While there are many drivers of mass incarceration including the war on drugs, mandatory minimum sentences, and a lack of resources in the free world, the school to prison pipeline is perhaps the most pressing. The use of exclusionary disciplinary policies and the presence of school resource officers in educational settings, means that the school to prison pipeline is a very real threat for many of our nation's youth. The school-to-prison pipeline is the concept that the way a child is reprimanded within the school systems puts them in direct contact with the criminal justice system. The current study will examine school policies that contribute to the school to prison pipeline using a content analysis of school board policies from four regions in the United States, the South (Florida and Georgia), the Northeast (Pennsylvania and Maine), The Midwest (Wisconsin and Missouri), and the West (California and Arizona). The policies that will be examined are school resource officers (SRO), suspensions, expulsions, zero-tolerance policies, corporal punishment, referrals to law enforcement, and alternatives to suspensions. Regional differences in the types of policies employed by school districts will be examined and changes to existing policies will be recommended based on current best practices. 

Government corruption is a problem found in varying degrees in almost every country around the world. Corruption can be defined as the misuse of public office for private gain and some examples include bribery, nepotism, graft, and tax evasion. These types of activities can cost nations trillions of dollars every year and stifle development in important areas. The media, and in particular, the internet can aid in the fight against corruption by shedding light on illicit or unethical government activities. However, in order to do this, citizens must have free access to the internet. Previous research reveals that access to the internet leads to increases in voice and accountability, as well as, decreases in government corruption. The current study examines the relationship between government corruption and internet freedom in Turkey. Findings reveal that access to the internet has been steadily decreasing in Turkey, as the government has passed several pieces of legislation aimed at blocking access. During this same time, levels of governmental corruption have increased. 

In this thesis, I discuss how much major media outlets have contributed to the disparity of coverage on conflicts currently happening around the world. For this research, I am examining the Syrian Civil War and the Yemen Civil War. During the height of the Syrian Civil War, a multitude of major media outlets updated concerned readers of the events happening ; however there is a disparity in information concerning other civil wars in the same region such as the Yemeni Civil War that is ongoing.. Through my investigation, I discover why there is a gap in information and how the audience reacts to this information. In my thesis I discuss whether there is a correlation between the media coverage, the language that is used to describe each conflict/ war, and how people have responded to the information pushed out by these major media outlets and the reasoning behind this. I argue that major media outlets are biased, because they do not present an adequate amount of particular conflicts beyond basic information. My main goal in this research is to evaluate the approaches that media outlets use when talking about major conflicts/wars: what type of language is used, how long these issues are in the media’s eye, the type of media used to describe these issues and how much is written on each conflict/war. I hope to discover that the media is more inclined to represent conflicts that are more appealing to the audience due to the major influence the participants have around the globe.

As a dark personality trait, Machiavellianism (MACH) includes callousness and deceit; however, individuals higher in MACH differ from other dark personalities in their strategic long-term orientation to manipulate others to achieve personal success, and their cynical world views towards others. To measure different aspects of personality, research has developed an assessment called the Big Five Inventory. One factor included in the five attributes is (high) conscientiousness: the tendency to be careful towards others, organized, and not impulsive. Such traits seem to support the strategic aspect of the MACH personality but do not support the lack of care that individuals higher in MACH display towards others. These contradictions are observed in both past and recent research, and such discrepancies could imply that the term of conscientiousness is too broad and needs further specification. The current study hopes to further specify the term conscientious in relation to MACH by measuring both the personal and interpersonal aspects of conscientiousness. We predicted that MACH will be negatively correlated with conscientiousness for others, positively correlated with conscientiousness for self, and that the two dependent correlations will be significant different from each other. The results generally support the prediction, with a moderate, positive relation between MACH and conscientiousness for self, no relation between MACH and conscientiousness for others, and a significant difference between the two dependent correlations. These findings are beneficial for further defining conscientiousness and establishing further distinction within MACH. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine such relationships. 

The entire world has experienced the negative effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2 aka COVID-19). Although COVID-19 appears to be more severe in individuals with respiratory problems, diabetes and other chronic diseases such as hypertension have been reported to lead to severe disease and death in patients with these conditions. Understanding how diabetes affects COVID-19 patients will be helpful to nurses and patients in general. Diabetes is a chronic disease that has become common around the world. The main objective of this research is to investigate nurses' perspectives on COVID-19 diabetes patients’ effects and the consequential impact on nursing care. To accomplish study goals, study participants were obtained by conveniently sampling 72 adults. The study population was nurses in various healthcare settings in the Southeast Georgia region. An online survey was administered to participants. The survey covers diabetes nurses’ characteristics and work context, the impact of COVID-19 on the population of people with diabetes with whom they work, and the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes care delivery. Results showed increased hospitalization due to COVID-19 effects, a slight increase in DKA, and other diabetic-related health problems such as diabetes distress, acute hyperglycemia and neuropathy/foot problems, cardiac arrest, blood clots, hypoxia, and worsening obesity. Overwhelmingly, nurses indicated that physical health and psychological health risks substantially increased substantially. In summary, the findings from this study confirm reports of the negative impact of COVID-19 on diabetes patients' health, including psychological, physical, and comorbidity for other maladies. 

In the United States, non-Hispanic Black women are approximately three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as non-Hispanic White or Hispanic women. Racism has been identified as a significant barrier to health equality and the improvement of maternal health outcomes for Black patients. Cultural competence and implicit bias in health care has emerged in part to address factors that may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in health care. Both can impact the way nurses consciously and subconsciously deliver healthcare to patients of a different gender, race, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, etc. Nurses who are more culturally competent and aware of their own implicit biases provide higher quality nursing care which leads to better health outcomes for diverse patient populations. Because nurses make up the largest group of healthcare professionals, they are in a prime position to improve health outcomes and decrease morbidity and mortality rates for African American women of childbearing age. Nursing students must be prepared to join the professional workforce and deliver high quality nursing care to diverse patient populations. 

Anesthesia management is diverse and complex. As a Registered Nurse (RN), it is imperative that the basic pathophysiology of anesthesia complications is understood in order to provide competent care. The effects of anesthesia can vary greatly depending on factors such as age, sex, health status, and lifestyle. Since there are several variables, it takes years of experience working with a diverse population to anticipate adverse effects and patient outcomes. Preparedness for anesthesia management could be improved through the use of simulations during nursing school relating to post-anesthesia care, as well as more in-depth lectures over the potential complications and pharmacodynamics associated with common anesthetics. In this study, an anonymous Qualtrics survey was conducted with senior-level Georgia Southern University undergraduate nursing students to determine the overall confidence level in the competency of providing post-anesthesia care. In conclusion, determining the confidence of undergraduate nursing students in providing competent post-anesthesia care is vital for the future success of nursing education.

A lack of knowledge concerning eating disorders has been found to play a major role in self-recognition, peer recognition, and barriers to seeking treatment at all. More specifically, straight men were more often not able to identify these issues in themselves or others. Theories that have been presented involve the image of eating disorders being a “woman’s issue” and a possible obsession with weight lifting and changing one’s body to take on a more masculine build. Combatting this issue needs to begin in the form of basic education on college campuses due to the prevalence in this particular age group. A pre and post eating disorder education survey was used to measure the ability and confidence to recognize disordered eating behaviors in the participants and their peers before and after education was provided on the symptoms, DSM-5 criteria, and what the behaviors commonly look like. The results of this study indicate that education interventions result in significant improvements in understanding of eating disorders and the options available for care once identified. 

The adult ticks of Haemaphysalis (Rhipistoma) adleri Feldman-Muhsam, 1951 (Acari: Ixodidae) are redescribed and the larva of this species is described for the first time here. The adults of H. adleri that we studied were collected from various canid, felid and hyaenid carnivorans (Carnivora: Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae) as well as a hedgehog (Erinaceomorpha: Erinaceidae) in Iraq, Israel and West Bank. The males, females and larvae of H. adleri can be differentiated from Haemaphysalis (Rhipistoma) species occurring in the Palearctic portion of West Asia and Egypt as well those in the H. asiatica subgroup by the length of idiosomal setae, development and size of spurs on palpi, dental formula on the hypostome and spur size on coxae. A lectotype of H. adleri has been designated and the geographic distribution and host of this tick species are discussed. 

Climate change and global warming is an ever growing concern for our environment and the survivability of the animals which inhabit it. With water temperatures expected to rise 2-3℃ in the next century, many aquatic organisms may be limited in their habitats based on their thermal tolerance (Lleras 2019). Southern populations of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Southeastern United States could be some of the hardest hit by the effects of climate change due to their unusual life history as compared to the more northern populations of striped bass. These southern striped bass do not engage in coastal migrations in the summer, but rather choose to stay in the freshwater river environments, limiting their ability to find favorable water temperatures. This study aimed to find the upper threshold of thermal tolerance of these southern striped bass while also examining the differences between traditional short term temperature ramps (Critical thermal maximum, CTmax) and newer, more environmentally relevant incremental temperature exposure (ITmax). CTmax and ITmax were both used to gauge the overall thermal tolerance of the species. Tests began at 20℃ and increased from there to give the closest thermal tolerance measures to wild fish as possible. Additionally, ventricle mass and respiration rate in respirations per minute were recorded to gain a better understanding of the overall ability of this population to handle changes in temperature. 

Climate change and temperature are two very important topics for the coming future. As climate change projections estimate a 2-3°C increase in water temperatures by the end of the century, the habitats of many aquatic organisms will be affected in more ways than one. Temperature has proven to be an integral part of the driving force that causes physiological, behavioral, and ecological patterns in aquatic organisms. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and their responses to changes in water temperature have been a topic of interest due to the fact that the southern populations do not follow their northern counterparts in summer coastal migrations; they remain in the warming freshwater systems along the coast of the southeastern United States. It has been shown that some fishes have the ability to remodel their cardiorespiratory systems in response to warming temperatures. Our study aimed to determine if temperature-induced changes in performance are related to the remodeling of cardiorespiratory capacity in striped bass, especially that of the southern populations. Fish were held at constant temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C) for fourteen days which incorporated the existing summer temperature regulations being modeled at present. Ventricle volume and gill surface area were measured to determine if fish are making morphological changes as a means to increase their oxygen uptake and delivery in warmer environments.