Having a secure attachment to God may act as a buffer against stress. Secure attachment to God has been positively associated with adaptive outcomes following stress, such as higher levels of stress-related growth and fewer maladaptive symptoms including depression, prolonged grief, and traumatic distress. However, relatively few studies have empirically tested the relationship between attachment to God and resilience and posttraumatic growth. Thus, the current study explored the potential associations and pathways through which attachment to God is associated with resilience and posttraumatic growth in a sample of 303 suddenly and/or traumatically bereaved individuals. The current study found that (a) God attachment avoidance is a unique negative predictor of resilience and posttraumatic growth even when controlling for adult attachment, (b) self-compassion and meaning-making mediate the association between God attachment anxiety and resilience/posttraumatic growth, (c) secure attachment to God is associated with higher levels of resilience than insecure attachment styles, but not with posttraumatic growth, and (d) an increased number of secondary losses is associated with lower levels of resilience. I conclude by discussing my findings in light of the extant literature on attachment to God, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. By better understanding attachment to God and how it may relate …

In this thesis, I explore the careers and songs of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds—two African American female composers who were part of the Chicago Renaissance. Price and Bonds were members of extensive, often informal, networks of Black women that fostered creativity and forged paths to success for Black female musicians during this era. Building on the work of Black feminist scholar Patricia Hill Collins, I contend that these efforts reflect Black feminist principles of Black women working together to create supportive environments, uplift one another, and foster resistance. I further argue that Black women's agency enabled the careers of Price and Bonds and that elements of Black feminism are not only present in their professional relationships, but also in their songs. Initially, I discuss how the background of the Harlem and Chicago Renaissances and racial uplift ideology shaped these women's artistic environment. I then examine how Bonds and Price incorporated, updated, and expanded versions of these ideals in their music and careers. Drawing on the scholarship of Rae Linda Brown, Angela Davis, and Tammy L. Kernodle, I analyze Price's "Song to the Dark Virgin," "Sympathy," and "Don't You Tell Me No" and Bonds's "Dream Variation," "Note on Commercial Theater," …

The intention of this thesis is to analyze the representations of masculinity in the anime series Dragon Ball Z as it aired on Cartoon Network's programming block Toonami, specifically the nature in which they were framed and how oppositional interpretations in the fandom became prevalent as a result. The series emphasizes the evolution of its central characters Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan into performing a sensitive masculinity, but there are a prevalence of images in the series that discredit this. Similarly, the way the series was advertised on Toonami placed emphasis on images of superficial violence and reinforced the masculinity that the series was attempting to move beyond. Understanding the ways fans have interpreted Dragon Ball Z on Toonami helps reveal that there is much more to a media text's influence than its themes and representations of gender.

This thesis provides a detailed description and analysis of the Mankiyali phonology, a hitherto undocumented and endangered language of northern Pakistan. The language is spoken by about 500 people in a remote mountainous area in the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The data contained herein is a result of first-hand fieldwork with native Mankiyali speakers between 2019 and 2021. Data collection methods include recordings of naturally occurring discourse (e.g., stories, poems, conversations) and elicitation sessions with native speaker consultants. Topics covered in the thesis include an account of Mankiyali's phonemic inventory, phonotactics, a description of some phonological processes, minimal word constraints, and word stress placement.

The intention of this thesis is to analyze the figure of the post 9/11 Westerner as a modern character created from the preexisting archetype of the classic Westerner. 3:10 to Yuma (dir. James Mangold), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (dir. Andrew Dominik), and There Will Be Blood (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) were released in 2007 and featured post 9/11 Westerners dealing with issues of fatherhood, demonstrating the prevalence of this figure within the modern western genre. Fatherhood becomes the prism through which these characters are depicted, which becomes the main source of their anxiety. The events of 9/11 contributed to a fracture of the western myth established by the classic postwar western that results in the post 9/11 Westerner attempting to reclaim a similar mythic status. The post 9/11 Westerner becomes an inversion of the classic Westerner seen through his insecure masculinity and ultimate failure to live up to his own imagined ideals.

Among various energy harvesting technologies reverse electrowetting-on-dielectric energy harvesting (REWOD) has been proved to harvest energy from low frequency motion such as many human motion activities (e.g. walking, running, jogging etc.). Voltage rectification and DC-DC boosting of low magnitude AC voltage from REWOD can be used to reliably self-power the wearable sensors. In this work, a commercial component-based rectifier and DC-DC converter is designed and experimentally verified, for further miniaturization standard 180 nm CMOS process is used to design the rectifier and the DC-DC boost converter.This work also includes the MATLAB based model for REWOD energy harvester for various REWOD models. In REWOD energy harvesting, a mechanical input during the motion causes the electrolyte placed in between two dissimilar electrodes to squeeze back and forth thereby periodically changing the effective interfacial area, hence generating alternating current. The alternating current is given to the rectifier design. There is no realistic model that has been developed yet for this technique. Thereby, a MATLAB based REWOD model is developed for the realistic simulation of the REWOD phenomenon. In the work, a comparison of different REWOD models such as planar surface, rough surface and porous models are performed demonstrating the variations in capacitance, current …

The minority stress model provides context to understand the mechanisms by which prejudicial experiences contribute to the disproportionate prevalence of adverse physical and mental health outcomes among LGBT people. The transactional model of stress and coping explains the appraisal processes through which people identify stigma-related stimuli as threatening and how they assess available coping resources to counteract these threats. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used in this study to measure resilience and stress in a sample of 99 lesbian and gay older adults. Women reported statistically significantly higher levels of resilience and lower levels of perceived stress compared to older gay men. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed statistically significant main effects for gender (Cohen's d = .51; ηp2 = .056; F(1,98) = 5.488, p = .021) while controlling for perceived stress (Cohen's d = 1.62; ηp2 = .375; F(1,98) = 55.840, p < .001). An interaction effect between gender and perceived stress was also statistically significant (Cohen's d = .72; ηp2 = .115; F(1,98) = 12.40, p < .001) indicating that the negative relationship between stress and resilience is stronger for older gay men. Clinical implications and relevance to future research are …

Vegetative health was measured both before and after Hurricane Harvey using remotely sensed vegetation indices on the coastal marshland surrounding Galveston Island's West Bay. Data were recorded on a monthly basis following the hurricane from September of 2005 until September of 2019 in order to document the vegetation response to this significant disturbance event. Both initial impact and recovery were found to be dependent on a variety of factors, including elevation zone, spatial proximity to the bay, the season during which recovery took place, as well as the amount of time since the hurricane. Slope was also tested as a potential variable using a LiDAR-derived slope raster, and while unable to significantly explain variations in vegetative health immediately following the hurricane, it was able to explain some degree of variability among spatially close data points. Among environmental factors, elevation zone appeared to be the most key in determining the degree of vegetation impact, suggesting that the different plant assemblages that make up different portions of the marsh react differently to the severe flooding that took place during Harvey.

This thesis looks at how women journalists are now also digital influencers on Instagram. It analyzes the gendered expectations of women journalists that are also included on their professional Instagram accounts.

Previous research has incorporated instructive feedback (IF) within mastered listener-by-name trials with two children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants in a previous study acquired the secondary targets and also demonstrated emergent responding (i.e., listener-by-feature, tact-by-feature, intraverbal, and reverse intraverbal). The current study replicated a previous study on IF with two children with ASD. Therapists conducted a series of three sessions of mastered listener-by-name trials (e.g., "Show me otter," and the participant selecting the picture of the otter) and provided IF statements for features of the target stimuli (e.g., "It lives in rivers."). We measured participants' echoic responding and required attending to the target stimulus during IF trials, and we evaluated acquisition of secondary targets and emergent responses using a concurrent multiple probe design across sets. We observed increased correct responding for secondary targets and emergent responses for the first set of stimuli with both participants. However, one participant did not engage in emergent responses for the two remaining sets. Results suggest that related verbal operant response relations of secondary targets may result after IF, but the extent of emergence may be idiosyncratic.

To what extent does Margaret Atwood draw from American slavery to write The Handmaid's Tale? How does Offred's narrative compare with traditional slave narratives, and to what effect? This thesis explores intersectionality (or lack thereof) in The Handmaid's Tale and compares Offred's narrative to traditional slave narratives to find answers to why Atwood chose to draw from American slavery to write her novel in the first place. Offred's narrative is compared to three traditional slave narratives written/orated by three women, Harriet Jacobs, Hannah Crafts, and Mary Prince, to demonstrate how enslavement dehumanizes Offred in similar or different ways to these three women, and to reveal how the enslavement of and violence committed against the female slave body ultimately deforms even the most intimate human relationships in both Gilead and in historical American slavery. I discuss other tactics used to maintain control of the slaves both in Gilead and in historical American slavery, with particular emphasis on the development of justifications for enslavement in both societies. Violence against the body is not enough in Gilead, so Gilead implements religious rhetoric and controls knowledge to maintain its control of the Handmaids. Despite being used to control, religion also becomes a source of …

From 2011 to 2014, one of the most severe and intense droughts in Texas recorded history led to widespread wildfires across the state, with unknown effects on atmospheric nutrient and pollutant deposition. The objectives of this research were to: (1) characterize the frequency, magnitude, and spatiotemporal distribution of Texas wildfires (2011-2014); (2) identify smoke occurrence and source regions at eight Texas National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) National Trends Network (NTN) sites (2011); and (3) quantify the influence of wildfire on weekly rainwater chemistry and deposition in 2011 at three NADP sites (Sonora, LBJ Grasslands, Attwater Prairie NWR). Data on large wildfires, smoke occurrence, and rainfall chemistry and deposition were coupled with principal component and back-trajectory analysis to address these objectives. Between 2011-2014, 72% of all wildfires occurred in 2011, accounting for 90% of the total area burned. In total, there were 17 extreme wildfires (i.e., in the 95th percentile of hectares burned), of which 11 occurred in 2011. Wildfire activity was concentrated in West Texas ecoregions and consumed primarily shrub/scrub and grassland/herbaceous land cover. Although West Texas experienced the most wildfires, smoke at the NADP locations in 2011, the "high-fire year," was more frequent in East Texas due to regional …

This thesis focuses on the recording challenges faced in biomedical systems. More specifically, the challenges in neural signal recording are explored. Instead of the typical synchronous ADC system, a level crossing ADC is detailed as it has gained recent interest for low-power biomedical systems. These systems take advantage of the time-sparse nature of the signals found in this application. A 10-bit design is presented to help capture the lower amplitude action potentials (APs) in neural signals. The design also achieves a full-scale bandwidth of 1.2 kHz, an ENOB of 9.81, a power consumption of 13.5 microwatts, operating at a supply voltage of 1.8 V. This design was simulated in Cadence using 180 nm CMOS technology.

Fibrinolysis pathway is an important mechanism for dissolution of fibrin clot by the action of plasmin which is formed from plasminogen, a zymogen via the action of plasminogen activators, i.e. tissue plasminogen activator and urinary plasminogen activator. The regulation of fibrinolysis system in vivo is maintained by plasminogen activators and natural inhibitors i.e. α2-antiplasmin, α2-macroglobulin, Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and 2 (PAI-1and PAI-2). There are several fibrinolytic assays developed for human plasma but there are no reports describing fibrinolytic assay using zebrafish plasma. In this study, a fibrinolytic assay via using small amount of zebrafish plasma was developed. This assay was performed under different conditions; one by the addition of exogenous tissue plasminogen activator alone to the pooled zebrafish plasma along with calcium chloride and thromboplastin, second Dade ACTIN was used instead of tissue plasminogen activator and third Dade ACTIN along with thromboplastin was used. Epsilon amino caproic acid (EACA), a synthetic antifibrinolytic agent was used at different concentrations to inhibit fibrinolysis successfully. Similar experiments were performed on human plasma as well to check the applicability of the assay to humans and positive results were obtained. Furthermore, knockdown of tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen genes …

The situation of Somali Bantu refugees has been studied in the USA and, to a lesser degree, in the refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab, but not in self-settled urban contexts in East Africa. This qualitative study, a needs assessment of the Somali Bantu refugee community in Nairobi, Kenya, contributes towards filling that gap in the literature. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews with both Somali Bantu refugees and staff of refugee-serving NGOs in Nairobi provided rich ethnographic data. Research questions focused on perceived needs and assets of refugees, community support structures, and NGO services available to Somali Bantu refugees. The results of the study showed how systems of marginalization and oppression found within Somalia are reproduced within the urban refugee environment of Nairobi. It also revealed how this marginalization was exacerbated through the systems set up by refugee-serving NGOs. However, the study also demonstrated refugee agency and aspirations, revealing strategies employed by individual refugees to improve their situation as well as multi-local and transnational kinship networks of mutual support.

This research investigates particulate matter (PM) deposition to rock pigeons (Columba livia) in urban environments within Denton County, Texas. Pigeon habitat was characterized within a 2-km radius at eight locations using the 2016 National Land Cover Database (NLCD). In summer 2020, feathers were sampled from 10 rock pigeons at two locations (n = 20) differing in degree of urban development. Birds were captured using walk-in funnel traps baited with bird seed. Based on molt pattern and appearance, four old flight feathers were identified and sampled from each bird. New primary feathers were obtained from each population as reference samples. Feathers were washed three times with double deionized water and acetone, and the solution vacuum filtered through a glass microfiber filter to collect all particles >1.5 µm in diameter. Particulate matter mass was determined by gravimetric analysis and calculated per unit feather surface area. Relative PM accumulation rates were significantly different between the populations. Characteristics of urban land cover, proximity to and types of emissions sources, wind exposure, and building density were drivers of variability in PM deposition to feather surfaces. The results from this study should be useful for subsequent research to help identify best practices for using feathers collected …

This project focused on the relationship between instream flows and smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) recruitment in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas. The flow regime is the dominant factor in lotic systems and, consequently, the relationship between instream flows, including impacts to natural flow regimes, and life-history is a subject of growing interest. Smallmouth buffalo is a good model to investigate the relationship between river flows and variable interannual recruitment success of periodic life-history strategist fish species. Smallmouth buffalo were collected from the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe Rivers of Texas, U.S.A., and otoliths were extracted from individuals in the field and sectioned and photographed in the lab. Photographs of sectioned otoliths were used to estimate age and thus the year in which the individual was spawned by counting back from the time of capture. Population age structure (i.e. a ‘state' or condition at a point in time) was used to infer effects of flow variation on a rates-based process (i.e. recruitment). After controlling for mortality using recruitment index values, interannual variation in recruitment was modeled using multiple components of the flow regime quantified as indicators of hydrologic alteration (IHA) variables based on daily discharge data from USGS gaging stations in …

In the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, more than half the nesting groups of Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) include at least one auxiliary group member in addition to a breeding pair. To provide further insight into cooperatively breeding raptors, I evaluated sociality in Harris's hawks through the dual benefits framework. I explored the formation, structure, and stability of cooperative group formation across a spatially variable study area, which includes high levels of urbanization and development as well as remote, undisturbed native habitats with low anthropogenic impact. I used color banding, regular censuses of active territories, and a microsatellite relatedness analysis to examine patterns of sociality, including delayed dispersal, the effect of auxiliary group members on reproductive output, parentage of broods, and the relatedness of auxiliaries compared to the nestlings in their territories. I confirmed cooperative polygamy with genetic techniques for the first time in Harris's hawks and found 58% of juvenile hawks delayed dispersal for at least 6 mo. Using the dual benefits framework, I found social associations that formed through delayed dispersal followed predictions for resource-defense benefits, but sociality among mature non-related hawks more closely followed predictions associated with collective action benefits, specifically reproductive output was significantly …

On May 18, 2018, a shooter entered Santa Fe High School, killing eight students and two teachers. Using ethnographic methods, this research examines the role of faith, rituals, language, and symbols in the trauma-affected community during the response, recovery, and resiliency efforts as perceived by the Santa Fe community and those impacted by the tragedy. Qualitative data collected from 100 individuals ages of 17-84 illustrated how historical trauma, community culture, and faith-based organizations impact community resiliency and how illusions of a homogenous view of the community left many feeling shocked, divided, forgotten or muted.

Bad Paper follows the lives of former military service members, who have received an other-than-honorable discharge, but also have service-connected post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the "suck it up" culture of the military, many of these veterans would not report any psychological troubles in fear of being labeled "weak" and potentially affecting their promotions. With no outlet for their PTSD, drugs and alcohol became a way of "self-medicating," which led to their dismissal from the service. A dishonorable discharge, commonly called "bad paper," from the military disqualifies veterans from receiving help from the VA. The process to overturn this status is arduous and veterans must navigate the bureaucracy of the Veterans Affairs (VA) administration as well as the individual military branches with virtually no help from either.

This thesis illustrates how Melodrama and the melodramatic mode have been adapted within contemporary cinema as both a means of commenting on prior LGBTQI representation, and of exposing mainstream audiences to the issues still faced by many within this spectrum. Through my analyses of Carol (2015), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and A Single Man (2009), I examine how filmmakers have drawn on Melodrama as both an aesthetic form, and as a reference to the broader field of generic history and criticism which ground it as a subversive form of societal critique. By focusing specifically on how these three films portray ideological issues of gender, stereotyping, parenthood, aging, and personal shame, my thesis argues that these films are making a commentary on the damaging effects of these discourses on broader society. I also simultaneously question whether the Period Melodrama as a genre can ever fully escape the conservative nature of this form, as well as the implications of continuing to portray those on the LGBTQI spectrum as victims.

Compressed sensing (CS) is an innovative approach of signal processing that facilitates sub-Nyquist processing of bio-signals, such as a neural signal, electrocardiogram (ECG), and electroencephalogram (EEG). This strategy can be used to lower the data rate to realize ultra-low-power performance, As the count of recording channels increases, data volume is increased resulting in impermissible transmitting power. This thesis work presents the implementation of a CMOS-based front-end design with the CS in the standard 180 nm CMOS process. A novel pseudo-random sequence generator is proposed, which consists of two different types of D flip-flops that are used for obtaining a completely random sequence. This thesis work also includes the (reverse electrowetting-on-dielectric) REWOD based energy harvesting model for self-powered bio-sensor which utilizes the electrical energy generated through the process of conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. This REWOD based energy harvesting model can be a good alternative to battery usage, particularly for the bio-wearable applications. The comparative analysis of the results generated for voltage, current and capacitance of the rough surface model is compared to that of results of planar surface REWOD.

The main objective of this thesis is to propose a UAV (also called as drones) location estimation system based on LoRaWAN using received signal strength indicator in a GPS denied environment. The drones are finding new applications in areas such as surveillance, search, rescue missions, package delivery, and precision agriculture. Nearly all applications require the localization of UAV during flight. Localization is the method of determining a UAVs physical position using a real or virtual coordinate system. This thesis proposes a LoRaWAN-based UAV location method and presents experimental findings from a prototype. The thesis mainly consists of two different sections: one is the distance estimation and the other is the location estimation. First, the distance is estimated based on the mean RSSI values which are recorded at the ground stations using the path loss model. Later using the slant distance estimation technique, the path loss model parameters L and C are estimated whose values are unknown at the beginning. These values completely depend on the environment. Finally, the trilateration system architecture is employed to find the 3-D location of the UAV.

The 2019 Dallas Tornado struck a densely populated area, was the costliest tornado in Texas history, and had minimal warning lead time, yet there were no serious injuries or fatalities. To understand why, this study examines individuals' decision-making processes during this tornado using the protective action decision model (PADM). Specifically, it investigates the factors affecting threat belief and evaluation, the facilitators and impediments to protective action, and the effects on future risk perception and hazard adjustment measures. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 23 survivors to explore their experiences and decision-making processes during this tornado. Interviews were analyzed through inductive coding and a constant comparative approach. Key findings of this study suggest that clear and direct warning messages, coupled with rapid, heuristic-driven reactions, can overcome the impediment of a short-fuse warning time and motivate those at risk to take protective action. Additionally, this study identifies condominium owners as a housing population with unique needs and impediments in the tornado recovery process. Furthermore, results illustrate how the hazard scenario and contemporary technological culture nuance protective action decision-making and future hazard adjustment measures.