Digital Commons Network^™

Modern Day Utopia: An Examination Of Internal Social Control Among "Rainbow Family", Ashleigh Elain Mckinzie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine internal Social control, ideological embeddedness, and resistance to mainstream culture and ideology in a utopian, counter-cultural group called The Rainbow Family of Living Light. Combining theoretical perspectives on emotions and re-integrative and dis-integrative shaming with symbolic interaction, I examine the experiences of Rainbow during a national Gathering in the summer of 2010. Through interviews and observations, I illustrate the rituals, organization of camp, stratification based on work, and solidarity building activities, that Rainbow Gatherers create to resist mainstream ideology and culture. Further, I show that they Rainbow Gatherers redefine deviance in …

Measuring Intervention Success In Countering Terrorism, Summer Marie Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the shift of Attorney General Guidelines in the wake of September 11th, 2001, and the consequences for both federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors. Previous research has found that prosecutors are more apt to use an exceptional vagueness approach and try terrorists like traditional offenders. Likewise, terrorist are more likely to act like traditional offenders and plead guilty in the post-9/11 era. This study further supports the existing knowledge by providing evidence of increased plea bargain rates post-9/11 of terrorists. In addition, this study is important because it examines the consequences of the early intervention approach and …

An Ecology Of Philanthropy: Community Composition And Nonprofit Revenue In The United States, Wendie Neesa Choudary

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is little doubt that most American cities are currently troubled places because of massive economic shifts that have marked the last two decades. Charitable giving has consistently been seen as the lifeblood of communities around the United States (Backman and Smith 2000). The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between community composition and charitable giving. The impact of community characteristics (community composition, organizational composition, and community deterioration) on charitable revenues will be assessed using revenue data from the 2006-2007, 501(c)(3), 990, charitable organization forms along with United States county census data. One-way ANOVA and regression …

Analysis Of Rice Blast Resistance Genes In The National Small Grains Collection (Nsgc), Moytri Roychowdhury

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identification of blast resistance genes in rice germplasm is one of the most important activities of rice breeding programs in worldwide. The objective of this research was to characterize two major blast resistance genes, Pi-z and Pi-b, in selected rice germplasm. A simple sequence repeat DNA marker, AP5659-1 linked to the Pi-z gene, and a Pib dominant marker derived from the Pi-b gene were first used to screen a rice core collection consisting of 1700 accessions estimated to represent 70% of the genetic diversity of rice in the US National Small Grains Collection. There were 131 rice germplasm accessions with …

Southern Exceptionalism And Its Impact On Environmental Attitude, Summer Dawn Woehr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the environment has become a top concern for many people. Scientific studies have shown evidence of immediate and future threats on our environment. Despite the vast amount of evidence, many people (especially in the South) do not believe there is a human cause for global warming, a fundamental part of the environmental movement. Literature suggests Southern exceptionalism may a play a part in shaping attitudes toward environmental policies in the South. Further, a recent look at V.O. Key Jr.'s 1949 Southern Politics in State and Nation suggests that religion has since been overlooked as an explanation for …

The Symbolic Creation Of Cultural Performance At The Walnut Valley Festival, Maggie Colleen Cobb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through two years of ethnographic fieldwork and 19 interviews, I synthesize symbolic interaction and a sociological framework of culture to examine the ways in which the Walnut Valley Festival is created and experienced as a unique form of cultural performance, one that is always shifting in response to the emergent cultural creation and reception of attendees. No work to date combines the dimensions of both production and reception of music festivals as a unique form of cultural performance. In bringing back the oftentimes ignored affective dimension in cultural studies, I use Griswold's (2004) metaphor of a cultural diamond, examining the …

Chemical Ecology, Population Dynamics And Insecticide Susceptibility Of Lesser Mealworm Alphitobius Diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Narinderpal Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a serious, cosmopolitan pest present in poultry production facilities, where it slows down weight gain in chicks, carries disease–causing organisms, and causes damage to poultry insulation. The first study estimated that the lesser mealworm densities in poultry litter applied to pastures were 3.5, 2.2 and 0.4 million larvae, adults and pupae, respectively, per hectare in Savoy, Arkansas. The repercussions of these adult beetles are that they often disperse to and reinfest poultry houses with the potential to vector disease to poultry, and disperse to invade human dwellings resulting in litigation. The …

Symmetry-Based Techniques For Qualitative Understanding Of Rovibrational Effects In Spherical-Top Molecular Spectra And Dynamics, Justin Chadwick Mitchell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using light to probe the structure of matter is as natural as opening our eyes. Modern physics and chemistry have turned this art into a rich science, measuring the delicate interactions possible at the molecular level.

Perhaps the most commonly used tool in computational spectroscopy is that of matrix diagonalization. While this is invaluable for calculating everything from molecular structure and energy levels to dipole moments and dynamics, the process of numerical diagonalization is an opaque one. This work applies symmetry and semi-classical techniques to elucidate numerical spectral analysis for high-symmetry molecules.

Semi-classical techniques, such as the Potential Energy Surfaces, …

College Student Mental Health: The Relationship Between Depression And Emotional Intelligence Using The Student Relationships Assessment, Andre George Broquard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional relational intelligence (ERQ) and depression in college students. The significance of this study is based on the additional support that can be provided to students with increased information and understanding of emotional relational intelligence and depression. In an effort to help college students achieve their educational goals and aspirations, the researcher suggests that emotional relational intelligence can be beneficial. The relationship between depression and emotional relational intelligence may provide insight on how to support and care for college students who are struggling with depressive symptomology. The results …

Dietary And Behavioral Strategies Of Neandertals And Anatomically Modern Humans: Evidence From Anterior Dental Microwear Texture Analysis, Kristin Lynn Krueger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The extreme gross wear of Neandertal anterior teeth has been a topic of debate for decades. Several ideas have been proposed, including the excessive mastication of grit-laden foods and non-dietary anterior tooth use, or using the anterior dentition as a clamp or tool. This second idea has been the most examined, and was taken from analogy of Arctic populations who used their anterior dentition in this manner. However, combining wear variables and examining them in relation to important factors, such as climate, location, and time, has been challenging to incorporate into interpretive models. The present study seeks to better understand …

Multicultural Education In The Music Classroom: Definitions, Methods, And Motives, Candace Rhnea Stafford-Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to understand the multicultural teaching experiences of music teachers in the Fayetteville and Springdale public school districts through the lens of James Banks' four approaches to curriculum reform. The research was intended to add to the limited literature presently found on the definition of multicultural music education and how this type of education is implemented. The study also increased knowledge of teacher motives for implementing multicultural education in the music classroom and highlight challenges that lie within implementation. Purposive sampling was used and in an attempt to get an information rich sample, two schools were chosen from …

From High School To College: Factors Shaping The Collegiate Experience, Mary Jane S. Secuban

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting this study was to develop an understanding of undergraduate college students' Social readiness for the collegiate experience. The study made use of a qualitative approach and a narrative research design that used focus group interviews. The seven focus group interviews were conducted at four sites across the Southern and Midwest United States, including different institutional types. These institutions included a community college, private college, research and comprehensive state university. A total of 21 undergraduate first- and second-year students participated. The findings included external factors such as parents, siblings, friends and teachers having a significant influence over …

Defining The Regional And Seasonal Climatic Response Of Long Douglas-Fir Tree-Ring Chronologies In Central Mexico, Grant Howard West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Problems with instrumental climate data and difficulties arising from the distribution of sensitive, long-term tree-ring chronologies across Mexico's complex terrain have made it difficult to model the climate signal of tree-rings in Mexico. The objective of this research is to utilize the improved long-term, high-resolution, gridded instrumental climate dataset for Mexico recently developed by Zhu and Lettenmaier (2007) to document the climate signal of Douglas-fir in central Mexico. Through correlation analysis between five Douglas-fir tree-ring chronologies created by the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Tree-Ring Laboratory and Zhu and Lettenmaier's (2007) gridded historical climate dataset, this research aims to define the regional …

(Re)Constituting The Immigrant Body Through Policy: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Narratives Within The Discourses Of The Development, Relief, And Education For Alien Minors Act (Dream Act), Emily Rae Ironside

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using the testimonies surrounding the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) as a primary case study, this project provides a rhetorical investigation of the interplay between narratives, nation building, national identity, policymaking, and the American immigrant. This project first identifies the grand narrative of exclusionary nationalism as the primary narrative constituting the American identity. Then, this project examines the rhetoric of policymakers to demonstrate how an Anglo-Saxonized, elitist notion of American identity is rhetorically constituted by assimilationist, racist, xenophobic, and classist discourses. Moreover, it argues policymakers maintain the narrative dominance of exclusionary nationalism through restrictive immigration …

Middle School Students' Perceptions Of The Gender And Ethnic Gap In Achievement, Marian Elizabeth Hendrickson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mix-method approach to determine achievement gap in gender and ethnicity. Quantitative data was collected from the 2008-2009 Arkansas state Benchmark exam to investigate the extent of the gap in the school. Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 13 students. The students were asked to explain their perceptions of the gender and ethnicity gap in the school. The use of two methods for this study enabled the researcher to better understand the actual achievement gap that appeared at the school and compare this information to the information provided by the participants. The Quantitative data gathered …

Kinematic And Electromyographic Description Of Baseball And Softball Catching, Hillary Ann Plummer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The catcher is actively involved, defensively, in every pitch that is thrown during the duration of a baseball or softball game. Because catchers play such an active role, the outcome of the game can be decided on their ability to keep base runners from stealing and advancing into scoring position. The ability to throw out a stealing runner is a necessary skill that catchers must possess in order to be successful at their position. To keep a base runner from stealing catchers have the option of throwing down to second base from either their stance or their knees. Despite the …

Protein-Lipid Interactions: Influence Of Anchoring Groups And Buried Arginine On The Properties Of Membrane-Spanning Peptides, Vitaly V. Vostrikov

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Designed transmembrane peptides were employed for investigations of protein-lipid interactions by means of oriented solid-state deuterium NMR spectroscopy using isotope-enriched alanine residues. Using the model GWALP23 sequence (GGALW(LA)6LWLAGA) as a host peptide having single interfacial tryptophan anchor residues, the effects of different guest mutations were explored. Replacements of glycine residues 2 and 22 to positively charged lysine or arginine on both termini had little influence on the peptide average orientation. Conversely, glycine to tryptophan substitutions had profound effects, manifested in the increased dynamics and altered tilt direction of the peptide. While the charged residues at the peptide termini did not …

A Restarted Homotopy Method For The Nonsymmetric Eigenvalue Problem, Brandon Hutchison

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a Hessenberg matrix, H, are computed with a combination of homotopy increments and the Arnoldi method. Given a set, Ω, of approximate eigenvalues of H, there exists a unique vector f = f(H,Ω) in Rn where λ(H-e_{1ft)=Ω. A diagonalization of the homotopy H(t)=H−(1−t)e1ft at $t=0$ provides a prediction of the eigenvalues of H(t) at later times. These predictions define a new Ω that defines a new homotopy. The correction for each eigenvalue has an O(t2) error estimate, enabling variable step size and efficient convergence tests. Computations are done primarily in real arithmetic, and …}

Characterization Of Polyphenolics In Cranberry Juice And Co-Products, Brittany Lynn White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, cranberry juice has been consumed to prevent urinary tract infections. These and other health benefits, including reduced risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease, are believed to be due to the presence of polyphenolics, specifically flavonoids. Cranberry pomace is the by-product of cranberry processing which consists of seeds and skins. This research focuses primarily on the effects of processing on the flavonoid composition of cranberries and cranberry pomace. First, the concentration of flavonoids during juice processing was evaluated. It was determined that anthocyanins were degraded readily compared to other flavonoids, and a significant amount of flavonoids were retained in the …

Spatial Variations In Willingness To Pay For Water At The Local And Regional Scales Using Geographically Weighted Regression, Robyn Lane Dennis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two decades of rapid urban growth and increasing per capita water consumption has left water providers in Northwest Arkansas concerned about their ability to meet future demand for water. Beaver Water District (BWD) is the largest of four regional water providers that draw from Beaver Lake, the only source of potable water in the region. Growth projections and per capita consumption patterns indicate that BWD could exhaust its raw water allocation as early as 2031. Municipal water customers served by BWD were surveyed about their stated priorities for water use, their water conservation behaviors, and their attitudes and perceptions about …

"The Africans Have Taken Arkansas": Political Activities Of African-American Members Of The Arkansas Legislature, 1868-73, Christopher Warren Branam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African-American lawmakers in the Arkansas General Assembly during Radical Reconstruction became politically active at a time when the legislature was addressing the most basic issues of public life, such as creating the infrastructure of public education and transportation in the state. They were actively engaged in the work of the legislature. Between 1868 and 1873, they introduced bills that eventually became laws. Arkansas passed two civil rights laws at the behest of African-American lawmakers. Education, law and order, and economic development--issues that reflected the southern Republican agenda that dominated the state's politics between 1868 and Democratic Redemption in 1874--also drew …

Early Modern Evil Genius: Hyperconformity And Objectivity In Sixteenth And Seventeenth-Century English Literature, Christine Hoffmann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies the response among early modern and postmodern audiences to the experience of information overload, and suggests that the most appealing response to living in a communications network that appears both systematic and random is to use a rhetoric of struggle that is ambiguous in the same way. >The reasons for this appeal are twofold: firstly, the rhetoric of struggle is a way to cope with the difficulty of situating oneself within a system of circulating information that operates according to its own arbitrary rules. Mimicking that arbitrariness is a way of finding aesthetic synchronicity between how one's …

Facility Requirements For Teaching A Standards-Based High School Technology Education Curriculum, Andrew Martin Klenke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research established the essential equipment, tools, hardware and software needed to teach a contemporary standards-based Technology Education program at the high school level with one teacher. A three round Delphi study established what a contemporary Technology Education lab should ideally include utilizing the expert opinion of teachers in the field, teacher educators and administrators with direct roles in program development. The research also suggests types of activities which could be utilized in such a facility. Equipping a facility with these essential items could assist teachers in preparing students to become technologically literate, by addressing all of the Standards for …

Factors Affecting Institutional Choice Of Minority Students Admitted To Institutions In The Council For Christian Colleges And Universities, Christopher Lee Confer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the factors that affected minority students' choice to enroll at private faith-based 4-year institutions in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in the United States. These factors included: minority students' demographic and background characteristics, financial factors, perceived institutional characteristics, and institutional marketing strategies. The theoretical framework for this study focused on Maguire and Lay's (1981) college choice model as well as Hossler and Gallagher's (1987) three phase college choice theory. This study also drew on the Critical Race Theory as a lens through which to examine minority student college choice. The study utilized the data …

Predicting Dating Violence Victimization Among College Women: The Role Of Previous Exposure To Violence And Acceptance Of Dating Violence, Marie Elisabeth Karlsson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dating violence is a worldwide problem (Straus, 2004). The majority of empirical studies and conceptual models of dating violence have focused on perpetration, and examined the impact of prior exposure, positing an intergenerational transmission model. More recently, researchers have examined the influence of other moderating and mediating variables and hypothesized that attitudes, such as acceptance of dating violence, are an important variable to examine (Flynn & Graham, 2010; Lichter & McCloskey, 2004). Focusing on victimization, this study attempted to assess the applicability of the intergenerational hypothesis (previous exposure to violence, such as witnessing interparental abuse and childhood abuse) as well …

The Influence Of Simulation-Based Information Systems Education On Enterprise Systems Knowledge And User Satisfaction, Pamela Jeanne' Schmidt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enterprise systems implementations are often high cost and high risk with many companies failing to achieve their targeted business objectives. At the individual level, negative user reactions to enterprise systems lead to resistance to IT use, counter-productive adaptations, and reduced job satisfaction. Factors that contribute to these individual level effects include a lack of understanding of reengineered business processes and a lack of understanding of economic interdependencies. In this research, a computer-based business simulation educational intervention is investigated to determine its effectiveness in facilitating enterprise systems knowledge acquisition and promoting job satisfaction. Simulation-based education utilizes an experiential learning model, immersing …

When Men Cry: Male Demonstrations Of Grief In Beowulf, The Song Of Roland, And Sir Orfeo, Lindsey Beth Zachary

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Frequently in medieval texts, writers make mention of men who cry, wail, and faint. However, in modern scholarship, these records of men who cry are often overlooked, and masculine mourning is a largely neglected feature. My purpose in this thesis is to explore some of the reasons for male tears and displays of grief in three works of medieval literature. While male mourning appears in hundreds of medieval texts and is a topic worthy of extensive exploration, I have narrowed my focus to three works: Beowulf, The Song of Roland, and Sir Orfeo. Although the three tales are written in …

The Lived Experiences Of Participants In The Euchee/Yuchi Language Project: A Phenomenological Study Of Language Preservation, Jessica Park

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Native languages are disappearing quickly in this country, but there are many programs that are underway trying to save Native languages before they are gone. One such program is the Euchee/Yuchi Language Project which uses a modified version of the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program (MALLP). Elder language speakers, masters, and younger members of the tribe, apprentices, meet daily in a two-hour language session. The goal of the session is to immerse the apprentices in the language by using conversational Euchee/Yuchi in the form of lessons, props, and presentations, so they can learn the language quickly. The purpose of this study …

The Effects Of A Lumbopelvic Hip Complex Conditioning Program On Dynamic Knee Valgus In Female Tennis Players, Katelyn Marie Roling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Female athletes have a four-to-six times greater risk of sustaining a lower extremity injury than their male counterparts (Hewett, 2000). One explanation for the discrepancy in injury rates is increased dynamic knee valgus angles caused by neuromuscular imbalances of the lumbopelvic hip complex (LPHC). The purpose of this study was to determine if implementing a LPHC conditioning program improved neuromuscular deficiencies. Seven female collegiate tennis players competitive at the NCAA Division I level volunteered for the study (19.7 + .95 years, 167.3 + 7.4 cm, and 60.72 kg + 6.71 kg). The subjects participated in a 16 week LPHC conditioning …

An Analysis Of The Stability And Transport Of Co2 On Mars And Iapetus: Increasing Accuracy Via Experiments And Photometry, David Garrison Blackburn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Volatile transport of carbon dioxide is most relevant on two planetary bodies in our solar system: Mars and Iapetus. We experimentally measured the sublimation rate of CO2 ice under simulated martian conditions and developed a model based on our experimental results. We experimentally verified that solar irradiance is the primary control for the sublimation of CO2 ice on the martian poles with the amount of radiation striking the surface being controlled by variations in the optical depth, ensuring the formation and sublimation of the seasonal cap. Our model, supported by comparison of MGS-MOC and MRO-HiRISE images, shows that ~ 0.4 …