memory in general, our recent work has begun to characterize how motivation targets different aspects of memory, with evidence suggesting a focus on higher-level features (Horwath et al., 2023; Horwath & Murty, in-prep). Yet, investigating the neural bases of this process will further our understanding of the structure of memory. We tackled this question using representational similarity analysis (RSA) to first characterize the granularity at which reward is represented categorically or continuously in the brain, and then measure how those representations relate to subsequent memory. We measured pattern similarity in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and a larger network containing anterior temporal (AT) regions, which supports conceptual information, and posterior medial (PM) regions, which support event-specific details. Results showed hippocampal (HPC) and AT involvement in representing categorical aspects of motivation, while PM tracked continuity across value. The AT and PM networks also revealed an important role in supporting successful memory for high- and low-value information, respectively. Together, this work highlights the importance of understanding the neural processes underlying the complexities of motivated memory.Psycholog

Assessing Citation Practices in First-Year Writing: A Computational-Rhetorical Approach

Existing research on students’ citation practices has tended to focus on the formal and linguistic characteristics of citation (Howard et al., 2010; Swales, 2014), without fully examining their underlying rhetorical functions or the influence of classroom genres on citation practices. Smaller-scale studies have yielded meaningful insights into the rhetorical dimensions of citation (Haller, 2010), but these have been challenging to scale up, and proposed coding schemes have had limited applicability to L1 first-year writing contexts (Petric, 2007; Lee, Hitchcock, and Casal, 2018; Zhang, 2023). This study responds to calls for a better understanding of the rhetorical strategies first-year writing students employ when citing sources, as well as improved program-level assessment methods to capture their citation practices across classrooms and courses. My dissertation study examines the rhetorical practices of citation employed by students within a foundational academic writing course, ENG 101: Introduction to Academic Discourse, at a large urban research university. Combining qualitative coding and computational text analysis, the study investigates three key research questions: 1) What rhetorical practices of citation do students learn to employ within a foundational academic writing course? 2) To what extent do different genres condition different practices of citation? and 3) To what extent do students' citation practices differ—within and across genres—in relation to the scores they receive? This study reveals that students primarily engage sources for three rhetorical purposes: to Report information from and about sources (without imposing an interpretive lens); to Transform source material through analysis, application, and synthesis; and to Evaluate a source’s content, argument, and/or rhetorical effectiveness. The study found that higher-scoring student papers demonstrated more frequent use of Evaluating sources while lower-scoring papers tended to rely more heavily on Reporting from sources. Additionally, the analysis uncovered distinct citation profiles across the key genres assigned in the course, with the Rhetorical Analysis paper requiring the highest levels of Evaluating and Transforming, the Brand Analysis emphasizing Transforming, and the Review Paper displaying lower overall source engagement. The dissertation contributes to the field's understanding of citation practices in first-year writing, offering a framework for assessing the rhetorical dimensions of student citation that can be adapted for use within the context of local writing programs to support outcomes assessment, curriculum design, and classroom pedagogy attuned to the rhetorical dimensions of source engagement.EnglishAccompanied by one .zip file : 1) Kane_temple_0225E_171/Kane_Supplementary_Materials.zi

Sociopolitical Influence and the Impact of Deterrence: An Examination of the ICC's Effectiveness in Preventing Global Human Rights Abuses

Imagine a world where perpetrators of repeated human rights abuses can escape justice and even sabotage the efforts of those who seek to hold them accountable. This is the reality that the International Criminal Court (ICC) faces in its mission to deter and prosecute international crimes. In this paper, I will argue that the ICC is largely ineffective in deterring human rights abuses by leaders abroad, based on descriptive qualitative studies of several cases involving Russia, Afghanistan, Libya, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, and Kenya, where political influence, among other related factors, undermined the court’s authority and legitimacy. My research question is as follows: How effective is the ICC in deterring international human rights abuses by leaders? I hypothesize that the ICC is mostly ineffective in deterring human rights abuses abroad, especially by political leaders, albeit with a few notable exceptions. Utilizing information from primary sources, such as the press comments of relevant politicians and firsthand news articles detailing the events, and secondary sources, such as court documents and journal articles, This paper argues that the ICC is not only circumvented, but frequently undermined by political influence. Renown executives, such as the George Bush administration in the U.S. or William Ruto in Kenya, were able to directly interfere with investigation efforts by witness tampering or manipulating legal loopholes. In these cases, innate vulnerabilities were exposed, showing the ICC can be rendered powerless against human rights abuses. A historical and theoretical study on these cases and the implication of their respective ICC interactions will be the leading basis of my paper.Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Social SciencesTemple University. College of Liberal Art

CHARACTERIZING THREAT’S INFLUENCE IN POST-ENCODING REACTIVATION AND ITS DOWNSTREAM CONSEQUENCES ON MEMORY REPRESENTATIONS

Threatening events influence memory systems in complex ways. While it was once believed that emotion enhanced all aspects of memory, recent evidence suggests that it improves recall of emotional central features, but not neutral peripheral details (Payne & Kensinger, 2011). Other studies show that emotion can enhance context, retroactively benefiting related neutral events over time (Dunsmoor et al., 2015). Notably, both effects emerge after sleep, indicating a role for memory consolidation. Recently, Cowan et al. (2021) proposed that consolidation not only strengthens salient information but also adaptively transforms memories via semanticization and integration. In this dissertation, we adopt this adaptive memory framework to investigate behavioral and neural markers of threat memory transformation. First, using free recall changes over a week as a behavioral measure of memory transformation, we show that higher subjective arousal predicts greater semanticization, with fewer episodic details retained over time. Next, functional connectivity analyses reveal a division between anterior and posterior hippocampus: the posterior hippocampus, in conjunction with the basolateral amygdala and sensory cortex during encoding, is linked to less memory semanticization, while the anterior hippocampus, coupled with the lateral occipital cortex and precuneus during post-encoding, predicts greater semanticization. Moreover, representational similarity analyses reveal that long-term memory reinstatement is strongest in the precuneus, resembling early encoding patterns, with both hippocampal regions shifting over time towards gist representations, albeit with varying granularity. Finally, we report a negative relationship between neural reinstatement in the lateral occipital cortex and memory semanticization, suggesting that detailed cortical representations help preserve event details over time. These findings support the adaptive memory model (Cowan et al., 2021), emphasizing the dynamic roles of the hippocampus, amygdala and cortex in threat memory transformation.PsychologyAccompanied by 1 .zip Archive file: 1) Supplementary Material : (Tanriverdi_temple_0225E_15946_Supplementary_Materials (1)

Advancing Molecular Epidemiology: Enhanced Methods and Applications in Pathogen Transmission Network Analysis

The use of genomic information has gained increasing relevance in epidemiology and public health, particularly the inference of genetic networks of highly evolving pathogens like HIV. This approach offers objective evidence that allows for tracking transmission dynamics, and guiding intervention. However, the virus's high genetic diversity, combined with variations in risk factors and transmission rates among affected populations, leads to substantial differences in epidemic dynamics across different epidemiological contexts. Additionally, transmission networks inferred using a distance threshold often create many spurious edges among closely related sequences, resulting in abiological transmission cycles. Management of these networks as new sequences are generated also fuel a desire to track cluster growth over time. It is therefore advisable to develop molecular analysis tools that better capture the unique landscape of each epidemic, providing a portrayal that more closely mirrors the real epidemic scenario. This dissertation introduces novel tools aimed at optimizing genetic network analysis for epidemiological purposes, with a focus on HIV-1 but with stated potential further application in other pathogens. Due to their greater convenience compared to phylogenetic methods, the inference of transmission networks through genetic distance methods has been widely used for near-real-time surveillance of HIV-1. Published research using the HIV-TRACE software package frequently uses the default threshold of 0.015 substitutions/site for HIV \textit{pol} gene sequence. In Chapter 2, Weaver \textit{et al.} introduces AUTO-TUNE, a heuristic scoring method to adaptively tune the distance threshold, to prevent giant cluster formation and maximize cluster numbers. This method was applied to various outbreaks, considering regional or temporal differences, to identify clusters with specific risk factors. For instance, we found the 0.015 threshold suits US-like epidemics, but a lower threshold of 0.005 better captures outbreaks like the CRF07 BC subtype among MSM in China. Conversely, a larger threshold is needed for regions where diverse risk factors and sparse sampling occur over longer periods. This adaptive approach aids public health officials in making more informed interventions. Genetic distance and phylogenetic tools often yield densely connected clusters, with many spurious edges that create unrealistic cycles, overestimating connectivity and inflating node degrees. In Chapter 4, we present a scalable approach, Conditionally Orthogonal Vertices For Edge Filtering in Epidemics (COVFEFE), to prune spurious edges through a straightforward application of the PC (unroll) algorithm originally developed for Bayesian graphical models. COVFEFE removes edges likely to be indirect, preserving cluster membership. It eliminates 29\%–80\% of spurious edges in simulated transmission chains with low intra-host mutation rates and 4\%–39\% in real HIV-1 epidemic data, often simplifying dense clusters to chains. Filtered networks align better with theoretical models, affecting analysis and modeling methods that use node or edge properties. COVFEFE is part of the HIV-TRACE molecular network inference package. The heterogeneity in risk factors and characteristics of the HIV-1 epidemic worldwide demands adapting bioinformatics tools for different contexts to meet local needs. In Chapter 4, we present HIV-TRACE GO, an extension of the HIV-TRACE software designed to enhance global HIV molecular epidemiology surveillance. This web application, developed primarily in JavaScript, enables real-time molecular surveillance with features tailored for multi-jurisdictional data management and internationalization. HIV-TRACE GO has been successfully implemented at CIENI-INER, a WHO-accredited HIV-1 sequencing reference laboratory in Mexico, demonstrating its feasibility for both local and international applications. We discuss the software architecture, key customizations, and its potential impact on public health surveillance.Biolog