https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/2 2026-04-08T16:24:13Z https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/10210 The Recombination Rate Landscape of the Mississippi Diamond-backed Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin pileata) Havard, Logan Meiotic recombination rates vary between taxa, species, and populations. Across genomes, exchanges can occur in short sequences known as recombination hotspots. The presence of the zinc-finger histone methyltransferase protein PRDM9 has been implicated directing recombination machinery away from functional elements of genomes (e.g., transcription start sites, CpG islands) across vertebrates. This dynamic, however, has been investigated extensively in only a handful of taxa, and recent studies suggest many species exist along a continuum of reliance on PRDM9-directed recombination. We use a linkage disequilibrium-based approach to characterize the recombination rate landscape across both macrochromosomes and microchromosomes in Mississippi diamond-backed terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin pileata), a turtle species of conservation concern. We then show recombination rates are higher in transcription start sites on macrochromosomes and decrease as distance to the nearest predicted PRDM9 binding site increases on microchromosomes. 2026-04-08T00:00:00Z https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/10209 Black Workers in Revolt: Birmingham's Working-Class Resistance Against the Violence of Racial Capitalism, 1871-2020 Barrett, Logan This dissertation examines the Black working-class resistance against structural white supremacy in Birmingham, Alabama, from the city’s founding in the postbellum nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. The work follows a prolonged, multigenerational resistance movement from its abolitionist origins, through its radical labor emphasis in the first decades of the twentieth century, the 1950s and 1960s non-violent civil rights movement, the Black Power era, and the rise of Black political power in the 1980s. Correspondingly, the narrative examines changes in the anti-Black power structure through the same periodization, including Jim Crow white supremacy, neoliberalism, and mass incarceration. The Black radical tradition in sustained opposition to racial capitalism remains the throughline of this evolving story. Placed at the intersection of labor and civil rights history, this project combines and expands these historical narratives by reconceptualizing the Birmingham Black freedom struggle as a predominantly working-class movement with unfinished objectives. This project also considers and contests the public memory of Birmingham’s civil rights movement. Refuting the triumphalist mythos of the civil rights movement’s legacy by underscoring the incomplete revolution of the 1950s and 1960s, this dissertation examines Birmingham’s public memory institutions such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark to analyze how this memory landscape impacts ongoing social movements. 2026-04-08T00:00:00Z https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/10208 The Development of Disruptive Innovators in Business/Marketing Education Ruffin, Alesia Employers recognize innovation as a crucial trait in employees (Mumtaz & Parahoo, 2019). Innovative individuals are those who actively contemplate positive changes for the organization, share their ideas, communicate the company's vision, and inspire others. Research has led to the identification of five discovery skills of a disruptive innovator: associating, questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting. Disruptive innovators are people who want to change the status quo, take smart risks, and refuse to live by others predetermined agendas (Dyer et al., 2011). This research study was designed to investigate whether disruptive innovators are being prepared in middle/junior high, secondary, and postsecondary Business/Marketing Education classrooms. Analyses were conducted to determine the perceived level of Business/Marketing teacher’s discovery skills, extent of teachers integrating discovery skill teaching strategies in the classroom, correlation between the level of a Business/Marketing teacher’s perceived discovery skills and the extent to which the teacher integrates discovery skill teaching strategies in the classroom, and differences among Business/Marketing teachers perceived discovery skills level considering their demographics (highest degree, teacher certification, race/ethnicity, number of years teaching, type of school, state of employment, and gender). Of 583 surveys emailed to Southern Business Education Association members, 100 Business/Marketing teachers completed the study, which was a return rate of 17.2%. Data results were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28 using the following statistical procedures: Descriptives, Pearson correlation, and one-way ANOVA. The highest number of participants held a master’s degree (52%) and (46%) of participants indicated having a class A certification. The largest percentage of participants by race/ethnicity were identified as White or Caucasian (67%). Of the total number of participants, (35%) percent of the participants indicated having 11-15 years of teaching experience, and (60%) indicated having teaching experience or having experienced teaching in a secondary school setting. The majority of participants who completed the survey reported Alabama as their state of employment (31%). Most of the participants were female (64%). Overall, the average mean score for discovery skills perception was (M = 2.66, SD =.87) suggesting that, on average, participants viewed themselves as rarely engaging in innovative thinking. This finding reflects a moderate to low and moderate high self-perception of innovative thinking. If teachers do not believe in themselves to teach the students discovery skills, the preparation for middle/junior high, secondary, and postsecondary students to become disruptive innovators will be delayed. The results indicated that Business/Marketing teachers integrated the discovery skill teaching strategies “sometimes”, on average (M = 3.72, SD =.54). Also, the results revealed that participants’ knowledge base plays a vital role in preparing students to be disruptors. 2026-04-07T00:00:00Z https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/10207 A Survey Examining the Integration of Music into Early Literacy and Language Instruction within Speech-language Pathology Cannon, Erin B. Purpose: The present study explored pediatric speech-language pathologists’ evidence-based practices by examining their integration of music during intervention with a focus on early literacy and language (EL-L) skills, and their interprofessional collaboration perspectives with other professionals who may integrate music. Method: A quantitative survey examined clinical practices of Speech-Language Pathologists’ (SLP) integration of music during EL-L intervention. Results: Forty-eight SLPs reported to rely on all aspects of evidence-based practice when integrating music into clinical practice with a focus on children with language-based disorders in general practice and children with phonologically-based disorders during EL-L intervention, but alignment with research could be improved. Lastly, SLPs appear to be open and value to collaboration with other professionals. Conclusion: SLPs should consider integrating active methods of music making that focus on the phoneme level, engaging in educational opportunities to learn more about EL-L intervention, and participating in collaboration with other professionals to increase music integration into EL-L intervention. 2026-03-31T00:00:00Z