2024 UMKC Dissertations - Freely Available Online
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Item Exploring the evolution of social work faculty : insights into faculty characteristics, functions, and professional mobilitySimmons, Amy Rachelle; Riggers-Piehl, TiffaniThis dissertation, comprised of three distinct but interrelated studies, analyzes the changing landscape of social work faculty over a fifteen-year period (2008-2022). Utilizing data from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) annual reports and a sample of 150 faculty CVs, the research explores the evolution of social work faculty characteristics, functions, and professional mobility. The first study examines shifts in institutional, professional, and personal attributes among social work faculty, highlighting trends in faculty demographics, academic qualifications, and employment patterns. The second study investigates the relationship between social work faculty academic preparation and professional practice experience with aspects of their faculty role, particularly in scholarship, teaching, and service. Drawing upon professional identity development as a theoretical framework, the research analyzes how the highest degree earned and years of practice experience influence faculty contributions and roles within academia. The third study focuses on social work faculty mobility patterns, examining the influence of institutional prestige and individual career aspirations on faculty movement between institutions. The research investigates the influence of mobility on faculty professional profiles, including scholarly output, teaching load, and faculty rank. The dissertation concludes with an integrated analysis of findings from the three studies, providing insights into the dynamics of social work education, the evolving roles and responsibilities of faculty, and recommendations for supporting faculty development and institutional growth. Keywords: Social Work Faculty, Higher Education, Faculty Characteristics, Faculty Functions, Professional MobilityItem Virus-host interactions mediated by pea enation mosaic virus 2 biomolecular condensates(2024) Brown, Shelby L.; May, Jared P.; Bame, Karen J. (Karen Joyce); Gaddis, Monica Louise, 1955-The concept of phase separation applied to biological systems has been rapidly building momentum and interest. Phase separation is the conversion of a single-phase solution into two distinct phases: a dilute phase and a concentrated droplet phase. When applied to cells, the term droplet refers to membraneless organelles or condensates that concentrate biomolecules like proteins and RNA. Viruses can interfere with host condensates, like the nucleolus or stress granules, as well as generate condensates to facilitate viral processes. Our research suggests that electrostatic interactions in the intrinsically disordered region of p26, a movement protein encoded by the +sense RNA plant virus Pea enation mosaic virus 2 (PEMV2), drive p26 phase separation to form viral condensates. We demonstrate co-localization of p26 with host proteins, specifically fibrillarin and G3BP1, into condensates during virus infection and subsequently illustrate the importance of G3BP1 phase separation in the plant anti-viral response. These findings outline a key role for p26 phase separation in the coordination of virus-host interactions, viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) formation, and systemic virus movement. This work explores how host- and virus-induced phase separation impacts virus-host interactions to promote or restrict a virus infection.Viral condensate research has predominantly centered around the formation of membraneless replication factories by negative sense viruses. However, the function and composition of cytoplasmic condensates formed by positive sense RNA viruses, which utilize membrane-associated replication factories, has been largely uninvestigated. Mass spectrometry revealed that p26 condensates were enriched with ribosomal proteins and fibrillarin, a host rRNA methyltransferase hijacked by PEMV2 to support virus movement. Our data shows that p26 expression represses global translation >40% in plants. In corroboration, polysome profiling exposed significant defects in monosome formation for p26-overexpression and virus-infected samples, whereas infection with a mutant virus lacking p26 partially rescued monosome formation. Our findings suggest that p26 binds rRNA with a high affinity, yet there was no significant alteration in rRNA abundance, processing, or 2’-O-methylation. Therefore, we propose that p26-mediated sequestration of fibrillarin, mRNA, rRNA, and ribosomal proteins into condensates may serve as a switch to repress translation in favor of virus trafficking, a process incompatible with active translation.Item Interstitial passages: re-enactment of queer bodies of color in art and literature(2024) Gomez, Milton Javier; Shiu, Anthony; Hartman, Joseph R.My project explores the connections between literature and visual art to re-enact and re-imagine queer bodies of color in liminal spaces or porous passages as a means of contesting invisibility, exclusion, and displacement. I engage in the literature of James Baldwin and John Rechy and the conceptual art of Felix Gonzalez-Torres to conceptualize symbolic and physical in-between spaces where racial and gender alternative projects of community, same-sex desire, and love are possible. My analysis focuses on the surveillance of the public sphere in Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, the constant inhabiting of the upper and underworld of same-sex desire in Rechy's City of Night, and Gonzalez-Torres candy piles and curtains of blue beads. These literary and visual art pieces contributed to my theorization of queer bodies and queer bodies of color that disrupted hetero norms through the re-enactment of the queer body as a locus for participation and community building. I theorize on the unfolding or destruction of the queer body as an opportunity to create an alternative set of signifiers to expand the solidified boundaries around bodies, desires, and belonging. The queer body of color navigates hetero spaces and uses its displacement and exclusion to reimagine itself in interstitial or porous passages as an alternative communal project of otherness.Item A pilot randomized controlled trial of a palliative care education intervention compared to usual care on health literacy and quality of life among older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the paced study(2024) Counts, Kelly Dannette; Lasiter, SueAdults 65 years of age and older (older adults) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are living longer, report lower health literacy, experience poorer quality of life (QOL), and seek emergency department care for relief of symptoms such as breathlessness, dyspnea, pain, and anxiety. Uncertainty about illness progression can affect patients' ability to understand health information and make informed decisions impacting QOL. Limited research exists on health literacy and QOL related to palliative care education in emergency departments, making it a healthcare priority. Online education for older adults is effective for increasing healthcare knowledge. The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled trial feasibility study was to test the study research protocol including the intervention or usual care, instruments, recruitment, retention, attrition and to identify trends in health literacy and QOL in older adults with COPD seeking treatment in an emergency department who were randomized into the four-week online standardized palliative care educational intervention or usual care. The expanded chronic care model combined with palliative care constructs provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Feasibility data were collected during the study and feasibility questions were assessed at study completion. The Short Form-36, which measured QOL and the health literacy questionnaire, which measured health literacy, were administered at baseline and at study completion. Of 190 patients screened, 35 met inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the intervention (n=17) or usual care (n=18). Attrition was 74% overall with 72% from the intervention group and 82% from the usual care group. Eight participants completed the study, five in intervention and three in usual care. Of these eight, 35% were male, 88% were Caucasian and 35% had a college education. All five intervention participants accessed each of the four palliative care educational videos. All study surveys were completed with no missing data. Within and between groups, QOL and health literacy trends were unable to be identified due to small sample sizes. In conclusion, protocol modifications are needed for future study success. Testing palliative care educational interventions for older adults with COPD treated in the emergency department remains an important goal.Item The impact of Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) extracurricular activities on student performance(2024) Lewis, Abram Robert; Caruthers, Loyce Ellenor, 1947-The purpose of this non-experimental, causal-comparative quantitative study was to determine if participation in extra-curricular activities sponsored by Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) influenced student academic performance in secondary schools. This study focused on the academic achievement of all students and the impact of post-secondary education plans for graduates. The study was conducted utilizing grade point average, ACT scores, and post-secondary plans for students in a selected suburban school district from Missouri. Date from the 2022 and 2023 graduating classes academic, participation, and demographic were compiled and analyzed using a series of regression analysis tests. Overall, the results demonstrated that student participation in MSHSAA activities showed higher GPA and ACT scores and were more likely to pursue postsecondary education plans versus students who did not participate. As school districts are continually trying to meet academic goals outlined by federal, state, or local standards, this study provides school leaders a systematic way to evaluate the impact of all extracurricular programs on the academic performance of the school.