Boutique Branding: Televisually Signifying the Feminine Business-Owner

While women-owned businesses continue to grow, increasing 58 percent from 2007 to 2018 (Guidant Financial, 2019),producing on-brand communication content remains a challenge. Adding to the challenge, this branded communication must combat the societal narrative that women are less capable of running a business than men and utilize the complex mode of televisual storytelling. The purpose of this creative thesis was to incorporate the work of woman television producers and writers from the comedy-drama genre with semiotics theory to create five webisodes of branded entertainment that married the contradictory sign systems of woman and business owner. By analyzing and implementing the televisual conventions of the comedy-drama genre (specifically the narrative structures, characterization, and visual storytelling through mise en scene and production elements), I created five scripted, episodic webisodes that combatted gender stereotypes and joined in the conversation to marry these two contradictory signs for a woman-owned business in Charleston, IL. This creative thesis is important as it can inspire other women who are business owners, considering running a business, or in media production to keep changing this societal narrative

To Be or Not To Be Satisfied: Examining Job Satisfaction of Entry-Level Residence Life Professionals at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Research on historically Black college and universities (HBCUs) as institutions of higher education is limited. There is even less scholarship that brings forth an understanding of student affairs at these institutions. A gap in the higher education, student affairs, residence life, and job satisfaction literature suggested a need for research on residence life professionals at HBCUs. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine job satisfaction of entry-level residence life professionals at HBCUs. For this study, the researcher looked for factors that contributed to overall job satisfaction and further examined the roles of both gender and public or private HBCU on job satisfaction. Herzberg’s two-factor theory was used as the framework for this study and the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) by Paul Spector (1994) was used to collect data for further examination. The researcher found factors that agreed and disagreed with factors suggested by Herzberg that contribute to job satisfaction or job dissatisfaction. No statistically significant differences of gender and/or public or private HBCU on overall job satisfaction were found; however, mean scores suggested that there were some varying feelings toward job satisfaction for all groups. As a result of this study, there is not more insight about residence life professionals as representatives of student affairs administrators in the field of higher education in HBCUs. Also, there is a greater knowledge about feelings toward job satisfaction with relation to gender and public or private HBC

The Northern Forum Report

The Northern Forum was provided as a special venue where Inuit leaders could formulate views and recommendations regarding CZC conference topics and priorities. It consisted of three sessions co-chaired by Thomas Suluk of Nunavut and Randall Pokiak of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) during the afternoons of 15, 16, and 17 August. The meetings were open to the public, but active participation was restricted to northern leaders and their staff. They were conducted primarily in Inuktitut, with English interpretation provided. The deliberations began with a roundtable discussion, in which a number of issues were raised for the Forum’s consideration

Investigations of biological interactions by hydrogen deuterium exchange Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry: novel methods, automated analysis and data reduction

textHydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange is used to investigate biological interactions by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS). For the first time, a series of oligonucleotides of varying length are interrogated by negative mode gas phase H/D exchange. Data presented describes the reactivity of these oligonucleotides and correlates reactivity to functional moieties of the model compound. The results of the study are subjected to center of mass analysis, a technique that uses the high mass resolving power of FT-ICR MS to facilitate an isotope-counting / abundance-weighted algorithm to determine deuterium incorporation. A maximum entropy method produces the relative reaction rates for each of the model compounds. Curve fitting of rates reveal >90% correlation between the areas of individual rate curves and available hydrogens. Observed data is consistent with literature reported reaction mechanisms. This work describes the successful implementation of the thorough high resolution analysis of spectra by Horn (THRASH) algorithm for the analysis of electron capture dissociation (ECD) spectra. Speed improvements in THRASH arise from optimized libraries and use of modern processors. The nonergodic nature of ECD alleviates deuterium scrambling and affords improved localization of exchange data. An ECD spectrum of ubiquitin is subjected to automated THRASH analysis resulting in 85% sequence coverage. Automated data analysis is extended to the batch processing of entire high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) FT-ICR MS experiments. Center of mass calculations are determined by combining the data from multiple scans to maximize signal. Data is output as a single spreadsheet. Results of automated and manual data processing are compared. Complete analysis of a H/D exchange study is completed in two hours, rather than the two months required for manual analysis. Results based on this method are demonstrated for biological interactions of HIV capsid and Nop5-fibrilliarin complex. New FT-ICR hardware increases data station throughput and reduces the amount of back exchange in liquid phase studies. The improved data station shows a three-fold improvement in scan speed and collects scans every 1.25 s. No significant loss of performance results from increased scan rates. Faster scan rates result in better chromatographic resolution and decreased spectral complexity.Chemistry and BiochemistryChemistr

Student Suicide: Policies, Procedures, and Prevention Strategies

This poster presents legal issues related to student suicide on university and college campuses in the United States. Some of the key concepts include issues related to FERPA and liability; if an institution is responsible for preventing suicides; existence of a “special relationship” held between institutions and students in regards to suicide; and the idea of a duty to warn/notify. The poster presents recommendations for policies, procedures and prevention strategies for institutions of higher learning. A few highlighted cases with regard to student suicide include: Mahoney v. Alleghaney College, Jain v. Iowa, and Bogust v. Iverson

Land Claims and Resistance to the Management of Harvester Activities in Nunavut

In 1976, Inuit leaders in what is now Nunavut began the long process that led to a comprehensive land claim to regain control of their lives and land. Previously, they had seen their economic, social, political, educational, and belief systems diminished and the people disempowered by the imposition of Western systems, structures, and practices. To reverse the existing relations, Inuit leaders had to call upon the ideologies and institutions of the dominant society—a process greatly misunderstood by Inuit harvesters and others within the communities. The disconnect between Inuit harvesters’ expectations of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement (NLCA) and the realities experienced in the communities have made ocean resource management a site of growing resistance in the North. Common misconceptions were that the Nunavut Government would be an Inuit government and that land-claim “compensation” would involve per capita distributions and injections of cash into the hunters and trappers’ organizations. Instead, communities were expected to abide by the decisions of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board—a tripartite joint-management arrangement between the federal and territorial governments and Inuit organizations—and to cooperate with the increasing demands from government departments and science researchers for local information and participation. The community response to these impositions was to obscure the gaze of inquiring governments and outsiders through creative acts of resistance. To mediate the situation, increased involvement from federal and territorial resource managers in terms of support, capacity building, information exchange, and federal/territorial/community relationship building is encouraged.En 1976, les leaders inuits de la région qui s’appelle maintenant le Nunavut ont amorcé ce long processus qui les a menés à une revendication territoriale d’envergure pour reprendre leurs vies et leurs terres en mains. Avant cela, leurs systèmes économique, social, politique et scolaire de même que leur système de croyances avaient été diminués au point où le peuple se sentait affaibli par l’imposition de pratiques, de structures et de systèmes occidentaux. Pour renverser les relations qui existaient à ce moment-là, les leaders inuits ont dû faire appel aux idéologies et aux institutions de la société dominante — un processus que les Inuits qui récoltent les ressources et d’autres membres de la collectivité ont eu bien du mal à comprendre. En raison de la différence entre les attentes des Inuits qui récoltent les ressources à l’égard de l’Accord sur les revendications territoriales du Nunavut (ARTN) et les réalités vécues dans les collectivités, la gestion des ressources océaniques est devenue un enjeu de plus en plus important dans le Nord. Parmi les idées fausses véhiculées, notons le fait que le gouvernement du Nunavut aurait été un gouvernement inuit et que la « compensation » au titre des revendications territoriales aurait pris la forme de distributions par habitant et d’injections de capital destinées aux organismes de chasse et de pêche. À la place, les collectivités ont été obligées d’obéir aux décisions du Conseil de gestion des ressources fauniques du Nunavut — un groupe de gestion tripartite composé des gouvernements fédéral et territorial de même que d’organismes inuits — et de faire preuve de coopération vis-à-vis des exigences croissantes de divers ministères et chercheurs scientifiques en quête d’information et de participation dans la région. La réaction de la collectivité à l’égard de ces impositions a consisté à embrouiller l’insistance des gouvernements et d’autres parties en organisant des actes de résistance créatifs. Afin d’arbitrer la situation, on encourage une plus grande participation de la part des gestionnaires fédéraux et territoriaux de ressources en matière de soutien, de renforcement des capacités, d’échange de l’information et de formation de relations entre le secteur fédéral, le secteur territorial et le secteur communautaire

Tangible User Interfaces and Metaphors for 3D Navigation

The most fundamental and common 3D interaction is the control of the virtual camera or viewpoint, commonly referred to as navigation. The navigational requirements of controlling multiple degrees of freedom and maintaining adequate spatial awareness are big challenges to many users. Many tasks additionally demand large portions of cognitive effort from the user for non-navigational aspects. Therefore, new solutions that are simple and naturally efficient are in high demand. These major challenges to 3D navigation have yet to be satisfactorily addressed, and as a result, there has yet to be a declaration of a suitable unified 3D interaction technique or metaphor. We present a new domain and task independent 3D navigation metaphor, Navigational Puppetry, which we intend to be a candidate for the navigational portion of a unifying 3D interaction metaphor. The major components of the metaphor - the puppet, puppeteer, stage, and puppet-view - enable a new meta-navigational perspective and provide the user with a graspable navigational avatar, within a multiple-view perspective, that allows them to ‘reach’ within the virtual world and manipulate the viewpoint directly. We position this metaphor as a distinct articulation of the front wave of a puppetry related trend in recent 3D navigation solutions. The metaphor was implemented into a tangible user interface prototype called the Navi-Teer. Two usability studies and a unique spatial audio experiment were completed to observe and demonstrate, respectively, the metaphor’s benefits of tactile intimacy, spatial orientation, easy capture of complex input and support for collaboration

Design-of-experiments in vitro transcription yield optimization of self-amplifying RNA

Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines are able to induce a higher antigen-specific immune response with a more cost-effective and rapid production process compared to plasmid DNA vaccines. saRNAs are synthesized through in vitro transcription (IVT) however; this process has mainly been optimized for relatively short mRNAs. Here, we optimized the IVT process for long saRNAs, approximately 9.4 kb through a design of experiment (DoE) approach to produce a maximal RNA yield and validated the optimal IVT method on various sizes of RNA. We found that magnesium has the highest impact on RNA yield with acetate ions enabling a higher yield than chloride ions. In addition, the interaction between magnesium and nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) is highly essential for IVT. Further addition of sodium acetate (NaOAc) during IVT provided no added benefit in RNA yield. Moreover, pyrophosphatase was not essential for productive IVT. The optimal IVT method can be used to synthesize different lengths of RNA. These findings emphasize the ability to synthesize high quality and quantity of saRNA through IVT and that the optimal amount of each component is essential for their interactions to produce a high RNA yield

Design-of-experiments in vitro transcription yield optimization of self-amplifying RNA

Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines are able to induce a higher antigen-specific immune response with a more cost-effective and rapid production process compared to plasmid DNA vaccines. saRNAs are synthesized through in vitro transcription (IVT) however; this process has mainly been optimized for relatively short mRNAs. Here, we optimized the IVT process for long saRNAs, approximately 9.4 kb through a design of experiment (DoE) approach to produce a maximal RNA yield and validated the optimal IVT method on various sizes of RNA. We found that magnesium has the highest impact on RNA yield with acetate ions enabling a higher yield than chloride ions. In addition, the interaction between magnesium and nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) is highly essential for IVT. Further addition of sodium acetate (NaOAc) during IVT provided no added benefit in RNA yield. Moreover, pyrophosphatase was not essential for productive IVT. The optimal IVT method can be used to synthesize different lengths of RNA. These findings emphasize the ability to synthesize high quality and quantity of saRNA through IVT and that the optimal amount of each component is essential for their interactions to produce a high RNA yield