"Who do you think you are?": A multidimensional analysis of the impact of disparities in higher educational attainment within families of first-generation college graduates
Year of Dissertation:
2013
This project explores the impact of disparate educational attainment between first-generation college graduates and their family members. This is a conscious shifting of the unit of analysis, from the changing social position and power of an individual student/graduate, to the relational capacity, tensions, and strategies of the family unit that is inclusive of the graduate. This shift in the unit of analysis, from the individual to the family, interrogates the function of higher education by broadening the range of outcomes associated with post-secondary education and credentialing beyond the economic advancement of the graduate. There are currently very few studies of this population that investigate post-degree attitudes and experiences and none of which ask questions about family relationships. Few if any studies have addressed how educational disparities within the family are perceived by other family members, particularly parents and siblings. This work investigates the nature of this affect/effect, primarily from the perspective of the graduate, but also reaching toward a greater understanding of the perspective of family members as well.
NEURAL SUBSTRATES OF VISUAL PROCESSING AND OBJECT RECOGNITION DEFICITS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA
Year of Dissertation:
2012
Mounting evidence has shown that patients with schizophrenia have preferential deficits of the magnocellular versus the parvocellular visual system. Experiment 1 examined this deficit in schizophrenia patients utilizing an electrophysiological paradigm. Patients showed preferential magnocellular deficits in electrophysiological response indicative of impaired contrast gain (response amplification at low contrast) and contrast gain control (inhibition of responses at high contrast), which are used preferentially by this pathway to optimize responses. Patients also displayed deficits in psychophysical contrast sensitivity, further showing deficient contrast gain in the magnocellular pathway. These electrophysiological and psychophysical deficits were associated with neuropsychological and emotion processing deficits, which predicted functional outcome.
HOUSEHOLD DENSITY AND ACADEMIC STANDING AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE EFFECTS OF TIME ORIENTATION AND SPATIAL SELF-REGULATION
Year of Dissertation:
2012
The purpose of the study was to develop a multifactorial model tracing paths from housing affordances to academic outcomes in higher education. The study sought to connect two areas of psychological research: on one side, the adverse effects of environmental stressors and inadequate self-regulation upon life course prospects and, on the other, the affective, behavioral, and cognitive elements of purposive self-regulation used by college students toward long-term goal attainment.
The Role of the Dorsal Hippocampus in the Contextual Control of Appetitive Responding
Year of Dissertation:
2011
Four experiments were run using rat subjects in order to assess the impact of manipulations to the dorsal hippocampus (DH) on the contextual and temporal control of extinguished appetitive learning (e.g., magazine approach). Subjects were trained to associate discrete stimuli with food in specific locations or at specific times. The subjects then had these associations extinguished by means of omitting the food reinforcers following stimulus presentations. In order to assess contextual and temporal modulation of learning the stimuli were tested within as well as outside of the contexts or times where/when they were extinguished. Control subjects showed reduced responding when stimuli were presented within their extinction contexts (physical and temporal) whereas responding recovered outside of these extinction contexts (i.e., renewal and spontaneous recovery). In order to assess DH function in these different instances of response recovery, neurotoxic lesions of the DH prior to tests or temporary muscimol-induced inactivation of the structure were used. The results of these studies indicate that while DH manipulations fail to affect conditional control of appetitive extinction learning by physical contexts, they do impair control when temporal contexts are used as a conditional cue.
An Empirical Analysis of Adult Romantic Attachment and Sexuality
Year of Dissertation:
2012
The purpose of this dissertation was to empirically explore the relationship between adult romantic attachment and sexual functioning in a sexual partner who is viewed as an attachment figure, a target of caregiving or both. Guiding this dissertation was the expectation that underlying the four prototypical patterns of adult romantic attachment is a distinct pattern of positive and negative working models of attachment of self and other that shape the way individuals experience and engage in sexuality.
Sex Differences in Systemic and Central Morphine Analgesia in Rats: Organizational-Activational Gonadal Hormone Interactions and Roles of Gonadal Hormone Accumulating Nuclei
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Sex differences in morphine analgesia are commonly seen following systemic and intracerebral administration with male rats displaying greater analgesic magnitudes and potencies than females. The purpose of this dissertation research was to elucidate further possible neural mechanisms which elicit these differences. Due to its common roles in both antinociceptive and reproductive behaviors, we hypothesized that the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) is subject to sex differences upon morphine analgesia sensitive to organizational-activational manipulations of gonadal hormones as well as lesions of hypothalamic estradiol-containing nuclei. Thus, the first experiment examined the organizational manipulation of gonadal hormones and effects of adult ovariectomy or estradiol replacement and systemic morphine analgesia. To assess the generalizability of these effects, the second experiment evaluated these differences upon morphine analgesia elicited from the vlPAG as well as the interaction between organizational and activational gonadal hormone manipulations. The third experiment then evaluated the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and the medial preoptic area (MPOA) hypothalamic estradiol-containing nuclei's contribution to and their possible role by which female rats display a smaller opiate analgesic effect.
On the way to becoming an adult in urban America: Similarities and differences between men and women
Year of Dissertation:
2011
The term emerging adulthood coined by Jeffrey Arnett (2004), attempts to describe the tumultuous lives of individuals in their 20's. Emerging adults in western society are characterized as postponing adult commitments and responsibilities while completing their extended education, trying out and then establishing careers and exploring relationships (Arnett, 2000, 479).
Representations of Colorism in the Jamaican Culture and the Practice of Skin Bleaching
Author:
Christopher Charles
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Advisor:
William Cross Jr.
This study deconstructs the images that influence Jamaicans to bleach their skin. Social representation theory (SRT) is used to pinpoint the origins of colorism and then trace its entrenchment in the culture and communications. SRT theorems say (1) the social images have a history; (2) these images are diffused and become embedded in the culture; (3) people use these images to understand their environment and create identities; (4) over time, repeated social exchanges become institutionalized culture; and (5) the images in the culture can be easily triggered and overheard in conversations. History data was collected from colonial and contemporary newspapers; the diffusion data was collected from popular songs, poems, and a novel; identity data was collected from interviews; institutionalization data was captured from participant observation of skin bleaching vendor-customer transactions; dialogic data was collected from a focus group interview. The findings are that the complexion consensus is a historical continuum in old and new newspapers. Colorism is contested in reggae and dancehall songs and literary works. The repeated vendor-customer exchanges reveal that skin bleaching is an established cultural practice. Participants use colorism to define themselves which influences them to bleach their skin. Colorism was heard in participants' conversations about race and skin bleaching. The results suggest that the complexion consensus is a hegemonic representation which influences the beliefs and behavior of the skin bleachers in Jamaica.
Morphological Development and Taxonomy of Cortical Neurons in Mouse Barrel Cortex: The Effect of Sensory Deprivation During the Critical Period
Year of Dissertation:
2013
Neurons are the basic processing units and the fundamental building blocks of the nervous system, and understanding neuronal morphology provides a necessary first step towards comprehending the composition of the cortical microcircuits that perform cognitive computations within the cerebral cortex. Utilizing a histological impregnation technique that labels neurons in their entirety, detailed morphologies of barrel cortical neurons were investigated and the effect of chronic sensory deprivation explored. This research produced a number of key findings: 1) neurons in layer VI of the barrel cortex, which receives inputs from the contralateral facial whiskers, are composed of six geometrically distinct and morphologically heterogeneous populations; 2) chronic sensory deprivation of whisker-related input spanning across early neonatal development can considerably influence neurons' geometric properties, with structural alterations observed in somatic, apical and basilar dendritic features in layer VI of barrel cortex; 3) cortical response to disruption and restoration of sensation, as assessed by quantifying and categorizing dendritic protrusions, is cortex-layer specific and age-dependent, and a key protein regulating the content of extracellular matrix is upregulated following disruption of sensory experience. The main conclusions drawn from this research were that the composition within cerebral cortex is definable yet highly complex, and neurons respond to the ever-updating sensory environment by modifying their morphology and molecular content within the cerebral cortex. Characterizing neuronal elements provides a framework for better understanding of structure-function relationships within neocortical circuits in general, and how the sensory input provides the essential mechanisms for the appropriate development of cerebral cortex, an important prerequisite for proper perceptual functioning.
PATHWAYS TO HIGH-LETHALITY SUICIDE ATTEMPTS
Year of Dissertation:
2012
The purpose of this study was to develop a model of the trajectory to high-lethality suicidal behavior for individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). An increased number of previous suicide attempts, substance use immediately prior to the attempt, and objective planning were proposed to lead directly to an attempt of higher lethality. Meanwhile, aggression and impulsivity were hypothesized to lead indirectly, through their association with past suicidal behavior, to a higher lethality attempt. Path analysis revealed a revised model that applied only to individuals with BPD. In this final model, impulsivity was found to be significantly associated with higher-lethality suicide attempts and the frequency of an individual's past suicidal behavior. Additionally, the traits of impulsivity and aggression were found to be significantly correlated in the multivariate model. Pathways linking alcohol use at the time of the attempt to the lethality of suicidal behavior and aggression to the frequency of an individual's past suicidal behavior were not found to be significant, and no model using the variables of interest in this study could be determined for individuals with MDD. These results are discussed in light of current theories of suicidal behavior and in terms of their implications for clinical practice.