The basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein family plays an innate role in cellular activities. A pivotal member of this family, the Inhibitor of differentiation (Id) proteins, is linked to cell proliferation, differentiation, and tumorigenesis via inhibiting the DNA binding of bHLH proteins. There are four isoforms of Id genes - Id1-4 are uniquely expressed. In prostate cancer cells, Id3 is up-regulated and targets cellular proliferation and metastasis. However, the mechanism that triggers Id3 expression in prostate cancer is unknown. Therefore, a series of experiments were performed in order to investigate the transcription factors that regulate the expression of Id3 promoter in prostate cancer. The proximal 1 kb human Id3 promoter was characterized and validated by a combination of in silico and in vitro approaches. Collective results led to the identification of YY 1, C/EPBa and C EPBb as putative transcription factors that could regulate Id3 promoter in prostate cancer. It is believed that further in depth studies of these transcription factors will lead to the identification of the underlying molecular mechanism that regulates Id3 expression in prostate cancer.

This study introduces a literary Theory of African-American Archetypes, which is an outgrowth of two parent theories, Archetypal Criticism and African-American Literary Criticism. The theory posits that the folklore of Africana peoples created and inform culturally specific archetypes, which are deeply seeded in the collective unconscious of many African Americans. As in life, such archetypes are prevalent in African-American literature, which is momentous because they are both historic and perpetual within the community. The African-American Archetypal Big Mama is the character that will be used to demonstrate the theory as a viable form of literary criticism, using Gloria Naylor’s Mama day. Examination of her opposite, the Whistlin’ Woman, in Tina McElroy Ansa’s Ugly Ways and Taking After Mudear will substantiate and define the African-American Archetypal Big Mama by negation. Elucidation and application of the theory to African American literature are significant because they widen the criticism particularly for texts by and for African Americans. Additionally, the application opens the doors for critics of multi-ethnic literature to examine their own cultural idiosyncrasies and subsequent lore for archetypes explicit to their literary traditions.

This study examines why it is that the title “Savior” has been reserved only for men, when it is that women, too, deserve the title. After all, save is what women do. Because of the Biblical and subsequent patriarchal paradigm, men only are attributed the title, but what we fmd in certain texts is that women are saviors as well. It is through women’s somewhat magical feminism that she is able to heal, make sacrifices, and save, even when others are not aware it is necessary. The writer re-presents the notion of Savior whereby Savior as Woman is constructed culturally with the women saving not only their families, but the community at large. She has to step outside of herself and concern herself with the well-being of others. Using the Savior as Woman theory is a viable textual approach to literature that allows the women in the text to be seen in a more flattering light and one that they deserve but have been deprived of for numerous reasons. It is one that is viable and can help one get a deeper textual understanding.

This research study was conducted over the course of a year and a half. Theresearcher attempted to draw parallels between mentorship, student satisfaction, and retention. The researcher surveyed 40 African-American students at a predominantly white university (PWI) in Pennsylvania. The 40 African-American students were divided into two groups of 20 with students assigned to a mentoring program at the university and the other 20 remained as general members of the student body. The goal of the survey was to garner the levels of satisfaction experienced by African-American students pertaining to a number of issues that make up their student experience and how that relates to their re-enrollment. The results of both groups surveys were compared to demonstrate the impact, or lack thereof, of mentorship on satisfaction, academic success, their re-enrollment. The conclusion drawn from the findings of this research indicate mentorship has little impact on the satisfaction levels of African-American students at Kappa State University.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the role of Afri-COBRA, the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists. Afri-Cobra is a professional black artist’s guild founded in the 1960s in Chicago, Illinois who serve now, as well as in the past, as the unacknowledged founders and promoters of the notion of Arts for People’s Sake. Further, Afri-COBRA utilized the black aesthetic as the conceptual framework in its investigation of black art within the revolutionary Black Arts Movement especially in creating the visual arts component of Arts for People’s Sake in the black community. Narrative Analysis was utilized to undergird the ideology and philosophy of this art entity and its implications of black imagery seen in the exhibit of the artists and their efforts to expand for the people the political/social restructuring of black identity. The results of this study revealed the leadership and visionary passion envisioned by group founders. Their works create a new black image paradigm that has implications for the lives of oppressed and marginalized groups worldwide. In conclusion, this research purposely placed Afri-COBRA as a leader in redefining what is necessary for arts and artists. They are pioneers in community based art due to their commitment to include in their creations central components of graphic and colorful protest. Afri-COBRA’s vision continues to influence popular culture, both nationally and culturally.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between acculturation and refugee Somali adolescents' perceptions of counseling. Specifically, the study investigated a potential relationship between various dimensions of acculturation and perceptions refugee Somali adolescents held toward counseling. In addition, the relationship between gender and attitudes toward counseling was also explored. The methodology consisted of the use of a quantitative research design in which students were asked to provide background information and participate in face-to-face interviews to obtain responses on two questionnaires: the Language, Identity and Behavior Acculturation Measure (Birman & Tricket, 2001) and Attitudes Toward Professional Psychological Counseling Help (Sok, 2004). The sample consisted of 63 refugee Somali adolescents aged 1 1 through 18 years attending public school in a Georgia county and who immigrated to the United States between 1990 and 2000. 1 Statistical procedures, including the Pearson Product moment Correlation Coefficients, were performed through the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 1 1 .O. Results showed that refugee Somali adolescents' attitudes toward counseling were related to their overall level of acculturation and with the three dimensions of acculturation measured by the Language, Identity and Behavior. Refugee Somali adolescents were less likely to hold positive attitudes toward counseling or seek counseling: (a) as their English language acculturation increased, (b) the more they thought of themselves as being American, and (c) as their participation in American culture (e.g., books, clubs and parties) increased. However, they were more likely to hold positive attitudes towards counseling: (a) as their Somali language acculturation

This study probes beneath the surface of history, culture, and memory to unearth what lies beneath the socially constructed landscapes of African-American graveyards and burial grounds. The purpose is to examine “the roots” in the cultural landscape of graveyards and burial grounds to discover how African-American writers have attempted to recapture and reclaim the cultural history and memories associated with these ancestral landscapes. To provide an appropriate historical and cultural context for analysis, this study “reads” the cultural landscapes of graveyards and burial grounds as depicted in African-American literature alongside actual historic African-American graveyards and burial grounds. In addition, this study positions the cultural landscapes of graveyards and burial grounds—their natural topography, artifacts, and human associations—within the broader context of the African-American cultural landscape. The graveyard itself is mapped as a microcosm of the larger society and is examined as a reflection of the social relationships and cultural heritage of African Americans. The literary works in this study: Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day, David Bradley’s The Chaneysville Incident, Edward P. Jones’ The Known World, and Alice Walker’s “Burial” all provide examples of the purposeful use of historic landscapes—and especially ancestral graveyards and burial grounds—to perform various literary functions: as symbols of African-American heritage and the continuity of cultural tradition, as depictions of sacred places for ritually accessing African ancestral spirits for assistance and spiritual support, as representations of loss through death and absence, and as sites of memory for recovering the symbolically buried past as a means for healing the living spirit. Within the literature analyzed in this study, the influence of African beliefs regarding the ongoing relationships between the living and the dead has appeared as a significant factor in the establishment of the identity of the individual, the community, and the culture of African Americans. As this study demonstrates, all of the writers examined in this analysis depict the cultural landscapes of graveyards and burial grounds as sacred ancestral grounds-that function as potently significant repositories of African American history, memory, and culture.

This study examined the discourse of selected Hip-Hop artists and the biographical aspects of the works. The study was based on the structuralist theory of Roland Barthes which claims that many times a performer’s life experiences with class struggle are directly reflected in his artistic works. Since rap music is a counter-culture invention which was started by minorities in the South Bronx borough of New York over dissatisfaction with their community, it is a cultural phenomenon that fits into the category of economic and political class struggle. The study recorded and interpreted the lyrics of New York artists Shawn Carter (Jay Z), Nasir Jones (Nas), and southern artists Clifford Harris II (T.I.) and Wesley Weston (Lii’ Flip). The artists were selected on the basis of geographical spread and diversity. Although Hip-Hop was again founded in New York City, it has now spread to other parts of the United States and worldwide. The study investigated the biography of the artists to illuminate their struggles with poverty, family dysfunction, aggression, and intimidation. The artists were found to engage in lyrical battles; therefore, their competitive discourses were analyzed in specific Hip-Hop selections to investigate their claims of authorship, imitation, and authenticity, including their use of sexual discourse and artistic rivalry, to gain competitive advantage. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that although Hip-Hop lyricism was originally established as an alternative to physical violence, social and psychological factors such as competition, masculinity, class struggle and ideology often lead to conflict and hostility. In addition, the artists’ economic successes were not necessarily tied to their educational background, but were based on their assumed role as representatives of the oppressed. This representation enables its conveyer to serve as a voice for the voiceless through his/her artistic expression. Discourse in Hip-Hop (whether musical or cultural) is an area of African- American culture in which further study would be valuable in order to fully appreciate the valuable artistic contributions of inner-city youths. Unfortunately, these new artists are often misunderstood. Unlike famous mainstream artists such as Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, Hip-Hop artists are agents of cultural productivity who are less appreciated simply because they operate in the arena of popular culture.

This study describes and analyzes the institutional response of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to clergy sexual misconduct between 1991 to 2005. Through the analysis of organizational proceedings, interviews, archival documents and historical references, qualitative case study methodology is used to investigate two research questions: 1. What has been the response of the UUA to clergy sexual misconduct?; 2. What theology/ideology guide(s) the UUA's institutional response to clergy sexual misconduct? The research findings indicate that increased inclusion of female clergy, influenced by the women's movement, Unitarian Universalist women's advocacy, and the sexual revolution were some of the factors that influenced the UUAs institutional response to clergy sexual misconduct. The research identifies obstacles that have impeded more aggressive support of victim/survivors' leadership and opens a space for the emergent identities of victim/survivors. Data gathered suggests there is a critical need for more rigorous theological reflections to foster transformational dialogues. By providing examples of how the UUA is working to eradicate clergy sexual misconduct, this dissertation demonstrates how faith communities can achieve safe congregations, and empower victim/survivors, while moving toward a new restorative justice paradigm. New arid fresh voices, perspectives and analyses are introduced to develop a richer understanding of clergy sexual misconduct and one faith community's response to this growing problem.

The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic behaviors and demographic changes among Somali refugees resettled in metropolitan Atlanta. Specifically, the study investigated the fertility rates and marriage patterns of selected Somali refugees prior to resettlement in the United States, and fertility rates and marriage patterns after migration and resettlement. Also, the study examined the impact that war and trauma had on the participants’ fertility and marriage behaviors. The study is significant because it describes demographics from a feminist perspective, in which the participants had the opportunity to discuss their decisions about fertility and marriage in their own words. The primary methodology used in this study was based on a new paradigm in demographic studies known as critical demography (Horton, 1999) in which qualitative measures take precedent over traditional demographic methods, which are driven by quantitative measures. Twenty-one face-to-face interviews were administered to obtain the oral histories of the women’s decisions about fertility and marriage. Findings from the research suggested that the fertility rates of participants averaged around 4 children per woman and marriage patterns of participants were that all women were married at least once and that the institution of marriage is highly regarded in Somali culture.