Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis study chronicles the first 40 years of appearances by presidential candidates on late-night talk television beginning with Nixon and Kennedy in 1960 to Bush and Gore in 2000. This dissertation exposes a historical trend in presidential campaigning and uncovers an increasing use of late-night talk television as a political communication forum. Media use and influence have evolved from campaign to campaign and by the 2000 campaign, late-night talk show appearances were seemingly obligatory. Presidential campaigns are important to the governance of our country and our democratic society. Through these elections, the authority of the government is given by the approval of the American people. The quality of any particular election is a function of the interplay among candidates, media and voters. The media's role in this process is the conduit disseminating information, which voters learn about their candidate. The changing media environment, where television has become the primary source of political information and changes in how news covers elections, has influenced candidate strategies creating the use of alternative media venues. In today's mass media culture, voters seem to want more than just speeches and policy papers from their candidates. They want to get to know them as people. Media uses have shifted towards the age of image politics with the consequence of millions of voters make their decisions about candidates based on personal characteristics and likeability. Research has shown that personal qualities or "likeability" are stronger predictors of voter choices than issues or ideology. Candidates are now opting to use alternative avenues like late-night talk shows to communicate their messages and sell their likeable images. These shows have become a more efficient means to an end. Today image politics dominate and entertainment television genres are a significant factor in election outcomes. Entertainment shows may be useful to sell a candidate's image but the benefit to the democratic process is debatable

Reclaiming Queerness: Self, Identity, and the Research Process

This article explores some of the challenges and benefits of doing a dissertation with participants from a population to which I belong and on a topic some consider controversial, that of gay and lesbian educators. I describe the homophobia I experienced and how that homophobia affected my choice of topic, the research process, and my job prospects. Each step of this research journey presented me with a variety of delicate decisions. I discuss my thought processes in resolving these dilemmas and some of the practical solutions I used to address a variety of difficulties. Although written specifically about doing research with gay and lesbian teachers, many of the lessons I learned throughout this process can be applied to a range of research situations. For example, many researchers share cultural backgrounds with their participants. This presents both the opportunity to establish rapport with participants quickly but also the danger of the researcher reading his or her own experiences into the data. I describe some of the ways I addressed this issue as well as others commonly faced by those doing dissertations. I conclude that doing a dissertation on a topic I feel passionately about sustained me throughout the dissertation process

An Analysis of the Potential Toxicological Effects of Marine Plastics and Associated Organic and Inorganic Toxic Compounds on Six Commercially Significant Fishery Species

Marine plastics are a global issue which has garnered significant support for mitigation efforts in recent history. Research on the prevalence of plastic polymers in the marine environment has also come to the forefront of the scientific community, however studies on the toxicological impacts of their presence remains to be a little studied matter to date. In this study an intensive critical review of existing data was conducted to compile profiles (including: stability ranks, sorption capacities, organic and inorganic toxic constituent concentrations, bioaccumulations scores per constituent, biomagnification scores per constituent, and totaled threat scores out of five) for the three most common plastic polymers present in the Southwestern Atlantic region. These three polymer types were assigned total toxicity threat scores based upon the sum toxicity of their organic and inorganic constituents. Basic trophic structure level rankings were generated for the six most commercially significant fishery species in the Southwest Atlantic were generated and the toxicological effects of the three polymers of interest on each species were calculated. It was determined that biomagnification scores are significantly affected by trophic level rank, indicating that higher trophic level organisms experience significantly higher rates of biomagnification of toxic plastic constituents. No significant effect of polymer stability was observed on threat score. Toxicological effects and Minimal Risk Levels (MRL) at which those effects are seen were compiled for each constituent, with the majority of constituents being reported as present in concentrations higher than the listed MRL before the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification took place. Exposure to carcinogenic/toxic concentrations of toxic substances associated with marine plastics is significant in species that occupy higher trophic level positions, putting a major resource (commercial fisheries) at risk as well as that risk being extended to human health via the consumption of commercially significant fishery species

Does religion teach empathy and helpfulness? The role of fundamentalism and target of need in the religion-helping relation

The empathy-altruism hypothesis predicts that when social expectation for helping is low, empathy will facilitate, and distress will attenuate, helping (Batson, 1991). Based on this prediction, this study explored the relations among religious fundamentalism, emotional reactions of empathy and distress, and helping behaviour, for differing targets of need. One hundred thirty-three introductory psychology students (38 male, 95 female), of varying levels of religious fundamentalism, read a letter ostensibly written by a person hoping to attend university during the coming academic year. The letter indicated that the author had concerns about coping with the demands of university studies. The potential student was represented as being either a young heterosexual adult or a young homosexual adult. Participants were asked to indicate how likely they would be to offer help to such a student. Emotional reactions to the individual in need were assessed, as were numerous attitudinal and dispositional variables. It was predicted that individuals higher in religious fundamentalism would react with low empathy and high distress to the homosexual target, and hence, helping would be attenuated for this target. While fundamentalism was positively correlated with distress in reaction to the homosexual target, the predicted impact upon helping was not found. Results did indicate, however, that individuals high in fundamentalism were more likely to help when they perceived the target to be similar to themselves, and less likely to help when the target was perceived as dissimilar. Additionally, the helping of those higher in religious fundamentalism was less likely to be mediated by emotion than it was for those lower in religious fundamentalism It is suggested that the helping behaviour of individuals higher in religious fundamentalism may be motivated by a desire to maintain values

Characterization of a thiopurine S-methyltransferase from Leptospira borgpetersenii and assessment of pre and posttesting in the middle school classroom

ABSTRACT Spirochaete is a diverse phylum of Gram-negative bacteria that is located under the order, Spirochaetales, which is divided into three families: Spirochaetacea, Brachyspiraceae, and Leptospiraeae. Research was focused on the latter, specifically, the genus, Leptospira. Leptospira consists of many saprophytic, intermediate pathogenic, and pathogenic species, with L. interrogans (transmitted via contaminated water) and L. borpetersenii (acquired via host to host transmission) causing the majority of leptospirosis cases. To gain insight into the pathogenesis of Leptospira, a putative thiopurine S-methyltransferase (LBJ0800) was exploited. Because this gene is not present in any of the sequenced spirochetes, Brachyspira, Borrelia, Treponema, except Leptospira, and even then, only in L. borgpetersenii, work was concentrated on this novel gene. The open reading frame predicted to encode the putative thiopurine methyl S-methyltransferase (645 bp) was PCR amplified and directionally cloned into pET101 with a polyhistidine tag at the C terminus to provide plasmid, LBJ0800/pET101. To confirm the presence of a functional recombinant thiopurine S-methyltransferase, the expression construct was introduced into E. coli BL21 Star (DE3) cells, which were then grown in LB broth for IPTG-initiated induction of the protein. Cells were harvested by centrifugation, resuspended in Lysis Buffer and purified by a Ni-NTA metal-affinity column. Western blot analysis confirmed the purified, recombinant protein with a molecular mass of approximately 28 kDa. In the second chapter, in vivo characterization of the putative thiopurine S-methyltransferase was analyzed. It was determined by ELISA experiments and immunohistochemistry studies that although LBJ0800 is an unique protein, it was not expressed during infection at detectable levels. In chapter 3, research efforts focused on characterizing the gene enzymatically. Demonstrating substrate specificity, LBJ0800 methylated 6-thioguanine, validating its putative function as a thiopurine S-methyltransferase

The Influence Of Television And Film On Interest In Space And Science

Entertainment media has the great potential to inspire interest in the topics it presents. The purpose of this study is to better understand how entertainment media contributes to people\u27s interests in space and science. There is a huge variety of science communication topics in previous literature, some of which deals with television and film, but very little that specifically study how television and film can inspire interest. A historical review of pioneers in the space industry shows that many were inspired by entertainment media, which at the time consisted of science fiction novels and magazines. In order to explore the possible relationships among influences for scientists and non-scientists and to determine specific questions for future research, I created and distributed an anonymous, online survey. The survey is suggestive, exploratory research using a convenience sampling method and is not meant to provide scientifically accurate statistics. 251 participants completed the survey; 196 were scientists and 55 were non-scientists. The survey showed that the participants did identify entertainment media as a major influencing factor, on a comparable level as factors such as classes or family members. Participants in space-related fields were influenced by entertainment media more than the participants in other fields were. I identified several questions for future research, such as: Are people in space-related fields inspired by entertainment media more than other scientists are? Are non-space-related scientists often inspired by space-related media? Do people who regularly watch science fiction tend to be more scientifically literate than average

Improving the nutritive value of whole-crop wheat for dairy cows

A series of experiments was carried out to investigate ways of improving the nutritive value of whole-crop wheat (WCW) for dairy cows. Experiment One examined the effects of mechanical processing and alteration of forage cutting height at harvest. Digestibility was improved when urea-treated WCW was mechanically processed at harvest with no effect on milk yield and composition. Increasing forage cutting height decreased dry matter intake (kg/day), increased condition score and reduced milk fat content. Experiment Two investigated the effects of carbohydrate supplementation to mechanically processed urea-treated WCW and included a comparison between maize silage and mechanically processed urea-treated WCW. Cows fed lactose supplemented WCW had numerically higher milk yields than those supplemented with wheat or molasses with no effect on milk component yield (kg/day). Dairy cows fed mechanically processed urea-treated WCW and maize silage performed similarly but animals fed WCW ate proportionally 0.24 more than those fed maize. Experiment Three comprised two parts; the first examining the effects of form of urea applied at ensiling at two stages of maturity. All forages harvested at 550 g DM/kg (except those receiving the urea + urease additive), fermented, indicated by their low pH (< 4.5). At 800 g DM/kg all forms of urea were released resulting in an alkaline pH. Part two of the experiment examined the effects of three stages of maturity and additive treatment to WCW. All forages were aerobically stable with additive application reducing microbial numbers. Additive application is necessary at dry matter contents of 600-700 g DM/kg to prevent microbial growth and additional urease is required at ensiling to promote rapid, extensive hydrolysis of urea and an enhanced NDF digestibility. The production of high DM urea-treated WCW without a reduction in starch digestibility is now possible through the use of mechanical processing. There is also potential to improve performance through the development of appropriate supplementation strategies

The Influence of Implicit and Explicit Gender Bias on Grading, and the Effectiveness of Rubrics for Reducing Bias

The effect of implicit bias on discriminatory grading in education has received considerable attention but, to date, no study has examined the effectiveness of using a rubric to reduce biased grading. Current research has demonstrated that the presence of a gender-normative name is sufficient to activate implicit gender bias, which can result in disparate treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of implicit and explicit gender bias on grading decisions for written assignments. When grading identical essays on the topic of computers (stereotypically-male), participants assigned significantly lower grades when the essay was supposedly written by a female author, compared to a male author. This difference was more pronounced in participants who had a stronger implicit association of men with science (high implicit bias). Male and female author grades did not differ when assigned by participants who were low in implicit bias. Further, participants who were high in implicit bias, but reported low explicit prejudice toward women in STEM graded the female author more harshly than the male author. This study also investigated the effectiveness of using a rubric to decrease bias effects on grading. Unexpectedly, use of the rubric enhanced the effect of implicit bias on grading when the author gender and essay topic were stereotype-inconsistent (i.e. female computer author). It is possible that rubric use further depleted cognitive resources already limited by dissonant implicit and explicit attitudes. While rubrics might increase the perception of objectivity, they might also inadvertently serve to amplify the effect of implicit gender bias when the topic being graded is strongly-gender normative

Where\u27s My Daddy? Effects of Fatherlessness on Women\u27s Relational Communication

The purpose of this thesis research was to understand the relationship between father absence and women\u27s communication styles in romantic heterosexual relationships under social cognitive theory. Two studies were conducted using a multi-method research approach in order to triangulate the results. Seven fatherless women were interviewed to arrive at a better understanding of how father absence informed their romantic relational experiences. Specifically, the topics of relationship roles, self-disclosure, expression, and self-silencing in romantic relationships were examined in the interviews. Participants reflected on what growing up fatherless meant to them and whether or not this had any influence on the role they played (dominant, submissive, egalitarian), and how open or closed they were in their romantic relationships (from their own perspective). Open communication refers to whether or not individuals express their thoughts, feelings and needs as well as how often they express these thoughts to their partners. Questions were also asked to determine whether these women self-disclosed intimate details to their romantic partners or self-silenced themselves. An online quantitative survey (N=131) examined similar research questions and tested predictions based on the results of the first qualitative study. The results from the interviews indicated that fatherless women consider themselves to be open, able to easily express themselves, independent and even dominant in their romantic relationships; yet despite holding these characteristics, these women remained in dysfunctional relationships for long periods of time. Further, when self-silencing did occur, it was because they did not want to not push their significant others away. There was also a tension between wanting to hold a dominant role in their romantic relationships and also being attracted to men who hold stereotypical male gender roles. Hence, there was a tension with agreeing or disagreeing with these socially constructed gender roles. In the second study, women who grew up fatherless had a significantly less happy childhood upbringing than those who had fathers. Also, in line with the results from the first study, fatherless women tended towards higher scores on self-disclosure, greater ease of expression, and lower scores on self-silencing. Significant associations were found between negative relationship with father and relational self-esteem, overall self-disclosure and overall self-silencing in romantic relationships. The respondents who had negative relationships with their fathers self-disclosed less in their romantic relationships and self-silenced more, hid their feelings more, and privileged their romantic partners in communication interactions. Taken together, findings from this triangulated study add to the nascent body of work examining and explaining the deleterious fallout from father absence on women\u27s communication and other variables in their romantic relationships