The overuse and misuse of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, the release of unmetabolized residuals into the sewer system, and the incomplete removal antibiotic residues by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) pose a severe threat to human health. The accumulation of antibiotic residue induces selective pressure on the bacterial population, resulting in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in water. This study investigated the degradation of different types of ARGs in water matrices using a wide variety of treatment technologies. Real wastewater samples were collected from a WWTP in urban Philadelphia and the presence of single and multidrug-resistant bacteria and resistance genes were investigated using molecular-based techniques. Subsequently, an analytical method was developed and validated for the detection and quantification of the ARGs against a range of antibiotics, such as tetracycline (TCN), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and levofloxacin (LVX). Finally, to remove the ARGs from water matrices, different conventional and advanced oxidation processes were applied. At the very onset, conventional treatment processes such as chlorine treatment was used to inactivate the E.coli resistant strains. It was observed that chlorination can potentially deactivate the ARBs by applying a lower dose and contact time. However, the effectiveness of chlorine treatment in removing all types of ARGs from water matrices was limited. For instance, no significant degradation of extracellular ARGs (e-ARGs) was observed in DI water during chlorine treatment. Subsequently, a peracetic acid (PAA) based treatment process was used to degrade the genomic and plasmid-encoded ARGs from the water matrices. Similar to chlorine treatment, no significant changes were observed in the degradation of extracellular ARGs (e-ARGs) in DI and WW. Then, the degradation kinetics of ARGs across different types (gyrAR, tetAR, qnrSR) and forms (chromosomal, plasmids) were evaluated using the Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection process. Compared to chlorination and PAA, UV treatment showed better removal efficiencies for the degradation of different types of e-ARGs in DI water. The degradation profile of e-ARGs showed 1-4 log reductions at a UV fluence of 900 mj/cm2. The i-ARGs showed similar degradation rates as compared to e-ARGs in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) at the same UV dosage. On the other hand, the regrowth potential of ARBs at low UV dosage (60–180 mJ/cm2) showed the evidence of damage repairment after several hours of exposure to light (photoreactivation) and dark conditions, making it susceptible again to the resistance spread. To resolve this issue, process parameters were optimized, and no regrowth of the ARBs were found from the higher fluence from 300 to 600 mJ/ cm2. Later, UV/ H2O2 based AOP was applied to evaluate the degradation and deactivation of the same resistant genes. The addition of H2O2 during the UV treatment produces strongly reactive •OH radicals during the treatment and showed considerable improvements in e-ARGs degradation (1.2-5 logs) compared to UV treatment alone. However, this AOP showed minimal contribution to i-ARG degradation (1-2.4 logs), possibly due to the scavenging of •OH radicals by the cellular components in PBS. In contrast to PBS, the wastewater matrix moderately enhanced the gene degradation during the treatment. In terms of plasmid degradation, the conformational differences of the supercoiled structures showed 1.2-2.8 times slower degradation rates than chromosomal ARGs. In addition, the degradation kinetics of the free residual ARGs (f-ARGs) were assessed during the treatment to reduce the AMR dissemination risk from the treated sample. This study also examined the potential of ozone (O3) based oxidation process to degrade and deactivate the extracellular and intracellular ARGs, and MGE (plasmid, intl-1) from E.coli ARBs. The degradation kinetics of the ARGs across different sizes (118-454 bps) and types were evaluated in different water matrices (DI water, PBS, and WW), and showed a significantly higher removal for chromosomal, and plasmid encoded ARGs than other treatment technologies. For the e-ARGs in DI water, 3.8-5.2 logs removal was observed at ozone dosage of 2.0 × 10-2 M.s. i-ARGs in PBS and wastewater showed nearly similar degradation (3.8-5 logs) during O3, indicating the elimination of i-ARGs was not dependent on the cellular components and effluent organic matter. Moreover, an analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) from wastewater was conducted to examine the degradation of DNA and ARGs for different storage periods and temperatures (-20°C, 0°C, 4°C, 22±0.87°C). Result indicated that water samples kept at -20°C and 0°C showed the best performance in preventing the DNA concentration and gene degradation over time. Additionally, the effectiveness of different preservatives (Longmire buffers: LB1 and LB2, benzalkonium chloride at 0.1%, 0.01%) were investigated in preserving the DNA integrity and the gene degradation at an ambient temperature. It was found that the Longmire buffer (LB1) exhibited lowest gene degradation during the three-week storage period. In summary, this research provided a comprehensive assessment on the degradation of e-ARGs, i-ARGs, and free ARGs from water using different treatment technologies (i.e., UV, UV/H2O2, O3, PAA, chlorine). Additionally, this study suggested valuable information on optimizing the process parameters of the selected methods and developed a comparative assessment of removing the ARGs from the water matrix (DI/PBS, WW). The estimation of Electrical Energy per Order (EEO, kWh/m3) during UV and ozone treatments provided a comparison of the energy consumption for ARGs degradation in the water. Overall, the findings of this study can be useful for evaluating different types and forms (chromosomal, plasmid) of ARG degradation from water matrices and can help to reduce the risk of AMR dissemination in the environment. / Civil Engineering

Viruses in the Flavivirus genus (e.g., Zika, yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses) are arthropod-borne, globally distributed, and can cause a range of neurological or hemorrhagic diseases. The ongoing epidemics of flaviviral disease consistently demonstrate the need for new vaccines capable of outbreak control. However, safe, effective, and easy-to-produce vaccines remain relatively elusive due to limitations of conventional vaccine development that make it difficult to balance safety and efficacy. Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs) are emerging as a novel method to overcome this challenge. Herein, we develop a new flavivirus vaccine platform based on the novel insect-specific flavivirus called Aripo virus, which we used to create a preclinical Zika virus (ZIKV) vaccine named Aripo/Zika virus (ARPV/ZIKV). ARPV/ZIKV is a live recombinant virus consisting of the ZIKV pre-membrane and envelope protein genes expressed on an Aripo virus backbone. In this work, we quantify the safety and efficacy of ARPV/ZIKV in multiple murine models, and begin to elucidate the mechanisms of humoral and cell-mediated immune induction for this new platform. Overall, the vaccine showed no evidence of pathogenicity in immunocompromised or suckling mice, and demonstrated a complete inability to replicate in various vertebrate cell lines. Despite this lack of replication, a single dose of live, unadjuvanted ARPV/ZIKV completely prevented ZIKV disease in mice and prevented in utero ZIKV transmission in gravid mice. Direct protection post-ZIKV challenge appears to be primarily mediated by neutralizing antibodies based on passive transfer, adoptive transfer, and T-cell depletion studies. However, vaccination studies in Rag1 KO, Tcra KO, and muMt- mice demonstrate the critical role of T-cell responses in developing immunity post-vaccination. In summary, ARPV/ZIKV is a promising vaccine candidate that induces robust adaptive immune responses, and this success is a positive indication of ARPV's potential as a new resource for flavivirus vaccine development. This body of work contributes to the rapidly expanding field of insect-specific virus-based vaccines and generates new insights into their optimization. Ultimately, this work may help protect the health of millions of people worldwide that are currently at risk of flavivirus infection. / MPH / Arthropod-borne viruses (especially flaviviruses such as Zika virus (ZIKV), yellow fever virus, West Nile virus) represent a major global health threat and a significant burden on human life. Vaccination is a critical tool for controlling the often unpredictable outbreaks of flavivirus diseases. However, licensed flavivirus vaccines remain relatively elusive. This is, in part, because the same characteristics of traditional live-attenuated vaccines that make them highly effective can also reduce their safety. Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs) are emerging as a novel method to overcome this challenge. ISFVs only replicate in insects and thus are safe in humans. They do not cause disease in vertebrates, eliminating the need for the chemical or physical inactivation methods required by traditional whole inactivated vaccines and which can result in reduced efficacy. Herein, we develop a new flavivirus vaccine platform based on a novel ISFV called Aripo virus (ARPV). As proof of concept, we used ARPV to create a preclinical ZIKV vaccine named Aripo/Zika virus (ARPV/ZIKV). ARPV/ZIKV expresses immune system-stimulating ZIKV structural proteins on its virus particle. However, it remains highly safe because the genetic material from ARPV makes it incompatible for replication in human cells. Here, we demonstrate the safety and protective ability of ARPV/ZIKV, and begin to elucidate its mechanisms of protection. Overall, ARPV/ZIKV shows promise as a ZIKV vaccine candidate, which supports the potential of ARPV as a platform for new flavivirus vaccines and the potential to protect the health of the millions of people currently at risk of flavivirus infection.

This paper investigates the relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance. Previous work in this area has focused on providing evidence for a direct link between the two factors, which has resulted in mixed, inconclusive evidence. This study includes corporate social responsibility as a moderating influence on this relationship. The dataset consists of 5,077 firm-year observations with 839 firms present. The study was done with data from six emerging markets as identified by S&P Dow Jones Global Equity Index Series. The results indicate a positive interaction between board gender diversity and a firm’s corporate social responsibility engagement and a strong positive association between corporate social responsibility engagement and financial performance.

This study aims to explore the future of sustainability reporting in emerging economies. The purpose is to better understand factors influencing sustainability reporting and its practice. Stakeholders' interest in sustainability has seen a rise in recent years. The study employed a qualitative research design, where sustainability reports and disclosures and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data for the thematic analysis. The study's finding reveals a variation in approach to the sustainability reporting practice in the Bangladeshi clothing industry, especially in how they are disclosed, where most sustainability reports produced are limited to financially involved stakeholders. NGOs like the BGMEA play an influential role in how sustainability reporting is practiced in the Bangladeshi clothing industry. Challenges that were revealed from this study were the profit-driven focus of the sustainability reporting practice, resource constraints within the companies, and lack of guidelines and expertise. The findings contribute to understanding sustainability reporting in the clothing industry in Bangladesh and suggest avenues for further research and development opportunities in reporting practices.

ABSTRACT This master thesis examined the impact of digitalization on the speed of internationalization and explores the various foreign market entry options for a company that would like to expand from a developed market to an emerging market as part of its internationalization.  The case study analyzed in this paper is Arctic Space Technologies, a unique satellite operator company offering an all-in-one solution for sustainable satellite data handling and processing. The firm’s founders have a niche market (satellite operators) and have established business in Sweden and would like to enter an emerging market (South Africa). The firm can be classified under the high-tech industry and the study obtained valuable information that could be useful to other similar firms. The nature of technology for adoption is easily transferable for such firms regardless of geographical location. Digitalization is instrumental in facilitating earlier and faster internationalization through digitalized knowledge, network creation and decision-making processes (Coviello et al., 2017). The digitalization of new foreign market development helps such firms to efficiently identify new market opportunities in global markets and with this approach, they save resources while developing the most attractive markets (Neubert, 2018a). Qualitative research was applied through a company case study, where primary interviews and a survey were used to collect data. A case study was employed to further understand and practically apply adaptations a firm can make to increase its chances of success in a foreign market environment. The researcher also obtained information from desktop and literature review. The study findings suggested that business networking, business models, culture and geographical distance, market size are key factors that influence the choice of foreign market entry mode for a high-tech firm internationalization process from a developed market to an emerging market. In addition, the main challenges faced by born-global firm in entering an emerging market includes, lack of financial resources, management transitions and lack of proper market information for the internationalization process. The firm may need to identify information related to the market size, competitors, financial costs and entry barriers of the emerging market.  The study insight was that despite the born global firms’ nature of technology enabling faster adoption in terms of digitalization being instrumental in facilitating their internationalization process through the digitalized knowledge, network creation and decision-making processes, they still face the challenges of entry into unfamiliar emerging markets. The researcher identified the institutional voids faced, liability of foreignness and noted that it would be crucial for the firm to conduct a proper environmental analysis. This may include political and legal forces, economic forces, social-cultural forces and technological forces.  Arctic Space Technologies may need to create relevant business networks and the study identified that the ideal foreign market entry mode would be Joint venture/Partnership.  Since the South African government is keen on foreign investors/entrepreneurs entering into their market through partnership with a local business entity. The firm could establish a good network with South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and other space firms in the country. SANSA is keen on fostering international partnerships to enable unlock opportunities for the national space sector.   Further studies could investigate the time frames for high-tech firms internationalization processes. Further research is needed to analyze connections between software firms’ business models and selected entry modes by using a quantitative research method. The study could also be extended to other emerging countries in Africa and new business opportunities in the global markets for high-tech firms especially with the changing dynamics of international business in the wake of the current pandemic.

This thesis dives into the future imaginaries of blockchain professionals in Hanoi and Saigon. Looking at sites of futures enactment, and constant negotiations around an emerging technology, economy, and start-up ecology. The blockchain industry has risen to prominence in the socio-economic and technological imaginary of geeks, financial speculators, and states around the globe. In this thesis, I investigate a hitherto underexplored context of technological imagination. Based on physical and digital ethnographic fieldwork among blockchain professionals in Hanoi and Saigon and through an amalgamated theoretical lens with nodes in the anthropology of future imaginaries, emerging technologies, digital materiality, and anthropological theories of value, I set out to map and critically engage with the modes by which professionals in and around the Vietnamese blockchain industry imagine the future. These future imaginaries appear not only in speculative, predictive, and hopeful proclamation but too in present enactment; thus, doings in real time become crucial in this investigation. Technologies of imagination often deviate in form and teleology, so consequently, processual negotiations are continually unfolding. Convoluted alliances within actors are often placed at odds, or in line, with broader imaginaries predicated on different levels of social scale. These spaces between imagined future and enacted reality, along with how these are negotiated amongst, ultimately provide complex embedded contexts through which socio-technical assemblages, conceptualizations of value, and emerging phenomena can better be known in ways beyond techno-solutionist or -determinist narratives and critiques of multiple futures.

Dans la communauté de langue française à Halifax, on dit que les jeunes qui y sont scolarisés en français « disparaissent dans le brouillard » après la fin de leurs études secondaires. L'expression qui sous-entend qu'au départ du milieu scolaire, au moment de la transition vers l'âge adulte, ces jeunes vont mener une vie complètement en anglais, langue majoritairement parlée en Nouvelle-Écosse. Pour tenter de mieux comprendre ce « brouillard » et les jeunes adultes qui y « disparaissent », j'ai mené un projet d'étude en sociolinguistique, avec une approche critique. Selon les études menées il y a trente ans sur les transitions de phase de vie et les représentations linguistiques, les représentations linguistiques à l'adolescence seraient en flux constant, pour ensuite se stabiliser à l'âge adulte. Cependant, cette conception du parcours de la vie qui suppose un passage direct de l'adolescence à la vie adulte n'est plus d'actualité dans le contexte nord-américain. Là, les recherches soulignent que le passage vers une vie adulte normative est non seulement prolongé, mais que les marqueurs typiques de la vie adulte sont remis en question, principalement due aux contraintes socio-économiques structurelles vécues par les jeunes adultes d'aujourd'hui. On dénomme ce prolongement comme « Emerging Adulthood ». D'ici, je pose la question: qu'arrive-t-il aux représentations linguistiques lors de l'Emerging Adulthood, surtout dans le contexte des jeunes adultes qui ont été scolarisés à l'école de langue française à Halifax qui, pour emprunter l'expression, « disparaissent dans le brouillard »? Ayant effectué des entretiens semi-dirigés avec 7 jeunes adultes issus de la communauté de langue française d'Halifax, on constate que les représentations linguistiques vis-à-vis de la langue française sont ambivalentes; Ces représentations sont informées par les diverses expériences personnelles liées au français, notamment par le parcours scolaire à l'école de langue française. Cette expérience scolaire lègue aux participant.e.s un bagage linguistique particulier: elle est à la fois un point rassembleur identitaire pour les participant.e.s et aussi un rappel constant de leur rapport d'altérité avec les identités des majorités, en particulier, les locuteurs de l'anglais à Halifax ainsi que les locuteurs du français venant de milieux où le français est la langue majoritaire. Également, les participant.e.s à l'étude ont tou.te.s exprimé.e.s avoir vécu des conflits avec les idéologies normatives des idéologies linguistiques véhiculées par les institutions de langue française à Halifax, les mettant alors à l'écart des milieux dans lesquels iels ont grandi. Bien qu'iels démontrent une versatilité linguistique entre l'anglais et le français, les participant.e.s de l'étude font preuve d'insécurité linguistique à la fois par une invalidation identitaire et linguistique dans les instances de contact avec des francophones d'ailleurs, mais aussi de la part de la communauté de langue française d'Halifax. Les participant.e.s font partie de deux mondes, tout en étant identifié.e.s comme « autre » dans chacun d'eux. Cela dit, ces représentations linguistiques développées à l'adolescence, qui ont largement informé les trajectoires des participant.e.s quant à la gestion des langues dans leur quotidien, ne sont pas nécessairement déterminantes de leurs représentations et comportements linguistiques à l'âge adulte. La capacité de naviguer différents espaces ayant de différentes influences linguistiques permet aux participant.e.s de construire et s'approprier leurs identités linguistiques à l'âge adulte, de manières uniques et dans les espaces qui comptent pour eux. Or, le fait d'être Emerging Adult, c'est-à-dire, ne pas être ancré de manière fixe dans des circonstances de vie liées aux marqueurs normatifs de la vie adulte, permet aux participant.e.s une flexibilité quant à l'appropriation du français dans leur quotidien, pourvu que ces espaces soient accessibles et linguistiquement inclusifs. Ceci leur permet de tisser un rapport avec la langue française au-delà des expériences vécues lors de leurs années formatrices à l'adolescence.

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between exposure to media variables and emerging adults' attitudes toward women and sex. Previous research indicated that exposure to media variables can influence the thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes of those exposed. The current study examined how age at exposure to media variables impacted attitudes about sex and attitudes toward women. Six-hundred and ninety four college students were given a questionnaire containing an attitudes toward women scale, a sexual attitudes scale, and a media viewing questionnaire. ANOVAS and linear regressions were performed on the data and results for the study were significant. Results indicated that age of media exposure impacted sexual attitudes and attitudes toward women.

Within the last few decades there has been an abundant increase in the amount of violent video games and movies shown within the media. Many of these violent videogames and movies include reckless driving behaviors or certain car scenarios that engross the viewer into wishing to imitate the actions they see on the screen. With that being said, majority of these viewers are adolescents or emerging adults who are beginning to drive and are prone to replicating what they see as adequate driving behaviors. The intent of this thesis is to indicate whether or not the amount of risky driving behaviors an adolescent or emerging adult is exposed to, the more likely they are to replicate these scenarios. Through the UCF sona system participants answered questions related to risky driving behaviors, safety habits, and how often they viewed or played certain videogames and movies. Overall, the results of the study indicate that participants exposed to risky driving behaviors in the media replicate these actions themselves. Further research and results should be taken into effect in order to raise awareness among adolescents and emerging adults who are at their early stages of driving.

This study explores how foreign owned service firms with headquarters in developed markets transfer their service culture into a country with an emerging market like Nigeria. This study is motivated by the need to understand this process considering the unique features of these markets, and the expansion into countries with emerging markets by service firms located in countries with developed markets to take advantage of both natural and human resources. The research uses case studies of two hotels from different firms, both in Abuja, Nigeria, to explore activities that enhance the transfer of service culture from the Headquarters of these hotels based in the USA. Both hotels were investigated through semi-structured interviews, based on elements of internal service quality from the service profit chain model, in addition to documents and observation notes. The finding reveals the process of transferring service culture is difficult and complex because of unique contextual challenges. Some of these challenges were shown to be country specific, while some may be unique to countries with emerging markets. The country specific challenges include; strong religious allegiance and cultural affinity, and unique societal factors. Other factors could apply to any country with an emerging market these include; corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of skilled labour. Similarly this study identified new elements that enabled both firms to address these challenges as well as enhance the transfer of focal areas in their signature service culture. Some of these elements have also been identified to be country specific i.e. inclusiveness and provision of social support, while the remaining three are emerging market specific i.e. transfer of knowledge and skills, accommodating corruption, and improvisation. These new elements also add to the existing five elements of internal service quality, which are employee selection, job description, reward and recognition, tools to serve customers, and workplace design. The study demonstrates the important role that intermediaries can play in achieving accommodations to achieve at least partial transfer of the parent service culture. Overall, the research contributes to management practice by highlighting areas to focus on when attempting to transfer service culture in similar circumstances. This thesis adds to the academic literature on the transfer of service culture from headquarters in a developed country to a unit in a country with an emerging market. It does this by extending concepts from the service profit chain to show how internal elements can enhance or block the transfer of service culture.