Demographics in American urban cities have been steadily changing over the last few decades and are on their way to becoming more ethnically diverse than ever. Cities in the southwestern region of the United States are increasingly becoming primarily Latino (Mellom, Straubhaar, Balderas, Ariail, & Portes, 2018). This demands the need for a reflective and critical view of the schooling system in this region and how it serves the needs of the Latino communities. This dissertation makes a case for the need to push against mainstream educational practices that are imposed on school systems by lawmakers, capitalist corporations, and philanthropist, and looks instead to the educators of color, more specifically to Latina principals, who work hand in hand with teachers and families in working-class Latino schools. This proposal calls for the development of a critical consciousness by educators of color as a grassroots change effort to heal the dehumanization that these educators have themselves suffered as a result of their experiences in American school (Annamma & Morrison, 2018). Educators have a responsibility to support students in the development of voice and participation in ways consistent with a democratic social order. This requires educators committed to the amelioration of oppression and the formation of an educated and empowered citizenry. Through examining the perceptions of bicultural principals who are aware of this dilemma and involved in the mentorship of bicultural educators, the study sought to identify what practices and understandings are needed in working-class Latino schools to support educators and students of color to deal with the duality of their biculturalism, which can have a negative impact on the academic achievement of Latino students. Similarly, the study brought to light the emancipatory approaches that conscious Latina principals utilize when engaging with bicultural teachers who teach bicultural students from working-class communities The goal was not to create another superimposed reform effort that closes the “achievement gap” of students of color, but to instead, close the “critical consciousness gap” that affects many educators of color, so that they can in turn create emancipatory pedagogical centers in majority minority urban schools.

Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of pale soft and exudative poultry meat. Pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) meat is caused by a decline in pH early postmortem while carcass temperatures are still high. This decrease in pH leads to protein denaturation attributing to the pale color and poor water holding capacity (WHC) that is characteristic of this lesser quality meat. Pale, soft, and exudative meat has economic implications for processors with losses ranging between $2-4 million each year. Marination with salt and phosphates has been shown to improve protein functionality, thereby reducing lost meat yield and improving meat color, WHC, and texture. However, there are few studies relating marination with phosphates to improvements in PSE meat. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if color, WHC, and texture improvements could be obtained in PSE meat via marination with various phosphate and NaCl treatments without altering the quality and oxidative stability of normal or PSE meat. In Experiment 1, 12 phosphates were evaluated for improvements in pH, color, and WHC of PSE meat. From these, five phosphates were chosen based on pH, color, and WHC improvements for Experiment 2. The marinades used in Experiment 2 increased the pH, decreased the L* values of the pale fillets, and improved water holding capacity. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, sensory, and microbial analysis studies concluded that marination with high pH phosphates can reduce the undesirable characteristics of PSE meat without increasing the development of oxidation, altering flavor, or reducing shelf-life. / Master of Science

Adequate hydration is critical for optimal performance and health. Fluid requirements of collegiate athletes are unique due to training and competition, travel, school schedules, and stressors common in college environments. Inattention to these factors may contribute to suboptimal hydration. Importantly, loss of 1-2% of body weight by dehydration can impair physical and cognitive performance. As such, development of valid and reliable tools to assess hydration status in collegiate athletes is needed. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of urine color (UC) as a measure of hydration status in collegiate athletes. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the utility of indexes of hydration status for UC and urine specific gravity (USG) established by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). To address this, 62 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes provided a urine sample ≤30 minutes of exercise for UC self-assessment (UCsub) and experimenter-assessment (UCres) using the UC chart developed by Armstrong et al. (1994) and for USG measurement via refractometry (1). Habitual dietary intake was assessed by 24-hr recalls. There was a significant positive correlation between USG and both UCsub (r=0.679, p<0.001) and UCres (r=0.772, p<0.001). In addition, the USG based on UC was inconsistent with hydration/dehydration categories established by ACSM and NATA. These findings suggest that UC, even when self-assessed by the athlete, is a valid method for assessing hydration status in NCAA division I college athletes. However, some modification of ACSM and NATA hydration categories may be warranted. 1. Armstrong LE, Maresh CM, Castellani JW, et al. Urinary indices of hydration status. Int J Sport Nutr. 1994;4(3):265-279. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7987361. Accessed October 26, 2016. / Master of Science

This thesis describes the use of computer vision and pattern recognition technology in the design of an automatic system which can distinguish species and color of finished wooden components. The system can identify three different species that are stained with several different colors. This system includes a host computer, color video cameras and fiber optic lights. This thesis describes texture and color features and a hierarchical classification strategy used in this system. An algorithm for determining linear and piecewise linear discriminant functions using the convex hull is introduced. The effect of removing wood grain on texture and color identification is also considered. The classification system developed in this thesis has been successfully tested in the laboratory with a large number of samples. / Master of Science

This thesis describes an automatic computer vision system for color identification. The system deals with color objects, such as wooden parts, that exhibit large texture variations and subtle color differences. In recent years, color has been used more and more as an important cue for recognizing textured objects. Many proposed methods use color histograms as representations of color images. Most of these methods depend on proper quantization of the color space. In our system, a novel adaptive color space quantization scheme has been employed. The method is class-oriented and is integrated with a supervised training algorithm. From a set of training samples, a partition of the original RGB color space is determined, based on the intersection of meaningful parametric descriptions of the classes. Color histograms are constructed relative to the resulting partition of the color space, and serve as the representations of both the test images and the models in the database. Relative entropy, an information-theoretic similarity measure, has been used to perform the recognition. The system described in this thesis has been extensively tested in the laboratory and has shown a high recognition accuracy. / Master of Science

The amenability of various color-controlling algorithms to the real-time operator control of color stimuli was investigated. Mathematical models based on eight color spaces were employed: three uniform color spaces (L*u*v*, L*h*C*, and Y 2.2u' VI), a graphics algorithm (HLS), an opponent color model, the NTSC broadcast signals (YIQ), and two sets of color primaries. Eighty subjects, divided equally among the color spaces, were required to match colors under time-limited conditions. The apparatus employed was a color-manipulation device using LEDs, custom-built in the Displays and Controls Laboratory at Virginia Tech. The device allows for 12-bit resolution on each color channel and higher stability of luminance and chrominance over the short and long term than can be achieved with experimental quality CRTs. / Master of Science

This set of drawings and paintings is a means to explore building. The building is imbued with the qualities of elusive memories and images that have been rediscovered and reconsidered through making. The qualities are linked back to place, the place of a bath house and sailing club at Smith Mountain Lake. In seeking qualities, the work explores the relationship between flatness and depth, line and color, form and image, and therefore architecture and painting. The work draws out and gathers disparate blues and searches for those transient aspects of the world that can be rendered eternal. / Master of Architecture

Commercial hams display variation in color uniformity across the cut surface, especially the semimembranosus (SM) muscle. This variation in fresh ham color, or two-toning, persists through further processing and contributes to production of a less desirable end product. In an attempt to understand the underlying source of this color variation, we evaluated the differences in muscle fiber-type composition and glycolytic metabolism in the SM muscle of fresh hams differing in color uniformity. Fifty-eight fresh SM muscles, ranging in color, were selected at 24 h postmortem and each partitioned into four distinct regions and three color classes based on color uniformity in the caudal region. The L* (lightness) values were greatest and a* (redness) values lowest in the most caudal portions of the muscle. The caudal portion also exhibited the lowest ultimate pH (P < 0.0001), lowest myoglobin (P < 0.05), greatest glycolytic potential (GP) (P < 0.0001) and the lowest myosin heavy chain type I isoform (P < 0.0001) abundance of all regions in 'normal' colored hams. After segregating based on L* values, the caudal region had identical pH, GP, LDH, and MyHC-I, despite significant differences in L* (P < 0.0001). These data show the most caudal aspects of the SM are indeed more prone to adverse postmortem metabolism and suggest that inherent differences in muscles of the ham may make some areas of the ham more vulnerable to temperature abuse during harvesting. / Master of Science

An integral part of human vision is the perception of color through the reflection of light. At any moment the human eye is receiving a complex polychromatic reflection of its environment, and the human mind is perceiving many hundreds or thousands of colors. In architecture, light is often a primary consideration in a design, but color is rarely discussed. It makes its presence known, however, as the light entering into a building will carry with it the reflections of the environment. The elements of architecture appear quite different at varying times of the day; at varying times of the year. Even at the same time of day two walls painted the same color will appear as two different colors if placed in different light conditions. This thesis attempts to capture this phenomenon and elaborate on the possibilities of working with light through reflection. It is not meant to give a specific answer, but rather to show the results of a search to find a way of working with light through color. / Master of Architecture

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science