Masters Theses
https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/50528
2024-03-29T13:41:49ZLGBTQIA+ consumer perceptions of brand representation: exploring the tensions between storytelling and action
https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/63644
LGBTQIA+ consumer perceptions of brand representation: exploring the tensions between storytelling and action
LGBTQIA+ visibility in marketing and advertising has gained momentum since the late 1960s. Inspired by the increased visibility, this study explores the responses of Generation Z LGBTQIA+ self-identifying individuals through in-depth interviews to gain a better understanding from LGBTQIA+ communities including their reaction to representation in marketing and advertising. LGBTQIA+ individuals welcome its community’s representation in brand strategy but is most supportive to the consumer brand relationship when done through storytelling paired with organizational action(s).
However, tensions present themselves for the Generation Z LGBTQIA+ consumer when brands contribute to controversial situations or are perceived to have misrepresentative brand strategy.
Given the embedded context of the consumer brand relationship, the proposed model presents identified factors to help formulate a supportive consumer brand relationship, but when support is weak, a tension between LGBTQIA+ consumers and perceived brand support is created.
2024-03-15T00:00:00ZPetrogenetic relationships of the Pliocene Barker Pass volcanic debris-avalanche deposits in northern Sierra Nevada, California
https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/61415
Petrogenetic relationships of the Pliocene Barker Pass volcanic debris-avalanche deposits in northern Sierra Nevada, California
he Pliocene Barker Pass volcanic debris-avalanche deposits unconformably overly Cretaceous and older rocks in the northern Sierra Nevada in California. Basaltic to dacitic megablocks associated with these deposits are believed to derived from the same source volcano and erupted from a single catastrophic eruption. Geochemical data reveals a distinct compositional gap in SiO2 between basaltic andesites and high-silica andesites and dacites suggesting magma mixing as a primary magmatic mechanism. Additional petrographic evidence and plots of compatible and incompatible trace element data further supports this. Distinctive blue-grey to white, holocrystalline high-silica andesites and dacites show very similar trace-element contents and are inferred to be associated from a single igneous unit. A megablock composed of basaltic volcaniclastic material underlain by high-silica andesite/dacite forms a deformed laccolith-like structure suggesting the high-silica andesites/dacites represent one or more hypabyssal bodies intruded into the source volcano, which may have caused large-scale failure.
2023-12-18T00:00:00ZPrediction of rapid speech sound stimuli in a DCDC2 knockout rat model of dyslexia
https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/61413
Prediction of rapid speech sound stimuli in a DCDC2 knockout rat model of dyslexia
Developmental dyslexia is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder and is thought to be very heterogeneous, as it is associated with both genetic and environmental factors and individuals with dyslexia may have deficits in one or multiple specific sub-deficits that each result in reading impairment, such as rapid auditory processing or prediction. Variation in DCDC2, a gene associated with dyslexia in humans, is associated with atypical development of reading related regions, including the cerebellum. Variation in this gene is associated with rapid auditory processing deficits in both humans and rodents, though prediction deficits are also likely as the cerebellum plays a role in forming predictions. We developed a novel Dcdc2 knockout rat model of dyslexia to determine whether variation in this gene is associated with deficits in rapid auditory processing and prediction capabilities. Using an extension of our rapid speech sound discrimination paradigm, we hypothesized that rats homozygous for the knockout would show impaired discrimination at increased speeds and an impaired ability to predict upcoming speech sounds, relative to wild-type and heterozygous rats. Counter to this hypothesis, variation in Dcdc2 was not associated with deficits in either rapid auditory processing or prediction, likely due to uniform dysregulation of neuronal migration in this global knockout model of Dcdc2.
2023-12-18T00:00:00ZIdentifying the sediment source of the Lower Cenomanian Maness Shale
https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/61412
Identifying the sediment source of the Lower Cenomanian Maness Shale
The Maness Shale is a clay-rich mudrock that marks the transition from a carbonate platform to a siliciclastic-dominated shelf at the inception of the Woodbine succession within the east Texas region of the Gulf Coast Basin. Although the Maness has not traditionally been regarded as a hydrocarbon source or reservoir rock within a lithostratigraphic context, using a sequence stratigraphic approach reveals the possibility of the Maness interval serving as both a source and reservoir rock in specific areas. Prior research investigated the Maness Shale within the vicinity of the San Marcos Arch, the East Texas Basin, and up to the western flank of the Sabine Uplift. However, none of these studies extended to the south of the Sabine Uplift, nor did they definitively identify the sediment source. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the sediment source of the Maness and to evaluate its potential as a source rock based on organic matter content.
Identifying the sediment source involved the analysis of 338 raster well logs spanning nine counties (Rusk, Cherokee, Anderson, Houston, Trinity, Tyler, Polk, Angelina, and Nacogdoches) and the correlation of four horizons (Top of the Buda, Top of the intra-Maness, Top Maness, and Base of the Austin Chalk). The results yielded two structural maps, four isochore maps, three net sandstone maps, and one isochore map that combined the results from this and previous studies of the Maness. The maps indicate that the upper Maness interval, which was previously referred to as the lower Woodbine in studies by Ambrose et al. (2009), is dominated by a coarsening upwards sand package just west of the Sabine Uplift, suggesting a deltaic depositional environment. They also reveal pro-deltaic muds west of the Sabine Uplift in the East Texas Salt Basin, a bypass zone between the Houston Arch and the Lower Cretaceous shelf margin, and sand-rich slope deposits near the shelf margins. Conversely, the lower Maness interval is mainly characterized by shale, which drapes over the Buda Limestone throughout the study area. The results suggest that the sediment source for the lower Maness is located to the north of the study area, whereas the upper Maness has a deltaic sediment source just west of the Sabine Uplift but a primary source to the north, possibly originating from the Ouachita Highlands.
Passey's ¿ log R method was applied to estimate organic richness in 5 wells using a sonic/resistivity overlay. TOC wt.% values were estimated by using the local geothermal gradient to estimate effective heating time and the Level of Organic Metamorphism (LOM). The findings indicate some potential within the Maness interval, yet they do not offer sufficient evidence to categorize the Maness as a viable source rock in the examined wells.
2023-12-18T00:00:00Z